the year that is waiting to be …

by Sharon Santoni

None of us really know what the year ahead may bring our way,

we hope to be happy, to stay well, to be kind

… to love and be loved….

Here at MFCH I hope to bring you more flowers,

more brocante, more images of French living,

new recipes and more of those stylish french girlfriends …

I look forward to showing you more snaps of life in Normandy,

to chatting with you about ‘things’

and to sharing my enjoyment of the changing seasons…

as well as the occasional dog!

Thank you for reading me,

thank you to those of you who came to visit us here,

it’s been a joy getting to know you all.

I wish you all the very best for 2014!

May it be a good one for each and every one of us!

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40 comments

Emm January 2, 2014 - 5:24 pm

And to you, and all at your FCH, a new year of peace and prosperity and happiness and good things. Your mini-series are very interesting, and I hope you’ll do more on local artisans as well. For now, I’ll go smell the roses in your pictures in that first group.

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Sharon SANTONI January 2, 2014 - 8:23 pm

Thank you Emm, I am working on finding more local craftsmen; it is always a joy to showcase their work

xx

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Julia January 2, 2014 - 5:42 pm

Happy New Year to you and your family too! Isn’t the start of a new year a great time to set our hopes high for all that it can be and bring into our lives. I am looking forward to most of your beautiful posts this year.

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Sharon SANTONI January 2, 2014 - 8:24 pm

ah Julia, the dangers of a new year and the amazing temptation to write down some resolutions … as you say a time to set our hopes high
xx

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Patty/BC January 2, 2014 - 5:45 pm

Hi Sharon! Thanks for all your beautiful posts. Wishing you all the best in 2014.

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Sharon SANTONI January 2, 2014 - 8:25 pm

thank you Patty and the very best to you too

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Anita Rivera January 2, 2014 - 5:55 pm

Bonjour Sharon!

Merci d’être venue. Votre blog m’enchantait pendant toute l’année 2013 – and may 2014 bring more French fabulousness to both of us, across the pond!

Thank you so much for coming to visit me. Peace and goodness to you and votre famille! Anita

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Sharon SANTONI January 2, 2014 - 8:26 pm

Bonjour Anita, c’est toi que je dois remercier. Non seulement pour les très jolies choses que tu montres sur ton blog, mais aussi pour tes visites et tes commentaires ici, bonne année à toi, pleine de réussite et de bonheur

Sharon
x

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Karen (Back Road Journal) January 2, 2014 - 6:21 pm

Sharon, I so enjoyed spending 2013 with you through your blog. I enjoyed your lovely home, seeing the treasures you found and loved meeting some of your friends. I hope 2014 will be a wonderful year for you and your family and can’t wait to follow along on your journeys around Normandy and beyond.

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Sharon SANTONI January 2, 2014 - 8:27 pm

Thank you Karen for your regular visits and generous comments, let’s see what 2014 brings us all

xx

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jan gillespie January 2, 2014 - 6:35 pm

Sharon,
Thank you for your posts. I have enjoyed all of them, especially the Christmas Cocktail. May 2014 be a year of peace and prosperity and much happiness for you and yours.
jan

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Sharon Santoni January 2, 2014 - 8:52 pm

Thank you Jan, I’m so glad you enjoyed the tale of Mathilde and co. Let’s see what the year ahead brings!

xx

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Colleen Taylor January 2, 2014 - 6:48 pm

I will look forward to more beautiful photos as well as sheer delight from your blog. Happy New Year Sharon!

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Sharon Santoni January 2, 2014 - 8:53 pm

Many thanks Colleen and thank you also for your contribution to MFCH this year. May 2014 be good to us all!

xx

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Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon January 2, 2014 - 7:06 pm

I have enjoyed every minute. Thank you for sharing with us. Because of you, my apricot jam was a success. I also made a few of your desserts that I now keep in my “culinary toolkit”. No one I know puts of bouquet together as skillful as you. While we no longer have horses I do love a pic of yours. Oh, and I am not really a dog person, but I grown quiet fond of that Ghetto. 🙂

Wishing you a happy, and healthy New Year.

M~

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Sharon Santoni January 2, 2014 - 8:54 pm

Hi Madonna, it has been a joy to correspond with you this year, and I am beyond chuffed that I may be partly responsible for your success with apricot jam.
As I’ve said to you before, Ghetto does not deserve this much postive energy 🙂
xx

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Mary in Oregon January 2, 2014 - 7:26 pm

2014 will undoubtedly reward me with more fun activities of yours to read about, fun photos of gorgeous plantings around your home and elsewhere, more places that Ghetto will entice Gibson to go to with him (!) and of course, I am really hoping you will continue to share your storytelling abilities with me! (I left out so many more things: floral arrangements, interior and exterior decor, your brocante purchases, etc… but I enjoy them all) Thank you, Sharon

Mary in Oregon

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Sharon Santoni January 2, 2014 - 8:56 pm

Thank you Mary, … just for the record Ghetto ‘enticed’ Gibson to disappear in the forest yesterday afternoon and my new year’s walk turned into a marathon, so for the moment if you don’t mind, we’ll avoid talking about those mutts!
happy new year to you too

xx

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Michelle January 2, 2014 - 8:36 pm

Sharon
I am a recent newbie to your posts. Just want you to know how much I enjoy reading it. Today I sit in front of my fire with a cup of expresso and read it. It is like receiving an update from an old friend. Keep up the great work and Happy New Year!

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Sharon Santoni January 2, 2014 - 8:57 pm

Merci Michelle, I am very flattered to be thought of as a friend and to know that MFCH is enjoyed in front of the fire, coffee in hand.
happy new year to you too
Sharon
x

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Sandra Robbins January 2, 2014 - 9:20 pm

I just love reading your blog. I am looking forward to 2014 with you.

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Sharon SANTONI January 3, 2014 - 8:23 pm

merci Sandra!

x

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My Grama's Soul January 2, 2014 - 9:28 pm

Ah……may 2014 be the best year ever……for all of us!

xo
Jo

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Sharon Santoni January 3, 2014 - 8:24 pm

I think that a lot of people are thinking that right now!
x

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Deborah Carter January 2, 2014 - 10:45 pm

Sharon, what an enjoyable time I have spent over the last year, reading your blog each morning! I wait to make my cup of coffee and then sit down, cup in hand to read. Love Gibson and Ghetto; loved your charming tale of romance in Paris; love your garden images and your recipes! All good to you for 2014!
Cheers,
Deborah from Melbourne.

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Sharon Santoni January 3, 2014 - 8:25 pm

Dear Deborah, Thank you for your kind message and for the comments you have left me through the past months. I am more than flattered to be part of yoru morning ritual, thank you

Sharon
x

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ann hodgkins January 2, 2014 - 11:32 pm

A very happy and healthy new year to all.
Love your mini series story.
The blog and photos are wonderful to read.
A great way to start the day with coffee!
Yes, please include more artisans,shop owners,and life in France tid bits in 2014.

We watched “Midnight in Paris” New Years Eve with old close friends after a wonderful dinner of coq au vin.Champagne and brie before dinner.
A very relaxing evening.
My husband mentioned that Paris was calling to him (me as well)on the way home in the car New Years Day….perhaps in September.

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Sharon Santoni January 3, 2014 - 8:26 pm

Hi Ann
Sounds like you had a good celebration, and Paris really isnt’t that far for you to go!

all the best for 2014

Sharon
x

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Delaine January 2, 2014 - 11:35 pm

What a beautiful post as always! Sharon, for the past few years I have enjoyed reading you and admiring your lovely photography… I look forward to another year of fun! Merci!

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Sharon Santoni January 3, 2014 - 8:27 pm

Thank you Delaine, I am very flattered that you have been reading MFCH for such a long time

best
Sharon
x

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iamsnowflake January 3, 2014 - 12:51 am

Happy New Year!
Love the selection of photos. Your lovely photography, your love for french countryside and lifestyle, your wonderful prose and stories lure me here every day and keep me company while I pause for midmorning cup of tea.

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Sharon Santoni January 3, 2014 - 8:27 pm

Why thank you! and a very happy new year to you too

x

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Linda Quast January 3, 2014 - 1:27 am

Hi Sharon,

Happy New Year to you and yours. Even though I am fairly new to your blog, I have loved every post. I have been so inspired with the photos, the stories and the suggestions about shops to visit when we are next in France. As a dog lover, some of my favorite photos have been of Gibson and Ghetto. Thank you so much for sharing your life in France with me. You seem like a new friend!

Linda xx

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Leslie in Little Rock January 3, 2014 - 1:56 am

Sounds wonderful!!!! Dogs and scenes from France and more stories are most welcome. Merci beaucoup to you!!

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judi ryba January 3, 2014 - 2:20 am

Your blog always speaks to me. Sharon keep dreaming and sharing with us!

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Pam January 3, 2014 - 8:58 am

Hi Sharon!!!

All the very best for you and your family in 2014!!!

I so look forward to the year of getting your lovely Blog in my “Inbox.” I can’t wait to see all the exciting news concerning your travels!!! Vintage french items galore in a store of a friends…Beautiful clothes…Tasty(Thank goodness they are there and not here LOL) Pastries with tea…And the great life of two of my favorite Blog dogs!!!!!

Thank you for such a great 2013 Blog year!!! You’re sweet, kind and most of all lovely to have as a friend!!!

Have a great weekend Sharon!!!

Pam
xox

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Maria Luiza January 3, 2014 - 9:17 pm

Thank you for the most adorable New Year Wishes of the week! Filled with beautiful and dear things and people AND dogs dear to you and now dear to us all!
Wishing you and your lovely entourage joy and peace and fun this year, from one more of your distant friends.
Regards to Mathilde, too, good luck to her!

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Traci S January 4, 2014 - 2:27 am

Sharon, thank you so much for taking the time to share your wonderful photos of your life and world! They never fail to bring a smile, inspire, and transport me to the beautiful part of the world you call home.

I wish you all the grand things for the new year: peace, joy, love. But, also a year filled with the littlest pleasures: smiles and little kindnesses from friends and strangers alike, the scent of beautiful flowers, the sound of nature and, of course, many glasses of wine which delight the palette shared with all those you hold dear. And, here’s hoping the dogs leave the chickens and horses alone! Though they do make for the funniest stories! 🙂
Happy 2014.
Traci

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Leslie in Oregon January 4, 2014 - 4:55 am

Bonne Année, Sharon, and merci beaucoup for all that you give through your wonderful blog. I relish each of your posts, delighting in the vignettes of your life in France including those paragons of virtue and fun, Gibson and Ghetto.

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Jeanne....Collage of Life January 7, 2014 - 11:02 am

Happy New Year Sharon…much love to you and yours in 2014…and to those two devilish canine companions of yours, Gibson and Ghetto….may they have many romping adventures! xx

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