When I was a kid school started on September 1st, and we got to buy all the new books, notebooks, pens and pencils. Now I still get excited and buy myself a few stationery things but the real happiness comes from the garden tasks that can be accomplished only in the fall.

And by "lavender country" I mean Provence, bien sûr! We spent a few days in the area of Gorge du Verdon, in the Alps de Haute Provence...