| Maundy Thursday, or jeudi saint  | April 9th, 2020

Dear Friend,

“I feel like Tom Sawyer,” said Henry, his blue eyes twinkling. His little cousins think painting the fence around the moat will be fun – and so is scrubbing the big iron gates of the Chateau. He had to get another bucket and more rags to satisfy their urge to help. It’s a beautiful, warm day at Courtomer, and we are all taking full advantage of the balmy weather. 

Henry is getting ready to paint the exterior metalwork of the Chateau. This in itself represents a small but satisfying victory. Since all our hardware stores are closed, we searched on-line for metal paint and found it in Germany. It has just been delivered through the ubiquitous platform named for a South American forest. We’re going to have to mix paints to get the right color, but that will be part of the fun, too.

 Everyone is taking an interest in Henry’s project. He started by scraping the 18th-century gates to the inner cour d’honneur, or courtyard, with a metal brush. Monsieur Xavier, walking through on his way to make repairs in the Chateau, offered his advice: a bucket of soapy water and a sponge. It’s not that we need to get the paint off – the weather took care of that! But we must eliminate the miniscule layer of green moss that has fastened itself to the bars and decorative swirls of the grille, as the gates are called.
 
After Monsieur Xavier’s passage, the little girls and their mother came by on their morning nature walk. As noted, they enthusiastically pitched in. Little Clo, who’s four, wanted to dip her rag in Cousin Henry’s bucket. Last week, her favorite activity was helping him put branches in the wheelbarrow.

 We had intended to write to you today about the restoration of the Farmhouse, but it will have to wait until next week. For we are in the first days of la Semaine sainte, the Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Easter Monday. This is perhaps the most important family and religious holiday in France, and part of the country’s ancient Roman Catholic tradition. 
 
Many families this year will not be able to celebrate together. But here in Normandy, the sun is doing its part to prepare the earth – and our spirits -- for the joyful feast of the Resurrection. And since there are little children, and they are good, we know that the cloches de Pâques will bring them delicious treats. Somehow, the church bells of the église Saint Lomer, just across the fields from the Chateau, will swing out of their belfry during the night before Easter. They will soar over the countryside, depositing painted eggs and chocolate rabbits and chicks in nooks and crannies of gardens all around Courtomer. Just as church bells do in every parish in France…for as all French children know, the church bells have gone to Rome for a blessing tonight, and will return laden with happy surprises by Sunday morning.

 Meanwhile…eggs as well as ironwork must be painted. And supplies must be ordered from the boulangerie in the village of Courtomer…for Madame Ludivine makes very good chocolate!
 
We wish the two little girls at Chateau de Courtomer “une bonne chasse aux oeufs de Pâques”…a happy Easter egg hunt…and we wish a festive and happy weekend to all.

A bientôt, aux jours meilleurs.