The Naked Truth...parts 1 and 2

Part 1.
I took the dogs for a walk down through our woods this morning early...the sun was up and the breeze calm...all was well with the world. We arrived on the beach to find the tide fairly high, and (in order to locate some single beach) we scrambled over a few rocks. As we got closer I noticed two largish dogs and thought "oh that's nice, a couple of other dogs to play with". We arrived on the beach and I saw a towel on a rock....so the dogs' owner was probably swimming.....good for them....the water was really calm and inviting. As we passed the said "rock with towel" and got to the middle of the beach I gazed seaward and saw a head bobbing about further out....and, as my gaze fell further, I noticed a bikini top half way to the waterline.....and then, closer still to the water, another (small) item of beachwear. Ohhhhh.....it would appear that said dog owner was taking part in a spot of early morning skinny dipping. I casually called the dogs and headed back the way we had come.....5 minutes later the lady passed us with a friendly "Hello"....and me, Jess and Beanie headed back over the rocks to have our own 15 minutes alone on the beach. NO swimming for me however....but an amusing way to start one's day! 

Part 2.
On entering the bathroom yesterday morning (to check on Jill, who had found her own way into the shower) I had a quick tidy up. We were chatting away, and I took the chance to pick up the dirty washing...odds and ends to go in various bins...towels to change....and toilets to flush etc. Now, anyone who has a similar upstairs water system to us will know that sometimes flushing toilets (or just running the cold tap) can result in less cold water getting to the shower head.....or, to put it another way....more hot water coming out of the shower. To say that Jill was less than impressed would be a small understatement. In her nakedness she shouted (well, actually she can't shout anymore...so she whispered very loudly) in my general direction. The poor girl.....she's already struggling enough at the moment to find her breath without me pouring boiling water over her head in the shower!



Yesterday we celebrated 30 years of living on La Route des Pelles. Believe me, 30 years ago the weather was very, very different. It rained all day...roads flooded....and the yard at Cottage Farm filled up with water. Indeed, at one point I thought that our moving day might well be crowned by floodwater coming into and up the hallway of our "new" farmhouse....some exciting move that might have been. Anyway....here we are, 30 years down the line, and still here in Rozel. There isn't a day goes by when we don't think how lucky we are to live in such a wonderful part of our wonderful island. Here at Seaford we have distant sea views over to Carteret and the Cherbourg Peninsula....cows grazing peacefully in the fields in front of us....swallows perched on the wire over our front garden chirping away (100+ the other morning!!).... rabbits bobbing happily down in our meadow.....and....wait for it....vast numbers crows noisily pecking all our lovely apples out of the trees in the orchard.....and then, as if to add insult to injury, the seagulls come and peck them further....just pecked enough to attract the wonderful wasps! I won't mention wasps...but while I'm talking about wasps...aren't there a lot around this year!! I digress....believe it or not, all of these things we appreciate more and more each day....Jilly's condition means that even the smallest routine thing has become a special event. Getting into the garden, on to the beach, down the lane, eating "out" at a beachside cafe...even just getting out of the house....all these things have become special. We appreciate them all the more now....

To help us celebrate our "30 years" we invited some neighbours around.....it was all a bit last minute. I'd been looking at the date since before the start of 2018 and, at the beginning of the year, has thought we would have a BIG party. The 1st. September would be a Saturday...the weather would be hot and sunny....and everything would be just fine. How wrong I was....well, the weather was lovely....and so was the company.....but BIG parties are out I'm afraid. However, it was so good to have so many of our neighbours in the same room...how often we joke about living next to someone and only seeing them for a real chat once or twice a year. Many of those who came have lived here all their lives....they grew up alongside each other....and there's always stories to tell...many quite unrepeatable. Looking at the Syvret Map from 1849, there are the same family names here still....we know that we Luces may have been here 30 years, but that is but a drop in the ocean compared to the Whitley's, Germain's and Lempriere's who've all been here literally for centuries. I was so pleased those three Rozel "dynasties" all had their "latest" family members with us, not just to remember old times and but to look to the future.

I was really grateful for the opportunity to be able to say a few words....and to thank all present for making the last 30 so special for all us Luces. We've lost a few very special characters from our "route" over the years...but there's plenty left....and we all had a good time for a couple of hours putting the world to right. We never really get together as neighbours.....maybe this will be the start of something more regular?

A very busy kitchen, and a big Thank You, it was lovely to see you all,  and an especially BIG Thank You  and just as importantly to all my 'willing' helpers.... sandwich makers, drinks fixers, tea pourers, etc etc..... I just sat and chatted, actually pleased to be able to do that, as today has been a little difficult emotionally and physically.

I really thought that after the stomach had settled, movement would be so much easier, and generally life a little easier,  but my breathing has been so bad, all day. Simple movements leave me breathless, I've reluctantly upped the morphine, I have taken another tablet which helped two days ago, but don't seem to have worked much today. It took the best part of two hours to shower and dress......

Enough moaning... i really wanted to try and get out on the scooter, but we had a bit of an issue with the battery. It was fully charged but didn't retain the charge (or we turned off and shouldn't have done!) so wasn't good enough to use this afternoon, our fault, and I'm not sure I would have had the energy. 
Instead we put the wheelchair in the car and took the dogs and 'walked' around the green lanes in the middle of St Martin, ( safer and quieter than our lane). It was lovely to be in the fresh air.

Thank you family today for being understanding and tolerant... of Miss Grumpy...