Life's illusions I recall

Mmm...I give thanks for the way the shafts of evening light make it over the terrace rooftops to gild the upper leaves of a garden tree, and the pretty pastel sunsets we're getting, reflected somewhat on the sea. I'm grateful I found a way to avoid those contentious plural forms of the word for the pointy bit on top of houses!

I'm grateful for a busy and productive start to the day and for an unscheduled but obviously necessary sleep this afternoon. Plan now is to stay awake for tea and TV and a bath and then more of the same...I'm still more tired than is useful for even my low key everyday life! I'm grateful for the feel of sun on my skin and the sight of the sparkly sea from the beach at lunchtime...and that this time last week I was experiencing something similar somewhere else! 

I'm grateful for canvas shoes you can clean with a scrubbing brush and washing up liquid and to Laura for helping me with some other jobs involving a drill, screw drivers and ladders - tools I struggle with these days.

Recently I've been feeling the after effects of a bit of deception in my personal life. I try to be open hearted, open minded and open handed and it's hard not to be hurt when people take what feels like excessive advantage of this. But I'm aware that the pain comes mostly from wounded pride and I'm grateful for understanding that pride is no more use to your personal development than perfidity, whilst responding to callousness with kindness is probably more helpful to both parties than responding in kind. And I give thanks for the bit where I fell for the illusion We always enjoy that part, don't we? When we feel some good fortune or bounty has come our way. But it's all illusion, the winning, the losing, the sunsets too...and that any of it matters in the end. I wonder though: people who take the whatsit...don't they just end up with more whatsit? Having been through the urological treadmill it's not a state I envy...

Not the end of the world

This is the view from Brittany's equivalent of Land's End. Actually, technically it's not as it was too hazy with sea fog on the Pointe du Raz so this is the slightly shorter headland just north of it, Pointe du Van. I'm grateful to the Bretons for not burdening their beauty spots with burger bars and theme parks but I give thanks for all the lizards we saw basking on the dry stone carpark walls! I'm grateful for all my wonderful memories of my week away making all the aching and exhaustion I'm feeling now seem so much more worthwhile...and that I don't have much that I absolutely must do for the next few days.

In a way I'm grateful the substance abusers and their friends have removed the downstairs door lock as it means the Tesco delivery drivers can bring me my order without me going down to let them in. (Yes of course there's other ways of looking at the situation but it's a gratitude blog remember?) And I give thanks for all the yummy things I have to eat especially fresh vegetables and Yeo Valley lemon curd yoghurt!

I'm grateful to Jenny for sending me a postcard from the Philippines...what a kind thought! And I give thanks for this inspiring story of a Brazilian man who has lived in hospital for 45 years. There's a lot you can do even when you can't do much!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23364127

I also give thanks in anticipation of uploading this post from my laptop. The new 'improved' Blogger app and I have yet to come to an agreement as to what exactly its improvement on the previous version may be...certainly not reliable functionality on my phone, which would seem to be the purpose to me. Never mind, it's not the...oh, I said that already didn't I?

Home and dry

I'm grateful for an early night last night and a long lie in this morning. For my own bedroom and bathroom again. For the fresh washed feel in the air after rain. For deciding it was time I got off my proverbial and went out on my own two feet (a bit of a shock to the system after being chauffeured and chaperoned around) and a sunny gap in the clouds to sit out on the sea front drinking tea and eating cake. For the rain on the way home - lovely to be out in the rain when it's not cold and you have a dry place to go to. For being home before the fight on the landing. For it all being quiet again now. For the smell of jacket potato. It smells a very done jacket potato - I must away and stuff it with cheese and beans. I'm grateful for those too!

Bushed

I give thanks for another quiet day lolling around as much as possible. For my flat which seems even more pretty and comfortable set against the current chaos of the communal areas, for the green and pleasant scenes from my windows and sight of the sea. For catching glimpses between the leaves of the rescue helicopter doing a display for the local regatta. For the rain and wind making me feel like staying indoors is a fine idea...

For my new camera doing its job so well when I was away. I finally got round to uploading the photos this afternoon and though I've yet to sort through them out this zoomy view of one of the bays near Roscoff through an opening in a polytunnel caught my eye and I thought you might enjoy it too...

I'm grateful to the new improved voucher and coupon system for Tesco on line shopping which shows you which offers you have qualified for and lets you tick a box to say 'yes please' - much simpler even than copying and pasting... and to Laura for bringing the rest of my things round and for clearly being almost as tired as me!

Crock chick

They say a change is as good as a rest, and I've been very grateful for the change but am giving much thanks for rest today. I cannot keep up an active pace for long even for pleasant activities and after all that exploring the French countryside exploring contours of the sofa, the view inside my eyelids etc has been most welcome today. I give thanks for a freezer of food to feed me, a washing machine to share the load of laundry and that my houseplants have survived the indoor drought.

As we got home so late last night many possessions are still with Laura so gratitude I've only had half the unpacking too...including cheap and very cheerful china from a second hand stall in a street market we passed on the way north to the ferry. We also stopped off at place with almost house size boulders, a glorious garden of sub tropical plants and flowers and a landscape that seemed to be from another country entirely (New Zealand maybe?). I'm grateful for another bumper harvest of experience stored in my memory... and memory card too, I hope, though that's more sorting out that will have to wait until I've rested some more. I give thanks in anticipation for a bowl of soup for supper...

Late post

I'm grateful this is the last day of my holiday...I need a rest before I have another grand day out! It's been wonderful not to have to be caught up in the usual round of chores and to have that energy to use for more pleasant pastimes but doing nice things is tiring too and fitter people than I are beginning to become somewhat zombified from all the travel, action and interaction. As the numbers decrease the nights are getting earlier and the mornings later and pajamas seen more in between!

I give huge thanks to Laura for all the driving, and to Chris for organising the accommodation side of this budget break.

I give thanks that, though protesting, my joints have held out and that I've managed to attend those matters that others don't have to deal without too much difficulty...

I give thanks to Roxy for rescuing my post and to Jo for trying to water my plants even though she didn't manage to do so... I give thanks to the clouds for thickening overnight and saving all our skins...

Ooooh and writing this this morning to save time later (and to wake me up a bit as I'm sooo sleepy)...I give thanks to Laura for also bringing me a cup of tea in bed! What a treat!

Later, much later: I wrote the above and then time ran out to upload, so can now add thanks for a wonderful day and safe journey home in just enough time to log on and post it!

Seeing red

I give thanks for finding ourselves when we got a bit lost on the roads this morning...and  for all the pretty places we found ourselves in along the way...

Even more so for not getting lost at all on the way home though taking a more daring cross country route!

For the stunning views we saw of countryside,headlands and beaches...and from headlands and beaches too. For the countless bright sails against the rolling grey stripe of fog on the sea and delicious crepes fresh cooked at a tiny cafe beside path to the heather hummocked cliff

For not being the only one caught out by mist and brisk breezes and being more red than intended this evening when we got home. Hardly any need for lights on tonight we're all glowing so brightly!

For soothing lavender oil!