What We Have Been Doing

Last Wednesday Mum and Evs arrived safely into wartorn, oops I mean beautiful Guadeloupe! We had been concerned about whether their flight would be cancelled, the airport open, cars allowed in to collect them etc etc but all was fine, hurrah! We didn't have very much in the way of food (especially milk) but it has given the prayer "Give us this day our daily bread" a much more powerful meaning, and do you know what....God always provides!

As our movements have been restricted (barricades are still in place) we have enjoyed chilling out at home and in the local area, including swaying on the hammock on our balcony - is it just me, or does Mum look slightly ill at ease here?We have also been for a walk by the sea, showed our visitors the town centre (all one street of it!) and visited Pika a couple of times. Mum and Evs have been great keeping the children entertained (such patience!) and trying out all the local cuisine with great gusto. And of course, Evs has been relishing all the photo opportunities that have come her way. Her french is limited (we have heard an awful lot of "je ne comprends pas!") but she can perfectly comprehend Mamy and Papy pointing at her and the camera and themselves!
What with all these visitors hogging my computer, my online time has been limited (no bad thing!) and Bertie hasn't been able to watch the tv each evening (ditto!) So just to catch up on some pre-family arriving events....

I managed a chocolate spice cake for Bertie to celebrate St Valentine's - it tasted more like a pain d'epice and I wouldn't do it again but he (and the girls!) appreciated it all the same.

Papy has replaced his pig that went AWOL with two more who will hopefully stay put (especially given they cost €150 each!)The strike is still on - into week 5 now. In fact, as I was writing my post last Tuesday, I heard loud noises which turned out to be gunshots as the gendarmes and youth of the town met up at our local shopping centre. Since then, there has been a continuation of the unrest in certain areas but we are not particularly aware of it and our local Carrefour has reopened so we have food now, what a relief! Having said which, I have told Mum not to tell you all how well we have been eating off the land, or you might lose sympathy for us!

The French Government have made an offer but I don't think it has gone down very well so the strike is still officially on. This week is supposedly half term so we are waiting to see if the schools reopen next Monday. In the meantime the girls continue to enjoy playing at home - here is CassCass with her cousin.
I have managed a month of getting up early now and I would even more heartily recommend it to you all! (except those with 4 month old twins....) As the sun is rising earlier I am trying to bring back my wake up time accordingly with my eventual goal being 5am - can I do it?!

Hopefully I will be back soon to let you know about our Mardi Gras celebrations and our family trip to Port Louis & Petit Canal tomorrow.