The Final Countdown Commences
One week from today, we will be in Spain. Yowza! It’s odd, this countdown being the same as the countdown to Easter. It seems to give both things an even greater urgency, as if that were even possible. Since we volunteer in our parish, this week – Holy Week – is already pretty busy. Now add to that the fact […]
» Read morePilgrims’ Blessing
This evening at the end of the Vigil Mass for Palm Sunday, our pastor imparted to us the traditional Pilgrims’ Blessing. The specific rite was originally recorded in the Missal of Vich Cathedral in Barcelona, and is thought to date to about the year 1078. We are very grateful to Fr. Wichert, our pastor, for imparting this ancient blessing to […]
» Read moreYuck… and Less than Two Weeks to Go!
There has not been a lot of training this week. In fact, I have not left the house since Sunday. I get migraines a couple of times a year. Normally, I can spot the symptoms of a developing migraine and “head it off at the pass” with hydration and Excedrin. On Saturday afternoon, however, I did not spot the symptoms […]
» Read moreApologies
My hosting provider has been wildly unreliable for the past 24 hours, with the site going down intermittently sometimes for hours at a time. As they keep telling me, “we are really sorry for the inconvenience”. Even making this post has been an exercise in patience as the site keeps going down. At this time there is no indication of […]
» Read moreSlowly, Slowly
On the beautiful, sun-shiny Saturday just past, Francine and I walked 18 kilometers. I’m still a little achy! Francine’s foot was bothering her, and she very nearly called it quits at 4k. Instead, we slowed our pace down from 13-minute kilometers to 15-minute kilometers, and that made all the difference in the world. We still needed rest breaks every so […]
» Read more1055 days ago…
This post has been in edit for 1055 days. It was one week until my first Camino. I was in full on panic mode. Now that I am in full on panic mode being less than a week away from departure, I feel as though I’m not prepared. I understand that this is a normal pre-Camino stage. I’m mainly concerned […]
» Read moreFirst Sello of 2016
Every pilgrim carries a credencial to identify him or her as a legitimate pilgrim. They are issued by various Confraternities of Saint James, and you can also get them at Cathedrals and other places along the Way. All pilgrim albergues and refugios require that you have a credencial in order to stay there. You get it stamped at least twice […]
» Read moreDon’t Let the House Fall Down While We’re Gone…
The countdown has begun. It won’t be long before Thom and I take off for our next Camino. His job is to keep all the travel bits on track. My job is to make sure the house doesn’t fall down while we’re gone. There will be house sitters, auto-bill pays (so the lights don’t go out), and neighborhood watchers. We’re […]
» Read moreJournal
A conversation about journaling comes round on the Camino forums every so often – what do you use, how do you do it, and so forth. Rather than ramble there on scattered threads, I thought it might be better to ramble here, where at least my ramblings have the virtue of being together in one place. To be brief: I […]
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