It’s the feast day of St James the Greater, our mentor, today.  He was one of the of the twelve apostles of which there was also James the Lesser by the way.  Yea, so this is his day of  the year, a day to celebrate St Jamesness.

Four years ago Kelly and I were in Madrid on our way to the start of the Camino Frances.  We didn’t run into any celebration but then we were busy and focused on figuring out the Spanish trains and buses.  But St James is the patron saint of the whole of Spain so it must have been going on all around us.

Steve – O sent a link to information on Wikipedia and here that is:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James,_son_of_Zebedee

Steve Watkins, Caminohead friend and author of Pilgrim Strong had a list of facts on FB yesterday.  Maybe I could find that and reprint it here:

1. James was one of the three disciples in Jesus’ “inner circle” along with his brother, John, and Peter.

2. James was believed the older of the two brothers. They were the sons of Zebedee and Jesus called them Sons of Thunder (boanerges). There is only speculation for the labeling.

3. Jesus first found James and John as they were fishing. He told them to cast their nets into the deep waters. “Come along and I will make you fishers of men,” he said.

4. With Peter and John, James was present at the Transfiguration of Jesus.

5. When the apostles were commissioned to spread the good news of the gospel, James spent some 40 years preaching and working in Spain, mostly across the Iberian peninsula. He is therefore known as Spain’s patron saint.

6. Beheaded by Herod, he was the first of the 12 apostles martyred, and it’s believed he lived 44 years beyond Christ’s crucifixion.

7. Artistically, he is often shown carrying a staff and a water gourd with a robe adorned by the scallop shell, all symbolic of pilgrimage.

8. The Way of St. James across Spain is walked by more pilgrims than any other route in the world aside from pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome, and perhaps Mecca.

Thank you Steve.

Here at Caminoheads blog we have a saying that maybe needs reviving since it is good and we haven’t used it in a while.  And that is SJA.  That stands for St James Again or Staint James Afoot.  This is what we used to say when some unexplained good thing happened on our daily camino.  It is an acknowledgment that St James is alive and well in our lives.  Yes, it is time for that.

Well, Happy St James Day to you all the world over!  Loves, Felipe.

Ah, like on the Meseta in Spain, the heat is forcing me to work earlier and earlier.  Maybe get an extra hour in the shade.  I was just out on my annual noxious weed patrol.  Need to get those guys off of the place before the wind borne seeds scatter everywhere.  But I never get them all and there seems to be enough left to restart the whole cycle the next year.   There is a lesson there I am sure.

My Rebecca’s post yesterday was enjoyable, wasn’t it?  She relaxed into the scene there at the lake and produced something very nice.  Just give her paper and a pen and a lake full of laughing kids and off she goes.

I on the other hand seem to have some obstacle or bother to spur me on.  While she was writing outside on the deck happily writing away I was a few feet away inside trying to write my daily post.  I was having a hard time.  Guess it was to nice there, right?  Nothing to push back against.  Give me a good problem and I am all over it but too nice and I’m lost.  It’s kind of being like a spritz cookie.  I get under pressure in that little tube and out I squirt in a beautiful star shape, no problem.

Ah, our hostess at the dinner that we attended later that day sent a nice message to me about the party.  Maybe I will quote her: “ Lucky to know you! I love sharing food to warm the soul.  Making a meal with my hands is my way of nourishing the people in my life. Everyone is welcome at my table, always room for one or two more. “   Now if that diesn’t have Camino hospitality written all over it, I’m not Felipe.  That was Perla and maybe I will post her pic too.  Thanks Perla.  Thanks Steve.

Well,  off I go.   Most of the effort these days is going into getting ready for the wedding that will be here in days.  Yup loves, Felipe.

Ah–the vastness, the depth of privilege fully realized through my five indulged senses.

〜 the squeals and cries, shouts and laughter, from children of all ages doing waterplay on this idyllic little lake. Kayaking, tubing, swimming, paddle boarding, rafting, and jumping off the bridge that is the gateway to this tiny island, right next to the sign that says No Diving No Swimming. And above the dogs barking and the boats motoring–is that Panpipes wafting on the breeze? No–it’s an ice cream mobile! Blasting a Brahms lullabye in double time. Wow. I am transported back in time.

〜 the warmth of the sun on my bare legs, but the cool of the breeze that puts a little riffle on the calm blue water.

〜 the lush greenness all around, the full height of summer flowering in purples, reds, violets, pinks, in well-tended elegant pots. The shy little sign saying “welcome to Enchanted Island”.

〜 the tenderness of the raspberry scones our hostess made for us, and later, savoring the meatloaf sandwich, potato chips and blueberries that we packed from home.

〜 the smell of wet dog. Not just any dog, but a dog almost exactly like our Sture, who is living in dog heaven here on this lake. He just goes swimming whenever he feels like it. Or just sits in the shallow water looking up at us. Then finds his ball and drops it in the lake for himself to fetch. He smells like the lake.

Just a lazy summer Saturday on the lake. Pure heaven.

(Thanks Rebecca for giving me a break today.  This is a wonderful tribute to our daycation.  And to Caminoheads, love you, Felipe.)

It is such a pleasure to be aware of God’s love for me and the grace that He showers on me to keep this ministry going in spite of the obstacles.  I am definitely not supposed to be here hanging around this long getting to do all the fun stuff that has come up.  It is a miracle for sure.  So happy that you are here to do it with me too.  That is a gift of the Camino to realize that we are so connected.

We did a lot of talking yesterday with Caminoheads and other great citizens of the area.  We were out on the road to connect and recreate.  My Rebecca called our daycation highly successful.  Yes, I will second that even though there were travel glitches but aren’t there always to some extent.  We missed the last boat from Tacoma and had to hightail it up to Seattle to cross there on the midnight ferry.  But yea, stuff happens.

We are walking at four this afternoon and tapas afterward if you are in the vicinity.  I was going to say if you are in the neighborhood but you are already in the neighborhood if you are reading this.  That is a miracle too that we have this website where we gather to “figure things out” and we do occasionally.

Later loves, Felipe.

Monday 0900-1000

Tuesday 1600-1700

Thursday 0900-1000

Sunday 1600-1700

Stop by.  No need to RSVP for these times.  Felipe.

I don’t know the cat’s name but it seems fascinated by my rosary as it dangles from my hand.  That’s a new one for me.   My Rebecca and I are out on our monthly daycation.  Right now we are enjoying the hospitality of a fellow pilgrim Judi who lives on Spanaway Lake close by.  It is a sunny afternoon and kids and dogs are playing in the water in front of her house.  A beautiful spot from which to write to you.

There is a little sign close by, “You Never Know How Many Friends You Have Until You Have A Lake House”.   Well, there you go Judi, we’re here for you.  And we are going off to an old friend of Rebecca’s a few miles down the road for Spanish food this evening.  One good thing after another.

I am just going to take a little nap here in a minute my battery is low.  Hope that you are enjoying your weekend, maybe find a cat to say your rosary with.  Love, Felipe.

I was driving on the Island the other day and saw a walker by the side of the road that was walking the same way as I was going so I couldn’t see her face by I knew who she was.  Something was different today though.  For years now seeing her movement was always like a soldier on a forced march.  Today she looked so peaceful and relaxed as she ambled along, as in I am enjoying myself.  It made my whole day and no words were spoken.

Today driving to the hospital and saw a garden springing up on a unused little corner on First Hill in Seattle.  It wouldn’t be unused for long but for just right now there are rows and rows of green things reaching for the sun.  Not landscape but agriculture.  What a pleasant vision.  It is sticking with me.

Living here in the Northwest blue sky comes and goes.  I don’t know if you are going to get the full significance of this if you don’t live here.  It can be very rare at times of the year but when you see a small patch of blue sky it is beautiful.  It is beautiful in the sense of yes it still exists, not that it is over my very head but that could be possible.  The possibility of it is important, maybe tomorrow you say.

Or maybe it is the little flower in the crack in the sidewalk as you walk along that just randomly cheers you up.  It is nothing really in one sense and a miracle in another.

I remember climbing all those hills on the Camino and coming to the end of my ability at various places and I would rest there.  And I don’t know how many times my eyes would light on a heart rock there in the dirt as I wondered whether I could go on.  OK, OK, I can do this!

Just little stuff really all these things.  They will never be in history books.  They will never win awards.  But boy when they happen at the right moment they are priceless.  Just little thoughts here today.

Little loves, Felipe.

You know the main reason why I am writing all this, this four plus years, is the silence of my parents generation.  I am in rebellion.  They lived through numerous events and experiences that they thought would be a good idea to protect us from, my generation from.  It wasn’t like they, bless them, were malevolent or lazy.  It was the case that they in general didn’t have the words to sufficiently deal with it all.  That’s my take.

So, I say that no one learns anything when things aren’t talked about.  Maybe that is not exactly true as  young people are then free to draw conclusions but they may not match the reality of the situation.   At some point on my cancer journey I decided that it was way better talk about it than not.  And that benefit goes out to others and also returns to me.  It’s a two way deal.

Somehow in these 1600 plus blog posts exists a coherent message.  The blog has redundancy and all kind of foibles and shortcomings but it is out there in all it’s “funk and glory”.  It is out there and that’s is the best thing about it.  People with cancer can find things to buoy themselves up with.  People without cancer seem to be able to find things of value.  People with cancer and people without cancer being equal.  I don’t think that I have ever seen that written down before, that just popped out.  Well, we would think and hope that goes without saying but still.

The three C’s are important to us here right?  Cancer, Catholicism and Camino, the last time I checked.  I don’t really tend to talk of Catholicism as much as I should but I lean on it in a big way.  It supplies me with inspiration and connection that I frankly have not been about to find elsewhere.  People from it’s ranks have been immensely helpful to me.  I thank them sincerely.  I may not have written that before but there it is on post 1641.  This “C” could also have been Christianity but I, in the world of Felipe, don’t think that is as accurate given the situation.  This is all very personal.

Cancer in an individual creates a situation that is life changing and that calls for new and more powerful medicine.  Meeting this challenge also takes more than singularity.

And last but not least comes the Camino.   The Camino is the big limb of St James on the tree of God and the 1200 years of pilgrims that went before us late comers form the branches on that limb.  And we are hopeful little twigs on those branches.  And the leaves, flowers and fruit that are displayed on us the twigs in this time are our expressions.  Caminoheads blog is there along with millions of other expressions, wonderful expressions.  Beside being numerous they are varied and all beautifully crafted and well tended.  Can you see it all moving in the breeze?  The breeze is something important too.

twiggy loves, Felipe.

Yea, a certain glow, I like that.  Was just writing a reply to a comment and it was that  the blog here has a certain flow and a typo occurred that read, “the blog has a certain glow”.  Yes, why not, I can see that now!

And this morning has a certain glow.  It is a big morning as I am getting my results from my scan that I had yesterday.  Normally that would be anxiety producing but I feel strangely calm, almost as if I am looking down at myself from some peaceful place.

The whole day started when I woke up late and had twenty minutes to get ready to get out the door.  More than enough time for a Pilgrim or Marine, no problem, we know how to do that.

Just got my results from the scan and it is totally stable, no growth, no reduction.   In the old days they used to call this a Mexican standoff.  Everyone has their revolver pointed at someone else in the room and no one is blinking.  All the factors are balanced in a tentative equilibrium.  Almost sort of peaceful til you start thinking about it.

Today I brought my nurses some bunches of little bananas as a treat.  And just as I finished writing about the standoff one of them came sneaking in around the curtain pointing one of the bananas like a revolver.  About jumped out of my comfy chair.  Synchronicity breaking out here, too hilarious!

Later, love, Felipe.

One the first day of our Camino in Spain we were at Orrison and fifty eagles were circling overhead.  An omen?  This morning I am up and getting ready to get into Seattle and the hospital and my favorite CD fixed itself.  An omen?  Today is my scan day which is the worst part of the whole chemo experience.  A day when my killer tumors are inspected and measured.  Will it be good or bad?  And this CD appears which I haven’t played for a year maybe because it was skipping and I had tenderly put it away like you would bury an old friend.  But today not thinking much about it I put it in the player and miracle of miracles there was China Forbes singing away without a single warble.  An omen?  Is there always hope of a turn around, a fresh start?

We have a walk this afternoon and old friend Sherie is coming with her troupe.  We are doing a picnic and archery this evening.  It’s all Caminohead fun!

Well, I have to pack up and skedaddle to Seattle.  A beautiful day here.  Stay hydrated loves, Felipe.