Yea, mountain beavers got in our conversation when Catalina was here a few weekends ago. You probably never heard of them and actually no one that I know of has ever seen one. They are like little brothers to to Bigfoot in that regard. Anyway the point is that the rat that invaded our house could very well be a mountain beaver.
This was Catalina’s comment late last night after My Rebecca and I had the most beautiful dinner in the whole world.
“Felipe, it wasn’t a rat. It was a mountain beaver!” I cracked up, right? It was a great note to fall asleep on.
Supposed image of the mysterious rodent.
Wikipedia says that it has a range from British Columbia to California. I don’t know how they figure that out if no one has ever seen one. And the pic is there which is even more mysterious. They also call it the “mountain boomer” whatever that means. It’s not going to do that under my kitchen sink, is it?
Yea, here it is, life in the country, wild kingdom around every bend. Later if I survive, love, Felipe.x
On the deck for dinner.Roasted chicken thighs in lemon juice and olive oil with a couple of. sprigs of sage.Wild sunset at Raven Ranch.
Yea, My Rebecca was all stressed out after a long day of substitute teaching but it was such a beautiful evening that I’m pretty sure she is out of her tailspin. A little wine, me cooking dinner and a gorgeous sunset helped.
Late in the afternoon today I ran out of energy and came in out of the sun and did some cooking. Yesterday I had bought a bunch of chicken thighs and five pounds of burger meat. So, I got two meat loaves cranked out and some really yummy sage and lemon roast chicken. So, My Rebecca says, “Are you going to blog about dinner?”
So here I am blogging about the chicken dinner, right? And you see the pic. But she goes on to say to make sure to tell them that I did sockeye salmon two nights ago for Wiley and Hanna and then last night did pork medallions with baked potatoes, so you are just sort of playing catch up. Isn’t she cute.
I told her that we were having the most beautiful dinner of anybody in the whole world, which we were. Well you know, how could I leave and check everywhere to find out so I just went with it. We rose to the occasion.
OK, I don’t hardly ever blog in the evening but here I am. Walking tomorrow at 0900 if you not doing anything. Nighty night, love, Felipe.x
Time is flying, isn’t it? Crazy fast these days. In a couple of weeks we will be watching the fireworks again, one year gone by. I better be very grateful right, living on the edge as I do.
A couple of items came up that are worth mentioning. And if you have been around here for a while you will appreciate them more maybe. One I just found out yesterday was that one of my archery students from years ago was one of the pitchers on our championship baseball team. That’s our high school team that won State this year. Hurrah! So did I help him early on with my mentoring on accuracy? I’d like to think so.
And two, remember the guy from the opening minute of Phil’s Camino. He is the guy that was sitting by the side of the road drinking a beer and I came along and gave him the bit of information that the place where he was was a great place for hunting mushrooms. Well, he has been showing up again. He lives here someplace probably where there isn’t much sunshine so he comes out to enjoy it. Yea, maybe if I can catch up with him I can tell him he’s famous!
Hehe.
Well, it’s wild kingdom here again just when I am trying to write my blog. Just spotted a rat under the sink in the kitchen. That’s embarrassing! Just when I don’t need something extra to do, off to town for a handful of traps. That’s probably more than you want to know but it’s life in the country, continually beating the jungle back.
Well, time to get in gear. Hope your day goes well. Pray for strength. Love, Felipe.x.
Walking, walking, walking through life.Off on our talk about mentoring, so let’s review. One was the hundred dollar bill on the floor with the message, “Pay attention.” Two was the young McDonald’s employee distracted by the screaming women with the message, “Keep on task.”
Then after I got back to the bus stop with my hard earned milkshake I got the bus route, fare and time figured out. So, nothing to do but people watch. Most of the folks were kind of the standard bus riders doing everything quit efficiently compared to me but up comes this energetic man who starts picking up the all the scrap papers around the bus stop. He was picking them up and inspecting them and capturing them to put in the refuse container. Looking for something of value but cleaning up at the same time. The act labeled him as a “marginal” human being, not like us, right? I felt the need to walk toward him and say thank you for his efforts. He saluted me and was on his way leaving behind a better place. Hmm, who was mentoring who?
Flag Day today here is in the States. I am here at the ranch today working on firewood and the corn, always something for sure. Annie sent in this email that she got about this Thursday being World Tapas Day. Yea, major news.
So, that’s it mostly but for sadness over the Orlando attack which lies heavily around us. Hard to account for such viciousness. But we will pray on and live our lives.
Thank you for being here with us. Making the most of today loves, Felipe.x
Hello there Dearest Caminoheads!
Here is a quick update on the one and only Phil’s Camino, starring our fave pilgrim Felipe.
To date we have won 5 awards,
Best Short Documentary at Black Hills Film Festival
Honorable Mention at Myrtle Beach Film Festival
People’s Choice Audience Favorite Award at Julien Dubuque Film Festival
Special Jury Remi Award at Worldliest Houston,
and most recently (Saturday), a Special Jury Award at the deadCenter Film Festival in Oklahoma City, OK
What can I say, everybody LOVES Felipe!
We have a wonderful schedule coming up, screening next at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival in Palm Springs, CA on Wednesday June 22 at 10 AM, then Thursday June 23 at 11:30 AM in Nantucket as part of the Nantucket Film Festival, followed by screening on Saturday June 25 at 2 PM as part of the highly esteemed AFI Film Festival in Washington D.C. WOW! I am overjoyed to be able to share Phil’s Camino with so many people at so many wonderful film festivals around the country. My intention to have as many people as possible see this film is being fulfilled, one festival at a time! If you live in the Seattle area, stay tuned for big news coming SOON!
Of course, getting the film to all these festivals costs money, and I continue to fundraise. If you have already donated, thank you so much! Every donation allows us to cover the costs of submitting to festivals, creating the required copy of the film, sending it to them, printing publicity materials, and more. If you have already seen the film and know how powerful this message is, please consider donating so that another audience can experience the same powerful message and be inspired just as you were. Donations can be made through www.philscamino.com, or through our fiscal sponsor if you would like it to be tax deductible, https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/fiscal/profile?id=12789 or just email me directly at [email protected] if you would like to send a check to Everyday Camino Productions. We still can always use prayers, so please include Phil’s Camino in those, too. Allperfect.
There is more news coming, but that is all that I can share right now.
Pilgrims, and Caminoheads here in particular, have been so supportive of this film right from the start. I feel your support all the time, and your strength helps me make that one more phone call when I feel tired, send that extra email when it’s getting late, and generally keep moving this film forward. What an honor to walk this way with you all. THANK YOU!!!
Love love and more love-
Annie
Annie with last loot, ah award! (DC stands for Dead Center)
Annie O Neil
Producer/Director: Phil’s Camino www.philscamino.com
Co-producer and Pilgrim: Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago www.caminodocumentary.org
Author: Everyday Camino with Annie www.everydaycaminowithannie.com
Yesterday we were talking about the idea of mentoring being a lifestyle that takes place all the time and maybe in the least likely places. I had three little stories about things that I ran into on the way back from SF that I participated in that qualify for mentoring on the fly. Just to review, one was the story of the hundred dollar bill at the security line at the airport.
Two took place at the bus transfer station as I bused my way from the airport to the ferry dock. I realized that I didn’t have the exact change to ride the final leg of my bus journey so I decided to duck into the Mc Donald’s to grab a milk shake and maybe come out of there with some quarters. I’m in the line and I get up to the young man who is going to take my order when behind me two women start this extremely loud argument peppered with numerous mention of the f word. It has everyone’s attention but I’m not going there, who are they anyway to stand between me and my shake?
The young man who is about to get mentored is glued to the combatants, his body is facing me but his eyeballs are locked in at a 45 degree angle to the side. I wave my hand in front of his face and say the word milkshake. I say this again and finally get him. Keep on task man! In the end he gave me the wrong flavor but I went with it.
So, that was just quirky little story number two. Chances are we will never see those folks again as we mentor on the fly through the quirky stories of our lives but that’s apparently how it is supposed to be. And that doesn’t mean something significant didn’t happen though.
OK, that’s that, and on to reading Richard Rohr’s and Terry Hershey’s blogs and then a walk. Then maybe I will find the magic words to get my tractor to run. See you tomorrow, love on the fly, Felipe.x
Phil’s Camino – the Trail just keeps on a going. We had a nice walk and tapas today on a beautiful afternoon. We are doing our best to keep the Camino going in our hearts and minds.
So, we finished our 504th lap today logging in 444 km total. We are still on the Meseta, the wide open central plain of Spain, although near the end. Coming up is the town of Marsilla de las Mulas and beyond the city of Leon.
Catherine picked me up today and just delivered me back here to the ranch. Father Marc was awesome. Now that he is scheduled to move on to his next assignment we are all trying to savor him and his message.
Yesterday I had the thought to write about mentorship. You know that at the film festival that I was just at last weekend Phil’s Camino was in a group of documentary films called Cool Old Guys. I had the thought that all the all these guys, the subjects, were or had capability of being mentors. That was what was occurring to me and I was seeing mentorship in terms of being a life style or a full time job as opposed to something one does only with students between certain hours say. It is more about a headspace than about it being something that can be turned on and off.
Three “little” incidents happened on the way back from San Francisco last Tuesday that were very quirky and illustrate “on the fly” mentoring opportunities. Maybe I will do them one a day starting today. I just ran these by Catherine after church today in our tailgate theology session and she liked them so I will try them on you.
Number one occurred in Security at the Oakland Airport. I was in line with all my worldly possessions on the conveyor belt going through the x-Ray and my shoes are off and I am barefoot feeling really pretty little. I was just a celebrity and now what? So as I am feeling sorry for myself I look over at the next line which is parallel to mine about six feet away. And there on the deck is a folded up one hundred dollar bill. It is located between a guys’ stocking feet. So I get his attention and point down and he picks it up quickly. Now was that his bill? I will never know. But it wasn’t mine and the people ahead were under the watchful eye of the security folks so figuring something out like that wasn’t going to happen. I saw the guy twice after that but did I get a coffee out of the deal, no. Just an odd quirky thing, right? But it is interesting how a hundred dollars can heighten up an otherwise dull situation.
And what did that have to do with mentoring on the fly. Well, one of the components has to be that two people are in communication. And that happened and the rest happened very quickly. OK, we will cover more tomorrow, have to go and work on my tractor and meet with Sister Joyce after that. I am not quite to the swimmingly phase of my day today but am working on it. Thanks for showing up, love, Felipe.x
The blog slipped off the internet yesterday. This is what happens when I don’t pay my bills. But I think that I have things straighten out. We will be back to normal, whatever that is.
I am off to my beloved bible class in a few moments. I have missed a lot of sessions with my gallivanting around these days. I am seeing Sister Joyce on Sunday so maybe that will balance things out.
I had some thoughts on mentoring which maybe I can get back to today or maybe tomorrow. Hope that your day goes swimmingly well. If you could try and use swimmingly in your conversation today it would help us all out. Just an idea. So, glad to be in touch again, love, Felipe.x
On Wednesday at my appointment with Doc Gold, he informed me that we were starting on my 71st treatment. I know that he and I are proud of that. Proud that we are keeping one step ahead of things. And proud as in happy to be part of the team.
So, life goes on for us. It rains, the sun comes out, the corn grows. We are one step ahead of things that would drag us down as we smile and give thanks. All zen, all the time.
Here are some pics from the ranch. Pics of “ordinary Phil” back from the limelight. I love Raven Ranch and my close by backyard Camino. And I love growing corn, teaching archery lessons and having you visit.
My friend Bob coming to visit.Felipe watering the corn.Putting water on the corn and the weeds.Greg and Nicolette biked over to walk and take archery lesson.
