Roan is a big goofy Irish Setter. He has been here walking Phil’s Camino with his human, Our Cynthia, for a month or so. He loves the trail and all the birds along the way. So Cynthia is off on a mission and Rowan is going to be with us here at the ranch for three weeks.

We haven’t had a dog in the house since Sture died at the Camino party over a year ago. This is good for us even though he takes up as much room as a small horse. So, we are figuring things out and accommodating at the moment as it is early on in the process.

I am counting on walking together with him as much as possible in between rain storms. We can wear each other out and get the cabin fever cobwebs shook out in the fresh air. We all know what cabin fever is, don’t we?

Well, maybe the best thing is that I will be able to practice my animal communications. I took that class with the horses back in the fall but haven’t been doing much till Roan came along. So yea, time to do this.

Thinking of all the commotion on the East Coast with the big snow storm happening. I guess the rain and a wet dog don’t look so bad. The best to you, love, Felipe.

Our Jennifer and I one day we’re perusing a second hand store in West Seattle taking up time before the next ferry and there on a shelf waiting for me was Dr Wayne Dyer’s book “The Power Of Intention”. He died sometime last year and that put him in the news and maybe why I was curious to pick it up and say hello.

I’ve been reading away on it since before Christmas. He is a very good explainer or at least he is very persistent and explains a few things to death over and over again till guys like me say oh or oh yea. This isn’t really a book report so you will have to read some Dr Wayne on your own to pick up on his thread. Or maybe you are familiar with him, so much the better.

But the important part for us today is what I read last night and have been chewing on, gnawing on really. It was about making peace with one’s past. How to see our earthly history as something with a certain sense is what he was getting after. I can’t go into this wholly because it would take the foundation of his book to get there but suffice it to say this is an important quest and a part to the puzzle to find or create.

In one of the film clips for the Phil’s Camino documentary, I was talking about the difference between being healed and being cured. I got started on that thinking by Dr Robert Barnes just to credit him. But I was talking about healing being reconciled with God, our families and the bigger picture. Well that bigger picture is a big grab bag, right? And one of the important things in there is getting right with what has happened to us.

I am thinking that this has to be done one way or another. Can I tackle this and make it happen for myself? Can I forgive and forget? Can I be forgiven and forgotten? Can I concentrate on the Way or the big picture and perhaps see my past as crossing the river jumping quickly from one rock to another making those decisions quickly and with faith and nimbleness?

OK, enough to gnaw on for now. Peace to you teachers, Dr Barnes and Dr Wayne. And peace to you my readers. Love again, Felipe.

We will take it! Anytime we can see a shadow is Seattle it is a blessing. Well, it is kind of a hint of a shadow. It is a break from the ubiquitous overcast sky.

I’m hooked up to my chemicals and Our Jennifer is off to a meeting. Dr Gold gave her a two week break so she could gain her strength back. Then she is going to get a new med to see if she can’t make some more progress. Glad that is over for her today. One thing at a time and don’t get overwhelmed, is the name of the game for us.

Here I am on Thursday morning and have a walk in half an hour. We had a challenging day yeaterday but we are marching on. We have some practice getting through the sticky wickets so all in a day’s work.

Our Jennifer asked me to talk to her tumors so I have been working on that. This is in regard to my new meditation where I meet with my tumors. It sounded a little strange to me at the time but I am onboard with the idea and am giving it my best shot. It is a form of prayer and that doesn’t have a problem with time or space. So, I have started on that project. I am working that in to my wish to get Mother Mary involved with me, with us.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers. They are all important to us and buoy us up continually. You are important to us, you are our magic carpet ride. Thank you to our family of docs and nurses at Swedish Cancer Center. Thank you to our families and friends who check in on us and inspire us. Thanks to my church and the Bible Guys who are there for me, for us. Thanks to all my Camino buddies near and far, you guys glow in the dark! Miss all of you immensely. Love, Felipe.

Been busy in the early morning wakeful moments bringing peace to the battlefield that is my body. Around four I was in my meditation position and invited the spirit of Mother Mary to be with me and my turmoil. Is there a way through this mess? Hmm. Not too long ago I came across a little card that had “Mary the untier of knots.” Mary would help in your knotty life was the idea.

Yes, well I am there certainly. And thinking back to a place I was five years ago when I was searching for comfort which I felt was in short supply on the Protestant side of Christianity. Mary was drawing me across that wide Protestant/Catholic divide. OK, so I’m here on the Catholic side of things now, how can I get closer to Mary and that comfort that would be so welcomed? So, I have been busy working on that. That would be a good one to bring up with Sister Joyce at our next meeting.

And then Our Jennifer is off to the hospital today to get a scan. And tomorrow we both are back for consultation and treatment. Prayers for us please and especially for my Cancer Commando partner during this anxiety producing time. Mother Mary be with us, let us rest in your lap.

Been busy with my Bible Guys also. Two things are going on that are dovetailed together in a nice way. One, I have to lead the lesson for this Saturday morning’s class and two, I am working with our latest member getting him help on how to give a lesson. Philip (I’m Phil and he is Philip) is coming over to the ranch tonight for dinner then we are going to work on this afterwards for an hour or two. I will show him one way to prepare anyway. So, it is always benefical for me to give a lesson because I learn more that way. And now giving a lesson on how to give a lesson is also greatly helpful to me in a slightly different manner.

OK, I have to wrap this up and get to my day which looks like I will be here at the ranch playing catch up with projects that maybe should have been done last month. Projects needing attention as cleaning the chimney, cleaning the gutters and squirrel proofing my bird feeders on the Camino. I have been reading lately about how I should feel complete in my incompleteness. I’m busy with that too.

Alperfect in an very incomplete way, but very love, Felipe.

I just lifted this from Terry’s Sabbath Moments but of course he lifted it also. But just wanted to say that he had a get blogpost today about things MLK, so check it out.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen
St. Francis of Assisi

I love this guy. He is St Dominic of the Pavement. This is an actual historic figure and also the name of a town that we reached today on Phil’s Camino. It is between Logrono and Burgos, closer to Burgos.

Saint Dominic is called the first engineer of the Camino. This was eleventh century when he made trails and bridges to help the pilgrims. Before that people walking filtered across the landscape and were easy pickings for the robbers. Being on a trail meant that there could have been safety in numbers. And he added bridges on top of that.

The church there is known for the live chickens that are inside the church proper. They are a reminder of the miracle that saved a young man’s life. As,the story goes a young man was traveling on pilgrimage with his parents and they stopped at the town where Dominic was. The young man became involved with a young lady of the town. He apparently promised her this and that and then tried to get down the road. She in the meantime hid some of the church’s silverware in his duffel and alerted the authorities. In short order the young man is arrested, jailed and up for hanging.

In steps Dominic who goes to talk with the local magistrate in charge of the case. Dominic arrives as dinner is being served. The magistrate is perturbed and after having to listen to the pleas says something like,”If the man is innocent that rooster on the platter will get up and crow.” and that is exactly what happened. The young man was set free and Dominic eventually went on to sainthood.

I’m sure Brierley has a much better explanation of all this. Thanks for being here. We are regrouping after the Seahawks loss yesterday. Sunny day today so far which is doing wonders for my winter’s blues. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. I’m sure that is all happening.

Only the best to you, love, Felipe.

On Phil’s Camino here on Vashon Island we will be walking this afternoon and will get close to Santo Domingo de la Calzada. We will be in sight of the church with the chickens inside in honor of St Dominic. Maybe I can blog on him tomorrow.

Our current walking schedule is:

Monday 0900-1000
Tuesday 1530-1630
Thursday 0900-1000
Sunday 1530-1630

Come over and walk and talk with us. Rubber boots and rain jacket are in fashion.

Felipe.

I am looking for some quiet to get this blog post done before the Seahawks playoff game at 1000. Seattle and we here are nuts with excitement. We are playing the Carolina Panthers who are undefeated this season. These guys are standing in the way of our path to the Super Bowl. They have to go.

Just got back from Mass with Our Catherine. I love going to Mass with her. And we tend to sit in a certain section of the pews as most folks do. In this section also in a little girl maybe three years old that comes with her young parents. The youngster is gorgeous but a total handful. She is just so avid about everything church. She wants to do it all and with great spirit. I love it.

It reminds me of going to Mass with my Mom as a youngster. Of course I had little idea about what was going on but I loved trying. Kneeing, sitting, standing, kneeing; I thought it was a form of exercise. I was keen to be the fastest at it.

Anyway, I see in the bulletin today that there will be a Mass later this month with the kid’s doing different jobs that the adults normally do and that’s’ called Children’s Liturgy. I am going to try and get My Rebecca to go. She has been substituting lately at the school and working with a bunch of the younger Mexican kids. She will probably see some there.

Yea, our children, in a big sense, I have turned the world over to them. They will manage just fine and I have great faith in them to carry on. If I can be of help to them I will be.

Yup, getting geared up for our treatment week coming up. Our Jennifer has a scan on Tuesday. And it is my turn to whip up a picnic lunch for Wednesday. Our cancer hobby will be front and center this week, a time for Commandos to get tough.

Go Hawks, Go Big Loves, Felipe.

OK, the truth is that we watched that darned “Galaxy Quest” two nights in a row. There I said it. And we laughed just as much the second time around. Our Jennifer was here and she can vouch for that.

And she said some interesting things about the actors in the movie. One was how they grew into there characters as time went on. And she said, “Isn’t that what we are doing?” Well, like fleshing ourselves out or being more ourselves. OK, we are doing that I guess, never sort of thought of it like that.

Wiley just said that the movie was more than funny. Yea, again stuff is going on beyond the comedy. Well, maybe we don’t appreciate the comedy in our own lives enough. Something to be said about not taking our selves too seriously.

Keep it light, love, Felipe.

We were small but mighty. My Rebecca rigged up a comedy evening last minute. Martha her genealogy buddy, my Mass buddy, came and Wiley was around for part but we filled the area with happy expression.

This is one of the funniest deals ever and I had never heard of it before. Maybe someone mentioned it on FaceBook. But “Galaxy Quest” with Tim Allen as Commander and S_______ Weaver as the buxom blonde. It has to be some takeoff on Star Trek and then something got in the water. There is probably a bunch of it I didn’t get having never watched a single episode of Trek. Hilarious is an understatement.

So check it out when you get a spare moment maybe in between football games this weekend. But wait, I’m not done, we were laughing at the darn subtitles. And not to mention the great friendly aliens and scary monsters and super special effects, had it all. Did I mention the buxom blonde?

OK, have to went. Our Jennifer and I off to the Big City and the Big Box Store. More entertainment for us country mice. That’s it for today, laugh on, love, Felipe.