I am changing the way I am going to describe my Camino experience from now on. It wasn’t just a life changing experience it was as a matter of fact DEEPLY life changing. There is a big difference. It was not just a change in surface things or a change in the details of life but a deep down ground breaking radical change. Yea.

Lately Lovely Catalina and I have been working on her latest book which is about Caminoheads blog. It is a condensation of all the material into an inspirational book basically about walking in your backyard. But it is also about “fighting” cancer and the Catholic faith and other things all on my Swiss Army Knife of blogs. And we are beachcombing through the entire billion words to come up with the essence of it all. A chore which is actually taking a whole team of us. So, as we do this I am reliving the times that I am rereading. I wrote it all but some was so long ago it is like discovering a long lost friend to see it again.

Yea so, seeing all this material that I daily poured my heart out over I am struck now by the change in me that it represents. Well, maybe that should be deep change. And I am sure that you see that in yourself too. For this is not just my story but it has happened to others, not everyone but yes to many.

I worked over my foot doc Dr Le Bella on Wednesday giving him him
my latest song and dance about the Camino. He said that it was on his bucket list and maybe I just moved it up a few notches in priority. All in a days work. Yea.

off to the corn loves, 🌽Felipé🌽.

Yea, my feet feel so much better today just from the get go. I was so in need of some professional help. You know Felipé, he would have trudged on for another three hundred years grinning and bearing it. Have a walk in a few minutes and that will give me a better idea of what’s going on.

We have had some lobbying by some of our readers jockeying for positions since I mentioned the new position of official foot doc. Well, really it was one reader. And you know who you are. Years ago she brought a maxim to us that we have been living by since:

Fun first, Shenanigans Second
Safety Third (Always Third)

Well, we do need an Official Caminoheads Safety Officer. OK, OK, you are in Esther. Oops, wasn’t going to mention any names.

life walks on, Felipé.

You know Mary Margaret, Kelly and my old buddy from the Camino, she used to refer to her foot problems as her stigmata. It is a kind of Catholic joke which Catholics appreciate and they can make jokes like that. We can joke all day long and we did. But I digress.

So, today I went to Dr Matt Le Bella to check out my right foot which hasn’t been the same since since Spain. That is what I am calling my stigmata but since I only have one I really don’t know if stigmata is the right word, singular or plural. Anyway, he did his magic and eased my mind on the seriousness of my problem. He fixed me up with treatment, new insoles and product recommendations. He said I should come in every six months or year for a tune up. OK, which is cool because I got us talking about the Camino and I was there with him for over any hour. My favorite, gabbing away about our fav topic with someone new.

So, maybe I should make this guy the offical foot doc of Phil’s Camino. That would be quite the honor. He would be in the credits along with Padre Tomas our offical spiritual director and Catalina Barush being our offical historian. None of this pays very well but it would be great on the old resumé. I did bring up the fact that doctors along the Camino don’t charge pilgrims for working on their feet but he didn’t respond to that. I wasn’t hinting about anything was I?

it’s a wonderful life loves, Felipé.

Here we are coping with the pandemic in summertime of 2020. Which means that we realize the dangers and we have safeguards in place and with that we are walking again. We opened up when our governor opened parks and recreation areas. But we are maintaining distancing and wearing masks when that can’t be done.

Walkers have been trickling in with most folks staying home. But we are here walking on our same old schedule, no crowds.

Monday 0900-1000
Tuesday 1600-1700
Thursday 0900-1000
Sunday 1600-1700 (tapas after in good weather)

Also coming up this Sunday July 5th we will be opening up a simplified version of tapas in good weather only. It will be no frills and we will be sitting out on the grass in our circle of lawn chairs with plenty of distance between.

Other important items are this year in August, Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd we are having a small get together we are calling the Corntine🌽. God willing the sweet corn will be ripe and you could come and eat some here and take some home. We might walk and have a small glass of wine but no big party, just a chance to say hello and see each other. Just a quickie.

Then some dates have been set for 2021 for the next Veranda. Can we make it? And that is Friday August 20th through Monday August 23rd! That is here at the ranch of course and hopefully we will be blessed with less restrictions, corn 🌽 and good weather. So put that on your calendar.

just nuts and bolts and other details, love you, Felipé.

Let’s try to take a break from all the fighting. In this time of the pandemic everyone seems to have an axe to grind. Well, not everyone but too many anyway. Seems like it must be a way to gain control or something similar in a time of loss of control. Of course getting right down to it this being in control is largely an illusion. But living with that revelation takes time and getting used to.

Working together is the only way out of this situation. I think we all know that deep down. But we seem to have a long way to go to get this to the level of reality. Talk is one thing but doing is harder. There seems to be a lot of doing to be done.

Praying for ourselves and our family, neighborhood and world seem highly appropriate. We need help. All things begin here with us asking for help.

Keep in touch please. We can and we already know how to buoy each other up. We know how that works. We are veteran pilgrims. We have learned the lessons. We know…

off to walk loves, Felipé.

Boy, what a great time of anticipation for us in the rainy Northwest. We have maximum faith that summer will really come after all. There is an old joke that says that summer starts July 5th around here. Man, we have had our share of moisture and clouds. So any second now!

Catherine my Mass partner came today so we could have our worship service. We are doing great with this by the way. But “real” church calls and we will be there soon. Maybe we will have two more sessions here at the ranch and then try and go back. We both miss Communion which we can’t duplicate.

Each time that Catherine and I get together we work on a set of mysteries. To my knowledge there are four sets and today we were discussing the Luminous Mysteries which are my favorite. Forgive me if I talked about these before. They are forever new to me.

And in the corn news I did take some pics several days ago. And you all need a progress report as we approach the Fourth. The old adage of “knee high by the Fourth of July” is always in play. It is a special challenge this year here with all the rain and cold. Not as red hot as normal but we are close. It was boot high Friday and a week to go.

Maybe I will include a pic from last year because I am trying something new and you can see. Up to this year I was trying to keep the whole plot clear of weeds. Well that works to a certain point where it just gets overwhelming and I say good enough, “Corn you are on your own.” This year I seeded the whole plot with New Zealand White clover directly after the corn went in the ground. This was an attempt at forming a “green mulch”or living mat to keep the weeds down. So you will see what that looks like.

Well, I think that is it for a Sunday late in June in the time of the pandemic. Sincerely hope that you are holding up under the strain of all this these days. Thanks for checking in.

extremely corny loves, Felipé.

This is a story of recovery and reconciliation that occurred 50 years after one of the most horrendous periods in American history. In 1913 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania threw a reunion for any and all American Civil War veterans that wanted to attend. The Blue and the Grey came by the trainload from all over the States. It was termed a pilgrimage by some and that’s what I would call it for sure.

There are bunches of still photos and numerous motion picture clips available on UTube. This is an easy way to step back to an era that we may find hard to understand from here in the 21st century. It is a way to see an example of reconciliation at it’s best. We all adore President Lincoln and of course he was very concerned with joining our States back together after the fighting was over. Here is a vision of pilgrims that traveled a long way individually to join in this communal meeting, this ceremony of peace. It is truly amazing and tearful to view as we sit years and eras and ideas later.

But it is the same peace, the same restoration of relationship that is vital in whatever era, whatever place or in whatever universe. If these guys could pull this off then anything is possible for us and for our future. This is my belief.

https://youtu.be/LVgIFjwPGrw

others have been down this road before loves, Felipé.

William is here to do the Friday blog and I so appreciate him and all the Bureau Chiefs participating in this. He sends in many pics of his garden and his travels into the outdoors. You only see some of those because I wind up using many on various posts but nowhere near all. So I thank him.

Here are some of his pics that he just sent in from a hike with his wife Joan (please forgive me if I got that name wrong).

William CCBC

Woah, the 25th of June? Where did this month go? Anyway, back from my visit to the Institute in the big city. I was so exhausted last evening I just collapsed after dinner. Some visits are more stressful than others. But I’m rested up now and ready to go at it again!

So, two things were pluses yesterday. One I am up to 170 pounds, up from 167 at my last visit. Ok, pour on the Klondike Bars! So, that is good as I was worried about this. I am trying to get to 180 again.

And the scan results are back with only the very slightest of growth. Hoorah! Another scan in the books, so happy. I was reading of a woman’s cancer story in my David Brooks’ book Second Mountain the other day. And she was comparing scan results to Olympic medals. The gold is for shrinkage and the silver is for stable. And she said that there was no bronze but I beg to differ. I have a pile of bronzes, years worth. Oh, I’ve gotten a few golds and silvers now and then but I am a definite bronze guy which is God’s way of keeping me on the edge of my seat with my mortality awareness high. So, there is Doctor Gold’s and my interpretation of the situation.

Walking in a few minutes. People coming today to walk and people coming to help weed the corn. I am one lucky guy.

one lucky guy’s love, Felipé.

Yes, now is a time for a deep breath, resetting the systems occasionally. Refresh the workings of body, mind and soul, who have been in the trenches too long now. Let them out for a time where they can air out.

I saw the word “whooshing” this AM on FaceBook. Events, ideas and bits of information are whooshing by leaving us in the dust. We don’t have enough time for it all. Sometimes a particular facet of the situation will resonate with us and we respond but the overall volume of it all is well, overwhelming really.

Keeping centered and grounded are important endeavors as we claw our way through this year. Maybe it is time to seek some help from those we respect to smooth the way. For one I need a session with Father Tom our Padre Tomas. I will email him today. I need to “walk” with him for a while.

We are capable of figuring things out, we just need to work on it together. We personally are carrying our own personal piece of the puzzle. It really doesn’t make a lot of sense on it’s own, it needs neighbors to fit in with.

Well, I am off to the Institute later this morning, have a 1:45 check in. I will get tested so I can continue on the next three weeks of my clinical trial. And also I will get the results of my scan from last week. So, I will let you know about that.

I was going to pull a few weeds before having to shower and gear up for the city so off I go.

wishing for carefree loves, Felipé.