You've Got Mail

Remember how exciting it used to be to get something in the mail, besides bills and flyers?  It doesn't matter how far technology advances, getting actual physical mail beats out anything electronic any day of the year.  It was a good week for me at the mailbox.

First up, a card (yes, a real physical card) from a friend containing two fantastically thoughtful gifts.  Number one was a metal luggage tag complete with photos commemorating my Camino.  The reason I can actually photograph the back and front at the same time is because I actually got two.  Fearing the first lost in the mail, the company she ordered it from reissued it and lo and behold, Canada Post came through with both.  Now I have one for my suitcase and one for my backpack.

Thoughtful gift number two was a bookmark.  To a book lover, nothing beats a cool, new bookmark (other than a book, of course.)  This one came all the way from the U. K. and lists 50 of the Best Horror Novels. It opens and has magnets on the inside so it can clip to your page.  The 50 books are listed front, inside, and back.  I've only read 10 on the list so apparently I have some reading to do.  Look for more horror entries into my Book Reviews.  I'll be sure to tag the ones from the list.


The second piece of mail came from The Giving Keys in Los Angeles, California courtesy of my kid down under.  Here's the background: The Giving Keys repurposes old keys into pendants (and other stuff).  You chose the word you want stamped on your key, words like Believe, or Create, or Hope.  Before she went away the kid got one for herself.  She chose the word Courage.  Now here's the deal, this is what it says on their card...Pay It Forward. When you get this key you must give it away at some point to a person you feel needs the message.  Then blog your story at:  TheGivingKeys.com.  We employ those who are transitioning out of homelessness.  It's win win all around.  Check them out.

The word my kid chose to put on the key she gave to me?  Strength.

Sometimes it takes a little time, a lot of distance, and a key to find out what your kid thinks of you.

Book Reviews:  Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher is a YA novel about a girl who commits suicide.  I didn't expect to have the reaction I did to this book and I'm not sure it was the one the author was after.  Before committing suicide a girl sends a set of cassette tapes to the first person on her list that she blamed for contributing to her decision.  Each person must then forward them on to the next person.  If they don't, she has entrusted a second set to someone to have them made public.  Hopefully I won't be giving too much away to say the reaction I had was anger -- at the girl who killed herself.  I would be very curious to find out how someone in the target age group responded to this novel.

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman was set just after the first world war at a lighthouse station on an island west of Australia.  This was our book club selection for May and I give it a ten out of ten and two thumbs up.  I had empathy for every single one of the characters even if I didn't agree with their actions or choices.  And for those of you (and you know who you are!) who like their books neatly wrapped up at the end, this one is delivered to you with a great big bow on it!

Not that I've ever watched it, but I would equate reading Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty to watching an episode of The Real Housewives of Wherever. But I have to admit, it was such a guilty pleasure.  Loved the characters. Loved the little snippets from the minor players that ended each chapter. The book did deal with some heavy themes -- rape, domestic abuse, infidelity -- but there was also an edge of humour in some of those previously mentioned snippets.  What can I say?  I liked it.  And oh yeah, it's a murder mystery.

A Wise Investment

So what's up next for the Green Jar?  Before the Camino, that was the only thing on my "Bucket List." But crossing that one off has apparently opened the flood gates.  I have so many 'wanna do's' and 'gotta do's' and 'would love to do's' on my list that I'm either going to have to rob a bank or win a lottery. Instead, I'm investing in shit.  Literally.  And it's a sad use of good travel money.

Here's what's happening...

My house is about 37, 38 years old.  Home ownership is all about upkeep. And nothing lasts forever.  Things break down, need repairing or replacing.  I started with my trees.  The cedars I planted to replace a fallen fir did not grow into the cedar hedge I was promised.  They're frigging behemoths and had gradually gone from shade for the back deck to overtaking said deck. They needed thinning and my fir trees needed a little limbing up away from the house.  Not a job I could do myself.  Hire tree guy.  Cha Ching.

Next up, the fence.  It was put up when I bought the house 24 years ago.  It's one of those cedar plank things with the lattice top.  Twenty four years is a good run for a fence but it's end has come.  Actually the end came a couple of years ago but I tend to put these things off.  But I could no longer ignore the fact that it was falling to pieces.  I'm pretty sure I can save a few bucks doing it myself.  And it's amazing what you can accomplish with a hammer and a couple of screwdrivers.  Fence down.  I'm only replacing some of it -- the part surrounding the deck and the part between me and one of my neighbours.  You know what they say about fences making good neighbours.  Well in this case it'll take a little more than a fence but for now it's all I got.  I bought new panels -- Cha Ching -- and they've been drying out in the garage for a couple of weeks.  Today I started staining them.  There are fourteen panels.  It takes an hour to stain one side.  You do the math.  Four hours later, two down...

And here's where we get to the shitty part.  I tried -- I really did try -- to ignore that growing wet spot in my yard that started last year.  But it had to be done.  I called in a guy with a bobcat to dig.  Please, please, please, oh please tell me there's only a broken pipe in my septic system. What's that?  No broken pipe?  My entire septic field has out lived its usefulness and needs to be replaced?  What do you mean there are new rules?  Having the tanks under the garage is not allowed anymore?  I have to replace them too if I ever plan to sell the house? And with that Bobcat Guy filled in the massive hole in the yard and with a wave and dollar signs in his eyes told me he'd see me in August or September when the ground dried out.  Cha Ching.

Shit.


Book Review:  If you picked up a book called The Enchanted with golden horses on the cover what kind of book would you expect to be reading? Something fantasy?  Would you expect the story to take place on death row in some horribly run down prison?  Yeah, me neither, although I probably knew that from reading reviews back when I ordered the book from my library many months ago and just plain forgot.  Thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully written novel by Rene Denfeld and I really have no idea why.  The scenes of prison rapes and the violent crimes that put the prisoners there were hinted at but never described in any detail.  I think that made it a little more horrifying.  Not that this was a horrifying novel.  Quite the contrary.  It's kind of hard to explain.  But this is a recommended read.

A Few Final Thoughts

The only regret I now have about my Camino is that I did not take an iPad with me to blog as I went. Contrary to what I was told, the wifi was amazing, even in the smallest of towns.  Especially in the smallest of towns.  There were only a handful of places where it was non-existent and they were usually at the higher elevations.  Note to self:  do not take advice from technologically challenged people -- yeah, you know who you are!  So it's time to wrap up my post-Camino reports.  Oh I may throw the odd one out there if circumstances warrant it, but for now here are a few final thoughts.

Eating on the Camino was definitely not one of the highlights.  Oh I'm sure there is some fabulous cuisine to be had in Spain.  Just not on The Way.  As in most European countries locals eat late.  'Real' restaurants open about 9:00; albergues have a 10:00 curfew.  The two don't jive.  So most places, especially the small towns with one place to eat, offer a pilgrim menu.  And let me tell you, some of those meals put the "grim" in "pilgrim."  But the price was right, typically about 9E for a starter, main course, dessert, plus wine or water.  And by wine I mean 1/2 bottle per person.  Most times the starter was a choice between a mixed salad or a pasta in some kind of weak tomato sauce.  Main was usually roast chicken, pork chops, or fish.  Served with fries.  Every time.  Every single time.  Dessert -- fruit (an apple), yogurt, or ice cream.  The kind in the little plastic cup that used to come with a flat wooden spoon.  You ate to fill a hole and to load up on carbs.  But every now and then you'd hit on something different.

This dessert came at the end of a pretty decent 6E pilgrim meal and it was even better than it looked.  Thin layers of real chocolate in between vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.  I'm drooling just writing this....

And then there was the drink...the wine, the beer, the brandy.  I consumed some mighty fine red wines and some of the biggest, cheapest, coldest mugs of beer on the planet.  But it was the jug of Sangria at a small, private albergue in Sansol that stands out in my mind. The bartender made it on the spot:  red wine, fresh cut fruit, orange Fanta, and, what I'm sure was the key ingredient that made it stand out from any other sangria I've ever tasted -- Cointreau!  That it came at the end of a very hot, long day of walking enhanced the taste I'm sure.  That I got to drink it while soaking my feet in a brilliantly cold foot pool, well, that's just heaven on earth.

Did I lose any weight on this journey?  The scale said no.  Mind you there were two weeks of eating, drinking, and not walking 30 km/day in Italy tacked on to the end.  But my clothes said yes.  I could take my shorts off at the end without having to undo them.  I'm kind of happy I didn't come home ten pounds lighter because there would be no way to sustain that.  As much as I enjoy walking, in the real world I just don't have time to walk six or seven hours every day.  But I sure do miss my more toned Camino body.

I had every intention of writing a book about my experience when I returned home.  But it's not going to happen.  I went alone because it was a personal journey.  The best part of the journey, the absolute very best part, was all of the people that I met.  Some I walked with for a few days, some just a few hours.  But I found the people I was meant to be with and we covered much of the journey together.  So the Camino is not my story alone to tell.  As I would never post their photos without their permission, nor would I tell their tales.  So other than the few tidbits that I do share, the journey will remain very much personal.

Did I have any great epiphanies as I walked?  Well, I learned that I don't know the lyrics to very many songs.  Many people walk the Camino while they consider life changing decisions.  I think the big thing I came away with was this:  I've got my shit together and my life is pretty damn good.  You can't ask for more than that.

Unless it's a hamburger the size of your head.  Or a fountain that dispenses wine as well as water.

To all who follow, I wish you a Buen Camino.  May the sunrise always be at your back.

    

Because if it's not, you're going the wrong way.


Book Reviews:  I picked A Sudden Light by Garth Stein because I totally loved his previous novel The Art of Racing in the Rain.  This one, not so much.  A tale of family redemption wrapped in a ghost story.  I'm not a fan of books that impart huge chunks of info during dream sequences.  It was just a so-so read for me.

Laline Paull must have done a huge amount of research to write The Bees, a fictionalized account of life in a beehive.  Her depiction of their actions and behaviours was fascinating.  I'll never be able to look at bees again in the same way, or wasps and spiders for that matter.  Well done.