I am home!  I landed a few days ago and am happily settling in.  I am filled with praise for the amazing gang here who run this show while I get to go commune with the spirits of places around and about.  Special thanks, from the newsletter perspective, to Andrew who so gracefully filled in for me here in this space.  He has a delightful written voice and it was great to know the newsletter was in such good hands. 

 

Yes, I had a fine time with lots of thinking and regrouping and more thinking.  And yes, I am happy to be home, surrounded by friends and mountains and moist, lush gardens and green, green, green.  It will take me some time to sort out my walk. 

 

Adam, our chef, and Scott, co-owner of Firefly Farms in Celo are joining forces on our first Dinner and Conversation of the season.  Scott and Elizabeth raise beef and grow lots of fruits and vegetables.  Scott is a compelling speaker who will be with us to talk about their farming techniques and about his thoughts on living a balanced life (!)

 

Adam will be collaborating with Scott on the menu.  Adam's planning a wonderful dinner with Firefly's Devon Beef, fresh Peaches, Poblanos, Heirloom Tomatoes and whatever else is growing then.

 

I'll be here and will be a part of the conversation.  AND I'm contributing my bees' honey!!!!  Some of the recipe thoughts come from my new book.  Yippee!

 

Here are dinners to go for this week.  This, if you do not know, if a fabulous way to have dinner.  It's easy - just call us by noon and your dinner will be ready for you to pick up by 3 that very day. 

 

Call by noon and we'll have your dinner ready at 3. You can stop by to pick yours up until we close at 7. Add Salad (3.25) or bread (1.25) if you like.

 

Monday, July 15:

Bone-in Roasted Chicken with Summer Squash Casserole $8.95

 

Tuesday, July 16:

Fajita Beef Stuffed Peppers with Cumin Lime Sauce $9.95

 

Wednesday, July 17:

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Mustard Sauce $8.95

 

Thursday July 18:

Chicken Olive Fettuccine with Heirloom Tomato Caprese $9.25

 

Friday, July 19:

Orange Sesame Salmon with Avocado Salsa (GF) $10.95

 The Casserole of the week:

July 17: Mediterranean Beef with Roasted Peppers and Potatoes  whole $55/half $27.50

 

The Lasagna of the week:

July 19: Greek Olive, Roasted Pepper and Feta Cheese

whole $39/ half $19.50

Walking across Spain is a good project.  The route of The Camino de Santiago de Compostela winds across Spain, crossing plains, hills, old mountains, and through villages, towns, and cities.  I walked about 13-15 miles each day and overall walked almost 500 miles. 

 

Oooho - Sangria!  I have a new appreciation of this refreshing summer drink.  These are from a cafe in Santiago, one with "vino tinto" (red wine) and one with Cava (Spanish champagne).  Our gang of 6 Camino buddies ripped through these two pitchers in record time, got refills, and returned the next day for more. 

 

After the walking the Camino I went to London.  And after the quiet of the walking and then the bustle of Santiago, arriving at Liverpool Station in London was a sensory blast with hundreds of people hurrying and scurrying all over the place.  I stood dazed, watching people and more people and even more people zooming all over the place.

 

 

 

July 13, 2013

 

Whoop Whoop!

I’m back in the saddle again - home and settling in. I’m not exactly sure which end is up, after such a long trip, but I’m sure it will become clear to me over time.

 

I went to Spain with the desire to regain my footing after a long series of chemotherapy treatments. I wanted to remind myself that I could take on a big physical project and do it. I wanted to have time to think. I felt I needed to be alone but also knew I would meet new people, though that was not my focus.

 

The trip was hard in many ways but was also very, very good. Physically I was fine except that I, like almost everyone else, had major foot issues: soreness, blisters, swelling. It is impossible to know how walking every day for hours will affect one’s body. The only way to know is to do it. You can’t train to walk hours and hours every day without walking hours and hours every day. I found that walking hours and hours every day was deeply meditative and also difficult in ways I had not considered.

 

I have thoughts of turning the stories into a written account. We’ll see how that develops. I’ve imagined turning the stories and pictures into a talk. We’ll see how that turns out too. You, as you know, will be the first to know.

 

For now, I’m still sleepy and may go take a nap before I head into the afternoon’s activities. I had some work done on my house while I was away and so pulling things out of boxes and into their more visible spots is on my list as are writing thank you notes, getting ready to promote my book, organizing a tv shoot (a local one and a national one), trying to make sense of the jungle that is my garden at home, checking in on my bees…and more.

 

But if the Camino taught me anything it is that breathing slowly counts for a lot and all the stuff is just stuff and rushing is optional and I opt not to. Everyone has her own pace. Mine feels slower than it did in other times. And slower, now, feels just right.

So thanks for your nice notes of congratulations and words of confidence and compliment. I’m kind of dizzy with it all at the moment. But overall I AM happy to be home with everyone.

 

I’ll be in touch soon.

 

Here I am in Santiago, the end of my walk. 

 

Transformative.

 

Provocative.