Organsizing

This isn't really a post on organizing, or "organsizing" as our favorite five-year-old calls it (and the fact that he even knows what it is shows you how pervasive the love for it is in our family). Our Emily is the spread sheet queen; you should see her planning for her wedding! And if you're in need of organsizing in Wichita, our daughter-in-law has a business to do just that!

It's a bit of a curse, but for the most part, I know where everything is. My books, for example, are alphabetical. I've seen where people have color-coded their library, and while it looks beautiful, who are you and how can you find anything???!!!

2 of 7 bookcases in our house 

My herbs and spices are also alphabetical. I had taken all the pictures, but they were too much even for me. You get the idea. My clothes are sorted by color. My art supplies are organized TO ME, although you might walk into my room and think Hobby Lobby exploded in there.

You know what REAL organization is? This:

*sigh*

The Dewey Decimal system is a thing of beauty, and I absolutely love card catalogs, which apparently don't exist anymore. And I'm not the only one who loves them, according to the prices on the ones I've seen on eBay. I spent so many hours at the Alexander Mitchell Library in Aberdeen, South Dakota when I was a kid, writing papers, doing reports, and just reading. And of course whispering with my friends because no one dared talk out loud in the library. Our kids don't even know what this is.

And then there's the ultimate in organization, which leads me to why I'm writing this post:

I may have this suitable-for-framing in my Amazon cart...

Yup. We have the fridge magnet

A little background: My degree is in Medical Technology, which some universities (including mine) have renamed Clinical Laboratory Science. It was four years of studying All The Chemistry And Most Of The Biology, so I am pretty familiar with the periodic table. After graduation I spent several years working in Clinical Chemistry, so - more elements and reactions.

Mad props to Dmitri Mendeleev for organsizing all the elements. There are the halogens, the noble gases, and eight other groups. They're organized across, in columns, in numerical order based on atomic number - pretty much perfect. I know I'm flying the nerd flag here, but I'm going to put my own spin on it. I've decided to combine calligraphy and chemistry, and write the names of the elements. Some of the names are so cool! Iridium! Ytterbium! Europium (which I mistakenly read as Euphorium - yes please)! Okay, I did nothing with all of these in my classes, and I'm pretty sure they weren't even discovered when I was in college, but the names are cool anyway.

I won't be going in order, but today I'm starting with Atomic Number 1: Hydrogen, chemical symbol H. It's the most abundant, lightest element, and is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, highly flammable gas. Hello, Hindenburg! It's used as rocket fuel these days, and you may remember it from such compounds as water (H2O), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), ammonia (NH3), methane (CH4), and sucrose (C12H22O11).

If you're interested in looking at elemental writing (see how I did that?!), I'll be posting on my Instagram account, @cathyboll. It's a public account so you don't need any secret code to look, but feel free to double-tap for a like. #validateme

This is a one-time post to my personal facebook account (I know, promises, promises), but you can find my (infrequent) blog posts by searching cathyshowsup.blogspot.com on your browser.

Nerdfully yours, 

More Post-Camino Reflections

I don't know if this is an ongoing experience for others who have walked the Camino de Santiago, but not a day has gone by since I've returned that I haven't thought of it. After obsessing planning our trip for a year, I thought that by actually going to Spain and having the adventure, it would be out of my system. Hahahahaha!!!!

I took some pictures while we were there to show the differences between here (Omaha) and there (northern Spain). I know anyone who has traveled to Europe knows all this, but it was new to me. Let's start with the hotels.

I've seen photos of people soaking their feet and/or washing their laundry here. Not the intended purpose, but apparently it's multi-functional! And almost every bathroom had one. I actually googled "how to use a bidet" when I got home, and am sorry I didn't avail myself of it while over there. Now I want one when we redo our bathroom.

And toilet flushing! The flusher was always on the top of the tank, and often had a button for a light flush or a more thorough flush. These are becoming more popular here, especially at rest stops or in airports, but here the handles are still on the side, with green/up for light or red/down for heavy duty.

We were confused by this at first, but what a wonderful idea! You always know where your key is! This slot is right inside the door by the light switches, which don't turn on until you insert your card. (Funny story about this: our Emily was in Colombia this summer and arrived at her hotel late. She was unaware that this was how the electricity worked and she said she was almost in tears after a long day of travel and trying to unpack and get ready for bed by the flashlight on her phone!)

Pillows. Check out how long these are! And speaking of beds, in every room there were two single beds pushed together instead of one big bed. We figured it was because of the narrow staircases and hallways - no way could they fit a king-size box springs upstairs.

Our first night in Spain, we were told our room was on the second floor. We walked up one flight of stairs from the lobby and saw that all the numbers started with one. The ground floor is not the first floor, it is zero.

And now for the food. *sigh* This was first breakfast at our hotel the first morning: freshly squeezed orange juice (which we found at every bar and restaurant), coffee, fruit, croissants, salami, and Spanish tortilla (bottom center of the photo) - basically a potato, egg, and onion pie.

And this was second breakfast at the first bar we came to (photo below). Cafe con leche, a pastry, and almond cookie. EVERY meal or snack we ate was served on real plates, with real silverware. There was nothing disposable except for paper napkins. The cups of coffee came on saucers with little spoons for stirring.

This was our first stop on our first day, between Sarria and Portomarin. You took your pack off and left it outside, walked in the door on the left; there was a small room with an espresso machine and a pastry counter - and that was it. You placed your order, waited for it to be made, and went outside and found a seat.

This was dinner one night in Ribadiso: you may be sharing your pizza crust with a chicken, but you had china and real silverware. And the ubiquitous ashtray, of course.

One thing we noticed was that the "sweets" weren't as sweet as they are here. All the food was REAL - real butter, real whole milk. Meals (not necessarily stops at the bars on The Way) took time. You had to get your waiter's attention or actually go in and ask for your check when you were ready to go. Wine and beer were served with every meal, and except for the larger cities (I'm looking at you, snooty waiter across from our hotel in Santiago), pours were generous. One night in O Pedrouzo Jeanie asked for another glass of vino blanco, and they just plopped a whole bottle down by her. Which she may or may not have emptied. Did I mention that meals took hours? The  food portions were realistic though, not American super-sized, and surprisingly, and I know this was rural Spain and people work hard, no one was overweight. Also, convenience foods and snacking weren't as much of a thing as here. Hmmm...These are all habits I could adopt.

One thing we loved was the communal aspect of dining. One morning we had second breakfast with an older lady from France, we exchanged pleasantries with pretty much everyone, we sat next to a peregrina from Sweden in Palas de Rei, and the last day in Santiago we shared a table and visited with a gentleman from Poland who was waiting for his wife and daughter to complete their Camino Portuguese. While I have eaten alone at restaurants a bunch here, I have never made an effort to engage with anyone else. I pretty much pull out my phone or a book. I'd like to say I will make conversations with strangers now, but I bet that won't happen. But I'll smile at them more... Baby steps...

Ultreia!

Cathy

Post Camino Reflections, Part 1

¡Hola!

I’ve been home a week now, and Camino thoughts fill my head daily. Except for when I’m coughing - it turns out that the cough I've had since the week before I left for Spain is bronchitis. I keep thinking how easy The Way would have been if my lungs had been working properly, but then I laugh because srsly, nothing would make it easy except not doing it. As I mentioned in one of my Facebook posts written during our adventure, my sister said that the only way to train for the Camino is to do the Camino.

I have the feeling that the next few posts here are just going to be repeats of things I’ve posted daily from the trail, what I’ve learned, things I don’t want to forget, and thoughts going forward.

Since I've been back, people have asked what made me decide to do it. I saw a movie? I wanted a challenge? To prove to myself that I can do hard things? An adventure? All of the above and more?

(And to all my friends who ask questions and listen to me talk about my journey, thank you!)

This truly was the hardest, bravest, scariest, and most incredible thing I have ever done. It was difficult physically and emotionally. I found I needed to dig pretty deep some days to come up with the strength to put one foot in front of the other for mile after mile and day after day. My mantra sometimes was "just one step, just one step". There was one steep hill that I literally counted to twenty, stopped and rested (bent over with my hands on my knees), then counted to 20 again, stopped and rested, until I got to the top. I had a lot of time to think, and while Jeanie and I were walking buddies, I'd say at least a fourth of the day we were walking separately.

While Dwight and I fly a fair amount, this is the first time I've been to Europe. My sister and I had to navigate an airport in a large city (and I'm not even talking about O'Hare here!), the tram, Spanish customs, light rail, trains, taxis, buses, different currency - all in a language that I don't speak. We had one transaction in a little shop by the Cathedral with a gentleman who didn't speak a word of English, and we spoke about as much Spanish. Yet we were able to understand each other and end with a buenos dias. Two little ladies in one of the inns where we stayed thought that by speaking louder and standing closer we would understand them better; again, while that didn't exactly work, we each made ourselves understood. (And before I go back to Spain, I am so getting Rosetta Stone and studying!)

One of the biggest lessons I learned is how little is really needed to get by. Jeanie and I were talking about it our last night when we were sitting in the Marriott lobby bar in Madrid, and I was dressed ever so stylishly in my black dress/nightie, with my sarong/scarf/towel wrapped around my shoulders as a shawl, wearing my black hiking sandals (with NO socks this time because I’m classy like that). We’d find ourselves sniffing our clothes and going, hmmm...that’s not too bad. I can wear it another day. Or two. This from me, who wears an item once and then throws it in the laundry. It's not that our standards were lowered; we just knew what was important.

I wore everything that I brought except my not-needed rain poncho (thank you Jesus). I found I  didn’t need anything more but would have made some substitutions. I wish I had brought a lighter-weight jacket instead of the one I did bring; maybe a light pullover, and maybe some leggings or yoga pants instead of my hiking pants just to feel a little dressier after hiking all day. It makes a big difference what you actually NEED when you have to carry everything on your back.

And about my pack: the size was perfect at 36 liters. The only day it really bothered me was the last day, and that was totally my fault. That morning I decided to hike in my sandals, so put my shoes in the bottom of my pack where my (much-lighter) sandals had been. So the heaviest things in my pack were at the bottom, instead of close to my spine like they should have been. But did I stop to repack, which would have taken ten minutes max? Oh hell no. I suffered for hours instead. 

After our first day, I texted Dwight and told him he didn't need to train so hard for our planned (longer) Camino two years from now because there was no chance of it happening. Except now there is. It's like childbirth; while it's awful going through it, it's pretty wonderful on the other side. So I will be studying Spanish, plotting our trip, and mentally packing my backpack for my next Camino. And wondering what lessons will unfold from that adventure.

Ultreia!
Cathy

Obligatory Gear Post

Since I'm leaving Omaha a week from tomorrow (stopovers in Washington, Iowa and Wadsworth, Illinois), and since my sister Jeanie has already started packing for our Camino, I thought I'd better actually put my gear together instead of tossing it into the Lululemon bag on the floor in my closet as I've been doing the past year whenever I thought of something important.

(I'm also sharing this on Jeanie's Facebook page because she said her friends are interested in following our journey - and this way they can see if they really want to read my writing!)

As I've mentioned before, there are any number of Camino-related groups on Facebook, and it seems like everyone posts pictures of their pack before they leave, asking for suggestions or validation. And do they ever get "suggestions". I know most of them are meant to be helpful, but if some of those comments were directed at me I think I'd start crying. So I'm just posting my pictures on this little blog; feel free to comment as long as you aren't mean!

This contains everything I'll need for our trip. Hopefully.

My fully loaded backpack right now weighs 13 pounds. The guidelines are that it's not to exceed 10% of your body weight, so yes, I weigh 130 pounds. HAHAHAHAHA!!! I crack myself up. I need to add water and snacks, which will bring it up to 15 pounds, which is a little bit less than the amount of weight I lost since Thanksgiving, knowing I'd be carrying a pack across northern Spain.

Here's what's inside. The first aid / toiletry bag:

In the ziploc are my liquids that I'll need to take out for airport security: sunscreen, lip protection, the Monistat chafing gel I told you about last time, and contact solution. The strips on the upper right are Leukotape, which I ordered on Amazon. This is some sort of magic tape, similar to athletic tape but way stronger. The adhesive lasts for days even when it gets wet, so if I feel a hot spot, it's getting slapped with some of this tape and I'm wearing it until it falls off. The little sewing kit is for popping blisters, and if I need to do that, then I have alcohol wipes, sterile gauze, and Neosporin. I have some Benadryl, some pepto, Gas-Ex (you're welcome, Jeanie!), and an antibiotic for just-in-case that my doc prescribed for traveler's diarrhea. There is a smaller ziploc with two packs of travel Kleenex and some folded up bags that our newspaper comes in. Most people use them to clean up after their dogs on walks, but I bet you can guess what they may have to be used for... I need to add my daily prescription drugs (you can bet the Xanax is coming with me!), moisturizer, glasses, and daily contacts. I usually wear the two-week kind, but I thought dailies would be easier for this trip (in which case I'll leave the contact solution at home).

Here are All The Clothes:

My Teva sandals (and the smoking' hot socks I wear with them), 3 shirts (all wicking fabric): one tank, one short-sleeve, one long-sleeve. Hiking shorts, leggings (capri-length), a black dress to change into after walking for the day - can double as a nightie. 3 pairs underwear, two sports bras, a real bra in case I don't want to sport a uni-boob all the time, two pairs wool hiking socks, a rain jacket for when it's not raining hard that will be coupled with the rain cover on my pack, and a poncho for when it IS raining hard (insert fingers-crossed emoji here) that I don't every have to take it out of it's giant orange stuff sack) that will cover me and my pack. A hiking hat, a baseball cap, a buff, the headlamp that Dwight gave me for Christmas, deodorant, dry shampoo, toothbrush/paste, razor, Lush bar shampoo, extra hair ties, notebook with pen and pencil, and then electronics: European plug adapter, battery pack, headphones, chargers for phone and Apple Watch. There are some clothespins for when we need to hang our clothes to dry at night in our room, and in the Altoids tin are diaper pins to hang our damp clothes from our packs to dry. I'm just picturing the fashion statement that we'll be making.

All of the above are organized into gallon ziplocs: one for tops, one for pants, one for undies/socks, one for toiletries, and one for miscellaneous. These are in the main compartment of my pack. We'll see how long they stay that way.

My sandals and poncho go into the bottom, separate compartment of my pack, and anything I'll need for the day will go into the top compartment, which I've learned is called the brain.

I'll be carrying a very small crossbody bag with everyday necessities, which I think are my phone, charging cord, pilgrim credencial, copy of my US passport, daily cash, and chapstick. The bag is actually pretty cool and not even that ugly: it's by Travelon, all the zippers lock, the body is slash-proof, the strap is slash-resistant, and there are RFID blocking slots and pockets. For valuables, I actually bought a money belt that I'll wear under my clothes. This will hold my stash of euros, actual US passport, drivers license, Global Entry card, credit card, and debit card. (More RFID blocking action happening here).

And last but not least is my outfit for the plane/next day. I'll be living in these from about noon on Monday the 17th until we get to our hotel room in Sarria the next evening. Everything is stretchy and hopefully comfy enough: hiking pants that the hem can be cinched up to make into capris, tech short-sleeve shirt, sports bra, wool socks, my hiking shoes, and a sarong that I'll use as a scarf, or maybe a blanket on the plane. [Edit: forgot to add my Old Navy stretchy running jacket.] So my basic palette will be gray and black, which pretty much mirrors my entire wardrobe.

I know I'll be adding and possibly subtracting to the above items, but for now, Buen Camino!

Less than two weeks!!!!

After a year of planning, and thinking about the Camino every day, Jeanie and I will be in Spain in less than two weeks. I am both nervous and excited. Insert worried Mom-face emoji here:

This. Our kids know it well.

While I don't want to wish away time, I feel I'm ready to get on the Way and just walk. Of course after our first day I may be singing a different tune, but for now I'm ready. Except to pack, although you can believe I have lists.

We have all our accommodations, since the one stipulation that Jeanie had was NOT sharing a room and bathroom with 50 strangers, so instead of the traditional pilgrim albergues, we'll be staying in pensions and small inns in the villages. People say not to plan ahead, but as we'll be on the busiest portion of the Way, I needed to alleviate some of the stress for me - especially if we're slow and won't be the first people into the towns to grab a bed. I wanted to be sure we wouldn't be sleeping on the streets.

In order to receive your Compostela, which is basically a certificate of completion, the Church requires that you walk the last 100 km. The town where we are starting, Sarria, is about 120 km from Santiago, and is the nearest to fulfilling the distance requirements. So here is our itinerary, complete with distances. I'm pretty sure they're from the edge of one town to the edge of the next, and don't take into account the elevation changes, so it will be interesting to see the actual distances we walk. Now I am a scientist, and while I'm pretty accurate on the little measurements, like milliliters and millimeters, for the long distances, well, I'm an American. I figured out the actual miles but they make me want to whimper so I'm just leaving them in kilometers. (Trust me, it makes sense in my head).

Monday 9/17: Leave from O'Hare about 4:40 PM, fly to Madrid
Tuesday 9/18: Arrive Madrid early AM, train to Sarria
Wednesday 9/19: Walk Sarria to Portomarin 22.7 km
Thursday 9/20: Walk Portomarin to Palas de Rei, 24.6 km
Friday 9/21: Walk Palas de Rei to Ribadiso, 26.3 km
Saturday 9/22: Walk Ribadiso to O Pedrouzo, 23.7 km
Sunday 9/23: Walk O Pedrouzo to Santiago, 20.1 km
Monday 9/24: explore Santiago
Tuesday 9/25: day trip to Muxia and Finisterre (bus or taxi)
Wednesday 9/26: train to Madrid
Thursday 9/27: fly back to Chicago
9/28: Omaha!

I'll be writing a post about the gear I'm actually taking, but for now here are a few items to help me on my journey:

Passport cover from Emily - notice the scallop shell and my initial!

Teva sandals complete with socks for when I need a break from my boots. Because it's just such a sexy look.

Fully vaccinated: Hepatitis A and B, and MMR booster

Pilgrims carry this credencial, getting stamps at all the places they eat, visit, or stay as a record of proof that you've been there, and that you've walked the required number of miles

The insides of our credencials. I will admit that I got a bit teary when they arrived!

Total change of subject, and again this is courtesy of Emily. Monistat, it's not just for your lady bits any more.  I put it on my feet before putting my socks on

A gift from Jeanie. They might not be hiking socks, but I love them nonetheless

They look like toe condoms, don't they? My second toes are longer than my big toes, so those guys take a beating. I'd been taping them until I ordered these silicone toe sleeves. Pretty much awesome.

Buen Camino!

My Summer as Told Through Emojis

I wrote a long post about my summer so far and it bored me, so I thought I’d spare you and tell you about it in emojis. You’re welcome.

Houseguests:  🏡 🍷

Sibling trip to Sioux Falls to visit Dad:  ✈️ 🚗 🛣 🎉 🍷 🍸

More houseguests:  🏡 🍷 🏌🏼‍♀️ 🏌🏻‍♂️  💅🏻

New car:  💲 🚗

Gender reveal (Erin and Tim):  🚗 💙 👶🏼 💙

Sick dad: 🚗 👴🏻 🤒 🏥

Nana to the wescue: 🚗  💪🏻 🏃🏼‍♀️

To Des Moines for family lunch: 🚗 🥗 🍕

Engagement (Emmy and Jesus):  💞 💍

Yes to the dress:  🚗 👰🏼 😍

Camino training:  🚶‍♀️🎒👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣👣

Leave for Spain in 19 days:  ✈️ 🇪🇸 🙂😬😬😬

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

I love this JRR Tolkien quote, and while this definitely is not a trek to Mordor, I want to talk about our little area path, which we call the Muffly Trail in honor of our friends, who discovered it and shared it with us. I love it because it's close, a bit of a challenge (258 feet elevation change, 3.5 miles), and I can reach it by walking out my front door instead of a 20-minute ride to a trail. It's all paved, (so I am getting concrete experience and not just cushy wood chips), and about 8 feet wide. Could be wider, could be narrower, not sure - I'm awful at measuring.

Dwight and I walk it together maybe once or twice a week, but more often than not we walk it alone since I'd rather walk in the morning and he is a late-afternoon kind of guy. In Nebraska??? 100 degrees with humidity to match??? He was cooling down after his walk this afternoon and when he got up from the porch, there was a literal puddle under his chair. If you know him, you know I'm not kidding. I'm debating on whether or not to rinse it in case animals in the 'hood need a salt lick.

We've seen some cool wildlife, for living in a city. Okay, the 'burbs. I've seen wild turkeys, deer, a fox, and these guys, along with assorted critters.

I saw this guy early this spring, and as I was getting closer, I thought, "Wow, that's a big bird".

Oh yeah. Red-tailed hawk. With dinner.

This bunny nest was just a few feet off the trail, and we only noticed it when the mama scampered away. It wasn't very hidden, and it was gone a few days later, so we're hoping it didn't win the Darwin Awards for Bunnies

But since we usually walk it separately, if we see something cool and want to tell the other about it, we've named the sections:

• Switchbacks. Self explanatory.
• Roundabout. Again, you know what this is.
• Ted Bundy Hill. Emmy and I named this; if you're going up it and Ted Bundy pulled up in his Volkswagon Beetle and asked you to help him find his dog, you might consider the ride. Going down it is fine, but up is a bitch. Several blocks long and steep.
• Hobo camp. This is a new path that the city built over the winter. I wandered it last year and it seriously looked like a hobo camp. Are there still hobos? Do they have camps? Clem Kadiddlehopper? It was a dirt trail that ran along the tracks, there was a fire pit, trash, underbrush, I don't know, maybe bodies... Anyway, it was scary and I hightailed it out of there. The city came and cleaned it up, paved it, and it makes the trail a bit shorter if I go that way. 
• Power boxes
• Bridge
• Field
• Big Park / splash pad. I can't tell you the number of times I wanted to shove all the toddlers aside and just get wet!
• Tunnel 
• Railroad tracks - the trail runs along some BNSF tracks, but there are woods and gardens between us and the tracks. And lots of pot. Or hemp. Whatever. 

this stuff grows so fast!

• Bataan Death March. This is the last part along the tracks - at least a quarter of a mile of long gradual never-ending uphill. And just when you think you're at the end, you turn the corner and there's the Hill of Death - only about half a block but straight uphill.
• 99th Street
• Little Park
• The Bench. It's a mile from the big park back to our house, and 3/4 of that is uphill. A few blocks from the traffic light, at the top of the hill, there is a sweet little bench along the trail. Last summer when I passed it there was a couple sitting on it, and I told them they had the right idea. And they said that's why they put it there! I have availed myself of it more than once. I want to bake cookies for them and leave them on their porch, I am so grateful.

Srsly. How inviting does this look???

And now time for a public service announcement. Remember that Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. commencement address floating around a few years ago titled "Wear Sunscreen"? Yeah. He was right.

I grew up in South Dakota, red hair, fair skin, freckles, and spent every day all day outside in the sun, usually at the pool. Since sunscreen hadn't even been invented, I had more blistering sunburns than I could count.

Last week I had my first visit to a dermatologist. I had self-diagnosed myself with rosacea, and since my nose was starting to look like W.C. Fields and since we were going out of town, I needed help. Vanity,  you know. Sure enough, I was having a rosacea flair, and thanks to antibiotics (oral and topical), my skin now looks as good as it ever has. But as long as I was there, she did a full body check. (I would have worn better underwear had I known.) She froze four suspicious spots (right forearm, left bicep, above my left eyebrow, and scalp), and took a biopsy of an even more suspicious one on my left cheek. Luckily it turned out to be actinic keratosis and not basal cell carcinoma, but I feel like a ticking time bomb. It's only a matter of when.

WEAR SUNSCREEN!!!