What I did before I left

 As I write this, I see stormy clouds outside the window. The flight is on time and expected to leave in 5½ hours. Let's pray that it stays on time. Last year, the flight was delayed and it was exhausting. But at least I'll be in the Maple Leaf lounge, which helps. 

There are pros and cons to leaving first thing in the morning or last thing in the day. On long trips like this, I'm good to leave at night and hopefully get a good sleep on the plane. So, if all went well, I should be across the ocean when this gets published. 

Just a couple of notes: The internet has always been great on the Camino, but there might be a time or two when I can't find reliable Wi-Fi. If that happens, I won't be able to blog. If there is no blog, don't panic! I have good communication (What's App) with the people I need to stay personally connected to. If I don't put anything on What's App, we all better start worrying!

My plan is to post to Facebook daily—probably in the afternoon after I've arrived at my destination for the night. You'll be able to track me and see where I am, and there will be pictures. I'm unsure how easy it'll be to post photos to the blog. I'm not going with any expectations. I know what I want to accomplish, but the first year sort of squashed those plans. I now know that you do what you can, and if you get to the end, you get to the end. If you don't, there's always another year. 

I have nothing booked except for a flight home near the end of August. Oh, and there is a 6-hour time difference. So when it's 7 AM in Canada, it's 1 PM in Spain. There will be a slight disruption in the time the posts get published, and a day or two might be missed.  

Anyway, it was a good thing I left at night because I ran around like an idiot getting everything done. The bags of mulch were "planted" in the garden in the morning before it got hot. In the afternoon, I spread them as best I could, but not before I had to do some weeding.  

The bags of mulch planted in the garden

The books have been dropped off at the book sale location. They conveniently had shopping carts to get the books from your cart to their office. 

Dropping off the donation books

The ten quilts are also dropped off for Quilts of Valour. There are only two things left in the Pony Express staging area; one will be picked up in a couple of weeks and the other in about one month. I'm impressed that I was able to clear that area. 

The Pony Express staging area

I made a quick trip to the post office to mail off one small item. That was my daily walk. It was short, but I met my walking quota for the day with everything else. 

While I was tidying up the garden, pulling out a few weeds, and placing those bags of mulch, Miss Murphy had a moment. She grabbed one of her teddy bears; he is now a flat teddy bear. 

MOM -- I'm frustrated and the bear gets it!

I stopped and got dog food for her. She goes through the bags of food twice as fast as Lexi. I also bought her a small swimming pool. The other one is in the backyard, but I think it's probably got a hole in it now. So it's now filled with water, and I think Lexi was more interested in it than Murphy. 

MOM -- we got a new pool!!!

I bought two pairs of shorts, but I'm only taking one pair with me. That's to replace the sarong I've worn in the afternoons in the past. I decided I wanted something a little more sturdy, so shorts it is. They are sports shorts and good grief, so many pairs have a liner in them. I don't want that extra layer, and I found two pairs without it. 

I think almost everything is packed in the bags. Technically, I have three - one that will get checked. I know -- the least amount of luggage, and I need to check it. That's because my walking sticks are in there and are NOT allowed in the cabin. Sigh.....  Then there's my little backpack for the plane. This will be used in the afternoon to go to the grocery store or wherever, although I also brought my lightweight folding bag. If I have to have my backpack forwarded, the folding light one doesn't work well to carry my daily supplies. So this small backpack works great to be worn as a small backpack. And it looks a little more elegant in business class than my red nylon bag! 

And then there's my flat waist belt. Together, those three things weigh 14.8 lbs. There are a lot of coins in the waist pack, which adds to the weight, so I plan to spend them first! But I'll be wearing that, so it doesn't count as weight for my back. I'm guessing the total weight in all three (I have to add my phone, glasses, and hat) will be 13.5 lbs. I'm OK with that since it will be distributed, and some will disappear quickly, like those coins. I added my sweater, and the darn three items weigh 14.8 lbs. That's still manageable, but a bit more than I wanted. However, since some weight is in the waist pack, it's not going on my back. 

Packed and ready to go

We had an interesting discussion the other day about how much we carry in a day. Do you use a purse, cross-body bag, or waist belt? I'm all about carrying the LEAST amount of stuff that I can. I used to take a huge bag of crap to work every day in the event I needed something. I never needed it, and all I got was a bum shoulder! The good news is that my rotator cuff is not torn, but it hurts like mad, especially after all the lifting and carrying I did. Pills! I need pills! I didn't get the details from the doctor, only that there is no tear. So there must be a sprain - a strain or tendon issues? 

I'll get the rest of the information when I'm back. 

As I was working in the office, I looked out the window and spotted this squirrel. 

A squirrel aiming for as much breeze as possible

Seriously?? He was flat on his tummy - the same way Murphy lies. I guess he was hot and trying to stay cool. I'm going to miss those two fur babies!! Murphy is just a big goof, and yes -- she was perched on the rocks, and as soon as she let the ball go, it rolled into the pond. Now, how did we know that was going to happen? 

Mom - I'm going to need help!

Well, there you have it --- hopefully, all is well and I'll be sleeping in an albergue. Yeah - bunkbeds!!!!

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!