I love it. No cooking allowed!

The kitchen has been finished, two sets of visitors have come and gone, we’ve held a celebratory end-of-summer party, the fall weather has that crisp feel in the mornings, and I am counting the days.

First, the kitchen. After only 14 months of food preparation in the laundry room, we have moved the centre of activity to a gorgeous bright new kitchen. There are a few details to finish and the dishwasher isn’t connected but it is  a pleasure to be in.

After a couple of undisciplined weeks, I have resumed my modest training program for the camino. Most days I take the bus to work so that I will walk 1 km to the bus in the morning and 6 km home. After a few weeks of this I feel STRONG. Except when my feet feel sore! (The drawings were done by my mother when she returned to art college part time when I was a teenager.)

Drawing by Anne

These days I consider my job to be a detail that fills a bit of time between my two daily walks. My retirement papers have been submitted and I have very little time (or interest, truth be known) left in the office before handing in my computer and my access card.

Then I’m off to Spain to walk the Camino from mid-October until early December. If I run walk into trouble that stops my pilgrimage, maybe I’ll go to the south of Spain to ponder my freedom. Maybe I’ll come home early to keep Husband company since he most certainly is not interested in walking across Spain with me. That is okay with me – I like travelling by myself and enjoy the personal adventure. The Camino is especially suited to lone pilgrims. It is as social or as solitary as one chooses. Walking 264 km in 2012 with my sister-in-law was great but being alone this time will be a very different experience.