that back stretch

What's that stretch again? Yesterday on my walk I was getting a pain in my back, that would come and go. It's fine now but I should do some stretches to strengthen it.

Adding a photo of my journal cover artwork.

4 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pedometer

It was the operator that was the problem. It works. I'll test it this week-end and go on a route that is exactly 7 miles and see if that's what it shows. My hope is that we get every mile accounted for so the number is really big. Some days we wander (for various reasons).

fyi

If your hill is making you winded, try smaller steps. It helped me.

Site improvements

You may notice some changes to the blog. 1) I changed the order of the information on the left. 2) I added a link to a pretty good Camino site to give readers some information on this event. 3) I added an option on the bottom so readers can subscribe to the blog. It has options to be alerted when there's a new post as well as new comments. I hope all of this is helpful to our lovely contributors and readers alike.

COUNTDOWN!!

FOUR WEEKS from today the Ladies of Spain start their adventure on the Camino!
We are all adding miles to our walks, fine-tuning the backbacks and doing whatever we need to accomplish before we set out for five weeks away from family, friends, work and home.
GOAT- I've done an alternative walking schedule to use if we want to cover more miles. We'll see how the first few days go and how everyone's body and soul are holding out.

What do you think?

Grade stat? Nope. Emotional stat. Grumpy Pilgrim Aboard. Plus it's gender neutral.

Economics 101

Man has insatiable needs. But on the Camino, only three things are required to get this butt going... Sunday hotel/morning coffee/evening showers. Viva la Camino!

Darn

If only we could walk naked like the lady, but alas, we are forced to weigh every ounce. Sigh.

Liz's PCR to be propeled to keep walking

As I was walking today I was thinking on this question. What will compel, propel or get me to put on those boots and pack when I am having a difficult day.

I have a few things that will travel with me. One being this chain Darren made for me. Darren has been my inspiration when I have those difficult days during this training for Spain.

The other is a quote I wrote down in the cover of my journal, that I can read for some inspiration while in Spain.

And my sisters are my inspiration, you're amazing!

You keep me going because of your unending training for our trip to Spain.

What you can say is 'you can do this, let's go'

Fran'sSteel.......

A picture says a thousand words- these two precious girls will hear OMA's tale of her journey in Spain . It will be sweetened with stories and pictures with the hope that as they mature and grow their sense of adventure and strong family bonds will lead them on many of their own journeys. They, along with the rest of my family will be in my thoughts daily as I hike over the varied terrains of northern Spain with my three sisters.

The fact that I am not alone on this journey will be the compeling force that will have me pulling on my boots and hoisting up my pack- BRING IT ON!!!!!

The mantra that I used when I walked with Rose was "Yukon Do It- Stop Whining" (name ofnail polish on my toes). I plan on using it again this walk . Since our feet get alot of abuse walking so many hours a day, they subsequently get alot of hands-on attention i.e.-massages, daily checks for blisters and hot-spots , and soaking in cool water (a fountain, running stream or in a pinch a bidet works great. YES, I've done it and it works great!).

*Note to Rose- Remember the book about the mystic and the group of women on the camino?

Look up what the "tag" said and come up with an appropriate one for The Ladies of Spain to use.

handmade headbands for the ladies of Spain

I knitted headbands for us to wear on the cool days in the mountains of Spain.

I was able to use Mom's yarn to make them.

The 2 pink ones measure 24" stretched

The other two (one still in the making) measure 22" stretched.

Something of Mom's to travel with us.

Steel

So another PCR (Pre Camino Reflection) question. With 5 weeks of walking 10-16 miles a day, I imagine, and Fran confirmed, that there will be days when you don't want to walk. So, what do you think will compel, propel, or otherwise get you to put on those boots and packs when all your body and mind say is "No Way!"? Another way to answer the question is to think what your sisters can do or say to encourage you on a difficult day? It may be easier to think, at first, what you don't want said or done.

Pic of Liz-the-Hiker

Good morning.

Thought our blog needed a pic posted- looked through mine and found this great one of Liz when we were in Boone. She is ready, willing and able!!

Packing

"Walking canes are allowed in carry-on baggage once they have been inspected to ensure that prohibited items are not concealed". Also see link for 3-1-1 rule please.

Piece of #!#!

I bought a pedometer and tried it out. Suggestions?

Training update

Well, I walked a 4 hour and a 3 1/4 hour and I feel good. My "core" is a little achy so I'm going to increase my pack weight until we go to strengthen those muscles. But the legs are great so I'll continue walking the hill like I've been doing (which is 1 1/2 to 2 hours a day) and maybe take a long walk once a week. The only little pain is my left heel if I go barefoot. But I have no pain if I put my Merrill's on right away(my shoes I bought to walk in after we get off the trail) . Man I'm ready............

Update on that walk

I made it 2hr. and 15min. Took a bath and called it a day.
Give up? Never! I'm still shooting for a longer walk before we leave for Spain.

warm hat?

Does it get cold enough to wear a hat to keep your ears warm? Just checking if I should put that in my back pack.
My plan is to take a 4 hour walk tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes..
I've been walking with a 15# pack this week and it feels good , so I thought double my walk time for tomorrow. Monday I'll try with the 3#'s of water added, so a 18# pack.
Less then 5 weeks ladies!!!!!!!!!!

Fran's PCR #2.....

That baseball thing was kind of wierd- Let's just blame it on a "senior-brain-fart".
I rethought the question and remembered the quote(? original source) I gave to my fellow pilgrims in their travel info:

"Your camino journey will not be a typical vacation. It will be exhilarating, demanding, exciting, tiring and rewarding- sometimes all in the same day. It's life- with it's ups and down- physically, mentally and spiritually. It may be weeks, months or years before you are able to completely comprehend what your experience was all about."

Ladies of Spain- 5 weeks from today we will be at the precipice of our journey- WOW!!

Fran's PCR......

When I think about walking the Camino for the third time , the first thing that popped into my head was "One, two, three strikes you're out..........." . I don't even like baseball, but that song made me think of why I want to do this physically challenging march across Northern Spain AGAIN! George has asked me that repeatedly to the point I questioned my reason for going. I'm not getting any younger and my body reminds me of that often, but the answer is simple-
This time I will not strike out- I will retrace my previous footsteps, and then some ,with three women I love and can't wait to hang out with for five weeks. We will have lots of good times and our share of crappy weather,so-so food and cramped , noisy accomodations - but when we reach Santiago we will have all scored a HOME-RUN!!

Pre Camino Reflections

It has taken me over two days of thinking and mulling to put down on paper the answers to the insightful questions that were posed. The questions have been asked of me before and I have always been pretty flip with my answers: "because I was invited"......for which I am truly grateful and feel very blessed; "because I can".....for which another huge thank you goes to Rich for being supportive and also to all the other people who are helping get me in shape both physically and spiritually. So even from the flip answers I can see the blessings from God of love and support from family and friends without which the trip would not be possible.
My expectation is to have an adventure like none I've had before with some of my favorite people in the world. I really can only imagine walking for so many miles.......this is a whole new thing for me (and I am beginning to like it...surprise, surprise). And doing it in a new place.....I'm always up for that. I am looking forward to getting cleaned up every day......I seem to need a good hosing down after I've walked a while. And a cold beer with dinner ....all the books say so and so does Goat! My only hesitation is a cold shower (some of the books say that too), but I've been training for that too.....backing in before the water gets warm. YUCK, but I can do it!
So I continue to work toward being in the best shape that I can be so that I can be a good companion and partner in this adventure.
BUEN CAMINO!!!!

My hopes

This trip is a big leap of faith for me. So many times I don't do things because of fears. With this trip I so wanted to go, so I wasn't going to let those things stop me. Here I am going for 5 weeks, walking 400 miles in a country I've never been to. Hesitations?NO!
What I hope to get out of this pilgrimage is to let go of my fears and to let God. What I look forward to is everything this pilgrimage has-the challenge-the beauty of Spain. Walking and experiencing it all.

Reasons you may lose your ability to blog...

I'm guessing that most you have signed in as a poster and asked your computer to remember you so that you don't have to sign in everytime you visit the blog. Your computer will honor your request unless you 1) sign in on a different computer 2)another person signs in on your computer to the blogger website 3) another person checks their gmail account using your computer (I'm really sorry Fran is dealing with this all week) 4) Your computer times out. A lot of computers will only remember your login and password for a certain time frame, maybe 2 weeks, maybe a month. I think the reasoning is to allow you to reset your password on occasion or deter people from gaining access that aren't allowed.

How do you fix it? Sign in with the email that was used to accept the blogging invitation. Then enter your password. It may be the same as your email or you may have created a new one specifically for blogging. I can't help much here. If you forget your password, there is a link you can click which will typically require you to answer a security question and then blogspot will send your password to your email.

The only other way I can think of to "lose" the ability to post is if you make a comment. The posting option will not appear at the top. Simply return to the main page and you will have your options available again. Hope that's helpful.

Goat's PCR

Dig deep. Oh man. I love to walk. And the Camino is a perfect place to do it....miles of trail all marked. It's all set up for us pilgrims. I expect to finish. I look forward to being with my great walking companions and having fun. The vacation from work will be nice. No trepidation at all. I am safe in the arms of my sisters. I look forward to the endless days of walking. Their companionship will carry me through, knowing I am not alone in my struggles. Having been on it before, I know the things I am looking forward to the most are the hotel at the end of the week, the shower at the end of the day and the cafe con leche (coffee) at the start of the day. As I get older I realize that life is to be lived. I've got to grab any opportunities now because I don't know what the future holds. I am blessed with good health and an understanding spouse. So bring it on. And God bless America as I sign off on my Pre Camino Reflections (after hours of B, S & T composing this darn thing).

What do you want?

I think this adventure you ladies are going on is a great thing. When Goat went on the trip a few years ago she talked about the walk as a pilgrimage. She was told that many pilgrims experience an epiphany. Mariann had one yesterday with her full pack experience. So, I was hoping that the 4 pilgrims would post, not comment, on what they hope to get out of this trip. Are there certain expectations? Are there hesitations? What are you looking forward to the most? I want some pre-trip reflecting. Get deep ladies. Love ya!

Reality

Yup, it's set in and resulted in my decision to take only one pair of shoes and no skirt/shirt "extra". So now I'm down to 3 tops, 1 bottom and pj's. Total weight with water 18#. I plan on doing a long walk this weekend. I'm anxious to see how it goes. Hopefully my "hill" training is paying off.

Asolo/Columbia

Are these your boots? Link has reviews. Awesome!

Maiden voyage

I did my first stab at walking with the pack yesterday and almost did myself in!! This picture was taken at the beginning of the walk.....pretty isn't it? By the end it wasn't so pretty!! I think it was God's way of yanking me back to reality and saying you need a bit more work!!

The pack weighed 15 lbs with the water and I walked for two hours......not smart, as it was hot and I didn't eat anything before I started at 7AM. I'm not sure if I drank enough water either. Guess there's more practice needed to figure this all out.

Help..TM

Is there an easy way to only go to the post recent comments (i.e. ones that have been written since the last time I checked?)

FAQ

"When to replace your hiking boots" link.

Hiking boots

Fran's buying new boots. What does everyone have? Mine are LaSportiva. Goretex. Waterproof.

HH

Yesterday I developed an ache right in the middle of the lowest part of my back. So today I made my stance a little wider and the ache did not develop. Heloise hint....not.

Ready set

Today starts my big push to get everything done at work so I can go with a clean slate. Hopefully it will go so well that we can squeeze in a trip to New Mexico just before Spain.

Here's the picture of the floor you requested Fran (latte has replaced oatmeal).

flip-flop vs. shower slipper

what a difference in the thickness of the flip-flipand shower slipper.

They shipped it on monday and I got them Wed.

And photos of my sandals. They're comfy.

MY shoes!

Thought I'd add my shoes to the blog- they also weigh one pound and are extremely comfortable. Also got new laces for my boots and a larger stuff bag for my sleeping bag so I can attach it to the side of my pack(the other bag was too short).

They weigh HOW much!!

I am becoming fixated on what things weigh! (Rose, do these look familiar? They are incredibly comfortable, so hope you don't mind if I copied). My digital scale doesn't seem to work as well as Rosie's, so had to resort to the food scale.

Am getting things together and hope to be wearing the back pack next week. Have already purged some stuff!

Hope everyone is doing well.

R&R

Aah, summer!

My girls!!!!

It has been a busy, fun 5 days here- Cary and Sage were home. I just returned from taking them to STL airport and the house is sooooo quiet! Posting a pic I took this morning- Cary is holding Georgia, Sarah is holding Sage and Robin is in the middle. The hardest thing about being gone 5 weeks is how much the two little ones will change.

All is well here. Training is progressing- even though it is too hot and humid! I'm still at 90mins 6 days a week and will bump it up to 2hrs with pack in Aug.

Rose,thanks for taking care of the phone. Also loved the pic of "Pamplona-Boone style".

Pamplona/phone

The running of the bulls just got over for this year. Here's the Boone version of the outdoor cooking we saw at the children's festival in Pamplona last trip. Last night my grandson Rand cooked up this yummy food over the open fire in our backyard.

We'll have a cell phone that works on the trip. I'm going thru Vodaphone. This site has a faq section. It's only $4 a day to rent a phone. Any calls received from the US are 38 cents a minute. Outgoing are $1.29. Of course, phone cards can also be used.

hugging bears

Mary Lou, Kathy, and I were talking about these hugging bears Mary Lou made and sold at craft shows. I said I just have the one bear. Kathy didn't know where her's were at, she was going to look for the hugging bear set though. So does anyone else have Noodle's famous hugging bears?

Survey

Who has started their pack training? Survey says....Goat has. I'm at full pack (19#). After building up to full and then a strap adjustment, I'm happy with the way my pack "rides". It's comfortable.

Countdown!

Exactly seven weeks from today , the Ladies of Spain will take their first step on the Camino!!!!
We are all training intensely and this blog is making it soooooo much more fun. I haven't added my pack yet, but I know I'll hate it for a few days, but it will soon feel wierd to walk without it.
Love to all family and friends who are reading the blog.

C #2

My daily trail. And look, a brick wall (tee hee). Coincidence?......not.

Shoes

Here's the pictures you wanted Mariann.

what's brain bashers?

I was having a few problems getting these sites on the blog.
So brainbashers is a site if you want to check out what day of the week you were born on.

brainbashers.com

www.brainbashers.com
is the site.
And for the other site for shower slippers. www.giantsavings.com

Accidental discovery

If you left click on pictures they blow up

Tech Lesson - New Tab

Do you find it frustrating to navigate away from a site for fear of hitting the back button a million times to get back to where you were originally? Would you like to have your email up and look at another site at the same time?

If you are looking at a site, say shower footwear and want to blog about it, simply hit "Ctrl" and the letter "T" at the same time. The "Ctrl" or control button can be found in the lower most corner of your keyboard. This command will automatically open another tab in your browser so you can select a bookmarked site or simply go searching and then go back and forth as much as you want. You can have as many tabs open as you like to comparison shop or whatever.

If you're on a site that has a direct link and don't want to leave the original site, instead of left clicking on it, right click and select "open link in new tab" and you'll have both sites open in your browser. Fun, fun.

For shower slippers

www.magellans.com/store/footwear
Here's a site for shower slippers if you want to order for the pilgrimage.
How did you just get a word command? Help tech mama.
Good job Goat you passed
Spooky tree!

Hotel Pattee

This "sisters" site is reopening!

R&H

Rest and hyperlinking. Got it. (I think). The insurance site.

Spook on the hill.

ooooops---- Here's the vingette!

Travel plan updates....

The photo vignette includes Pilgrim Guide published by the Confraternity of Saint James (our BIBLE while walking!!), the topgraphy map of the camino (it makes the HILLS look so impressive) and our pilgim credential which I ordered from the American Pilgrims web site- we won't have to wait in line at Roncesvalles to get a spanish one (unless you want one).
Travel update: 1)Train tickets from Madrid to Pamplona for Thurs. have been purchased and are in route via UPS. Initially I was told there was a 10:45 am train, but that one is no longer on schedule so we have to wait until 3:05pm for the three hr. ride. Depending on how everyone is feeling we can explore Madrid or just hang out at the station and deal with jet-lag. Cost for train is $85/person.
2)Hotel in Pamplona for Thurs. I emailed several requesting availability, but haven't gotten a respone yet- They just finished the Running-of-the-bulls and assume everyone is taking a much needed rest!
3)Hotel in Santiago has been reserved - I made an executive-decision to keep the name/info. etc. a surprise!!!!!
4)Transportation from Santiago to Madrid---- We have two options
We can take a night train ( sleeping compartment with four beds) for $112/person. It leaves Santiago on Tues. at 10:35pm and arrives Madrid Wed. at 7:45am ( plenty of time to take the metro to airport for our 12:05 flight). If we choose this option we would only stay in Santiago one night. Our other option is to fly (nonstop)on Iberiaand stay two nights in Santiago. Flight is $215/person. We would save approx. $150/person if we took the night train (Did I forget to tell you the hotel is VERY expenseve, but I figured after walking for four weeks we would splurge on our last night in Spain!!

Let me know what you think.

Your tech lesson of the day/week.

Ladies, You are all doing a fabulous job with posting. I'm so proud of everyone for getting pictures up and I know everyone's expanding their horizons. I thought I'd let you know about a need little feature that is available on your blog (and email).

Up above the text box, where you find the icon to add a picture, there's a hyperlink feature. It allows you to visit a website, copy the url address, and instead of pasting the big address to the blog, you can highlight specific words in your post, and attach the link. Here's a link to Liz's painting blog. You can see the words in brown. If you click on the brown words, it takes you directly to the blog. That's a hyperlink. When you're in the text post, creating the post, the words are blue when the link is created. The hyperlink icon is just to the left of the justification options. It looks kind like Aqua Man's symbol, if you ask me.

I'm sure you ladies will be finding interesting things on the web that you'll want to share. This is a really handy way to do that.

pack at 15pounds

All I added was sandals, socks, undies, bra, slippers. 3 pounds?

Ladies we'll walk my hill when you're here in August.

John took this photo of me at the hill.

Coincidence?

When a pilgrim starts the Camino de Santiago they each get their "Credencial del Peregrino".
It's your individual passport of where you go each day while you're on the Camino (the trail).
Each place you stay at they stamp your credencial. The stamp shows the name of the town and the date they stamped it. Just like a passport does.

I pulled my credencial out from 4 years ago to see when we went. We started September 23 and we walked for three weeks. Interesting, I thought. Starting earlier and going longer this time. But then I noticed the map on the flip side of the credencial that shows the various routes (caminos) in Spain that get you to Santiago.

The one we take ( northern spain/Roncesvalles to Santiago) is called "Camino Frances". Who started this whole thing? Frances. Who spends countless hours planning and lining up travel arrangements (hotels, airfare, trainfare, scheduling etc etc)? Frances. Who is a lover of all things adventurous and earthy? Frances.

Coincidence. I think not.

And the Winner Is.....

Biggest Hill - Mariann, The side view you provided was very impressive. I know most of us can't give a cut-away of a hill but concrete has its advantages. The outlook at the top was also gorgeous.

Most Challenging Hill - Fran, I'm sure going down so sharply is very challenging with a pack on your back and then to immediately have to climb? Tough.

Most reminiscent of Spain - Liz, Simply a beautiful hill. I'd love to take a walk with you any time.

Last, but not least - Goat, I think your hill could have been a contender but the perspective wasn't captured in the photo. For your "blood, sweat, and tears" you get an honorable mention. I love you!

Have a good day, Ladies of Spain.

The Boone Hill

Whatdaya think?

walking with the Gipsy Kings

what a fun walk I had today with the Gipsy Kings. I even had my backpack on and it didn't bother me at all.

The Florida "Hill"

I took the camera to document the "hill" I have to work with. It's not very picturesque, but the view from the top isn't half bad!

Blood, sweat and tears

Is what I go thru to post. I ain't a writer. But, I am obsessive (sometimes). So, about Lizzy's 11#'s. That caused me to tear apart my pack and analyze it. I have 2 slacks, 1 skirt, 3 short sleeve, 2 long sleeve tops, 1 lightweight cardigan and 1 pullover jacket and pajamas. This all weights 5#. My total pack with some water weights 19#. I have everything that's on the list plus a camera in a case with a charger and computer cord. Oh, I have sandals and a pair of regular shoes (the sandals look really cute with the skirt). My sleeping bag is 1.5# of the weight and my pillow is non-negotiable.

I'm still in training. We'll see if the 19 holds or things start getting pulled out. But as near as I can tell, the only "extras" I have are the skirt and a top and the regular shoes. I have 2 slacks but that's in lieu of l long/1 short pants. And it says I can have 1-2 long and 1-2short sleeve so I've chosen 2 long/2 short. That can't be more than 1# extra.

Note....in addition to the above slacks & tops, I have the "Camino" slack/top that I will walk in.
My paper/pen/spanish translation book will be in the pocket of my camino pants.

Ok, as Rog would say "You've beat it to death Rose. Quit" So buenos noches.

lizard"s killer hill

It takes 1 hour from my home to walk to this hill. I took the photo from the bottom of the hill and on top of it.

John is going to take me to one tomorrow that he claims is bigger than this one.

I'll try and remember the camera to take a photo of that one. We'll bike to get to it.

Here's my backpack

I don't know how it's only 11 pounds.

I haven't put the camelbak water thing in yet.

What's in it is sleeping bag, pillow, rain gear, dining outfit. walking

outfit, flashlight, toiletries, and a sarong Kathy gave me to use for sleeping or after showers as a cover. Oh, I forgot to put the sandals in to weigh, maybe that will bring it to 12 pounds. Darn!

So I'm off for a walk with my pack and camera to shoot my hills.

HILLS!!!!

I'm doing a "THROW-DOWN" hill challenge!!!!!!

Who's got the biggest hills? These are some on my walk this morning. To enter the challenge you must post a pic of you hill and Mama (aka tech support) will judge and announce winner. Prize is simply the knowledge that you have the biggest hill!!!!

Deleting posted pictures

If you've posted a picture to the text field and change your mind, forget to rotate before hand, or whatever, Right Click on the image, select Delete image, and it goes away.

"I am your tech support." -- said with a heavy Arkansas twang. :)

Ted Nugent Concert

Yes, me and hubby went to see Ted Nugent at a July 4th fest.

It was sooooooo much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We saw him in 1985 also. my husband is a big fan of him. Also AC/DC , anything loud.

Ted Nugent is a 1970's rock and roll icon.

Songs of his: Cat scratch fever, Dog eat dog, Weekend warrior. Sound familiar. Don't feel bad, before I married it wasn't my kind of music either.

Thanks tech mama for hooking us up with this blog, it's great to postwith my fellow pilgrims.

I got all my gear ladies. And I Took my 11 pound back pack ,yes I got it at 11 lbs., into where I bought it and Nancy fit it for me. It feels so much better!!!!!!!!!!!!. I'll start walking with it soon and try it out.

Pack=Company

I wore my backpack for the first time today. I didn't make it up my hill once and all of a sudden I heard from behind me "those things you're walking with. Do they....". For the rest of my walk I had delightful company from a 1st grade teacher at Lincoln. It felt great to walk the camino way. My pack with water and nothing else weighs 10-11#'s. Good start. Will continue in the weeks ahead. It feels right. All is good.

I'm on and I'm in!

Oh my goodness! We are just doing sooooo many exciting and new things!

Have begun to put stuff on the bed in the guest room......haven't weighed anything YET, but will begin the process this week.

While walking this week on the beach, saw a bunch of manatee in the water....didn't know what they were until a picture of them made it to the front page of our newspaper the next day. Sorry, but I should have rotated the picture before I imported it and now I don't know how to get rid of it or rotate it :>). This is definitely a learning experience!!

I know that Spain will be just as exciting!!!

Ta-Dah

Mom, my clock is fixed.

SLEEP

Rose, I'm a little concerned- posting at 2am and again at 4am means you're not sleeping or you're just too excited about blogging . You need a good night's sleep to tackle those HILLS!!

Posting Pictures

Okay, ladies, Tech Support checking in. To post pictures that are already on your computer you will:

Create a New Post - Please be sure to put a title so our archive on the left is not too cluttered.

Above the Text Field you will see options like "Font", justification option, and the spell check option "ABC". Next to the "ABC" check, you will see a tiny scenic picture, Left Click on that.

You will see an option to "Add a picture from your computer" and below it is a text line with the word "Browse" next to it. Left click "Browse". This will take you to your computer to find your picture. You will need to select the correct location, either a particular folder like "My Pictures" or possibly "Desktop", where ever you saved your picture when you downloaded it.

When you find the picture, double click it to select it. The pictures info will automatically be filled into the text line directing the blog where to find the picture. You can now choose if you'd like the picture centered, to the left, or to the right, as well as the size. I warn you, unless you've modified it, you will likely have to select small or medium.

Click "Upload Image". The computer will do its thing and you will need to wait a minute until the image appears and you click "Done". Then you can continue to create/edit your post.

I would highly recommend that you go to this website and download a free version of paint.net. If you do this, when you browse for your photo, before selecting it, right click on it and open it in paint. This will allow you to easily shrink the size, crop unwanted background, rotate it to the correct orientation, and other things. I will make a post on editing your pictures with this program if there is a need.

Congratulations to Fran and Rose for being the pioneering sister to get on the blog. I'm guessing the other two will join after the holiday weekend, but they could be having fun now. Enjoy!

P.S.

The bible.

Oh!

Be still my beating heart Fran. Weight issues! Oh my god. Be calm. Think it through. Have you followed the Bible (your packing list)? That's what I did and I'm dead on to my ideal weight according to the experts (19#). Pictures...I need pictures.

Buenas tardes. Rose, muy bien photographia!! If I knew how to post one of mine(I'm sure our tech. support mama will assist me......Help Ann!!!!!) it would show the contents of my pack on our quest bed. I'm still debating what to pack. Rose what is the weight of dental floss minus it's plastic cover? My hope is to keep the weight at 20lbs (that includes 2 liters of water) and if I packed it tonight with what is on the bed it would way close to 2o lbs. WITHOUT the water!!
I won't start walking with the pack until Aug. , so I have a few weeks to fine-tune the contents. Today I walked 4miles with my rain gear on (since it wasn't raining I got a few looks on the trail) and it was fairly comfortable- the pants slipped easilyover my boots. Liz and Marian I'm anxiously awaiting a post from you! Buenas noches.

Estoy todo equipaje (I'm all packed)

This is so great. We have our very own blog. I'm sure I'll journal daily (remember Sanibel's "light" year!). But I got a new camera that's real little and hopefully pictures will gush forth. Do you believe it....we go next month!!!!!! I'm attacking the hills right now. I haven't done the pack yet. I'm waiting until next month. Hasta luego

Here goes my first attempt at blogging- Thanks to the technical support of my niece Ann (aka "pampered mama") the Ladies of Spain blog was created so the four of us could share the adventure with our family and friends.
Introduction: I am Fran, the elder of the sisters walking . I have attempted the Camino de Santiago twice before. In 2002 with my youngest daughter, Sarah. Our plans were abruptly altered six days into our walking when Sarah twisted her ankle severly and was told by the spanish doctor to stay off her foot for several weeks. We were both upset, but made a joint decision to stay in Spain - we used local buses and trains to visit the northern coastal region and had a great (but far more expensive accomadations when compared to the refugios along the Camino route) vacation. My second walk was with my sister Rose in 2004. We could only spend three weeks walking, so we skipped a large section of the Camino but did complete almost 300 miles!
We both agreed to do it again when we could devote 5 weeks and complete the entire distance of 450 miles (Roncesvalles to Santiago). So here we are two years later - joined by a younger sister, Liz, and a cousin, Marian.
I look forward to updating you on our preperation and actual journey. Adios!

Introduction

Hello, I'm the "technical support" of this lovely blog that I have started for my 3 aunts and their cousin, who is like a sister to them. They wanted to start a blog as they count down to their trip to Spain where they will walk between 350-400 miles over the course of 5 weeks. They will have only the packs on their back for their necessities. What goes into these packs and how much each item weighs is of great importance and debate. I'm sure we'll get a taste of that in posts to come.

They are terrific ladies and this is sure to be one of the best blogs around. I will be as hands off as possible and let these women have a blast. Enjoy the journey!