Ten Etiquette Rules for Everyone (Pilgrims Included)!

I was cleaning out some old files today and ran across this list of 10 etiquette rules for children by Dr. M.E. Waters. I'm not sure where I got them, but they are quite good! I sure do remember being taught these rules -- today's children might be better off if someone took time to teach them also!

Although these rules apply to children,

they are a great reminder to the rest of us!

 

Do you follow them?

....****....

THE DO's

1. DO stay away from people who are troublemakers

2. DO say please, thank you, excuse me, good morning/evening, and I am sorry
3. DO put your hand over your mouth when you cough
4. DO be kind to other people
5. DO be polite on the telephone
6. DO care about your appearance; be neat and clean
7. DO show respect to parents, teachers, and elders
8. DO attend church or other spiritual practice
9. DO open the door and pull the chair out for others (Boys, please do this for girls and ladies)

10. DO take your hats off inside the building

THE DO NOT's

 
1. DO NOT chew gum in public
2. DO NOT talk with food in your mouth or throw it across the room
3. DO NOT interrupt when others are talking
4. DO NOT use curse words
5. DO NOT smoke or drink alcohol
6. DO NOT disrespect parents, teachers, or anyone
7. DO NOT be rude to other people
8. DO NOT act ugly in public
9. DO NOT put other people down or cruelly tease them
10. DO NOT tell lies about other people or tattle on them

* * * * *  

Photo by Colleen

Here are a few more rules specifically for Pilgrims:

Pilgrim DO's

1. DO secure private lodging if you are sick and contagious.

2. DO share food and drink with other pilgrims often

3. DO dress respectfully when you enter village churches

4. DO leave the bottom bunk for the elderly and disabled

5. DO be SILENT when in churches along the way

6. DO remember that food and lodging is a blessing, not a right.

7. DO clean up after yourself

8. DO take time to say "Buen Camino" and "Buenos Dias!"

9. DO buy something if you ask to use the toilet in a public shop

10. DO take time to really SEE, HEAR, and FEEL the spirit of the Camino 

Pilgrim DON'Ts

1. DO NOT throw toilet paper, water bottles, and trash along the trail. CARRY IT OUT!

2. DO NOT speak loudly and rudely when locals do not understand your language

3. DO NOT steal toilet paper or kitchen tools from the albergue

4. DO NOT fail to report bedbugs if you see or carry them

5. DO NOT take other people's food from the kitchen or fridge

6. DO NOT touch the fruit or vegetables in the tienda

7. DO NOT pick your blisters in public

8. DO NOT make any demands whatsoever

9. DO NOT convince yourself that "donative" means "FREE!"

10. DO NOT forget to show grace and gratitude to ALL along The Way.

If you have others, please add them as comments!

Buen Camino!

 

 

If you'd like to walk the Camino
but aren't quite ready to do it alone,
see my website:

Anniewalkers Camino

for more information about

Guided Walks on the Camino Santiago 

and on other Pilgrimage Trails of Europe

Summertime Peaches

This week, I took a trip to a farm near one of the places I lived as a child.They have a wonderful fruit stand there and mom decided to buy a lug of peaches. She wanted to can them.

What is a lug? A lug is not quite a bushel but it is the size of which most produce is delivered to markets these days. They weigh about 31 to 33 pounds. A bushel weighs 33 to 38 pounds.

I have sweet memories of canning peaches in the late summer with my grandmother and aunts. In those days, we'd pick the peaches ourselves. I remember how the peach fuzz would fly, getting between my collar and waistband and making me itch like crazy!  

Butler's Orchard

Peach canning was a joint effort among friends and family back then. The men would set up all the ladders and help pick the peaches. The young children would run around under the trees, picking up the fruit that was dropped.

Photo courtesy of Life Magazine

 The women, who had started their work the day before by sorting and washing hundreds of jars, would pick peaches too. But once the fruit was in the baskets, the men's work would be done, and the women's work would REALLY begin as they peeled and sliced all those fresh peaches.  It was enjoyable work, however, because you got to sit around and visit and gossip with all your friends. Sharing of labor was common then, and I really miss those days!

A lot of families didn't have to worry about rations during World War II or during the Depression if they knew how to 'put up' their own food. This habit continued on and served us through the 50's right up until today!

I remember picking a fresh peach from the tree and biting into it. The sweet juice would run down my chin, and I'd wipe my face with a dusty arm. There's nothing quite as good as a juicy peach straight from the tree. The ones in the supermarkets have been picked green and gassed, and they taste nothing like what I recall as a child. 

These peaches were good, but not quite ripe enough, so we laid them out on the kitchen table, placing them upside down on a white tea towel, covered them, and gave them a day or two to "sugar up."

Then we got busy doing other things and forgot about them!

Oh NOOOOoooo!

By the time I remembered they were there, several had bruises or mold showing.
The others were really getting too ripe to can.
So we decided to dehydrate them.

Slipped skins make peeling a breeze!

The first thing we did was put on a big pot of water and bring it to a boil. The water was deep enough to cover a peach. Once the water boiled, we'd drop in a peach, wait about 30 seconds, then take it out and put it in a pan of cold water. This causes the skins to "slip" and instead of peeling, you can easily just use your fingers to pull off the peels. It saves an incredible amount of time.

The water gets peach fuzz and pieces in it, but it's fine.

Once the peaches were peeled, we sliced them and put them into a pan of water and lemon juice. This keeps them from turning brown.

Aren't they pretty?

After the slices been dipped in the lemon juice,
I put them on the drying trays of my Excalibur dehydrator. 

I love this dehydrator because it has a dial that allows you to set the temperature.
I never dehydrate fruits and vegetables above 115 degrees,
in order to preserve the enzymes.

The fruit took all night to dehydrate. This morning, it was dry, but flexible. It has retained its pretty color, due to the lemon juice bath. I use about 1/4 cup of lemon juice to a gallon of water. I used bottled lemon juice.

I will now bag and vacuum seal the fruit, once it has cooled.
Photos to follow.

The lug of peaches, which weighed about 32 pounds, cost us $20.
So we got these lovely peaches for less than $.65 per pound!
Even with the small amount of electricity it took to dehydrate the fruit,
this is an excellent price!
We had enough to dehydrate a full batch,
and had 2 one-gallon bags of sliced peaches left,
which I put into the freezer.

To freeze the peaches,
I lightly coated the slices with sugar,
then put them into one-gallon freezer bags.
These will be great on cereal, in pies,
or just to eat for breakfast or dessert.

We kept out 3 of the ripe peaches
mom made a small batch of fresh home made peach ice cream last night.

YUM!!! 

Fresh fruit is one of the things I've missed most about this Valley!

Instead of buying canned or frozen fruit this year,
consider canning, freezing, or dehydrating your own!
It's not difficult at all, and the end product is much healthier for you
than anything you'll buy at the market.
It's also much less expensive.
I figure these peaches cost less than half of store-bought.

It's also very satisfying to put up your own food.
You know exactly what's in the package.
And what a wonderful experience for children!

If you're short on cash,
consider going in with friends or family and buying in bulk.
You can save a lot of money by doing this
and it's so much nicer to do with a group.

Feel free to email me if you have questions.
I've got a lot of experience canning, freezing, and dehydrating
fruits, vegetables, and meat.

Try it!
You've got nothing to lose
and a lot to save!

Until then...

 Love,
Annie

Walk the Camino With Broken Ribs?

Remember I told you about breaking my ribs?

Two weeks ago today, I went camping with my friends and family. 

We had a great time and a lot of fun catching crawdads in the river! 

On the way up to the bank on the last day, I slipped and fell, 

hitting my ribcage on a pyramid shaped rock, 

knocking the breathe out of me.

I sat there in the cold shallow water for a few minutes, 

struggling to breathe, 

while people gathered around to help me up.  

Once up, I immediately went back to camp and covered the area with ice. 

I felt I had probably just bruised my ribs 

and they would be sore for a day or two.

When I got home, I called my doctor.

She asked me a million questions, 

had me palpate my ribs myself, 

then told me I'd cracked them.

Should I come in for an x-ray?

Nope.  

X-rays often have problems revealing fresh rib fractures, 

especially if the bone is merely cracked.

And besides, even if they are broken, there is nothing we can do.

Pain medicine and time...

Can you wrap them?

No, we no longer do that. 

It makes it too difficult to expand the ribcage 

and people tend to get pneumonia 

from not breathing deeply (because of the pain.)

Pain medicine and time...

But what if they're BROKEN!?

There's absolutely nothing we would do. 

You aren't spitting up blood, 

so you didn't pierce your lungs.

It's just going to take time...

Breathing deeply will help set them. 

And it sounds like you've separated the ribs from the chest wall.

Pain medicine and time...

But they feel SQUISHED where I hit!

Yup... they're cracked there.

They'll heal.

Pain medicine and time...

 Well, it's been two weeks.

They hurt as much today as they did two weeks ago.

When I'm standing straight up, they don't bother me,

but the minute I sit or lay down,

I yelp.

Ibuprofin decreases the pain,

but that stuff will kill your liver!

Besides, when I take pain meds, 

I don't feel the pain as sharply

and tend to do too much.

Then I feel worse the next day.

This sucks.

Getting out of bed in the morning is an interesting adventure!

Someone described it as 

"you SLITHER off the bed as best you can," 

and that is so true.

It takes a good 3 to 4 minutes

to work my body to the edge of the bed,

log roll my body,

then gingerly work my straight legs to the floor

so I can stand up without bending.

Getting into bed

is the same type of adventure.

Once I'm down flat, I'm ok.

But the extreme sharp pain
caused by rolling or moving

keeps me in a tense, flat position all night long,

and leaves me with a hell of a backache in the morning.

I honestly dread bedtime.
Too bad I'm not a horse.
They can sleep standing up.

Let me tell you something:

The only good cracked ribs 

are the ones my son Rob makes with barbecue sauce!

Ok... 

I'm done whining for the day...

But if you have it in you,

please send me some prayers or healing energy.
I need these ribs to HEAL!

I have a Camino to walk in the spring!

Oh, one last thing.

The Bible says Eve was created from a rib 

that God took out of Adam.

Now I know why

some men act like they're angry!

Probably still hurts like heck!
And the only advice is
"pain medicine and time."

Poor guys!

* * *

Note:  If you are interested in walking the Camino Santiago, 

but are not quite ready to go it alone, 

consider joining Annie

on one of our small, affordable Camino walks. 

For more information see our website 

at this link: AnnieWalkers Camino

A Missing Pilgrim

I received this in my email today.
I'm hoping this pilgrim simply lost track of the time or was unable to find a computer.
He has not been heard from since August 27 and his family is concerned.
If you see him on the road, please tell him to contact his family immediately.
If you have information about him, please contact casaperegrina@yahoo.es

 

Note:  If you are interested in walking the Camino Santiago, 

but are not quite ready to go it alone, 

consider joining Annie

on one of our small, affordable Camino walks. 

For more information see our website 

at this link: AnnieWalkers Camino