The Finish Line! Santiago with Joe 2015

Joe and the girls made it fine to Santiago on June 1.

I haven't heard back from them yet,
but Joe said they had a fine trip!

Here are a couple of photos.
As you can see, they are still working on the Cathedral.

The next morning, 

they rented a taxi that too them

to Finisterre and Muxia for 2 hours each place,

with lunch in Muxia

for €160.

This is a great deal!

Joe took off the next day for the Netherlands.

He loves spending time at the Ritman Museum,

and this year, also visited Groningen,

Alkmaar, and Heemskerk.

He made it home very late Thursday night.

I've had a fun summer so far.

My chickens are doing great and my biggest Barred Rock hen

decided she would go broody,

so I bought some fertile eggs to stick under her.

She's a very happy girl:

She's sitting on a dozen eggs.

I bought 6 Black Copper Marans eggs,

2 Americauna eggs,

2 Mille Fleur eggs

and 2 Olive Egger eggs.

I'm excited to see how many hens I get

and what breeds.

I'll know in another 19 days!

Otherwise, I've been working on a variety of projects.

I have the Camino May 2016 planned and posted.

I'll blog about that in a separate posting.

I turned in a DNA test to ancestry.com 

and got the results today.

DNA has proven to be quite interesting.

I submitted my mother's DNA a few months ago,

and as a result, 

I have 2 new cousins who were given up for adoption,

and 2 more we're working with,

trying to figure out where they belong.

It's shaken some skeletons out of the family closet,

to say the least!

My ankle is still slowly healing.

I have walked occasionally

with no problem,

though last week, 

it acted up again.

As a result, I've put on about 20 unwanted pounds.

I've started a weight-lifting program to try to 

beat back the fat.

It's not easy at my age!

And of course, much of the issue is genetics.

My grandmothers were all fairly "portly" at my age,

and they worked hard on the farm!

I've been enjoying the hot HOT weather

and my grandchildren!

Trying to stay away from the computer

as much as possible.

My doll business has slowed to a slow drizzle.

I'm told the summer months are always slow for Etsy.

For those who don't know what I"m doing,

you can see my dolls at

www.frecklefarmdolls.etsy.com

and my doll blog at www.frecklefarmdolls.blogspot.com

I take "hootchie-mama" Bratz dolls

and give them back their innocence.

What else?

Mom is doing much better.

We have decided to have a memorial service 

for my brother, Mike, when I return to California

in November.

I guess that's about it.

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer,

and for those in Spain,

take care!

I hear they're having a heat wave!

Stay hydrated,

take lots of rests, 

and

Buen Camino!