Bike Ride in Netherlands

While in Amsterdam, 

Joe and I decided to rent bikes and take a ride into the country. 

It was a beautiful cloudy day and the scenery was stunning!

On the ferry

Nice bike-sized stream bridges

The sheep were happy to see us

Joe is always in mycologist phase

Lovely waterlillies

 While riding, we came across this sign 

advertising organic milk.

We were surprised to see a coin machine inside,

and even more surprised to see fresh eggs

on the counter with a box to put your money in.

Is the cow behind the wall?

See the money box? The honor system apparently works here.

What a great way to spend a day near Amsterdam,

getting into the beautiful countryside.

Next we take the train to Bayonne!

My First Camino - 2006 - Wales First

I was looking at some old photos this morning 

and thought it might be fun 

to write a bit about my very first Camino 

in 2006.

Joe and I had traveled through Spain

 a few years earlier during Semana Santa

 and I remember the train ride 

from Barcelona to southern Spain, 

thinking, 

"I'd love to walk this beautiful country!"

Then when I was diagnosed with MCS 

and long distance walking was one option 

for my therapy, 

I began looking for walking trails in Spain 

and found the Camino.

After much study and planning, 

I decided to walk!  

I asked my friend Joe

 (we were partners at that time) 

if he would be interested in walking with me, 

and the trip was on!

We bought our gear, paid for our tickets, 

and got ready to go. 

We decided to visit Amsterdam, Wales, and Ireland, as well as Spain. 

Once you're in Europe, the rest isn't so expensive.

Our family was concerned because of the Iraq crisis, but we weren't afraid.  

I cut off all of my hair 

so I wouldn't have to deal with it, 

and off we went!

Our overloaded packs!

Annie

Joe

Waiting for our plane

We began our trip by flying to Amsterdam, 

where we spent about a week exploring. 

We stayed at The Shelter Hostal 

A very large dinner!

One of our favorite sandwich spots near the train station 

The canal boats were so pretty

One reason for our visit is the Ritman Hermetic Library

Then there was this, which I'd never seen before in my life. 

After a few days in Amsterdam, 

we carried on to visit friends in Wales. 

Our friend, Jodye, picked us up in London 

and drove us to Wales. 

But first, we spent a night with her in London.

Jodye cooked us a lovely dinner

and was a sweet hostess.

Do NOT come into the kitchen!

A lovely dinner!

In Wales, we touristed about. 

One of the highlights was our visit to a Holy Well.

The other was a surprise birthday party 

for ME!

YAY!

And let me tell you something,

those Welsh girls can drink you under the table!

After our visit to Wales, 

we returned with some of the ladies 

to the Ritman Library in Amsterdam 

to do a bit more study.

After a couple of days at the library, 

we said our farewells,

and Joe and I took a little bike trip.

The Camino was getting closer...

Making Pesto!

My son Cameron made pesto today for the week!

Oh!

My!

Gosh!

It is GOOD!

His partner, Michael, grew the BEST Italian Basil this season that I've ever eaten. It is so fragrant!  When I crushed the flowers between my fingers and closed my eyes, it was unbelievable - next season I'm going to infuse some in alcohol.

Anyway, there is no real recipe, 
but here's what goes into it:

Basil

Pine Nuts

Garlic

Olive Oil

Parmesan

Salt

Here is the Basil from our garden. 
There is the Italian Basil, 
and also just standard garden variety Basil.

I helped him clean it 

and take the leaves off the stems.

Next, he put it into the food processor 

and chopped it up.

Then, he chopped some garlic 
and ground it in the mortar and pestle 
along with pine nuts, salt, and olive oil.

He added that to the big food processor, 
then added some grated parmesan cheese
we had grated in the small processor.
(we're a 2 food processor family)

This house uses a LOT of pesto! 
It's one of our favorite easy meals.

When we buy it, 
we buy this Buitoni 7 ounce size 
for about $5.99  

Today, Cameron made about 28 ounces 

(4 times as much) 

for $8.

And it's soooo much better!

Look how thick and luscious it looks.

YUM!

I love having a garden and sons that like to cook!

Thanks Cameron!

Baby Chicks!

When my son and I bought this house, one of the things I had in mind was to have a small flock of hens. Having fresh organic eggs each day was important to me, and having grown up on a farm, I love to watch the silly antics of chickens!

My current flock consists of Kallie and Hattie, two Barred Rock Hens, and Sissie, a Rhode Island Red.

Kallie and Hattie

Kallie - the Good Mum!

Sissy - Excellent Layer!

They're about 2 years old now, and lately, I've thought I'd like to have one or two more hens. So instead of buying hens, when Kallie went broody, I decided to see how she'd do rearing a nest of chicks.

I paid the same amount of cash for a dozen fertile eggs. A lady behind me has a permit to have all sorts of poultry, and she was selling eggs for chicken breeds that bring in quite a bit of cash.

I bought 6 Copper Marans, 4 Americauna, 2 Olive Egger, and 2 Mille Fleur/Leghorn cross eggs and stuck them under Kallie and she has successfully hatched the clutch!

Two weeks after putting the eggs in the nest, I moved Kallie just to see how things were coming along and noticed that one of the Olive Egger eggs had vanished!  I moved all the eggs, checked all around the nest and it had just vanished into thin air! I never have discovered what became of it. I suspect a rat carried it off, and am hoping the rats (of which we have two in residence) won't get my new chicks!

The first excitement happened night before last, 2 days before the eggs were due to hatch. I heard peeping, and when I checked the nest, found one Americauna egg pipping and one Copper Marans with a dime-sized hole.  Next morning, the Copper Marans was dead, having gotten stuck in the shell. The weather has been so hot, there just wasn't enough moisture in the air and the membrane inside the egg stuck to the poor little guy. The other chick, however, hatched just fine and since then, chicks have been hatching!

This morning I counted SIX new babies, with 4 eggs left to hatch! I'm hoping for hens, of course. Roosters will go into the freezer (sorry, vegetarians!) and extra hens will be sold to pay for the venture.

Here are some photos of my new little chooks:

And here is what the eggs looked like.

This is not a photo of my actual eggs,

but this is what mine looked like:

The dark chocolate brown eggs are Copper Marans
The white egg is a Mille Fleur/Leghorn Mix - they lay 300 eggs/year!
The blue eggs are from Americauna hens.
The two lighter brown eggs are actually not mine - mine are an olive green and are from the Olive Egger hens which are a cross between Americauna and Copper Marans.

The Olive Eggers lay eggs like this:

I'm very excited to see how many hens I end up with and this has been so much fun watching these little chooks hatch!

And I'm not the only chicken crazy person in the family. My little granddaughter Hayden LOVED her chickens. This is her, with her hen Buttercup, who followed her around like a puppy!  The family recently had to sell their hens, because they were thinking about moving. So Hayden's very excited about the new chooks!

Another Fallen Pilgrim

A French pilgrim (age 35) died of a heart attack on Saturday 

in the municipality of Vega de Valcarce 

as he walked the stretch of La Faba and Herrerias 

on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

His brother, age 21, was also doing the Camino de Santiago, 

and has identified his body. 

A call alerted the emergency service 

of a man fainted in the middle of the road up to La Faba. 

Arriving services 112 certified his death.

I do not have the pilgrim's name yet, 

but our condolences and prayers are offered to the family.

Rest in Peace, Peregrino.

May this, your final Camino,

 be sweet.

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!