Downshift Musings

School is under way, church activities have resumed, and temperatures have dropped to the 90’s. Life if back to “normal” after the summer?

We’re coming up on the year anniversary of my sister Becky’s death on October 2nd. So far Hope and Wyatt have not expressed a desire to mark the date in any special way. It seems both such a short time and such a long time that we have been building this new life together. There has been a lot of frustrating time getting used to each other and but now the months are kind of blending together. Or maybe it’s early dementia? After all, Wyatt delights in telling me I am old.

My initial guardianship tasks of claiming inherited accounts for the kids are still in progress. There is so much paperwork that it ends up spread all over my music room/office couch and floor! I’ve definitely invested in some new tools and techniques to try to organize documents, statements and receipts! (Love my new Doxie scanner. Couldn’t live without it for scanning all those receipts. And iCloud drive has become my new best friend.)

I’ve taken up a little bit of temporary work for church, helping out with a database migration, some website work and looking into our use of MailChimp. As a result, Nyxy kitty cat is thrilled that I am back at my desk a bit more now. She really misses those Home Depot online meetings.

One of these days I’m going to have to fix up this website. I just always put off updates to this blog. It seems like work, and no pay :(.

My next adventure is coming up soon. My son Tristan, who turned 27 today, and I are headed to Spain on October 2, the anniversary of Becky’s death. Tristan has some time constraints (and I don’t feel great leaving Rich to care for the kids alone for too long). Consequently we’ve got 13 days to speed-walk the 200 miles of the Camino Primitivo. I’m super excited, as this pilgrimage is reputedly one of the most beautiful. It’s up and over the Cantabrian mountains in Asturias, starting in the city of Oviedo, so it is going to be tough. Probably wet and cool too.

Our plan, with an option to do an alternative “green” way near the end. The Primitivo is the oldest (original, not primitive) of the Camino routes. Camino Ways website says “Today, fewer than 5% of pilgrims to Santiago choose the Camino Primitivo. This route is demanding, but its scenery and history make it a unique experience.” It’s actually just above 5 now, but it’s a great choice to avoid the overcrowding on the French Way. https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/statistics-2/