…next long walk which is under active consideration so TBD
…post surgery recovery - other than a final quick update regarding my Prostate Cancer Journey. When this journey started I decided to be open about my personal challenge to increase awareness of this illness and possibly help someone. This blogpost wraps up this sharing.
- Physical strength and endurance …a pretty rapid recovery. Estimate 80 - 90% or more precisely 86.64% 😉
- Mental recovery has been frankly tough... until very recently. Primary reason incontinence and misunderstood recovery expectations.
My strong recommendation to any Prostatectomy cancer patient…run don’t walk to a Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy clinic. They deal with this…they know. I recently had an initial assessment and was asked how I was feeling emotionally…what my symptoms were? In a safe environment I talked.
Post assessment I received followup communication with new Kegel exercises and took the opportunity to thank my physiotherapist…
« Wanted to thank you for simply listening and level setting. Knowing that my symptoms and even emotional reaction are within the parameters of “classic”, recovery will be gradual, think 1 year for measurable improvement meant so very much for me.
Going forward I can plan to do much of what I would normally do…just dress a little differently…So What!!!
No one to date in the Medical community explained things in such a straightforward manner. »
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This blogpost is totally unrelated to the reason the “Walking across Europe - 2013” blog was setup...share walking experiences...and NO I have no intention of ever changing by blog name! It is what it is for good reason 😊
Three blogpost items...
- Shout out to two walking friends
- I am asked to write a little something
- Something a little new
Shout out to two walking friends
Both Paulo and Greg…two good walking friends…are at it again... an update.
Paulo (Brazil) - 3 Camino routes and a delayed 2024 long walk now planned for 2025. Paulo at the tender age of 48 continues to move up the ranks of Jiu Jitsu in Brazil. He sent me a short video of his recent match (Paulo in dark blue kimono)...spoiler alert he won. The manner in which he won is very impressive... somehow he pulled a rabbit out of a hat at the end of his match.
Next step the Regional Jiu Jitsu championships in October 2024. If successful then the Brazilian national championships await in 2025. Jiu Jitsu well Paulo!
Paulo is also competing in the no kimono round in September 2024...NO I have not asked him what "no kimono" means for spectators...frankly I don’t want to know!
Paulo Jiu Jitsu Match Video
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| 20 minute walk from home...I wonder...67 years young? |
Greg (Canada) - UK Coast to Coast walk in 2023... an epic walk. Greg will be competing in the World Masters Athletics Championships in Gothenburg Sweden Aug 13-25 2024.
"Worlds is the highest level of competition for masters athletes, with more than 8,000 athletes aged 35-100+ from a record breaking 111 countries this year”
So YES this is a REALLY BIG deal!
Greg, competing in the 60 - 64 age group, will be running the 400M, the 800M and possibly the 4 X 400M relay. He is currently ranked second in the World for the 800M and last year he and 3 Canadian team mates set the World Record for the 4 X 800M relay for men’s 60 age group in a time 9:16.9 smashing the Aussie’s record of 9:29.53
A recent article in the Winnipeg Free Press...yes it IS a big deal for anyone to be highlighted in this daily newspaper!
Give it your best shot Greg...and remember in your acceptance speech to mention the importance of training and guidance received...by ahem yours truly... on the UK Coast to Coast walk!
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I am asked to write a little something 🤣
A Camino friend has asked some folks for contributions to a personal project. Pretty open ask…learnings from Camino walks or life in general. No parameters on contributions.
Why did she include me? 😂 oh my I am sure she was asking herself that very question when I sent my first response…as usual a little verbose ☺️…now affectionately deemed the “vomit draft”. Good feedback received…I got to redrafting await..terrified of repercussions otherwise 😳…the latest version is a slimmed down 54% of the « 🤢 draft ».
Ok my title isn’t creative however this was a fun, thought provoking exercise. It’s Guy thinking so if you are looking for life affirming stuff I ask “why are you still reading this blogpost” in the first place 😊
In the end…Camino long walks have been defining moments for me…here are some reasons why.
10 things I learned while walking Camino Paths 1) Planning is important…over planning is deadly…plans change. Stuff happens!
In 2013 early retirement! Pilgrimage walk to Santiago de Compostela? Intrigued I researched the spiderweb of Camino paths throughout Europe. The dream walk… Rorschach Switzerland to Finisterre Spain following 5 Camino Routes.
Long walk planning – Planned vs Actual (in brackets)
Walking days - 95 (88)
Rest days while walking - 5 (2)
Rest days at home – 0 (204)
Total distance – 2,403 kms (2,600)
Avg walking day - 25.3 kms (28.4)
Best laid plans change! I learned so much through all these changes!
2) Churches, historical sites are special…however these memories fade giving way to people encounters, funny moments, adverse times, kind help.
People encounters first night in Roncesvalles Albergue where a pilgrim Guiseppe from Italy kept everyone awake all night…a champion snorer. Later we met Guiseppe (not in a dorm room) and struck up a friendship.
Funny moments…so many…Camino Portuguese where we experienced torrential 250ml rains. A “new” path required skillfully walking along a bank above a canal. Confidently I started...soon hearing my pilgrim friend Paulo yelling “you are too tall”. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Down I tumbled ending up turtled upside down in 10 inches of water.
We were laughing so hard. Two young German Pilgrim women walked by with one saying “It’s ok…you will dry!” A precious Camino moment never to be forgotten.
Adverse times…kind moments
Via Podiensis walking to Urhad Mixe was BRUTAL...30 kms in cold driving rain. Everything is wet…one will NEVER dry out!
That night…kindness at our accommodation… we were offered a drink upon arrival. Boots lined with paper…raincoats set by a newly lit fire…an offer for a gratis load of laundry gratefully accepted.
3) Blogging…what’s that? .… however I created a blog…sweet talked a few folks into becoming subscribers and voila.
279 blogposts later…millions of subscribers (ok just under a 100)…6 published volumes…a calling of sorts. During the day I noted blog worthy events...perhaps “stretching" them somewhat for storytelling purposes…focusing on people, dangerous animals, adventures, misadventures, and funny stories.
Comments received were fun to read, encouraging and welcome. I cannot overemphasize how surprising and beneficial writing about my day was on long walks.
4) World War 1 Impact…walking through small villages in France became a living breathing life lesson on what the impacts of World War 1 were.
Day 1 on Via Gebennensis – Geneva to Beaumont
There are 51 names of men from Beaumont who were killed in the First World War...it turns out there were only 1,000 habitants on Beaumont then. The thought of this number of young men dying...essentially most of a generation I would expect is very sobering. How many more villages went through something similar?
Day 2 on Via Gebennensis - Beaumont to Frangy
WW1 Cimetiere St. Blais - 7 names 4 of them with the same family name
WW1 Frangy - 47 names with 6 of them with the same family name...Frangy's population today is 1,600
And on and on it went from village to village through this incredibly beautiful part of France. I would stop at these WW1 memorials and reflect for a moment on the sacrifices made by these military personnel. Always the number of military casualties in WW1 far surpassed those of WW2.
A little post walk research – French military casualties WW1 – 18% of soldiers enlisted in the French army or 1.5 million died in uniform…WW2 – French military casualties were 212,000. Total casualties military and civilian were much higher in WW2 due to the global scale of the conflict and other atrocities however WW1 effectively wiped out a generation of young soldiers in countless villages.
Prior to walking this Camino path…I was simply unaware of the scale of suffering endured throughout France in WW1…a sobering learning experience
5) Life can be much simpler… A simple daily routine…wake up…get dressed…walk…observe…talk to total strangers/newfound friends…rest…eat…home for the night…eat…wash clothes…shower…blog…sleep. Rinse and repeat the next day.
While our backgrounds varied widely we shared a common objective…Santiago de Compostela.
6) Dangerous animals exist everywhere…one must be prepared to react quickly and decisively to cows, llamas, sheep, chickens, cows without horns, cows with horns, dogs, snakes, bees, slugs etc. Two memorable cow encounters.
Face to face with an immovable Swiss cow (not actual cow)
The mind does funny things in times of severe stress... five options.
Option 1 - sneak under the cow
Option 2 - attach my 2 trekking poles and pole vault over the cow
Neither seemed like a good option...pilgrim dies squished by cow or seen riding cow in pain after failed pole vault attempt
Option 3 - shoo it away...after poor people communication attempts what were my chances with a cow?
Option 4 - go behind the cow
Option 5 - go ahead of the cow
Option 4 was possible however was worried it could "backfire" if the timing was off.
Option 5 chosen… eyes locked on the cow…all good until...the cow starting following me. Thankfully a short friendship otherwise how to explain this at my B&B!
Aubrac cow in France
Surrounded by a small herd of horned Aubrac cows I gingerly sidestepped a few and lifted the nearby gate latch…result an electric shock!
Backtracking to the actual trail a Mexican standoff ensued with a giant cow. Head down it made a snorting noise…so I climbed over a stone fence into a pasture promptly falling into mud or what I thought was mud?
7) Getting lost is inevitable…however inevitably one finds their way …an example.
I kept seeing Wanderweg but no Via Jacobi signs…signs pointing every which way…brilliant deduction I was lost. I wandered to a farmhouse.
Three people greeted me…two spoke German, one English. Quick interpretation of my map…I was 5 kms off target. Without hesitation my backpack was in the car…I was driven 10 minutes to where I had lost my way. Kindness saved the day,
8) I am an Introvert...however simple gestures break down barriers Knowing this I thought why not hand out small Canadian lapel pins? 2,000+ pins...did leave some bunches in accommodations
So many positives in these brief people exchanges… brief examples
Paulo (Brazil) in Roncesvalles Albergue…a lapel pin given…resulted in walking the next 26 days together to Santiago de Compostela. Two subsequent Caminos together since then and a 2025 plan.
An elderly gentleman scything away on a stunning valley Switzerland hilltop. I stopped…a lapel pin given… his unspoken words “what do I need this for?” Looking back I noticed him chucking the pin in the grass. Lesson learned…one can’t collect material possessions forever!
Mme Lupin the auberge owner received 3 lapel pins to share with employees. Her daughter had been an exchange student in Canada. I mentioned one daughter had a University term in Troyes France and two of our daughters were working in Japan resulting in an amazing visit with my wife. Mme Lupin and her husband also had visited Japan.
Mme Lupin asked where I lived in Canada ..turns out 3 weeks ago a couple from my home town spent a week at her Auberge. Later our family lawyer commented on my blog that she and her husband were that couple!
…3 small plastic Canadian lapel pins.
9) Friendships made…friendships sadly so quickly lost…life is so precious. While walking a Camino path I met Patricia who was starring in a Japanese Film Camino Documentary. Patricia set up an interview with the crew. What fun we had chatting about my also starring in the documentary over the next few days.
6 months later this sequence of events took place
April 8, 2023 10:20 pm I received the following text message out of the blue…
“Hello, I hope this message finds you well. I wanted let you know I am on the Kumano Kodo Kohechi today. I’m going to be dual Pilgrim just like you. I also wanted to let you know that you made it into the Japanese documentary on Camino Santiago.”
I asked Patricia if she could see if my picture was in the glass case at the Hongu Taisha Center as understood it would be (I was the 5th person to receive the Dual Pilgrim designation)
April 9, 2023 7:50 am text from Patricia “I will take a look and take picture at Hongu”
April 10, 2023 7:00 am Patricia left her accommodation and simply vanished
Well over a year later after extensive investigations family and friends still wonder what happened to Patricia? Life is so precious!
10) I am capable…of so much more than I realized prior to Camino walking. That is my main learning.
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Something a little new
A few blogposts ago I asked for ideas for the downtime resulting from my medical adventure 6+ weeks ago.
This idea actually goes back a long way....my Dad (Pa) cross stitched for a number of years. Carpenter by trade he was very skillful with his hands...I did not inherit the carpenter gene however I very much enjoyed stained glass work for a number of years. Maybe Pa thought the skills would be transferable to cross stitch...🤔 looking back wish I had at least tried to pick his brain a bit...now many years too late 🥲
A couple of Pa’s creations...
A few of my stained glass projects are shown below...working with colours, different glass types, textures was fascinating.
I took evening courses at a Stained Glass shop in St. Boniface area over a 3+ year period. Of the projects below 3 were kept...the others plus many other projects were donated to Winnipeg’s Siloam Mission for fundraising efforts.
My initial estimate for the Tiffany Dragonfly lampshade was ~$300...actual including the lamp stand ~$1,000 (jewels were $250 alone) 🤣.
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| Howling wolf - Manitoba cottage |
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| Scrap glass lampshade - Now in Toronto |
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| Tiffany Dragonfly Lampshade - Now in Toronto |
A few weeks ago I trundled off to Michaels to buy a cross stitch pattern...have to start somewhere! I first asked a young female staff member where the cross stitching section was...she pointed “there by the wall”...I am pretty sure this was 100% knitting. Then I spotted a more seasoned female staff member and quickly was steered to the cross stitching area.
My first words...”I know nothing about cross stitching...my Dad cross stitched...I think I will take this pattern...pretty sure it’s one he did”
She simply said « maybe you want to start with something a little smaller ». Possibly take a course at a local library...I will look into that. Hmmm...when I took stained glass courses over 3 to 4 year period I was always the only male...will cross stitch course be any different...somehow I don’t think so!
I walked out of Michael’s with the little project below, a few extra needles…and a recommendation to look at a given website for other patterns. Once home I Googled « cross stitch for dummies » and watched a 30 minute surprisingly entertaining video.
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| Other patterns were deadly dull...donut looked interesting |
Then what else could I do...I started...there may have been some choice words along the way for my ears only (expect/know I failed here) 🤔
“D*mn stupid thread often comes out of needle as I go though the cloth”
”Why give you thread with 6 strands and THEN you must pull it apart to either use 2 or 3 threads? Why not give you 2 or 3 thread strands to start with?”
“I thought I was pretty good with numbers and counting...sure bloody hard to keep counting squares as per the pattern”
“Do you stitch all one of colour ie blue and then fill in the small missing areas...did that and geez it’s hard to fill in small spaces...think I approached this like a rookie!”
“Totally messed up the middle part of the doughnut...so I went rogue...which is something that I TOTALLY enjoy doing..and modified the pattern thank you very much! I thought if I stuff enough thread here and there I can fake this out...no one will ever know...or rather no one will ever care”
“What’s this French loop mumbo jumbo for the donut eyes...even my skilled crafty daughter Jeanne isn’t clear on the instructions...so again find a different way...Good Enough!”
“Back stitching...going over the same hole to create a stitching line that looks seamless...again what does that mean?...phew thankfully Jeanne helped me out here...not so difficult after all”
Etc. etc, etc.....however after a while I found the process of stitching and thinking about this little project was quite satisfying and dare I say almost relaxing...something I sorely needed.
Voila here is the finished project...go ahead cross stitchers...have a good laugh...not how goofy I look...at the cross stitch project!!! 😳
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The Back!!! Ok cross stitchers feedback please…it looks terrible
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Now I am ready to move to the next project...thankfully I found this super neat website www.tapestrymarket.com. Holy smokes the patterns here are way more my style...there are soooo many cool patterns...colours are amazing! First I looked at the accessories section and ordered a few things...one needs tools!
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| Bunch of needles and a Needle threader NO INSTRUCTIONS ok someone HELP! |
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| Gizmo to organize various thread colours...I think? 🤣 |
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Frame to hold project...YouTube suggested this style allowed stretching the cloth tighter than oval bamboo frame. Who knows? 🤔
Now for the project...when I saw the pattern there was NO question...It spoke to me big time!  | | Pre-stamped pattern as opposed to counting squares ☺️ |
Now it’s important to know (us cross stitchers know this) that what you see on a pre-stamped cloth does not resemble the finished product. How this works is beyond me...some things in life are simply mysteries!  | 36 Colours!!! Donut project had 4
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My second project...11ct stamped meaning 3 threads. Some may think “Guy have you considered whether this is seriously way too big a leap from your modest donut project...like you are totally bonkers attempting this? Another one of your leaps into the unknown without thinking!” Well I wondered that briefly as well so I did some calculations....note I could NOT figure out how a graph would help me decide if my project choice was “reasonable"
Donut - back to basic math the area of a circle = pie R squared (🤣 can’t find the keyboard symbols) Result 20.3 sq cm
Cool Tree - very basic math area of a square = W x H Result 1,451.6 sq cm
Final Analysis - Cool Tree / Donut = 71.6 times more surface area
Decision - Clearly this project is totally reasonable to attempt...go big or go home!
I will take my time getting organized and started...I lead an incredibly super busy life 😀...more YouTube cross stitching for dummies videos viewing for sure. Also am starting to research a very intriguing long walk option...which would span a few years...one must live in hope!
I have many questions...here are 5...if anyone reading this has some thoughts I am listening!
- Suggestions for any YouTube for Dummies videos or possibly on-line courses
- How do you avoid thread slipping out of the needle as you stitch?
- Scenario - 2 rows of 10 squares forming a rectangle...all the same colour. How would you approach the cross stitching? Here is what I think...
- Start with bottom row left square...and stitch the square bottom L to top R
- From that square move across the bottom row of 10 squares stitching bottom L to top R
- Move from bottom row right square...stitch bottom R to Top L
- From that square move across the bottom row of 10 squares stitching bottom R to Top L
You now have the bottom row completed
- Move from bottom row left square to top row left square and repeat what was done for bottom row
- What is the best way to tie up thread on underside of cloth? YouTube video indicated run under 3 or 4 previously completed stitches and cut thread. A bit awkward...is there a better way?
- How do you organize different colour threads prior to starting project?
A little diversion...was sitting in the Papi comfortable rocking chair putting the final touches on this blogpost masterpiece 😉 when our suite door opened and Rose (9) and Elodie (6) came rushing in pell mell “Papi, Papi we have something for you!” Their gift below...at first I thought “golf balls...neat”...then a closer look. A “sweet” moment...they were so excited...and I felt so very fortunate 🥰 I am keeping the box however the “golf balls” have somehow disappeared.
The next blogpost is targeted for the earlier of 1) having a solid plan for next long walk, 2) completion of the above Cool Tree cross stitch project or 3) my second hole in one 🤔😳 3) would be nice however very improbable so the answer HAS to be 1) 🙏🙏🙏 otherwise my long walk career is likely over...no way hosay! |
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