Racing for Jenny

On July 5th, Jenny McCune, a friend of mine from Bozeman and someone very dear to me, sustained a serious spinal injury in a cycling accident during a training ride; she is currently paralyzed from the shoulders down, and is undergoing treatment at the Craig Hospital for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation and Research. Jenny is a very large part of why I am where I am today with athletics; she coached and cheered me through my very first competitive event when I was anything but fit, encouraged me through low times to take advantage of the power of the great outdoors and physical activity, hiked and biked with me at speeds I hope I never consider to be my "most difficult" again... and, most importantly, believed when I didn't that I had the inner strength and the courage to push my limits, find my mojo, and cross as many finish lines as I choose to cross -- in athletics as well as in life. And I am hardly the only one who has benefited from knowing this extraordinary soul; her fellow team-mates, other state and local athletes, women in the community whom she inspired to get out and get fit with Team Women in Sports, the Montana and Bay Area Buddhist communities, her family, and numerous other avenue-connections of friends and those grateful for her encouragement, example, enthusiasm, energy, or all of the above... and so, not surprisingly, a very large web of a community has exploded with love and support for Jenny who, in the midst of something so profound and difficult, is facing her condition head on and finding the blessings in the hand she has been dealt. In other words, she continues to teach me.

My travels to Bozeman were to have included plenty of visits with Jenny and her husband/my yoga teacher/also soul family Ed, and I was sure she'd be training with me for the triathlon and ultramarathon I have planned during my time there... but as this event itself shows, life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. Still, the races remain. And so does the fact that someone I love very much will now be working very hard for a long time to regain her ability to do the outdoor activities that she loves, that we used to do together, that I was unable to do when I was so sick this past year... that I am able to do now.

So I am honored, now, to be racing for Jenny -- the Treasure State Triathlon in Bozeman on the 19th and the 1st Annual Lubrecht 50k ultramarathon on the 26th of August. I have competed in many races before where the fees or donations have raised money for a disease or a cause or a patient -- it is such a great privilege to race towards the goal of helping a friend. The costs involved for Jenny and Ed are of course substantial, and I am hoping to help defray any fraction of that by asking for your sponsorship of me for these events, in whatever denomination you are willing and able to give. If you know what a powerful and healing force training and competition have been in my life, if you know and love Jenny and have not yet had the opportunity to give to the fund, or if you simply feel touched by her story, I ask you to please join me in honoring her with these two races as a celebration of all that she has done for me and others and all that she is only beginning to accomplish for herself.

Donations may be sent to:
the Jenny McCune Benefit Fund
First Security Bank
206 East Main Street
Bozeman, MT 59715

Donors: to be included in updates about the race outcomes and Jenny's progress, please post a comment or send me an email.

Running Sock Pickle

Help request--> Any vegan runners out there have any micro-runner sock recommendations? I am trying to find an animal-free replacement for what I consider to be the Perfect Sock: the SmartWool Micro Crew Runners. I blew through a pair of Balega micros in the race today, which was no loss as they had no cushioning and slid down my heels after the first mile and a half. Thorlos don't fit the shape of my feet.... and I haven't had much luck with anything that has an "ankle", though most things without one tend to work their way off my heels as the Balegas did...! Who knew socks could get so complicated? All I want is an ultra-microthin running sock with a crew ankle that doesn't move, that hugs my foot and has some cushion without adding any bulk or layers, and breathes completely (ie retains no or little moisture) and prevents chafing and blisters -- is that so hard to ask? SmartWool should just start making all their socks out of hemp or bamboo or flax or soy or all of the above and leave the sheep of the world alone (which, hey, would really BE "Smart"!), and then I wouldn't have to stop buying the Perfect Sock...! Alternative suggestions, anyone?

Pacifica Goes Long(ish)

So I'd been thinking this past week that I could more than likely run past the 21k PCTR race in Pacifica I'd signed up for today, and that I would aim for completing the 30k course (an extra loop of the 9k portion of the 21k course). Well, when I turned up at registration this morning, turns out I must have been thinking along those lines a few months ago when I registered -- I was already on the 30k list! Which was great, absolutely no wiggle room to back out after that!

It was a glorious run on an amazingly beautiful course; I had no idea the area around Pacifica looks like that back in the hills. Most of the trails were lush with ferns, berry thickets, forget-me-nots, eucalyptus groves, and many varieties of thick, broad-leafed jungley-type plants. The weather was perfect; coastal fog and mist, cool and a bit breezy but not chilly. It was like running in Hawai'i with air conditioning. Plenty of elevation (that I may be fondly remembering in detail tomorrow) which made for some fun climbs and even better speedy descents -- love running downhill!

I run alone pretty much any other time but racing so it was such a wonderful change to hear the conversations and footfalls and passings of other runners. Between the sanctuary of the open space and the companionability of fellow trail-heads, I had no desire to break out music of any kind as I now usually do when I run. By the last 9k lap, though, with a slight twinge in my knee and my feet balking at the latest sock trial (see 2nd post for today), I was ready to let little Kermit pace me to the finish... and I have to say as awesome as it was to commune with the sounds of nature and of conversation with fellow runners for the first 2/3rds of the race, it was an equally incredible if different experience to be moving through such stunningly beautiful surroundings listening to music of peace, social justice, and human potential.

I felt on top of it with minimal training, did not need any "sugar boost" from gels or sports drinks to make it through as I used to, and I bounced back more quickly afterwards; ever since I went completely raw I have found that my body is more resilient in every direction, it's just too cool. The power lifting at the gym and all the deeper work and inversions we've been doing in yoga lately can't have hurt either...! And it finally happened, I ate my first trail -- every trail runner I know has taken a tumble at some point, I've been wondering when my time would come and now I can safely say it's over and done with. Happened about halfway through the course, and I must say I'm proud of the fall: with all the core-stength training I've been doing, I was strong and stable enough to save it from being a bad one, and was able to pick right up, laugh it off and keep on tearing madly down the hill. All in all, it was a great start to the running season as my first run-event of the year. Thanks Wendell and Sarah for another great personal-achievement race in a beautiful place :)

>> update 7/4: results. as usual, smack in the middle, not stellar but not too bad, especially since i haven't been training on trails much. ah well, maybe that 7 minute mile will come around next year...

Race Calendar

I've added a calendar of my upcoming races to the right-hand column of the blog. Aside from letting you friends and extended family know what I'm up to, this can also be seen as a suggestion: come out and join me on a course! For those of you who run, many of the races on the calendar are with Pacific Coast Trail Runners, whose "races" are non-competitive and held in some of the greatest spots around central California. Most of their events have a range of distances, my calendar only lists the one I've signed up for so if those aren't your speed, follow the links to learn more and get the full list of course options for each event. For those who tri or want to, I plan to add more Sprints to my roster for the fall, a great way to get into the sport or take a breather from longer races.

On the calendar for October is PCTR's 24-hour race in San Francisco. Unlike last year, I plan to keep all body parts functioning optimally so that I can actually run the whole thing this year! I'll be shooting for 100k...did I just say that out loud....? To all friends who live in or around the Bay Area (or friends visiting from afar), if any of you would be up for coming out and doing a few laps (or more) with me, I would be most grateful for the company and the pacing!

Three Jennys, One Voice

I migrated up to my second living room tonight, the ever-wonderful Freight & Salvage, to hear the the most excellent melodically vocal and multi-disciplined female folk group The Wailin' Jennys. From Winipeg, Manitoba, they're not often in the States and rarely venture south, so to have them so close and in such an intimate, accessible venue as the Freight was simply awesome. Their harmonies are unlike anything I've ever heard before; their voices blend together into a liquid, flowing and perfect expression of complementary notes. To hear them live was a great gift, and what makes them all the more incredible is how deeply and completely they enjoy what they do -- they love music, they love to sing, and they do it from their hearts and completely pour their souls into it. Gorgeous. And then I got to chat with them afterwards -- more Freight magic. It was great to hear more from Nicky about songcrafting, touring, and we digressed into discussions of the geography of Montana, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba... Yay for venues that allow you to connect with the artists who share their craft! Anyway, I highly recommend seeing them perform, and becoming acquainted with their music if you're not already.

Summer School

The anthropology course I'll be taking has me doing backflips for summer quarter to hurry up and start: Foothiil's Anth 50:'Medical Anthropology', taught by the same stellar professor as I studied under for 'Peoples of Africa'. Here's the course description:

"This course is an introduction to medical anthropology, the study of health and disease within the context of culture. Students will learn about the various research interests of medical anthropologists through readings, lectures, discussions, assignments, and a term paper. Specific topics will include: medical systems found in different cultures; defining health and disease; defining "normal" and "abnormal;" cultural beliefs and practices regarding the life cycle; cultural beliefs and practices influencing nutrition; the health consequences of cultural contact, development, and particular political, economic, and social systems; Western biomedicine as an ethnomedicine; and finally the meaning and experience of illness including patient-healer interactions."

Superb. And utterly fascinating. Far more thought about medicine than goes into most science-based medical classes, and as an added bonus I knock off another GE credit towards my transfer to nursing school. Brilliant!

Here's the reading list for anyone interested in the subject:

Death Without Weeping by Scheper-Hughes, Nancy.
1992. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN: 9780520075374

Elusive Embryo.by Becker, Gay.
2000. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN: 9780520224310

Endangered Species by Harper, Janice
2002.Carolina Academic Press. ISBN: 0890892385

Medicine and Culture by Payer, Lynn
1996. Owl Books. ISBN: 9780805048030

Pathologies of Power by Farmer, Paul
2003 University of California Press. ISBN: 9780520243269

Culture of Our Discontent by Small, Meredith F.
2006 Joseph Henry Press. ISBN: 9780309100663

Good Illustration

back-blogging

... so after over a year of being relatively invisible, i will be starting to do a bit of posting again. things have changed and my path deviated in all sorts of unforseeable ways; my health is still up and down, and so, therefore, is the rest of life as i know it. in an amoungst having to take three steps back, i have been using the two-step-forward days to begin to piece together all the bits i've been missing or not keeping up with. like, say, communication. i've given up on getting email to everyone, especially in catching 200+ people up on the happenings of this last 18 months... so i will be back-blogging when i can, posting events in "hindsight" to appropriate dates... in answer to those who have been asking, a bit of (the lighter side of) what's been up with me lately. stay tuned.

Sites of the Week for May 21-27

Message Products
Support environmental, animal rights, social justice and other ethics-based organizations by ordering your checks, address labels, business cards, stamps, stationary and more through this site; a percentage of each sale goes directly to the organization whose items you choose, and their message is spread when you use the products.

'The Green', presented by Robert Redford
A site simply stuffed with information, ideas, news, interviews, resources, and support on and for greening your life and our world. "Big Ideas for a Small Planet" is an excellent weekly series that tracks down the latest concepts and developments in the environmental movement across all sectors, and the video clips on this site are worth catching (especially the episode on all the new and in-development green cars). Learn your local green resources and network with other green-minded folks through the eco-mmunity forum, follow the eco-blog, take the green quiz, and find out a million more things than you ever new before about all you can do to help save the planet.

The Inconvenient Truth for Al Gore
Even some hardcore right-wingers are switching out their incandecent lightbulbs for compact flourecents and even buying Priuses based on the science and research on global warming presented in "An Inconvenient Truth". But the simple truth is that the single industry most responsible for global warming is the animal agriculture industry -- in a study conducted at the University of Chicago and supported by UN and WorldWatch research, it has been determined that:

The standard American diet, about 28% of which comes from animal
sources, generates the equivalent of nearly 1.5 tons more carbon
dioxide per person per year than a vegan diet with the same number
of calories. By comparison, an average driver switching from a typical American car to one of the more fuel-efficient hybrids would save 1 ton of carbon dioxide per year -- making the switch to a vegan diet a more effective way of reducing one's contribution to climate change.

Curious, then, that there was no mention in "An Inconvenient Truth" of this connection between animal product consumption and environmental impact... or perhaps not so curious, given Al Gore's connection to the animal agriculture industry...? Let's hope that it was for the sake of accessibility (goodness knows that Americans would hardly have been as amenable to see a 'vegan' movie on global warming) and not self-preservation that inspired Mr. Gore to leave out this critical and planet-saving information.

Eating Outside the 'Self' Bubble
E Magazine's cover story from January/February 2002 was an excellent exploration of the ramifications of our food choices, pell personified by the subtitle:

Evidence Shows that Our Meat-Based Diet is Bad for the Environment, Aggravates Global Hunger, Brutalizes Animals and Compromizes Our Health

This article is an amazing and well-written example of what consequences our eating habits (and they are "habits", which means they are optional) have outside of our own preferences or desires, and the accompanying links provide great info on the evolutionary science behind vegetarianism as well as advice and support for those considering shifts in their dietary patterns.

Compassion Action of the Week: Hug to End Cancer
A group in Toronto that gathers downtown periodically to raise money for cancer research by "giving away" hugs for 25 cents apiece -- I just find this such a simple, beautiful idea that I had to post it. Check in with your arms and see how many hugs you've got to spare; if you've got a surplus, consider setting out a 25-cent Hugs for Cancer coffee can on your desk or counter or wherever it is you work and seeing how much you come up with. A few places to consider send your proceeds:

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital - Pediatric Research
The Cancer Project of the Physicians Committee for Responisble Medicine

and, finally, the best for last....

Recipe of the Week: Baked Seasoned Yam Fries from the Post Punk Kitchen
Get your Vitamin A fix and knock the fat out of any standard recipe... plus get a dose of Isa and Terry, which makes just about any recipe worth making.

Inspiration

The amazing Catra is beginning her latest adventure today: a fastpack for time of the 2,666-mile Pacific Crest Trail, out to beat the current record. The depth of her strength, determination and beauty of spirit are simply awesome. Follow her PCT journey, and let it expand your goals, inspire your dreams, and remind you as it does me that we are the only ones who can push our own limits.

What I Learned Today

http://www.pctrailruns.com/SF1Day_Webcast.htm

Time

I haven't delivered an update lately... to anyone, anywhere. More accurately, I haven't been able to. I have been seriously ill since my return to the States in March. Enough said on that point, it's not worth or ready for discussion. But even though I have been prevented from reaching out, and my life has looked pretty much like a sum total of the pictures on the left, I have been thinking of and missing every one of you... and have been wanting to tell you that. So I'm telling you now. I love you, and I'm working on it.
~GV

Anthropology Professor

I am just loving my Anthropology professor; her background is incredible, and her current work with the Austin/HIV Planning Council an especially interesting twist given what my goals are with future work. Here's her bio:

Dr. Jennifer Price holds a BA in Cultural Anthropolgy from Macalester College, an MA in Cultural and Biological Anthropology from the University of Florida, and a Ph.D. from the U.C. Berkeley/U.C. San Francisco Joint Program in Medical Anthropology. She has conducted research among diverse groups including Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees, ethnically diverse institutionalized elderly, U.S. medical students, rural Malawians (sub-Saharan Africa) and rural Maasai families (in Kenya) focusing on a range of issues including reproductive health, dietary practices, blindness, HIV prevention, family planning, and emergency contraception awareness. Dr. Price currently teaches in the Anthropology Departments at Foothill College and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

The courses she teaches at Foothill -- Cultural Anthropology and Peoples of Africa in fall/winter/spring quarters and Medical Anthropology in summer -- are all online, so if you either need credits or are just interested in the subject(s) I am finding her to be an awesome wealth of knowledge and an excellent guide through the complex layers of African studies.

Hope

"With no pain, there is no struggle, no struggle, no rewards, and if no rewards, then why bother living at all?"

Peoples of Africa

The anthropology course I am taking this quarter focuses entirely on the continent of Africa, where my heart tells me my work is and whose culture, history and anthropological heartbeat I realize I (as I'd venture to say the majority of Americans) know less than I should. So I'm looking forward to the course. Here's the description:

This 4-unit course is a survey of Africa through the study of cultural anthropology. Issues addressed include: the historical development of Africa; popular American (mis)perceptions and portrayals of Africa and Africans; patterns of social organization, family, and kinship; political organization; traditional subsistence patterns; present economic conditions and ties to the global economy; conceptual systems; health and disease; popular culture; and social change. The course draws upon classic and contemporary anthropological research, research from other disciplines, ethnographies, and literature by African writers. A case study approach will be used for some topics allowing in-depth analysis of particular African societies.

Here's the reading list:

Understanding Contemporary Africa, 3rd edition by April and Donald Gordon.
2001. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
2002. Seattle: Seal Press.

The Dark Child: The Autobiography of an African Boy by Camara Laye
1954. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Singing Away the Hunger by Mpho Matsepo Nthunya
1996. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

...and DVD list:

Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony. 2002. Director: Lee Hirsch.

Ghosts of Rwanda. 2004. Frontline.

Sometimes in April. 2005. Director: Raoul Peck.

Mind Your Pence and Quince

I'm taking a 5 minute tea break from moving insanity, and finalizing my "UK budget vs. nutritional needs" list. The challange: how to be a triathlete-in-training on about 1 pound (~$2) per day for six months, meeting all my requirements for a balanced athlete's diet, with the resources and accoutrements of a series of hostel kitchens. Quite a fun challange, actually. From here. No, in all seriousness I'm looking forward to simplification and streamlining of all sorts; food, posessions, goals, "needs", maybe even... thoughts? Streamlining of MY scattered thoughts? Possible? That's the fun part, I'm about to find out. Anyway, based on knowledge gained from my work with the incredible Clyde Wilson + food availability in England + costs + projected hostel storage/refrigeration space + the goal of a list of no more than 21 items (streamlining of thought-process, remember), this is what my culinary forcast looks like:

First Priority 10:

oats
oat flour
soymilk
tofu
spinach
beans
nut/seed butter
nuts or seeds
high protein cereal
fruit nectar

Second Priority 10 (ie, if 1sts are all in stock and there are pence left on the black side):

molasses
tea
wholegrain bread
broccoli
tomatoes
seitan
brown rice
hummus
dried fruit
apples

And once a month:

A small piece of dark chocolate

Add to that my travel spice kit (aren't film canisters wonderful?) of cinnamon, gharam masala, ginger, italian herbs, pumpkin pie spice, cayenne, pepper and salt -- what more could I want? Fortunately, I like porridge. And I'll be eating it. Probably 3 times a day. Maybe that should be my first book, "1001 Ways to Make Porridge in a Hostel Kitchen on 50 pence a Day"....
It truely makes me so happy to think how beautiful and precious an apple will taste, not to mention the things not on this list. I will miss the gastronomic adventurousness that is my cooking, which is a grounding force in my life, so there's a whole portion of my brain that will be going into hibernation; but when the hibernation is over, or gets to pop its head out into the sun from time to time, cooking will be a profound and sacred delight beyond what I can conceive of now. Practice in motion. I'm excited to be in this time of practical application of my beliefs and principles :)
Tea's done, back to work.

Unbelievable

When I got back from Portland on the morning of the 23rd, I'd had about 2 cumulative hours of sleep, an early flight, and a week of too much good food which made me more tired than I would have been already. The reason I'd had to come back that particular day at that particular time was to take the Emergency Medical Technician National Registry Exam; I'd chosen the earliest flight so that I'd have time for a short nap and a few hours of studying (meaning, the only studying I'd actually budgeted time for). Well, I was delerious with fatigue when I got home, and late getting down for the planned nap. And then the alarm didn't go off. And then I couldn't find my confirmation letter. And then I got lost getting there as I didn't bother to read the directions thoroughly, and went to wrong buildings three times before getting frustrated enough to look it up. Which left me, oh, about 30 minutes to cram. And I failed all the practice questions I attempted. Once the exam started I began hoping the adrenaline of the moment would wake me up, sharpen my focus, and somehow magically provide the missing information to my very much deprived brain. By mid test, I knew I was doomed; I needed a 75% to pass, and I had at least 35% of the questions as "uncertain" on my scratch sheet. I was falling alseep anytime I wasn't frantically writing trying to work out answers. The test itself is poorly written, with many questions containing multiple correct answers, some questions on topics above the EMT-Basic level, and several with no truely correct answer at all -- but that was no excuse for my ill-preparedness and lack of sleep. So I conceeded, and plodded through the rest of the exam, knowing full well that it was pointless but wanting to at least finish and get an idea of what I would need to review for the next time I took it, last chance being on October 21st as my England-bound flight was already scheduled for the 26th. I left the exam room knowing full well that I had failed, and was of course told by classmates and friends "Oh no you didn't, you always say that, you did just fine" which was nice but misguided as no one could possibly fathom how much I DIDN'T study. I recognized that I really hadn't applied myself to the task at hand, and that I needed to more serious in my approach to my second, and final, attempt, to that end making sure revision manuals didn't get packed for storage and blocking out hours this week around moving-business to properly study, to rightfully earn completion of the EMT 'circle' and add another tool to my off-to-England belt.

I just checked the National Registry Website.

I passed.

And One More Thing...

Because I don't have enough to do/think about/accomplish/obsess over, I have just done the deed and manifestly signed up for NaNoWriMo.

Justifications:
1. November is the last month of my off-season as training officially begins December 1st
2. Writing, assuming I can find someone foolish enough to publish me, is something I've put off doing for years and am about to try my hand at... and I need to get my head into manuscription mode
3. If this off-the-deep-end life-adventure I'm tackling is anything for certain, it's good material
4. "NaNoWriMo is all about the magical power of deadlines. Give someone a goal and a goal-minded community and miracles are bound to happen. Pies will be eaten at amazing rates. Alfalfa will be harvested like never before. And novels will be written in a month." I figure this is good karma for the months to come; hopefully the magical power of goals and miracles will extend beyond my novel to my nursing career
5. I'm nuts, but you knew that already.

I will NOT be blogging my progress, just my bellyachings and why-the-hell-am-I-doing-this-es. I expect to change my mind about plot and characters and place-names and astrological convergances and all many many many times over the month of November, so I'll just spare you till it's over and donewith. If anything, you'll have something to read while you're on the treadmill working off Thanksgiving...

Great Swim Set

This morning's set was awesome. I've still yet to put my finger on what makes a good set, or even, what makes a set good; how do you know it isn't just the weather, or the state of your muscles, or what side of the bed you got up on (at 4 in the bloody morning, especially)? But like an efficient stroke, you just feel it. And this one felt spectacular, despite my lack of improvement, so it must have been the set!

w/u:
3x { 200 pull, 100 fly/free by 25's

main:
400 free, 2x 50 fast
300 free, 2x 50 fast
200 free, 2x 50 fast
100 free, 2x 50 fast

interlude:
200 back

second:
3x 200 IM (build each 50, finishing each strong)

c/d:
100 ez

total:
3100

The Invitation

Dear Local Friends and Extended Family,

There is, finally, no defying it: it seems that for the forseeable future, I will be living on the spur of the moment. Including having a goodbye party being thrown for me at the last minute, and being the one asked to send out the invitations! My parents are hosting an open-house-type bon voyage, this Saturday afternoon/evening starting at 4 pm; this is my last weekend in the Bay Area, and the coming week will be filled with departure logistics, so this will be my final chance to see many of you and say goodbye. For those who are able, we'd love to see you here; just bring yourselves and your families, we'll have hors d'euvors, dinner and dessert -- this is also going to be my last chance to cook properly for a very very long time!
Here's the proper invitation:

Open House Bon Voyage for Antonia
Saturday October 15th - 4 pm till we drop!
Hosts: Ron and Sally Mancini
RSVP: rsmancini@kepnet.com or 650-326-9850
Address: 915 Theresa Court, Menlo Park, CA 94025


As a background for those who have no idea what I'm talking about:

After over two years of relative uncertainty, I am about to embark on a voyage into the complete unknown. I am, as many of you know, intent on getting into a nursing program abroad, which has proven next to impossible to do from here. I feel strongly that the training I would receive is the best possible to prepare me for the humanitarian work I want to do, and I am willing to put life on hold for a time and take this leap of faith to hopefully make it happen. It will be a stressful, unpredictable time; I will not have the ability to legally work, I cannot legally stay past 6 months, my "next moves" will be dependant on whatever strides I make (or don't) with each school I visit, and I will not always know where I'm going or what I'm doing until it happens. I also don't know how easy it will be to keep in contact, what kind of schedule I'll be able to keep and therefore what free time I'll have for communication or socialization, and most importantly: when, or if, I'm coming back. Uncertainties abound. The schedule I've kept the last year and a half has made me a difficult person to know -- that's about to get exponentially more severe. But despite all of the challanges that this direction presents, and as much as there are aspects of the journey I'm not felicitously anticipating, I know the path is the right one; now all I have to do is start walking.

I hope to see you Saturday, though I know that this impulsive gathering may be coming on top of already-laid weekend plans; to all of you who I will not get to visit before I leave, hugs and warm thoughts and until we meet again :)

All the best,
Antonia