Poking Love At Myself

Last night it hit - The Camino Blues. I'd heard of them, but I refused to read about them before I left because I didn't want to read myself into having them if they were contagious. Last night I KNEW they'd found me. I decided to hunt down people's comments about it and instead I actually found a write up about a STUDY that had been done on people who had done the Camino and then found themselves in the dumps.

Check. Check. Yup. Check. Dang. Check. Yup. Oh Crap, check. Classic case. I finally quit trying to do work work and just went through some of my Camino momentos and let myself go back for awhile. Then today I came up with something that I can actually HUG if I need an escape.

I went to BuildABear. I have done bears with or for all my grandkids. Now it was MY turn. I have a bear collection, but it is all white bears save one red one given to me last Valentines Day. This situation called for something out of the ordinary.

BAB had an Autumn Bear. I LOVE FALL! And having done my Camino during my favorite season made this the perfect bear. He's Orange, yellow and reddish and has a fall colored leaf stenciled on his nose and paw. And he came with a pin, which I also collect, that looks like him. The pin will go at the end of the Camino row on my display.

It gets better. I was searching for an accessory for him....YUP!....a pair of Speedos. I was explaining to the salesclerk that I had been staying in public housing while touring Spain and the Speedos were in abundance. "Oh - in the hostals?" She went on to explain she'd done her mission in Spain - we reminisced about places and foods. Then I told her I'd done "El Camino de Santiago" and she squeals "I always wanted to do THAT!" So with much love and understanding of the country and the pilgrimage, she and I went about making James bear. We both kissed his little heart before placing it inside of him. (Those who are BAB fans, know the drill here.)

They didn't actually Speedo's, but they did have a representative pair of knit boxers (saw lots of those too) for my whimsy. And the best part...his eyes have a look of understanding.