Paragraphs of Daily Thoughts, some Mental Therapy and some reviews of our “well seasoned” Gear. Published Weekly or so.

“No matter what happens, no matter how far you seem to be away from where you want to be, never stop believing that you will somehow make it. Have a unrelenting belief that things will work out, that the long road/trail has a purpose, that the things that you desire may not happen today, but they will happen. Persist and persevere, your desired path remains possible.”
~ Brad Gast ~

Sometimes it is the little things having an affect, and effect, to act towards one’s self. I have had this above T Shirt now for a few months won at some Photo entry from England, and truly I think never worn. But I have had it out, a bit like a rag, not that I used it as such, just a piece of clothing always laid out  or bundles up in front of me, and it is only the other day that I got the message. The message was for the both of us. Unknowingly, unconsciously, the word grew on me and I know has been a pounding directive. It is consistently the minute broadcasts of Life strengthening the path. 

A gray day outside, a sunny day in my Heart. Absorbing the silence surrounding after the so many days of "people" activities. Till it starts again. No motions today only filled with books, as I call them my Movies in fonts. And now weather change and we are ready. Specially Spirit.

Minor surgery he had on Monday. A skin growth on his leg which could have been caught on rocks or vegetation such as an unfriendly Cactus. Besides it all, it did not look good. I had to drop him off at the Veterinarian on Monday for a couple hours and the experience end up being more intense than ever imagined.

I know we are one, yet had not realized how much. Realizations as such are never present unless absence take place. I should know that fact. All choked up I had to turn around and walk away avoiding his look. Out of the room. That look, the one which always follows me incessantly. So what do I do now for two hours? Of course I am on to town as the Veterinarian was on the outskirts and I look for him as he does to me just about every 10 seconds. I think I have better peripheral vision than he does as I don’t have to turn my head. It was an empty sight. But he is not there and the present empty feeling creeps up. I tell myself it is going to be alright. It is just a couple hours and yet at the same time start thinking about a knife, well, a scalpel cutting into him. I know he will get anesthesia.

 

I park in the shade as my errands were done before I dropped him off and decide to have a cup of coffee. Something I don’t drink past noon. In the shade is my motto. No shade no park. I realize again he is not with me and it does not matter. How odd. I still look and graciously toward the situation I give up. It is warm but it does not matter. A part of me is missing as I enter the Coffee Shop. I am as lost as I am present, yet not. It is that feeling when one’s stomach drops and ties up in a knot. Come on time, let’s move it faster I think. Lost I feel, there is no fueling my forward momentum. Even the colors are dull now, the sounds of others are muted. People that know me [know us] don’t make much sense as my mind is behind still in that room where I left him. 

I think I will get back early. Why not spend some time in the waiting room, maybe he will know that I am back, his nose will tell him that. I sit fidgety. Never waited with such anxiety for anything else before. I actually have, but it has been a long long time. The receptionist sees me and the words are kind, positive and good. He is doing just fine as she goes on to get him, as I hear his bell as soon as he is up somewhere in one of the back rooms. What a beautiful sound it is. It is getting louder and louder as suddenly the door opens and there is my Buddy looking at me so instantly as already his tail, that wiry tail which can hurt, is wagging as my own mental one also is. He has a big bandage on his leg, stitches which will need to be removed in two weeks, antibiotics for one week. I am trying to listen to all but I only want to hold him to let him know that all is alright. I am here for him as he always has been for me.

Steady he is and yet I can tell he is a bit out of it as I choke and hurt for him. No worries. Will take care of you. As I always do, as you also always do. He is a tough guy, and yet with a kindness I had never experienced and seen before. A Heart of Gold. A couple days have passed and already he is running around. All this is in the past as it should be. The experience remains with me as closer even more we now are. He is ready to ride a longer time, he is eager for those smells passing him by probably by the dozen a minute, maybe hundreds, who knows. Taking on "Old Marathon Rd" sounds good to me, it is a different part of Terlingua Ranch and then on into the Park. A road that was with long stretches of deep sand. Crusty needs a bit of a challenge these days.

So the challenge was not there, from beginning to end the road had just been graded. Maybe we just did not need any difficulties that day as already we had to stop to change a clogged up air filter. Done with only 240 miles on it. We have some of the finest dust here. They do not last long as I have learned to carry a spare, thinking about maybe 2 spares. They need to be washed and dried and oiled, we might not have such facilities sometimes. 

Once again, some home grown Music from the monthly get together at the “American Legion”.

Life continues here as the months have passed by, this time around seemingly so fast. This winter is being of more mental miles than physical miles. There has been a lot of changes up there, right between the ears where the gears have a tendency to turn and spit out this time around such positive realizations which are uplifting this path and as much as I live in a timeless moment, I look forward to the roads laid out ahead of us. Sometimes one does not need to understand throughout the present moment the why’s, just let it flow and soon enough a landing step becomes so clear creating a know how of how to live better with a new interpretation never experienced before and regaining a connectivity absent in past times. 

In these times where and when so many have pulled the plug on their own with each other’s connectivity trying to emerge themselves with new titles as "King and Queen of Social Media", when driving their own nails into their coffins of Life melting away the gold that was once being present within true Friendships as there truly is nothing else of any real value, time spend so much on such Social platforms versus a line connecting with such true Friends, this path has been refreshing when the plug remains connected with the inner power that moves us through closer and not away. 

In the meantime, I now have to go and deal with winds of gusts of up to 50 mph. Hoping my Buddy Spirit does not blow away!

All about our Gear

My “One~Pan” cooking Recipes

Yes, this is a “Cheeseburger”.
It should not be surprising that I consider my own “One~Pan” cooking recipes part of our gear, as it plays a big role in my daily Life. Could be my Armenian Heritage enjoying preparing food, feeding it to others and having placed me on my previous path as a Chef for over 40 years. The aspect has so many facets. Health, necessity, fun, and when with others, social. It gives me a sense of pride that wherever we are, whenever, I can present myself or others that join us a meal that is appealing, of a delicious taste and not out of a can or a wrapper.

 

Besides it all however, if I have one message that stands out amongst others, it is the fact that those recipes are “templates” as even within their full explanations, with their “how and why”, they do not require the need to be followed to the letter. They are guides which actually encourages substitutions for one to use their imagination and also what is available as for us stumbling on mom and pop stores or side of the road shacks selling the local fruit and produce.

One eats with their eyes first and why not spend the extra minute or two, as already all these recipes can be produced under 30 minutes, to make them appealing as your camping surrounding is, as is your home. Being “guides”, “templates”, it is the reason for now there is only about 25 of them which can be made into hundreds of different meals.

For those who would feel I should not charge the .99 cents they each are per download, which you can carry with you permanently on your phone or printed on hard copies, let me know. It is a quarter of a gallon of fuel for us, some knowledge passed on and shared, yet, if a burden, write to me and I will send them personally at no charge. What more can I offer?
I think next time I will show in details my cooking utensils which this past year has shrunk considerably into a smaller tool box less than half the size of the previous one. I call it “progress”.

Stay well,
              Ara and Spirit

Photo Galleries are available on Smugmug

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2013 at 7:40 pm and is filed under travel, spirituality, pit bull, sidecar, motorcycle, cooking, photography, riding, homeless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.