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I am a walker. Boring, right? It isn’t glamorous or high powered or sexy as exercises go. I’m not dashing across the finish line of a 
marathon or a 5K. I’m not getting my black belt in taekwondo, like my friend Brenda Hiatt.
I just love to walk and hike, which is just walking in better shoes. It started in childhood, when my grandmother herded my sisters and I out for a walk from our house to hers, a distance of several miles. We were four and three. Merry, the youngest, rode in the stroller. No one ever told me it was too far for a little girl to walk, so I never minded. I was with my grandmother, aka My Favorite Human on the Planet, and the air was dry and clean, and life was good. My memory gives me pictures of sunlight shining through tree branches, and a creek running fast through the city, and houses with front porches in the old part of Colorado Springs.
As a teen, my BFF and I meandered all over the city, walking miles and miles to peek into houses under construction, to picnic in a park, to go to the mall. We paired up to complete Walk-a-Thons, 20 miles in those days, and I loved the sweaty, exhausted exhilaration at the end of the day, my feet tingling and weary. Many years later, this same friend and I tackled Pikes Peak, the mountain that loomed over our childhood, when we were heartsore and worn out from our divorces, each from 20-year marriages.
A couple of years ago, my friend Mary Strand asked if I wanted to walk a portion of the Camino de Santiago de Compestela. (That’s Mary, above, on the Camino.) I leapt at the chance. We would only be walking the very last section, 100 miles, enough to qualify for a pilgrim’s certificate, but that seemed a like a great start. We would walk with a group of other women, in a holy year (when all the pilgrim’s sins are washed clean.)
It was a striking, profound experience. I didn’t know then that the Camino calls you for a reason. I thought it would just be a walk. But there you are, putting one foot in front of the other, in the sunshine and the rain, with frogs singing, and sometimes a trio of Italian teachers, and drinking cidre and waking up to roosters in the soft light just before dawn, and–something shifts.
In that week on the road, a book was born, The Garden of Happy Endings, which is out today. It is about a pair of young lovers who set out to walk the entire Camino as a lark before they begin their lives as a young married couple. What happens there turns everything upside down.
A saying on the Road is, “When the road ends, the journey begins,” and that proves to be true for my character, Elsa Montgomery, and her fiancé, Joaquin, who is called to be a priest on that fateful journey, and leaves Elsa with a monster of a broken heart.
Twenty years later, he offers her refuge when she is reeling from a murder in her community, and Elsa finds herself falling for a sexy landscaper named Deacon. To fully embrace the next step of their lives, however, both Joaquin and Elsa will have to come to grips with all they left unfinished long ago, and what might lead the way forward. There is a community garden, two sisters, a trio of charming little boys, pots of soup, good dogs, and a very dangerous force opposing the happiness of gardeners. I hope you’ll take a look.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, there is a good dog who insists it is time for his walk this morning.
I am giving away a joyful little basket of garden goodies to one reader who responds to this post. This is what it looks like.
Do you like to walk? Have you ever undertaken a journey that turned things upside down for you? And in honor of the book: what are you planting right now?
96 Comments on “Walking toward happiness”
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Walking is really the only exercise I truly enjoy, apart from swimming where you can’t get all hot & sweaty.
I’m not planting anything right now, the garden has gone into hibernation for the upcoming Winter.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 3:48 am.
I like swimming, too, Mary. It’s as peaceful as walking, maybe even more so.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:22 am.
I used to do quite a bit of walking when I was younger. Indeed, it was only last year that my health started going south enough that I am unable to enjoy walking into town. To make matters worse I was dancing up until a few months ago and I once again had to stop because Sci Fi Guy was convinced that I was going to faint or have a heart attack due to my face being flushed. I may have to try doing some gentle exercising again and build up my health and lose some weight.
As for gardening, there is nothing being planted here since it is a month and a bit until winter starts.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 5:01 am.
It sounds like you really enjoy the dancing, Kelly! I get pretty flushed, too, when I dance Zumba & Nia, so maybe some of us just show exertion more?
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:23 am.
I wish it were that, I was having problems with my blood pressure and having really bad dizzy spells at the time.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:34 am.
Ah, that is definitely more problematic. Hope you find some ways to reverse that!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 9:50 pm.
I enjoy walking. I have bad knees that prevent me from running, so walking it is. I can’t really say I have had any major revelations happen during any walks, at least not yet anyways. Your book sounds great. I was going to have my mom pre order it on her nook, but unfortunately she’s back in the sticks with no internet. So it should be on my nook this morning. I will read it, brag about how good it is, and she’ll go to my brothers (who lives in civilization and has internet) and download it! Congrats, it sounds great. Can’t wait to dive in.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 6:06 am.
My knees have become tricky the past few years, too. Doc says from overuse, but what’s a girl going to do?
Walking doesn’t make them hurt, as you say….running would be impossible now.
Hope you enjoy Garden!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:25 am.
I love to walk for fun and exercise. This summer we’ll be doing some family hiking in Yosemite—-I can’t wait! As for the garden, nothing is being planted this week but onions and some lettuce will be going in next week.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 6:56 am.
That will be a big treat–hiking in Yosemite. My beloved has been there many times and keeps telling me how much I would love it. It’s on my bucket list, along with the Appalachian Trail.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:28 am.
I can’t wait to start this book today. Happy New Realease Day!
I was just in Utah on vaca with 7 other women at my favorite hiking spa. We have a joke that our very NYC friend said “what is hiking ? It’s just walking “. Yeah, no. Walking in the city doesn’t have sand, lava rock to trip on, scrambling up and down red rock. So your comment about hiking ” is walking with better shoes” ha! Says you.
A journey that turned things upside down? Not really a journey but was asked to move to Chicago for work and was so depressed at the start.
Turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. Met people who changed my life. Some of whom joined me on that trip to Utah. This is the 2 year anniversary of having to leave that toddling town.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 7:07 am.
Fresh, I am seriously dangerous when walking. I am a total klutz, heck last week I tripped over my own feet and went a$$ over tea kettle. I’ve sprained my ankle by tripping over nothing, slipped down stairs on a perfectly fine day, been almost hit by cars and have walked into a signpost. I don’t dare hike because God only knows what might happen, I might get brained by another falling tree …
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 9:05 am.
Okay so in hiking for you! You’d have been spa-ing if you had been on this trip.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 2:33 pm.
It is true that walking and hiking are different, which anyone who does both knows. That lava rock and scree and the inclines and declines are quite different, aren’t they?
Chicago from New York is a big change–glad it turned out so well for you
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:29 am.
I am very much a walker, too, Barbara! I usually do 5 miles or so a day. It’s my favorite time to day dream and take in the weather (whatever it is, I’ll even go out in the rain if it’s not too dangerous.
I started my tomato seedlings (and have far too many for my small garden!), cantaloupe and some squash and i’ve got brocoli, brussels sprouts, and brocoli rabe growing as well as some lettuce, spinach and arugula.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 7:10 am.
Five miles is terrific, Cail! Like you, I walk no matter the weather, (as long as it’s not too blustery and we get blustery in the 50-60 mph range).
Sounds like your garden is well underway! I have brussels and lettuce and spinach in the greenhouse, and all the perennials are finally starting to look vigorous.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:27 am.
I can’t wait to read this book- I got a teary for Elise while reading your post, which is a good sign!
I’m not a walker, but I’m trying to change that. I’m walking every day now, to get healthy and lose some weight. I really don’t like it, but I’m doing it anyway.
We have a large garden this year, and it’s all starting to come in. Lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, rhubarb, peppers, green beans, peas, beets, radishes, zucchini and many different herbs. And the mulberry tree in our backyard has exploded in berries this year! We picked 2 quarts just YESTERDAY.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 7:18 am.
Bravo for walking every day, Dana. It’s really one of the the best exercise when you are just beginning. Do you have an MP3 player? I play music, or sometimes books, on mine when I’m walking alone for long distances.
Remember, gardening is serious exercise, too, and it sounds like you have a giant one! I’m aching to get out there, but it’s wiser not to plant fresh seeds until May around here
Oh, mulberries!!!!! Mmmmm. I love them so much. My boys used to sit and pluck them from a tree in our yard, eating until they were stained the color of ink!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:31 am.
I love walking. I try not to get lazy and do it everyday. I used to clock five miles per day so I’m trying to work myself back to that. To me there’s nothing better than getting outside and putting one foot in front of the other. I have a great dog who would walk all day with me if I let her. I don’t do much gardening myself but my Mom has an absolutely beautiful garden. She really can’t lift anything anymore so I go with her to Home Depot to buy dirt. Trust me we do that a lot. It’s going to be one of my favorite memories of her when we’re no longer together.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 7:22 am.
That’s deeply touching Aida, that you know now that it will be a favorite memory. Enjoy!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:32 am.
I love to walk, but haven’t had anyone to walk with over the last couple of years, so I am learning to enjoy walking by myself. I walk home from work every day, and will soon start walking to work. This year I am learning about herbs. I’m going to do some container gardening. By next year I plan to have an herb garden in my front yard.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 7:29 am.
Herbs are so much fun! I have some herbs planted, too, but want to expand this year. Maybe some dill and more basil.
It sounds like you’re on the right track with your walking. To and from work is very healthy.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:33 am.
The nice thing about walking is that it doesn’t make you feel like your excercising… after all, you’re just walking… It’s a little early for garden planting… so I’m just weeding out the wild onions from my flower beds.. But it was such a mild winter, I still have flat leaf parsley and cilantro… which is just amazing for around here!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 7:46 am.
Cate, that’s the thing. It doesn’t feel like exercise to me, either.
I have a lot of spinach left from last year. It sort of hibernated under the snow, but I have plenty now.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:34 am.
I’m so excited your book is out. I’m waiting for the UPS man to get here today!! Congrats.
I love to walk but I don’t as often as I should. I’m a weenie about the weather. Instead I use my treadmill, which is really boring.
I have not taken a journey that has turned things upside down. Our trip to Alaska last year turned my husband around a bit. He wasn’t a traveler, now he can’t wait to go somewhere new.
As for planting, there was frost this morning. Ick. No planting here until after Labor Day.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 8:03 am.
That’s sweet, that it turned him around, Lori. My daughter in law is from Alaska and I keep marveling over the pictures and her stories. It’s a wild place, still!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 9:51 pm.
I am not a walker. I do love to hike, though. My oldest son loves to walk. He spends hours walking every day.
I’ve taken many journeys, most of them in my head. Several years ago, we made plans for our sons’ 15th birthdays. The summer after they turn 15, we will take each one on a hike of the Appalachian Trail. I don’t know how far we’ll walk, but we plan to walk for at least two weeks. Our oldest turns 15 in September. I guess it’s time to get training!
This weekend we’re planting all sorts of things, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. I’m most excited about finishing a bed in my front yard. It’s been a work in progress for five years.
Congratulations on the book! I’m looking forward to reading it.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 8:10 am.
The Appalachian Trail is really on my list, too, Kristina. Walking it with your children will be extraordinary bonding time, and memories you’ll all treasure forever.
A young couple in my church have saved money to walk the whole thing, and they’re starting in a few weeks. I was quite jealous when they announced it!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:36 am.
Happy Release Day!!
I lost interest in walking last summer after we lost our dog. He was my walking buddy, and when I didn’t have him to walk anymore, I just made excuses not to go. The most I would walk would be down the street to the park with my daughter. Last month we got a new chocolate lab puppy, and I now have a new walking buddy. The first few weeks walking her were very challenging-she did not want to cooperate, but now she is a pro, and we walk 2-3 times a day.
I think the journey that changed my life was the one I didn’t take. I was suppose to move out to BC for school, and decided at the last minute to stay in Ontario. If I had gone out to BC I would never have met my husband.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 8:19 am.
Big hugs, Amy. I know just how you must have felt over the loss of your dog. I sometimes thing I need to get a puppy so the eventual passing of my Jack will be eased a bit, and then I decide, over and over, to let him be Only Dog as long as he’s here. He likes that.
Very happy you have a new puppy, and chocolate labs are so adorable!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:40 am.
I really missed having a dog in the house, and I finally convinced hubby that it was time for another one.
We have all been much more active since she arrived, which was much needed.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 3:31 pm.
Very happy news–for you and your new pup. (I secretly really want a new puppy. Very badly.)
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 9:52 pm.
Love to walk. I have also always been a walker, and it was only in the last four years that I graduated to running on some days. But to me, there is still nothing quite as soul soothing as walking my dog in the mornings.
I can’t wait to get my hands on your book, Barbara! Congratulations on the release!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 8:43 am.
Thanks, Julia. I was a runner for awhile, but I think I was only doing it to impress my beloved, Mr Runner Man. Good for you!
That’s what I love about walking, too: the soothing aspect. It’s like all stress just drips away .
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 9:53 pm.
Yep, I love to walk too. I love to walk on streets that have severe inclines…these force me to push ahead. My daughter lived in Muscat, Oman. Her neighborhood had steep hills and steep old steps. I had to bend and touch the steps to keep climbing. So wonderful! Congratulations on your new book. I’m ordering it.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 8:52 am.
What a delicious picture that gave me, Bron, bending over to touch the ancient steps in Oman! Thank you.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:11 pm.
i am not a walker for exercise but when i walk in general i “plow”. i walk really fast even when the destination is not so great. i suppose it’s just my impatience coming though. I visited my daughter last month in california and we went to the canyan to walk to the Hollywood sign. 20 minutes into the trek I saw the sign miles away through the trees and said “there it is can we go back now?” It was much easier going down. As far as planting today my niece and i are planting different kinds of hot peppers, tomatoes, string beans and lots of herbs. I love this time of year when we get down and dirty in the soil and bring new life to the surface.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 8:58 am.
Yes, I like to walk. My friend and I walk during our breaks at work. I am planting flowers, blueberries, raspberries and vegetables.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 9:50 am.
Walking is my main exercise, too! It’s an outdoor pursuit, and I walk even when it’s snowing and cold. I hate walking on ice, but if I go slow enough, I can still do it. My mom is my walking partner, and now we even have a new puppy to join us!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:03 am.
What a lovely gift! You are so generous and thoughtful, Barbara. I can’t wait to read this book!
I love to walk and can walk all day without tiring, and I don’t know why. I don’t walk as exercise. I just like to walk.
Because it’s April, I’m planting what I always plant in April: azaleas. I have plenty of azaleas and every year I swear to myself NO MORE. And then spring comes and I plant more azaleas. I had about 500 at last count. I stopped counting quite a few years ago.
Ignorance is bliss.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:04 am.
Claudia,
I planted 2 azaleas just this past weekend. We ripped out some ugly shrubs under a window in our dining room and now have some pretty pink azaleas there. Can’t wait till they bloom again. It will be SO pretty!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:10 am.
I’m a complete sucker for azaleas. They grow effortlessly here in the SE US. Part of their charm! And they’re a good looking shrub the rest of the time.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:03 am.
Sigh of longing… azaleas will not grow here, and they are SO amazingly beautiful . Some years ago, I spoke to a group in Tyler Texas during azalea season and it was a carnival of gorgeousness!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:38 am.
Tip: If you’re ever going to the South, go in April. It’s like New England in October. Jaw-dropping.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:12 am.
That sounds like heaven.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 9:54 pm.
Funny you should mention walking today. I walked 4 miles this morning with my girlfriends. They walk every day and I join them on the days I don’t work. We all get our kids off to school then we meet and walk. I’ve not walked in close to a month due to illnesses and spring break so today was my first day back. WOW am I tired!
As for planting, I have my garden started. I’ve got cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, watermelon and tons of tomatoes. We’ll see if I get any produce from those plants in another month or 2. Here is hoping as in years past I’ve had NO luck at all!
Happy Release Day!!!!!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:08 am.
I’m going to believe in your luck this year! Imagine all the produce on your counter.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:12 pm.
I stay at home and take care of my mother, so walking outside is not something that I can do often. I do have my treadmill aand get on it as often as I can. It is the daydreaming, while walking, that gets me through my indoor walks.
Right now I am babying my fig tree. It is producing fruit for the first time and I am trying to make sure nothing gets to those figs but me!!!
Congrats on the release!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:18 am.
Love to walk but never seem to find time but now that the weather is getting nice I need to do that
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:28 am.
Hi. I do enjoy walking and I should do it more! Have you ever seen the movie The Way with Martin Sheen? THE WAY, written and directed by Martin Sheen’s son – Emilio Estevez, was filmed entirely in Spain and France along the actual Camino de Santiago. I enjoyed it. How many days did it take you?
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:40 am.
I loved that movie! It only took us 6 days to do the 100 miles. Traditionally, it takes about 40 to walk the entire length.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:16 pm.
Barbara,
Thanks for the garden gift bag. It will be wonderful to use in the garden.
Posted on June 20, 2012 at 1:49 pm.
Happy Release Day!!
Walking is ok, but I like hiking out in nature more than in a city or the burbs. Though Shadow digs walking anywhere, I tend to not be as enthused about walking down the sidewalk every day.
I have had many journeys that have had lasting impressions on me, usually they proved to me I can accomplish more than I think I can (a lesson I seem to need to learn over and over. heh) or they remind me that we live in a very big, diverse – yet small – world.
I am chomping at the bit to plant some flowers, but the last frost date is still a month away, so their pretty heads won’t be hanging out for a while yet.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:00 am.
It is a long time for last frost in the mtns.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:17 pm.
I am not much of a walker mostly because I swim/cycle/run and do triathlons. I walk when I’m injured or with my kids when they ask to go. 2 things, well really 3 have turned things upside down for me, 2 are my 2 kids. Life is NOT the same with them and I wouldn’t trade it (mostly :p) for anything. The other is when I registered for my first (and hopefully not last) Ironman. I spent 5 months after registering wondering WTF I was thinking, and then I buckled down and started the training. It showed me that with determination I CAN do anything I set my mind to. The entire process was not what I expected, not just from a physical stand point, but mentally as well since there is a LOT Of time alone training. But crossing the finish line was AMAZING. Again, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. As for the what am I planting question? I’ve got daisies I’m growing from seeds on my window sill. I will need to put them outside soon.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:08 am.
A triatholon is a serious undertaking. Congratulations on the experience!
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:12 pm.
I don’t walk often anymore. It’s sad, really, because I used to walk or bike everywhere when I was in high school, some 10 years ago. I also used to hike all the time. I grew up right near a small state park that contains Native American burial mounds, and my BFF and I used to buy an annual membership every year. We went to the park several times a week and hiked the various trails (they were fairly simple trails, but involved quite a few hills and had far better scenery than walking in town). Our membership also let us use the swimming pool there.
We pooled our money together throughout high school, and we kept going for a few years afterwards, until I moved farther north. I really miss that park, and I miss hiking with her. 
Now we Skype instead, which is still fun but far less invigorating.
As for my garden, well… my house has a lot of really fascinating landscaping that was there when we moved in. I live in north-central Indiana, and I have two types of succulents (not sure which ones) and bamboo growing on my property, amongst other completely weird plants that I can’t identify. I’m planning to contact my local extension service for help identifying some of the plants, because I have no idea and I am a very novice gardener right now. I am focusing on taking care of the hydrangeas, peonies and bulbs that I recognize until I can get some help with what the heck is in my yard. It’s very pretty, but kind of intimidating to a gardening noob. I have a little pond as well, and I’m preparing to put a water lily and some grasses in the pond this weekend. I think I’m going to put in some goldfish as well.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:10 am.
I almost forgot, HAPPY RELEASE DAY! I have the book pre-ordered, and I’m just awaiting delivery! I almost got a Kindle copy just so I could have it right away this morning, but I liked the cover so much that I decided to get the physical book.
And just think, it’s all because I found The Goddess Blogs last year and won a copy of How to Bake a Perfect Life in a contest.
Now I’ve read at least half a dozen of your books (No Place Like Home made me cry so much…) and can’t wait for this new one!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:13 am.
Thanks, Monica! I love this cover, too. Just so pretty!
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:13 pm.
Happy Release Day, Barbara!
I do like to walk, but I confess to usually doing it indoors simply because my allergies are atrocious.
Most of my lessons make me remember just how small I am and what I want is in the grand scheme of things. I’m a planner and can be a bit OCD, so I don’t adapt well to doing things ‘on the fly,’ as the hub says. I need reminders every now and then so I remember I’m not in control.
We have planted some roses and some vincas in our front yard, and they’re so pretty.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:15 am.
Hey, Julie…one of the things about Colorado is the low number of things that live and grow here, so allergy suffering is minimal (though do not talk to me when the Russian olives are blooming!). Indoors is good, too.
I love vinca!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 9:56 pm.
I wish my town had sidewalks. I like taking the dog for a walk in the evenings, but the ankle-turning potential is very high around here. The streets drop off, and if you’re avoiding cars and not watching where your foot is going, then down I go.
We love to kayak as a family. DH worked out-of-town last summer, so we weren’t able to go as much as we would have liked. Hopefully, this summer will be different!
(oh, and the early spinach and peas are up…we took a chance with the warm weather and planted them before the official frost date).
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:35 am.
Oh, kayaking is fantastic! I experienced it for the first time just a couple of years ago, and I fell madly in love.
Sidewalks do make a difference. No fun to hurt yourself while walking!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 9:59 pm.
WOOHOO! Happy release day! I can’t WAIT to get this book!
I love to walk. This week, Hot Cop and I made the commitment to try and walk 20 miles a week. SO far, we’ve got 10 more, which isn’t bad as it’s only Tuesday, so I think we’ll get there. We can hope so, anyway.
I haven’t been planting anything yet, but I’ve been thinking about it. It’s time, you know. I just need to decide what will go where, but I especially want to grow some tomatoes.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:49 am.
20 miles a week is very respectable, Karen!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:00 pm.
Walking the Camino is on my bucket list. I saw the movie, The Way, last year about the Camino – it starred Martin Sheen – and it just touched me so much.
I used to walk for exercise more than I do now. Walking always seems to clear my head and bring me peace. I really need to get back into it. The only journey I have taken that has changed me is when I went to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm with the Red Cross.
What I’m planting – herbs – Basil, Thyme, Chives etc. I would plant Oregano but for some reason my dog loves it and sees it as a treat for him.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:49 am.
Josie, our little group has all watched The Way, too. I can tell you that it was a truly transforming experience, and some of us from that group are planning to go back next year and walk the entire distance.
Wow, Saudi with the Red Cross seems like a very big experience. That’s a story that intrigues me very much.
Laughing about your dog! I never knew they liked oregano!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:02 pm.
My time in Saudi was very interesting. I was so young and it was the first time I had been out of the country. Let’s just say I wasn’t so naive when I came back home. I loved working with the military and made some great friends.
I don’t think I could get off an entire month from work to do the entire Camino, but I would love to do a week or two. I’ll just have to do it.
My dog is a strange one – watch out if you have pizza – because he is right there.
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 11:21 am.
I love walks, and they’re the easiest way to get exersize right now. I just pop little man in his stroller and go for a bit. I do prefer nicer weather since it means less bundling needs to be done for the baby. Getting married and becoming a mom both are interesting journeys that definitely changed things around, and thse both started with the trip to college so a few life changing jouneys I guess. Planting.. figuratively hopefully love, physically I’ve got some plants to start for some container gardening, some peppers fruiting in the aerogarden, and a little snapdragon my sis sent for my birthday starting up in it’s ceramic egg.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 12:05 pm.
“Planting love…” That’s so beautiful, Miranda! I’m watching my son and DIL adjust to life as parents and it brings back a lot of intense memories. Sweet that you walk the baby.
I wish I could grow peppers, which are one of my passions…but they just do not thrive right here for some reason.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:04 pm.
I’m a daily morning walker, too, Barbara. Nothing life-changing, except for the time I fell down and had to limp home.
And I’m pulling out the plumeria that wouldn’t grow and putting in…hm. Something a little hardier, I think. With flowers.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 12:35 pm.
I have a hard time pulling out healthy plants that are just not working/thriving. It’s like admitting a shirt or skirt I bought never makes me feel the way I think it will and putting it in the Goodwill bin.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:18 pm.
I am so looking forward to reading this book!
I love to walk but don’t do long distance walking. As much as I’d like to, bad knees and feet hold me back.
Instead, I enjoy leisurely early morning walks with the dogs around the neighborhood and on local trails. Then I come home and ice the knees so I can do it again in the evening! 
I’m getting one garden ready to plant lots of colorful impatiens and potting red geraniums for the back deck. I’ll probably add some zinnias, Gerbera daisies and petunias to the garden too.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 12:58 pm.
Hugs on the sore knees and feet. There are things that can challenge walkers, that’s for sure–and it’s lovely that you are so devoted that you ice in the morning so you can do it again in the evenings.
Red geraniums! Is there a cheerier flower in the world?
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:06 pm.
I am a walker, but only in three seasons! Its too cold here in Illinois to walk in the winter (at least for me it is), and I cannot get on a treadmill without feeling motion sickness. Blah! But I do love getting out and walking and just seeing Things and People.
I have not started planting anything yet, waiting to get past the last chance for frost before I do. But we will plant many kinds of flowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, peppers and many more garden goodies! Yum!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 2:26 pm.
I hear you, Rhiannon! It’s cold here in the winter, but not like the midwest. Our winters are dry cold.
Are you as impatient as I am for that last frost date?
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:08 pm.
I Love to hike and go for walks. I haven’t done a 20+ mile trec in years, but I do try to fit in an hour walk 5 times a week. Usually I just walk around my neighborhood. But I’m game for just about anything. The last time I agreed to let one of my kids pick out the trail I got a bit more out of it than just some exercise. I wouldn’t say that the journey turned things upside down so much as it made them right. Perspectively speaking. Not sure how to explain it without telling the hows & why of the story.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 2:42 pm.
I have had that experience, when a walk made things made sense and made them right. I totally get it.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:09 pm.
Thats what I love the most about going for long walks. The mind has time to ponder while the body is busy being busy.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:05 pm.
I walk 2 miles every day because I walk my kids to school. It’s downhill on the way to school, uphill on the way home (like really uphill!), and I love it. It took about a month of walking to school before my kids stopped complaining about it. We talk about so many different things while we’re walking, which is another reason why I love it. Just a couple of days ago we were talking about atoms because my 8 yo daughter brought it up. Fortunately, my 11 yo is obsessed with the periodic table, so he took part in the conversation. I need to get back to walking 3 miles on the beach because there’s nothing like it. It makes me feel alive.
I’m planting a Jacques Cartier/Marquise Bocella rose to replace a rose, Lady Jane Grey, that had a terminal case of rust that I tried to get rid of for the past 3 years. I picked the Jacques Cartier rose after much research because it’s not only beautiful and very fragrant, it’s VERY disease resistant. Here’s a picture of it. http://www.love-of-roses.com/jacques-cartier-rose.html
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 3:29 pm.
That rose is gorgeous! I love those old fashioned pink doubles. They tend to be so vigorous, too. Good luck.
I had bad luck with my roses this year. Again. I’m not giving up, but have to rethink them all again. More mulch. More wrapping. More….?
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:20 pm.
Congratulations on the new release! Love the dog on the cover! You’re going to get new readers just because of that… and you’ll keep them because the story sounds terrific.
I’m not big on walking in nature. There are all those bugs and… and… critters. Now walking at the mall on the other hand… That, I can do.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 4:34 pm.
I love to walk and go for bike rides. We haven’t planted anything yet, but we are going to try planting some pumpkins pretty soon.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 5:02 pm.
I used to love to,walk. Now I am hampered by a nagging lower back injury and arthritis in my ankle from turning it so much as a child. When I was in my teens and early twenties and all systems were a go, my brother, sister and I used to walk the March of Dimes walk, 20+ miles and 6-7 hours and we loved every minute plus it was for a good cause.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 5:41 pm.
BTW, the only thing I’m planting these days is my butt in a comfy chair. I have a black thumb. You DON’T want me around your plants. I killed an air fern once!!!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 6:10 pm.
LOL!
The March of Dimes walks were what we did, too. A very good cause.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 10:20 pm.
I’m not much of a walker. I’m more of a driver. I am getting ready to plant
sunflowers with my favorite 3 year old.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 5:44 pm.
Sunflowers are so much fun, Rachel! I planted some Russian giants last year and they are so amazing. Then I pinned them up around the fences when they were finished and the squirrels went crazy.
I’m indoctrinating my favorite 2-month-old to garden wonders already. We looked at peas the other day. She was somewhat underwhelmed….
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 9:58 pm.
Congratulations on your new book! It looks like a good one. I do like to walk but haven’t taken a good hike in a while. I do like to walk and I wish Longwood Gardens was closer since it is one of my favorite places to walk through.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 6:25 pm.
I like to walk. I’m going to plant more flowers.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 7:47 pm.
I’m not a big fan of walking but I do try to keep moving all day long. We are doing some serious planting this year but we haven’t had time to go to the plant center yet to start planning what needs to be planted.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 9:52 pm.
I love to walk and hike. It’s my thinking time. I lettered in the mile walk in high school.
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:04 pm.
I like to walk but as the years have gone by, it’s not so safe anymore. Had knee surgery yesterday so that slows things down too.
Once I heal a little I will be planting tomatoes, cucumbers and a few other asst veggies!
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 11:44 pm.
I like to walk but don’t do enough of it. I am growing tomatoes and collard greens but have been propagating African violets as well lately. Thanks for sharing (and for the giveaway) and good luck with the new release.
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 3:36 am.
Before my health issues, I LOVED to walk. My road is long and in the country– perfect for afternoon walks. Snakes, though; gotta watch out for those icks
Oh, gosh, I SO do not have a green thumb! I couldn’t plant anything! Haha! Which is weird, because my family LOVES to! That joyful little basket is right up their alley.
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 4:02 pm.
Walking is definitely my exercise of choice as well. I like to walk with my favorite music blasting on my Ipod. I know it is true that music with a good beat keeps you walking longer. But we also have a nature trail near our house, so I have found I really enjoy turning the music off and appreciating the sounds of nature.
I am planning on planting all the ingredients needed for fresh salsa. I especially love planting spinach, as well. I have a recipe for fresh spinach salad with a poppy seed dressing that is a summer favorite.
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 6:39 pm.