blah

The turkey endorphins have worn off, and I'm left feeling just blah. The Thanksgiving meal turned out quite well and was very tasty. Perhaps in effort to re-create the tension felt at many forced familial gatherings, the host invited a couple of our English neighbors, who don't get along well with some of the other American guests. There was some almost comedic sniping between them, but for the most part people were on their best behavior. And now the Christmas buying bonanza begins. I confess I have no Christmas spirit this year. Big Jim and I may boycott the holiday entirely. We are talking of taking off to Granada for a couple days so that I can spend some time with my very missed friend---snow. Perhaps my mood will improve as the holiday nears; it often does. One thing I have decided is that I'm purchasing all the gifts from fair-trade companies, like Gear that Gives and American Apparel. If I am forced to be a consumer, I'm making sure I am supporting companies that pay their employees a living wage. Must get back to work and my deadline. Too much work and not enough play makes mylifeinspain a cranky girl. My apologies.... hasta pronto, mylifeinspain

trying to be nice....

Okay as we feared, our phone has been ringing off the hook. First, a person who shall remain nameless called. She doesn't want to lug her cooked sweet potatoes and cauliflower over from the other side of the village: could she do the preparation at our house? Now I have to go over to another nameless person's house and peel the shrimp for her because she is having trouble. Errr...trying to remember spirit of holiday, but it's becoming difficult. Where's the wine? hasta pronto, mylifeinspain

happy thanksgiving!/pa dutch potato filling

I confess I am a little worried about the state of our Thanksgiving meal. First, this is the same group of people who had this great idea to have a Chinese bar-b-que back in August, and then Big Jim and I wound up making 85% of the meal. When R. first asked about hosting Thanksgiving, he said, "And I'll make the turkey. I love to make turkey." Then for two weeks, L. kept insisting Big Jim was making the turkey, and I reminded her, "No, R. is making the turkey. We are making the potatoes and the cranberries (and Big Jim is our honorary Pilgrim)." R. called over the weekend to say he ordered a turkey from one of the local grocers, but wouldn't our oven be better to roast it? I saw where this was going; if he "used" our oven, that would mean we would be doing the turkey, too. Thinking quickly, I responded, "Well, R., our oven isn't all that big; we just managed to fit the Christmas turkey in it last year." He said, "Oh, I'm thinking more about the temperature control." Truthfully I replied, "I don't think ours is any better, R. We don't have degree markers." Which is true: there are just big flame, medium flame, and small flame markers on the dial. "Oh, oh, I see," he said. "Do you at least have a roasting pan I could use?" (I thought this man loved making turkey, and he has no pan?) "Sure, R., just stop over and pick it up." Well, it's 10:15am on Thanksgiving, and he still hasn't been around for the pan nor do I smell any turkey coming from his open windows....is it possible he's forgotten today is the day? But then again, what would Thanksgiving be without a little dysfunctionality.... I'm off to make my Pennsylvania Dutch potato filling now. I'm including a recipe for it here, although there are hundreds of variations, depending on how much butter/eggs you want to use. Here's what you need: 5 pounds potatoes 1 cup diced celery 1-1/2 cup diced onion 4 cloves minced garlic ***(No proper Dutchman would ever include garlic. But it's my way of adding a tiny bit of Spain to the recipe) 1/2 cup fresh, finely chopped parsley 3 or 4 eggs 1 cup butter or margarine 3 cups cubed bread 1-2 cups milk, or enough to moisten bread cubes Salt, pepper Cook potatoes with salt until tender. Sauté celery, onions, and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in 2 tablespoons oil until tender and slightly browned. Push to one side of the pan; add 1/4 cup of the butter and soak parsley in butter, then mix with celery, onions, and garlic. Drain potatoes; put in large enough container to hold all ingredients. Add the remaining butter, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mash (I always use a hand masher). Add eggs and mix thoroughly. Add celery, onion, and garlic and mix. In the same pan used for the celery and onion mixture, soak bread cubes in enough milk to moisten thoroughly and heat. Add to potatoes and mix. If mixture is too thick, add milk. Add dry bread cubes if too thin. Also use more or less of seasoning to taste. Put in greased baking casserole, dot top with butter, and bake at 350° (or medium flame for us) for 45 minutes or until golden brown. I hope everyone has a nice holiday, and remember to be thankful for at least one thing today. Even if it's just the fact that you are still breathing. I'll be thankful if we actually wind up having turkey in the end. :-) Will keep you posted..... hasta manana, mylifeinspain

the rock

Had a good day yesterday. It was fun just getting out of the village for a little while. :-) The village was completely quiet, except for a crowing rooster, when we left just after 5am. On the drive down the mountain we passed but two cars, and the highlight was spotting a large white owl perched on an electric pole, that then swooped down in front of our car (which we had stopped incidentally). Huge wingspan, very cool to see. We arrived just as the sun was beginning to rise behind the Rock. It is a pretty impressive bit of earth I tell you. If we had been thirty minutes later, I am sure the full sunrise would have been stunning. Entering Gibraltar is an interesting experience for first-timers because you have to cross the airport runaway. There are railroad crossing posts and heavily armed RAF guards who shut the border whenever a plane is taking off or landing. On my first visit, I walked across; this time obviously we had the car, which is slightly less exciting. We had our passports ready, but customs just waved us through. So much for border control. We parked up, which is no easy feat in Gibraltar. Most of the streets have been pedestrianized, and the intelligent Gibraltarians all seem to drive scooters. After driving around the city center a couple of times, we did manage to find a spot. Turned out later it was part of a taxi stand and we had missed the sign. Got yelled at by a female taxi driver as we were leaving, but no ticket at least. Having almost an hour to kill before our appointment, we decided to have a full English breakfast. We quickly found a restaurant called the "Copabanana" and placed our order. I haven't had a FEB for a few years, and afterward I remembered why....my body goes into fat and salt shock. My first FEB was prepared by Big Jim soon after we met, and it took me two full days to recover from the fried food assault. Thankfully, the Copa at least didn't also fry the toast. Although it was delicious, I gave half my bacon to Big Jim and concentrated on finishing the English sausage, which was supertasty. We waddled out, finished our business in an hour, and then did some shopping. M.A. had requested we pick up a bottle of Lanvin Arpege for her, a classic French parfum I was told by the saleswoman. It appears the family of the woman whose guesthouse I stayed in as a student has gotten into the perfume trade as there were several establishments carrying her name on the High street alone, including the one where I found M.A.'s bottle. I can understand why most English find Gibraltar to be a bit of a boghole. The main street is full of many discount booze (one shop is actually called Booze & Co.), tobacco, jewelry, and perfume shops because Gibraltar is one big duty-free zone. And the whole place is in need of a coat of paint, so it generally looks a bit shabby. Big Jim had never been there before and was intrigued by the Spanglish spoken by the natives. Two very English-looking older men, complete with cardies and in beige head to head, would greet each other in Spanish, have an entire conversation in perfect Spanish, and then wind up by saying, "Nice seeing you then, mate. Have a nice day. Cheers, cheers," as they patted each other good-bye. The more I travel around Spain, the more I realize how odd the language is that is spoken in and around the village. It must be the Spanish equivalent of our Cajun dialect or a thick Glaswegian accent. Like the Ken Loach movie a few years back, My Name is Joe, which had English subtitles even though the characters were technically speaking English, because the accent was so strong and the language so colloquial. The Spanish outside our immediate area seems almost stilted in its correctness, and mind you I'm still talking about Andalucia, which is also slammed by some northerners for being a bit lazy and not speaking what they consider proper Castilian. The weather was dubious so we didn't travel to the top of the Rock, but we'll return soon. :-) It's only a two-and-a-half hour journey from here, so it's very doable for a day trip. Today it's back to work, so must get to it. I'm already behind schedule because I had to give the precious Boo another bath this morning...yes, more burro caca on the goat track. hasta luego, mylifeinspain

real world philadelphia

Big Jim and I were up late last night watching the first seven episodes of MTV's latest edition of "The Real World," which was filmed in my old hometown of Philadelphia. A friend of mine back there recently sent these to us because not only is the show filmed in Philly but also the house in which the cast is living is just a block from my last apartment there. Watching this show was a surreal experience on so many levels. First, it was very strange seeing my old neighborhood in just about every outdoor shot: Old City Pizza (where Big Jim had his first cheesesteak ever), Mulberry Market, all the art galleries and old machine shops, the parks where my dog played when she was a pup, the Ben Franklin Bridge. The gym where the cast goes to work out is just around the corner from my old office by Independence Hall. One scene was filmed in a lounge-y bar, which used to be a place where I went to see bands. I didn't recognize the old Nick's until they panned down the very long flight of stairs. I won't forget those stairs; I've lugged band equipment up them for friends and I've also negotiated them after a night of beer and rock n' roll. So strange to see the bar all glammed up....but then again, my old neighborhood has been glammed up considerably since I first moved there ten years ago. It was also bizarre to watch these people relate and play for the camera. I watched the Real World back in the early days, god almost fifteen years ago. I stopped watching around series eight or so---the one in New Orleans---because I could no longer relate to the "kids" anymore. Back in the earlier versions, the people seemed to be more interested in hanging out in a new city, doing different stuff, and meeting new folks. There were some drama queens who played for the camera, but they all also seemed to have some sort of life beyond being on the Real World. Around Hawaii/New Orleans, though, something switched, and the cast only really seemed to care about getting insanely drunk and hooking up with other castmates. Many of the Philly cast seem to be similarly minded, and Big Jim and I kept looking at each other in disbelief as we watched episode after episode. Our favorite cast member is the woman whose parents gave her breast implants as a college graduation present, this despite knowing she has serious body image issues and is bulimic. Wha??!!! As the castmates first arrived at the new digs, she almost immediately announced her boobs were fake and then asked these people who she had just met if they wanted to feel them. And most did. Big Jim and I are still extremely traumatized.... I remember when MTV made its debut, and my sister and I watched Duran Duran and Big Country videos before we went off to school. MTV has changed oh so much since then. I feel like such an old lady. Even one of my favorite bands ever, Guided by Voices, is retiring at the end of this year. I think I went to every one of their Philly shows, as well as several in New York, from 1993 until I moved to Spain. Some of my favorite were in the early days when they still played at the Khyber, although I also saw a great show they played at the Bowery Ballroom in 1999. With few exceptions, most of my favorite tunes are from this era...there seem to fewer and fewer bands these days who know how to truly rock. Ah well, more nostalgia, seems to becoming a recurring theme these days.... Still working on my pro/con list and still haven't looked at my camera manual, although am going to as soon as I finish this post. We have to leave at a pretty ungodly 5 am tomorrow to get to Gib in time for our morning appointment. But it will be fun to have a little roadtrip. :-) hasta pronto, mylifeinspain

tgif

Been awake for awhile, after almost being squeezed out of bed by two pushy dogs. I held my own, though...too chilly to get out of bed so early. As soon as I mentioned hot water bottle a couple days ago, the nighttime temperature took another nosedive, and it became necessary to dust it off. Big Jim has this ritual of secretly filling my hwb, wrapping my pjs around it, and putting it in the bed, so that all is nice and toasty when I go to sleep. It really is one of his best features, and I love him for it. :-) Yesterday was slightly less depressing as Big Jim actually received two calls about jobs. Nothing to get too excited about, but it still better than the phone not ringing at all. Starting next week, I am going to post a weekly tally of jobs applied for/calls received/interviews, so that people can get a better idea of what an IT/PM job search is like these days. We're going down to the coast later this afternoon to do some shopping. This will be our first trip since getting the car back from the garage. The Peugeot needed a new clutch plate, which given its relative age and the demands put on it driving up and down this mountain regularly is completely understandable. We also had an overall tuneup done. In the end, the final bill was a moderate "ugh" versus a minor "ugh" or the far-worse major "ugh". Don't mind as long as she continues to well run until at least her ITV inspection next October. No big plans for the weekend. I'm going to do some work and read my camera manual and try to catch up on my book-writing project for NaNoWriMo. I am woefully behind in my word count, but I am pushing on regardless. I most likely will not hit the 50,000-word mark by the end of November, especially with the tendinitis flareup, but I will do the best I can. I am taking off work Monday so that Big Jim and I can go to Gibraltar to take care of some admin stuff. I haven't been there in more than fifteen years, when I traveled there with some friends from my Spanish school in Seville. I don't remember much except for the fish&chip shops and the scary hostel we stayed in. It was called something like Mrs. Saroya's Guesthouse. Mrs. S. was an older woman, pretty pickled on G&Ts most of the time, and her guesthouse had clearly seen better days. The weirdest thing, though, was waking up in the morning and realizing in the full light of day that my bedroom had once been a bathroom. I remember stretching my arms and hitting my hand on a porcelain soap dish attached to the wall. I looked up to see a shower head staring at me and quickly located where the toilet paper once was hung. Weird, weird, weird. My friends and I hiked up the Rock later that day. I don't remember much of that either, except there were monkeys (I believe technically Barbary apes) roaming and fornicating everywhere the eye could see. I felt as though I was intruding at first, but then I realized they were just a bunch of showoffs. Not sure whether we'll have time Monday to check if the orgy on the Rock continues.... Someone has suggested I post my pro/con list of staying in Spain vs returning to the US. I had been planning to do so actually and will work more on this over the weekend. I can think of a couple of things of the top of my head. One, this recent flack over the Monday night football promo. I haven't actually seen this advert, but from what I gather there was some female back nudity. Good god, Americans need to get a grip about nudity and sex in general. Another quicky is the national debt situation. The share of the debt for each baby born today is $86,000. The current administration has incurred a debt in four years equal to that from the founding of the US through 1986. That is insane. But then again America does have bagels a'plenty, so it is a tough call. Have a nice weekend, everyone! hasta luego, mylifeinspain

homesick

We have started planning for Thanksgiving next week. The US contingent in the village, all four of us, have decided to have a proper turkey-and-all-the-trimmings meal. R. is doing the turkey, and I have been assigned potatoes, so I'll be making PA Dutch potato filling, which is oh so yummy. Big Jim, although not American, embraces the Thanksgiving meal although perhaps not all of the history behind it, which is understandable. He's going to do something with the fresh cranberries he smuggled back from Holland. The upcoming holiday season is evoking strong waves of homesickness for me. The most disappointing aspect of the job debacle for me has been that we have had to postpone our visit to the US. I was so looking forward to seeing my friends and family, some of whom I haven't seen for a couple years. When I have the homesick bug, I find myself asking why it is that Big Jim and I are so far away from the people we've known and loved the longest. This time, I am finding the answers difficult to come by. I've had this happen before, so I know that it is part of the process and not the time to make any dramatic decisions. The last time "the doubts" surfaced was about 15 months ago. I went as far as signing up with a headhunter in New York to start looking for jobs there for me. Almost immediately afterward, my grandmother became seriously ill, and I had to make an emergency trip to the US. Two and a half weeks later, as I stood in line for my return flight to Spain, I had compiled more than enough reasons to stick it out here. Today I have started another pro/con list. So far, the list is pretty even, but then as I said, I have just started. Intellectually I realize the nostalgia I currently have for my life before Spain is a reaction to the roller-coaster circumstances Big Jim and I are dealing with, but I also believe the list exercise is important to get my emotional side on the same page. Or not. Perhaps not everything is to be intellectualized. We'll see. It is times like these that I wish Harry's Occult Shop in Philadelphia made housecalls. Harry's wasn't a black magic-y place; rather, it was all positive, good witchy based. I can't remember what made me go there the first time, perhaps just curiosity. However, when faced with a couple of existential crises, I went in for a consultation. You would step up to an open-window booth and tell the man/Harry what was troubling you. Within 30 seconds, this guy could pinpoint the true origin of the dilemma and prescribe a curative regimen. It was astounding, truly, and far more economical than six months of therapy. I would walk out with a bunch of candles, some specially made-up potions/bathoils that smelled like cheap drugstore perfume, and a hand-written list of instructions for their application. All skepticism aside, his perceptions were spot on, and I've got to tell you, his shop was packed with other believers every time I went in. Must check to see whether he does phone consultations.... My postings may be slightly irregular in the next few days. My tendinitis in my left arm is acting up, so I have to watch my time at the keyboard and be sure to take frequent breaks, etc. I also don't want to use the blog as a place just for whinging, which I have been prone to recently. There is a blog that I read regularly written by another American expat. I came across it some time ago, and I thought it would be interesting to read another woman's thoughts on her expat experiences. Her constant fretting, however, made my blood boil, and I was often tempted to shoot off an e-mail telling her so. Wisely, I think, I never did. I can't stop reading her posts though....I suppose it is the blog equivalent of rubbernecking through the scene of a car wreck. Okie doke, will post photos soon. Just been too busy with work to read the camera manual, but will make time later this week. Really. :-) hasta pronto, mylifeinspain

butter

I have been in a breakfast rut for several years, especially now that bagels are so hard to come by. Two pieces of toast with butter and Marmite, juice, and coffee. I do use different types of bread to mix things up a bit, but until recently it was difficult to find decent wheat and multigrain varieties here. However, the clever folks at Bimbo, the major mass bread manufacturer, have brought out a whole new line: eight-grain, soy, extra fiber, etc. My favorite so far is the whole wheat, English style, which doesn't have added honey or sugar of any sort, key when mixing with Marmite. Otherwise, the savory Marmite and the sweetness clash horribly, and the taste is all wrong. (And yes, the brand really is Bimbo. This intrigues most of our first-time guests, particularly Big Jim's male friends, who always feel compelled to take a loaf of "blond" [white bread] Bimbo home with them. And a box of "Colon" cleanser, the oddly named laundry powder.) In addition to the previous lack of bread choices, my seemingly simple breakfast faces seasonal challenges, specifically regarding the state of the butter. Let me explain. In the summer, usually in early July, I will come down to the kitchen one morning to find a pool of melted butter ringing the edges of the butter dish, almost like a moat. For two months or so, it will be too hot to leave the butter setting out, which means it has to be stored in the refrigerator. Which I hate. Some time toward the end of September, the temperature cools just enough to bring the butter dish back out from the fridge, and I can again enjoy its easy-spread goodness. Until mid-November, when the temperature in the house dips below 55-60 degrees, and I am now faced with a block of almost rock-hard butter every morning. I have about five seconds to get the toast from the toaster to the plate and to slap a slab of butter on it if I want to have any hope of the butter melting properly. It's a challenge before I've had my coffee, I tell you. And don't bother suggesting I try one of those horrible margarine spready things. I know what's in them, and I'll take my butter dilemma over that option any day. Cold butter is just my reality for the next few months, along with my constant companions, my orange/yellow/blue plaid Irish wool blanket and my woolie slippers. And in a couple of weeks, the temperatures will dip further, and it will be time for the resurrection of another old World favorite---my hot water bottle. hasta luego, mylifeinspain

happy friday

Just a quick happy Friday to everyone. This week has sped by....can't believe it's almost the middle of November. Had a couple birthday drinks with M.A. last night...still don't know whether she liked her gift because she took it home with her to upwrap. Big Jim is planning to go around to her house later to help with some computer stuff and also to hang the windchime, so I guess we'll find out then. L. returned yesterday from New York. Only chatted with her for a minute last night because she was exhausted from the traveling...she was delayed quite awhile at CDG in Paris because of a bomb scare. Will catch up with her this weekend. We have a box of Neuhaus chocolates that Big Jim brought back from Amsterdam for her. Neuhaus chocolate may be the best chocolate ever....I offered L. a piece after dinner one night; she doesn't even like chocolate much but she wound up having three more pieces. I only saw Neuhaus chocolates once in Philadelphia---I think it was at the old Wanamaker's store at Christmas time---and a 2-pound box cost something like $75, no joke. If you are a chocolate lover, it's worth considering buying a discount plane ticket to Brussels and stocking up at the Neuhaus shop. It is seriously that good. Have a nice weekend everyone. hasta pronto, mylifeinspain

happy birthday, m.a.!

Today our good friend M.A. turns 73. Last evening Big Jim and I went out to find a present for her. We decided on a grape leaf windchime. I hope she likes it....it's difficult to tell sometimes with M.A....she may just think it makes a whole lot of noise! We'll give her a call in a little while and invite her out for a celebratory drink this evening. Woke up this morning to find the power off, the strong winds last night the most likely culprit. I didn't sleep well because of it. All the banging about and the pots rolling kept the precious Boo from settling properly, so she was in and out of the bed every five minutes. Which wouldn't be so bad except that she knows that she needs to be invited into the bed; therefore, every time she jumped down, she would then wake me up to ask to come back up. So much for a well-trained dog. We watched a crappy movie last night, Rules of Engagement. Big Jim even fell asleep it was so uninspiring. We did get a kick out of watching the extras though, especially the bit when I believe the producer referred to it as a "very important film....one that will generate many conversations at the dinner table." The only conversation Big Jim and I could imagine involved people sitting around discussing what a crap film it was. Disappointing, though, as the screenplay was written by the same man who wrote "Traffic", which was a great movie. Played with my new camera on the goat track this morning. Must actually read the manual because it does all sorts of neat things, takes short videos, has sound, etc. Will try to post the pictures later today or tomorrow. The dogs had good fun this morning. Our friend A. was on the trail with her dog Cassie, so all three had a great time playing, chasing sticks, etc. I love to watch dogs just hanging out and socializing. Big Jim is filling in at J. and M.'s gallery this morning, and I need to get to work. Who knows how long the power will stay on....the wind is still howling and rain is in the forecast for later. hasta manana, mylifeinspain

in honor of the olive: chicken with olive sauce

Life seems to be getting back to "normal" here. I'm still working in the lounge while Big Jim is busy upgrading our other computers. He's also busy on the job search front. A colleague from Amsterdam passed along a project notice for a position in Madrid; otherwise, not much to report...seems to be a fairly quiet week on JobSearch. After Big Jim started working in Amsterdam, I believe I mentioned that I began to experiment with having my main meal in the middle of the day, like the Spanish do. With my busy work schedule, I was finding myself too tired to even think about making a proper meal at nine in the evening. Plus I always thought the Spanish eating schedule made a lot of sense: food is essentially our bodies' fuel, and it is illogical to fill up just a couple hours before we go to sleep. After a few days, I found my hunger cycle adapted quite easily, so now that Big Jim is back, we have decided to keep to the new meal routine. In honor of the olive harvest season, I'm listing an easy recipe that I used to make our lunch today. I modified it from one I saw a little while ago on www.epicurious.com, which is a great foodie web site, lots of recipes. Here's what you need: Chicken (I used two leg/thigh pieces for Big Jim and I; if you one of those "boneless skinless chicken breast"-only people, that will work as well :-) S/P 1 tablespoon cumin 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper olive oil For the sauce: 1/2 cup olives (pitted or sin hueso) juice from half a lemon 2 cloves garlic Preheat the oven to 375 F, and place the chicken in a shallow baking dish with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with s/p, the cumin, and cayenne pepper. (I have an excellent kitchen tool that I bought at Williams-Sonoma a few years ago. It's an oil/vinegar sprayer. You simply add a bit of oil, pump the canister about ten times, and spray. It's fabulous for adding oil/vinegars to pans, salads, etc., and was cheap, too...about $10.) Bake the chicken, 20 minutes on each side (you may need to adjust time if you are using a boneless breast). In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Just throw everything into a blender, food processor---I use a Braun handmixer (another invaluable kitchen aid, in my opinion)---and pulse a few times until everything is blended. Spoon over chicken and return to the oven for five additional minutes. Today I served the chicken with a mix of couscous and diced carrots/red pepper/spring onion. Enjoy! Oh, and should you ever find yourself in the middle of an olive grove, don't try to eat the olives from the tree! I've never done so, but I understand they're horrible. The dogs seem to agree. They have both tried to sample a few that have fallen to the ground, and they immediately spit them out. And that says a lot, considering some of the unsavory bits they enjoy eating on the goat track! hasta pronto, mylifeinspain

sunny monday

Yes, you read right. I am trying to put the bad stuff from the past two weeks behind me and start the week with a sunnier disposition. I moved my laptop out of the office and into the tv lounge this weekend. Not really sure why. I like the office, but I just felt like I needed to change perspective. We had a quiet weekend. I've been working on finishing a book project (because I have a new one starting up today), and Big Jim has been doing some upgrades on the other computers to bring them into the twenty-first century. I had asked Big Jim to purchase a new digital camera before he returned from Amsterdam because the repairman deemed our old one not worth fixing. Turns out he had already bought one for my Christmas present. :-) I'm planning to take a bunch more pics and post them on the blog later this week. Also did some work on my NaNoWriMo project. Am woefully behind in my numbers at the moment, but there are still plenty of days in November to catch up! Big Jim made one of his Asian feasts Friday night: chicken corn noodle soup, stirfried chicken, and vegetables and pan-fried noodles. Amazingly good. He's also brought back some lemon grass plants to add to our collection of chili peppers on the roof terrace. It was sunny here all weekend, would have been a good time to take a trip to the coast. However, we are carless at the moment. Funny enough, we had planned to have the car serviced this month (it had been just over a year), and as we were coming up the mountain from the airport on Thursday, the clutch started slipping. So, as soon as we unloaded Big Jim's bags, the car went straight to the garage. No word on an estimate yet, but in keeping with the sunny Monday theme, we are being optimistic. :-) Saturday, a car with a loud PA system drove slowly through the village, announcing that there would be a screening of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ" that evening. Not fans of Mel Gibson, Big Jim and I took a pass on that one. I suspect it was well attended though. On Good Friday, the townfolk here reenact the Passion Play in the main square, the priest playing Jesus of course. He, carrying his cross, and the crowds then slowly make the trip to the top of the village, where a mock crucifixion takes place. Our friend C. likes to tell the story of how one year he arrived before the masses only to find the other two men already up on their crosses, one wearing sunglasses and the other smoking a cigarette. Only in Spain, only in Spain.... hasta pronto, mylifeinspain

tgif, tgif, tgif

Well, it's another Friday. Big Jim is home, and we're all happy about that. I'm trying really hard to be optimistic, but I can't help but feel we're back where we started, and that was not a good place. The village is sleepy, although the farmers are getting ready to begin to pick olives. I'm hoping to have some time in the next few weeks to help J. and M. harvest olives at their new house. There are machines that some people use to remove the olives from the tree. The machine shakes the tree, so that the olives fall off into the nets that have been spread on the ground below. But most people here still do it the old way: climbing the tree and picking by hand. Hope everyone has a nice weekend. hasta pronto, mylifeinspain

election day aftermath

I've been awake now for almost 19 hours, with only 3 hours of sleep, so please forgive typos, meandering sentences, etc. The reaction in the village to the results of the US elections is not surprisingly one of extreme disappointment and confusion. In the past few weeks, I cannot tell you how many people, some strangers who just know me as la americana, have said to me, "You are voting, right? You have to vote for us because we can't. You have to vote for Kerry." English, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegians all putting their hopes on my one vote. It's a strange feeling, I tell you. I am very sad today, but I am also so proud of my friends back in Philadelphia who took off from work and closed offices so that they could volunteer with groups like Election Protection and make a real difference. The faithful spirited Philly voters came out in droves, and I just love them for it. All the folks who drove and flew from blue states to help out in the battleground states, I love them, too, and they give me hope. It disturbs me greatly to hear that many Bush supporters still believe that we found WMD in Iraq, that Saddam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks, and so on. In Republican ads, Democrats were portrayed as Bible banners and all gung-ho to set up abortion clinics in every local shopping mall. At first, I was shocked to hear the number one issue voters were concerned with was morality. The more I thought about, though, I realized my decision was morality based as well. I think that the war in Iraq is immoral; the horrific loss of life, the soldiers who are risking everything yet our country doesn't give them proper supplies. Their families have to purchase and send them batteries, body armor, scopes for their rifles, high-powered binoculars. I think making the billionaires richer while so many people are struggling to just survive is immoral. I think that access to affordable health care should be a right, not a privilege. I could go on, but I'm sleepy. I am sad, but I am just as fired up as I was yesterday. There are so many good people out there doing amazing work. I encourage people who want to support our troops in Iraq to visit the Operation Truth web site (www.optruth.org) and read what this nonpartisan, nonprofit group of soldiers has to say. With all the misinformation swimming around the airways and print media, I think it's important for all Americans to do a little research and seek out outlets that provide reliable information. One of my favorites is the Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk), but there are many others (eg, the BBC/BBC World Service). Also, check out watchdog groups like Media Matters for America (http://mediamatters.org/), who keep tabs on the major media outlets. I do believe that living abroad changes a person's perspective on her home country. With the distance, one can weigh the goods and bads more objectively. I am greatly dismayed with and fearful of the direction the US is going, but I don't plan to lie down even though I live in this little village miles and miles and miles away. As I was writing this entry, my friend M. forwarded me an e-mail from Howard Dean. In his message, he included this quote, which sums up exactly how I feel. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." We will not be silent. Okay, really must go to bed now. I have an early morning trip to the airport to pick up Big Jim, who returns to begin the Job Search, part 2. Thanks to everyone who has e-mailed good wishes and encouragement. We really appreciate it. :-) hasta pronto, mylifeinspain

vote

If you haven't voted yet, please be sure to do so today. Anticipate long lines: bring food, bring a book, bring coffee and water, bring folding chairs, and bring enough to share with those less prepared. If it's raining, take an extra umbrella and a couple of those fold-up plastic rain ponchos. If you or anyone you know has a problem voting, here is the voter protection hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE. hasta manana, mylifeinspain

100

This is the 100th blog entry I've made since I started it at the end of June. In the past four months, there have been 1827 visits to the site by 879 unique users. Fifty-two percent of visitors come back to have a least a second look. Thanks everyone for reading and for your comments. If you haven't signed the guestbook, please do so (it's on the left side of the page). I feel a little better today after indulging my misery this weekend. Had an interesting encounter with one of the old widows in the village yesterday on the goat track. This woman lives just down the street from me, and I pass her just about every morning when I walk the dogs. She's not a particularly friendly woman...I think it took about a year before she began to occasionally look up and say hello to me. She also has a dog, a little brindled Corgie-type thing, that is often sleeping outside on her doorstep. This Sunday, she and the dog were coming onto the goat track just as I and the pups were about to leave. The dogs had a good sniff, while she told me her dog had just had three puppies. Her speech was rapid-fire, but the gist was that she was torn about what to do. She could not keep the puppies, but she didn't want to kill them either (sadly, most unwanted pups and kittens are often drowned by their owners). She repeated, I don't want to kill them. I don't want to kill them. I tried to explain she should call the local animal rescue group, but I don't think she will. I think she was trying to ask me to take one of the puppies, but I explained two dogs and a cat were all we had room for at the moment. I felt badly for her because I could tell how torn she was. Most of the locals still seem untrusting of the animal groups, which are run almost exclusively by foreigners, preferring to deal with things in their way, no matter how difficult. So I wasn't the only troubled soul in the village, and if given the choice, I'd take my dilemma over the one the old widow faced. Halloween with the all costumes and candy is beginning to catch on in the village, most likely because of all the expats. I handed out little chocolate bars through the kitchen window to swarms of Spanish kids, only a few dressed up but all with sacks for their candy. That part they were very switched on to. There was a huge firework display at about 10:30. I went on the roof to watch but wound up hovering in the doorway most of the time. Since my firework accident and resulting black eye during the feria I'm not too keen on them, I'm afraid. Especially when I saw several low-flying bits, still aflame, land on (thankfully, empty) terraces nearby. Started on NaNoWriMo this morning. Was at an almost complete loss for ideas until Saturday evening I came across some history on the village, including the origins of its name, which I found very interesting, and lo and behold, the wheels started turning. Busy day, so must be off. Deadlines, deadlines..... hasta manana, mylifeinspain