Giving thanks

We are thankful for:
Karb - having the opportunity to live in Granada and for all my friends, both old and new
Nat - sunny days in winter, tapas and a healthy, happy family
Clark - food and playing with friends
Colin - legos and Wii

Thanksgiving

Boys enjoying sparkling cider
with fresh pomegranate juice*

Thanksgiving Day marked our 3 month anniverary in Spain and is a special time of year for me for several reasons. It's always been one of my favorite holidays, focused around family and food but Thanksgiving Day also marks the anniversary of my dear Mother's passing (16 years ago, after years of fighting lymphoma) so is always a timely reminder of the short time we have on this planet (she was only 54 when she died).



Thanksgiving dinner #1 at a fellow American's
house (he is married to a Spanish woman)



We've had a couple of Thanksgiving meals this year. The first one was last Thursday when a fellow American invited us over for a last minute dinner as he and his Spanish wife had just spontaneously purchased a turkey that morning as they thought that it was actually Thanksgiving Day (turns out it's the fourth Thursday in November, not the third). We happily accepted and enjoyed a lovely turkey (cooked perfectly well in a toaster oven!) He inspired us to offer up our own feast on the actual day so Nat ordered a bird from the local carnicerius and we strategized about menu options and offerings. We decided to call this "Turkey and tapas" and make it an afternoon gathering as dinner here doesn't start until 9 or 10pm and it was a school night.



My kitschy Americano appetizer
(creme cheese stuffed olives)



Nat supplied the turkey, stuffing, & vegetables
and friends brought side dishes and desserts

We extended the invitation to all our new friends, neighbors and fellow Americans, including one random couple from Seattle that we heard were in town this week. Surprisingly almost everyone we invited showed up, plus a few more. My most excellent chef husband roasted a 4 kilo turkey with all the trimmings and guests brought some lovely additions including homemade applesauce, roasted red peppers, marzipan and chocolates. I think we had over 43 people stop by (including kids) and with many spills and one broken wine glass I would call it a success (the last guests left at 11pm, apparently you never put an end time on a Spanish invitation). All in all, a perfect example of the spirit of Thanksgiving and what we are thankful for: friends, relationships, diversity, gratitude and acceptance. 


Colin's futbol kit

Eat your heart out LVR!

High-end futbol kit

When the boys play soccer in Seattle, the season is about 2 months long and they each get a simple soccer jersey and socks to wear at the games. Big difference here in Spain, where futbol is King. Just got the "kit" for Colin's Rayo Eneais team and inside the high-quality sports bag we found 2 sweat suits (one for games, one for practice) a windbreaker, wool cap and down jacket with hood! We're now just waiting for the team jersey with his name enscribed on the back. Even if he doesn't get to play in a game (still waiting for residancy status), it's been worth it!

Handyman and plumber

* We've had an abundance of ripe
pomegranates (granadas) in our garden

If my landlord is reading this, know that you chose the right tenants! Both my husband Nat as well as the upstairs neighbor are extremely handy around the house and enjoy a project so are forever fixing some litle thing. Nat has spruced up the fireplace doors, re-wired 2 phone transformers (which we think an electric surge blew), inserted a new shower head and replaced the tubing in the downstairs bath and is forever putzing with something. The most exciting news however, is that he called a plumber and we now have hot water in the kitchen! (this has never been working and also makes the downstairs bath tricky to use as we can't get much hot water there). Note on customer service to my fellow Americans: Nat called on Friday morning at 11:00 and the plumber was here 10 minutes later. He spent a few minutes determining the problem, left for an hour and then returned with a new part which he quickly installed. Total bill? 35 euros. Not bad and will help offset our electric bill for heating water via electricity ($$$) upstairs. Nat has also rototilled the garden and harvested all the ripe pomegranates. Yum!


Booking tickets

Nat rototills the garden

My neighbor Anna and I have literally spent hours booking tickets to get ready for our Moroccan adventure over the winter holidays. Something that would take about 10 minutes at home, has stretched in to hours (with calls to our banks in both Spain and Iceland for assistance!) To get bus and ferry passage, one must insert all passport numbers as well as a myraid of other information and sometimes the internet throws you out mid-way or some glitch requires a new transaction. When we purchased our flights, even though we bought them at the exact same time, my transacation must have been 1 second ahead of hers so my tickets were slightly cheaper and she had to start over. And there was an enormous fee to send funds from Spain to Morroco to our secure our deposit so I think we will be using cash from now on.