So much has happened over the last two months that we need to spend some time “catching up”, as my mother likes to say.  First, I hope you all enjoyed a lovely holiday season and that your new year is off to a fantastic start!  Let’s see….where to begin….Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was unusual for us this year.  It’s interesting to note that the Spanish, among many other Europeans apparently, also enjoy turkey this time of year.  Many local holidays, including Christmas, are celebrated with this particular fowl on the table.  I was surprised but also delighted to discover this fact as I had been somewhat concerned with the execution of our traditional Thanksgiving meal without the main dish.  Problem solved!  In fact, the biggest challenge I had for Thanksgiving was the pecan pie.  Turns out, the Spanish do not eat pecans as much as Americans do.  Nor do they use heavy syrups like we do (especially, for example, that which is a necessary ingredient in pecan pie).  It’s a little like peanut butter.  Online consumer goods data shows Americans eat over a billion pounds of peanut butter in a year.  Slightly more than 3 pounds per person per year.  But, according to NPR, the average Spaniard eats less than a tablespoon per year.  That’s a pretty big difference!  It also explains the peanut butter isle in the grocery store.  There isn’t one.  There isn’t even a peanut butter shelf.  If the store sells it, the peanut butter is usually hiding somewhere among the many shelves of jams and Nutella.  

We purchased our sweet potatoes from an older gentleman who roasts them, along with chestnuts, in a large black metal grill / smoker (ahumador) at his roadside stand that is semi-permanently located on the street corner we pass every day on the way home from school.  He is such a friendly and jaunty little man.  He folds long pieces of newspaper into neatly-shaped cones into which he pours his warm, roasted chestnuts and hands them with a flourish to his customers (often children).  When the children hand him some coins in payment, he gives them a neat little bow and then he wishes them a lovely snack and encourages them to return again tomorrow.  If, like us, you purchase his sweet potatoes, he lets you pick the potato of your choice directly from the grill and then he wraps it in newspaper secured with a thin strand of hemp rope tied in a simple bow.  He does not offer any bags or beverages.  Neither does his establishment provide an eating area.  However, he is located very close to a small playground with benches nearby and a water fountain for both people and pets.  So, if you want to savor your purchases immediately, as many of the locals do, you are able to procure the amenities you need easily.  

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What made Thanksgiving unusual wasn’t the absence of the bird, instead it was the absence of the holiday.  There were no days of school missed.  No time spent in front of a television watching football.  No parades.  No stuffing ourselves with delicious dishes until even the slightest idea of food was nauseating and we could barely keep our eyelids open.  None of those lovely traditions at all.  Instead, we spent the day cooking, as we sometimes do, and then when Allita came home from school, we all sat down to a lovely dinner together, as we usually do.  It was the most non-celebrated holiday we have ever experienced.  We did make some table decorations but they were minimal because we anticipated a minimalist celebration.  We did, however, manage to maintain almost all of our “after Thanksgiving” traditions.  We spent the weekend decorating the house for Christmas, including erecting the tree and organizing all associated lighting, which is my primary responsibility and also my most dreaded annual chore.  We also did lots of shopping – in person and online.

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I will note at this point that “Black Friday” is celebrated here in Spain although not quite as fervently as in the U.S..  I found it highly interesting.  They do not yet appear to have a Cyber Monday or any other similar sales events.  Also, “Black Friday” sales apparently extend well into the Christmas shopping season.  Go figure.  Amazon is very active here in Spain with drivers frequently lugging their deliveries up and down the sidewalks as they look diligently for recipient addresses.  The concierge in our building was extremely busy the week following Thanksgiving as he first cleaned the entire lobby – top to bottom – and then he installed all of the holiday decor for the building while at the same time receiving a variety of packages and deliveries for the residents and, at one point, babysitting a stroller-encased child while the mother dashed away on a quick errand.  He’s a lovely man – I will have to tell you more about him in a future blog.  

Well, that wraps up November and Thanksgiving. On to December and Christmas…..