Fourth of July 2018

I’ve been missing in action for the past couple of day. I was prepping for and enjoying the Fourth of July! Tuesday morning we got to the beach around 10am and there were only two other couples on the beach. It was heaven! It is tourist season so it is best to get there early in the day. We stayed for about 2.5 hours and then escaped the crowds that had arrived. We hit the grocery store on the way home for rest of the fixings for our July 4th bash!

Once we got home and had lunch I started my baking. I made a peach and blueberry crumble. Heavy on the peaches and light on the blueberries. Unfortunately, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are not in abundance here and are not cheap. The little package would be what each of us would have for breakfast. We were quite spoiled in the U.S. as there were always berries imported and not only could we buy them year-round but we could buy them in bulk and they were super inexpensive.

The peaches here are amazing and there are tons of them so I need to look for more recipes for them (and recipes without cinnamon *wink to the person who knows why).

I also made an apple pie/tart/flan thingy. I had intended to make apple pie but have to make my own pastry and the only pastry I have ever made is for a tart. And that is just one pastry not a bottom and a top which is what the apple pie recipe really calls for. So I just made it up as I went along. Cut out a few stars to make it look festive. I didn’t have any yesterday but I had some for breakfast and it was quite yummy.

I enjoy baking but I will admit that it is more enjoyable when you have air conditioning. We don’t normally need AC here but having the stove and oven on for hours made it a bit uncomfortable. I say things like that and then think what a comfortable life so many of us have that others don’t and how do they cope? Perspective.

Fourth of July arrived and as seems to be normal on holidays when we have guests coming Bob had and appointment that couldn’t be changed. On Thanksgiving it was his practical driving test which you can read about here. Yesterday it was a meeting with our Spanish tax agent at the Hacienda (tax office). Thankfully it was a quick appointment and not stressful like the driver’s exam.

We invited a few friends over and told them we would start around 2pm (1400h) and just come when they could. Since it isn’t a holiday here some of our friends needed to be at work or back to work so they fit it in their schedule. We love that our friends here are eager to share their holidays and traditions with us and we feel the same about sharing ours. I have been so touched over the past 16 months that we have lived here how much we all embrace these gatherings. We learn about each other’s customs, traditions, and celebrations.

I also love that there was such a blending of friends yesterday. Old friends (from Australia), friends we made when we arrived and a new friend. It is lovely to see everyone interact and hear the laughter that we all shared.

When I was back in the U.S. last July I found these cool temporary tattoos. Everyone got to choose one.

What a wonderful day it was! Old friends, new friends and three languages being spoken.

Once the guests were gone and the dishes done we collapsed on the couch with the only light the glow of red, white and blue.