Morning, board! Is everyone in the U.S. sleeping in after their Thanksgiving feast? Am I the only one working (on final exams, to be specific!). Well, do you add any Spanish spice to the ritual "comida de enfermos," as my espanyol husband calls turkey, squash, mashed potatoes, etc? We added some good Spanish red wine, but otherwise followed local custom. Hope you all had a good one!

I was wondering the same thing as yesterday!! Yesterday's visitor numbers (Hits) were almost normal and yet we had very few postings. Today, rgf, YOUR'S is the first of the day. The numbers of hits for today are less than yesterday at this time which is a bit of a surprise.

My Thanksgiving was GREAT! Had a wonderful visit with the extended family on my father's side, drove 2 hours there and back yesterday, but it was well worth it. I too am back to work today, traffic was light this morning, about 18 of 66 people are present in the office today, phones are quiet and bosses are few.

Our meal was very UNSpanish if not perfectly typical of an "American" Thanksgiving Day feast. I'm already looking forward to next year's annual event. Kind of makes me think, every year, which members (especially the elders) won't make it to next years get together. It's always a mixed emotion holiday for me. Always happy, but always sad thinking about those who have passed in recent years, matriarchs, patriarchs, people of my childhood who had made such an impression on the extended family and my memories.

Hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as I did. Saludos, MadridMan

How true, MadridMan. I look at my uncles and aunts, my mother... all folks now in their late 60s, 70s, and even 80s... I see all my cousins with THEIR kids (my kid turns 18 tomorrow!), and think, WE are the middle aged ones now... And I remember all the holidays past, too. Hey, great there are no BOSSES around! And what did Mama Rosa think of thanksgiving in Estados Unidos? Time for an update on her adventures!

Mama Rosa, daughter, and a visiting friend left yesterday morning for Colorado and Arizona for the weekend so they didn't get any sense of Thanksgiving Day in 'America' whatsoever. Oh well. Too bad. They WERE going to come here and share it with my family, but this it turned out the visiting friend was visiting over this holiday. What a shame. Mama Rosa is spending her days playing solitaire with cards, taking walks around the apartment complex, and talking to whomever calls for her daughter during the day. Sometimes I'll call during my lunch hour and we'll talk for awhile. She's been getting together with a bunch of older latinas for Sunday lunch after the in-Spanish mass and they have a great time together. More than half of the older ladies are divorced or seperated and this surprises Mama Rosa a lot. Otherwise, she's doing well, cleaning the house during the day too and cooking like a madwoman for her daughter, my ladyfriend, so she's gained a little weight. hehehe.. not noticeably though. Mama Rosa seems happy.

Saludos, MadridMan

Well, since MM and I are the only ones on the board today.... Great that Mama Rosa has found a group of women to go to mass with, talk with... and as for the cooking, what a treat that would be. Well, back to work... since no one else seems to be doing any of it!

I can just picture Mama Rosa, chatting people up on the phone. It's so cute!

We tried but couldn't find any good Rioja for dinner yesterday - it was all very traditional. Someone at work was nice enough to invite us over, so I wouldn't be sitting in our apartment, sans turkey dinner (as I am STILL waiting for my stuff to arrive from KC, i.e. cooking utensils and someplace to sit and eat the meal), all sad and missing my family. It was nice to be with another family. I had fun playing with the kids. We played monopoly, which haven't done since I was 8, and was reminded how early we teach our kids to think about money and gettin' rich in this country.

My boyfriend's family usually goes for a hearty round of charades, which is hilarious when you have six and seven year old kids playing. I missed that this year.

They were nice enough to give us a day off at work, which I intended to clebrate with good mornng cafe con leche at the beach and then a an hour of roller-blading on Venice in the sun. That was, until I ventured into the kitchen and realized that my next door neighbor (the same one that parks in my spot all the time and wakes me up every night like clock work around 2:30 a.m. when his snoring reaches its crescendo [I have begun to call him "hosy cow," for those of you that watch Letterman]) had made himself a heck of a thanksgiving dinner. He must have stuffed everything down the garbabge disposal, becasue it all came up on my side. So, here I am, post thanksgiving, waiting for the plumber.

It helps to know I can "chat" with you guys though...

[This message has been edited by Nicole (edited 11-24-2000).]

Yup. I think it's just you and me, rgf! A meager 57 hits on the board through now (see time on this message). I'm thinking everyone is either still at their relative's houses, entertaining relatives, OR SHOPPING!! My goodness the mall is packed today (my office building has a sky walk connecting us with the downtown mall here in Columbus, Ohio, USA).. Yes, I know, largest shopping day of the year and all. hehehe.. We waited in line for about 30 minutes for a table at one of the (nicer) mall restaurants for lunch as a kind of mini-celebration of the holiday with friends/coworkers. It was fun... You know, I think I'm still full from yesterday's meal and I have a turkey/ham/mashed-potatoes/stuffing plate waiting for me for dinner tonight. Ugh! hehe.. Happy Weekend all (who reads this)!

Saludos, MadridMan

Hello everyone; (Hit #58...)

I haven't been shopping today, just hanging around and watching some great football (NOT futbol), Awesome Nebraska-Colorado game today, and Texas-Texas A&M is a good one , too! And locally, Illinois High School championships, also. Also, studying for finals next week, and wondering what Americans in Spain do on the final Thursday in November? Can you stuff a Jamon de Serrano?

Peace to all...

Kurt et. al., I think you'd be shocked to know how many people ask me around this time of year how Spain celebrates Thanksgiving Day. Including one of my beloved, lesser travelled relatives, I kindly and with a straight face, state that the expatriates living in Spain probably eat goose or some other large fowl (stork, maybe?! hehee) as whole turkeys are hard to come by. Then quickly and without pause I add that Spaniards don't celebrate it since it's an "American" holiday.

Kurt, I KNEW there were all kinds of college football games on and wished I was home, but....SOME OF US HAVE TO FREAKIN' WORK! Hahahaha.. My office was like a morgue, thank god. I was no where near productive.

Saludos, MadridMan

Know what? The pavo (turkey) is actually a popular Spanish holiday bird (NOT thanksgiving, duh, as MM points out!!).... it sorta replaced chicken, which used to be the in dish 50 years ago. My suegra made a mean pavo one T-giving here in USA: none of the bland stuffing gringos used. Don't know what she put in there but it was yummie! I think the christmas besugo (bass) is a much better idea than a turkey.