Highlights…of Spain

Finally, about 10 weeks into my time here at Germany, my roots sparkle a little closer to their Loreal promised ”sunkissed” hue.  Isn’t it a bit revealing that the term highlight, involves changing the root of one’s hair? I go through these seasons where I balk at the notion of anything “unnatural” (situps!) but then again, realize that modern living often hails overcoming the natural disposition in pursuit of something “better” or things that make us at least perceive that we feel better.

  

But feeling better doesn’t equate being better. What Feels Right isn’t always Right…(right?)

 
Enough philosophy. I have this tradition of making guests of a trop with me name something at dinner that was the highlight of their day. Some people do find it annoying, but I always find it a bit revealing. Wait a few weeks, and you’ll see the highlights of my year (which, looking back, always contains low lights as well.

 

Spain, however, mostly contained highlights. Sure, there was an hour in the car where I thought I would hurl. And yep, there was 30 minutes of that ordained, I am lost in the third largest city in the world towing around 4 friends looking for the hotel, the street, my passport, my money.

 

But mostly, “claro.” Besides the flamenco, these are my blue moments, the experiences of our lives that resist the tugging of time and become spun into the fabric of our stories. When our perceptions soften a bit and the vulnerability of our spirits allows us to be marked.

 

There was this moment, when exploring the castle of Consegura each independently, that this overwhelming sense of connection swept in my bones. No other visitors walked the ruins on this Thanksgiving morning. I like to adventure these locations by myself or I lose a sense of awe-ness. Looking out one of the windows, I heard Juliette’s healing laugh skip like Tigger down the 1000 year old ruins. Serenity. 

 

I loved my history tour of Madrid as well. Once a geek, always a geek, and since I don’t watch the history channel or read biographys at this time of my life, the hands on, did you know that Madrid has two original meanings, one of Moorish (N. African) and one of Christian decent, really jived with me. In the ground of Madrid, you need to look down. Some  of the ruins from the Roman pre 1000 AD are housed there, and you need to look up, because the walls tell stories….not to mention the colors and art housed in the Musuem Thysseus, where I got to salivate over Gaugan, Kirchner, Kandinsky.  

 

And oh yeah, I bribed the head hostess (cutey- too!) to get our party a table our last night at the oldest restaraunt in the world. An achievement that inspired a sense of pride not far off from graduating from Harvard. Seriously! Sopping up my squid baked in it’s own ink (sorry my camera died) and sucking on 4 week old cured black iberian suckling pig indulgently, wantoningly…knowing that Goya waited tables here, and Hemingway drank Sangria. The Spanaird even showed the kitchen to us….um, okay? HIGH is not  the right word for it. Child-like Wonder!

 

Highlights…they help me float like a baloon, reveling in the fact that no matter what age, or what season we find ourselves in, those blue moments await seziure. Enjoy the pics! (Olive Oil! Tapas! Yemen!)

“I had the Time of my Life”

Dirty Dancing Must have been Invented in Spain. The sounds of the tapping in rythym with my heart….at this location, meaning Street of the Moors, I experienced no doubtedly one of the most pleasurable evenings of my life. Definitely felt that if I got a churro stuck in my throat and suffocated (or a shrimp shell in this case!) I would die a happy woman.

Why? Their feet mirrored the pulsing of the heart, the loss, the feeling of elation of belonging and being in snyc with your hunger and others around you. And also feeling not good enough, how wrecking that can be, attempting to control and drive the little things, fretting about if you will stand out as american in your trice worn black pants or not being able to receive fully because of the money you just dropped (a little over $100). I felt human. But not in a manner that laments the limitations inherent with existing…the shitting, the breathing problems, the ongoing need to consume to be nourished, or the lack of seeing or being seen.

In a manner that made me proud to have lived at all.

…The flamenco corral de la moreria serves up gourmet fare alongside table flamenco. Hands down the most heart wrenching gut blowing entertainment I´ve encountered may be due to the food as well. The grilled king prawns, the bottle of wine, the seafood paella…the rich nutty smoothness of the saffron infused rice sliding down into my stomach produced aweness, sheer pleasure, and NO GUILT. It had to be consumed. There was no hesitation. 

 

When was the last time you did not hesitate?

When you did not measure yourself?  

 

 

 Blanca Del Rey, you had me at hello. Her feet clicked, the colors swirled, and the combination of my senses swept me away into a mass of thanksigiving. for my glorious life, the broken loss of love and the exilir of passion…for anything. Tears sliding down as the guitar strings plucked like rose buds and the black shoes grated. Tears grappled me for the next 90 minutes, merging with images of my first kiss, a moment shared with my mother where her face shrunk of all hope, the time I saw my baby brother a few hours old.
No wonder this is one of the 1000 places to see before you die.

Random Thanks

Inspired by the Candid RD’s post about her 5 random lessons, I got to gratifying…I’ve been out of the states in this way different setting for almost 2 months now. Tis the Season to be recognizing blessings and EXPRESSING them, sharing them with others.  For my first few months here, these rose to the top:

1) Remember the SHARE Challenge?  Sharing enmasse prior to my departure continues to remind me of the large ball of connection to which my heart latches.  A postcard arrived from Rhode Island last week as part of my postcard task. And I just pulled out some Jam from Steph’s Jam Exchange for a Tea Gathering with my new neightboors last week to whip up some biscotti. Jack sent me some almond milk and a box of cereal from Trader Joes and after decorating my transformer, I broke out the Magic Bullet and made “cereal flour” to use in my tea goodies.

Cocoa “life” Coffee Biscotti

1 Cup Ground “life” cereal  and 2 tablespoons FLAX + .5 Cup Flour, + 2 tablespoons Sucanut, mixed with 1 tsp baking powder, .5 tsp salt

Mix with 2 Tablespoons of Chocolate Jam (or Nutella!) + 1 tablespoon good olive oil + 1 tsp almond extract + 2 Tablespoons Coffee 

Form a dough…adding more jam for proper consistency to produce a log

Bake Log Twice, smearing with jam after the first cutting! You don’t need a lot of extra sugar in these because it is already included in the cereal.

2) I am uber thankful for my oven after 6 weeks without one. Guess I am a baker in spirit…I also produced these treats for my new friend Amanda who is allergic to dairy

Vegan Pecan Scone Bites 

Together, round up  1 Cup Oatbran with .5 Cup Spelt Flour, 1 tsp baking powder, a dash of salt and baking soda, 1/4 C. Sucanut and a handful of nutmeg/cinnamon and a dash of cardamom

Mix with

1/4 Cup Almond Milk, 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract, 2 Tablespoons ALMOND butter, (I threw in half a mashed banana left over from b-fast)

 Once you make a dough out of this, place in 1/4 C. Steel Cut oats in the dough and 1/4 Cup Almonds. Press into mini muffin tins.

Once they are cooled, make an icing of out pureed Sucanut and Almond milk and almond butter

 3) SKYPE! I bought 3 months of calls to USA for under 20, and a new VOIP headset that lets me chat more clearly. Now if someone could magically make 8 hour time difference dissappear. It DOES take personal flexibility about when to chat with others now. It’s not about convienience (like when I am not first awake or drained at 8pm!) but connection.  I am SO grateful to Everyone willing to send me postcards, care packages from Trader Joes, notes in the mail, and comments on Facebook and here. Meeting new people is great, but there’s something about being known that matters to me. I still have a handful of loved ones I haven’t connected with since moving, and sometimes am saddened by my lack of accomplishment in making that happen!

4) My energy to get out there and not wait to meet people, travel, take that German course that I am only half…okay one third committed to!….

5) Fun craft projects around the new house. Stay tuned for: A Coat Rack, A vintage ladder photo frame, decoupaged transformers and gussied up appliances. I am Toom-ing (the equivo of Home Depot…but in German…with German staff…this is definitely the land of trial and error. Is this paste modge-podge like? We’ll just have to stick and see!) it up and power drilling it down. Purusing the internet and blogs for fun house making ideas. These outlets of creativity challenge, fuel and pressure me. I should seriously re-craft my blog appearance. It is so not me-k-ish

Ah! I live a great life!

I am off to Spain. See you when I get back!  

These Boots (or feet?) were Made for Walking

My car landed in Germany about 4 weeks ago, but I actually got my feet in it this week. Check of task # 30 go a week without using my car. The intention behind creating this goal was to reduce my carbon “footprint” AKA Gore-style on the environment. And sure, the move made accomplishing the goal rather convienient in terms of timing, and the first week didn’t really make much of an impact on my car-lessness. Correction: the first 3-4 weeks. Sure, there was the time I paid $29 for a taxi to get to my tour pick up at 6am, and the tour cost $60 on top of that. OF course, it motivated me to request a return ride back with a family that has me over for grilled pizza later that week (yummy to my tummy and spirit). And I bummed rides from people to the markets, or other places. But overall, I didn’t feel deprived.

Until I moved into my house and was sans car for the week. The walk into work was 45 minutes, the biking 30 and UPHILL in scary German thoroughfare. And the week was rainy. And although the fridge small, yo, I wanted to continue marketing the end of the outdoor produce picking. And maybe it’s just an American thing? But, yeah, moving into a new house, I kept writing down things I longed to buy, but needed a car to travel there.

So after, no kidding, 12 steps to obtain my car and actually drive it (customs, insurance, bank accrediation, registration, inspection, license plate procurement gas card verification…not to mention getting my license!) I was relieved. Yesterday, I finally bought a wall clock! And I’ve noticed that I feel more independent, but also….more alone this past week.

Are Cars a problem? I do think so. Not only because they are dirty  but they somewhat inspire a dissconnection from others in a way (have you seen CRASH…awesome flick!).

I know a woman that only drives 100 miles a week. That’s it. I haven’t counted, but I think I am around there this week. When living in the States, Sunday was my “rest” day from the car. LOVED it! But even getting a neighboor who worked 5 minutes from me to stick to our committment of carpooling 2 times a week was a challenge. She didn’t want to “burden” me by making me “wait on her” for another 20 minutes. True, times I was a-testy, but hello??? Patience takes Growing!

I know I am a numbers tracker (remember! I count silly things like dollars spent, taxes, miles run, minutes lapsed) but these might be some numbers to consider.  Personally, how many times a week are you alone in your car?

Number of registered vehicles in the U. S. That’s almost one per person!

Average amount of gasoline consumed by one U. S. car each year.

Amount of carbon dioxide emitted one from U. S. car each year.

Number of trees needed to absorb the 12.000 pounds of carbon dioxide emitted from one U. S. car each year.

Number of miles U. S. cars and light trucks traveled in 2004. That’s the equivalent of taking 10 million trips to the moon.

Percent U. S. population is of the world population.

Percent of world’s automobiles in the United States.

Percent that the United States Contributes to the world’s automotive carbon dioxide emissions.

Number of car companies that support a national cap On global warming pollution. They are Ford, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Toyota.

Number of bills passed by Congress to cut global warming pollution.

Diggs in Germany, K Cooks!

Laboriously getting through my docotrate included a fab-o part-time position cultivating community liufe programs among graduate students. These residents’ traveled from their homes in South Korea, Kenya, Cameroon, Madascar, the Netherlands, China…all over to study, to live, to grow. this position taught me more about being human and communicating, and living life authentically with an active daily spirituality than any class.

It also embedded a passion for potlucks.

Thus, on the first night occupying my home, I hosted a “no Dish” potluck. My household goods were not in yet, and the 3 bedroom 3 bathroom German mansion (to me anyway) stood practially threadbard as acquaintances filled the rooms with good cheer and well wishes to offer my time there with wishes of light and love.

 

One thing about life in Europe: dishes and drinks fundamentally requires the presence of near strangers, growing into friends. This was the lesson of my position from years ago. And one thing is for sure: yes, I miss the deep connections of friends and family Stateside, as communicating is laborious due to the time difference. But I am not alone. Patiently, things grow in this fall time.

 

My wonderful landlords, Matthias and Marion,  built the home over a decade ago, and we’ve shared wine on several occassions since signing the lease. They will be my friends, for sure, and guardians here as well. Of course, they brought champagne to toast the occassion!

As part of the spread, I whipped up a concoction I called “Veggie Pate,” & “Stuffed Pops” served with Dr. Krackers, and antipasti like olives, marinated artichokes, garlic, gourmet olive oil.  

Roast 1 Cup of Almonds with 1 tablespoon of flax seeds and 1 tsp of olive poil and red pepper flakes in 425 degree oven for 15

Blend this cup with a can of white beans, 2 tablespoons oil, and some seasoning….SO Good!

Stuffed Pops:

Core out a dozen red peppers

Fill them up with flavored quark (or part sour cream and part cream cheese)

Pour a little olive oil over them

Roast at 425 for 10, turn heat down to 350, roast some more!

For the kids, we made Fruity Sushi together. The recipe is really simple and makes an excellent activity. Take a banana and some toppings (sprinkles, cut up candy bars, I used caramel balls here). Wrap an entire fruit by the foot around the nanner, slice up and have the kids put their topping on. It was a SMASH! Literally!

Of course, with nothing in the house except laughter, I went to bed feeling a little lost…so much echoing space. I am resisting the urge to “fill it up” with basically things I don’t cherish or love. Don’t RUSH! that’s always been my battle.

Here are some pictures of my downstairs…the windows are a set of 4, spanning the living room through the dining roomThe wood in there is all dark and black (my picnic table!) with deep reds, warm browns and goldens. These windows look out to the woods with a back yard and a little fence leading to a path to the castle. I love the kitchen! The sink looks out to the drive-way cobblestone streets. the color is bright blues and yellows. I need a small table to go in there and am hunting around for chalkboards to put up ont the wall (have you seen any?) 

Have any decorating ideas? Loads of space for visitors. One room will be converted into a “yoga” room. I have a lady willing to come and teach, but need more students to commit to it…cross your fingers! 

Now if I can just find some ALMOND milk around here!

 

I stuffed peppers with cream cheese, and roasted in EVOO for 15

Veggie Pate