Thankfulness

As we leave the month of November, and begin the season of Advent, it is worthwhile to take a few moments to contemplate the numerous blessings we have been given. The events of the last few months--moving overseas, living without our car and household goods, and Dan taking his first 'business trip' have really helped me appreciate what we have. So even though I didn't do the 1-a-day blessing list that was so popular on Facebook, here is my list of 30 things I thank God for:

1. My husband: he is truly amazing, and we are blessed to have each other

2. Our children: all 3 of them are amazing. Sure, frustrating at times, but at the end of the day (when they're sleeping!) I am overwhelmed with love for them and all the cuteness and laughter they bring us

3. God's unfailing love: gets me through every day, and gives me a purpose greater than anything

4. Our extended families: we love them and miss them so much, but are grateful for how well we all get along, and how supportive they are

5. New friends and neighbors in Spain: They have helped me with the smallest things like borrowing a bit of cinnamon, and the biggest things, like helping me find my way around and get things fixed. I look forward to several years of good times and fun memories with some truly wonderful people here.

6. Our new casa: It's more than we hoped for, and so wonderful to be safely settled on base, with so many conveniences (like heat and ac!) available.

7. Paying renters in our old casa: Having extra income has been a huge weight off our shoulders during this period of transition. So far, no problems with the old house!

8. Our country and American freedoms: when you come to another country, even a civilized Western one, you realize how much you took for granted in the US.

9. The right to vote: Even if my choices didn't win, just having that ability--as a woman--is something not available in many other parts of the world.

10. Our military life: It's challenging, yes. But it has taught me to treasure EVERY SINGLE day we have together as a family. No matter what we do, we always have fun together. And I have met some of the most amazingly supportive spouses.

11. Chocolate: I must confess, no list would be complete without it.

12. Wine: soothes all challenges, binds together all friends. :-)

13. Caffeine: specifically Diet Coke. It makes me a better Mom. :-)

14. My minivan: After living a month without it, I am SO grateful to be a 2-car family, and to have the flexibility to go wherever I want, whenever I need to, with all the kids and cargo.

15. all our 'stuff' that makes our house a home: while it was refreshing to live simply for a month, we do like our material posessions.

16. Our general good health: My whole family is generally healthy, which I always forget to appreciate until someone gets a minor cold and it throws everything off balance!

17. Books-- real ones, audio ones, e-copies: I love to read.

18. Education: I may not be using my degrees professionally right now, but the experience I gained during years of study has given me a unique opportunity to share my world view with my children. It amazes me the questions they ask every day, and I am thankful to have the tools to answer them!

19. The Church: Thank You God for one universal Catholic church! How refreshing it is to find the same religion here in another country, and to be able to celebrate all their rich traditions.

20. The Saints: So many great celebrations this month, but I love the model and example of the Saints.

21. Beautiful Mediterranean weather: we are spoiled here. Some people miss an actual Fall and snowy winter, but I am loving it.

22.  Internet: Letting me stay in touch with family and friends around the world, and find answers to almost any situation a Mom can encounter!

23. Chore lists and sticker rewards: This has been a very effective tool for Sophia. When she wants to, she can be a GREAT helper around the house, and has really grown a lot this month.

24. Sunsets: Especially watching them over the Atlantic. I still find that amazing, and love that we are often walking or at the park during sunset here.

25.  Living in the 21st century: I liked studying the Medieval period, enjoy Shakespearean writing, and love Baroque architecture. But... I'm glad I don't live in any of those times! I like my modern conveniences and freedoms available to a woman now, thank you very much!

26. Vonage and Skype: Letting us keep in touch with family and friends as if we were not across the sea...

27. Christmas music, lights, candles, and traditions-- it's the most wonderful time of the year, and always makes me smile. :-)

28. Random acts of kindness: it makes my day when someone drops by to share baked goods or dinner with us. I look forward to teaching my children about outreach during Advent.

29. Baking: I have always loved this, but now that my kids are old enough to 'help' it is always a fun activity for us to share.

30. Family trips: whether we go to the next town over, or out of the country, I am thankful for our opportunities to travel, and look forward to doing lots of exploring in Europe.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It's after Thanksgiving, so the Americans here are throwing themselves into the Christmas Spirit, with Christmas trees appearing in houses on base, and lights and red bows being placed on our palm trees. :-) After researching some Spanish Christmas traditions, I learned that they typically wait much longer to begin the festivities: sometimes until Dec. 22nd! But officially they view the start of the season as Dec 8 (Immaculate Conception) and this year Advent begins this Sunday, Dec. 2. So... I joined my American friends in decorating this week!
First, we had to figure out where to get a tree. There are fake ones sold here on base, but at several hundred dollars each, we decided to look elsewhere. There will be trees available in town the week of Christmas, cause that is when the Spanish set theirs up. But thankfully the garden center near base caters to our American whims, so they got their trees in the Monday after Thanksgiving. We went that evening to pick one out. They had a good selection of heights and varieties, though I didn't recognize the typical species of pine and fir that I am used to. They most notable thing about the trees is that they were all sold with the roots still attached, balled up and wrapped neatly with some dirt. So you can either cut it off... or put it in a pot! We went for the latter version, since the garden center has so much beautiful pottery, and we can use it for other plants this summer.

Once we got it set up, and I painstakingly wrapped it in new lights  (our old tree was pre-wired), the kids were super excited to start decorating it! Amazingly, none of our Christmas decorations were broken during the move. We have an eclectic variety of home-made kid ornaments--including some I made! and heirloom ornaments our families bought to commemorate births. My mother-in-law has a cool tradition of getting us something different every year, so there are some special ones from her. Unfortunately, the kids were a little baffled by the softness of the real tree's branches (our fake one was very stiff) so they needed help hanging even the simplest ornaments.

 Eventually, we got them all on! The kids each have their favorites they keep trying to pull off: Sophie's is a gingerbread girl from Grandma Cindy and a Barbie princess. Danny's is a nutcracker (which he calls coconut or nutter), a bear on a sled (which he wants to pull around), a bear on a traffic light, a rocking horse... ok, anything he can get his hands on basically! In fact, Alex has caused the least trouble this year! The pot puts the very bottom of the tree at his height, so we just didn't hang much on the first few inches. Like last year, Sophie has a favorite branch, and keeps trying to move all the ornaments to occupy the exact same space!

 While the Christmas tree is my favorite decoration (yes, I sit in the dark at night and just watch the lights), there are some other very special decorations that I'm glad made the move with us. I bought my first Nativity set in college. It moved with me to my 1st apartment on my own, then our 1st apartment in Quantico when we got married, then to our North Carolina house, and now here! Sophie liked setting it up with me, and created several unique poses. First, she gathered everyone in a 'holy huddle', a perfect circle around Jesus. Then she lined them in a straight row according to height. She finally settled on this arrangement... which I promptly put into a more traditional setting.

 I also set up another Nativity scene for the 1st time. It was given to us a few years ago, and was painted in Mexico. It always seemed out of place in our other houses, but it fits perfectly here in Spain! The figures are quite small, but have wonderful cultural dress and details!

 I also set up an Advent wreath for the first time this year. Yes, there are supposed to be 4 candles, and yes, they are supposed to be purple and pink (to symbolize preparation and joy), but this is all I have to work with for now! In church, one candle is lit each week. At home, we will try to light it nightly and say a prayer or talk about Christ's birth. Now that the kids are 4 and 3, they can begin to understand some of the reason for the season.

 Finally, I was happy that our front door wreath was still intact! 3 years ago, when Danny was born, my mom came to visit in December and brought a wreath she had made using cedar from the house where I grew up. Of course, the cedar is gone, but I saved the beautiful bow she made herself. When I pulled it out of the box, I was flooded with memories, and glad that I could have just a little bit of my Mom's decorations here with me in Spain. We will certainly miss the families this Christmas, since I have celebrated with them almost every year, especially during deployments. So while I look forward to acquiring many more Christmas decorations while I am in Europe these next few years, I will also treasure anything that is from HOME.

Sunday at the Beach

It may be the end of November, but here in Southern Spain you would never guess! The mornings can get chilly, but during the day it is still sunny and up to the 70's sometimes. The daily rainfall seemed to be mostly in October (which is why so fa I would NOT recommend October as a good month to visit!) but November has been pretty gorgeous. We can still play outside and go to the park, we just need to put jackets or sweatshirts on sometimes.

Last week after church, we enjoyed a casual lunch at a beachside restaurant in Puerto Sherry. It was so warm and beautiful that we decided to let the kids go play in the waves. Sophie immediately walked in up to her waist (in a sundress) and didn't mind being soaked. Danny was a little more nervous and kept running frantically from the foam at the very edge of each wave! He finally got a little braver and waded in enough to get his feet wet, but then he decided he was happier sitting down and playing in the wet sand.



Alex, meanwhile, was excited to take his first steps on his own at the beach! He just started walking, so hadn't walked in sand before. He thought it was great!

Sundays are usually our low-key, easy-going family day. I don't know how many more we will be able to spend at the beach, but I am very blessed to be able to explore such a wonderful place with my family!

Our First Thanksgiving

Since Thanksgiving is obviously not a holiday celebrated by the Spanish, the celebrations here on base are whatever we Americans make of them. Sophie attends a Spanish Immersion school on base, run by Spanish teachers, so I didn't expect them to do much for the holiday. But the entire CDC had a Fall Festival a few days before Thanksgiving. The teachers designed costumes for each classroom centered on fall themes or books they had been reading. Sophie's class was the Hungry Caterpillar. :-) Other classrooms were Stone Soup, pumpkins, or fall leaves.

 The classes paraded around the CDC courtyard. Sophie had a great time! She had an ice cream hat, and face paint, and loved waving to us while they walked. Afterwards, all the parents were invited to a Thanksgiving feast in their child's classroom. I was curious what the Spanish interpretation of a Thanksgiving dinner would be. It was actually pretty good: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cornbread, and pumpkin pie! The kids enjoyed eating their picnic and playing on the playground.

 Wednesday, we enjoyed a dinner with all the families from Dan's work. It was nice to sit down together and enjoy everyone's homemade contributions. The kids made little hand turkey crafts, and afterwards they tossed some footballs around outside. It was the first time Dan and Danny had ever played football together, and it warmed my heart watching my 2-year-old learn how to catch. :-)
 On Thanksgiving Day, we spent the morning at some stores out in town getting fresh ingredients like chorizo, bread, cheese, and wine for our feast. Then the kids took naps while we cooked! When they woke up, it was time to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. We decorated some turkey cookies, watched the parade, and waited for our guests to arrive.

Once our friends came over, we ate so much good food! The kids stayed up for dessert and went down for their normal bedtimes. Then we got to spend an exciting evening playing games, laughing, and enjoying our company. We had so much fun, and can't wait to hang out again!

We have gotten used to celebrating Thanksgiving without our larger families, but this year it was great just to be together as our own little family. Dan was gone for the entire holiday season last year, so we have definitely learned to treasure any time we have together. We had considered doing some local day trips this weekend, but I have been really sick, so it has been nice to spend a weekend at home to just rest and recover. I don't know where we will celebrate Thanksgiving next year, or who it will be with, but as long as we are together I know we will all have fun.

An Afternoon in Ronda

If you spend the morning in Zahara, which is only 1 hour from base, why not go the extra 25 minutes down the road to Ronda, one of the oldest and most popular tourist destinations in Malaga? That's what we thought! We spent the morning touring the olive mill, but after lunch in Zahara decided to press onward to Ronda. The half hour drive let us enjoy the mountain views while the kids all took a quick nap.

Ronda is a unique town. The 'old town' was originally built on the mountain, possibly in Roman times, and the whole city was surrounded by a deep river gorge. Then of course it was conquered by the Moors in the 800's, and remained under their influence for several centuries, just like everything else in Spain. In the 1400's, they decided to expand beyond the gorge, building several bridges across it, and a sprawling city on the other side. The most famous landmark is the Puente Nuevo, the 'new bridge' which is actually over 200 years old. The city has some Arab ruins (13th century) and some Roman ruins outside, but we couldn't make those side trips in one afternoon. So we just enjoyed walking through the old town, taking in the Renaissance architecture, and walking to a great vista of the Puente Nuevo. The edges of Ronda end abruptly either at the gorge, or on the side of the mountain, so the city has gorgeous views of the surrounding hillsides.

We parked in the Old Town, and enjoyed walking past the church, through a small park, and past several tourist shops. This was the most touristy place we had visited so far. On summer mornings, Ronda is a huge favorite with tour groups, so we were glad to be there on a somewhat chilly afternoon. Nevertheless, there were other people taking pictures everywhere we went! I couldn't imagine it in a busier time of year! We didn't buy any souvenirs, but it was fun to browse through the pottery and postcard selections, and Sophia loved the flamenco dresses on display.


Because the Puente Nuevo is in the center of town, and because you can still drive or walk over it, you have to go pretty far out of town to actually see what the bridge looks like. There are several options, including ancient stone steps cut into the cliff side, but since we had a stroller and such young children, we opted for a more mild walk down paved terraces on the east side of the city.

This stone arch was built during the Renaissance, and leads to a series of bridges, terraces, and steps that take you to the other side of the city. Along the way, we had dizzying views of the gorge. First it was beside us, the directly under us. Danny wanted me to pick him up at each ledge so he could look over. I obliged, but my Mom instincts were ringing alarm bells the whole time!

Finally, we made it to a view of the bridge, and it was amazing! It was constructed from the bottom of the gorge upward, so there are 3 different levels of arches. Even the lowest arch is still high over the river: we saw birds flying through that arch, while we looked down from a lofty terrace.

Since we were now on the newer side of the river, we took our time wandering through several plazas and parks. The Alamadeda del Tajo park on the northwest side of the city had beautiful shaded boulevards, classic statues, and gorgeous views of the sun setting over the mountains. It was a great spot to enjoy an evening snack, as the kids were starting to get a little tired.

 The park is right next to the bullring, which is Ronda's other famous landmark. Bullfighting was supposedly invented in Ronda, and they have the oldest bullring in Spain. Apparently bullfighting developed when nobles used to train on horseback chasing bulls. One day, a nobleman fell off, and a servant quickly waved his colorful hat to distract the bull and keep the man from danger. Everyone thought is was great sport, and the man soon added a retinue of mounted and unmounted assistants to help with his fights. They are today's picadores (mounted) and matadores (unmounted). Some of the most famous bullfighters fought here, and their statues can be seen around the city, much to Danny's delight. He is becoming familiar with pictures of bulls everywhere and says he wants to be a bullfighter someday. :-) To me, the town reminded me so much of Hemingways' The Sun Also Rises. Even though it didn't take place here, Hemingway spent time in Ronda, and you can tell that the city's Spanish flavor and style is evident in his writing. It makes me want to read his books again, as he was always an author I enjoyed.

Ronda is certainly a gorgeous town, and I can see why it is so popular. We enjoyed our afternoon, but it was cut short by the fact that the kids got tired and hungry, but Spanish restaurants don't start serving dinner until at least 7PM. So we had to drive 2 hours back to Rota to get dinner. But we enjoyed our afternoon, and I'm sure we will return again sometime!

What I miss (2 months)

I have had reservations about writing this post. I am not usually a whiny person. But I always write pretty upbeat blog posts, and don't want to give readers the impression that living in another country is a walk in the park! Plus, I thought it would be fun to document what we miss the most at different times. So we have now lived in Spain exactly 2 months. So far, we are loving it! The moving process is complete, we are getting settled, making friends, finding our way around, etc. I can't say it's exactly what we expected it to be, but overall it is pretty good so far. Nevertheless... there are certain American comforts that we don't have here, and there are already some things I miss! They are:

1. FAMILY. We lived with parents for the month before we moved, and the kids and I miss them a lot. Plus, it was so nice having live-in babysitters, and childcare is one of the biggest frustrations about living so far from family members.

2. FRIENDS. We had a great mom's group/playdate group for the last few years, and the other moms were my close friends. We could call each other for anything, drop by their house anytime, and had social events or playdates to look forward to every week. We are meeting friends here, but getting to know people takes time and effort, and sometimes Facebook is just not good enough contact with my 'old' friends.

3. American appliances. We live on base, in base housing, and have nice Whirlpool appliances. But I miss my large-capacity washer ad dryer! I do so many more loads of laundry here! And even though we are lucky enough to have a dishwasher here, I wish it actually worked. I basically clean every dish before putting it in there, and have to use vinegar to cut the residue of over-calcified water.

4. Carpets. Our entire house is tile here, and it means I have to clean a lot more often. I do enjoy the tile in the dining room, but I miss the way my carpets muffled sound, made the house cozy, and were much more forgiving with dirt and hair build-up.

5. Fast food. Not so much the taste, since I hardly ever eat fast food burgers and fries. I just miss the convenience! Sometimes when we were running errands, or the baby fell asleep, it was nice to go to a drive-through and get them a quick lunch. There is no drive-through on base. I am so glad there is a Subway... but that is pretty much the only choice, which will get old quickly.

6. Yogurt in English. Most of our food from the commissary comes through Germany, so some products are only in German, which I can't read. We have figured out most of the flavors, but it's tricky blindly trying new products all the time.

7. Non-frozen meat. The meat in the commissary has mostly been previously frozen, so it is either sold frozen solid or thawed, but none of it is very fresh. I have to check expiration dates, because even some of the canned and boxed food is close to expiration!

8. Scheduling. My husband has always been in the infantry, so there are plenty of times he is gone for training, ranges, deployments, etc. But in North Carolina his training schedules were somewhat predictable and scheduled in advance, so he usually had weekends off, and would tell me ahead of time if he was going to be gone for the week. Here, things have been in an unusual pattern, and everyone is on high alert because of all the terrorist activity that happened in the Middle East and North Africa starting... oh, the exact day we got here. So it is nice that he hasn't deployed yet, but everything is on hold and it is hard to plan anything in advance because he has to work so many nights and weekends, and doesn't know what he'll be doing a few weeks from now. So we take advantage of the days we can, and make 'tentative' plans for everything.

9. Cable TV. We just got our cable fixed yesterday (long story) so for the first time in 2 months we have more than 1 tv channel! AFN has a decent selection here of news, TV shows, movies, and sports. But there is only 1 channel for each of those, so if you don't like what's on, you might have to wait another hour for the next show to cycle on. I miss our hundred cable channels where you could choose from multiple kids shows, movies, cooking shows, news, etc.

10. My Smart phone! I actually thought this would be higher on the list, but I'm getting used to it. I stopped using my Verizon smart phone because it is just too expensive here. So for almost 2 months I have been using a basic cell phone with no photos, no internet, no bluetooth. I used my old phone for everything-- gps directions, music and distance tracking when I was running, reading books, taking and uploading pictures, inputting Weight Watchers points, and of course checking email and Facebook all day long. Now I do none of that on my phone. But I have a gps for the car, an audiobook reader and runner's watch, and a camera, so I guess I just have to carry more stuff around. I just have to wait to use the internet when I am home, which is usually not too bad. It was hard to wean myself at first, and I was jealous of my husband's iPhone (which his work provides), but I am used to it now.

So all in all, not too bad. I am sure the list will change and get longer as we stay here for the next few years. But so far we are adapting and finding our way!

Exploring an Olive Oil Mill

Last weekend, Veteran's Day, we were blessed to have 3 days together with no work responsibilities! We wanted to take advantage and do some real exploring, beyond the local area. So I signed us up for one of the FFSC trips to an olive oil mill in Zahara de la Sierra. I'm so glad we went! Just over 1 hour of driving brought us into some gorgeous mountains. They are rocky and rugged, with steep cliffs and distinctive outlines. But everywhere, neat rows of olive trees cover the hills. This is the beginning of olive country, which extends over the mountains across central and Southern Spain. The mountains are dotted with "pueblos blancos," the famous white villages that are scattered throughout this region. We had a great time jamming to Spanish radio songs, stopping for pictures, and just enjoying the breathtaking views.

Our destination was the town of Zaharra, pictured above, with it's distinctive castle on the mountain crest and the rest of the town sprawled out below. The whole town is surrounded by a National Park, and overlooks a man-made reservoir famous for water sports. Just outside of town is an Olive Oil Mill which has been in operation since 1755! November is the beginning of the olive harvest season, and the cold presses begin in late November and last until January. The ground was still too wet for harvesting machinery, so on the hills we could see workers gathering olives the old-fashioned way: spreading blankets beneath the trees, then beating the trees with sticks until all the ripe fruit falls.

The olive mill was called El Vinculo, and has been in operation since 1755. The process today is still mostly the same as it was then, except now they have machines to do work that was previously done by animals. It is a fairly small place: The oil extracting is done in the mill, "La molina," on the left side of the courtyard above, and the products are sampled and sold in the store on the right side of the courtyard. In the courtyard itself are the former presses, used before hydraulics were invented. :-)

 

The process of extracting olive oil, or 'olive juice' as they call it, is very similar to the process of extracting cider from apples, just like we did on my parents' farm. We met the owner of the mill, who gave us a tour while our guide translated. First, the olives are poured into hoppers and shaken on elevated conveyor belts (the ones behind Sophie) to separate the leaves from the fruit. The olives are washed, and then poured into a large vat which not only blends them into a pulp (with pits inside) but also allows them to be heated in a water bath that is just below boiling. The bath is heated with wood only, not natural gas, because the pulp would absorb those fumes. So they have to use wood from old olive trees. It has to be kept at a constant temperature so it won't break down the acids in the oil. The vat is right behind Alex, and he seemed to really like it, even taking a few steps next to it! It's not every baby who takes his first steps at an olive oil mill!

Once the olives have been turned into a heated pulp, they are ready to be squeezed. The white mats are woven circles, several feet in diameter. They have a hole in the center, so they can be thrown over the metal pole in the photo above. The pole rotates in a circle, while the olive pulp is pumped onto it. Then another mat is placed on top, and coated with another layer of olives. This continues until you have a full stack, about 8 feet high, like the ones seen in the background. At this point, the mats are catching the solid materials, and the oil/juice is starting to ooze out. But to really get it, you need to apply pressure, which is what they do with the machine on the right. The entire mat/pulp stack is moved across the room by forklift to the row of pressing machines. I didn't catch the actual PSI necessary, but it is enough that every amount of liquid is extracted from the olives and the mats. What's left is a dry mud-like substance, which is fed to pigs. The oil is either bottled right away, or stored in giant tanks, like the one Sophia is sitting on.

The reason we call it "Extra Virgin" olive oil is because that is the oil that comes from the first pressing--the purest, strongest flavor. The owner explained that it is possible to do additional pressing and extract more, but he does not do it at this site because the labor and cost of doing a second pressing are not worth the price of the inferior product produced. He was very serious about the oil quality and explained that the greatest enemy of olive oil is... SUNLIGHT! He said (in English) "Never never never never never never sun!" Over time, sun breaks down the chemicals in the olive oil, making it turn more clear and tasteless. If stored at a constant temperature without sun exposure, the oil can last forever. They have actually unearthed oil jars from ancient shipwrecks, and the olive oil in them was still good because of the lack of sunlight or temperature change. But in our houses, since the bottle sits on the counter and gets indirect sun exposure, it is only good for about a year. Of course we bought about a 1 year supply at their shop. We tasted a bit on bread and OH... WOW it is delicious! I used to think the idea of eating plain oil (no salt or herb seasoning) on bread was strange and gross. But the oil is so rich and delicious that it has its own great flavor and smell. The kids love it, and they love eating olives too, which is a good thing because that is a staple here in Spain!

After our tour, we were all pretty hungry, so we took a short walk into town. Zahara is a gorgeous town perched on the side of a mountain. Danny was enamored with the castle, which you CAN climb up to and visit... but not from this side of the mountain! And not ideally while pushing strollers. We may have to come back another day with the baby backpack.

 After a steep walk through town, we were able to take in the gorgeous panoramic view of the mountains, and then stop at what appears to be the only restaurant in town--at the church square. Lunch was refreshing and delicious, but the kids seemed to like this fountain even more than their food! At this point, we decided that the day was young, the kids still had plenty of energy, and the town of Ronda was only another 30 minutes down the road. So off we went for our next adventure! But that, my friends, is another blog post... For now, I hope you had fun exploring Zahara with us!

Marine Corps Ball

Every year, on November 10th, the Marine Corps celebrates their anniversary, usually with a Birthday Ball. Because Dan has been with infantry units who are sometimes deployed during this time, we don't get to go to a ball every year. So this year I was very excited to celebrate the 237th birthday at the FAST Company's Ball, which was held at a Bodega in the nearby town of Jerez. After all the stress of fundraising and getting settled, it was wonderful to leave our children with our awesome neighbor, and enjoy a night with the whole unit! The Ball is always a formal event, rich in traditions designed to honor years of glorious service, and to inspire more years of the same. This year stood out because it was held at such an amazing, historic location: Tio Peppe's bodega known as Gonzalez Byass.

 I thought a bodega was just a building where they make sherry, hold public tours, and do some tastings. But it was a huge complex, with many different buildings, all very historic and very well maintained. Our cocktail hour was held in an open-air structure with enormous casks lining the walls. Each one was decorated with the flag of a different country. The wives had fun taking and posing for pictures, and we all got to taste several different sherries, which are the regional specialty. Sherry is made from grapes in a controlled area, similar to the way that Champagne is supposed to be made from grapes only from France's champagne region. Even so, there are many kids of sherries, ranging from very clear white with an almost bitter taste, to dark brown with a rich, cloying raisin-like taste. We got to nibble all kinds of appetizers: manchego cheese with walnuts, baked blue cheese with caramelized figs, roasted peppers on toast, twists of chorizo sausage in phyllo, bacon-wrapped scallops, chicken croquettes... waiters kept walking around with new samples of food, and they were all amazing!

 After whetting our appetites, we walked up a cobblestone street to a historic house where the ceremony and dinner would be held. After walking past a gorgeous library and parlor, we arrived at the 12 Apostles banquet hall, so called because of the 12 enormous casks that line one side of the room. Each one is named after one of the 12 apostles. The banquet hall was filled with stone pillars, and each wall was lined with different types of casks, sherry equipment, and even an antique buggy used for early deliveries.There were thick wooden timbers across the high ceiling and a central skylight.

Before dinner can be served, it is tradition to observe a ceremony, which begins and ends with the presentation of colors. Although we are an American military unit, we operate on a Spanish base, so members of both countries formed the color guard, marched together, and exchanged rifles in a symbolic gesture of mutual cooperation.  The flags are followed by the Marine sword detail, which my husband was part of this year. The Marines are the only branch who allows NCO's (Non Commissioned Officers) ranks E-4 and higher to carry a sword in ceremonial occasions. I had a sword detail at our wedding, and there has been one at every Ball, but this was the first time I saw Dan in one, and the closest I have ever been to a ceremony during the Ball. He did a great job, looking sharp at attention, and stepping on cue with his partner on the opposite pillar. We watched a message from the Commandant of the Marine Corps reminding us why the birthday is celebrated, and encouraging Marines in their service.

 Then there is a cake-cutting ceremony, where the birthday cake is presented to the unit's Commanding officer, who slices it with a sword. He serves the first piece to the guest of honor (the speaker) and the next to the oldest and youngest Marines present. The youngest was born in 1993! Made me feel incredibly old...
Dan is standing on the left at his pillar, and you can see the Marine sword detail lining the pillars at the center of the room.




A piece of cake was also presented to Sgt. Monster, the bulldog who is an official mascot and member of this unit. He has his own custom uniform, complete with ribbons and medals and a hash mark representing his 4 years in our service. I hear he is eligible for promotion! He is much loved and well cared for by the Marines. He and his mate, Bella, live at the Company office. Our kids love to see them whenever we visit Daddy at work.

Once the ceremony concluded, the color guard and sword detail marched out, and we enjoyed some word of wisdom from our guest speaker, the Lt. Colonel who currently overseas all FAST operations. His speech was very heartfelt, and included wonderful imagery that every Marine in the room could relate to: from the yellow footprints at bootcamp to the sound of boots marching in the fog. He spoke highly of Staff NCO's (which is what my husband is) and encouraged them to always take their responsibility of educating and forming Marines seriously, since it was a SNCO who had a huge impact on his own military career. He spoke of the challenges every Marine spouse endures, but pointed out that the high moments and the deep pride make all the frustration and pain worthwhile. He spoke somberly and realistically to a unit that might soon be busier than they have ever been. But he also spoke with true love for the Corps, and contagious pride that almost brought me to tears. We will truly treasure the good times we have together, and treasure each other, because that is sometimes all we have to carry us through the dark and challenging days. I am so proud of my husband, his unit, and all Marines who have served their country throughout the past 237 years!

After all that, it was finally time for dinner! The Spanish are used to eating around 9 PM, but the Americans in the room were getting a little edgy, and eager for food, water, and beer. Thankfully, the food was delicious, the wine plentiful, and the company pleasant. The FAST wives are a small group--only about 20 are stationed here right now. So they are close, friendly, and very welcoming of me as a new arrival. It was my first time meeting some of them, and I enjoyed all the opportunities for conversation, laughter, getting to know each other, and just making memories together. 

 After dinner came one last treat: the unit had arranged for a Flamenco troupe to entertain us. They played guitar and a unique hand drum, while singing and dancing. The girls used fans and shawls as props, but were very fluid and strong in their hand and foot movements as well. After some solo dances, they started encouraging the Marines to come onstage and attempt to dance with them, which was hilarious. Eventually, the flamenco music gave way to a DJ, and then the real dancing began! It was a long, fun night, and while we were relieve to return home and find our children sleeping safely in their beds, we will certainly treasure these memories for a long time! I think many of us are already looking forward to next year's Ball! :-)