Recuerdos

My future sister-in-law and I have decided to take it upon ourselves to help perserve the Irala and Saelices families keepsakes, their recuerdos. Most of their pictures are in photo albums that are thirty-something years old and the pictures are falling out and there's no record of when they were taken nor of who is in each one.

We hope to surprise my future in-laws at Christmas with a wonderful, complete photo album and family tree. It also means we will have scanned and saved all of those pictures on a disk that can be treasured for years until technology comes up with a new format to save them on.

So far my fiance has not been very helpful at identifying people in the pictures. Which makes me all the more happy that I've taken this on now when his parents and grandparents are still around to help out if needed. My grandparents are all either gone or slipping away and all their memories and knowledge are lost forever. It would be a shame if that happened in this family too.

I couldn't tell you who is in each picture but I think each one is lovely and special.

Wedding attendants

Flamenco dresses

First communion

La vendimia

We've been in Villacañas at the vendimia picking grapes. This was my fifth year and as glamorous as it sounds, it has never been a walk in the clouds. It's hard work!

My fiance's family has vineyards and, in addition to pruning twice a year and other tasks, we have to go to the grape harvest. They usually go about 15 days in September and October although I usually only last about 4 days. I don't know where his parents get the energy to keep going.

We get up at 7 am, have breakfast and are out in the vineyard by 7:30 am. We pick, pick, pick all day long stopping for a snack, "cigarette break," lunch and nap, snack and another "cigarette" break before stopping around 8:30 pm.

We've always eaten a stew or rice dish cooked in a pot over burning vines out in the middle of the vineyard. We've always napped in the shade of the vines or tractor on the ground. On the rocks and soil together with the flies and heat. This year his parents had mercy on us and let us go back to the house to have lunch and take our nap! What a HUGE difference that made!

The family has been trellising the vines and by next year we hope to have finished most of their land. Then the grapes could be picked by machine. That would mean this year could possibly be my last vendimia. Honestly though, I don't think I'm going to miss it much. We'll always still have to go out to prune the vines twice a year.

Gazpacho

Being the end of August, my vegetable garden is overgrown and running out of steam. However I have no shortage of home-grown tomatoes and thought I'd take advantage to make my very first gazpacho. It's a traditional Spanish cold tomato soup. Which I know makes you think of V8 but seriously it is delicious and a fantastic way to get in your raw vegetable servings everyday during the summer. Make a more watery version and you can drink it like a shake. Make a thicker version and add vegetable chunks and eat it like a soup.


Just wash, peel, chop and de-seed tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, onion and garlic.

Blend and add olive oil, vinegar and salt.

Add and blend in day-old French bread (optional).

Guerras Cantabras

Two thousand years ago the north-central coast of Spain (Cantabria, Asturias and part of Leon) was inhabited by Celtic tribes. Roman troops were sent to conquer them in 29 BC and the war pursued until 19 BC when the barbarians finally surrendered.

Every August/September there is a reenactment of this war in Santander and surrounding Cantabrian and Asturian areas. They began last weekend with the disembarkment of "Roman" soldiers in Santander and a parade of different Roman regiments. Next weekend there will be another parade in Santander with Cantabrians too.

During the week in Los Corrales de Buelna there are Roman circuses, theater and other shows. A whole town is set up, half based on a Cantabrian town and the other half on a Roman town. People dress up according to whether they are Romans or Cantabrians for the week and spend their time socializing, eating and drinking. It really is a treat.