Friday, November 9, 2012

It seems like the Republicans in analyzing the why and how of their losses have sunk to a level below pathetic.  The approach seems to be to blame everyone and everything else and not look at the fact that they, in their current state, do not speak to the needs of young people, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and women.  As I said the other day, the party on the right has become the party of the white and the complexion of the American electorate has been slowly evolving to the place where it stands now.  Those who call themselves conservatives are really faux conservatives because they refuse to acknowledge the importance of community and the greater good, two staples of true conservative thought and philosophy.  The harsh reality is that whites are no longer the majority and it appears that, at least this time around, large sums of money were unable to buy a victory.  As a result the formerly powerful are less powerful and the less powerful are more powerful.  One last word, I am thrilled  to see that three days after the election the media are already speculating on who will be the candidates in 2016.  Could we, just for once, focus on the here and now and find a way to solve the very serious problems that confront us.  If the press devoted more space to important issues, I promise not to complain when there is less ink devoted to Miley Cyrus, the Kardashians and Snooki.

Our guest list for our Thanksgiving dinner continues to expand.  We may have as many as fifteen people around the table.  The quest of the moment is to find fresh cranberries.  A vendor at the market can get them, but we would have to but the entire flat and that would cost 100 Euros.  We are searching for other solutions.

Wednesday I made it to the gym and got in some cardio and some weight training.  When I got home, Susan was busy preparing a new recipe.  It was chicken in an almond and garlic sauce and it was delicious.  She served it with fresh green beans, some bread straight out of the oven of the bakery downstairs and a bottle of Perro Verde.  That was the grand activity of the day and we basically goofed around the rest of the day.

I have been in constant phone and e-mail contact with the company that will escort our goods through customs and then deliver them.  They need a number of documents so that the process can be completed as efficiently as possible.  We had most of the documents asked for, but we needed to register with Hacienda, which is the Spanish equivalent of our Internal Revenue Service.  In this case it is necessary in case there are any duties that need to be paid.  If so, they know where to find us.  We are hopeful that since everything we shipped qualifies as personal belongings that there will be no duty to pay.  However, life is filled with surprises.

Yesterday we went to Hacienda and filled out the necessary forms and since we were out we went to A Taste of America to see if they had cranberries.  No luck!  We then went to the Corte Inglés.  No luck!  When we stopped to look at a clock it was almost 3:00 and since we were near The Ginger Loft, we stopped by for lunch.  Susan had a bowl of carrot, apple and lentil soup.  I had the pork and shrimp wontons served in a very tasty broth.  We shared a very tasty and spicy dish made with langostinos and we gave in and had Mike’s autumnal dessert.  It is a pumpkin, walnut and cranberry tart served with pear ice cream.  Delicious!

Yesterday evening there was a meeting of the veteranos.  We enjoyed a spirited discussion about a variety of topics and I did two effects that I am working on.  Afterwards we went out for a sandwich and when Gurrea dropped me off it was 11:30.  I was beat after a day when we walked over five miles, so I headed for bed almost as soon as I got through the door.