Waiting for Baby (part 1)

Knowing that the due date was mid-September, we have been working hard to get all the essential tools we needed to make our new baby feel at home...(see the last blog entry.) Once that was done all there was to do was wait.

We´ve been walking almost every evening here in our pueblo. In fact, one of my favorite memories of the summer is when we picked blackberries from the trail where we walk. There were so many and it was hard to stop. We were still out picking when a full moon came out. That was a special evening.

So, to pass the time, I´ve been baking. I made blackberry muffins. Mmmm! Now, it´s a little tricker sometimes to bake in a foreign country because it can be difficult to find all the necessary ingredients. (Almost anything I want to bake must be made from scratch, which is really better in the long run, but I´m usually a ready-mix kind of baker.) Once the ingredients are found, then they have to be converted into metric units. (the hardest for me is to convert tablespoons of stick butter into grams. I´ve almost got a system figured out but it can still be a little confusing at times.)

Then there´s the oven. We have an electric oven which is great...because it´s hard to bake well with a gas oven. Even so, its temperature measurements are in Celsius, which is not as exact as Farenheit...but I´m learning. We were quite happy with our first round of muffins. :-)

Then I made chocolate chocolate chunk (because we don´t have chocolate chips) muffins. Even better!

Meanwhile, Ruben put the changing table together.

As we were guessing dates for the baby´s arrival, several family members suggested that the baby would be even MORE Catalan if he were born just a little earlier than the due date on Sept. 14. September 11, is a Catalan hoilday called the "Diada," the day when Catalunya surrendered to Spain (many centuries ago.) Ceremonies are held the night before, on Sept. 10, in memory of their beloved kingdom, in defense of their language and culture, in longing for political independence and sometimes in defiance of their belonging to Spain.

So, while we were waiting for baby, just 4 days before his due date, we joined in the Catalan celebration up at the little monument that overlooks our pueblo with our friends Fernando and Sara.

There was a short speech given by the mayor  and then a small ensemble sang several songs in Catalan. The acoustics inside the hermitage (which sits just beside the ruins of the castle once looked over Sant Vicenç) are wonderful!

Afterward, we ate the aluminum-wrapped "bocadillos" (subway-type sandwiches) that we had prepared at home and then partook in coque (pronounce co-ka) (pictured left), chocolate and cava (Catalunya´s version of champaigne), although I skipped the cava.

My parents will be here tomorrow. They are coming to greet the baby and help during the first few days when life is so hectic. There´s a chance that he might come late. If that happens, my parents may arrive and depart without having met the little guy. We´ll have to wait and see how it goes. I´m just excited to have them here!

More to come soon!