Spanish views from a small town

Yesterday was the big day. We were being let further out of our cages. It coincided with an appointment my mother-in-law had at the hospital in Santiago. She had not been sure during these months leading up to it if she would be able to go, but she got a phone call a couple of days before, telling her that it was still on, and she should wear a mask and gloves. It was an evening appointment, very rare, and meant for people whose diagnosis is more urgent. In her case, urgency was required when the appointment was made because of pain that made walking a torment. Since then, the pain has gone away, but the knee problem remains, with a return of the pain lurking in the shadows.  The norms in this Phase One are that a driver can take people that don't live with them, but in the back seat and with a maximum of two people. Also, both driver and passengers must wear masks.  So, we drove like this to Santiago. I let my mask down around my chin to be able to breathe without foggi...

Today is cloudy, and the forecast is for showers with heavier rain in the late afternoon, and slightly cooler weather. Apparently, there's a low pressure area near Lisbon that is sending its spit of rain north, towards us. The forecast is supposed to perk up next week, but this being spring, we'll see. There's a lot of discontent among farmers and others in the primary sector. Apparently, aside from not being able to hire cheap labor, they can't sell to the restaurants, which are closed. Who knew eating out was such a large business in Spain? I mean, I knew there are a lot of restaurants, but the immense volume of fresh food in supermarkets made me think that was where the bulk of our farms' food went. Now I understand why some fruits and vegetables in season are imported.  Yet, why are supermarkets still importing produce if local and national farms are struggling to sell theirs? Perhaps they have contracts they can't break, perhaps the imported produce is ...

Today I finished the last apple and cinnamon Greek yoghurt I bought the other day in Portugal. It was delicious and, unfortunately, only a Portuguese thing as far as I can find. I've never seen that flavor in Spain. It's funny how just across a border supermarkets and their contents change. I assume most companies do research on likes, dislikes, and habits of customers by country. Sometimes they will probably research local dishes and ingredients used, so that, for example, you might not find salt pork in such abundance, say, in Catalunya, as you do in Galicia. I know they're looking to maximize income and minimize loss, but there are moments when you want to eat something not common to your area and would like to find the ingredients. Salt pork was not easy to find in Boston. My mother would buy certain pieces fresh and salt it down at home to make caldo galego on Sundays. And I assume someone from other parts of Spain would like to find ingredients here to make their ...