Domesticity

I came home today to much activity in the kitchen. All four members of my host family were in the (really tiny) kitchen baking galletas (cookies) and watching Grease videos on youtube. (Incidentally, the four-year-old knows the dance to "You're the One That I Want." I'm a little worried about her.) I, of course, hovered, figuring that I'd either be fed cookies or be allowed to help (I succeeded on both counts). Baking in Spain, like life in general here, is much less structured and involves a lot more olive oil. As far as I could tell there was no real recipe or even order to what they were doing, and nobody seemed to be keeping track of what other people had already added. When we ran out of butter, my señora poked the dough experimentally, said "No pasa nada" and added a few glugs of olive oil. It was glorious. And the cookies were delicious, so obviously somebody was doing something right.

Speaking of olive oil, the kind my señora uses, which I have mentioned before because I find it absolutely wonderful and incredibly delicious, comes in huge five-gallon jugs that she buys at the olive press, not at the supermarket. Another mystery solved, no wonder it's so spectacular.

I also found yarn today! The first store we went to was quite intense, with yarn that basically comes on spools and is sold by the kilo. (No, really.) It was quite similar to a fabric store in the States, where you choose the yarn you want, bring it to a cashier and tell her how much you want, and she cuts it for you. As we were rather intimidated (plus I have no idea how many kilos of yarn I would need for a scarf or something), we moved on and found a much more familiar store, with skeins and things. I am going back tomorrow after I develop project ideas. (I am going to crochet things for my family here.) Success, and I'm glad I don't have to order yarn by weight because I am nowhere near hardcore enough to do that.