My dad and his wife arrived today with a suitcase full of goodies for us, some of which we requested (like Halloween candy and spices we cannot find), and a surprise box from our good friend Sugi! Thank you thank you, Sugi, for the super thoughtful gifts that remind us how incredibly lucky we are to have an amazing family of friends and how much we miss you all already. The framed pictures are in our dining room so we can see them and smile everyday.

We’ve been thrilled to entertain some of our friends and family from the US and Spain in PT already and we look forward to others visiting!

We made Al and Maren eat a 2 hour and 2 bottle of wine lunch today at our local, favorite lunch spot in Seixal called O Pirolito. At the restaurant, you go to the fish counter and they tell you what fish is fresh that day. Today, we picked sea bass. The first time we went there, I made the mistake of asking what the preparation choices were and the guy behind the counter turned his head to the side like, “What is she talking about?”. There is one preparation and it is on an open fire grill in the back – um duhhh. And, it is delicious – every time. We also wanted the stew of the day (it’s different each time we go). Today’s stew was chickpeas with cow’s hooves and cartilage. Delish!

Our new favorite waiter, David, is a riot. He offered C a job in de-boning fish. He asked what I could do. I told him I’m VERY good at pouring wine. Then, we all came home and took a nap (minus David).

Tomorrow (Nov. 1) is a bank holiday here called Dia de Todos os Santos (All Saints Day). It’s a day to commemorate the dead. Our Portuguese friends told us a long time ago on this day each year, kids would go door to door and get bread and sometimes fruit. Apparently, these days they want candy and/or money. Sound familiar?

My dad brought this adorable, motion sensor witch that lights up and cackles. We put it at the front door. We’ll see if it scares any kids away tomorrow. But, we’re ready for them. We have about 100 bags of fun-sized candy. I’m suspecting much of it will be consumed by Al and me. You can take the girl out of the midwest but….

Maren is an awesome seamstress and she knows I have a thing for cloth napkins, Baby Yoda and bunnies. So, she sewed these awesome napkins for us. How fun! She and I also enjoy nostalgia and I’m guessing she remembered that I was an MTV junky in high school and that, allegedly, I used to spend some hours trying to perfect my dance moves in front of the tele.

Happy Halloween US peeps! We hope you have a great day. XO