criplomats

We had big fun at the EU Ambassador’s home on Friday night, along with our Ambassador and the ambassadors for the Canadians and Brits. He has a beautiful pizza oven and is a Neapolitan pizza expert. He brought in most of the ingredients from Italy and taught us how to form the crust and cook it in his beautiful oven. John did great! We enjoyed sitting outside and visiting over delicious pizza.

This morning we had the British ambassador and her husband over for a coffee roasting demo and breakfast. They’re so nice – I’m very sorry they are departing Guyana soon. We have enjoyed getting to know them.

Friday afternoon, John and I went to the Embassy’s intramural cricket match. They borrowed a very nice field. It was a beautiful afternoon and the breeze from the ocean across the street made for pleasant temperatures. I enjoyed chatting with the new Peace Corps director who arrived this past week. The match was particularly fun because there was a good mix of American officers and Guyanese local staff – lots of cheering from the sidelines and plenty of smack-talk!

Cousin James was nice enough to have a long chat with me about investments this week; I really appreciated his insights and expertise as I dip my toes back into finances. I also had a fun chat early this morning with Lea (DC) and Rachel (Buenos Aires). It’s always fun to catch up and laugh with them.

In addition to my usual yoga, I’m getting back in the habit of using my spin bike, too, now that we have our household goods. I love my morning walks outside, but rainy season has put a “damper” on that for the last month or so and I need something to get my heart rate up!

Speaking of getting my heart rate up, sadly I had a fender-bender yesterday! I had run downtown to a little grocery store and backed into a parked car as I was leaving. It didn’t cause a lot of damage, but I had to call the embassy to come (standard procedure) so a police report can be filed, etc. I don’t think I’ve had any accidents since 1983 when someone hit me! I was mortified and embarrassed. To top it off, the vehicle belonged to the store I had just visited – oops! At least they were very nice about it…

We finished watching “Blue Lights” (so good!) and have started season two of “A Man on the Inside.” We’re also rewatching season one of “The Night Manager.” I’m reading Morgan Housel’s “The Art of Spending Money.”

Happy birthday, Ginger!

We went to the British Ambassador’s home for New Year’s Eve for a small, casual chili supper. I enjoyed chatting with the Canadian ambassador‘s mother about her former career working around the world with international organizations. (I was also jealous because she once received a gift of driving a NASCAR at her nearby racetrack! I would love to do that!) It was a nice evening! We came home a bit before midnight but stayed up listening to the fireworks all around town.

Last Sunday, I had a fun video chat with Ann and Pam then John and I jumped in the pool before heading over to the British DCM’s house for a small happy hour to meet his visiting girlfriend. I was happy to get to chat with the wife of the EU’s DCM – she’s a lot of fun. Wednesday for lunch I met some other wives of embassy employees for lunch – I enjoyed seeing everyone, especially the two daughters of a co-worker who are visiting – they are very smart and interesting.

I’ve really been flummoxed by grocery shopping here, so I was happy to go to a butcher yesterday with a couple from the embassy. I recognized some of the cuts of beef and bought some to experiment with. I’ve heard the beef here is not that good, so we’ll see. I was fascinated to see fresh raw milk in the dairy case. They put it out while I was there and it was still warm. I was a bit daunted by the thought of pasteurizing it myself, so I didn’t get it — but it was tempting. There’s only one dairy here and finding fresh milk at the grocery store is a challenge (I went twice this weekend with no luck). Sadly, the UHT (“shelf”) milk is not very good, and I really need milk in my coffee. Even the local Starbucks uses shelf milk. The struggle is real, folks.

I spent some time this week planning a trip for a wedding in May. I’m also trying to get a handle on finances – something I’ve ignored for a long time. It’s been fun to dig into the details of it all and start building a retirement spending plan (it’s complicated!).

John and I started watching “Blue Lights” on BritBox. It’s a police procedural and we’re hooked! We just started the last season although they are planning another for 2027.

Yesterday the U.S. announced that Maduro in Venezuela was captured and taken for trial. Guyana is next door to Venezuela, but we are fine – thanks to so many of you who reached out to us.

John and I hosted a potluck for our embassy colleagues who wanted to join in – we had around 20 people including a couple of families. It was big fun! Veina and I cooked a lot the day before (purple cabbage, green bean casserole, Mac-n-cheese, stuffing, rolls, pumpkin pie) and did hams, turkeys, and cheese grits the day of — plus, of course, everyone brought something to share, so there was a lot of food!

Earlier in the week, we had the pictures downstairs hung, so the house is really starting to feel like home!

Monday night, we went to the Ambassador’s residence for an embassy happy hour – fun!

John got Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off, which was nice! We were pooped after Christmas, so we relaxed a lot. We watched the new “Knives Out” and “Pluribus,” and we’ve started the new season of “A Man on the Inside.” I also got John to start “Somebody Somewhere” with me (so I could rewatch it). I finished reading “Nobody’s Girl” and started “How to Kill a Witch,” which is very interesting (about the Scottish witch trials).

John and I returned from Arkansas in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. We sure had fun at home but were equally excited to get back to Guyana. Friday afternoon, we picked up Jane and Rob, the British High Commissioner and her husband, and drove to the Mahaica River to spend the night at Ramesh’s place. We had duck curry for dinner and enjoyed a bottle of wine while watching the river go by. We were happy to get to know Jane and Rob – they are lots of fun to be around. Jane is finishing five years here as ambassador, so they are a wealth of knowledge about Guyana. It was my first time driving any length of time here, and I did fine – I was scared to death of wrecking with the British ambassador on board!

We set out around 6AM and cruised the river for a couple of hours, then returned for a delicious breakfast. Then we went on the speed boat up to the water conservancy, about thirty minutes up the river and through a smaller part of the river where kingfishers led the boat up river – it was fun to watch them fly in front of the boat, dipping down to catch a fish along the way. The conservancy is an old homestead, now semi-preserved. It was empty save for a young guy who apparently keeps the place tidy. It was like stepping back in time.

After returning to Guyana, the week was pretty much back to normal. I went to the embassy’s potluck on Friday before we left for Mahaica, and we went to a co-worker’s birthday party Saturday evening after returning from the river. Guyana is really geared up for Christmas with lots of lights and good cheer.

Before leaving Arkansas, James Wise and his girlfriend Jenny came over for coffee last Sunday morning. I hadn’t seen him since college, I guess, and it was fun to catch up. Alison was not feeling well, so sadly I didn’t see her and David as much as I would have liked. John and I went back to the Goat restaurant (quickly becoming one of our favorite places) and we also had a Mexican food fix.

I’m happy to report that Flavia did well with our housesitter while we were gone (and also for the overnight to the river). It was such a relief!

John and I binged the new season of “The Morning Show” this week – as much as I like the actors in the show, I was quite disappointed with the writing and plot lines. I finished reading “Nobody’s Girl,” by Virginia Giuffre and thought it was well done, considering the sordid subject matter of Jeffrey Epstein.

Here are a few photos from the river:

John and I had big fun at the traditional Hendrix College Candlelight Carol service last Sunday afternoon. As a former member of the choir, John especially enjoyed the concert and it was fun to see a few friends and former professors. Afterward we attended a nice donors’ reception where I caught up with Roger C from my class. From there, we drove to Fayetteville, arriving at Phillip’s house a little before 10PM.

We enjoyed visiting with Ginger, Phillip, and Michele in Fayetteville. Monday, John and I went with Ginger to shop for shoes and had a good Mexican lunch at Local Lime. That night, the five of us had a yummy Italian dinner at Bocca and afterward we cruised the square to look at the fun light display. John, Ginger, and I had lunch at Feed & Folly (lots of good food in Fayetteville!) on Tuesday before we headed home.

We went through a few old photos at Phillip’s house and uncovered John’s junior high business card!

Back in Hot Springs, we went to Julie and Scott’s for dinner on Wednesday. On this trip, I’ve gotten in several great yoga sessions…John has had a couple of good visits with Rusty…we grilled Weldon’s steaks a couple of times…and I upgraded my phone to a newer model. We binged on “The Beast in Me” (good!) and finished “Down Cemetery Road.” Alison was sick this past week, so unfortunately we didn’t get to visit as much as we’d like. It’s been a great trip!