criplomats

I continue down the road of denial, so much so that I left Mexico altogether this weekend to avoid the thought of organizing the pantry. I’m en route to Arkansas to visit Hendrix and speak to the students at Governor’s School, which i am excited about. It’ll be fun to see some old friends and be on campus a bit. Governor’s School started after I graduated from high school, but John attended the second year of it in 1981 – pretty cool!

John is enjoying his residence program at Army War College. He made a quick trip back down to D.C. On Saturday to look at some more apartments – exciting!

I did manage to check a couple of things off of my to-do list this week: I went to the dentist and got Flavie started on her shots. The vet made a house call yesterday for the first of two shots she needs. I love that so many people make house calls in this country – I will miss that. And my total vet bill for two visits and three shots is a whopping $40, if you can believe that!

I am firmly in denial about leaving, and pretty much doing everything I can not to start organizing for packout. I am giving a speech next week, and I’ve spent a lot of time working on it during the last few weekends – it’s a great excuse for not tackling the kitchen pantry. And the new season of “House of Cards” is out, so who can blame me for not venturing into the guest bedroom closet, where unused items go to die?

The move to D.C. is a lot more complicated because we will be moving into a smaller apartment than where we are now (this place is ginormous)…so that means we need to organize stuff to be packed into what goes to the new place and what gets shoved into storage. That’s a lot of mental calculus for me! And at this point, we don’t know where we will be living, and how much cabinet space we’ll have, for example. So, it’s way easier to watch “House of Cards”!

We had this lovely bench made, and it was delivered to us this week from Tlaquepaque. The fabric is Guatemalan, and the design is a woman standing arms akimbo. Love it. (And yes, I did just say that we are moving into a much smaller apartment, thank you.)

Our new bench

John left this week for his residence course at Army War College. He flew up on Sunday with a stop in Arkansas first to see Pete and Ginger, then he spent a few days in Washington DC for consultations with his new office. He met with a realtor and toured several apartment buildings that are candidates for us to live in, so we spent a lot of time yesterday talking on the phone and looking at apartment websites. It looks like there are some good options for the area we want to live in.

I went out Wednesday evening after teaching the guards’ English class for happy hour with my boss and his wife and two other women I work with. We had a great time sitting outdoors looking over the busy street below and having a drink together. I’ve met some really great people here and I’m going to miss working with them, especially my boss Pete.

Yesterday was Pete and Ginger’s 56th wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary to the best in-laws a girl could have!

Rainy season officially started this week, with several late afternoon showers and nighttime storms. I just love it. We were at a going-away party yesterday for our law enforcement colleagues and we had an incredible storm, including hail – fun!

We hosted book club on Thursday to discuss “The Billion Dollar Spy,” a true story set during the Cold War. It is an incredible story, and we had a lively discussion about it. At the end of the evening, John treated us to a spy-themed magic trick that was a big hit!

John at book club

John left this morning for his three-city tour – Fayetteville, Arkansas, to see his parents; Washington D.C. for a few days of work; and Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for a two-week War College program.

I was excited to get a surprise in the mail this week – a book just published by my photography teacher in Tel Aviv, Rinat Halon. I have no idea how she got my address, but I was happy to get a copy of her book! Thanks, Rinat!

Thanks, Rinat!

Evil trees

May is the hottest month in Guadalajara, right before rainy season, and boy, am I ready for rain! My car showed the temp at 96 degrees yesterday. To top it off these beautiful yellow trees are blooming, and I am allergic to them, so I’ve been sneezing and generally uncomfortable the last few days. This photo was actually taken in Pakistan, but they are abundant here, too. So pretty, but so evil!

We were sad to leave Oaxaca Monday afternoon. We did some last minute shopping and had lunch on the zocolo before we left. My lunch was beautiful! I also want to point out my favorite handbag to take shopping. It was given to me by my dear friend Cathy when she was in Burundi. It’s big and hands-free – perfect for shopping!

Winner, best food presentation

Serious shopping bag

We love Oaxaca!

In the old chapel

John and I slipped down to Oaxaca for a long weekend – we were here almost 20 years ago, but we had forgotten just how much we loved the city. It’s gorgeous and about the same altitude as Guadalajara, so the weather is nice – in fact, it’s been a bit rainy, which we enjoy immensely.

There’s so much to see and do, it’s impossible to describe, so let’s do it in pictures. First, the hotel – a former convent, built in the 16th century – just lovely.

The old chapel at our hotel

Hotel gardens

We spent Saturday in a cooking class – just the two of us. It felt like we were in an aunt’s kitchen. We made tortillas, salsas, stuffed chiles, and guacamole – all delicious!

Making tortillas with Esperanza

Cheese, squash blossoms, and chiles

Chiles

The cultural museum attached to the church here is just incredible – chock full of pre-Colombian artifacts, but the building is the real attraction.

Wall, Cultural Museum

Ceiling, Cultural Museum

Fresco

Ceiling

Skull with turquoise

And the food! Just incredible.

Chiles de Agua stuffed with ceviche

Making salsa table side

The textiles are probably my favorite, and were beautifully displayed in a lovely museum – and in every shop!

Textile museum

Textile museum

The light here makes it seem magical. Here’s a very handsome photo I took of John. We were sitting in La Casa de La Abuela restaurant, overlooking the zocalo – que guapo!

Handsome John

John found a little coffee shop he likes a lot – La Brujula. They have fun graphics.

I’ll sleep when I die

I’ll leave you with some more images. Click to see all photos.

Cactus bloom

Casa Oaxaca

Tile floor – bats

Tile floor – skulls

Church

Hotel grounds

Hotel grounds

Buying tortillas in the market

View from museum

View from museum

Cultural museum

Beautiful girls