criplomats

Pam picked me up at the airport on Friday after I returned our rental car, then drove us to Hot Springs. She spent the night Friday and we started a marathon Scrabble session first thing Saturday morning on the balcony. By 5:30 in the afternoon when she headed back to Little Rock, we had played six games – what fun!

My Honda was delivered Wednesday, after being shipped from Argentina. Sadly, the display panel was kapoot when it arrived, so it’s currently in the shop getting fixed and getting new tires. Fingers crossed!

Chuck came for cocktails Thursday afternoon and we enjoyed sitting outside under the fan with a cool drink.

I made it to yoga a couple of times this week, and was thrilled to see this little fawn on West Mountain Drive both coming and going to class:

On a sad note — John and I made the very painful decision to not complete Charlie’s adoption. He was perfect in every way, but he went into terrible distress when left alone. I recorded him multiple times and he cried, panted, paced, and yipped/howled the entire time he was alone (never more than 3 hours and usually shorter). After long discussions with the vet and the director at the humane society, we decided that we were probably not the best fit for Charlie and that he’d be happier in a household with folks who were home more or had another dog. 
Luckily, the director at the humane society (an amazing woman) knew of an older couple whose last rescue had died, and they were looking for a second small dog to be a companion for their dachshund. I took Charlie on Saturday for a meet-n-greet, and the dogs got along well! I kept him until Monday when they could pick him up. I spent a long time talking to them and really liked them. They are from California originally but have been in Arkansas for decades, retired teachers, smart about dogs, and wonderful people. They’ve always had multiple dogs and are used to integrating them. When they go on road trips, the doggos come along! This was an agonizing decision to make, but John and I both felt Charlie will be happier.

I totally enjoyed bingeing on Wimbledon tennis matches this week, including today’s men’s championship! Lots of fun!

Ann’s sister Robin was in town on Wednesday and she came to visit in the afternoon. I hadn’t talked to her in years, and we had a great time catching up. After she left, I had a video chat with my friend and former boss, Angela – another nice catch-up chat. On Thursday, I had hamburgers with Alison and David in their gazebo with a lovely lake breeze. My good friend Leslie came over late Saturday and spent the night. We had dinner on the balcony and talked until midnight, only to resume today over coffee before she headed back to Little Rock.

The State Department fired over 1,000 civil servants and 250 foreign service officers on Friday. The firings weren’t strategic, were not based on merit, and were not done according to guidelines. Many friends were summarily escorted from the building after decades of building a successful career. It was shameful and heartbreaking, and I’m not sure how we will recover from it.

The lake was busy as usual for the 4th and John and I were happy to stay in for the most part. I did go to yoga and stopped to pick up ribs on the way home and dropped some off for David and Alison.

The highlight of the week was seeing Mary last Sunday — we were thrilled that she brought Paul Shell with her, an old Hendrix classmate who we hadn’t seen in a long time. Mary brought BBQ and Paul brought homemade salsa – yum! We had a great time catching up.

Another old Hendrix friend, Kathy, came over for a glass of iced tea on Wednesday while John and Rusty drove up to Fayetteville to see Ginger. I was sad I didn’t get to see Ginger this trip, but was happy John and Russ had a chance to visit on the drive up there and back.

Charlie is doing fine but is still in the cone. We tried taking it off after a week but he immediately licked until it bled, so the cone went right back on. He really suffers from separation anxiety — poor fellow — so I am trying to figure out how to deal with that. Wish me luck! He really is a Velcro dog.

John and I finished “Line of Duty,” and really hated to see it end after six seasons (we hear there’s a #7 in the works!). We binged on “The Bear,” and I watched season two of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders documentary (my guilty pleasure!). I finished reading the light “God of the Woods” by Liz Moore and am half heartedly reading “Roar” by Selene Yeager – I haven’t seemed to have the concentration I need to get into it. Yesterday and today I have been immersed in Wimbledon – hooray!

I took John to the airport yesterday – he’s headed to DC to start his training, beginning with Crash-Bang, then DCM class. So exciting!

Charlie got “tutored” on Tuesday and has the cone of shame to prove it:

We took him to a different vet in Little Rock on Thursday to get his rabies shot. Due to the very stringent restrictions on dog importation by the CDC, he has to have a special certificate to prove he has been vaccinated in the United States in order to re-enter America when we’re ready to come back. We were pleased to find Pleasant Valley Animal Hospital and learn they are familiar with international travel for pets, and Dr Cabe there said she can do the certificate for us through the USDA (yep, it’s complicated!). So off we went to LR! John told me that I’m not retired, but I just have a different job now: Charlie’s personal assistant! I believe it!

Tuesday was Chuck’s birthday and PeeWee had us over for a lovely dinner! Congrats to Chuck on his recent EP.

Ann and Jim spent the afternoon with us on Wednesday and we had a great visit on the balcony, eating yummy sourdough bread, pimento cheese, and gazpacho. Jim brought us one of his newly released albums – thank you! He and Will are enjoying a resurgence of popularity – congrats! Beautiful music.

Kathy W went with me to the 12th anniversary party for Karen’s yoga studio Friday night. There were a LOT of people there and the space was wall-to-wall people for yoga and a sound bath – neat! Afterward we had a chance to eat, drink, and be merry – congrats to Karen on a beautiful and thriving business.

We rounded out the week with lunch with David and Alison at Blue Ember, a new and yummy BBQ place – I loved the jalapeño and pineapple sausage.

If you’re wondering about Flavia, she’s doing fine. She and Charlie have “met” at night when Charlie comes to sleep in the bed with us. She’s wary and will often hide when he comes in, but sometimes she will sit and look at him (and he looks at her). There’s been no hissing, barking, etc – good behavior so far, but that doesn’t mean she likes him being here:

It’s been hot but we’re really enjoying being home!

This week marked the 10th anniversary of LJ’s death – so hard to believe she’s been gone for 10 years. Miss you, Mom.

Everything has been Charlie-centric this week, getting him settled in, etc. As you can see in this photo, he’s pretty relaxed! He’s had a big week going to the vet, an outing to PetsMart (where he learned about automatic doors and shopping carts), riding in the car, and staying home alone at times. He and Flavia are slowly being introduced although Flavia usually hides when she sees him. Fingers crossed they will get comfortable with each other.

John and I went to a Hendrix alumni event this week in Hot Springs at 501 Prime. It was fun to see a few classmates!

I drove to Little Rock on Tuesday to meet Ann for lunch at Star of India – we had a great two-hour visit! Samy, the owner, always astounds me when he asks how is “Brother John” when he hasn’t seen John in years!

Charlie and I dropped John off at the airport in LR on Thursday at the crack of dawn. He went to a gaming convention in Columbus with our old friend Sean from Monrovia. They had a big time and enjoying playing board games and meeting some of the game designers.

Pamela came down Friday night and spent two nights with me while John was gone. We had fun just sitting on the balcony, eating McClard’s tamales, and watching “PeeWee Herman as Himself.”

We’ve enjoyed a wet week earlier in the week, but the last few days have been just humid and hot. John and I continue to enjoy “Line of Duty,” and I re-watched “The Intern” yesterday.