criplomats

After having lunch with Lea at a great little cafe called Evelia, I finally stopped in a little shop called Facón that’s been on my radar for a while. I brought home a ceramic Pachamama from northern Argentina near the Bolivian border. Pachamama is an Earth Mother type goddess worshiped by the Inca – I like to think she’s settling in to her new home with us!

We were off for both Christmas Eve and Christmas — both were quiet days for us. I was thankful for my annual Audubon calendar from Ginger, plus a donation to my favorite animal rescue, Out of the Woods. (Thank you, Ginger!) John cooked up some Kahlua Pig on Christmas. Christmas doesn’t seem to be such a big deal here and it’s hard to get in any Christmas spirit, but we enjoyed the days off. We also went bike riding on Christmas morning – lovely! We also got out again this morning – lots of fun. The bike paths are good and there are lots of parks.

This past week I read two books by Jane Campbell: “Interpretations of Love” and a collection of short stories, “Cat Brushing.” She is an older author, in her 80s, and while some of the stories are quirky and a bit odd (with a spoonful of science fiction thrown in), I do like her writing. This morning, I started Adam Higginbotham’s “Challenger,” about the 1986 space shuttle disaster.

John and I finished the second season of “Shrinking” and are enjoying “The Agency” and “The Day of the Jackal.”

As I write, John’s got several friends over to play a board game – he’s in hog heaven!

A former co-worker from Monrovia was in town on his way to an Antarctic cruise, so we caught up over dinner Tuesday night. It was fun to hear what’s happened since we left! I met him downtown at the Parilla Aires Criolla, one of our favorite little steakhouses.

John couldn’t join us for dinner because he was attending a work event at Bosch Palace honoring a group of scientists heading to Antarctica, plus Star Trek’s William Shatner (Neil deGrasse Tyson missed due to a delayed flight – darn!). John was thrilled to visit with astrophysicist Brian Greene and his wife Tracy Day – I guarantee you John was the only one there who actually was familiar with Greene and his books and sought him out to chat.

Flavia has had spells of not eating this past week but seems to have bounced back (again!) today.

John and I watched “Black Doves” (I wasn’t a fan), plus “The Agency” and “Dune.” I’m enjoying season two of “Bad Sisters.” This week I finished reading Paula Hawkins’ “The Blue Hour,” as well as David S. Tatel’s memoir “Vision.” Thanks to Joan for that recommendation – I really enjoyed the book. Tatel spent 30 years on the D.C. Circuit Court (he took RBG’s seat) and is also blind – fascinating insights on both the Court and blindness. Made me wish we had more judges like him on the Supreme Court!

We had our holiday get together at work this week – pizza lunch, bingo, cookie decorating, and fun glasses! It was a nice way to end the week!

John and I pulled out our bikes yesterday and went for rides yesterday and today. We had so much fun and need to do it more often – we just get lazy! I also had lunch with Lea and Rachel at a really good vegetarian restaurant, Chui, yesterday.

John and I are watching “The Agency” and finished the second season of “Shrinking.” Last night we watched the fun (but tense) “Carry On” on Netflix. I finished reading “The Blue Light.”

Here’s most of the consular section at our holiday party:

John was in Mexico City all week for a conference (where he got to see some old friends, including Jimmi). He arrived home late last night full of stories and news.

Today I went to my first polo match – Lea got us tickets for the finals. It was an interesting cultural experience – we were in the VIP tent, and everyone seemed much more intent on chatting and visiting than watching the match! But I saw enough to see how incredible the horses and riders are – it’s fast and looks dangerous! Very beautiful and the weather was outstanding!

Yesterday I walked to an arts and crafts fair nearby, then wandered around the neighborhood a bit – I bought some watermelon and cherries at a local market – I’ve been eating watermelon a lot for dinner with some blue cheese and prosciutto – delish! The strawberries also look gorgeous and I could literally smell them as I walked by a fruit stand. I also checked out the rotating exhibition at the Fine Arts Museum and saw these wonderful pieces by Joaquin Torres Garcia.

Thursday night I hosted book club – we had a big time eating delivery Thai food and discussing “Wanted: Toddler’s Assistant” by Stephanie Kiser.

The weather was perfect for a walkabout and the city was really showing off!

While John was away, I started Season Two of “Bad Sisters” and think it’s really better than Season One. I also re-watched “Primal Fear” from 1996 or so – Laura Linney, Richard Gere, and the really incredible Edward Norton. John and I caught up on “Shrinking” and “Man on the Inside” tonight. I finished “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” by Ocean Vuong yesterday and started Paula Hawkins’ “The Blue Hour.”

We had a lovely Thanksgiving lunch at the Sofitel – Lea arranged a delicious lunch in a private dining room for a few of us. The food was outrageously good and there was so much of it!

Lea, Rachel and I took advantage of an early closing at the embassy the day before Thanksgiving to go shopping at some of our favorite stores in Palermo, followed by a stop for coffee and dessert. Lea and I had lunch last Sunday at Saenz and again today at Marti, our favorite vegetarian restaurant.

John and I started watching “Man on the Inside” with Ted Danson, and I’m indulging in “Martha.” I have been absorbed in reading about the race to the South Pole in “The Last Place on Earth,” and finished it this morning. John is off to Mexico City for a conference this week, so Flavie and I are on our own! I had a video chat with Pamela, Ann, and Jackie this afternoon.

I don’t know what these flowers are, but lots are blooming all over town – a beautiful accompaniment to the jacarandas!