criplomats

While we see Scarlet Ibis flying overhead daily, I was thrilled when they came to land in our neighborhood field this week! The grass was freshly mown, so they were finding lots of bugs. The first evening around sunset, we had four; the next evening we had eight. I only saw them twice but maybe they will return sometime!

I recovered from my bout with covid but it really took the wind out of my sails energy-wise for a week or so. I got back to my exercise routine on Tuesday. I am still enjoying Wimbledon and especially liked watching England’s Arthur Fery go from being a wildcard to a semi-finalist; he was really amazing to watch! I also enjoyed Eala (Philippines) and Kostyuk (Ukraine) on the women’s side, as well as NY’s Jess Pegula. Better luck to them next time. Overall it’s been a fun tournament.

I went with John to a short program and reception at the Argentine Embassy to mark their national day on Friday.

John and I watched “The Hail Mary Project” this week and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. We finished “Hacks” and we’ve been watching some of the World Cup soccer matches. I’m reading a book by Abbot Kahler, “Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II” – it’s a crazy true story of people who moved to the Galapagos around 1930. Judging by the book’s title, it doesn’t go so well!

A few more bird photos!

Saturday I got the message above from an embassy employee in Monrovia — several of the local staff there called me “boss lady.” Another local staff in Mexico used to call me “lady boss.” I miss being someone’s boss sometimes!

I started out with a full plate this week but it got upended mid-week when I tested positive for covid. Ugh. For someone who stays home almost all the time, I’m baffled how I managed to pick it up! (Fortunately John didn’t catch it.) That put the kibosh on attending the embassy’s 4th of July reception Thursday night, and I was exiled upstairs while embassy local staff and Americans spent Friday on our lawn for their own party.

On the upside, Wimbledon is on television! I’ve spent all week enjoying the first week matches guilt free, since I haven’t felt like doing anything else (this iteration of covid really knocked me back). The matches have been spectacular!

I finished reading “The Galapagos: A Natural History” by Henry Nicholas — it was a great read. I’ve continued to enjoy the very weird “DTF St Louis” on TV. John and I laughed at the silliness of “The Boroughs” and we’re about to finish the last season of “Hacks.” (I wish “Hacks” would get funnier like the first couple of seasons but we’re kind of committed to finishing at this point!)

I’ll post some photos of “Action John” from the 4th of July party below — I’m very proud of him!

It was a pretty quiet week for me. I continued to work on the online photography course and played around with a new editing software. Last Sunday I had a long call with my friend Cathy, who’s finishing up Ukrainian language training before leaving for Kiev. After that I had a good chat with Lea in DC and also visited with Mellisa at the pool for a bit.

John had a couple of events this week. He also spoke at the Ministry of Health’s observance of the International Day Against Drug Abuse – looking good, Mr. Crippen!

We finished “Criminal Intent” and started watching “Widow’s Bay.” It’s very quirky and spooky but funny, too. I also started “DTF St. Louis.” I’m reading “The Galapagos: A Natural History” by Henry Nicholas – it’s a great overview of the Galápagos Islands flora and fauna for a layperson (thanks to John for recommending it!).

This week marked eleven years since Mom died. So hard to believe she’s gone.

Friday was a federal holiday for Juneteenth, so Mellisa and I headed to Aagman for an Indian food lunch – it’s restaurant week here in Guyana. We yakked for a couple of hours and enjoyed getting out on a weekday. John and I went back there for lunch on Saturday so he could enjoy it, too! I like that service and food are good, it’s a pleasant atmosphere, and everything is pretty fast (not always the case here).

Monday night I went with John to an event to mark international sea turtle day. Guyana has four of the seven kinds of sea turtles (leatherbacks, hawksbill, olive Ridley, and green). The EMC foundation did a very good presentation on the turtles and talked about their efforts to tag the turtles and track them. It was great to hear how Guyana recruited turtle poachers back in the ‘90s and turned them into wardens to help protect the turtles.

John gave remarks at the opening of a heath conference this week sponsored by AmCham – living his best life!

John and I finished “Better Call Saul” – so good! We watched the new Jack Ryan movie and of course enjoyed it. Last night we got hooked on the new season of “Criminal Intent.”

I signed up for a Great Courses class on photography (free through my library access, yay!). It’s really good and it prompted me to take my camera outside late yesterday afternoon. I’m determined to get better at using my camera before our next vacation! I’ll post some photos below.

The EU ambassador invited us to a lovely evening at St George’s Cathedral to hear a special guest baritone, Leonardo Lopez Linares and his oboe accompanist, Cecilia Maragano (both from Buenos Aires). It was a really nice concert, and we also enjoyed the local choir and local soloists. The event was sponsored by the EU Commission. The cathedral is Anglican built at the end of the 19th century. I’ve heard it described as the largest wooden church in South America. It’s really pretty.

Friday afternoon we went to the home of the Canadian High Commissioner for Canada’s first game of the World Cup. We enjoyed visiting with our Canadian friends, and I really liked seeing the High Commissioner’s beautiful yard and screened in porch.

Saturday we had a new officer, Marcella, over for breakfast along with my friend Mellisa who I always enjoy seeing. That night, we met Chris and Mariela for a nice dinner at Nikkei.

John and I continue to watch “Better Call Saul.” I can’t believe that it took us this long to watch it – we have really enjoyed it and are sad there are only a couple of episodes left. Today I read “Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage” by Belle Burden. I really enjoyed it although it is a sad And rather jaw-dropping story. I also had a nice chat with Mary C in Little Rock on Monday.

The Foreign Service is a small community, and I always love to see my worlds collide. Jessica (below) worked for me in Argentina and is now working with my good friend and former local staff supervisor, Mr. Irshad, in Pakistan. They sent me the photo below to say hello (they are pointing to my photo from 2014). So fun to see!