criplomats

Pam spent Friday and Saturday nights with me, and we loved sitting on the balcony listening to a nice slow rain a lot of yesterday. We really needed it, as the state has been in a drought for months now. We played several games of Scrabble, of course, and just generally tried to solve all the problems of the world.

I had a couple of appointments in Little Rock on Wednesday, so I left here early in the morning. I added on a bit of shopping before heading home. Later in the week I had the oil in the car changed and helped David and Alison get a new grill home and set up in their gazebo.

I haven’t watched much TV on this trip, but did enjoy “The Invite.” The acting was great, especially Ed Norton and Penelope Cruz. I finished “Partita,” but it wasn’t one of my favorites; I am looking forward to starting the new Lena Dunham book.

I flew to Arkansas Monday night and got to Hot Springs in the late afternoon. I love being home in the fall with crisp, chilly mornings and sunny afternoons.

I’ve been busy since I got here with appointments here and there, including a skin consultation with a delightful doctor, Dr. Pabona, plus a dentist and hair appointment. I went out shopping and to dinner with Alison and PeeWee on Wednesday as usual, and we worked in happy hour tonight at Capo’s Tacos. I drove to Fayetteville on Friday for lunch with Ginger and Phillip (mother-in-law and brother-in-law), and had a good visit with them. I came back through Conway and spent the night with Ann and Jim. The next morning, Ann, Pam, and I went to a memorial service for one of my very favorite professors, Ralph Scott. He was a wonderful professor – so smart. He was my professor when he very first started teaching at Hendrix (he was also an alumn), and he was still teaching up to the end. Such a lovely man.

After the service, I headed back to Hot Springs where I met a few junior high friends at Fisherman’s Wharf. We had a lot of fun catching up, and moved the party to Miller’s condo to continue visiting. It was very nice and it’s funny how little people have changed — and how comfortable it is to be around them again.

I had a good video chat with Lea and Rachel on Sunday, then had dinner with David and Alison on their porch later that day.

I enjoyed listening to Ari Shapiro’s “The Best Strangers in the World” on my drive to Fayetteville. It was a good mix of serious and not-so-serious stories. And it made me want to listen to Pink Martini more (oddly, my friend/spin instructor in Islamabad always played Pink Martini during class, so it always reminds me of spinning in Pakistan). We were fortunate to see Ari perform with the band in DC a few years ago.

I’m reading Barbara Kingsolver’s new novel, “Partita” but am having trouble getting into it. I’m not sure if it’s lack of concentration or if I just don’t like it (I did not like “Demon Copperfield”). But I’m hanging in there with it – we’ll see. I’ve been watching Sharon Horgan’s “Youth” and enjoying that.

John and I thoroughly enjoyed binging on the latest season of “The Diplomat” this week. Friends often ask me if the show is like real Foreign Service life. It’s not. Most ambassadors don’t live in palaces (although a few do!) and host breakfast for staff each morning. They also don’t write their own talking points and press releases, and they are not sampling pies on the day of the 4th of July part (there would usually be a food committee who worked with donors months in advance). But the show gets enough stuff right and has enough “lingo” in it to make it fun for us to watch. I’ve been happy that Keri Russell has been supportive of Foreign Service Officers in interviews.

Two diplomats have been on my mind this week. One friend is in Kiev on a one-year tour, and she and I chatted for a couple of hours this week. She lives in a hotel room because security on the ground can’t support apartments or residences in the city. That means no kitchen (not even a microwave) and living in one room. A few embassy staff have “apartments” attached to the hotel that sound like long-stay hotel rooms, but at least they have a kitchen. My friend talked about the time she spends hunkered down either in the hallway or in the basement during the Russian attacks, and how the sleep deprivation is real. Then she gets up and is back at work in the office like any other day.

Another friend is posted in another country, and her husband had a horrible accident this week. Luckily the country where she is has medical care but we are holding our breath to see what the prognosis is. This is a couple we’ve known since we joined the Foreign Service almost twenty years ago, and the husband is one of the nicest guys on the planet. It’s bad enough to have medical issues in the U.S., but when you’re on a different continent it’s even worse. We’re holding them and their children in our thoughts.

Nothing too exciting happened this week. I finished “This Monster of a Land” and “The Things We Never Say” by Elizabeth Strout — thanks to Joan for both of those suggestions. I enjoyed them both. I’m currently reading the very light “The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife” by Anna Johnston, recommended by my friend Lea.

This was the week for ”administrivia,” like dealing with insurance, getting my absentee ballot ready to mail, etc. I was on my own running the house this week, so grocery shopping and cooking were also on the list of to-dos. Nothing too exciting!

I finished reading “Sense and Sensibility” and “Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead,” and started “Monster of a Land,” by Lauren Hough (thanks for the recommendation, Joan!). John and I watched a good Israeli series, “Unconditional” and we are thoroughly enjoying the Dutch series, “The Perfect Lie.”

This week marked a year of calling my three congressional representatives in Washington every business day. I’m not sure they pay much attention to what I tell them, but it’s good to stay in touch with them! Try it!

This was a pretty laid back week. John and I went to a party yesterday afternoon that was nice. Today I sat by the pool and yakked with Mellisa, then John and I went to the movie theater to see “Verity.” It was fun – I haven’t read any of Coleen Hoover’s books, but I may need to because this movie was pretty clever.

I chatted with Lea and Rachel last Sunday afternoon, then on Saturday I had a good long visit with Stacie who recently arrived in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. I had some back and forth with a former employee about her bidding and wrote a letter of recommendation for another former employee.

John and I watched the three “Star Wars” movies from decades ago. They actually held up pretty well, and it was fun to see them after watching (and enjoying) “Andor.” We watched a decent series called “His and Hers” and started “War,” which looks like it will be a fun series. We were happy that a new season of “Slow Horses” came out. Hooray for good tv!

I finished reading “Heartwood” and enjoyed it. Now I’m reading “Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead,” by Olga Tokarczuk (I love the title). It’s a bit of a denser read, but I’m enjoying it.