criplomats

We opened our Christmas gifts this morning from Pete and Ginger – thank you!

We are spending a quiet Christmas Eve at home – the weather is so nice out that it’s hard to believe it’s winter! We’ve been watching the orioles on our balcony – they’ve finally learned to drink from the oriole feeder, so now they are pretty regular visitors.

This week was busy for me since my boss was out, so I covered special citizen services plus passports. We had a lot of cases to deal with, but we made it!

Merry Christmas! I’ll leave you with a photo of one of the plants on our balcony – it has five of these crazy blooms on it right now – so pretty!

Cool blooms

I’ve been helping teach an English class for our Consulate guards for over a year now, and I’ve really enjoyed it. They’re a great group of folks. The size of the group varies – their work schedules change and things happen, so they can’t always make it to class, but we have a core group who come when they can. One hour a week isn’t enough to get them fluent in English, but it does give them some exposure, and some of them really try to study on their own time, too. I’ve really grown fond of them, so I particularly enjoyed their posada at the Consulate on Friday. The photo here is of one of the guards who really dressed up (obviously another party after ours!), along with one of our officers. Monica was the lucky winner of a ginormous bottle of tequila!

I believe I read that in a new bill passed by Congress, we’ll no longer have to hire the lowest bidder for local guard force, which is a good thing. Our guards here make about $5 per day – I’m not sure how anyone supports a family on that, but it’s minimum wage in Mexico.

I spent yesterday shopping in Tonala and Tlaquepaque – I meant to just run a quick errand in Tonala, but somehow I didn’t get home until about six hours later – and with a lot less money! I have to admit, the weak peso makes shopping really tempting these days!

This past Friday was the annual posada at the home of Ana Rosa, one of my co-workers in ACS who retired this past summer. It’s a nice evening spent with co-workers, including many who have retired from the Consulate. After visiting in the courtyard, the posada begins – half of us inside, the other half knocking on the door, recreating the birth of Jesus with singing and Biblical passages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday afternoon was the annual Christmas party at work in the afternoon, as well. So even though it’s not cold, we’re getting in the spirit.

Today John and I finally got our bikes out and went to ride in the Via Recreactiva when many of the major thoroughfares in GDL are closed for runners, walkers, and bikers. It was great to get some fresh air!

Thursday after work, we visited the studio of an artist we admire. It was so fun to meet him – he was so soft-spoken and gracious. We didn’t buy anything on this trip, but hope to find something in the future.

John has some gamer friends over this afternoon. I made a big pot of chili, and they’re having a blast.

The fun and games of being out of the office for two weeks is over! Back to work – this is a busy time for us in passports since folks want to travel for the holidays. The office did take a pause for a local staff appreciation lunch one afternoon this week. John represented the Crippens and I stayed in the office to handle emergencies.

We hosted book club Thursday night. I didn’t read the book, but the discussion was interesting all the same!

Yesterday we went to a friend’s house for a lovely lunch. They live in a beautiful house with a library! John was in heaven. We enjoyed ourselves very much.

John and I have been wanting a new mattress for our king-sized bed for a while now, but king mattresses are different dimensions in Mexico. We ordered a “mattress in a box” from a company in the U.S., and had it delivered to Mike and Wayne’s house while we were in San Antonio. We cavalierly thought we could check it on the plane with us to take it home, but it was too big/heavy (in a box about the size of golf clubs). So – embarrassed – we had to have Mike and Wayne run to the airport last Sunday to retrieve it! They took it to UPS the next day and shipped it to us, and lo and behold, it arrived at our apartment on Friday! We are thrilled to have a new mattress and put an end to the quest for better sleep! Click the links below to see it expand – pretty cool!

Unpacking Video
Trying it out!

We were super-excited to see friends and family in Texas this past week! We stayed with Mike and Wayne for most of the week, but did some overnight trips outside of San Antonio as well. It was so nice to be back at Mike and Wayne’s lovely house and to catch up with them over the course of the week. We had several nice meals together, including lunch one day at their deli.

Monday John and I drove to Kerrville to check out the town. I had heard it might be a good place to retire, so I wanted to see what it was like while we were in the area. It’s a cute place, and John found a great bookstore there. It’s a little early to think about retirement, but fun to daydream a bit as well.

Wednesday John and I drove to Glen Rose, where we took a three-hour tour of Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. They have all kinds of exotic animals, and John got a giraffe to eat from his hand! Very cool place!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We overnighted in Glen Rose, then drove to Carthage on Thanksgiving morning to have lunch at Brad and Marcia’s house, along with Pete and Ginger. It was great to see the family and of course we had a great meal. Afterwards, John and I drove back to San Antonio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday afternoon, we drove to Bandera in Hill Country to spend the night with Jim and Joan. They have a beautiful piece of land, and have finished their house out there since the last time we visited. We had an excellent time together and really enjoyed seeing the house, too. Saturday morning after breakfast, we went for a walk around part of the property – so peaceful and beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before we knew it, it was time to head home on Sunday. We had breakfast with Mike and Wayne at their favorite Mexican restaurant, then headed to the airport. Overall, it was a great week!