criplomats

We continued to have more rain this week, some of it really heavy. I tend to like it, but as GSO, John worries about leaks in Consulate housing!

This was a good, but busy, week. Monday we sent a fly-away team down to Puerto Vallarta in advance of Hurricane Carlos, in case we had to evacuate Americans. Luckily the storm fizzled and they were able to come back on Wednesday.

Tuesday evening the Consul General had a “hail and farewell” party at her house to welcome the newly arrived officers and say goodbye to those transferring out this summer.

We started watching the latest season of “Game of Thrones” this week, which is a lot of fun. We also did some more board-gaming; Tom and Max came over Saturday evening and we played “Settlers of Catan” and “Paperback,” both fun games.

We found a nice Argentinian restaurant this week and had dinner there Friday night. John had a good-looking steak and I had cheesy eggplant Parmesan. We’ll definitely go back!

Mom seems to have had a better week – she even sat on the back porch for a couple of hours this week on at least one occasion. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that things will continue to go smoothly for a while.

We’ve had a couple of storms at night this week – even hail! There’s a hurricane out in the Pacific, so perhaps it’s related to that. Last night as we were watching a movie, the wind got so strong that we had to run outside and take down the hummingbird feeders. This morning it was nice and cool, and when John got up, he found the hummers eating at the feeders on the floor! There were about a dozen of them fighting over the two feeders – really incredible. While I was sitting on the balcony having my coffee and watching them, the pair of red-lored parakeets flew about 15 feet in front of me and sat in a nearby tree for a while. John said while he was in the gym this morning, he watched a beautiful vermilion flycatcher drink from the swimming pool – lots of bird activity already today!

Monday night we hosted book club at our house. I led the discussion of “The Brothers,” a fascinating book about John Foster Dulles and his brother Allen. John Foster was the Secretary of State for Eisenhower, and at the same time, Allen was the director of the CIA. It’s amazing how much power and influence they had, how little accountability, and how they shaped the foreign policy of the United States. They were instrumental in overthrowing foreign governments, and Allen was in charge during the Bay of Pigs. I’m usually not a big non-fiction reader, but this was really a great read.

I made a couple of trips to the hospital this week to see our friend Yazmin and take people to give blood. She’s still in intensive care, but her husband let John and I in to see her for a few minutes. She’s really been through the wringer the last few weeks.

Friday night, John got us hooked up with an English-speaking gaming group. There were eight of us, and we had a lot of fun. We played “Coup,” then split into two groups. John’s group played “Puerto Rico” and my group played “Lord of the Rings.” It was a total geekfest, but good clean fun. It was nice to meet some folks who aren’t related to the Consulate, too.

Yesterday John and I worked all day. He had people in working on the building and I just needed to get caught up. Afterward, we stopped by a fun taco stand and had beer and tacos. Later in the day I went to a jewelry party at Cindy’s apartment, then we watched a movie.

Mom seems to be holding her own right now. We’ve had more changes with caregivers – her primary caregiver had a family emergency a couple of weeks ago and is out, but the fill-ins seem to be doing well. She hasn’t been getting up in her wheelchair since she was so sick in late May, which worries me, but hopefully she will want to as she gets more comfortable with the caregivers.

I’m amazed at how quickly the spring came and went, and we’re already in June. The locals have been complaining about the heat, but the hottest I’ve seen it get according to my car is 88 degrees – but it tells you how lovely the weather is!

I was under the weather this week due to allergies. I think I’m almost back to normal now, but I laid pretty low all week and didn’t do much after work. We watched a lot of TV – we’re caught up on “Broadchurch” and started watching “Wayward Pines” and “Veep.” Friday night while John was at a work reception, I watched “The Paper Chase,” an oldie but goodie. (I love Amazon Prime!)

Yesterday the ACS team worked in an effort to get caught up – we’re really seeing a rise in passport demand due to summer travel, and we don’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done. It was a very productive day – it’s amazing what you can accomplish when the phones aren’t ringing and you don’t have customers to serve.

Afterward, I got adventurous and went to the flower market, a place I’ve been wanting to go. I bought a lovely bunch of bromeliads that remind me of Costa Rica. I loved wandering through the stalls and seeing all the lovely arrangements.

On a down note, one of the local staff from Juarez is hospitalized here in Guadalajara with a pretty serious condition. John gave blood for her (they wouldn’t take mine since I’m on allergy meds this week), and a couple of other folks from the Consulate did as well. I took some flowers to her yesterday (a lovely arrangement of roses) but she’s still in intensive care, so I couldn’t see her. I did get to meet and talk to her husband; he says she’s doing well and hopes to be able to have visitors soon. She’s a real sweetie and is very much in our thoughts right now.

Pete, Ginger, John, and I were off to Lake Chapala where John gave remarks at the Chapala American Legion Memorial Day event. He did a great job, of course. It was a fun group and we stayed on afterward for the BBQ lunch. I enjoyed talking to many of the veterans and answered questions about services that the Consulate provides.

After lunch we drove around the lake some, and stopped at a little nursery where I bought several neat plants to put on the balcony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took Tuesday off, and we went downtown in Guadalajara to the Hospicio del Cabanas, an old orphanage cum museum, to see the Orozco murals – they were stunning – quite modernistic and interesting. It was also a lovely old building and I’m so glad we went.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterward we had good margaritas and a yummy lunch at Casa de los Platos, across the street from our apartment. It’s a lovely open air restaurant. When we came home, John taught Pete and Ginger to play Settlers of Catan – fun!

Wednesday John took Pete and Ginger to the airport and I went back to work. I had a good massage at a nice spa at the end of the day; I had done a lot of driving over the weekend and my shoulders were all knotted up. I’m glad to have finally found a good masseuse here; lots of places just have staff that have never really been trained and don’t know what they’re doing.

John and I celebrated the end of the week with dinner at Vaca de Argentina, one of our favorite spots. It started pouring down rain on the way home; the locals say rainy season is on its way.

Saturday John and I read most of the day, except I made a midday foray to the nursery to have the new plants potted. I talked to Mom’s temporary caregiver a few times; Mom was very restless and complained of itching. Crawford Drug delivered some cream to help with that, and today the caregiver reported that she was much more comfortable. I was able to talk to her; although most of what she says is unclear, some things are much better than they were a few weeks ago and she seems so much more coherent. The agency has replaced one of the caregivers – it’s a long story – but hopefully we can get back on track soon. I’m so thankful to Mom’s housekeeper and one of Aunt Bonnie’s caregivers for their drop-in visits and help. I’mm keeping my fingers crossed that Mom will be comfortable for the foreseeable future.

This week has been a whirlwind and work took a backseat!

To start the week, John and I took our TDY friend Drew to the small town of Ajijic on Lake Chapala, about an hour outside of Guadalajara. We walked by the lake, ate lunch at an excellent Argentinian restaurant, and browsed in some of the shops. I found a neat little place with old looms where they make the ubiquitous placements and napkins, run by a little old couple. Here are a couple of photos; click to see more photos from Chapala.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the week, our A-100 classmates Megan and Marcy were in town for a visa conference; we were delighted that they spent an evening with us! We had a nice dinner at Ofelia and got caught up on all the gossip. We haven’t seen each other since 2007 or 2008, so we had a lot of ground to cover!

The next night, our friend and hometown ophthalmologist Dr. Clem was in town, so we had dinner with him, Shari, and their little boy. I bought my groovy red glasses from Dr. Clem and went to high school and college with his brother. It was fun to spend the evening with them while they were visiting Mexico. We enjoyed the old world ambiance of Restaurante Sacromonte and raised a toast to Hot Springs.

My in-laws Pete and Ginger arrived on Friday! John picked them up at the airport and we had a nice dinner at home, before we kicked off the sightseeing tour on Saturday. It’s so fun to have our first houseguests!

Saturday mid-morning we set off for Tlaquepaque, a little shopping town just outside of Guadalajara. We had a good lunch at Luna and wandered around the little shops. We didn’t buy much, but I visited the really cool leather purses and bedspreads that I like. Eventually I’ll find the exact thing I want, but until then, I’m content to “visit.”

Today we went to the town of Tequila. Tequila is sort of like Champagne – only liquor made from the agave plants of Tequila (and four other designated towns in Mexico) can be called “Tequila.” We went on a two-hour tour of the Jose Cuervo distillery – it was really interesting and their gardens with sculpture and beautiful trees and flowers were lovely. Afterward we had a tasty lunch at Cholula’s. John brought home a coveted bottle of Family Reserve that we’ll enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the evenings we’ve been enjoying the cool breezes on the balcony. I think we have about six different bird books out trying to identify the birds on the golf course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here to see more photos of Pete and Ginger’s visit.

Mom’s had a rough week this week. Thank goodness, Debbie arrived and recognized immediately that she needed antibiotics. Thanks to her, Mom’s housekeeper Sandy, and the hospice nurse, she got the meds she needed. I spoke to her this morning and could actually understand her and she was very coherent. (When I asked her what the weather was like in Arkansas, she clearly said “Crazy!” and Debbie confirmed that was true!) It was the clearest I’ve heard her speak in weeks, including when I was home. Let’s keep hoping she continues to improve!