criplomats

Actually, not a lot! There wasn’t much going on this week. John took Friday off, so we’ve had a nice three-day weekend piddling around the house. Last Sunday we went to the EU ambassador’s house to watch the World Cup finals — I was glad to see Spain win.

John and I watched “Song Sung Blue” and finished “Ponies.” We’ve started a new British crime show called “Gone” that we like so far. We laughed and laughed at “The Dink,” a silly movie about pickle ball (maybe we’ll try it when we’re back in America!).

I sat in on an estate planning webinar and another one on Google Photos, trying to learn a bit here and there. I’m reading a good book called “Arctic Passages: Ice, Exploration, and the Battle for Power at the Top of the World” by Kieran Mulvaney. It’s an interesting history of trying to find shipping routes via the Northwest and Northeast Passages, plus an overview of the current geopolitical interests in the region since climate change is melting the ice and opening more possibilities for trans polar shipping.

John and I have enjoyed watching some of the World Cup soccer matches this week. He went to the Argentine Embassy on Wednesday to watch the game between Argentina and England (I watched at home), then yesterday we watched the third place playoff game between France and England. This afternoon we are headed to the EU ambassador’s house to watch the finals.

Tuesday evening we went to the French Embassy for their celebration of Bastille Day. A nice event even though they lost in the semi-finals earlier in the day.

Yesterday John and I went to the movie theatre (just a stone’s throw from our house) to watch “The Odyssey” and we really enjoyed it! It was my first time at the movie theatre here and I was impressed with the facility — plus senior citizens (!!!) pay around $4 for a movie. Not too bad!

John and I finished “Task” and liked it, and we watched the very violent “Normal” with Bob Odenkirk. I’ve also watched a couple of episodes of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders documentary (shhhh). I finished “Eden Undone,” the wild true story from the Galapagos and read “The Correspondent.” Thanks to Joan for encouraging me to read it, because I’m normally not a fan of books written in the form of letters, but this one was really enjoyable!

John went for a tour of GuyOil facilities this week – who doesn’t love a hard hat?!

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.