criplomats

One of the best things about working in an embassy overseas is double-dipping holidays — we get both the local holidays and U.S. holidays. This month, it happened to give us two three-day weekends in a row! We have stuck close to home and just enjoyed having a lot of down time for a change. Bonus is that it rained today and cooled off the already summer-like temperatures. I popped out for a good visit with Lea over a delicious lunch today at Cafe Saenz. John and I attended a Veteran’s Day ceremony Friday afternoon at the embassy.

Last Sunday night we went out to dinner with Dr. Gina, who was a temporary doctor at the embassy in Monrovia when we were there during COVID. She was in South America and made it a point to come to Buenos Aires for a day and have dinner with us! When we picked her up at her hotel, John and I donned surgical masks — a nod to the fact that she had never seen us without a mask nor we, her since we worked together at the height of COVID in 2020! It made her laugh and we all enjoyed actually seeing each other’s faces for the first time! She is absolutely incredible. After traveling with the Secretary of State and the U.S. UN Ambassador for several years as their doctor, she ultimately left State and is now working with the medical clinics in Kabul, Doha, and Islamabad where the special Afghan refugees are being processed. She’s really inspirational and we were delighted to visit with her and hear about her life.

This photo doesn’t do justice to the gorgeous jacarandas that are in bloom right now – this was a quick photo from the car on my way to work one day.

We celebrated John’s birthday on Tuesday night with a great meal at Roux — it’s such a nice restaurant and very comfortable at the same time. Bonus is that it’s just a 15-minute walk from our apartment and the weather was lovely. The jacarandas are blooming and the temperatures have been perfect.

Thursday night was book club. For a change, we didn’t meet at a restaurant; instead, Rachel B hosted us and it was very relaxing and nice. The book was Tiffany Haddish’s “The Last Black Unicorn,” but I’ll be the first to admit our book club doesn’t spend a lot of time talking about the actual book! But it is a good excuse to see some smart and funny women every month!

Yesterday afternoon John and I went to a party at Matt and Katherine’s around the corner – lots of fun and a nice way to spend a beautiful afternoon chatting with friends and meeting some new people.

John and I were wow’d by the last episodes of both “The Diplomat” and “Disclaimer” this week – really great TV. We started Season Three of “Lincoln Lawyer” last night. I finished “Mrs. Chippy’s Last Expedition” by Caroline Alexander, about the cat on board Shackleton’s Endurance – a little silly but sweet and a fun read. I loved reading how the men loved the cat and I’m convinced the cat (really a “he”) was a huge mental boost for them in their horrible circumstances. I used to see the same thing in Pakistan — big tough military guys sitting on a bench petting one of our feral cats. (Speaking of that, I got some great photos from friends in Islamabad this week – the feral cat group I helped start ten years ago is still going strong and taking care of the colony! I was thrilled!)

And just like that, vacation came to an end — as they say, all good things do.

We had a great time and made the most of our last week at home. Last Sunday, we took Stubby’s BBQ to David and Alison’s for lunch before they headed out to Jasper with friends for the rest of the week. Sunday evening, our sweet neighbors Keith and Shannon took us to dinner at Lost Forty, then we toured their really cool new, modern home off the lake.

John and I went to yoga on Monday, then I went alone on Tuesday while he and his buddy Rusty visited – we had dinner with Rusty and his wife Cathie that evening at Quetzal’s. Sadly, I developed a cold on Wednesday and substituted yoga with a trip to the Arlington Hotel for an old-fashioned hot mineral bath, dry sauna, and hot towels – it felt wonderful for my head. We stopped by Walgreens on the way home for COVID boosters and the North American flu shot. I stayed in on Thursday and enjoyed the morning rain while John did last-minute errands around town.

John and I thoroughly enjoyed “Rivals” and we’re still watching “Disclaimer” and “Shrinking.” Last night we started the new season of “The Diplomat.” I finished (and enjoyed) “Wanted: Toddler’s Personal Assistant” by Stephanie Kiser about being a nanny to the ultra-wealthy in NYC, and I reread “Endurance” about Shackleton’s ill-fated trip to Antarctica. I just started “Mrs. Chippy’s Last Expedition,” a fun (and silly) read about the cat that was on the Endurance, by Caroline Alexander.

Friday was travel day – it was thankfully uneventful and on-time – we were back in the apartment with Flavia by 8:00 AM Saturday morning! I had lunch today with Lea to get caught up on things – it’s back to work tomorrow!

I was saddened to hear this morning that my half-brother Danny Pipkin passed away last night – I’m happy I had the chance to visit with him when I was home last April. While we were not raised together and were not close, he was always so kind to me, and my mom loved him very much. My thoughts are with his wife and children.

John was thrilled to accept the deputy chief of mission (DCM) position in Georgetown, Guyana, for his next post! We got word on the drive to Fayetteville on Wednesday, so we were able to celebrate with Phillip, Michele, and Ginger. It’s a big honor and he will do an excellent job! It’s exciting to start thinking about the move next summer – congratulations, John!

I was also thinking of my next job – my impending retirement in May 2025 – as I started some of the paperwork and planning this week. Exciting!

Mary came out for coffee before heading downtown to the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival on Wednesday, so we got a bonus visit with her this week. We also saw the Hoopers and some other of John’s Hendrix friends at a happy hour in Little Rock Thursday afternoon on our way home from Fayetteville. We had lunch today with David and Alison.

We had a good, albeit short, visit to Fayetteville. We had a family get-together at Phillip’s Wednesday evening, which was bittersweet since it was our first real time together without Pete. I walked the Mud Creek trail Thursday morning before we went to have lunch with Ginger, and got in some quality time with Phoebe the doggo.

We drove to Mountain Home early Thursday morning for Pete’s memorial service. It was a very chilly morning – we drove up the back roads with the beautiful Hunter’s moon over our shoulder the whole way. We saw many old friends and family during the visitation – I was pleasantly surprised to see Pamela and Jackie had made the trip, as well as John’s old Systematics friend Phil S. The Texas relatives drove up (Mitch & Laurie, Cathy, Bruce, and Melissa) as well as Uncle Perk’s family Marty and Larkin, and Larkin’s wife and daughter. After the graveside service with Phillip and John both speaking, we all had lunch together. The morning was a lovely tribute to Pete.

We’ve seen several friends – we had lunch with Mary in Little Rock on Monday after my eye appointment. John spent yesterday in Little Rock with his old friend Duane. Deb & Doug came for brunch today. I went out with Alison and Peewee on Monday night to Rolando’s where we had dinner on the mountainside patio with some of their girlfriends. I spent yesterday with Chuck – we hit a big rummage sale and a yard sale, then had lunch. He joined us for an Oktoberfest dinner at Peewee’s last night – a beautiful evening on her back patio watching the sun set over the lake.

We’ve been enjoying “Disclaimer,” “Shrinking,” and “Bad Monkey” this week, plus we watch Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon.” I’ve been reading “Wicked” and listening to the very raunchy “The Last Black Unicorn” by Tiffany Haddish.

I’ve gone to yoga several times since I’ve been back – the two deer below seem to be residents next to the parking lot. And I had a bonus sighting of a deer on the drive over West Mountain en route to class.

The steam coming off the lake on these chilly mornings has been beautiful to watch.