criplomats

There is such gorgeous architecture in Buenos Aires, including the amazing Otto Wulff building. I love the huge vultures on top of the building, along with its two cupolas that are said to represent Hungary and Austria.

Monday was a local holiday, so Lea and I met for lunch in Recoleta. I poked my head in the mall on the way home, the resumed my spot on the sofa to read. Flavia had her sonogram on Tuesday (no major changes since last November, still some inflammation in intestines) and I had a haircut on Thursday. Lea and I took lunchtime walks a couple of days this week – beautiful weather, chilly and sunny.

Lea and I had hair appointments in San Telmo at the same time and salon yesterday, so we went for sushi afterward at a little place inside the Japanese Club. I drove to Villa Crespo afterward to look at leather bags at Nimes, then walked around the neighborhood a bit.

John and I watched “You Hurt My Feelings” and really enjoyed it. The cast was great and the writing was very funny and good – Jeannie Berlin’s scenes were amazing.

Here are a few more photos of the Otto Wulff building, plus a couple of shots I took on the drive home.

It’s a three-day weekend for us due to a local holiday, and Flavie has spent a lot of time curled up on me sleeping – so sweet. I had the vet come this week for a blood test and check-up; her kidneys are getting worse, but not failing yet, so that’s good news. She’s eating well and seems to be in good spirits. A technician is coming this week to run a sonogram on her – I just want to be sure we’re paying attention since she turned 19 this summer. I’m also getting in touch with a cat nephrologist who has a good reputation here.

This was a busy week. The visiting computer team left Monday afternoon. Tuesday was a reception at Bosch Palace to welcome our new public affairs colleagues, Lydia and Anj (Lydia is an old friend and we were in A-100 with Anj). It was fun to see a couple of our favorite Argentine friends, Luis and Mr. H, and meet some new folks, too. And Wednesday was yoga at the embassy, which I’m really enjoying.

We had a wonderful dinner with Lea and Jose at Anchoito’s Friday night, and a chilly-but-delish lunch yesterday with Ben, Mara, and Magnolia. Earlier in the week we had torrential rains, and the temp really dropped back down afterward.

I finished “Fleishman is in Trouble,” which I enjoyed despite the navel-gazing, and am now reading the delightful “Lessons in Chemistry.” John and I finished “Korrha” and are now watching the Spanish, “The Snow Girl” crime drama.

It was a fairly uneventful week other than a lot going on at work. We have a team in from Washington doing some upgrades on our computers, so I went in for a while yesterday to do some testing.

John and I had dinner out at Carneros this past Thursday which was a nice switch-up for us! The rest of the week was pretty low-key.

I finished reading “Chip Wars,” and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. This weekend I read “The Forgotten Girls: A Memoir of Friendship and Lost Promise in Rural America,” by Arkansan Monica Potts. Thanks to Jackie for the recommendation – it was interesting and depressing, basically a chronicle of the author’s friendship with her childhood best friend and her friend’s decline into poverty, early motherhood, domestic violence, and drug use — and not a flattering portrait of our home state (probably deserved). John and I are watching “The Lincoln Lawyer” series and also started the Indian crime drama, “Kohrra,” which started slowly but has drawn us in.

I made two more shopping runs this weekend for newly arrived families Saturday and Sunday mornings. It’s great to see our friends Lydia and Cesar again – you may remember that we dog – sat their Chihuahua Honey in Islamabad for a few months when they got stuck out of the country when Lahore was evacuated. Sadly, Honey died last year, but we have fond memories of her. While the new folks shopped, I enjoyed a latte in Starbucks and read “Chip Wars,” an interesting account of the history of semiconductor development.

Lea is back from leave (thank goodness!). We had brunch at the great vegetarian restaurant Marti on Saturday. John and I took a walk later in the day to see the doggos for adoption – a good restful weekend!