criplomats

Friday marked the start of the long Easter weekend and I’m really enjoying staying in and reading. It’s a lovely time in the city, as most folks take advantage of the long weekend and leave town. John took me to a very cool Nordic restaurant, Sal, Friday night — the chef had catered an event John attended at the Norwegian embassy and came home raving about the food. On Saturday night, Jill gave us her reservation at Anchoita; they open reservations a year in advance and they get snapped up quickly — yikes! It was our second time there, and it was also very good. We sat at the bar surrounding the open kitchen, which was fun.

I finished the very excellent memoir “Salt Path” (thanks, Joan!) and really enjoyed it, then read “High Conflict,” a really interesting discussion of how people get into an “us vs them” mentality. I’m now reading our book club pick, “Just Kids,” by Patti Smith. We’ve been watching “The 3 Body Problem” on Netflix — a local billboard says to the series’ aliens: “We’ve got more than 3 problems – are you sure you want to come?”

This week was chalk-full of visitors! John noticed on Facebook that an old friend of his from Little Rock was in town with his husband (Don and Bo) and invited them over Wednesday evening. We had a lot of fun visiting, and Marina joined in when she returned from Mendoza. The next night, a co-worker from Monrovia came for the evening (Russell P.) and we had a blast catching up with him and the folks we knew in Liberia.

Marina headed home on Thursday, but before she left, we took a tour of the Ambassador’s residence with the staff historian. Although I have been in the building a lot, I never had taken the time to really look at the details or learn the history, so I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Last Sunday Lea and I met at La Rambla in Recoleta for a pleasant lunch, and yesterday we headed to Obrador for an early happy hour. I’m not sure we solved all of the world’s problems, but we gave it a try! Lea also went with John and me to the Irish National Day celebration after work – we had a good time, saw a few folks we know, and listened to a good fiddler playing Irish tunes.

John and I ended a stressful work week by going to Carneros for a nice dinner on Friday. Yesterday we went to the egg hunt at the Ambassador’s residence and John made balloon animals for the kids – big hit again this year! It’s fun to see the kids running around, especially the little girls in their Sunday dresses.

At Pamela’s suggestion, we are watching “Fargo” (I think it’s season five) and like its quirkiness and actors. We’re also still watching “Feud: Truman Capote and the Swans” and, of course, “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” I read Britney Spears’ book, “The Woman in Me” this week and enjoyed it a lot more than I anticipated. I’m not sure she had an editor, so it really just read like she was sitting in front of you talking. I know nothing about her other than the headlines of her conservatorship; I know a lot more now but still wouldn’t recognize her music. I also finished “Absolution,” by Alice McDermott and liked it a lot. And my good friend Joan will be happy to know I am finally reading (and very much enjoying) “The Salt Path” by Raynor Winn.

An old friend from Hot Springs is staying with us for a few days, Marina P., and I don’t think she’s changed a bit since high school! We had a great dinner at Mishiguene on Thursday and another great lunch at La Cabrera on Saturday. We’ve had a lot of fun catching up and she’s having a good time exploring Argentina. 

In addition to Marina, we had a chance to visit with Don H., an old friend of John’s, after John saw on Facebook that Don and his husband Bo were in Buenos Aires. They came over last night and spent the evening with us – big fun! 

Last Sunday John and I had lunch at Sarki’s, a fabulous Armenian restaurant – I really loved the food. Coincidentally my book club met there the very next night (we read “Lost Voices”) and I was happy to go back and try different dishes. 

We had epic rains here this week – it just poured for days! We were soaked getting to the restaurant for book club and it didn’t stop until Thursday. 

Was it a full moon this week? It seemed like a tough week all the way around!

I talked to some friends this week — Karen in Brazil and Muffy in Arkansas. John and I are enjoying “Feud: Truman Capote and the Swans” and we really liked the movie “American Fiction.”

Lea and I had lunch at a cool vegan place last week, Sacro. Yesterday we had hair appointments at the same time in San Telmo, so we had lunch beforehand at a little steakhouse, Grandes Carnicerias del Plata.

I was shocked this week to learn my friend Jay died in Puerto Vallarta – I’ve known Jay and his husband David forever. David reached out to me for assistance, and I was able to put him in touch with the right folks at the consulate in Guadalajara and the consular agency in Vallarta. They did amazing work (as usual) to help David. Jay would have turned 57 next week.

I worked from home most of this week so I could take a four-day retirement class. It was a lot of great information about our savings program, federal benefits, social security, taxes, insurance, etc. – lots to absorb and now I have a three-page to-do list of things to follow up on.

Last Sunday I biked over to the Malba museum for the first time. It’s a lovely museum. In addition to their fabulous collection of Latino art, they currently have a small Frida Kahlo exhibit and a much bigger exhibition of Cecilia Vicuña, a female Peruvian artist/activist from the 70s and 80s.

Friday evening, John and I met Ed and Catherine for dinner – they were in town from neighboring Montevideo. We served with them in Islamabad. We enjoyed an al fresco Thai dinner in Palermo at Punch and had lots of fun catching up with them.

Saturday John took me to Desnivel for lunch in San Telmo, an old school bodegon (translates to something akin to a diner) where we had a good steak. I like that neighborhood and need to spend more time wandering around there. We stopped in a cool little art shop on the way to the restaurant where we enjoyed looking at small works by young artists.

I had a long chat with my friend Scott (also from Islamabad) yesterday that was a lot of fun, plus Joan and I got in a good conversation during one of my lunch breaks. John and are enjoying “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” plus a few movies: “Sliding Doors” (oldie but goodie), “Nyad,” about long-distance swimmer Diane Nyad (excellent, and the super-cute French comedy, “Up for Love.” I finished reading “Burnout” and “The Guest.”