Before I left on vacation, these beautiful orange flowers, which I understand are called clivia, were just budding. I thought they were going to come and go while I was away and I would miss them. Happily, that wasn’t the case. When I came home and opened up the shutter, this is what I found!
Yesterday I had lunch with my friend Lina in a restaurant five minutes from me that I’d never been in. The food was yummy and the bill reasonable. I will be back.
Afterwards, we wandered round the artisans fair and bought a few things. Here’s a picture of the people enjoying an early spring day in the park. Even though winter has been very mild, as far as I’m concerned a non-winter, it will still be nice to feel the weather growing warmer!
An early spring day in Plaza Francia
Lina had a salad with mussels
I had a plump, gooey burrata with salad
Yesterday I received an email from an Argentine publishing company I contacted when I was down here last year. They want to meet to explore how they might publish, distribute or otherwise represent Rare Steak, Red Wine, Hot Tango! in the South American market. When I told them I was writing a new book about the Bares Notables, they were interested in that too — which, of course, is even more incentive to get the book written.
I hope to meet with them soon to explore the possibilities, and I’ll keep you posted.
By the way, if you haven’t yet read Rare Steak, Red Wine, Hot Tango!, why not click on the image to the right and order it now?
This week I bought a curling iron — or hair straightener if you prefer — and I thought the experience was worth posting here.
After I said I’d take it, the assistant opened up the box, took everything out and compared it with the “what’s in this box” list to make sure everything that was supposed to be there was there. Then she plugged it into the wall to make sure it worked before packing it all up again for me.
I think this is a great idea. Saves the store from being ripped off by people saying things don’t work, and saves the customer a trip back to the store if it really doesn’t work. Takes a few minutes, but I think it’s time well spent.
Today was a lovely, sunny day, with temperature around 16 degrees celsius. I went with Cecilia to a medical appointment in San Isidro, a lovely town about a half hour drive from Olivos, where she lives. It was such a lovely day that we made a day of it.
First, we went to the Quinta Los Ombues, a museum that was once a luxurious private home overlooking the town with the river in the background. Apparently it was a place where various figures in Argentine history gathered, including one of my heroes, General Jose de San Martin, commonly known as El Libertador. I love places like that, and I could just imagine them all sitting under the huge ombu trees in the garden, having discussions that would affect the history of the country.
We are in the midst of the winter holidays, so the kids are out of school, and quite a number of them were at Quinta Los Ombues!
From there we drove along the river side, stopping for dessert and wine at a lovely cafe overlooking the river itself. It was actually quite warm, as you can see from the people relaxing on the grass, and you can just see Buenos Aires in the distance past a bend in the river.
We’ve just arrived home and decided we couldn’t be bothered making dinner, so later tonight we’re going out for Peruvian food — always a treat. If you’ve never had Peruvian food, you should try it!
I haven’t posted to the blog this week, and since I was sick for a while I thought I’d better post something in case you think I’m sick again!
The truth is, there hasn’t been much happening to report on. Also, I’ve been very busy with client work, some of which was catch-up from when I was in hospital. This has meant I haven’t been doing anything else during the day.
I went to a party last night. It was for the writing group I belong to, and one of our members, Ricardo, hosted it in his beautiful apartment in Belgrano, a barrio that’s a little further out from the centre. I really enjoyed the company and the conversation.
I think another reason there hasn’t been much activity is that Venetia is away in Europe for the winter (summer there) months, and she is usually on top of what’s going on. We call her our unofficial social director! But that’s no excuse, really, and I’m going to start looking out for things to do and inviting our little group.
One of said group, Lola, is having a birthday party at her home on Friday. As she knows lots of tango dancers, she is planning to have a little social tango, so that will be lovely. I’m looking forward to it. I must remember to take some photos to post here.
Even though it’s winter, we’ve been having lovely weather. Temperatures in the mid-teens, blue sky and sunshine. Hope to have some fun things to tell you soon.
A week past on Sunday, June 23, I was taken by ambulance to hospital with pneumonia, and there I stayed for nine days. When I’ve had pneumonia in Canada, it’s been maybe 24 hours in Emerg and then home with antibiotics to get well on my own. Not so here.
I can’t say enough about the care I received in hospital here. Teams of great doctors and nurses looking after me every minute of the day. And they were absolutely not going to send me home until they were totally sure I was well enough.
I also received amazing amounts of love and caring from my wonderful friends. As soon as it was known I was in hospital, they organized a schedule of who could come when and bring whatever I needed. I was never without help or company, and I felt truly loved. What a gift!
Pneumonia is my old friend, and I know exactly how it feels and what to expect. What surprises me every time — and if you’ve had it you’ll know what I mean – is that when you have it you can’t imagine ever being well again. And then, when it works its way through and out of your system, suddenly you are well again! That’s where I am now.
I came home on Tuesday, and it’s now Saturday, so I’ve had a few days in my own bed and having lovely hot showers. When you don’t use your legs for nine days, they don’t work, so it takes time to rehabilitate them. But yesterday I went out for a couple of short walks and felt fine. It’s winter here, of course, but wrapped up well I didn’t feel the cold — not nearly as much as Argentines seem to feel it!
Anyway, bottom line is I am on the mend and back at work. My new Book Writing Club offering will begin a few weeks later than planned, on July 16. So if you’d love to write a book and don’t know where to start, drop me a line and we’ll have a Zoom call when we can explore whether this could be for you.
Talk soon!
Today is a holiday in Argentina. It’s El Dia de la Bandera, or Flag Day. This little video is in Spanish, but with or without understanding the words, I hope you enjoy the sentiment.
And it is a beautiful flag!
I just got back from the latest visit to the Customs people about my famous boxes, and I’m fit to be tied.
We first went back to the people we’ve been dealing with, carrying the latest document they requested. They gave us a new document with a great flourish, giving us to believe that the last thing was a signature by the senior officer and it was pretty much a rubber stamp. Hah!
We were with this guy for at least half an hour. He could have told us everything in five minutes, but he just kept telling us over and over again as if we were kindergarten children.
Anyway, I think I know what it is I still need and how to get it. Unfortunately I have to go back to see this guy again when I have it.
Argentine bureaucracy is stretching my Everything is Figureoutable philosophy to its limits!
I thought my two bureaucratic issues were separate, but today they joined forces against me!
First, the good news — I think. I went to FedEx and sent off my newly minted fingerprints to the fingerprint people in Toronto. They should get them on Monday, and will be able to send them to the RCMP and start the next phase of the residency application. When I finished at FedEx this morning I was feeling pretty good.
However …
Cecilia and I trotted down to the Aduana, paperwork in hand as instructed, to see if we were now cleared to go to the boxes. Sadly, no. First, the guy who attended us last week was off sick, so the other three (count ’em, three!) people who had a lengthy discussion about the “problem” were new to us, and we were new to them.
They pointed out that I was a temporary resident, which of course I knew. My “precaria” expires on February 24, so technically at that point I would have to leave the country unless I have permanent status by that time. That might actually have been feasible if we hadn’t had to redo the fingerprints and all that entails, so now there’s no way I will have permanent status by February 24. However, Silvina is going to renew the precaria for a further three months, which is apparently quite normal. So now I’ve been told I have to go back when I have the new precaria and they can proceed. I can’t fathom the logic, because I will still be a temporary resident. Am I missing something?
Last week I thought I was getting closer to my boxes, but today, not so much.
Of course, today was the hottest, stickiest day of the summer and by the time we had stood waiting for all this figuring out, I was reduced to a greasy spot. Cecilia and I decided we needed a reward, so we went to the Sheraton and had a pisco sour! (After my trip to Chile with Venetia, pisco sour at the Sheraton is becoming something of a go-to remedy for life’s little ups and downs!)
Stay tuned!