This is it, Directorate. The final holiday post, excluding suitcase post-mortem, which will come later. The last leg of our trip was an 8-day sail around the Galapagos Islands, which are part of Ecuador and (primarily) reached by flights from Guayaquil and Quito. We flew from Quito through Guayaquil, but didn’t have to de-plane in … Read more
Directorate! We were silent last week because the Internet coverage in the Galapagos Islands was very spotty. That’s not a veiled complaint. I’m amazed we had any Internet access on a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But the coverage wasn’t steady enough at any point for me to crank out one of … Read more
I left you with a cliffhanger on Wednesday. The Directrice and The Photographer touch the equator! As you see below. Roses thrive in certain parts of Ecuador because of the moderate temperature (we are still at elevation — maybe 5,500-6,000 ft.). The cut flower industry thrives in Ecuador because farmers are able to grow roses … Read more
After visiting St. Francisco, we crossed the Plaza of San Francisco, walked a short block and entered the Church of La Compania de Jesus. I did not know this until we came here, but Ecuador abandoned its own currency — the sucre — and switched to the USD in 2000. This decision was prompted by … Read more
Directorate! We are here . . . in Ecuador. For those who follow international news, your Directrice and her Photographer were pulled up short last Wednesday evening — whilst packing — by news of turbulent events outside Quito. After hearing from people on the ground in Quito and checking the State Department’s guidance, we decided … Read more
Directorate! Forgive my absence? Turns out that wrapping up a career takes longer than I expected. But now it’s done: transition memos written, notices of withdrawal filed, goodbye emails sent, personal effects removed. I’ll publish two posts this week (to whet the appetite) and then next week, it’s VACATION DIRECTRICE ON LOCATION IN ECUADOR. If … Read more
Greetings, Directorate! And a Happy New Year to all of you! I am sorry to have fallen silent for several months. I’ve been preoccupied. But I’m here now, returned to you with the full capacity of my brain and heart focused on the important business of getting dressed for work. I have resolved for … Read more
Better late than never, The Directrice suggests a few things that you might want to buy as holiday gifts for the stylish women in your lives. This includes yourself. These pants are cropped. If you are short, and typically wear petite sizes but don’t want cropped pants, buy the regular length. Those of … Read more
Rather than make you guess, I’m just going to tell you where The Photographer and I are. We are in the Berkshires, escaping the heat of Washington, D.C. for a few days. We are staying in Pittsfield, at a hip hotel — Hotel on North — which puts us in easy striking distance of … Read more
Like many of you, I vowed at the start of the pandemic to ruthlessly clean my closets, cabinets, and drawers, top-to-bottom, and rid myself of the greater of (25% of possessions OR anything that I have not been loving or using in recent years). Fourteen months later, I got down to business. This … Read more