Senior Moments

Rain was in the forecast today and it really happened. The clouds are thick and we woke up to real moisture. However, it is still really warm.  We went to bed with the temperature at 63 and woke up to temps in the low 60's. It must be because of the cloud cover.

We talked with Paul and Denise on Skype at 10:30 our time.  They are in Colorado visiting Jon and Jennifer for the weekend.  Then we decided we needed some things from our stores in Acasusso. So we took off in the light mist and headed for the train station.  Elder Kroff had to be back by 1:30 to meet our office Elders for a teaching appointment they invited him to attend.

Our first stop was to the health food store which is right across the street from the train stop. It is very easy to find.  It contains dehydrated  fruits, spices, baking cocoa, grains, cereals, powdered sugar, honey, good peanut butter, jams, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.

The owner speaks a little English and a lot of foreigners go there because of the type of things he sells that we are accustomed to in the states.  Sister Argyle recommended it.

In the lower left corner of the picture is a bin with a white scoop in it.  It is full of broken pieces of almonds which are quite inexpensive.  We buy a bag full every time we go as we like to munch on them for a snack. We keep them in the fridge, and they are a good appetite killer while waiting for dinner. He has quite a variety of things in his shop and we enjoy shopping there.

We next went a block around the corner to a meat market where we buy carne pecada (lean ground beef). We forgot to get a picture of the men behind the counter that cut up the meat and fill the orders.  It is quite an operation.  One needs to take a ticket for service in this shop. It is a pretty busy establishment. The meat is behind glass and in a cooled condition, which makes me feel better about buying it.  Sister Argyle also pointed this out to us.  Always good to get referrals around here. We also bought a piece of milanesa which is either chicken or beef rolled really thin and breaded.  It is cooked by frying it with a little oil. We have had it before at a members house, so I thought we would have it for dinner tomorrow.  It is a popular item to eat here and is really good.  I bought chicken.

We needed some fruit and a few veggies, so we stopped at a street market across from the meat place.  So here we are loaded down with our bags full of food. They were quite heavy. We need to get a little rolling cart like we see some ladies pull around. But, we hurried over to the train stop and could see that we were going to be home in good time to give Rich about a half hour to change clothes and get ready for the appointment.

We boarded the train and off we went.  It is always interesting to watch the people getting on and off.  We also get some people glancing our way and checking us out.  Rich had his Tilly hat on which we have not seen another since being here, so we are sure we look quite foreign. One time when we went with the Elders to teach an investigator, Rich wore his other hat he brought which is the typical men's dress hat.  And the person said she liked his hat. . . . it was so Gringo looking.

Our train stop in San Fernando is four stops away from Acasusso.  As the train was making the in between stops, we never saw the usual signs indicating where we were, and I thought it was unusual that I didn't recognize anything. Neither of us said anything, but I knew we had stopped at least three times and wondered if the next stop would be San Fernando's station. Then all of a sudden it dawned on me that we were going the wrong way.  At Acasusso, we got on the train that took us farther away from San Fernando, not towards it.  Oh, for Pete's sake!  I was leading the way and Rich followed.  It never dawned on him either that we boarded the wrong train. He just trusts my sense of direction, because he gets turned around sometimes. Me too, obviously! He said he is going to have to watch me more carefully from now on.  So we had to get off at the next stop and wait for the returning train, and then we had eight stops to go instead of four.  It took us another half hour to get to our train station, then we had to walk from there to home. He was late for his appointment.  

After Elder Kroff returned from the appointment, we decided we needed to go to WalMart to get some things.  It was about 4:00 and he said we needed to be back by 8:00 for a baptism.  I had heard that the other two Elders that live in our ward were going to have a baptism this weekend, but I thought it was on Sunday. No, Rich said it was tonight.  

WalMart is so easy to find now we know where it is.  I like the Argentine flag on top.  They have a McDonald's inside, so we decided to get us a hamburger while we were there.  I wouldn't have time to fix any dinner.  We actually went looking for a dispenser that attaches to the wall that holds plastic wrap and tin foil so it can be pulled out and torn off.  The boxes they come in are a joke when it comes to tearing pieces off.  So I have been using scissors to cut the wraps.  I just couldn't do that for another 15 months.

We never found a dispenser, but we did leave the store with a supply of needed items.  We decided to buy some glazed donuts to take to the office for the Elders to enjoy.  There was a line up to get some.  They had big racks of them in the back and as soon as a tray was empty, they would bring out another.  

At home, we hurriedly put the groceries away and changed our clothes to get to the baptism. We still had the car so we would return it when we went to the church.  Upon arriving, we found out that there was no baptism tonight, it is tomorrow after the block of meetings.  Now on this one, I followed Rich's lead. We sometimes wonder if we are going to make it to the end of our mission before real insanity sets in. 

Dressing up for the baptism wasn't in vain because Elders Nelson and Valente did have a discussion at the church and invited us to join them.  The man is going to be baptized next Saturday.  When the Elders found him, he said he was wondering when someone would come around and tell him about that church down the road. We were glad to be there and support the missionaries. They asked me to bear my testimony about the importance of having the Holy Ghost with me every day, and they would translate it for him.  That was a first, and I was glad to do it.