No Celebration for us

It hardly seems like the 24th of July. We had to keep reminding ourselves that it was a holiday today. Our weather has been so cold the last few days that it is hard to imagine typical 24th of July temperatures back home.

The elders were gone most of the morning, and we kept busy with our individual tasks, only being interrupted when our new copy/fax machine arrived.

The workers set it up and got everything working, and they took the other one out. Then they told Rich that everything was working fine except we wouldn't have the fax machine part of it because they didn't have the modem for it yet. It would be coming in a week or two. Yikes, that is unacceptable. We need the fax machine every day because of the baptismal registers that come in. Rich explained to the guy that we had to have a fax machine working, so they brought in the old machine and hooked it back up so we would have fax capabilities. Now we have two machines side by side, but one is sitting on the floor as it has no cabinet underneath it. Real cute!

Last night Elder Nelson called to tell us that he was bringing lunch today. He really likes to cook and does a decent job of it. He served an Italian meat sauce that is spread over corn meal. The corn meal is the consistency of thick cream of wheat when cooked. He said his mother would fix corn meal for breakfast. They would put sugar and milk on it and eat it like a hot cereal. This dish is a recipe that his brother, who served a mission in Italy, brought back with him. It was very good and filling, not airy at all.

I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies last night that turned out better than usual, so I furnished dessert. They don't grow pumpkins here, but a Zapallo squash is a close second. I had cooked it a few days ago intending to use it for the cookies. Yum! I only have 3/4 of a bag of chocolate chips left from the ones that Elder Clegg's mother, Laurie, sent to me a while back. I have been hoarding them. Then I will have to use the Argentine chocolate chips which are okay, but not like the ones from the U.S.

During the afternoon I received a call from Elder Stucki who is serving down South in Tierra del Fuego. After speaking to Elder Kroff about some matters, he asked me a question regarding supplies. Then, he asked where I take my husband's suits to get dry cleaned. He is going home on the next transfer in just over two weeks and one of his suits needs to be cleaned. He wanted to wear it home. When missionaries go South, they can't take all of their luggage and belongings with them due to weight issues, so they leave them in storage at the office until they come back to claim them. When he flies back up here to join the other missionaries for the "going home" activities, he hoped he would have time to take it to a dry cleaner and get it back before leaving. He was looking for one close by the office.

I offered to find the suit he left here and take it to the cleaners so it would be ready for him when he arrived. He was most grateful and said he was anxious to meet Elder Kroff and me. We talk to so many missionaries on the phone regularly and get to know them without ever seeing some of them until we go to the mission home on the day they leave. Rich goes to settle up financially with them. I talk to so many missionaries weekly, and they are so polite and nice as I am bugging them about baptism questions. I just love talking to them. And now I get to talk to them if they call about health matters.

The week is over and the month is almost gone. It seems like July just started. My, time flies when you are having fun.