Ending a Week - Friday, May 21, 2010

Surprise!! We woke up to wet streets so wondered if more rain would come throughout the day, but we didn't see a drop. Cloudy skies looked threatening, but didn't produce any moisture.

Gosh, this week went so fast -- probably because we are busy every day. Not one of us has ever said that we didn't have something to do, but we do take breaks when things lighten up a bit to talk and joke and laugh. Elder Peterson and Elder Kroff are basically the quiet ones (although not all the time), but Elder Hales and I are the yakky ones. However, Elder Kroff keeps the elders amused with his quick wit and sense of humor. We have a good time in the office.

For the second time this week, Elder Peterson took some elders and sisters up to Immigrations. It is a long day traveling on the train to the Capital and then wading through the crowd at Immigrations waiting for their turno. He returned at about 2:30 very tired and hungry. He hasn't felt very good for a couple days due to a sneezy, drippy cold coming on, but Doctora Kroff here is keeping a check on him. He is doing such a great job getting all this legal work organized and staying on top of it. Our visas expire in June and he will have to take us with him sometime to start our process over. That, we are not looking forward too!

Elder Hales continues to have success in dealing with landlords and getting their rents switched over to electronic payments. It has been a mammoth job and he is whittling away at the list with surprising success. He is doing exactly what President Argyle taught him to do and it is working. Rich is so grateful that he is focused and determined to get this rent situation under control.

It was day two for Elder Kroff in getting the plata de zona completed, and sending the emails to missionaries reminding them of their debts. Finished!! Then Elder Cano came in to take the English test. He speaks and understands English very well, so he thought the test was easy. Rich got him going on it and when finished, he packed up Sister Argyle's computer so it would be ready for her when she came to get it. I entered baptisms and busied myself with other job related duties.

We left at 4:00 anticipating a trip to Disco to shop for a few items. Four elders will be having Sunday dinner at our place and I needed to pick up some things to add to the dinner.

It was interesting to see the blue and white banner draped across the front of the store, looking like the Argentine flag without the sun in the middle. After passing people selling flags on the street corners, we determined that this is in preparation for the 25 de mayo holiday and celebration next Tuesday -- a major national holiday!! We are interested in seeing other types of decorations/displays to commemorate the event. We'll document it with photos.

As we entered Disco, our eye caught this display of various types of squash and baskets of onions. Very colorful and an attractive presentation!! Maybe people are already out celebrating or taking off for the weekend, because there were very few people shopping and no lines at all. It was very unusual! We loved it.

We stopped at the Farmacia next door to pick up the Diclofenac prescription that Dr. Anderson told me to take for my inflammed shoulder. I am hoping for relief.

"If it's Friday, it must be McDonalds," or something like that! Anyway, we stopped for the usual and picked an area where our shopping cart would be out of the way and where there were few people. However, eight tall, muscular, some tatooed, spirited, and noisey hombres plunked themselves down next to us after ordering, finding problems, returning to the counter for corrections, then eating all in sight. Our comment to each other was "I wonder if they will take their trays to the garbage bins when they leave?" We are surprised to see that most people at fast food places just leave their trash and trays on the tables for someone else to clean up. That behavior is so foreign to us. But, sure enough, they all got up and walked out leaving an unbelievable mess. I wanted to take a picture of it but thought people would think I was nuts.

We love our handy dandy shopping cart, and better still an elevator that brings us to the 5th floor so we don't have to pack all our groceries up the stairs. Life is good.

I cooked a large chicken tonight and other chicken pieces this morning before we left for the office. I took the chicken off the bones and saved the broth in preparation to make chicken and gravy to put over mashed potatoes for Sunday dinner. We like it, hope the elders will too.