Mingling with Seniors - Saturday, May 22, 2010

It felt good to sleep in until 8:00 - we never do that. I was partially awake prior to that time, but refused to open my eyes and really wake up.

Still no rain, but they say it is coming. In fact, today was 70 degrees and really comfortable. That's okay with us because we are going out and about this evening and prefer not to be in bad weather.

Knowing that we are feeding some missionaries tomorrow, I knew what would be on my agenda for most of the day. It was a priority to get the chicken and gravy all prepared and put together because it requires a mess which I don't have time for on Sunday before church or after. It is being spooned over mashed potatoes. That being accomplished, I made an Apple Pudding Cake from my sister's cookbook. Can't go wrong with an apple dessert. The problem is I have never made it before, but it looked like something I could handle. They do have apples in Argentina -- no Cream of Chicken soup, but apples are plentiful.

Rich vacuumed the floors and damp mopped them while I cooked. We made a good team, and all was accomplished with the dinner that needed to be done today. We also got our apartment cleaned up and ready for the Sabbath and for company.

We were anxious to get everything done before 5:00 so we could go up to the Capital to movie night with the other senior couples. Since the baptisms fell through, we decided we didn't want to be stuck in the house all day and then all evening too. We called the Fuquas and told them of our change of plans. They were excited we could come. We left at 4:45 to walk to the train station and after the train ride and a bus ride, we arrived at their apartment at 5:50. Perfect timing for movie night set for 6:00. Whew!

The Grieves (music missionaries) look comfortable lounging on the love seat, with Bartons (Employment Specialists) wishing they would have come earlier to get a soft seat. We had popcorn, drinks, and apple slices dipped in Dulce de leche for a snack. Dinner would follow the movie at the Taco Box.

The Walls (Humanitarian) and Fuquas (Perpetual Education) in the back, and Andersons (the doctor), and Kroffs all smile for the camera. We watched an old John Wayne favorite, Cahill. Rich and I hadn't seen it before, and we really liked it. In talking about John Wayne, Rich was surprised that he died in the 70's. He hasn't been around for 30 years. Wow, that seems like a long time. It IS a long time.

We had a reservation at 8:30 at a Mexican restaurant called Taco Box. We were excited to eat Mexican food, and although it was delicious, it wasn't the 'real' Mexican food like in the states. Rich missed the refried beans, and the seasonings weren't the familiar ones we were used to. However, the guacamole was wonderful. We had a combination plate for two of tacos, some shredding chicken rolled up in a wrap which was deep fried, beef wrapped in a tortilla with a little sauce on it, and a couple other little things. It was plenty to eat and we were satisfied to stuffed when finished. The service was great and we all enjoyed ourselves.

An interesting thing happened when we first arrived. We, and the Fuquas, arrived first and sat down, and right away the waitress brought us each a shot glass of a Margarita with the salt around the rim and all. (I think that's what it was.) She was enticing us to order alcoholic beverages with our meal, of course. When we declined, the waitress thought we just didn't like that particular sample and was going to get us another variety of a drink. She didn't make as much money on us as other customers because of our non use of alcohol. But, the soft drinks were great!!

Shortly after eating, Rich and I felt we should be on our way home because of the distance involved and it would be another hour before we got there, so we bid everyone farewell and hailed a taxi outside to take us to the train station. The train was packed for that time of night and we couldn't figure it out. Then one man talking to Rich said that most people were coming back from the downtown activites dealing with the holiday on Tuesday, 25 de mayo. We are going to check that out on Monday, plus meet with the seniors again on Monday night. More fun coming!