Just Office Work- Wednesday, June 9, 2010

When we wake up each morning and take our ear plugs out, we are amazed at how good they work. It is noticeably noisy the instant they are removed. The traffic below starts early . . well really never entirely quits all night long. I hope when we go home that we won't have to sleep with them having been so used to silence for 18 months. I do like to be able to hear things if something needs our attention. This is just a good fix for the surroundings we have now.

Each day at the office this week is just a repeat of the day before. At least for me it is. Today I worked on the mail and supplies for the Litoral and Sarmiento zones. Litoral is the zone we are in so our missionary interviews will be tomorrow. The seven Book of Mormon boxes and three bins of mail and supplies only have to be carried through one door into the over flow/cultural hall area for distribution tomorrow. Easy!! Then the Sarmiento supplies will be put in the President's car to go with him to the afternoon interviews in that area. It is a lot of work to get things ready for two zones at a time, but then it has it's advantages. At least they get over faster and I get them done in four days instead of eight (since we have eight zones in Bs.As.)

My morning wasn't interrupted with medical calls, so I worked steadily in my supply room with my house slippers and warm sweater on for warmth. Dr. Anderson is going to think I have abandoned him, but we haven't had any illnesses that I have had to call him about. I'll try to drum something up tomorrow to make him feel needed. He goes home on June 21, and another interim doctor will take his place. I hope this one does ingrown toenails.

Our weather has turned rather chilly and today we could have used scarves around our necks. Our office is cold and even the elders keep their coats on some of the day. I fluctuate from hot to cold and back again. I tell the elders it is just an old woman thing. I don't think they understand.

No new pictures, so it's just us today. This was taken Sunday night after Lidia's baptism, and before my hair cut. Javier gets carried away and knows I like my hair shorter in the back, but it is shorter than the elders hair, seriously. I really get my money's worth going to him!! I told the elders I couldn't have my picture taken for a month until my hair grew a little. They laughed!

This afternoon, Sister Argyle called to ask for my help in updating the transfer board in the President's office at the mission home. She was available either Thursday or Friday. At first I told her that Friday would be my easiest day because all my filling of bins would be over. She was agreeable if it could be after she picked her two youngest up from school at 10:00 a.m. as it is the last day of school for them -- and before 1:00 when the movers come to pack up all of their things. Well, for heaven's sake. There is no way she can take time out to do this project on Friday, with the movers and all. I assured her I could work out my schedule and come tomorrow. No more discussion on the matter!! I think she was relieved.

We hadn't left the office when the President and the Assistants came back from the interviews today -- to bring back the empty bins. I asked the President if we were needed tomorrow for interviews. When I told him that his wife needed me in the afternoon and I needed the morning to get the last two zones packed up, he relieved us of that obligation to be around for interviews. He'll talk to us at a later time.

We left the office at 5:00 and it was down right cold outside. I shivered all the way home! We had leftover spaghetti for dinner which was quick and easy because Rich only had about 45 minutes before he had to leave to meet Elisa and her boyfriend back at the church. He taught him a couple Temple Prep lessons to get him caught up with what the class on Sunday is learning.

I read the blogs of our Swiss missionary friends and can't believe that all of our missions are winding down. The Larsons leave in August from Zurich, and the Doyles leave in September from Geneva, after they take a short trip to Rome to visit the Crawfords who will be transferred there after the Cantania Italy mission merges with Rome. Rich mentioned that if we weren't extending that we would be leaving the same time as the Doyles and what fun it would have been if we could have gone home via Italy to join the Doyles and Crawfords for a reunion in the country where we bonded as friends while serving in the Army some 40 years ago. That would have been worth writing about. Oh well, hope they have fun without us.

I looked at the clock in disbelief. This journal entry is done and it is only 8:30 -- and I didn't fall asleep once.