Four apartments inspected

Wednesday we left at 9:30am to drive across town and then to Ladispoli, to inspect two pairs of missionary apartments, one each for Sorelle and Anziani in both Roma 1 and Ladispoli wards. One of each companionship had been transferred in since the last time we visited. The Balzottis came with us, because he wants to see as many apartments in person as possible, since his assignment is to manage housing. We always have a great time when we're with them, and this was no exception. The day started out gorgeous, sunny and fairly warm, though it began raining by mid-day. Having the Balzottis with us meant that they brought mail and packages to the young missionaries, who were thus even happier than usual to see us all. We Whitings brought them amaretti cookies (my favorite), but packages from home are even nicer.

Dee writes: You may be familiar with Amaretti di Saronno, available at Italian delis in America for a steep price. However, here Amaretti are generic and cheap, but still delicious.

We were able to make some nice improvements in several of the apartments, all of which were generally in good shape. Both Roma 1 apartments are on the same narrow street, and we now have an indoor parking spot there, inherited from the senior couple (Herway) who used to live there. That makes it so much easier, as parking in that area is pretty challenging, in part because the very narrow streets illogically have two-way traffic and parking on both sides! I was able to fix a drawer in the Roma 1 Sorelle apartment, where the roller glide had been bent. My shower curtain there is still working great and quite stable. My wife got to show Sorella Wood some more knitting tips while the other three of us walked up the street to inspect the apartment of the Anziani.

Then we drove about half an hour up to Ladispoli, where we dropped off a few things for Sorella Bryant, who had been transferred there recently from the apartment below us. Their kitchen faucet was corroded and had been leaking from an actual crack in its head. We reported it the last few times without any fixes being made. Anziano Balzotti asked if there was a ferramenta (hardware store) nearby. I looked it up on Google Maps and found one less than two blocks from the apartment, so he unscrewed the faucet and the two of us walked down there. We showed them the faucet, and they had an exact match for only 10 euros! We were both kinda stunned and delighted that it was so easy, and we went back and installed it quickly. The Sorelle were thrilled!

 

Dee writes: Another bonus was my husband showing them that their windows and balcony door open in two directions. They can swing open in the usual way, or tilt out from the top. Pretty cool!
  
The Sorelle also showed the Balzottis their drop-dead ocean view, just a few blocks from the beach; you can hear the waves hitting the shore from their balcony on the fifth floor. Dee writes: The Balzottis joked that they would be moving in soon. 

We then went to the next apartment (Anziani) a few blocks away. The remotes for their overhead heaters had gone missing a year ago, so they were pretty cold during the winter. I had bought them a universal remote some time ago on amazon.it, but it hadn't seemed to work. This time they reported that they had figured out how to program it and now it works great. I'll order them another one: only 15 euros, and the mission reimburses us. They also had done some very creative (and quite scary!) electric plug repairs. Dee writes: Anziano Balzotti nearly had a coronary when he saw it.

At that point, Dee promptly ran down through thunder, lightning and hail and bought new plugs, extension cord, and outlet strips at the Chinese store right outside their apartment complex, and took away the Franken-outlet.  I ended up making a second trip to get them a few more things. It now feels much safer there! 😀Dee writes: We also promised to buy them a new chef's knife, because a former companion there had already ruined the blade of the one we bought them in December by cutting up bones.

We bought some pizza next door for lunch, then drove back through the rain, arriving at about 3:30pm. Dee writes: It was interesting to have potatoes on the pizza. They also had Middle Eastern food, so we sampled some Arabic sweets to go with our pizza.  

Once home, I ran out to the hardware store in the rain to get a new key made for the Institute door -- this one worked! I called the guy afterwards to tell him, and he was as thrilled as we were. Excellent customer service can be rare in Rome, so it was nice to see how he took care of us. I then walked up to the Todis market to get some fresh produce for me and six packages of tortillas (all they had) for next Taco Tuesday. Meanwhile Dee was very happy to have some time to work on her FH lesson for Thursday night.

In the evening we went to the Institute for our weekly Wednesday evening activity: game night. Seven kids showed up -- about the usual number. Some of them played SPQR, which is like Risk, but set in the ancient Roman Empire. I played a card game called Five Crowns, which I had never seen before, with Jomar and Sheyla. It was a lot of fun and involved some strategy. I ended up winning, coming from behind in the last round, with chance playing a big part in that. The entire concept seemed very unlikely to work when they first described it to me, but it actually turns out to function pretty well. We left just after 8:30pm, with the fun still going on.

 

At home, there was a late flurry of WhatsApp messages between the two of us and the Peregos about a meeting coming up next week. It was quite late when we went to bed, after a full and enjoyable day.