Manila envelope!

Monday was another day at home for me. My cold symptoms are almost gone, except that I remain a bit weak and tired, which is what often happens to me with a cold. Fairly soon after getting up, it was clear to both of us that I should not go in to the Institute, as I had no energy. Usually I enjoy climbing the stairs for all seven floors of our apartment building, recently 4 or more times each morning, but the last few days I have no desire to do that at all. By mid-morning I was back in bed for a very sound nap.

Our new washer is awesome! Thus we now have another user manual to add to our pile (I also went online and downloaded the digital copy, as is our wont). Dee wisely decided that it was time to thin the herd, as the stack was getting pretty big. Sure enough, over half of the manuals were for things that are no longer here or are out of warranty and require no manual (e.g., our toaster). We tossed a bunch of manuals, kept some, and held a couple to give to the Balzottis if they want them. Dee asked me to go through the stack preliminarily and then she would make the final decision, which is fine with me. Dee writes: I'm much better at asking Doug to do such things than at doing them myself ;-) The real find in the stack was a manila envelope, which we kept. It's a mystery why they don't sell them here, and we are thrilled to have one. Simple pleasures! 

The other day one of the kids on WhatsApp posted a death notice for Angelo Moroni, which means angel Moroni in Italian. We all got a kick out of it, because we thought he had died about 1600 years ago 😉. Actually, Dee had knocked on somebody's door with that name back in the 1970s, though I doubt it was the same guy.

Dee decided to go into town for the day on the metro (rather than taking my life in my hands by driving alone), while I stayed at home to rest and try to do a little lesson prep, though my brain wasn't functioning all that well. I took a second brief nap and finally got showered and dressed by early afternoon. There was a bunch of WhatsApp messaging about upcoming Institute activities all afternoon and evening, which I participated in. Dee cooked some desserts for the next couple of days, and also did grated cheese to prepare for Taco Tuesday in case I don't make it. As is typical with Monday afternoons, no kids showed up until almost evening, when the Ganziani gave the FHE lesson. There was a smallish group by recent standards, but everyone had a good time. 

About driving: I seem to be blind to roundabouts and keep pulling in without looking for oncoming traffic. I have driven so little here (preferring to knit) that I'm a little rusty. I love to go out with public transit, so it's all good.

After cooking, I got to talk with Monica on the phone. She's the Primary President in our ward. I've been asked to help out there, and we're planning a little rules presentation for the children and their parents for next Sunday. I'm glad to have the opportunity to know the children better. There are less than a dozen in the whole ward, but they are lively enough to feel like a much larger number. 

The topic the elders chose for family home evening was knowledge versus wisdom. We talked about making choices and I drew the Steven Covey diagram on the blackboard.

I was feeling well enough to pick her at the Jonio metro stop about 9:30pm. It was good to see her, and we had a fun time filling each other in on the events of the day. Hopefully Tuesday I can get out of this apartment for an entire day again.