Find the Flusher

Tuesday was a wonderfully full day. The weather continues to be lovely, with some unexpected rain in the evening. I have now switched over to my long-sleeve shirts and thicker slacks, swapping out summer shirts and slacks for the winter versions in one of my suitcases, since there isn't hanging space for both sets in my wardrobe. I keep a couple of short-sleeve shirts out just in case, but it is looking unlikely that I will need them. Accordingly, I ironed about half a dozen long-sleeve shirts in the morning, since they got pretty wrinkled after months in the suitcase.

Turnout for Taco Tuesday was probably the highest ever, with about 25 signed in. The food went quickly, and fortunately we had some frozen taco meat from prior weeks that we were able to pull out and heat up. There was not enough seating for everyone who attended, which is generally a good thing! In fact, I was unable to fit everyone into a single photo -- maybe I need to get a wide-angle lens.

I brought the last cilantro of the season, and avocados that I bought a week ahead to ripen. The salsa and guacamole disappeared pretty fast. Ylenia made the guacamole. It was her first time to taste it, and she liked it. We also had leftover Reese's peanut butter bars, which were also well received. I use waaay less sugar in my desserts here.

 

Ylenia makes guacamole

 

 

There is an issue which we need to address, however. Our numbers were padded a bit because one of our wonderful young sister missionary pairs brought over six immigrants from the LDS Charities' Friendship Center. In general, we are happy to accommodate a refugee occasionally, but we do not have the space nor the budget to handle that many. The Friendship Center has a very different mission than we do. For example, missionaries there are not allowed to proselytize at all (though they're allowed to answer questions about the Church), while we love it when the missionaries at the Institute teach non-members who show up. In any case, we do not want the Institute to become an extension of the Friendship Center program, as it is simply not our charter and could easily swamp and disrupt what we are trying to accomplish with our kids. The fact that the two facilities happen to be just a few blocks apart from each other makes it easy to blur the lines if we are not careful.

Dee was feeling lousy much of the morning, after coughing all night and needing to sleep in a sitting position, but she perked up as the day went on, without many meds. She is getting better, but it is slow progress. She took the bus over to pick up her adjusted orthotics from the foot doctor, getting soaked in the process, but the fact that she was able to do it speaks to her higher level of energy. I encouraged her to take a taxi, but she loves to take the bus. The orthotics weren't really adjusted the way we had discussed, but they seem good enough, and it's not worth the time to keep messing with them. I mostly wanted them to be a neutral color, but they reapplied the clownish neoprene instead of the beige, sigh. In California, my shoes are open but I think I'll just use these in my tennis shoes. I wore them on the way home from the doctor, which included half a mile or so of walking, and they were fine. Since I had my walking stick, someone gave me their seat on the bus. I appreciated it since I was trying not to overdo.

In the late afternoon, I helped Samuel with some of his Pathway class issues. He is trying so hard but I don't think he has the computer proficiency (yet) to succeed, struggling with downloading, completing, and submitting his assignments. Almendra is also taking Pathway and is doing ok, but she wanted me to proofread some of the paragraphs she wrote for this week's assignment. Spanish is her native language, and English and Italian are still weak, so it needed some work. A few times I had to ask what she meant by a particular sentence, and she struggled to explain it to me. Samuel piped up and offered her his phone running Google Translate, so she could talk in Spanish. That was quite clever and nice of him, but I had to leave for dinner before we really got to try it.

Dee's cousin Sandi and her spouse Alicia were in town for some sightseeing. Dee had attended their wedding last year in Wisconsin, but I hadn't seen them for many years. Their hotel was only about two blocks away from the Institute, so we walked over to meet them. Then we took the Metro for two stops to Vecchia Roma, a popular restaurant, recommended by Roberto Chiossi, Anna Meloni's husband. Riding on the Metro itself was quite an experience for them, particularly since it was rush hour and we had to pack in. The restaurant was very cool, down in a basement, and our waitress was delightful. We had a great visit over dinner. They also brought us  600 Ibuprofen tablets, since they are not available in bulk here.

Sandi, me, Alicia, Dee

 

 

 

In the morning, I finally called a plumber to come over and fix my toilet, which now always runs after flushing until I "jiggle the handle". Actually there isn't usually a handle, and the hardware is very different here. In fact, Sandi and Alicia joked about the game they have to play in each hotel or restaurant: Find the Flusher! Flat lever, pull chain, foot pedal, button, etc. They have lots of different ways to flush, but sometimes it is difficult to figure out how. Anyway, Antonio the plumber, who was recommended by the Paulsens, said that he would be here the next morning at 9:30am, which would be wonderful.

We stopped into the Enoteca to talk with Signora Chirra for the first time since losing the larger institute location. We just wanted her to know we understand her need to move forward. It was a good talk. 

Ugo told us that Junior, who is a nonmember, has perfect attendance. He's amazing!