Second fridge!

Friday morning I finished my lesson prep at home, which was a good thing, because it ended up being a nonstop day. Speaking of nonstop, I forgot to mention a brief conversation with Sorella Thacker on Wednesday. She had called about something and then at some point asked, "Wait. It's Wednesday. Are you at the Institute??" We have almost forgotten that during their tenure here, they had another senior couple cover for them Wednesday afternoons, and the place was dark Wednesday evenings, allowing them to catch up on other things and perhaps even have some down time during the week. For our first few months, we operated that way, but, after the other couple left and we started our popular Wednesday night activities, that day became a regular full day. Maybe that is why we always feel so swamped! But we love our Wednesdays at the campus.

We left early to drop by the apartment of the Rome 5 Sorelle. Some weeks ago we put up one of my shower curtain contraptions there, but they have had to hold the shower head in their hands ever since. Recently I bought a fancy drill bit at the hardware store which is supposed to go through the ceramic tile, as well as an adjustable holder for the shower, so the plan was to drill holes and install it. Unfortunately, the drill bit broke half way into the first hole, so now we are back to square one. I will turn this one over to the Benincosas, who live in the same complex.

We got to the Institute, and within a few minutes Sammy and Matteo showed up. Then the intercom rang; it was the new fridge being delivered from Amazon, a few days early! As expected, they brought it only to the base of the stairs. Sammy and Matteo both felt themselves too weak to help, even though the fridge wasn't very heavy. It seems to me that they used to be much heavier, but maybe I am imagining things. The fridge was too large to fit in our tiny elevator, so it would have to go up 63 stairs. I called the Ganziani, who were finishing lunch at their apartment and said they could hop on the subway and be there in 20 minutes. About then another delivery guy showed up, carrying several large loads up the elevator. We helped open the door for him and learned that his name was Fabbio. He eventually looked at the fridge, tipped it a bit and said "that is really light. Can I help?" Right then the Ganziani showed up, and Fabbio and those two carried it up the two floors. We paid him some money for helping us and also gave him a temple open house card; he seemed pleased and said that he would take his wife to see it.

Waiting for help

Outside our door after carrying it up two stories

Just at that point, Ugo arrived with his son David, carrying the latter's new desktop computer for us to install the SSD. The doors on the fridge needed to be reversed so that they would open correctly when put side by side. Ugo has done that before, so he immediately put himself to the job, with the Ganziani helping. It took well over an hour and involved laying on the floor for a while to undo some screws. Finally it was all done, having taken much of the afternoon, while we assumed we might have had a little bit of down time. No such luck this day, but we are absolutely delighted to have the new fridge. It will make my wife's life much easier. Our existing table is probably a bit too large, leaving the back door aisle in the kitchen a bit narrow, but it seems to work.

Unpacking

Doors need to be reversed

Ugo goes to work

It took a while

Done!

In the middle of all this, Damiano, a friend of Alessandra, showed up for the first time. He is taking the missionary lessons and wants to be baptized. Very nice guy, but we were both too busy to visit with him much. Hopefully he will make it there more in the future.

Me with Damiano

While Ugo was working on the fridge, I helped David back up his computer and shrink its C: drive, then clone it onto the new SSD. He has a fun desktop case with all kinds of LED lights. It took much of the afternoon, with one or two false steps because his configuration was a bit unusual. Finally by around 6pm we got it to boot from the new SSD. The first time that happens is magic, as it is soooo much faster than before. I always enjoy watching the initial reaction. 

We had eight students at Seminary. After a bit of review and a short game, we played Bingo with the doctrinal mastery scriptures. This time I asked if one of them wanted to be the caller. It took a second for them to figure out how to do it, but then they were all in. Two of the kids got a turn. I have them take one of the bingo cards as their (random) order to call, but they have to come up with each clue. It was fun for me to be able to play for the first time. I didn't win, but they were very impressed at how well I knew the scriptures, which hopefully will give them more impetus to study. At one point, after I had quickly identified a number of the clues in a row before any of them, somebody said, "Anziano Whiting, sei una bestia!" (Elder Whiting, you are a beast! 😀). We had time for two full games, and everyone was getting into it. Ugo wanted to come in and see how I ran things, but he wisely sensed that his kids were not thrilled about having their dad in class, so he stayed in the other room.

 

Hanging around together is half the fun!

My Institute lesson at 7pm was on D&C 63 - 65. We had good discussions on several topics, such as forgiveness, tithing, and taking the Lord's name in vain. The latter was particularly interesting, as many Italians (including Mormons) use phrases such as "O Dio" (O God) and "Madonna". I said that those phrases were offensive to many. One of them said in effect that we don't believe in the Madonna (at least not in the same way Catholics do), so what is the problem. I responded that we were still offending people's faith. There were some thoughtful looks, which is a good thing. Attendance was a bit lighter than usual, with some kids out of town and some helping teach a missionary lesson down the hall, but things were still pretty full.

Joyce and Ciccio joined the class online from Sicily

Dee made her awesome casserole with pasta, ham, chicken, ranch dressing, cheddar, and bread crumbs. She has two big pans now, so everyone can eat their fill. She also made popcorn covered with  marshmallow and chocolate. Aysha helped a lot by grating a ton of cheese for the casserole.

 

Aysha at work with the cheese

Dee and Rhenald

  

  

 

 

Dee had already done  most of the dishes, so we were able to leave a bit earlier than usual for a Friday -- home soon after 10pm. The kids were still there playing. Neither one of us had had any time all afternoon or evening to take a breath, but it was wonderful to be around all those kids and their energy.