Friends from home at the Rome temple

Monday started early, after a late night. My alarm went off just after 6am, and the four Anziani were already up showering. My alarm unfortunately woke up Dee from a very deep sleep after only five hours. I drove the four Anziani to the temple with their luggage, leaving at 7am, not even shaving first, just putting on my contact lenses. Fortunately there wasn't much traffic, so I got back by 7:30am. We had a lovely weekend with them, and now Dee will spend much of the week washing linens. Given our small washer and the extended drying times, it will all barely be done in time for next weekend's guests. 

We left early for Institute, going to Ikea to get some stuff for home, including another floor mat for my bathroom. I had some cheap ones from the Chinese store, but the Ikea ones are far nicer. We got a couple of things for the campus, and some bedding for the Roma 3 Sorelle. I could have used my mission credit card for some of it were it not cancelled, but Anziano Willey assured me that he will reimburse me in cash. Dee also went over to Auchan before we left, finding the Sensodyne toothpaste that had been missing for some time.

I messaged with Jim and Claire through the day. They spent an hour in the morning at the police station, getting no satisfaction at all, but their homeowner's insurance policy required it. Then they spent two hours at the US embassy to get new passports (one year). It is nice to know that there is a way to do that. I told them about Auchan at the mall next to the temple, where they could buy all the toiletries they would need. I also emailed with my long-time friend from Richmond days, Pam, who will be here this weekend, and we will go out to dinner with them.

Once at the Institute, Dee immediately took the new blanket from Ikea and went to take much-needed nap. Unfortunately, after only 15 minutes, a weekly alarm on her phone went off to remind her to defrost beef for Taco Tuesday. She had put it on silent, but apparently alarms override that, and then she wasn't able to get back to sleep -- bummer. Amazingly, I wasn't tired during the day, though by the time we came home I was shot.

I printed out my lesson materials for Friday, and I also ordered new white shirts for our friends Steve and Linda to bring to us in a couple of weeks. They were very willing to help, and Mariela said that it wouldn't be too late. Friends are good things to have!

At 3pm I headed off to the temple Open House to meet Jim and Claire, along with their daughter Summer, plus Jim and Luann from our ward. It is an extended family trip, and I got to meet a bunch of them. I decided to go through the tour with them so I will know what to expect when I take Arsene there on Wednesday. It was raining, but I still stopped to rinse off the car and, more importantly, vacuum out the floors which were filthy. There were a lot of folks there, probably over 50% Americans, with plenty of workers from what I could tell. It seemed to run smoothly, and the temple and visitors center are beautiful. The stake center at the complex there, where the tours start, will also be a great blessing for the local wards, a massive upgrade from their current location.

Me with friends from Carlsbad

The Fosca Street contingent

I left just after 5:30pm to return to Institute for home evening. It was still raining, but traffic was surprisingly light. I got back in time to eat dinner. Dee said that there had been a whole bunch of missionaries there during the afternoon on their P-day. 

The Skoubyes, a senior couple serving in Frankfurt with responsibility for all YSA couples in Europe, came to see our facility and attend the FHE. They have heard what good things we are doing here and were in town for the week with other S&I (Seminary and Institute) folks from all over Europe. It was fun to include them in  our FHE. Dee gave the lesson, and we took turns translating for them, depending on who was speaking. Our question of the week was to tell about a best or worst birthday ever, and we learned fun things about each other. Mine (worst) was about the Petrified Forest in Arizona in 1967, which my family members will know all about! Dee's lesson was on the decisions we make, and she got some good participation. Our group was smaller than usual, but it was fun. The new Ganziani are great!

After the lesson, Dee made Italian hot chocolate with homemade whipped cream and marshmallows, which the kids absolutely loved, and we all played Five Crowns. We left for home at 9pm. I was exhausted, so I wrote my (long) blog entry from Sunday and quickly hit the sack.

Italian hot chocolate is very thick and is really delicious. in fact, when it cools off, it's chocolate pudding. I will definitely be making it in California. I have whipped cream myself before, but this time it never set up. It was still a yummy addition to the hot chocolate. 

When crossing within the mall from Ikea to the main section, the new Temple comes into view. Wow! Hmm, my photo isn't showing up on my computer.

I am up late a lot, contacting my family and my Dad's caregivers. It turns out they haven't got his eye drops going yet, after 12 days, nor have they cleared his doctor visit that requires leaving the premises. They said they'll have it all by Wednesday. I sure hope so.