Week of 6th of July to 12th of July, 2009

6 July 2009…..Monday

I’m feeling stronger every day. Today I spent the full day at the office without feeling wiped out by noon. In fact, the whole day went well. We left the office at 3 pm and it is good to be feeling better.
I took my pineapple corer up to Blackburns to use and they sent me home with a huge piece of chocolate cake and some ice cream. I can’t eat it but Dick will enjoy it. They came down to our floor later to show everyone how wonderful the corer is. I have one packed in storage in Lancaster so when we were in California last month I bought one at Von’s. Later I gave the Alberts one of my pair of tongs. We have quite a co-op going here.

7 July 2009…..Tuesday

I am feeling good today. I had a very busy day. I emailed the PEF priesthood reports to 97 stake presidents in Central America. I also printed the 38 reports for Guatamala for Rene Oliva. It was a very full day.
At 6 pm we went to Alberts for Charlie’s 71st birthday.


We had a spaghetti dinner and cake and ice cream. I had plain spaghetti and a glass of Jamaica, a delicious punch made of hibiscus. It’s funny. I don’t feel deprived.

8 July 2009…..Wednesday

I kept busy all morning at the office sending the PEF priesthood report to the specialists. We left a little after 11 am for my doctor appointment. Dr. Tarot said I could start taking my prescriptions for Evista and Zocor but no vitamins, calcium, or glucosamine for another 6 weeks. He said I could add to my diet: a lean steak, a little hamburger (not fast food style), light mayonnaise, lettuce, citrus fruit and juice and even a little cinnamon. He said it is step by step. We will see how I do after a little diet change and how well my body tolerates it.
Dr. Tarot loves the U.S.A. and he told us today he should have been a gringo because he was born on the 4th of July. When we were setting my next appointment he mentioned a day and said he would not be available because the Harry Potter movie is showing at midnight and he is taking his 15 year old daughter to see it. He would fit very well into life in the U.S.
I enjoyed the angel food cake Blackburns gave me last week so much that Dick decided I needed some more. He couldn’t find a cake mix when he went shopping and when he mentioned that he was looking for one Darlene brought a mix over that she had, plus a cake pan. So this evening he borrowed her mixer and made me an angel food cake. He did a great job.
The Cute Baker

He took two slices over for Darlene and Sarah and we had a piece. Darlene came over later and cut Dick’s hair. Such a neighborly place to live!

9 July 2009…..Thursday

This morning we left the office about 10:30 and drove over to the mall and had new batteries put in both of our dead watches. Then we went to Price Smart. One of the things we bought was an already cooked rotisserie chicken. We came home and had chicken for lunch. It was very good and so much better than the tough chicken breasts we bought at Paiz. We went back to the office for a few hours.
Darlene and Sarah borrowed our car for a dentist appointment. When they got back Darlene gave Dick the bread maker that was passed down to her from the senior couple that she replaced in the Central mission office. I think Dick aspires to be able to make bread like Robert. Sarah will be going home July 30 and Darlene will move out into the field and be a companion to one of the nurses. Then she goes home the latter part of August. It will be very strange in the building without them across the hall and I will miss them a lot.

10 July 2009…..Friday

I woke up with the headache I went to bed with and just generally achy all over. I haven’t been able to take glucosamine since I got sick and the doctor said not till 2 months after I left the hospital. I think that is a source of my knees, shoulders and even neck pain. Of course, there is always that catch-all phrase, “it’s the tyhoid.” Dick went to the office without me. He came home in the early afternoon and brought a few groceries, then went back to the office.
This evening we went over to the Robertson’s apartment for a game night with Tilleys, Taylors, Blackburns, and Sister Barney. It was a very pleasant evening. They live on the 10th floor of a new apartment building and it is a lovely home with a fantastic view. He is the chief financial officer here as a Church employee. They have four of their seven children here with them.

11 July 2009…..Saturday

Dick left at 7 am to go to Patzicia. He didn’t have to speak this time but he had to take Sarah Richardson and Catherine Kinnison, the BYU interns at the Employment Center, to do a TAL workshop for PEF. It seems there was no one else who could take them. I have had headaches and some minor intestinal things going on so I didn’t want to be on the road for the 2 ½ hour round trip or hanging out from 9 -3 at the church.
Sisters Barney and Thibault were at our door this morning with four biscuits and some sausage gravy. I ate one biscuit and just a speck of the gravy….grease isn’t allowed on my diet. Later the Sisters gave us a floor lamp, a small corner shelf and four plants. Our only instructions are to pass it on to senior missionaries when we leave next year.

12 July 2009…..Sunday

Last night, after requiring 3 Imodium, I was able to have a good night’s sleep, though I awoke with a migraine this morning. Needless to say, I did not make Church today, though Dick did go to Sacrament Meeting.
I finally finished the Shutterfly photo book I made as a tribute to Mothers, using the photos of the day of her funeral. It ended up being about 34 pages. My copy arrived yesterday at Kristen’s. I shared it via email with my family and Jill and Alison each ordered a copy. I love Shutterfly. It enables me to record and put my memories in a beautiful book and not have to collect pictures and put it all together at the end of our mission.
Rexene brought over freshly made muffins and Dick enjoyed them. We both had a nap. I need to feel better as we have a busy week ahead of us