Monday, May 27, 2013

Monday, May 27 – Trying to organize myself and my life.

Today was a big organizing day. We went through everything in the living room, boxes and shelves and I organized the book shelves in Ken's closet room and the hallway to the garage.  Looking at things brought back some memories.  I think it is kind of overwhelming for him sometimes. He compared it to a firehose.

It was rainy and windy wild for all Sunday night and most of today, monsoon like. It reminded me of our son, John talking about rain on his mission being like riding a bike in a cold shower (the type of shower you take in the bathroom). When it calmed down, I took a walk to pay the internet bill and bought a few vegetables and another wool sweater for Ken.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

No journal

Saturday, May 25, 2013

No journal.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Friday, May 24

The missionaries hosted an activity in Gringolandia.  They had a large screen Disney movie and served brownies and cookies and popcorn for refreshments. We decided early in the week not to go, but I offered my services as brownie cook.  I ended up making 3 batches of brownies, two, were  chocolate and one peanut butter and one mix of dry ingredients with chocolate for missionaries to cook at the church.  Actually each batch was 4 times the recipe.  For the peanut butter brownies I used peanut butter for half of the oil, and left out the cocoa.  They would be nice with chocolate frosting.

The recipe:
3 cups flour
4 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
8 eggs
2 cups oil
1 T. Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put in big greased pan and bake for about 40 minutes at the temperature marked by the lowest red line on the oven in Victoria.

For the peanut butter version, I used 1 cup peanut butter and one cup oil.

My other contribution to the evening was letting the missionaries use my 1/2 cup measuring cup for their cooking at the chapel.  Measuring cups don't exist in Chile. 

They were hoping for over a hundred people.  I haven't heard how it went.  They invited both branches.  One challenge is getting members to come on time.  They missionaries had to start the movie on time for it to be over before they had to go home.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

No journal

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

No journal

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Tuesday, May 21

Today is the 21 of May. One of the main streets in Victoria is called el 21 de mayo. It commemorates a battle with Peru and Bolivia.  Chile won.  And the Chileans continue to celebrate the victory by closing down schools, stores, restaurants and offices.  Very few people were on the streets.  I guess they stay home, although the young elders said they joined in a big football game at the stadium. 

It was sunny all day, so we walked for an hour between 12:00 and 1:00.  The walk included a rest stop in the grocery store which was open, a rest stop on a bench in the park at the center of the city, a rest at the street corner shop of a member family and a visit to a favorite fruit stand.  The owner's wife had thought we had returned to the states and was surprised to see us and hear of Elder Babcock's illness.  She confirmed that Clinica Alemana is a wonderful hospital, but very expensive and she presented us with a gift of a cheese.

I made brownies tonight for the district meeting tomorrow.  Elder Babcock's blood sugar is still a bit high, so he won't get one.  I am trying to give him healthy treats with natural sweetness.  Feeding him enough of the right things is a challenge. 

We have decided that one restriction we will place on ourselves is no night meetings or activities for a while. That should simplify our lives and give Elder Babcock more time to recover.  I don't know how long the district meeting will be tomorrow.