January 30th through February 4th

January 30^th through February 4^th:  Thursday, I was able to get the cement board installed in the shower.  It took me all day.

Hardiboard installed.

Mom was back at East High teaching language arts—Julius Caesar.  Then we tended Rigby and Emme while James and Kirstin went out to dinner to celebrate James’ birthday.  Our baby is 30 years old! 

Tending Rigby at John's house.

Tending Emme at John's house with the help of Ellie.

Friday, I worked from 5:00am till 11:30am and then Jill picked me up and I worked on the bathroom the rest of the day.  I got the mudding done on the sheet rock and installed a few tiles in the shower.  I didn’t rent a tile saw and decided I had better wait till I have one. 

The tiles I installed before I decided I needed the tile saw.

Mom taught health at a middle school.  She said it wasn’t as much fun as Julius Caesar.  That evening we went to dinner at the home of Henry and Jeanne Lachowski.  We met them in Bolivia.  They came to the temple one day to photograph the gardens and I struck up a conversation with them. They were in Cochabamba studying Spanish and doing volunteer work with a Catholic charity.  We learned that they lived just a few streets away from our home on the Avenues.  They are amazing people who travel the world doing volunteer work.  They just got back from Tanzania.  We enjoyed visiting with them.   Saturday, I worked all day at Home Depot and mom had a great visit with her best friend, Merritt.  Then she spent the afternoon with Katie’s kids.  Sunday, they had us sit on the stand and then we got to announce our mission call to everyone in Sacrament meeting.  I, of course, blubbered it out.  Mom bore her testimony and did a great job.  We sent an email to the travel department and indicated that we wanted to know if it were possible to get our visas sooner because President Atkinson wanted us to arrive in Oaxaca the last of April or the first of May.  Monday, we got a reply back from the travel department indicating that they thought it would be possible to get a visa by then but that I should call the missionary department and talk to them.  So I called and they said that I needed to talk to the temple department.  They gave me a number and I called and talked to the Senior Missionary in charge, who indicated that he had received an email from Pres. Atkinson and that the group for April was too big, but that they would try and get us in the May group and to expect an email or something that changed the start date for our mission.  Hurray!  We might be leaving a month early.   I tried to rent a tile saw, but they were all out.   So I put a primer coat on the walls and textured the ceiling where I had to patch it, getting the can light in.

Trying to match a textured ceiling and not knowing exactly how they did it.

Primed walls always show a few needed touch ups.

Then I worked on Jill’s list of things she needed fixed upstairs, fixed a couple of cabinet doors, tightened up her kitchen chairs, repaired the front door, and installed a latch to keep one or their cabinet doors shut in the hall. Then she dropped me off at work.  Mom was back at Horizonte teaching English as a Second Language.  She loves going there and working with the adults from many different countries.  Tuesday, first thing, 6:00am, I went and returned the hardiboard I had not used.  Mom dropped me off at John’s and she was off to Jackson Elementary to teach second graders in the Spanish immersion program.  I went in Jill’s car and rented the tile saw.  I worked all day setting tile.  The tile saw was set up outside, by their back door.  It snowed the night before and it was quite a bit colder.  As the day went on, there were icicles hanging from the tile saw.  I had to run up the stairs every time I had to use the saw. By 6:00pm, when I finished the shower, the saw was frozen and would not slide on the rails.  I had to get buckets of hot water and melt the ice so I could clean the tile saw.  I will take it back first thing on Wednesday.  My knees had had it from climbing the stairs hundreds of times.  I had a bad sore throat and felt exhausted.  Mom picked me up at 6:30 pm, just as I finished cleaning the saw.

All that is left to install is the floor and one row of tiles at the bottom.

The new shower.

We stopped and got some throat lozenges.  I went home and took a long hot shower and mom warmed up the taco soup that Charlotte had made.  After dinner I went to bed.  I was asleep by 8:00pm and didn’t wake up until 5:00am.  So here I am blogging in the early morning hours.