Today is Saturday, our p-day. In anticipation of the arrival of the Griffiths, our replacements, we cleaned (actually starting earlier in the week) our apartment, which they are going to live in, better than its been cleaned in years. Myrna's back (sciatic nerve) has been bad, and, of course, cleaning did not make it any better, so she has been in some pain, for which Sorella Allen showed her some exercises, she has been doing. Early on Friday morning, we moved down into the office anziani's apartment on the second floor, which they spent a few minutes getting ready for us. Yesterday, about noon, the Griffiths arrived. We were going to dinner with them and our car, the Opel Meriva, wouldn't start--the battery was dead--so we drove another mission car, the Torneo. We went to dinner with the Griffiths and the Allens, to the restaurant that used to be a farmhouse, where we take missionaries when there are too many to fit in the mission home. It was pretty noisy in there and I couldn't hear much of the conversation, but had a nice time. I had a cotaletta alla milanese, a very large thin piece of veal breaded and fried in butter, which was a lot of meat. We had a pizza as an appetizer. Myrna ordered the same pasta as the Allens, and left most of the sugo, which seemed to be made with some kind of sausage and wasn't wonderful. We slept on the double bed, maybe a queen size, in the anziani's apartment, with the air conditioning blowing on us. We did get some sleep, but it was difficult. I got up half way through the night and found another pillow. We met the anziani at 9 am today and tried to jump start our car. When it wouldn't, Anziano Hogan, who is going home next week, and I drove to the Opel dealer nearby, but found the mechanic is not there on Saturday, so we may take it in on Monday. President Allen came out and tried to jump start it, believing the cables were too small. We continued to try, until it started, and now it is charging in the garage. If we need to go anywhere we could take the Torneo, the car that we took last evening. Myrna has been up in the anziani's apartment trying to bake cookies and muffins--the muffins turned out okay, but not the cookies. She said the oven kept turning off. I have been babysitting (being companion with) Anziano Wilson, whose two companions went to a ward activity in Lodi, and said they would be back before noon, but it is after 1:00 and they aren't back yet. The Allens took the Griffiths to see the castle with the doll museum (Borromeo) we saw last Saturday, and just texted to say it is wonderful. I am still down here in the office, working on my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow, on the Word of Wisdom, off and on listening to organ music on Piotr Grabowsky's site. I just went up to see if Myrna had made pasta for lunch, and she had just got out of the shower, so I started boiling the water. Piotr has put on his site pix of the organs, including the one we went to see recorded, but it will be Oct or Nov until he can make them so they could be downloaded, to which I am looking forward. So that is more than you wanted to know about a, so far, very boring p-day. Jeff did send his pix of his trip to Austria, which were good. He ate some kind of sausage, looked like big hot dogs, every day. Speaking of hot dogs, I had some in the refrigerator that I brought down to the Anziani apartment, so I may go up and cook some for lunch with my pasta. So, I stopped in on my way up and asked Anziano Wilson what he was doing for lunch, and he said he didn't know and that his companions were eating at the event, so I said I would bring him some of our pasta. I went up and asked Myrna to cook some for him, just as she was taking what she cooked for us out of the water. So she started boiling more water and we cooked more pasta. In the meanwhile, Anziano Wilson's two companions, Anziani Hogan and Kewene-Hite showed up and said they hadn't eaten much (they had hot dogs) at the event and were hungry. So I went back up and added more pasta (I had enough sugo). I dumped the package of hot dogs into the pasta water, cooked it, and brought it all down. Anziano Wilson ate two servings, but Anziano Hogan said he was full, but ate a little, probably not to insult me, and put quite a bit in a container for later (dinner). Anziano Kewene-Hite, who is a more discretionary eater, never came in and ate any. So now it is 2:30 on p-day and Myrna is still upstairs nursing her back. It is now 3:30 and she just came down. It's now 4:10. I went out and our car started, so I decided to go out to Abbazia Mirasole, which is exactly 1.7 km from the office, because I have not seen it for some time and I believe things have changed out there. I asked the office anziani, whose p day is today, if they wanted to follow me out there and see it, but they didn't, although they said that if the car wouldn't start they would come and get me. Then I asked Myrna to go with me and she said that Peter Meiser, the guy over cars from Germany, who came this week, said that seniors could not go places in their mission cars on p day any more, as it uses too many miles, so we didn't go. In the meantime, the Allens and Griffiths, who went on their p day to the Borromeo castle, in the president's car, just returned, so I suppose we need to hang around. My response to not being able to go in the car was I am glad we are leaving in three weeks. Then, as I was pouting, Myrna went back in and talked with Anziano Wilson and they agreed that Peter didn't really mean that for senior couples. So, before it closed, we drove the 1.7 km to the abbazia and saw it, perhaps for the last time. I took some pix, which I will post here, but I know I have already posted them before. I had an idea that I should go back out sometime (it would only take 15 minutes start to finish), photograph all the new signs, which are only in Italian, and translate them into English and give them the file, which they could either just print on paper or re-make the signs. Most of the more important places we have seen, including the Borromeo castle, have their signs in both Italian and English.
Our Opel Meriva parked in front of the main gate to the abbey. The car started right up when we wanted to leave.
One of the interpretive signs near the front gate showing the layout of the abbey.
Inside the compound, you see the ancient church on the right and the front of the chapter house to the left, there was a family visiting while we were there, otherwise, no one was there. except two girls, who may work or volunteer there.
The front of the church, the entrance to the abbey to the left of the two girls. Last year it was not open to the public as it is now.
The front of the church, the high altar, with ancient frescoes on the walls, although many have worn off.
A side altar, the Chapel of the Nativity, with its altar painting, and a new sign, of the type I could translate for tourists. There used to be a large crucifix on this altar, which got in the way when taking pictures of the painting.
A sign describing the chapel.
A fixed, in Picasa, picture I took of the painting, which is fairly large.
Inside the cloister, which we walked around, looking in the rooms.
There are a few relics that came from the church.
This one has a piece of bone, albeit very small, from St. Ambrose, who was from Milano.
There were a couple of books from the 1800s that belonged to the church within the small museum.
A shot of the cloister, showing the church and bell tower. The bell from the tower was in the museum, although I did not take a pix of it.
A vertical picture showing a fairly new fig tree. It was a pleasant 15 minute excursion that perhaps I will do again before I leave.
On Wed. of this week we went to the Cimiano church for new missionary training, the last we will do there.
There weren't as many new missionaries as in the past, because we haven't been getting as many as in the past. This is President Allen welcoming them.
Myrna made brownies for the conference and I walked, with Anz Salatino (they just showed up), down to the grocery store I have been to enough times they remember me, to buy some ice cream. On the way we passed this tobacco shop, which was closed, but someone, probably the owners, had a picture of the pope painted on the taporelli, or shutters. (I have not seen this before, so it is a new picture.) Italy has too much graffiti, and sometimes people even pay to have it painted, as this was. It shows that the pope gives a thumbs up to buying your cigarettes at this tobacco shop. Italian culture is very much intertwined with the Catholic church, so this isn't as ridiculous as it would be like in Utah to have President Monson giving a thumbs up to a commercial venture of some sort.
I gave my 45 minute training to the new missionaries on how their mission cards and other financial things work. I give the same presentation on the day they first arrive in the mission (so they are basically asleep), and then six weeks later at new missionary training, telling them that poor Joseph Smith had to listen to Angel Moroni give the same message 4 times, including by the fence. And then, some of them still don't remember all the things I tell them, which would make their lives easier.
Myrna took the above pix of me then went back in the kitchen to wait, doing an exercise for her back. On the floor behind her you can see one of the two crockpots we took of chicken breast in barbecue sauce, which they put on large hamburger buns.
The sorelle come through the lunch line first. Our menu was, as you can see, watermelon, potato chips, apple slices, carrot sticks, potato salad, sliced cheese, chicken with sauce, on hamburger buns.
Then, on Thursday, for lunch in the office, we made a "go home" dinner for Anziano Hogan.
Anziano Brooks, an AP who is going back out in the field (Brescia), was microwaving the flour tortillias.
Lunch was requested Cafè Rio pork (Kevin and Tess recipe), Mexican rice, Sorella Allen's baked beans. lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and on the table was guacamole and chips and salsa, I made (one hot one not). I am not sure why I didn't take a pix during the lunch, which went well. We went around the table telling how much we liked (roasted) Anz. Hogan and Brooks. That evening, after the anziani came in at 9 pm, we all walked over to the gelataria and had ice cream, and then came back to the conference room, where everyone, including President and Sorella Allen, each went around the table telling good things about us, and what they would miss, which they wanted to do before the Griffiths came the next morning. It was nice and we enjoyed it.
Ciao for now.
No comments:
Post a Comment