News from CAM                                                                                                                     May 22, 2017

Dear Loved Ones All,

A busy week starting with Monday.  Since we invited President and Sister Taggart and the Westergards to our place for dinner and dominoes for Friday we decided we should be serious about cleaning on Monday.   (When we invited the housing coordinators over for dinner I only spruced the apartment up.)  However, we have been here over a year and our apartment has been blessed with a fashionable pale beige carpet and it had definitely seen its share of traffic in and out.  So we decided it was time to get the Rug Doctor to spruce it up.  Elder Macbeth got the machine and special Rug Doctor carpet cleaner and he did a once over.  DISAPPOINTING!  Hmmmm, I guess we should have got the PRE-TREAT.  So back we went to pick up not just one, but two pre-treat formulas.   One was some magic stuff you can use anytime without having to rinse it or anything.  I sprayed the regular stuff on and worked it in and let it set.  Then I tried the magic stuff.   Wow!  It worked so much better that I ended up going back over all the spots with it.  Of course by the time we shampooed the carpet again it was much more drenched that a once over does it, so we hauled out the fan and put it on our carpet to help facilitate the drying time.  We called our Senior Couple upstairs and offered the use of the machine and some pointers which we had discovered.  They of course were thrilled because dark gray spotted beige carpet is unsightly to say the least. 

Our Ward Book of Mormon Challenge is finally completed and it was easy to determine the winner since Brother Bodily was the only one who answered all the questions.  We called him up to make sure he was there and then took him a signed Del Parson print.  He was ecstatic and his wife was quite pleased that she helped pick out which one.  Thank you Brother for being so talented and generous.   J

We took birthday cards to several ward members as well as visits to those who are in various hospitals and care centers.  I didn’t feel at all well Tuesday afternoon or night.  Wednesday is Mary’s Kitchen, a weekly opportunity to server. By Wednesday afternoon I was back if not to my A-game, at least my B-game so we also attended the baptism of a 92 year old convert.  He was wheelchair bound so it took 3 elders to baptize him, (2 helped support him).  It was quite a spiritual event.  That evening I went to R.S. Enrichment and mostly enjoyed spending fun time with the sisters as well as working on a small craft.  Of course when I got home I made cookies for Districts Meeting on Thursday. 

On Thursday we enjoyed a great District Meeting and the young missionaries were of course delighted with chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and devoured them.  We then took some cookies to the mission office. 
That took long enough that the cookies were warmed up like just coming from the oven our car was so warm. 

We dashed down to see Keith before stopping to get a Carl’s Jr. BBQ Rib Burger.  It was good but more than I could eat.  The Elders had meetings so we stopped to change clothes before heading over to our Hungarian Maria’s.  She had fallen so I washed up her dishes while Elder Macbeth watered her yard, and helped her with her mail.  Then we went to Smart and Final to price check their Swiss cheese and pick up some shiskabob skewers.  We barely had time to also go to Costco where we picked up some salmon for Friday’s supper.  We got to Book of Mormon class ahead of everyone else so that was good.  We finished the last 3 chapters so I guess we start over next week.  One of the investigators who attends our class brought some Cabalsa bread to share.  He had plenty for everyone and enough for us to use on Saturday with our cheese fondue.  When we got home I tried to figure out an extended recipe for fondue.  I read all the hints and tips for perfect fondues and by then I started to stress a bit.

Friday we finished cleaning everything.  One would have thought we were moving it was so clean. 
Elder Macbeth couldn’t figure out why I seemed to be having such a problem with my fondue recipe so he reworked it for me.  I started prepping all the veggies for the salad that evening.  While I was perusing the grocery adds I noticed some imported Swiss cheese on sale for less than half the price of anywhere else.  Tender Mercies…free bread and great cheese for less.  We of course had to go pick some up plus a few groceries for the evening’s meal.  My frozen rolls were thawed out by the time we got back but had some dried spots on them that I had to remove then rework the rolls.  Thank goodness for the quick rise method.  I finished the salad while Elder Macbeth put the salmon out on the grill.  The Westergards arrived with cheesy potatoes and steamed green beans and carrots.  Whoops, she forgot the very berry pie I left in her freezer so Elder Westergard hurried back up to their place to get it, and I popped it into the oven as I was taking out the rolls.  President and Sister Taggart arrived and what a sumptuous feast we had.  Amazingly also, they were President’s favorite foods, and Sister Taggart, who had just had some dental work, could eat everything too.

Then we played dominoes.  They had never played Mexican train before, so it was a jolly time all around.  It was fun to be able to just have a fun evening in which they got a needed break.  The Samoan Sisters who live in these apartments stopped by to get their cookies.  I always save them some since they aren’t in our zone anymore.  They were quite surprised to find our special guests.  J  Of course we had to get pictures.

Saturday arrived with me still in a quandary about my fondue recipe.  Not only that but I awoke with a giant cold sore to add to my frustrations.  We had to go to Costco to get the Gruyere cheese since that was the only place I had found it, and some Swiss Laughing Cow.  Back home I grated both cheeses so I could take some to a couple of other people to help make the fondue.  Maria called needing more help…could we pick some things up from the store for her since she had no one else to ask.  We delivered the cheeses, apple juice, recipe to the Bodily’s.  Then went to Aldi’s to get apples and Target to get an apple slicer and the things for Maria.  One of the things she wanted was some Ensure.  Well, there are 3 flavors, and wouldn’t you know, we picked the one she doesn’t like, so we got to take it back to exchange it.  At home it was a mad dash to dice the bread into 1-inch cubes and slice the apples into bite-sized pieces and finally to start the fondue.  Woe is me, the problems I was warned about all happened…the cheese separated from the liquid and clumped into a huge stringy mass.  Elder Macbeth was helping do some in another pan and his was doing the same thing, so he added more apple juice.  I quick got the Bosch and put half into the blender and worked it until the mass was broken up, but the fondue was very thin and still not smooth as warm honey!  I called Mary and hers was doing the same thing!!!!!!!  Brother Bodily tossed hers aside and started from scratch and made another batch.  There was no time left since we were supposed to be to the church to run through our dance at least ONE time.  I brought my crockpot to put it in and my biggest pan, and some more cornstarch and we burned rubber (not really) all the way to the church.  The lights were with us!  I had to find someone who knew how to light the burners on the stove at church, and I put my fondue back into my big pan and added some cornstarch in water.  Brother Bodily’s fondue which was perfect when he left home had solidified into a very thick paste so I added that too.  While Elder Macbeth was checking the R.S. closet for a whisk because our church building has no utensil except tableware, Brother Denkers came into the kitchen and asked if I needed anything.  “A miracle!” was my reply.  Elder Macbeth returned with a potato masher because there weren’t any whisks.  I really worked that brew over with that whisk, and the Lord graciously granted me my miracle.  The fondue was perfect.  I put some back into Brother Bodily’s  little crock pot and put the rest into my big one and we rushed it out to our table just as they were announcing to the crowd to go sample all the wonderful foods represented by the country each ward had chosen a dance from.  Well, we had enough food with the bread cubes, apple chunks and fondue.  Brother Pruitt made fun chicken hats for us to wear while we did the chicken dance, and we had at least 15 of us performing it and some more joined us when we invited the audience to join the dance.  So there you have it.  Tender Mercies and Miracles. 

Hope your week is fabulous!   Love, Sister and Elder Macbeth    Go!  Fight!!   WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  J