If I had sufficient hair, I'd pull some of it out

But since it's so short I have none to spare.

Another "gray" moment this morning when we managed to misplace my new prescription for eyeglasses between the doctor's office and the store where you buy the frames and actually order the glasses.

The appointment with the optometrist went well. Ivan drove but stayed in the waiting room and I was able to communicate sufficiently with the doctor. Turns out the prescription from a year ago that I've had so much trouble with is too strong. Like a whole point too strong. So it's no wonder that the new glasses I had sent in August from that prescription didn't stop the headaches. Nor any wonder I was unable to wear my contacts last year -- it wasn't just in my head, they really did make me dizzy because the magnification was too great.

Wanted to share an interesting side note...As many of you know, Argentines kiss cheeks (or "air" kiss in the general direction of the cheek) upon arriving and leaving and this extends to everyone, men and women alike. And not just with friends -- with everyone! So we greeted with a kiss and said goodbye with a kiss the receptionist, the office manager, the doctor, and the biochemist who does all the bloodwork at the clinic and who happened to be in the waiting room. lol  How would you like to have to do that everywhere you went?!

The office manager speaks and writes fairly good English and he asked Ivan to look over a long letter he'd written to friends in the U.S. Since my appointment was for 8 a.m., we waited and had coffee and rolls at YPF after my exam and we looked over the letter then. Actually quite well done but there were some funny bits where he'd obviously struggled with the translation into English. At one point we know he meant to say he was happy to accept a responsibility but instead said he was happy to accept the "compromise". An easy mistake since in Spanish "compromiso" means a commitment. Made me feel a little better about my Spanish compositions which usually bleed red ink by the time Ivan and Marcela are finished with them. But not as much as before! I'm encouraged by the improvement (which I gauge by less red ink).

Anyway, back to the topic at hand... We stopped at two "opti" stores to look at frames and ended up taking 18 photos of me in different pairs to e-mail my daughter and SIL for their input. I'm not about to choose frames all by my lonesome because I am fashionistically (is that a word?) challenged.

[It is taking a LOOOONG  time to send them though, and I can only do it in batches of three. Makes me miss my Macbook which made it so easy to attach and send things in e-mails. *sigh*]

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There's a single missionary in Cordoba who is getting ready to shift ministries and move to Costa Rica. Tonight she's hosting a clothing exchange and on Monday a book exchange. She's invited the whole missionary community to bring what they'd like to get rid of and trade with one another. Not sure we'll make it to the one tonight but you can bet I'll be there with bells on Monday :-) Access to books is one of the things I miss most. Aside from that it will be fun to meet other missionaries who work in other areas of the province.

On Wednesday we were at the smaller Wal-mart in Cordoba. It's not the one we usually go to, but we went that day because it is near Eduardo Basualdo's where we buy paper, cleaning and personal hygiene products WAY cheaper than anywhere else. A gentleman overheard us speaking English and came over to introduce himself. He's a missionary in a town we go through on our way to the house in Sta. Rosa. They just moved here a few months ago from Bolivia to head up a new work. We spent at least half an hour talking.

It's always fun to spend time with other missionaries because they totally "get it" since they have experienced, and are experiencing, many of the same things. Having been on the other end, as a lay person in the church back in the U.S. I know there is just no way for the average American to comprehend some of the issues that missionaries contend with because it is so completely outside the scope of their own life in America. I still occasionally have "Ah ha!" moments when something happens to us and it reminds me of something a missionary has related in the past but I did not fully understand the implications until now. I know our friends and family love us, pray for us, encourage us...but you don't always understand us :-) And that's okay. We don't expect you to always "get it". I'm just trying to explain why we so appreciate these opportunities to spend time with other missionaries.

It's also why I had so much fun participating in Candle in the Corner. What a blessing -- and a kick! -- to get to know other missionary wives around the globe. I look forward to reading more of their stories. Heidi did such a fabulous job hosting this event and really encouraged us all with the time and energy she put into it, as well as her beautiful attitude. God used the project in each of our lives in different ways, some truly amazing ways and I think I can say for all of us that we're really glad we signed up for it.

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The heat continues. Last night we had two fans going in our room (ceiling and window) and it was still too hot for even a sheet. Today it's in the high 90s. Several times in the last two weeks we've had storm clouds gather overhead but they blow over without delivering any rain. Local government has divided the city into sections and the water is turned off every other day in almost every barrio. But not ours; we aren't on the schedule to have the water turned off at all. No idea why but I'm not going to complain.

So what is everyone else up to this weekend? While we try to avoid being outside too much and keep as much of the cool inside/heat outside as possible, what will you be doing?