Irene in the kitchen and Lily looking on; Andreas Sannemann standing on top of the scaffold that is always used to hang decorations from the ceiling; Me hanging bulbs and pine cones for decorations.

DECEMBER 18, 2009 FRIDAY

The phone rang shortly after 6:00am bringing us wide awake out of a deep slumber. Who could be calling this early in the morning? Brother Klaumuenzner wanting to know how our trip went yesterday and also to make arrangements to pick up the key to the car we drove home. He said his trip went well and that he had to deliver the car he drove yesterday to the sisters today in Dornbirn which is on the other side of Bodensee opposite Romanshorn. We made arrangement to meet him here at home between 11:30 and 12:30.

I showered and shaved and then walked into Schwamendingen to get some eggs and oranges to make candied orange peel for the last of the ingredients we needed to make some fruit cake. How can we have Christmas without fruit cake? Everybody makes jokes about only giving fruit cake to people you don’t like, but you can give it to us and we’ll love you forever (home made, not store bought!). I got what we needed and then walked back home fully expecting Neide to be at our house working on Diana’s eyebrows. But when I got home at 9:15, Diana was wondering where Neide was and if she had decided not to come over after all. About 9:30 the phone rang and when we answered, it was Neide asking if Diana was going to come for her appointment or if she had change her mind. When they talked to each other last night, both thought the other was going to come to her place, so both sat home wondering where the other was. The mystery solved, Diana was the one who went to Neide’s. We walked down together and I was just going to drop Diana off and go back home, but Neide invited us both in to look at her makeshift beauty chair. It was actually a lawn chair with blankets and pillows on it so the person being worked on could sit down and lay her head back making it easy for Neide to work on her face. I went home and Diana got her eyebrows and eye lashes worked on while I went home to make orange peel and put together the ingredients for the fruit cake. I basically had everything done except mixing the ingredients together when Diana got home.

Diana really enjoyed her time with Neide. It’s been a long time since she has been able to spend any time with her and she has become such a good friend. She is pleasant to be around and she and Diana can talk back and forth without any problem understanding one another. She spent an hour there and then came home.

Brother Klaumuenzner came at 12:30 to pick up the key to the car. He gave us a liter of milk he’d bought in Germany just so we could try it. We’ll have to see how it compares with the milk from Switzerland. He told us he’d already crossed the Bodensee twice this morning, once on the ferry with the car after which he delivered it to the sisters. He then came back across to Romanshorn where he took a train to here. The Walkers, the new missionary couple coming in January, will replace the Klaumuenzners who will be leaving sometime the end of February.

We printed off a birthday card for three year old Dora Bianda, got her gummi bears and left to pay her a visit in Volketswil. When we got to Volketswil, we made the 15 minute walk only to find no one home. We left the card/gummi bears in the mailbox and then walked back to the train station. We arrived back with almost 15 minutes to spare so, in order to warm up a little, we went into a Migrolinas (like our convenience stores at home). At Schwamendingen we made a quick visit to the textile shop, Diana’s favorite little store, to buy a pair of thinsulate ear warmers for Elder Vincent. After, we went to the Church to help Charlotte with the ward Christmas party decorations, but no one was there so we went home.

We didn’t have anything planned so we decided go ahead and make the fruit cake, which we did. After it was in the oven we got a call from Charlotte asking us if we intended to help with the decoration. Upon answering yes, she said she’d meet us at the Church at 4:15. I went down and helped the few members who were there including Charlotte, Andreas Sannemann, Bodo Rueckauer and Heinz & Lily Locher. Once everything is finished, the decorations will lend a festive atmosphere to the cultural hall. While I was gone, Diana watched the fruit cakes and took them out when they were finished. We were only going to test one of the four loaves, but ate half of it before we could say boo; it is just sooooo good. While I wrote this journal entry, Diana made some of her yummy brownies for the ward party tomorrow.

A tender mercy for today was that Roxsan saw that Diana was on the computer and skyped her. She got to talk with and see Roxsan, Mayleah and Nathan. Nathan kept trying to open Christmas packages and Mayleah kept rescuing them.