E. Neuffer looking at the fish, E. Bentley & me; Rheinfall; Elders Bushnell, Dahneke, Sills, Bentley, Neuffer & Charlotte.

JUNE 7, 2010 MONDAY

So, today being P-day, we thought there would be seven missionaries and Charlotte coming to Schaffhausen to spend their P-day with us, Elders Porter & Morris from Zurich, Elders Bushnell & Sills from Singen and Elders Bentley, Dahneke & Neuffer from Schwenningen. Charlotte and the two from Zurich were going to be here around 10:00 and the others were supposed to be here right at lunch time so in preparation, I made a quick run to COOP, MIGROS and Denners because we know missionaries are always hungry. Before I left though we made a couple loaves of banana bread and put them in the oven to bake. When I got to the shopping center, I bought a couple of pizzas and some fixins for them as well as some peanuts, chips and a few other things. By the time I got back Charlotte had called to say Elders Porter & Morris had something come up and couldn’t come and she wouldn’t be arriving until about noon.

Charlotte was good as her word and arrived at around noon and then we waited for the others who didn’t arrive until 2:30. The called a couple of times to say it would be only another fifteen minutes or so, but it drug on and on. In the mean time we had a good visit with Charlotte. By the time the missionaries arrived there wasn’t enough time to cook any pizzas and still be able to go to the Rhine Falls. Diana has been wanting to have a nice restful day at home, and she’s been to the falls and sees it every time we take a train to Zurich or Jestetten, so she stayed behind while the rest of us piled into the two cars and drove to the falls. The Rhine Falls are pretty impressive and the missionaries had a good time. We rode the tour boat from the side we were on over to the side Schloss Laufen was on and then climbed to the overlooks. There were several overlooks, one at the bottom, one in the middle and then one at the top. Each one has its own perspective and standing on the middle overlook, it seemed we were right in the river. What made it better was the high water from the melting snow in the mountains.

I’ve been wanting to go into Schloss Laufen (Laufen Castle) since it opened this spring after being renovated. I paid for the boat ride and the entry fee into the castle (7sfr each) for the missionaries and myself, but we were disappointed in the castle part. I was expecting to see living quarters, hearth, kitchen, dining hall etc. about how people lived in the mediaeval times, but all there was were a few pictures and photos on the history of the Rhine Falls, a few paintings and not much else. The Thun castle was the same way. Aren’t there any castles that are restored to their original design and function?

When we were finished looking, Charlotte caught her train back to Zurich while the rest of us rode the boat back over to where we started. We got back into the cars and drove back into Schaffhausen. They wanted to go to the Munot castle, but they ran out of time. They did have time to drive to an overlook where they could take a panoramic photo of it after which the Singen elders headed for home while Elder Bentley and his two companions drove me home. Elder Bentley said he only knows how to get back to Schwenningen when he starts out from our place, at least that’s the excuse he gave for driving me home. I could have taken the bus. No one had time for pizza so they will get it tomorrow for lunch after district meeting instead of the taco salad we were planning on.

Tonight we made the frog-eyed salad using the recipe our friends, the Doyles, in Geneva sent us the other day. It all went well and tasted really good until we put the grated coconut in it. When we tasted it, it tasted a little soapy and then we looked on the expiration date to see if it was the culprit. It expired over a year ago. Good grief! We’ll let it sit in the fridge overnight and then add the cream to see if it is any better in the morning. Whether it is or not, we’ll see if the missionaries will eat it. It’s not all that bad anyway, but it could be better.

This afternoon we got a test message that wasn’t good news. Jasmin Hunziker said her kids were sick and she had to work on Wednesday, the day of our next appointment with her and her children. We sent a message back giving her some alternative days to meet, but we haven’t heard back from her yet.

Elder Bentley called at 9:35 and said he had a problem with his suit pants. He said he’s only had one pair of pants for most of his mission and the material is very very thin in the crotch area and he wondered if Diana would be able to sew a patch on them or something. He’ll be released in a couple of weeks so he just wants them to get him home without having to buy another pair over here. He’ll bring them with him to district meeting and we’ll see what we can do. I’ll probably run into the Bernina store and see if they have any iron on patches.

The tender mercy for today is that everyone had fun and we encountered no trouble.