Dear Mom, I hope this missive finds you well. This week I had an even hotter pepper. If this pattern continues, I fear you may not receive a third letter. Other than that, I have really enjoyed all of the Mexican food. We had tacos last night and the family who gave them to us spoke only Spanish for their children to learn. Once they knew I had learned Portuguese instead, they didn't expect much of me but I got along okay.
The night before that though, we went to a member who fed us chicken soup with rice, and it was delicious, when during discussion they slapped me upside the head with some knowledge that changed my perspective on how I see all of Texas. Plants simply grow. In Texas, they don't water, rarely fertilize, and only occasionally prune their plants. I was shocked. I am still shocked. There is so much water here that they can simply drop a seed in the ground and expect it to grow just fine without any interaction at all. She was growing a row of pepper bushes that simply sprang up out of the ground. Then she hit me with a second slap upside the head. It was a cayenne pepper. I was able to put the hot sauce freely on my taco the night after. We did capture the event on camera, and you will not be seeing it, ever. Later on, we tricked some of the other district members into eating some, and that was pretty funny.
We have had member meals every day of the week, and they have become my favorite part of the day. I really enjoy them, talking to the members, meeting their family, usually a lot of little kids, it really is great. One family, the Stevenson's, fed us soup, and the Father really reminds me of Dad. He teased all throughout dinner, to the great annoyance of his family. They had a teenage son named Bobby, who I really like. He acted like a stereotypical moody teen, even as he rocked his little sisters doll, and pulled her around in a wagon, and snuck her cookies.
We went to a historical farm this week to do service. For the first two hours, we hauled wooden logs around the farm, as one of the large trees had fallen over. After that, we got a tour of the house and practiced threshing wheat by hand. It was really fun, and also really tiring. The place is stuck in the early eighteen hundreds and is a pretty cool place to see.
The weather is becoming really cool as winter approaches, and we are shivering as the thermometer rattles around at seventy two degrees. Horror of horrors I heard it might get down to sixty five this week. The really surprising thing is that these temperatures really do feel cooler, and I have gotten pretty used to eighty five degrees plus humidity feeling like ninety two. I just also can't wait for the cold months. month. week. hour. (At this point I really had better not get cold, or I'm in trouble for my hubris.) I miss the mountains though. This P-day, we woke up at five (uggggggggggggg) and fished in a river that had no fish but about a hundred turtles in it. The river also has fountains. And pretty bridges. Not at all like fishing at home.
All the other Elders played pickleball, but I enjoyed the morning instead. Then this afternoon we went to Walmart, and I got a lot of stuff I was looking for, like para cord, and all the ingredients for black licorice. I got a thermometer that looked good, went to the stake center to make some, and had a heart attack when seeing the thermometer only went up to two hundred twenty. After picking myself up off the floor, I discovered the dial still spun past the limit and gave accurate measurements past that. I still burnt the licorice though. Not even on purpose.
Aaron, I have loved what you have been making, and I hope you continue, with both the painting, and the piano. It was so beautiful to hear this morning. Just remember, that bedroom will be mine when I get home. Hehehe. Thank you so much for the anise mom, I have already put it to good use. And the food. (The other elders turned up their noses at the plums and the Spaghettios but I was so happy to see them.) At Walmart I found the same company that made the tomato tortellini soup, but not that variety. I was a little saddened, but grabbed what I could. After all that, we went to a huge bass pro fishing shop that was just five minutes away from the apartment. The place was huge. I'll send pictures.
Elder Leatherwood showed us a gun that he assembled himself as a job in Utah. Then we came here (to the stake center) and I wrote a letter that went: Dear Mom, ( I'll tell you more about what it says later ) Anyway, the weeks are full of Facebook work and mask wearing. I am so glad to be attending sacrament meeting, and it is good to hear that will be the standard at home too, soon. See all of you guys later.
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