I'd like to blame this whole mess on Ken, but I stepped in it with both feet. He could have discouraged me a bit though, but no, he had to be the supporting husband this time. After attending the temple Saturday with Rosa and Marisol, we had lunch downtown then parted ways so they could go shopping for a graduation dress. We went to the post office to mail some cards only to find it closed due to a strike. No wonder I still haven't received my birthday cards:) Later on we happened to meet up with them again. They couldn't find a dress they liked. Somehow we wound up at a fabric store. I kept suggesting pretty pieces to her, but Marisol had her heart set on "melon." Whenever I suggested something, she would ask the clerk what color it was, and the clerk would inevitably answer "coral" or "peach" or "apricot." Marisol would look at me and shake her head. I remembered my own daughters shopping for prom dress fabric. Are teenagers the same all over the world? This gal lives with her family in a humble home in Nuevo Chao with dirt floors, tarp roof and cuys running around, but she's still a teenager. They finally picked out the perfect piece of melon material, then looked at me and asked, Didn't you say you could sew? We have an old sewing machine you could take home and use. Or is this too hard for you? Oh of course I could do it! So we bought the fabric, thread and zipper, when I realized they don't use patterns in Peru. People just sew. Uh oh... Being the good sport I am, I decided to give it a try. I drew up a pattern and sewed it together using an old tablecloth. It didn't work. Meanwhile the sewing machine was suffering from rust, dirt and age. Ken could see my stress level rising to a point of desperation. He took the machine apart, cleaned and oiled it and found me a new needle in the Virú market. Next he sat down with me to study patterns online. We downloaded two and used parts of each. Since then the dress has miraculously come together. Marisol will get to dress up like a princess for graduation. I still shake my head in disbelief! Plus I get to hang on to the machine!
Here's our mailing address since people have been asking for it. There's no post office in Virú, so you have to send it to Trujillo. FedEx and UPS don't work here because of customs problems. Also it takes 1-2 months, unless there's a strike.
