..... Search and a Time to Give Up (Ecclesiastes 3:6)

OK my Peeps - it's been a while since I've posted and I can assure you a lot has happened since September 27th (my last post) and now (October 16th) ..... here's part of an email that I sent to a friend about what happened on Saturday, September 29th - read it and laugh..........

Entrance to the Tourist Apartment

 .........this has been a crazy day.  There is a large apartment for tourists in this stone building where I’m staying.  I'd spoken with the Marchesa di Sorbello (owner of this property) earlier in the week and agreed that I would be here on Saturday.  The Marchesa gave me the keys to the tourist apartment and asked me if I would mind letting the guests in when they arrived.  I assured her that it would be no problem because, even though I needed to run to the market for a couple of things, I felt they would get here and maybe I could cop a ride with them to the store ..... because they're going to need provisions too - right?

Well, I hang around the better part of the morning - in fact it's about lunchtime when Christy (the lady that I’m housesitting for, who helps the Marchesa rent her apartment to tourists) sends me an email that the guests will be there between 3 and 4.  Well that messes me up a little, because now I don't have time to bicycle to the market and back because I'd be afraid I'd miss the guests.  Plus they have that siesta thing around lunch (noon to 3 pm) - so I figure I'll just hang out here until they arrive.

Back of Tourist Apartment

Sometime before 3 o’clock a small car pulls up with a young man and a pregnant woman and they say they're looking for the Agriturismo Calagrana.  At least that's what I thought they said - and there is such a place down the road a ways.  To make things more complicated, somehow this business has a little icon (on Google Maps) for their Agriturismo on top of this mountain where we are, as well as down in the valley where they really are – in other words, they have two icons in two different places for their one business.  So it IS confusing - I told them what direction to head and sent them on their way.

Later on I was emailing Christy about something and told her that I'd re-directed some people to the Agriturismo Calagrana and she emails me right back and says "That must have been our guests!  The name of the apartment is “Casa del Grano” and that's what they were looking for!"

Of course, this makes me go into a state of apoplectic shock because I think that I've turned away our paying guests with NO way to get in touch with them.  I'm asking myself why didn't I ask them if they were from Australia OR if they were looking for the CASA DEL GRANO (rather than the CALAGRANA) OR if one of them was named "Robin" - I mean any question that would have made 2 and 2 go together!!!!!!

I spent 2 to 3 hours riding around on my bicycle, praying, trying not to cry, emailing Christy with profuse apologies, wondering if the Marchesa was going to put me on the rack and disembowel me - I mean, I was sick to my stomach about the whole thing.  Christy didn't have a phone number for them.  She emailed them, but they never got back to her

At some point, I just gave up – I cried out to God “I can’t do anything else.  You are God, and You can fix this if it’s Your pleasure.”  Right before dark, I'm in the kitchen (still praying) and I hear a car driving up - I run out to the gate and it's a big van with 3 very tired Australian ladies in it (one of them named "Robin") - it's the real guests!!!

I literally got on my knees and thanked God before I properly introduced myself to them.  Talk about 3 hours of gut-wrenching emotion - feeling like a village idiot.  The ladies seemed quite upset because apparently Christy told them to take a left, and they took this road that only the hunters use (if they even use it) and they said it was like going into the wilderness - boulders in the road - and no houses, I guess no place to turn around and they didn't know what to expect.  They were quite un-nerved by that and I can understand why.  I think Christy may have forgotten that road was there OR someone may have cleared the entrance to it since she left.  

This whole episode has been just a comedy of errors ...... the whole thing.  
 
I feel like an episode of "I Love Lucy" might be entertaining ...... so I hope you enjoy this  ;-)

Seriously I'm pretty sure my brain is 75% mucus with this horrible cold right now so that's my only excuse.....

STAY TUNED for more episodes of "I Love Rita"  hahahaha - believe me, it gets better...........