My dog ate my homework

My sister is a teacher. I have friends that are teachers. I've even thought about being a teacher. One excuse, however, that we have all heard, even if just in a joke, is "My dog ate my homework." We all blow it off as a lame excuse, right? Well, that's what happened today in Guatemala. Today was the day we were supposed to get the certified copies we NEED in order to process. We've been waiting for the right day for the last 2 weeks, I think. Well, the translator went to pick things up today and guess what? No copies. Why? Well, the copier is out of toner. You know, "My dog ate my homework." No toner? Of course, there are multiple storieslevels and multiple courts in this one building but no, a copier on another floor or court could not be used. We suggested that the translator just go out and purchase the toner cartridge herself (we would pay her back, of course). She said she had already proposed that to the clerk but the clerk and judge said that they didn't want to be accused of accepting a bribe and so they couldn't do that. So, the ink cartridge is supposed to arrive tomorrow morning. It was also supposed to be there today too. Again, I won't be holding my breath for those copies. I'm glad I didn't start holding it yesterday. I'd be dead by now....

Today, I asked HV to help me snap a photo of the two dogs together for the Christmas card. Here's what she captured in the first attempt

As I uploaded this photo from my camera, it really reminded me of today's happenings in Guatemala. The camera and the operator were just a little slow, not capturing the intended subject of the photo. Instead, we got a blurry of the grass, nothing else. Just the same ol' grass. And just like this photo, tomorrow J and I will try again to capture a decent photo of the dogs together for the card and the translator will return to court, again, to attempt to obtain those copies. Oh my!