Dear James
Sunday again and has it seemed like a long day! It is only 4:30 now and I don’t know what I’ll do till bed time. John is building in the sand and Ruth is reading. Can you send us more books as we have read everything here?
We went to town yesterday to get some soap so I could wash and I also bought more sugar, vinegar, butter and pickling spices and a piece of cloth to make a curtain to cover our clothes. It cost 50 cents and there will be enough to make a curtain for a little cupboard Ruth made out of an orange crate, too. When we got home Ruth unpacked the dishes and there was the soap! I felt pretty disgusted with myself for not having unpacked that box sooner, but had no place to put the dishes yet so I thought I’d leave them in the box.
It keeps clouding up and looks like rain but only a few sprinkles have fallen so far. I’ll tell you what I did today. Yesterday I washed clothes and thoroughly cleaned the bed room, intending to keep right on cleaning today, but I thought it wasn’t any more right for me to do unnecessary work than any one else. I finished some jelly that needed to be taken care of and got 3 pts. full. It is apple and pincherry. Then I made an apple pie and swept and dusted in the living room and kitchen, took a bath and had dinner. Here is the menu; potatoes, corn, cucumbers in cream, bread and butter and apple pie. I haven’t cooked any coffee since we came back, the cream doesn’t keep sweet overnight and I don’t like it with milk. The children brought in 4 “cukes” from the garden.
After dinner I picked some raspberries, then looked over magazines. and finally decided to write my letter. I am writing on our little walnut table. We set it in front of the east window and it looks nice and is very handy.
Jensons lost one of the mares and the other one was so sick they had the horse doctor out and they all stayed up till 4 o’clock Sat. morning watching her. The children said she was up and eating this morning so she must be better. That leaves them pretty short on horses for the rest of the season’s work. Shaws are having a family gathering today. Bryan Sells drove by with a load of folks and 2 small boys just went by here with a gun.
I hope you are rested, you looked pretty tired. Ruth is fixing a little supper party with her dishes. I wish you were here with us. The children miss you such a lot. You can be proud of them and should be, just as we are proud of you.
Well I guess this is all. Lots of love from everybody, Martha