T.G.I.F. (Thank God It's Friday) (pg 9)

Even though that makes it friday the thirteenth. I don't believe any day could have been worse than yesterday. Perhaps my bad luck was just early.

Since it rained the early part of the week, I really had loads of wash to do, so yesterday I decided rain or not I had to wash. I had two loads done and heard Beth screaming - not just a complaining scream but a hurt one, and I found she had a big bump on her head ... must have banged it some way. I comforted her and put cold compresses on it, but it sure took off many days of life and gave me more gray hairs. I had put a cade in the oven since Dick was bringing home Captain Hill from the base for dinner, and in the excitement I forgot about that - one ruined cake. (I iced it anyway with crummy icing, so all and all, it was a good example of how not to bake!) On top of this Snoopy forgot herself and did a "mess" in the dining room. Well, I got the wash out and at this point I Beth crying - just complaining though. I hustled in and settled her and I happened to look out the window. What I saw was enough to make me just plain cry. Snoopy was chasing all over the lawn with pieces of my laundry! It was strewn all over the garden, plus the clothespins. By that time I just had had enough. I don't know how I gathered myself together, but I did and rewashed the clothes.

Actually from then on things went along smoothly. We had a very pleasant dinner and evening.

Rinnie (English girl married to one of the boys on the base) told me that after we had been here about a month, the local people would come and call. Last night we had our first visitor... a Mr. Hopkins, and what a character. I never knew the British had such a sense of humor. He had a scotch with us and kept mein stitches the whole time. He has two children, a little girl of two and a baby girl just three months old. He said his wife would come and visit me soon. I hope so. I asked him about the spidres around here (forever on my mind) and he said that there was just no way to get rid of them. He said their's were so big you could hear them stepping on the boards! Well at least I know of someone else who thinks they're big. And for the cobwebs, he said they used them for decorative purposes - "Very pretty with the candles beneath them".

Jim Frost and I finally have reached the stage where we can understand one another. You know I found how what a lot of the difficulty was. Jim has no teeth and he stutters a bit. Usually when he has finished the chores here, he say, "Well, I'm going up top now." It took me a while, but now I know he means he's going to bed.