January 6, 1973 The Broken Trees, The Three Pictures, The Good Company, The Freakish Winter and The Loose Tailpipe

Dear Mother,

"I'm glad you got your yard cleaned up. We still have brush piled up in front waiting for the street department to pick it up. It is much too cold to rake but that is what the whole yard needs. In fact, the whole town needs a good cleaning but it will take the rest of the winter to clean up the broken trees and branches. The sun is out today and we are so thankful for that because 4 inches of snow was predicted. There wasn't a flake of it. I hurried around to get errands done before the storm came but I'm glad it didn't hit us.

It just doesn't seem possible that Christmas could have come and gone and yet it seems months since the kids were here. Bob & Pat went home mid-morning New Year's day so B & I loafed the rest of the day. I did clean the upstairs and have that ready for the next time anyone comes.

Bob painted three pictures while he was home and we hung them up. He'll take two of them sometime but I think he'll leave one for me. The oil paint takes so long to dry but we could put wire on the back anyway so we could have them.

I know you must miss Aunt Cliffie an awful lot and it is hard for me to believe she is gone. She was good company and always seemed full of pep. She had such a happy laugh.

I don't believe you told me Buddy & Bessie had been back. I'm glad all of you went to see Uncle Francis. He has been sick an awfully long time.

Charlotte must be all right by now. Ann wrote that she and Bob had been to see her. They were looking at an apartment near Columbia but said it was too far out of town. She and Bob may take Charlotte's place if she and Shirley find another one. She just said they were looking but she & Bob liked Charlotte's place real well.

The days are getting a little longer so maybe it won't be too long till spring. I read today that this has been a freakish winter all over the world. Moscow has been too warm and the flu is raging and there hasn't been snow in countries that are usually snowed in.

I'm sure glad to know Aunt Nora is home for she hates to be away so badly. She'll probably have aches & pains for a long time. One of our friends fell on the ice and is still limping around. She was black & blue but didn't break any bones.

The tailpipe on the Mustang is loose so B has gone to Sears to see if they can fix it. He spent the morning at school and I worked in the basement. I made a dent in the mess but have a long way to go. The kids have so many things stored down there that it never looks very good.

I must stop and write to Ann so hope you are fine."

                     Love,

                         Bonnie