March 21, 1953 The Bigger Kids, The New Ideas, The Plain Cheap Dishes, Perfect on the Radio and Wine or Rose

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"Ann is outside playing so I can't get anything done for running to the window.  She does real well but follows the bigger kids and I'm never sure where she will go.  She has been cross all week but seems to feel all right.  I think she gets too tired but just won't take a nap.

We're expecting Wheelers next Saturday so I'm trying to catch up with my ironing.  I won't do much cleaning for the house will be in a mess five minutes after they get here anyway and I don't care.

My watercolor class is lots of fun but I don't make much progress.  I just can't find time to do anything at home and the watercolor is hard for me.  They say oil painting is much easier.  Course, we haven't had many lessons and I shouldn't expect to be an artist this quick.  ha!

We went to a program at school Monday night.  It was the chorus of little boys from Vienna, Austria.  They sang like angels but B didn't think they were enjoying singing very much.

Wednesday night I went to Mothers' Club and enjoyed that.  We discussed children's art work and things they can do for rainy days.  I got a lot of new ideas.

My everyday dishes were such a jumble of odds and ends and I didn't have enough to use when Wheelers were coming so we bought a new set to use everyday.  I didn't want to use my good dishes with five children in the crowd.  The dishes are too expensive and too hard to replace.  The new ones are just cheap, plain dishes in a greenish grey with tiny brown specks all over.

I'm so glad about your insurance.  That should help a lot.

You won't need to line your drapes.  None of mine are.  The ones in the living room are sailcloth, I think, and the dining room ones are barkcloth.  They are both washable but any of it will shrink.  So allow for a big hem.  You will need material at least 48 inches wide and 54 inch will be fine.  I think 36" material would look skimpy on your wide windows unless you just gather it on the rods which would be all right.

I always use Simpleat which is a buckram with holes in it.  It pleats itself when you put it on the rods.  The wine sounds real nice but there are lots of shades so why don't you write for samples before you order if that is what you plan to do.  It wouldn't have to be exactly like your rugs but the color shouldn't fight.  Even a rose would be nice but I think I'd like the wine better. 

B's broadcast was very nice.  It didn't even sound like him or any of the other men but B's voice was perfect for the radio.  I'd never heard him before on the radio.


Ann wrote you a little note." 
           

                 Lots of love,

                          Bonnie

NOTE: Rosalind Russell, featured above on the cover of Time, March 20, 1953, won a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway show, Wonderful Town.