February 25, 1956 Finding Gold, Showing Slides, The $5.00 Article and Not a Bed Made or a Dish Washed

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"It is beginning to sound springlike and I can't wait.  Tulips are coming up in our yard and there are a lot of them.  There were bare spots next to the house and I had planned to plant some flowers there but now I'll wait till the tulips are through.  When the kids first discovered the tulips they were as excited as if they'd found gold.

The kids have marble fever now and that's another sign of spring.  They do more trading with them than playing.

We had friends in last night to see some pictures so I got my house cleaned yesterday.  There are still a lot of our friends who have not seen the slides.  I served cream puffs filled with ice cream and topped with a chocolate sauce.  They were real good and are so easy to make.  That would be something nice for you to serve your club.

I got a $5.00 check for my article that I told you had been accepted.  It is only one page so I think that was a good rate.  They sent me three copies of the magazine so I'll save one for you.  They sent one of my articles on flower arrangement back and said it was too hard for children but they have kept two others.  If they think they can't use the articles they send them right back but others they keep until they can fit them in their plans.  I don't like having to wait so long to be paid but lots of magazines do that.

Yesterday was wonderfully warm but the wind is cold today and there is a light snow on.

B and I are on a committee for a tea for foreign students next Wednesday.  We will have about 50 people.  I have to make cookies and help pour coffee.

We still haven't had an announcement from Ruth & Francis.  The baby sure has a pretty name.

I want to go downtown this afternoon and look for wallpaper for the hall.  It is going to be hard to pick it.

We have our hopes up again on the garage deal.  We had decided we would tell the teacher to draw the blueprints whether his class could build it or not and we would pay him for it.  Then we would have the plans at least and would know what to plant and where.  The man draws house plans for some of the lumber yards in his spare time so we thought it only fair to pay for our plans.  He had his class up here last week to look over the prospects and then told B there was still a chance they might do it.  He is still figuring.  We are hoping they will, even if it means extending our loan for it will save us a lot of money in the long run.

I must get busy.  There isn't a bed made or a dish washed."

                  Love to you both,

                            Bonnie   

 NOTE:  I don't know what article was written and published.  There are several undated manuscripts with the letters, but with the exception of the 2 Japanese books, they are fictional children's stories and plays.  I will post the published material when they are mentioned in the letters.

For the cream puff recipe, see these posts:  http://www.annbkennedy.blogspot.com/search?q=cream+puffs

Our dad was busy heading up the effort on curriculum revision for I.S.N.U. Much of his travel was related to the work and he was released from teaching responsibilities during the semester in order to work on this task.

3rd paragraph from the bottom should read...Two successes already have been reached.  Typos in the daily paper were a frequent point of conversation in our home.