July 19, 1958 Completing the Study, Selling the Slides, Redeeming the Green Stamps and Sowing the Seeds

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"We have finally had a full day of sunshine without rain.  Things are terribly soggy and really need to dry out.


We have worked hard all week and have the house back in order again after doing some painting.  Now all of the closets have been painted inside.  The study looks quite nice even if it is crowded.  The books are finally on the shelves and we moved the TV set in here today.  It is going to be easier to keep the living room straight now.  The kids will spend most of their time in the study.  I ordered an Indian head slip cover for the old couch & when it comes the study will be finished.

I rearranged the living room after the TV set was moved out & it looks nice.  We still need a chair or two.

I have been watching the green stamp store for table lamps and just happened to go in there this week & found some I liked.  They are mostly white with a little dark brown trim--a bit like your black one.  They had only two so I borrowed a few stamps from Edna & went after them.  She had borrowed from me once when she wanted an electric skillet so I didn't care about asking her.

I have spent a lot of time on the phone this week getting committees together for next year's Faculty Women's Club and I hope that most of that work is done.

Next week I must get busy with my PTA job.  B hopes to get the quarter round down in the children's rooms & I'd like to get some sewing done.

I have spent some time with Etta this week, too.  She is awfully lonesome but is getting along fine.

The plants were pretty wilted when we got home but they will probably be all right except for the petunias.  They didn't look so bad when I put them out but they look dead now.  Everyone was happy about the locusts.  I gave Toni one.  I didn't suppose they'd have it but they wanted one.

We are still eating butter, beans, berries & cucumbers.  A friend offered me a bushel of beans today but I can't get my family to eat the ones I have.

Sorensens were here Sunday night for a long, long time.  We helped Woody with slides on Japan & explained things for him.  Edna took notes & then he made up a film strip.  He used 3 of our pictures in his books & gave B $100. for them.  B wasn't going to take it but he said the publishers had O.K.ed it & it wasn't coming out of Woody's pocket so we were all happy.  We may get a chair.

I gathered a few columbine seeds for you.  Sow them on the north side of the house along the foundations & maybe you'll have some next year.  Sow them now.

Hope you both are fine."

                              Lots of love,

                                       Bonnie

NOTES:   No one in the family has the lamps anymore, but they were used for at least 40 years in one part of the house or another.  I loved Green Stamp stores and saved the stamps avidly from gasoline or food purchases.  By the time I moved into my first apartment I had saved several books of stamps and exchanged them for the necessities.

Having no idea what Indian Head fabric was, a quick search brought up this information:
http://info.fabrics.net/indian-head-remembered-revisiting-an-american-institution/