31 Acacia Ave. Ottawa
12th Oct. 1952.
Dearest Mummy,
Thank you so much for your letter which we got on Friday. We were so glad to know that you were safely back in St.V. & happy to be home with Auntie Muriel again. I can imagine how nice & comfy it must be to be back at “Noyack” again after all your travels & to get all your things unpacked & put away. Auntie Muriel must be such a wonderful companion after Auntie Trix & her funny little ways & I can just guess what hundreds & hundreds of things you have to tell each other & talk about – practically as bad as you & me! I expect that you are thoroughly enjoying all the lovely flowers again – Ottawa is looking very lovely & gay just now too – but not with flowers, with all the gorgeous coloured leaves. Cec & I keep talking about this time last year & comparing what we did etc. & I expect that you are doing just the same. The weather has been heavenly this last week – frosty at night & lovely sunny, bright, blue-skyed days – the leaves are all colours & looking out of our bedroom window the trees are beautiful. The leaves are just beginning to fall & at first when Lindy was out in her pram & a leaf would fall into it she got highly indignant & cried for me to come & take it away, but now she just throws it out herself. The tree outside Lindy’s bedroom window is all completely golden & on Friday night the frost caught it & leaves fell down in showers, so we now have a pretty gold carpet too. Mrs Graham’s zinnias all got caught with frost too but they don’t look so nice – all black withered stalks! Do you remember Tania, the old lumbering brown & white spaniel belonging to the Earle’s? She has become a great friend of Lindy’s & comes to the pram & pokes her nose in & Lindy pats her head & very often Tania comes heir to Lindy’s morning cooky! Anyway Mr. Earle told us that Tania had seven lovely little puppies! I was amazed as I didn’t know she was even pregnant!! She is only 7 years old, not nearly as old as I thought, but this is her first litter & Mr. E said that she was so proud of them- both Cec & I thought it would be so sweet to have a little puppy, but with a Lindy & Algy & a lodger our common sense told us to leave the puppy till another day!
We have had such a nice day. Tomorrow is Canadian Thanksgiving day, so Cec has a holiday which is lovely too, but today I heard Lindy chattering when I woke & looked at the time & nearly fell out of bed when I found it was 10:30!! I couldn’t believe it, but Cec got up & went to her & she was all gay & happy & had apparently just woken up. Cec was so delighted as it was his morning to get up & he thought Linda had been so kind to her Daddy! He took her & gave her breakfast & then got ours ready & I went down for it. Lindy was just so full of fun & high spirits that she entertained us continually. Afterwards Cec took her out a walk & I washed up & cleared away as we’d had Margy & Cy here to bridge last night so there was quite a few dirty dishes around!! Both Lindy & I had a rest this afternoon & we had a thoroughly restful, pleasant day & both felt very happy about it. Lindy by the way, now WALKS by herself! On Tues. Oct. 7th she nonchalantly set out & walked into the middle of the sitting room & then sat down solemnly. Today she has been walking from Cec to me & back again & thinks it is a wonderful game & squeals with delight! Apart from walking by herself she is great on walking holding your hand now, & I don’t have to carry her upstairs anymore, she clambers up by herself. She loves to get hold of my skirt & pull herself up & walk around holding onto me – we play puff-puffs & I go along saying puff-puff & she hangs on & trots behind very pleased! Her talking is continuing & she can understand such a lot of things we say now- I tell her to pick up something from the floor & hand it to me & she will go & get it & give it to me. Such a clever girl! Cec & I were laughing over her talking the other day & Cec said it was like Chinese – a lot of words that seem the same, but the intonation is different!! For instance she says “Ba” for bath- “Bu” for bus, “Bar” for Barry, “Ba-ba” for baby & the doggy says “Bo-bo”!! She also says “Ha” for hot & knows very well what it means which is wonderful as she keeps well away from anything we say is hot. She touched one of the radiators when we first had the furnace on, & since then won’t go near them, & is very cautious over her bath water etc. & doesn’t go near the stove. She is all around the kitchen now of course & loves to take things out of the cupboards & waste paper out of the box- to my amazement though, she is actually tidy & often put the things back in again!! Her Granny Costain sent her a little sun-suit & a baby doll for her birthday, with a little dress & nightie for the dolly, & Lindy is so sweet with the doll. It is not very big, but made of some sort of rubber stuff that makes it feel just like skin, & is very cute – Lindy will throw it around & trample on it & then relent & pick it up & cuddle it! She will give you a kiss very willingly now, but she opens her mouth and sticks her little tongue out so it’s a slightly damp affair. Altogether we think she is the prettiest and cleverest baby we ever knew!
I have had a busy week somehow- for months I have been a week behind in the ironing, so last week I made a huge effort & caught up! I ironed on Monday, washed on Tuesday & ironed again on Wednesday!! On Thursday Lee invited us all over to dinner – we were a bit reluctant to accept as it is such a way over there, & would make it so late for Linda, but she had also invited their friends Jerry & Elizabeth & said we would have dinner early & we could leave as soon as we liked, so we had to say yes. I picked up Cec at the Lab. at 4:30, so that we could get through town before the 5 o’clock traffic, so we got there in good time without any difficulty. I fed Lindy at 6 as usual & she was as lively as a cricket! She just loves Barry now – as soon as we mention his name she begins saying “Bar-Bar-Bar” & crawls around looking for him. When we first got to Jim & Lee’s she made us all laugh so, as she sat beside him on the sofa & cooed & poked at him & screwed up the front of her dress & was so little girlish!! She crawls after him & plays & is very good. The other guests were late, so by the time we had dinner etc. it was way past Lindy’s bedtime, but she was as contented & good as could be – while we ate, she chewed a crust from a bread roll & occasionally came & stood at the table to see what was going on & then would go away & play on the floor – we were proud of our daughter! Eventually we didn’t get home till 9 o’clock & put her straight to bed, then Cec & I were so exhausted with her first dinner party that I retired by 10 & Cec wasn’t much later! On Friday I cleaned the whole house & even polished the dining room floor, using your stuff that is supposed to clean too, but I see some marks now which I’m going to have to remove with soap & water after all! On Sat. I washed our big bed coverlet as it was a lovely day & got Cec to help me hang it out – it was very dirty, but looks so nice now & tomorrow, if it is fine I will wash the curtains.
I forgot to tell you that Cec has made me a grand draining board beside the sink, so now I am all set there & find it so convenient after having the rack on top of the radiator. The rack now sits between the radiator & the edge of the sink & is just at a good height for me. Cec also vacuums the sitting room for me at the weekends sometimes & has been very busy at night with the old “nursery” chair. He has taken it all apart & after scraping off about 20 layers of paint finds that it is good old oak, so he is patiently scraping each rung & spindly piece & going to do a good job. Everyone who sees our room upstairs room now says how lovely it is & we think it is nice too! We have it arranged so:
The English fellow, Dan, came over on Friday evening & sat & chatted till after 10- he isn’t coming till 1st Nov. because of giving notice at his other place, so we won’t be getting any revenue till next month – sad! He will pay $35 a month for the room though & breakfasts & any Sunday meals extra, so we are quite content. He seems a nice fellow- lonely we think, so we are sorry for him. He is engaged to a girl in England & was telling me that when he was with us he’d be glad to help around the house etc. as he must get domesticated! So that sounds nice!
Lee has lent me her machine for 2 weeks while she is in Toronto with Jim’s mother, so I am going to make Linda’s curtains, finish the frill on the bed in the front room, turn some of Cec’s shirt collars & have myself a busy time. I wrote to Dottie about getting the curtain material for the sitting room, but have heard nothing from her as yet. Since Cec painted the room it looks very bare without curtains, so I will be glad to get them up. We have put your round mirror on the wall opposite the fireplace & it looks nice & reflects the fire beautifully when we have it lit.
I had a letter from Connie yesterday (I had written to her the previous week! Also A. Ettie)- not thanking me for our present to Christopher – never mentioned it! – but wants me to send her some Evenflo nipples!! Leonard hasn’t decided on which of his offers of jobs to take yet!! Also heard from Gunborg & poor Gunborg has been ill again – nearly pneumonia & had to cancel a trip she was taking to N. York with Gordon for a spree.
I had a letter- or 2 rather, from Amy about the wedding – but very nice ones really, & sending the newspaper photo etc. Cec & I don’t care for it of Ruth although it shows her dress etc. beautifully but she looks much prettier than that. I had a letter from Ruth to which she asked me to send on to you so I will when I answer it. Amy says she & Charlie went down for a day & saw them & helped them put up 30 pictures- we nearly collapsed – 30 in a room in a 4 room house!!
Did I ever tell you about how amused I was after Al & Betty’s wedding at Betty’s mother, Mrs. Burrough? She is a plump, kindly middle-aged woman – rather simple, you know! – & obviously wrapped up in her daughter & husband. Anyway, within the week after the wedding she rang us up 4 times- enquiring for me, telling us they’d heard from Betty & Al etc. & so on. Obviously the poor woman was so lonesome she had to talk to someone & chose us. Last week she rang up & said could she come & see me so she came on the Thurs. afternoon & had a cup of tea & saw Lindy. She had brought the wedding photos which Mr. B. had made into a book & bound & tooled a beautiful leather cover. Betty was in white & veil – made her own dress of lace. They were very good. Betty & Al have an apt. in Saskatoon & seem to be settling down. We are getting Cec’s dad to get them an electric lamp (wholesale, like our kettle!!) which they can choose, & we thought it would save them the trouble of taking it all that way. We suggested a kettle, but they had one, so we agreed on a lamp.
On re-reading your old letters have just been tickled at you winning the rum & bowls for A. Trix at Bingo – I think you did very well – the only time I ever played on board ship I never won a darn thing. I have written down the 4 small batteries for your Zenith but will wait till you write & tell me what the other things were that you wanted. Must stop & go to bed now- will be busy tomorrow with my washing & Thanksgiving Dinner – we couldn’t afford a turkey, but are having roast pork which I am going to bone & stuff!
Lindy sends a big, big kiss & hug to Grannie – I forgot to tell you she is still a little puppy about getting up on the sofa etc. although she puts the leg in the right position now, but she can get down easily from the sofa or our bed & is very careful. She objects thoroughly to Cec whistling & whenever he begins – usually in the car – she leans forward & points at him & makes a face & says “Eeaye”!!
Lots of love from Cec & me & a wiggle from Algy! – Love to A. Muriel- is Jean back yet? I would like the pattern of those 2 tiny baby jackets she made Lindy.
Cyn.
A Family History in Letters 