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Mon. 1-19-59
Jim is at school and She has finally gone to sleep, so at last I can sit down. She was up all night with a whopping toothache and an award-wining case of diarrhea. We took care of her & slept in shifts. She spent the night alternately wiggling & howling and emptying a bottle of skim milk (boiled) with eyes at half mast. After only one two-hour nap yesterday, she finally gave into sleep & peace at 10:00 A.M., after a first aquaintance with kaopectate. Still, however, she has only revealed that one tooth. Another may be through on the bottom, but it's too swollen to tell. We have had all kinds of advice: home, patent, & medically-approved remedies. A combination of the three, vodka & kaopectate outstanding, did the trick. She's not sleeping peacefully, as she doesn't seem to be comfortable on her stomache, but she's asleep ~ & that's something. I'll call the doctor again tomorrow morning for a progress report.
That Playtex outfit you sent is really nice. I'm saving the disposables for trips, but
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2 she wears the pants quite a bit. They're exactly the right size & fit like her skin, but they don't bind her anyplace. She used to have a minute posterior, but like everything else about her, I finally discovered it had grown.
The county and I are negotiating, or rather, they have found something I can do, so I should be starting soon. I think the last interview I had was pretty successful. I found that I had more background for the job than I realized. My stint as a bill collector & process-server will stand me in good stead.
We got a garbage disposal, a real deal. It shorted out & the gyppo appliance people told the owners it would cost more to repair it than replace it, so we traded a load of firewood for it. Jim took it apart and for $2.77 worth of bearing and $20 worth of field-coil rewinding, it's as good as new, and since we know what makes them short out like that, it should last us much longer than it would anyone else. The appliance dealers up here are making a fortune off of a flaw in the design combined with consumer ignorance. I have yet to hear of a repair appraisal that comes under the cost of
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3 replacement.
(I have to go turn on the TV as I'm going to sleep in this quiet house.)
That "Big Dial" Safety pin is really cute & just the thing for my filing system. I have another one, labeled "Red Hot" and between the two of them, my most important piles of paper should take on some semblance of order. I'm in the process of winding up the 1958 piles, and finding the deductible items and starting new piles for 1959. Pile or file, it pretty much the same in my system. Before I finish running it down completely, I have to say that it's a dynamic system, constantly undergoing revision & improvement. Thank you very much for the pin, an improvement in my system.
Wed. 1-21-59 The first issue of the National Geographic came yesterday, & we're really enjoying it, particularly the article on the atom-sub's sub-polar expedition. The map that came with it included a part of the Near East where Jim spent a lot of time during the war, & we had a good time retracing his travels. Thank you very much. I know we're going to derive permanent enjoyment from your Christmas gift.
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4 Working for the county is developing into a mountain of red tape. You should have seen the huge loyalty oath I had to sign & swear. I am also in the process of being bonded, so don't be surprised if you are called upon to verify my membership in the human race. It seems, however, that the most complicated situation related to county employment is getting a parking place near the county offices. Since I have to be in San Jose at 8:00 A.M. & drop She off in Santa Clara on the way, I have made some time, distance, & traffic studies, so that I can get there on time. After scouting the parking, I find that the thing to do is use your car on the job, so as to get a sticker entitling one to park in the conveniently located county lot. I suppose that this will straighten itself out in a couple of weeks. Though it's still quite large, She's snowsuit will be just the thing for hustling her out on these chilly mornings.
We can still only see one tooth, but it's hard to get a look, as her gums are so tender. I can hardly wait to see what she's going to look like with front teeth.
A little while ago, I baked a carmel cake mix. It's to have a dusty-rose, coffee
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5 flavored frosting. That's not the way I planned it, but that's the way it turned out. While I'm on cooking, I can't find that recipe for brown rice that you wrote out. It's with some other recipes, someplace, & I know I'll find it eventually, but if you get the chance, I'd like another copy. Jim was surprised to find that he liked the wild rice dressing I made at Christmas time, so I'm going to try the brown rice on him. He expected all rice to taste like steamed white rice.
She just woke up from her nap & is beating her crib against the wall, so that I'll be sure to hear. She is undoubtedly eager to get up so that she can search the ash trays for cigarette butts, her latest "cute little trick". She also likes to finger paint with the ashes.
The gifts from the Lanni's were really nice, especially that big tiger for She. That was certainly a nice thing for them to do. I will write our thanks today if I can.
Later 1-22-59 Thurs She got her nap in early today, so it looks like I'll really be able to get out & do things. I find that there are quite a few loose ends to tie up before I go to work. Thank heavens, She is over her little siege. She
