Wednesday, November 29 Posted by Theodosia
BONES
My bones are telling me to watch for rain and cold. I dread the cold but it has come. My mother always waited for it and was satisfied when it came. She threw her shawl around her shoulders and a quilt across her lap. She read to us from our books and gave us stories. I keep the stories and one day I'll pass them on.
The cat knows the cold is coming. Her fur is heavy and she has stored up fat where she had been so skinny all summer. By spring she'll be bringing me more kittens. Dan will fuss but he knows how I love them. I've always had a cat. Always will.
The last few nights we can hear riders after we go to bed and everything is quiet. They don't come where we can see them though. I'm grateful that the horse is hidden away from the branch. A cow was taken from the Yates field last week. They have plenty but it's a worry.
Fried apples have been welcome on our table for a week or so now. I churned up some butter and used a little of the sugar I have hidden away. A few drips of bacon grease and it makes a mighty fine supper. Dan's never let us go to bed hungry, not once.
Saturday, December 2 Posted by Theodosia
BLUE SKY
The sky was the bluest I've ever seen today. The leaves have all fallen off the sycamore trees, the branches are so white against the blue sky it hurts my eyes. I wish I could capture the color in a painting but I know it can't be done. These old trees keep standing no matteer how hard the wind blows. Some winters ice has broken branches but the roots run deep I guess. Dan swept the big leaves from under the trees and burned them before they got too wet. It's lonesome now looking at the bare trees and clean yard. There's a lot of cold to bear before the leaves come back.
Sunday, December 3 Posted by Theodosia
CLOTH
After supper tonight I covered our things on the table with a little cloth that my mother made for me when I married Dan. I hate to wear it out, she's getting up in years and doesn't sew much now. But I love it so. If it hadn't been made well it wouldn't have lasted. I sat and watched her sew on it, worrying that I would have to leave here and not see her again. But Dan didn't take me away and I'm glad of it.
I walk over to see her and Daddy as often as I can. I don't miss many days. Theya lways see me coming before I get to the door and have a little coffee ina cup for me to sip on while we talk. I used to take sugar in it but the war has changed that. Now I savor the bitter taste. I guess it reminds me of the bitter thimes we are having. I pray it will end soon. Word came yesterday to the Huff's up the hill that their boy is dead. They said they knew it wouldhappen, he was so young and didn't know how to take car of hisself. I sat with them last night and will again tonight. Nothing to say, we just sit and hold hands.
I had some biscuits left from supper, they'll warm up good enough for breakfast in the morning. I kept back enough milk to make a little gravy. My cat will lap up the gravy we'll have left, I'll make sure she gets some and keep it warm on the back of the stove.
Wednesday, December 6 Posted by Theodosia
FROZEN SOLID
Dan's shirts froze solid before I got them laid across the fence out behind the house. Looking back at them, it appeared to be Dan standing there by the fence with no head and legs. Just his long arms held stiff at his sides, the wind shuffling him about a bit. Dan likes his shirts clean and wants a different one every day. I'll leave them there til dinner. My hands are red and rouhg, I'll have to put some grease on them and wrap them in rags beofre I can light out in the cold air. The old stove is raging, I need to cook and then try and get Dan's shirts dry. Then he'll want me to use the iron, it's already heating on the stove. I keep my same things on for days. I just wash a little bit here and there. Not Dan though, he likes clean. Sometimes I think I might smile if the water is too hot for him. After all the trouble he shines himself up and I guess it's worth it. Dan does keep good care of us, brings in food and always has medicine in his doctor case. Late last night after we were asleep we heard the wind come roaring down the holler. We had to stay so close to keep warm, made me glad Dan likes to keep clean.
