Dear Family,
Hi! Thanks alot for the post-card I got last night from Charlotte, North Carolina. Last night was the 1st time we got any mail since getting into Merritt a week ago tomorrow. I hope you all start using "General Delivery - Quilchena".
Yesterday we moved into a house. It's just for two weeks. We are just eating our meals & sleeping over there. I'm happy to say that the house has a bath-tub & hot water too!! (Real Luxury Living!) We are staying in the house while the people are away for two weeks. They left us a bunch of bing cherries -- or what-ever they are called out here.
The house has a wooden stove. Wow -- what an experience! I don't see how Elizabeth Johnson did all her cooking on one of those stoves. One thing for sure -- it is a big help in heating up the house too!! Most people's houses that we have been in do have wooden stoves -- I think I have only seen one electric one. There isn't any TV's on the reserve that I have seen. Only one family in Quilchena has a telephone. But I don't think these people realize or even think about what they don't have.
Today is Dominion Day. We didn't get to go in -- could not find a ride. No one seems to be in Quilchena -- at least it is a good day to catch up on my letter writing. (Now that the price went up a penny today!)
A woman in Quilchena gave us quite a bit of salmon yesterday. It was really good! Wish I could save some for you-all -- since I can't I'll eat some for all of you.
Last night Dixie & I went to see six different families. The way some of them live would really surprise someone. I met yesterday an old Indian woman that could only speak Indian. But I was lucky because her grand-daughter was there who could speak both English & Indian. I am learning a few Indian words. Kla-how-ha = welcome. luke = no
I'm not sure about alot of the spellings. Mosts of the people have to know how to speak Indian -- even the children. All but a very few know & understand both.
Tuesday night after the ball game Lorna & Bev (two girls 9 & 11 - sisters) came up & got me to go horse-back riding. Well. We went about 50 yards at the most and I slid off the horse. There wasn't any saddle on the horse. I wasn't hurt except my hip definitely felt it. It was really pretty funny later as I had alot of trouble getting on & finally someone helped me. And then I went & fell off. Wow!
Starting tomorrow and for the next two weeks Dixie & I together (probably one at a time) will be looking after a 7 month old boy so a girl named Annie can go to Canoe camp. (Also run by the mission) The little boy is Annie's nephew -- she takes care of him for her sister who works 2:00p.m.-10:00p.m. So we are going to be pretty busy.
Karen Hansen (nicknamed Sappie) is going to be with us for the next two weeks so that is going to be a big help. Sappie is in charge of camp recruitment for the camps held at Thetis Island -- by the mission. She is just in charge of the recruitment here in this area.
The cooking so far is going fine. I do a fine job of opening up a can, putting it in a pan, heating the stuff & then putting it on plates to eat. The other day when I cooked we had pancakes for breakfast, lunch was vegetable soup & biscuits, & that evening for supper we got invited out. Good timing, huh? We were invited to Marianne's where we had deer meat, spinach, corn on the cob, etc. etc. Wow -- it was a really good meal!!
Marianne is the woman that let us use her washing machine the other day too. It's not like the type we have. You have to fill it up with water yourself & when the clothes are done you slide them through two round 'deals'.
Quilcehena has to be the capital for mosquitoes of at least British Columbia. There seems to be fields where they grow (breed) mosquitoes.
Back to the cooking. The mission gave us 4 big boxes of Bisquick. And if we need more we can get more from the missionary in Merritt. In fact, they (the mission) also gave us a cook book printed by the Bisquick Company. It is advertised on the Bisquick box.
Well I better be closing. OH. The Mission was (is) suppose to be sending a little news item -- um -- can't think of the name I want to use. Anyway some thing should be in the News Journal that I'm working with N.A.I.M for the summer, etc.
Got to go -- thanks again for the post-card. Hope you all got home safely.
Um -- was wondering about my blue tennis shoes. Could you all send them parcel post or ???
Has my 'stuff' gotten home yet? I sure hope it all made the trip successfully.
Hi! to Grandma & Cris
No comments:
Post a Comment