12 7/5/1944 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson Box 1310, Knoxville, Tennessee Wednesday, July 05, 1944

Sadie Erwin Box 44, Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks, I just had a shower and then warmed up the coffee left over from supper. Mom you would be proud of me if you saw how I don't waste food any more and it's surprising how it always seems to be eaten. I have a big glass jar where I put bread that has dried. That roast I had when you were here was just finished last week. I cut it up in little pieces and made a sauce with catsup and cooked it in that and it tasted real good. The little that was left over from that I made a sandwich for Elmer to take to work. The gravy that is left over is later warmed up and eaten on bread or some way so it isn't thrown out. We have been eating lots of blackberries. The bushes are just loaded so Elmer usually picks a pan full every night. Tonight Jimmie and I picked them and then I took him up to play in the sand pile. Today Betty wanted to go to town with me so I told her to be ready at ten sharp so she was ready at 10:30. We went downtown and I told her if she wanted a ride home to be at the car at 11:30 as I had to be home by twelve to feed the baby. I got to the car at quarter to twelve and was just driving away when she came. This afternoon we had all settled down to a nice nap when Shorty came over and said his mother had gone back downtown so he was to stay here. I was mad at the idea but then Jimmie had a good time playing with Shorty. Elmer heard that this plant was being built for electronics which is some new invention which I don't understand much about. They say Germany is also building the same kind of plant and if they should finish theirs first they would win the war. Of course none of that may be true at all. We had a letter from Bob with two postcards of Rome. Bob said he was getting along fine as he is still in the headquarters office. A new grocery store is opening up downtown so that will help a lot. In the meat department today a woman had the same experience you did, Mom in buying chops. The butcher wouldn't give her the nice ones on top. He said she had to take them in order. She said, all right, to give her the bad chops and she was going to take them right up to the OPA and ask them about it. I hope this OPA is on the level because the chops were really bad looking. Today I found a dandy book in the dime store with all the nursery rhymes in it. After we read it to Jimmie tonight he said he wanted to go to bed by himself so he did and went right to sleep. Mary slept straight through until five again this morning so will probably get used to it pretty soon. I leave Jimmie home now too when I go shopping and it is so much easier. He cries when I first leave but has so much fun when I'm gone he always says he is glad he didn't go. It's getting late now so I better get to bed but I hope you're both fine and are you getting rested up, Mom? Love, Helen Today I found shower curtain rings, a pancake turner and a cream pitcher in the dime store. The pancake turners were selling like fire.