Narok,
Masai Reserve, Kenya Colony, E. Africa
Dec.
26, 1928
My
dear Lora:
This is the day after - and while we didn’t
serve drinks yesterday
still I feel like I did something out of the ordinary. I’m not
sick but awfully tired. I’ve found out lately that when I get
tired I feel it first in my sciatic nerve - at least I think
thats
where it is. My right leg aches where I sit down so that
sitting
becomes uncomfortable & last night even lying wasn’t
restful
til in the night & I had eaten chocolate almonds &
bananas &
lemon tart & cocoa for supper - beside sandwiches and so
of
course I felt as tho I might have been drinking too heavily.
We had
supper around a big bon fire at Mr. Clarkes.
But
I better begin at the beginning: Monday was a busy day with
the tree
to get and decorate for school with the program in the
evening. I
baked 3 mince pies too & 16 lemon curd tarts. Tues.
morning was
early prayer meeting but they got started so late that we
didn’t
go. I forgot to say mail came in Mon. eve at supper time and
your
parcel of books & the San B parcels - so when we came from
the
tree we opened them. & a real Christmas thrill accompanied
the
procedure.
I
had told those who had won prizes by perfect attendance and a
few
other little folks who were to have dolls & dresses from
Mrs.
Westervelt to come at 9 Tues. morning & I got pictures of
them.
Dr.
Patterson, his wife & 3 yr. old Angus, their visiting
friends: Mr
& Mrs Braithwaite & two boys 8 & 4 and Mr Clarke
&
Shaffers family & we made up our Xmas party - 15 in
all, not
counting baby Shaffer. We took the round table out of
the dining
room & brot in a large cedar table from the sewing room at
school. and we just sat 14 comfortably with little Angus in a
hi
chair with a table. Mr. Clarke was to send up the roast &
it got
to be 9:30 & none had come so I sent down. It was a whole
back
leg of a bullock - had to roast it in the dish pan nothing
else large
enough. You may know I hustled it into the oven. Then potatoes
roasted with it and fresh peas & carrots and then a mixed
salad:
lettuce, tomatoes, eggs & radishes sliced & the first
of your
pimentos - those you sent the seed of. - forgot to say there
was
tomato catsup home made. & conserve, & mixed mustard
pickles
to eat with meat after salad came mince meat pie & cheese.
&
then Mrs Pattersons plum pudding & sauce and then coffee
(in new
percolator) & mixed candy - (home made from Kijabe)
stuffed dates
& popcorn that was to be balls but the syrup sugared.
Now
how’s that for a dinner put up by poor missionaries
out in
the blue! They came a little before 1 and we had to give out
the
gifts on the tree and cracked some crackers & all got
crepe paper
caps that we wore to dinner.
Mrs.
S- put up red & green rope decorations & bells &
wreaths
- so things looked real pretty our table boquets were white
lilies in
Claudons pretty vases - 2 stems in each. and in one window a
low dish
of carnations in the other a big bunch of white chrysanthemums
&
ivy (Ger.) vines & blossoms on the mantle.
We
expected to serve the coffee on the veranda but it was too
windy. As
soon as we could we went up to the native races but we got
there
pretty late tho they performed some stunts for us.
We
came back & took some snaps of the group on our steps
& then
went down to Mr. Clarkes. He has just received “Rigoletto” the
opera, for the phono and we listened to part of that til the
big bon
fire got to going when we went out there & sat on animal
skins
that had been brot out of the store house for the occasion.
Had
several varieties of sandwiches, tarts, candy & cocoa
& last
some bananas that the school gave us to help celebrate. A few
have
them in their gardens. We came home a little after 9. Every
body
declared they had had a grand day. Toward the last the Dr.
showed
signs of too much grandness. We hear he’s a hard drinker.
Think
of it! & a doctor.
We
are having meetings now. A.M. & eve. for a week or 10
days. Its
a change for me tho - with no school. We expect Barnetts but
haven’t
heard definitely. Conf. opens Jan. 19 goes to 27. Shaffers may
not
come back, but go on to the coast.
[remainder
of letter is missing]
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