Cleaning House and Doing More Packing - Thursday, September 7, 1961

I spent the afternoon cleaning house. I put the vacuum cleaner away just as they got home. I haven't done my share of house cleaning like Virginia does. I now have most of the stuff I'm leaving here packed into boxes so Phyllis can move into my room. I did chores by myself tonight. Phyllis went to a sack supper FHA meeting. I wonder if I'll forget anything on Saturday. I got another letter from my "Big Sister." Time has really flown these last few weeks.

$25 More Spent on College Purchases - Wednesday, September 6, 1961

I went to town this afternoon and got my driver's license renewed a month early. I took $25 and came home "broke." I'm costing too much to go to college. I got a rust suede cloth jacket that reminds me of one Mom had at Berea [the college in Berea, KY that she and my father graduated from in 1941], two brown towels to have extra, rollers, bobby pins and hair net, etc., and some cologne. I (with Mom's help) altered my magenta dress. The blisters that were on my arm yesterday are going down. I must have gotten them from poison ivy, oak or sumac while I was mowing grass. We're in a 40-mile-wide "sonic boom corridor" from St. Louis to Minneapolis. We've had two since Friday.

Beginning to Pack for Park - Tuesday, September 5, 1961

I began packing but I filled the trunk with just incidental stuff, so I'm going to put most of that in a box. I guess I don't know how to pack yet. I just happened to be leafing through a notebook and I discovered my "diary" for the first six days of this year. My dress from Lana Lobell came. It's real cute in the new magenta color but will need some adjusting since 13 was the smallest size they had. I sewed my blue nylon dress back together after taking the net off and shortened my half slip.

Still More Mending, Sewing and Hemming - Monday, September 4, 1961

We all seem to get more done on a day like Labor Day than on a regular vacation day. It didn't seem like Monday though. I did a little mending, sewed my coat buttons on firmer, hemmed a skirt (a new one - a black one like the green one of Mom's I got last spring) and a dress. Phyllis and I got most of the grass mowed this evening. I should finish my clothes repair tomorrow and then I've got to pack.

Catching Fish in Cuddebacks' Farm Pond - Sunday, September 3, 1961

Cuddebacks, Grandma and Grandpa, Rikki and Sonja were here for dinner. This afternoon Jim, Larry, Phyllis and I went down to the pond at their other place to go fishing. Larry caught a good sized fish that he gave to us. I finally caught a fish - two in fact. Phyl caught two and Jim one. We threw ours back in. Boy, did it ever get cold. Again, fall has returned like a blast. Our next summer weather should be Indian Summer.

A Roommate Card for Vivienne - Saturday, September 2, 1961

We went to town this morning to wash, and Mom and Ann had dentist appointments. I found a cute card at the bookstore that I got and sent to Vivienne. It said: "You may think it's tough having to be my roommate" (and on the inside) "but think of me having to live with me all my life." I also got some stationery, cosmetics, and Gone With the Wind and 1984 in paperback. This afternoon we cleaned house for the family dinner we're having tomorrow and Mom gave me a permanent that should do till Christmas vacation.

An Old Gang Gab Fest - Friday, September 1, 1961

The party tonight at Helen's house was a real good old gang gab fest. Those present were Helen, Mary Ellen, Linda Scott, Linda Severt, Judy Johnson, Shirley Bush, Ronna, Billie, Elizabeth, Phyllis and I. We invited Lee in for a few minutes when he came for Judy. He said, "This isn't the kind of party boys have. We don't sit around in circles." I finished my skirt but it could stand some rejuvenating. Well, I've got the hem to do yet. A sonic boom and a huge crash of thunder were enough noises for one day.