Mary's “At Home”

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 62, Issue 3, 15 March 1941, Page 213

Mary's “At Home”

WHAT a delight it has been to me to receive so many letters from you all! And I have had so much enjoyment from them that I feel I must share bits of my mail with you. So, here in my “At Home” you are my guests, making friends with one another, as I have made friends with you, sharing your ideas or thoughts, your experiences. Don’t you think it’s going to be fun? Please, then, next time you write to me do remember our “At Home.” , —“MARY”

IT was lovely to have son pass over the “Journal” last night and say, “Mum, look at this page!” Well, after a few hours in the milking shed, I had on only my second-best frock, but there had been another son’s birthday cake on the table, which allows me to say at least, “We met Mary on Ken’s 11th birthday.” And how welcome you were!’ ’ —“ANOTHER MARY” (Morrinsville).

THANKS so much for a very welcome and pleasant surprise. There always seems to have been lacking the little womanly friendliness in the “Journal,” but now I am sure it will be there. It is the little human touch that helps us all along in our often very humdrum life. I agree that we must never be too happy. It is only by pain that we can realise the full of many things. z

“MRS. VEE”

(Hamilton').

I THANK you for your warmly kind letter, which brought me unexpected pleasure. I like this new bud which the “Journal” has put forth, for I feel that it enhances the appeal of this very necessary periodical, and as this is essentially for the farming community, there is no danger of your section developing the forced hothouse atmosphere which renders some periodicals useless to the average every-day woman.. Your section is a channel through which you will have an opportunity of helping in the postwar reconstruction. . The struggle . for advancement has become a ruthless one, and the spirit is . everywhere visible which enables a man to indifferently watch his over-abundance of ripe fruit falling to the ground to rot, whilst there are numerous young families near by who would eagerly relish his overflow. —“RAINBOW SEEKER” (Bay of Plenty) . I WAS idling away a minute or two while the dinner was cooking when I was introduced to you. I am very pleased to meet you, and hope to have many an enjoyable visit. You sound so cheery. Don’t knock, come right in. I suppose you must be wondering about me. Well, I am just a farmer’s daughter, not a farmer’s wife of experience, . but am interested in and try to understand those around me. • z • . . , —“JEANNE” (Rakaia). JUST now the garden is looking a . little'bare in parts, as many of the flowers are over; but I have a great show of dahlias, African marigolds, asters, cosmos, and pincushions. The concrete paths have just recently been done up again, so many of the borders are practically tramped out of existence. However, they won’t take long to get into order again, I hope, as the ground is nice and moist. My winter hobby, as I call 1 it, is sewing. I bought my . sewing machine out of my own savings when I was seventeen —a few years ago now— and I’ve done all my own and the family sewing ever since. I lengthen the girls’ dresses, do alterations and make all new things during the winter, so that I have merely the routine mending and darning, etc., during the summer. I just love a few wet days occasionally so that I can keep abreast of the necessary work. Some day I think I shall crawl into a cave and be a hermit. Don’t you ever feel as though you’d just love to do that? —“MARY ANN” (Bell Block). THE old toy, cupboard has just been discarded because we discovered borer in it. Some days later Miss

Seven-years-old came running in with a bar of ' chocolate. “Look, Mummy!” she cried, “this chocolate’s got borer in it!” And sure enough there. were air holes all through it. Nothing would induce her to eat —and it had to be discarded like the toy cupboard. —“FREIDA” (Eketahuna) . ' yi ■ C,;.. <.'■/ I WISH your .pages every success. You struck a 'responsive chord in my heart writing about those two books of Winifred Holtby’s and Vera Brittain’s, as I’ve read them both, and more than once, too.

—“CROSSROADS”

(Feilding).