Saturday, January 4, 1958

411 Bonnie Dr

El Cerrito, Calif

Jan 4, 1958

Dear Brothers & Sisters

As you see I have held up the round robin almost a month this time but I felt that since we hear from one another at Christmas, I might as well wait till the new year before sending it on its way. The new year finds us recovering from a series of colds and some stomach flu, which affected Muriel primarily, but we are now about back to normal — as normal as things ever are with two youngsters whose only norm is change as far as I can discern. Christmas this year was a big event for Muriel and for Palma also, who I think was quite affected by the unwrapping of gifts etc. — more so that Muriel was at her age. Muriel received amongst other things a tricycle; after several falls on the sidewalk in front of the house (which slopes slightly) & in the garage she now practice in the patio until her proficiency is increased. Palma rises the “wonder horse” with considerable vigor and it’s always a wonder to me how she manages to get on it — I keep feeling she’ll slip and fall on her face but she hasn’t so far.

We have had a rather wet fall for California, and I think a little cooler than average. Early in the fall we had some rather warm weather along with early rains and this led to a considerable number of late roses but these have now mostly faded. The leaves on our Modesto ash trees are now all gone — blown off a week or so ago on a windy night. It’ll be a couple of months before the new buds start to come out. However even now there are a few signs of spring — the lengthening days, a few daffodil leaves coming up here & there, the robins etc — so it won’t be too long before the feel of winter will pass. This afternoon I spent working on a grape arbor I am constructing; I didn’t get finished but another half-day will suffice and then I can tie up the grape vines properly (and hope to garner a better yield of grapes next fall, as well as enjoy a shady nook in the garden on warm summer afternoons).

As usual most of our activities center around home, & for me, work at Shell, but we have managed to do a few other things (we even went to a movie a couple of weeks ago — the first one in at least 6 months I’d guess if not longer). As I wrote in the last Round Robin, Jean & I attended a series of lecture on art & architecture in California; these proved to be quite interesting & educational. We’ve seen Roy & Beverly Milton several times and on New Year’s Day met Donald Milton — the last time I saw him was at John’s wedding I think. They stopped by in the morning on the way to Muir Woods — a drippy excursion I’ll wager since it rained in the afternoon & Muir Woods seems sort of damp even in dry weather.

This will be all for now. Don’t let my delay in sending on the R.R. serve as an example to anyone else.

With love,

Carl & Jean

Saturday, April 14, 1956

April 14, 1956

411 Bonnie Dr

El Cerrito, Calif.

Dear brothers & sisters,

April in Calif is usually not too rainy since by then the rainy season is definitely tapering off, but this week has not been typical and we have been having some real April showers. Today has been quite sultry-like but the rain held off till evening so I was able to spend part of the day out in the yard. My big current project in the yard is the terracing of the back yard into two levels, thus removing the slope from it and making it more useful; I spent several hours this afternoon & one this morning moving dirt round to this end, being assisted by Muriel who spent some of the time moving dirt from one can to one pile to another can to another pile etc. Probably there was as much sense to her activity as to mine.

The rain has made the yard look much fresher since we had had no rain for a month or so and things were quite dry (I watered thoroly last weekend, perhaps that is why it rained this week). We have had several roses and soon shall have many more judging from the buds on the bushes; the daffodils are gone, but we have a few tulips, a lot of coral bells and calla lilies, and quite a few flowers of a species I forget the name of (Jean also forgets). The berry bushes and strawberries are full of blossoms so we should have a good berry crop this year — last year we had quite a fer berries on the vines but very few strawberries.

Last weekend I started to paint in the rumpus room downstairs and got the primer coat on the walls. The walls had been dark brown so the room was quite dark most of the time and since we want to have the walls a light yellow I had to put on a coat to cover up the brown first. Perhaps this coming week in the evenings I can get started with the second coat. My other painting project for the summer is the stucco part of the house (I did the woodwork last year); however I probably shan’t get started on that till after our visit to Gowrie in May (we plant to come the week of Decoration Day so as to have an extra day for traveling).

One day at work I noticed in a trade journal a request for cartoons so I decided to draw some up & submit them. I thought the ones I sent in were pretty good but they didn’t accept any of them — at least they were better than some of those they chose & have been printing. However, since I’ve finally bestirred myself on this dream of mine, perhaps I shall continue drawing some and trying to sell them. Being a cartoonist would I think be an easier life than being an engineer I think, and perhaps more useful in the long run.

This spring I am taking part in the Great Books discussion course. The particular session I am going to is at the Albany high school (a city adjacent to E.C.) but the general idea is sponsored bu the Great Books foundation. The first year is concerned principally with political works. My roommate at work introduced me to the idea and I thought I’d give it a try. The first session was quite interesting and the one next time (on Monday evening) should be even more so. I hope it keeps that way & that my interest stays up.

All for now — I’m all writ out, having also penned the weekly letter home.

With love,

Carl, Jean & Muriel

Sunday, March 4, 1956

March 4, 1956

411 Bonnie Dr

El Cerrito, Calif.

Dear Brothers & Sisters:

Last night we went to see the play “There Shall Be No Night”  at Wheeler auditorium up on the Univ of Calif campus. This play was written by Robert Sherwood in the late thirties or early forties (he died in the last six months or so — the Saturday Review used the occasion to write rather extensively about him) and was concerned with the conflict between Finland and Russian occurring about that time. It was quite an interesting play but not exactly light entertainment since it treated the subject with no touch of humor. In fact the play seemed a little contrived in places since it was used primarily as a vehicle to propose ideas etc and only secondarily was it concerned with the fates of the particular individuals involved.

The play lasted from 8 to 11, with a couple of intermissions, and I was glad it didn’t last any longer since I was tired after a rather full day of working in the yard. Wheeler auditorium has no stage curtain so all the changing of scenes was done by people scurrying on stage, carting things on or off; this added I thought a touch of novelty to the presentation.

Jean combined the seeing of the play with some gossiping with the people we went with — the lady worked in the same room with Jean at Shell until she quit a few weeks ago. She decided she’d rather go back to school, learn to be a primary teacher, & teach in this area, rather than continue in her work as computer. 

As a consequence of being out last night we are a rather logy family today, except for Muriel. Muriel woke about 4 and slept only fitfully thereafter till five, being troubled with a cold & cough she has had recently. About five her objections became quite marked so I got up & brought her to bed with us; we slept only a little after this since Muriel is not one to lie still very consistently. She did spend half an hour or so tho sleeping, lying across my chest, & we all three dozed off for awhile.

Because of her cold, or perhaps it is that she is teething again, Muriel has not had much appetite this past week. Today we had fried bread this morning — ordinarily one of her favorites — and she declined any until Jean put a little raspberry jam on a few pieces. Perhaps her taste has suddenly become jaded and she wants what her father & mother get. Yesterday we had an eventful occurrence with Muriel; Jean had been shopping & purchased some buttons. Right after she returned she put Muriel in the playpen & went downstairs to take in some wash. Muriel managed to to reach the buttons on the table & chewed four off the card, swallowing one. This morning it completed its journey, none the worse for wear, but we were happy to note its reappearance.

This past month has been a fairly busy one. We’ve got the floors refinished in the “front” part of the house (Jean’s brother in law & I did it — it was quite a job), I made some cupboards (still partly incomplete — no doors) for the garage & a bookcase for the rumpus room (not sanded & painted). Our new sofa & ottoman came so the old green sofa I bought to furnish 931 Seaview is in the garage — it’ll go in the rumpus eventually. Outside things are really starting to grow & it looks like spring is just around the corner.

With love,

Carl, Jean & Muriel

Sunday, January 29, 1956

January 29, 1956

411 Bonnie Dr

El Cerrito, Calif.

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

Coming home tonite from Jean’s folks’ where we had had supper, I suggested to Jean that she could use part of the evening writing the round robin contribution from Calif. This suggestion did not meet with very much enthusiasm tho, so, like Vincent, I am doing the honors. However I shouldn’t complain since I get by with less letter writing nowadays than ever before, & have on the other hand more to read.

A couple of weekends ago I was sorting thru & arranging my collection of old letters & came across one from Vivian while she was teaching in Lakota. This letter related the opinion that Lakota high school students considered a) the writer’s health and b) the weather to be indispensable topics for a letter. So, to fulfill these requirements I shall inform you that I am feeling fine (and sound of teeth as attested by a quite recent verdict of the dentist), that Jean is fine and that Muriel is growing & developing well. And secondly, that the weather in these parts has been dry & sunshiny for two whole days but that prior to these two days has been wet, gloomy, cloudy & rainy for the better part of two months. In fact it has been so damp that the chimney bricks have started to get moss growing on them.

Because of the rainy weather I have been prevented from following one of my usual weekend activities, namely working in the yard. Before Christmas I was able to get the front yard mowed one day but since then was unable to mow it again till yesterday because it was too wet. Consequently when I got into it yesterday it was really quite a job getting it mowed. Yesterday I also finished the rose pruning & noticed that the tulips & daffodils I set out in the fall are coming up. Perhaps they are early because the weather, tho wet, has been on the warmer side. We plan to plant some trees along the sidewalk but have yet to buy the trees & get them planted.

Probably the most important factor in how the Strand household in E.C. is run is Muriel. Right now she has just reached the point where the playpen as a useful tool may be on the way out. Yesterday she climbed out, or more correctly, climbed to a point from which she fell out. He fall scared her more than it hurt her & she hasn’t repeated the escape, but I feat it’s only a matter of time. She has started to open drawers instead of closing them, can open & shut doors (except for hard-to-open ones), has a vocabulary of perhaps 25 words (recognizable at least to some degree to Jean & me), hates to have her hair washed but likes a bath.

My work at Shell continues as usual — a mixture of practical service problems & somewhat impractical (at times) research work. Right now my big project at home is the refinishing of the floors, with which I’ll have the assistance of Jean’s brother-on-law. I’ll be glad when it’s done. This will be all for now. I shall send the R.R. on its way tomorrow a.m. on the way to work.

With love,

Carl, Jean, & Muriel

Sunday, April 3, 1955

Sunday afternoon

April 3, 1955

411 Bonnie Dr, E.C.

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

This afternoon after Muriel woke up from her nap (& we from ours) we went for a short ride to see how construction on the Richmond–San Rafael bridge was coming along. This bridge will not be as spectacular as the other two bridges across San Francisco Bay but it will be quite useful and save a lot of waiting for the ferry on Sunday evenings and the like. The bridge is finished quite a distance at eash end now & it won’t be too long till the center section is finished too. The approaches are under construction & everything looks like the completion date of 1956 will be achieved. Just recently completion of the second deck (which originally was going to be delayed awhile) was authorized so the bridge will be 3 lanes in each direction. It was interesting viewing the progress & looking out over the bay from a vantage point above the Richmond end of the bridge. Coming back we droved up to the Arlington so again we had some bay-scapes to look at, and also made a stop at the Louis store to get some milk since we had run out & the milkman wasn’t due till tomorrow.

Recently our house has been a little disorganized as I am in the process of getting the upstairs painted (with the exception of the kitchen which will wait till next year and Muriel’s bedroom which for its face-lifting before I went to Holland last year). As of now I’m mostly thru the living room except for part of the woodwork & have the dining room still to go. The original target date was March 31 but somehow or other things took a little longer than planned.

Outside in the yard things are really growing. Roses, cinnerarias, coral bells, stalks, snap-dragons, calla lilies — all are blooming now & quite colorful. This year we should reall y have a nice berry crop — last year it suffered from inattention before we moved in, & while we were gone. This past week we had a little rain but the rainfall is still belore normal so I’ve already started to water.

Inside we have one rapidly developing member of the Strand entourage also — Muriel. Yesterday at her monthly checkup she weight 10 lbs & was 27” high. She has, in the past week or so, really learned how to pull herself into a standing position & does so all the tim now in crib, buggy or playpen. The doctor thinks she will walk early & it’s my guess she may have taken her first step before we visit Iowa in May. No teeth are yet all the way thru but one has almost made the grade (so I’m told) so we can relate that too, when people inquire about her.

With the tasks around the house & Muriel to play with, it sometimes almost seems as tho work at Shell is an afterthought — but an afterthought which occurs quits persistently week in & out. This spring renovation of the Western Electric property (just recently acquired) will begin & so some of the crowded labs & offices will be relieved. So far as is known who, we in Chemical engineering will not be affected.

Altho Vincent’s contribution hasn’t caught up but I’ll send the round robin on its way anyway to keep it moving; I’ll send it on later when in arrives.

With love,

Carl (& Jean & Muriel)