January 9th 1989

Dear Bill,

Today I received your card of Maitland, but earlier I got your letter, which I planned to answer this evening, when my husband has to play in a bridge team to hold the first place in the competition. Thank you for both.

In the letter you wrote "...the rumplessness in the Japanese chicken is different to the European chicken..." (you quote me) but this should be the rumplessness of the Araucana chicken is different to the European chicken. You know, the Araucana has a vertebra more as other rumpless fowl.

But first I must say I am very glad that your eyesight is so much improved that you are able to read again. Here we had a good time with Christmas. The Poultry Club of Meteren, 2½ miles from here, organised a fancy faire and we played there for hours winning nothing till we won 3 turkey within half an hour. So I had 2 in the oven for Christmas dinner when our daughter with her family joined us. The judging season walks to its end, only one job at the end of the month. I am glad because I did 25 judgings and I am going to reduce the number of the jobs. I try to stay nearer to Waardenburg because I don’t like to travel 6 hours of a day.

I got breeding eggs from an American friend and have made breeding pens now for the new Modern English Game bantams and I have rised a pair of mottled Cochin bantams which I never had before. They are very good birds. I also get some Marans bantams which they are very rare (French breed). My birds did well on the 2 shows in Waardenburg and Meteren. First my old cock (OEG bantam) became champion and on the second show my Welsumer pullet took the cup. It is too much work to enter my birds into the large shows. Thank you for copies of the winning birds of the Pekins, beautiful birds indeed.

Sincerely yours,