Dear Alex and Winnie,

Thank you for your visit and for your (e-mail) letter. I haven't
gotten the variable speed drill yet, but I intend to, soon; perhaps
this weekend. This morning I was up until 2:30 repairing the
crumbling walls of our basement. I can't imagine what kind of mortar
they used that crumbles like sand eighty years later, but it does,
- and they did. Today's schedule includes replacing the burned-out
headlight on Klemens' Valiant, repairing the downstairs washroom
toilet, replastering the kitchen ceiling, - and if there is time
left, hounding Blue Shield about some unpaid accounts.

Margaret is off to the dentist's this morning. I expect her back
in half an hour or so. She read your letter yesterday,
when it arrived, looking over my shoulder at the monitor screen.
She also thanks you, says that she will reply this weekend, but
didn't specify whether it would be electronically or by conventional
mail. I hope that when you come to Boston, you will again have time
to stop in to see us. For our part, we will probably show up in
Readfield sooner or later, but haven't made any travel plans yet
except for the Christmas trip to Konnarock.

I keep thinking about your six mile walks, Alex, and wish I had the
energy to emulate you. I keep wondering whether you comply with
Herodotus' standards for some ancient postal service: "Nor snow,
nor hail nor gloom of night ..." I think a lot about Philadelphia,
Germantown Friends School and our days at Harvard, - and the older
I get the more miraculous it seems to me that I ever made it. I
don't see how I could possibly find my way tbhrough that maze a
second time.

                                   Love, Jochen