7407
Simone, in Vierville, Jean Cordelle, Condé-sur-Noireau,
Wednesday, 8 August 1945
My Jean,
I write from my bed this morning, after having had a good night, I wait for my lunch that Brigitte brings every morning, while the youth does it in her corner.
Everything is fine here. The brave Eugénie is faithful to the post, always brave and chattering, Martha has a smile and is very complacent, so things are best announced for summer.
The day yesterday was partly dedicated to the installation, each organizing at its best, which appropriates an American wardrobe, which a box as bedside table etc.... Finally, we are quite comfortable now.
From yesterday François, Brigitte and Aline
(Nicolie's young sister) They've been taking a bath, it seems it was beautiful. It's not hot enough to tempt me.
François has already taken care of the water. He found the manometer circuit breaker of the engine. He seems to be working and seems in good condition. The gauge window is broken, perhaps also the latter, but all the apparatus is intact, he has it a little straightened up, he still adapts very well to the tank. He wants to give it to Brigitte, so that you can, or Chedals, carry it to the manufacturer, for revision. It seems that for pipes there is little to do. For electricity, he could not see Grosmelon yesterday, and must go there this morning. He waits for Yves and they will disassemble to both, all the American electrical installation, classifying all the recovered equipment, so we will see what can be used.
Do you want to ask Suzon if there is anything to make the mover say and if he has to come without fail on the 18th? She would still do well to give you her name and address (note by Papa: Forissiel in Gandcamp) .
Seen yesterday Pierre Duchemein, he's at Grandcamp until 21st, and at your disposal to make all the files you want, he seems pretty aware of the thing.
Will you, my John, bring me when you come in 2 kg of fine salt, you will find some in the bag of cloth in which Michel sent us
(so the salt was missing too...), a bag of veiled canvas, under the stairs. It is not worth bringing everything, put in 2kg in a small bag of cloth, you will find some in the laundry cabinet, a little left, middle shelf. Also bring 2 bags of big salt, in case the meatmaker would like (note the vocabulary, to mean that it will take the good will of the so-called meat-maker, who may have pork, but no salt....) Make us a ham, you will find in the storeroom, on the left, under the cans of canned, small bags of tiled fabric.
And finally, my Jean: my powder hoop I forgot, in the crystal powder pan of my hairdresser.
.... Have you heard from Yves and Michel? Send me the letters quickly if there are any, I will now get up, Jean, and go for a walk in the kitchen. I have nothing to do in the house, everything works well, Aline helps very well, she is in a mad joy. (John, son of François and Nicole) is superb and wise, and bears very well the sea air. He will try his new milk today. I hope to have a word from you, my John, ....
________________________________________
Simone, in Vierville, in Jean Cordelle, in Paris,
9 a.m. 9 August 1945
My Jean
I write from my bed after sleeping well, life is very quiet here and I rest well. As the food is abundant and I am very hungry, .......
...it has rained all the time since the middle of the night, a regular rain that must have wetted, but it seems that the sun wants to climb this morning. François and Aline wanted to go fishing shrimp and mussels, I don't know if they will. Nicole should accompany them and sit there looking at them...
..... Francis is active on one side and the other to repair a thousand small things. He saw Grosmelon and will write as soon as he has all the elements. Yesterday morning we set up boards on trestles in the fruit tree, for the harvest of pears, and while I was taking a nap, the young people were picking a tree of William, which will be good to eat within 3 or 4 days. There are others to pick, and as soon as there is enough, I will send a basket to the Chedals.ndAnd there's one in our vegetable room. Suzon can prepare you this well-tipped package, which would go on the roof of l'auto. Don't forget, you will have to mark all this on a list....
..........Last morning, I put in service 2 oil lamps. Because the evenings are getting down and you don't have to count on electricity for a while. must Be ready at the end of the month, then we will make connections to the private ones, starting with the most pressed, for example. Another side Grosmelon is not an excited one that kills a lot of work! You might also bring a sheet of paper to shade, there must be a roll in the studio, in the trunk (deep) where the hammock is stored. (drawing) of copper, of those who allowed Yves to connect the poetry of his English (who gave me English lessons, she lived down Lamballe Avenue and turned out 10 years later to be a cousin of my father-in-law!). I'll make 2 shades in a hurry, the carcasses are here, in good condition.
12 noon. – I take my letter back, my Jean, who will leave earlier, I received the letter from Suzon, and from Bonne-Maman, I am very happy to know Michel in Brest, and that Christiane can go to him while she can still travel (she expects her first child by the end of the year) That Michel gives me their address in Brest. Does he think he'll be there long?
We started to fit the broken wood that is in the field and is decreasing by itself... (The teacher ???), who is getting married on the 20th, do you want to see Jean-Pierre, Poivre had promised him candy to give to the children who will give him a present, she thought we had brought the package. See also Callouey, who will hand us the bell (chuckles) Today, he'll come back to you, he'd like to ask you for information, I'm told, that it's not going alone with Leterrier. (Merlin) for the reconstruction of Paris
(a building company?) For this one too I think that we are clearing up at Poivre, and it makes people talk that we start with them!!
Good kisses of all....
___________________________________________
Simone, in Vierville, in Jean Cordelle, in Paris,
(Saturday) 11 August 1945
My Jean,
...... I write today by post and give Brigitte a little word for you on Monday, and then I hope to see you arrive with Yves. I have always had a kidney, I think that a letter from him will have been waiting in Paris, and that he is still fine.
.....the four young people were canoeing and swimming. I would have been taking a bath too, but it was a day of slaughter, and we took a look at Marthe and me, from 3ht to 5h1/2, and we would almost be in Paris! Except that we are sitting in the grass on the road slope, and we are having a chat with our neighbours, some brave people from the village, Mrs Hardelay, Mr de Brunville. (The butcher, who comes from Formigny, I think) We didn't have much meat, but I got a piece for Paris that Brigitte will take to his mother, and he may be killing again on Tuesday. (Friday market, of course, we were riding a bike, but Mom hated that device)The kids have made a nice market of charcuterie, so we are ready for the whole week.
Michel Hardelay hopes to be demobilized in October (class 33), his mother is looking forward to seeing him return to Paris, where they want to requisition their apartment, the one that Jean-Pierre had led, and even the offices of the son, on the ground floor. As for her, she does not seem to want to go back to Paris. François has undertaken various works and has many others on the board. He picked another pear tree yesterday, so you will have pears when you come, my Jean, they start to ripen, and I wait for your arrival with the baskets to send it to the 4th.nd (in Chedal).
Francis will also try to remove the walls of the vestibule, I wonder without that how we will enter the large furniture of the rectory!
We also started to look at the back lawn, but it's a Roman job and I wonder if we'll get through it. The stones are buried at 3⁄4 and they have to be taken off by the Stock. Finally, all this will be done gradually. It would take a team of some prisoners to get rid of all this.
....the baby is always wise, he wakes up well, and shows his joy now when we approach him.....This morning we will celebrate the 19th anniversary of Brigitte. A good lunch, Tatou made a nice cake, and we will try to replace the parents and the fiancé..
Midday, I just received your letter of the 10th, my John, very happy to hear from you. I hope that Yves is doing quite well.
......will you bring a cork and if possible rapeseed.
____________________________________________
Simone, in Vierville, in Jean Cordelle, in Paris,
Sunday morning (12 August 1945)
Jean, I'm writing a little word again this morning, which Brigitte will bring, the last one I hope before you get there. I hope your trip will be without incident and you won't get any trouble with tires.
..... good lunch, well watered, to celebrate the 19th anniversary of Brigitte. All the youth was very happy, Aline assured that she saw it triple. L'après François took Brigitte, his dream from all summer, in canoes until the boat dyke....
....................Yesterday the grilling of the pantry was re-established and the large grilling panels that put us in a cage in the kitchen and the small dining room were removed.
The mine clearance is approaching, the house is shaken at every moment by large explosions on the west side, it seems that it will be on our side this week, and it is even said that the beach will be banned a few days, because we would blow the mines on the cliff all the way to the edge. It will be a good thing when this work is done.
Do you want to add to the list of things to bring: a blue and red silk-crunch triangle, which is in the drawer at the bottom of the ice cabinet. That Yves does not forget to bring the American blanket he had, but not the sleeping bag. Also brings something to repair the bikes, we have nothing here – Francis' bag is in the bedroom of the 8th.nd..... don't forget the big and fine salt too..... commissions are not missing! But the main thing is that you are still arriving every 2...................
Bring the nail brush.
______________________________________________
Simone, in Vierville, in Jean Cordelle, in Paris,
Saturday noon(1ir September 1945
..... I hope you've had a good trip, without any tire breakdown, I'm very excited to read you.
Here, it was the great calm after your departure...................afternoon was beautiful, and we turned the hay, it would have been dry today, but it would have been much more than that night....
This morning I went to St. Lawrence, taking my courage with two hands. The bike is definitely not my strong and I had a lot of legs on my way home. Finally Cardine will come from Monday in the eight, the pumpman tomorrow morning. As for the carpenter, he is absent and returns tonight, Mrs. Cardine who is his neighbor, will make the commission. If I don't see him in the middle of the week, I will return.
We made a trip to the presbytery yesterday and brought back the 3 bottle lockers. We're going to make one today and so every day until we don't talk about it anymore.
We're also going to attack who's at the stable – in my opinion he's more eager to go home than the one who's at the entrance to the wood. Dubois might have thought of sending his men. (The deminers' team, German prisoners). For now they go to the beach to get some wood from the wrecks, but this winter they will have to be heated...
Attached a paper for François, there was also a small package of Gillette for Nicole.
........I hope Clementine gets here on Monday....
_____________________________________________
Simone, in Vierville, in Jean Cordelle, in Paris
Monday morning 3 September (1945)
- letter started on Saturday, before receiving your letter since –
..................... It's scary what we had in the rain since Saturday night......Happily, on Saturday, when we saw that the dark was moving forward, we rushed back into the hay, we ended up when the first drops were falling. There's a lot of them. We didn't get him to kick, but Tatou will take him for his rabbits, and he won't be able to sell in February or March. If we can harvest a little more, it will have plenty for all its winter. Colibeuf came to cut it off, there's still a lot of it left, I wonder if he'll want to come back, there's more than I thought, and it would take some sunshine...Of course the pumpman didn't come yesterday, the time was a good excuse. Fortunately you didn't have that time on Friday, no suitcase would have resisted on the roof of the car.
We made a trip this morning as a presbytery, I think we will make one today. But we'll start this morning by picking the duchesses of the counter-spaler, which are not too mature, but that disappear gradually... I think that Leterrier's little valet who comes to put the cows in a picket, must be there for something. There are also some beautiful Louisebonnes that we will harvest at the same time...................................
______________________________________