Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

Mother went down to see about the dinner and Joe said to Frances;
“Did you think I meant the big tree?”
“Oh – did you mean the little one. I never thought. I expect we’ll give it away yet.”
This afternoon, while Joe was industriously make plans for his house upstairs and while I was drawing Santy and the Reindeers to go over it, Bill + Jim came over. Jim greeted everyone hilariously. Excusing myself, I continued drawing the Reindeers, while they either talked to Frances and Louise or watched me, giving me advice in profusion. When I had finished drawing, I got scissors and went into the parlor to cut them out. But the card-board was cheap and the scissors were dull, and consequently, the card-board tore; and besides I was too interested in talking to the fellows to work carefully so I rebelled; Frances going on with the work. Presently Joe came down with his house and proceeded to set it up on the window-seat in the living-room. The he placed his tree at the corner of the house, and then scattered cotton around on the tree and house: icicles were of glass and so they didn’t drip; during this operation, the fellows made fun of it all, and Joe insisted that snow-storms didn’t happen that way, while Joe retorted that we always were different,