We put the old waggon and the plow in the shed out of the rain before dinner. This afternoon it stopped storming but got a little colder. Frank went down to the McBain's auction sale but didn't buy anything he said there was a big crowd there. I spent half the afternoon looking at a book of house plans and then helped Dad. saw a few pieces of the old apple tree we then did chores. I drew a plan for our new barn to-night.

Sunday January 25th

Frank was the only one from here who went to church this morning as it was late when we got up and Dad. and I spent most of the forenoon doing chores and we also took Osprey out for a little exercise. Dick was asleep the greater part of the morning. Frank and I went for a skate down on the pond this afternoon Dick went down but I guess there weren't enough girls on the ice to catch him so he went on up town and lent his skates to Fred. Tuck. I was late getting there so only had an hour or two's skate but I enjoyed that much for the ice was pretty good and as it was my first skate this season maybe it was just as well not to make it too long. I went down to church to-night and came home right after, but didn't see anything of Dick who was not home to tea. It has been sunny and quite mild all day but is a little colder to-night.

Monday January 26th

After we did chores this morning we hooked up Harry and Belle to the waggon and went over to Sam's to get our quarter of beef. We took it down to Alfred's and weighed it and it was just 90 lbs which was pretty good for the front quarter of a calf not quite a year old. It was just about noon when we got home but we went and got a jag of rails before dinner. After dinner we went and got another load of rails. and then went down town for the mail and some yeast cakes and got back about five. John Wess was in just before dark as his mare has a little touch of lymphangitis again. Dad told him what to do for it and said that he would go over and see it in the morning

To-night I went down to the pond for a skate as I saw that they had quite a lot shovelled off. I got a ride part way down with Allan Law and he said they were going to start hauling ice to-morrow and that he could haul ours for us if we wanted him to. I told him we couldn't put it in to-morrow but we might the day after. There wasn't a big crowd on the pond and only a very few girls but the ice was good. I put in most of the time chasing Bunyan Beecraft and Tony Bannister, to punish them for throwing snowballs all over. I caught Tony early in the game and twisting his hair till he got down on the ice and filling his hat with snow succeeding in persuading him to behave himself but Bunyan was another proposition. In the first place I couldn't begin to catch up with him, being out of practice I suppose - and then he was so nimble getting around the