Allabach correspondence

Tell everyone a merry Christmas from me, especially the Hughes, Loomises, Durley's Baileys, Gertrude and the Kennedys and Lora if you see her, Pattersons, Mr.Sampson, Mell and Emery and really I can't name them all but mean them all. O Yes! the Lymans.

And I hope my own dear sister may have a very pleasant Christmas.

Your loving Lucy Allabach

Palo Alto, Cal. December 26, 1892

Dear People, This is my second Christmas at Palo Alto and it also has been a very pleasant one. Our little card party, Christmas Eve passed off very pleasantly. The house had a very pleasant and cosy aspect when lighted and trimmed with holly berries. Of course the crowd was a good looking one and a merry one also. We had four tables arranged, three downstairs in the two little parlors and one up in our study. We had expected to play six-hand, but the eight from the Theta house were unable to get here and also some others, because of the very rainy weather we have been having. We played cards till about ten, then instead of prizes we made the booby feed the winner lemon ice on her knees. Then the whole company wrote poetry about the winner, who happened to be Miss Morton, our next door neighbor,

a pretty little girl about seventeen. They had quite a little fun writing and reading the [rhymes?]. Then came refreshments, lemon ice and cake, and while we ate Nellie read out the [rhymes?]. Then Miss Keating told a story and we told a round robin story which was quite amusing. While it was going round Mr. Keating suddenly wished me merry Christmas, and we knew by that it was twelve o'clock. They were soon gone then, but we think they all enjoyed themselves. We had three kinds of cake. Mrs. Johnson baked one and we all three baked the others. We had a great time doing it too.

Nellie and Mrs. J. did most of the mixing. The first was a layer cake,--a chocolate layer between two white ones and chocolate [icing?]. It looked fine when they poured it into the pans and it was fine, so fine that it raised up and ran over. Then it burned in the oven and made such a smoke we knew it would ruin the baking layers. So we opened the oven door now and then to let the smoke out and then of course the cake fell. So the first was a failure. I wrote the following on the order slate while Nellie and Mrs. J. mixed another.

A cake we did make And it ran, O my! And it smelled as it baked And looked, O my!

But we ate it tho foul And rued it too late, For we sent up a howl From the effects of that cake.

The second was more successful and the third a lovely white loaf cake. Mrs. J's was fruit with white. The Johnson's did not expect to be here as they had been invited up to the city. But it rained so hard and trains and busses were so irregular they did not get off. We had some straightening up to do after the party and then took some lemon ice and cake to Miss Thompson, to Nora Schopbach, who could not come, Grace Luce who is sick at Maripora Hall.

We came home to dress for dinner which was two o'clock and to which Nellie wore her blue and I my brown silk. We had a very excellent dinner and quite agreeable party. Reading Mary Wilkin's stories, eating, listening to Mrs. Smith sing and to Edward Lear's nonsense rhymes passed the rest of the time till 9:30 and we retired soon after.

Saturday afternoon, Professor and Mrs. Smith, Miss Mosher, Mr.Keating and I took a walk to Mayfield. All morning there had been a regular howling tempest and it had not abated but we thought it would be fun. The other two ladies had rubber boots but I high rubbers and leggings. We had not been gone five minutes when it ceased raining and soon the sun shone and it did not rain any more till night. We bought candy, rubbers, toys, etc. at Mayfield and Mr. K. and I came home by the Park for Holly. To make lemon ice and give a party after that made me a little tired, but I can do a good deal when I want to.