May 1984
Dear Jack and Nancy,
It's really in the rainy season out here!
School is great. This month I'm going to two slumber parties. One of them is a surprise party. I'm helping put it on. Both are birthday parties.
At school today during lunch we had an orange peel fight. Kitty and Karina (two of my best friends) started it, soon we had had all of Jr. High throwing orange peels all over the cafeteria. It was really funny, but the teachers didn't think so. One of the teachers got hit in the eye!
Write soon. Hope to see you this summer.
Love, Janet
September 12, 1984
Dear Nancy and Jack,
Firstly, thank you for the photographs. They were super of Janet (not that I am prejudiced). And secondly, how soul satisfying it was to carouse with the Kents in Maine again and I sincerely hope your early morning departure didn't do too much damage to your biorhythms or whatever. It was great fun and it was with genuine regret that our "garbage brain" donned his pin-striped suit and reverted back to his old life!
Our trip back included five indifferent meals and three movies (not too bad). Janet was an angel and buried her nose in a book the whole time. John busied himself by pouring Pepsis on his parents, making use of the lavatories when the meal carts were plugging up the aisles and eating a pile of contraband candy he purchased during a layover in S.F. He spent the last 20 minutes of our trip making use of the handy bag provided in set picket in front of him. DO you think you could send us the name of Shandy's kennel??
Mom and Dad got the house in Rockport-we didn't hear for quite a while and I was beginning to get nervous but it all came together a few days before they left for Europe. They settle October 15th and I expect they'll move up shortly afterwards. I think they are really pleased especially as they discovered a number of friends with summer homes there-not to mention family. As Janet said, "That puts all four sisters back in Maine again!"
Typically, our friends, Thackray and Jean-Francois Seznec lost your name and address. They did get to Old Greenwich; they were there for three days and managed to buy a pink house on Country Club Lane-so, in January, they'll be leaving Bahrain and heading your way. This news could possibly change your life considerably. Please give them tender loving care-it won't be too hard. They leaves us, of course, yet to jockey into position. The wait is frustrating!
It is still hot but the weather is sunny and sparkling-we're all brown as can be from days at the pool or on the beach-so much so I've run out of ideas for picnics. This time of year has lots of Chinese holidays, Festival of the Hungry Ghosts-the Mid-Autumn Festival-two days ago. The Mid-Autumn Festival is lovely, because everyone can participate. The idea is to watch the moon, all night long if you have the stamina (there is a legend of course)-preferably on the peak or on the beach. Everyone brings lighted lanterns in the shape of different animals, elaborate designs are drawn in the sand and outlined with tiny candles, it's a beautiful thing to see. People also send lighted candles out to sea-all up and down the coast, millions of tiny lights. Most Chinese will stay up all night-we didn't as we had a junk trip scheduled the next morning! It was organized to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday. We presented him with a basket of Chinese medicines which promise extraordinary results. To the best of my knowledge, no one we know has had the courage to put it to the test.
Janet and John are both very happy with school this year, got teachers they really like. And so, for the moment, the Blyberg household is fairly peaceful. Janet is showing interest in school dances (she wouldn't go near them last year) spends a fair amount of time on the phone and is more tolerant of her younger brother. John arrives home choking and gasping and red faced from the heat, plunges frantically in the pool and actually gets out and does his homework. Peter is splendid, except I won't see much of him soon, as he'11 be travelling most of October.
When his rash of trips are over we are all going on a tour to Canton and Guilin. I joined a group called the "Friends of the Chinese University" and they are organizing the tour. I think it will be a lot better than the usual tourist agency variety. With luck, we' II all have red stars in our passports.
From my high vantage point, I have been watching, off and on, a wildfire burning in Aberdeen for the last 30 hours. Among many other things, about a million Cabbage Patch Dolls went up in flame. Somehow I thought Jack would want to know!
Not much else to report except that we've been having a good time with a bunch of visitors from Bahrain. We discovered a great new Chinese restaurant which serves wonderful Korean banana. It sounds more like a social disease than a dessert though!
Miss you and much love! Carol
P.S. I cannot find any more copies of the Chinese horoscope book but I left mine in Maine. Good excuse to come up again!
November 1984
Dear Nancy and Jack,
Well, this Christmas is considerably better than last, when we were wondering if we'd even have a chair to sit on for Christmas dinner. We're so settled now we've even added an annex (bird cage) for Janet and John's growing colony of parakeets.
J and J have been having a very outdoorsy fall with lots of hiking and camping. Peter brought home a new backpack for Janet and she wore it all through dinner. I thought she looked more like a ghostbuster than a camper! We're all into Scouting (P and J are assistant leaders) and in my spare time I paint BLYBERG on mess kits and canteens with my nail polish. Peter has adjusted quite well to what we refer to as his "career switch" and his banking is coming along nicely too.
We finally got to China and it was a splendid trip. We took the train from H.K. to Canton, flew to Gui Iin and did the boat trip down the Li River and spent a night in a beautiful little village called Yahgshou. The hills in Guilin are extraordinary and I realize that Chines landscape paintings are not stylized. It really looks like that! The area is also peppered with caves, which the children particularly loved. We hiked, biked and climbed all week. Peter thrilled a family in one little village by taking Polaroid pictures of their four-day-old baby-and our bus driver was furious with him for flushing out so many of the locals! In the end, we didn't mind getting back to our decadent Western apartment in H.K.
We're really pleased Peter's stepmother, Marjorie, is coming to spend Christmas with us.
Afterwards, (27th) we are all going to Bangkok and Chiang Mai together.
The Seznecs should be arriving in O.G. about mid-January. I know you'll take good care of them.
Merry Christmas and loads of love from all of us! Carol, Peter, Janet and John
December 1984
Dear Jack and Nancy,
I hope Shandy and the cats are well. We have three birds, parakeets to be more exact.
Right at the moment they are chirping or should I saw squawking at the top of their vocal chords!! We have a green one called Jogger, a yellow one called Sunny and a blue one called Cloudy.
School is pretty fun, and next week we are going camping. At camp my friends and I are going backpacking. The backpack, we recently got makes you look like a "Ghostbuster" when you put it on!!!!!!
Merry Christmas Love
Janet