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to scrape up every scrap and did so. Our floor has never been so clean. There was no going out today -- even to stock things up for retrograde. It was bright but hopelessly windy & snowing. Those cirrus clouds and halo around the sun meant just what they would at home. Or, rather, they meant the whole power of the Katabatic wind blowing down the ice cap w. trailing drifts of snow. 

Gh wrote several letters to mail via helo. I have no stamps so I plan to write a message to Arlene Walsh w. SAO branch & ask her to send copies to Karen & Tom.

We read -- I have almost finished "To the Lighthouse" & am fascinated. But we were cold in the tent. Last night I crawled in wearing jogging pants & top & blue down underwear, socks, and w my blue down top over, but not on, me. In the night I was so hot I pulled off socks & pushed off my top. I may even have slipped out of the bottom. Still I was so hot it was great to get a sponge bath, which we took right after breakfast. But this PM our feet were like ice & I was cold. So got into sleeping bag w 2 prs of socks [[underlined]] inside down booties [[/underlined]] (!) -- issue underwear & down underwear [[underlined]] plus [[/underlined]] white Irish sweater & was none too warm. Feet stayed icy. I dozed and dreamed of strange things: Saw not one but 2 skuas plus a little black bird flying past tent: kept dreaming of what time it was.

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About 6:10 I heard Gh stirring -- She was cold & getting dinner. Shrimp & macaroni in tomato soup sauce to which we added parmesian cheese & soy sauce. A lovely meal. It warmed us. I gathered snow to melt - reaching outside tent into another huge mound of freshly packed snow. Feet finally warmed up ~ 8:45. It was a truly cold day. During supper we had a short greeting from John. We said we were having a good time -- he didn't stop to chat. Now at 8:45 the wind has stopped -- for how long? ... At 11:55 it is calm and beautiful. We heard John go out on his Skidoo some time ago -- probably to tie in his flags before Bill comes. He is home now, but nobody is sleepy. I took 2 pictures of the scene -- have never seen Battlements Nunatak w such clarity. 

[[underlined]] Monday, January 4 [[/underline ]]
I awoke at 6:40 thinking my watch said 7:40 and expected John to rouse us out any moment. An hour later still no sign -- although the wind was quiet. Dozed a while longer until I finally heard unmistakable footsteps & John's call. He said "Cassidy is coming but you don't have to think of what to retrograde because they can't carry anything." My watch read 9:00 AM. We had breakfast & went out. To my great surprise the clean, wind-washed landscape was gone; the sky overcast; & gray. I had time to do several chores including flying Peggy's SAO flag -- high on a pole outside the tent. Took 2 pictures of it but no breeze held it out.

By 11:00 AM no sign of a helo. Clouds over Brooks Mt. but it would have been possible to fly over. John got on radio -- after some while he got the news: