thursday, november 5, 1942

dear kitty,

the british have finally scored a few successes in africa and stalingrad hasn't fallen yet, so the men are happy and we had coffee and tea this morning. for the rest, nothing special to report.

this week i've been reading a lot and doing little work. that's the way things ought to be. that's surely the road to success.

mother and i are getting along better lately, but we're never close. father's not very open about his feelings, but he's the same sweetheart he's always been. we lit the stove a few days ago and the entire room is still filled with smoke. i prefer central heating, and i'm probably not the only one. margot's a stinker (there's no other word for it), a constant source of irritation, morning, noon and night.

anne fran

k