Unidentified group having tea
Dec 5th Friday As usual this morning after being in
Boston felt tired & lazy did not get my
room in order very early. Before it was
cleaned Mrs S Ames came in and we chatted
awhile. Went into Edwins to get Mr Scott
to paint the porch & thus the forenoon passed
Have passed the afternoon in father Ames
with Mrs J R Howard her sister & Mrs Whitwell
With her husband away, and only her four nearly-grown children to look after, Evelina chose to relax this morning rather than make her bed, tidy up and get to her chores and sewing. “As usual,” she felt lethargic after her Boston shopping trip, but uncharacteristically, she didn’t try to overcome this lazy spell. An early morning visit from Sarah Lothrop Ames gave her some excuse to take it easy and hang out, as we might say today.
Most of the rest of her day was spent socializing. In the afternoon Evelina went to the other part of the house to visit with sister-in-law, Sarah Ames Witherell, and other ladies who had gathered: Eliza Whitwell, Caroline Howard and the latter’s sister. The women may simply have sat and chatted, teacups in hand, but Evelina, perhaps, had some sewing or mending at the ready as she visited.
The one piece of business that Evelina managed to do today was walk down the street to the new house being built by her nephew, Edwin Williams Gilmore, to track down Mr. Scott, a painter who was working there. He and another painter, Randall Holbrook, came over in the afternoon and began working for her. The presence of painters at Edwin’s house suggests that it was nearing completion. Perhaps Edwin was getting ready to move in, if he hadn’t already.
evelinaames 