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at any time. We have, as I told you, cots, airmattresses and pillows, our lamp, chairs and the results of our own handiwork— i,e, a few lopsided tables and benches and bars across the tent pole for hanging our clothes, putting away odds and ends and writing.
Our kitchen is a tent with a few gasoline ranges inside and the usual collection of pots and pans that go with the army unit. the ranges are rather complicaated affairs but they do everything — roast, boil, fry and bake. Our baker has in fact made us both buscuits and cake already. We eat out of the mess kits and sit down to table on any piece of ground that has less than ten million ants per square millimeter.
The food is practically all canned. But it is plentiful (there's enough food around to feed the whole army for the next thirty years); there is always an abundance of fruits and vegetables and meat. Canned fruits and vegetables are quite satisfactory of course. the canned meats are palatable but hardly tasty. They consist mostly of stews and beef sausages, etc. On two occasions so far we have had frsh meat — frozen been transported, I understand, all the way from home in the refrigerated state and ketp so at this base until distributed. We've also had fresh eggs — although much powdered eggs are used here. Powdered eggs are not very palatable, nor is the powdered milk which is abundant. There is no fresh milk but we have had evaporated (evaporated incidentally has twice the caloric value per ounce of fresh milk). So far we have had none of the dehydrated foods although they're supposed to be using a great deal of them. Fresh bread is available to us daily. All things considered, the diet is adequate in nutritive content, and it's sufficient in quantity. it is uniformly high in quality, and although it is never delicious it is palatable. It is always well seasoned with salt, soil and various crunchy and succulent insects.
Water is obtained from one of manay pumping stations in the area and it is highly clorinated before drinking. It is kkept in a large canvas tank (the surface evaporation from which maintains a certain amount of cooling). All our washing is done in our helmets and I can never quite make up my mind whether to wash my hands first and then brush my teeth, or wash my face after I brush my teeth and spit in it.
The toilet facilities consist of an elaborate contrivance known as a straddle trench — just a ditch in the ground and there's nothing to hold on to.
Incidentally, there's even an ice house at the base — though we haven't seen any yet. But we'll get some — and beer, to boot, we've been told, as an xmas gift from the army. By the way, we get a regular allotment of cigarettes — three cartons per month — free.
As for so many months now, we have nothing to do all day. But in the morning we get up with the sun rise and dash out of bed into the cool refreshing sea — and it is delightful. The water is never cold but always pleasant. Most of the day proper is spent in the usual routine of gabbing and reading or sitting out in back of the