Blaess is sorry because she hasn't written to her parents for ten days as she has been very busy with work. She thanks her parents for their presents and their letters. She says she has been to the opera with Norah as planned, and also the weather was rainy, so when they visited a dog cemetery it was slippery and very sad. She prefers her room/lodgings to Norah's. She is getting settled little by little, buying furniture etc, because she prefers drawing out the pleasure, whereas Norah's is already all done. She had been working a lot on her thesis and is planning on going a lot more to the library - she even plans on travelling to the National Library. Blaess bought a newspaper for a friend, and reveals she has a small argument with another friend who told her to read more contemporary books, instead of focusing on twelfth and thirteenth century literature. She doesn't want to spend money on these but admits he is right and Norah has lent her some. Blaess bought a cyclamen plant. She is thrilled because she finally got a bookshelf- she has been gently asking for one since December and it took five minutes of "snarling" (in English in the text) for her to get one. She is happy with Madeleine (the maid), because the maid gifted her violet water as perfume, in exchange for Madeleine's help with learning English. There has been a leak in the water pipes at her lodgings. Blaess is happy because she is the only one that hasn't got a cold yet - even though she is cold while working. She complains about the photos of them her parents sent her - she asks for a better picture of her mother.