NEW YORK, Friday—Since "Scamper" has figured so largely in this column, I have had a number of inquiries, showing that people do not know this was the name of a book. The first year that my daughter and her children, Eleanor and Curtis, spent with us in the White House she wrote a book called "Scamper" or the bunny in the White House. It was illustrated by Marjorie Flack. Later she wrote another one called "Scamper's Christmas," also illustrated by Miss Flack. These two books are very popular with all of our grandchildren. In fact my daughter's first critics were her own children and I have seen her reading the first proofs with a child sitting on either side of her solemnly trying to be a critic!

Having had to produce a real live Scamper for Bill, he went home yesterday much to our regret, but very gleefully taking Scamper with him in a cage.

Last night we held the Interdepartmental Reception which is one of the very big ones, because it takes in all the departments not attending any other reception, and all the independent commissions. As it started to snow in the afternoon, it was not quite as crowded as usual, but well over a thousand people went by us and in spite of bad weather everybody seemed to be in particularly good spirits last night.

The Secretary of the Treasury and Mrs. Morgenthau were away, but they were represented by Acting Secretary McGill and Mrs. McGill. Even Miss Perkins managed to be there though I think most of her evening was spent in the ushers' office on the long distance telephone, and when she left the telephone Mr. McGrady took it over.

Mrs. Scheider, Miss Cook and I left on the midnight train for New York and arrived this morning to find a snowstorm here which makes us wonder whether we won't spend most of Sunday shovelling our way out from the cottage at Hyde Park to the road so as to be able to get back to Washington! I have done this many times in the old days when I used to take my two youngest boys every weekend through the winter. If we stayed in New York they insisted on going to the movies and we thought the country for Saturday and most of of Sunday was a healthier atmosphere. Shovelling snow is good exercise but if you are not doing it as a regular occupation, you will discover some unexpected muscles!

I looked at tiles this morning for the bathrooms in an apartment I am doing over in one of the Hyde Park buildings, had two appointments at Miss Cook's office, and before I leave tonight for Hyde Park I am speaking at International House for a group of teachers studying at Teachers College, Columbia University. The subject of my talk is "The Housing Program and Its Challenge to Educators." Never before have we thought of educators as being particularly concerned with housing but I think we are beginning to realize that children may be a factor in the housing program of the future, and that it is of great importance to educators how the families whose children they deal with are housed.