Family Birthday Memories for Beth

     When I was a kid, the day of our birth was special. Not because we might get a lot of gifts. With five kids, that rarely happened. I don't ever remember getting any birthday gift in particular except my first bicycle. That was when I turned seven. Like many whining young girls, I'd been going on about a pony. I had a friend who lived in a trailer park, for pity's sake, and SHE had a pony! That's the year I got the bike. Dad spent most of the day trying to teach me to ride without falling over, training wheels and all, into the hard gravel driveway. Eventually I could wobble twenty feet or so without flopping onto the rocks but I was a scraped-up mess for days. 


    Mostly our birthday was extra-special because Mom, in her most energetic and enthusiastic way, would loudly announce, "It's your day!" She made a big deal out of letting you think you could do what you wanted all day long. You could make big person decisions! This was brainwashing of course because if you were unreasonable and announced you weren't taking a bath or didn't want to do an assigned chore, your self-will if contrary (birthday or not) was immediately 'set aright.' Then you pondered just how much power you actually had as a birthday girl (or boy). However, with Mom's magic, she still could make you feel that you ruled the domestic world, in a small way, for that one day. 

Want cinnamon toast for breakfast? You got it! 


Want to wear your favorite striped shirt with your polka dot shorts? Fine! 


Go up a tree and read a book most of the day? OK-just come down for dinner, please. 

     The best part was that Mom was a terrific cake maker. I don't remember her producing any wonderful pies but when it came to cakes, she excelled. Mom considered using a mix was cheating and only succumbed to the lure of Pillsbury in later years. She was proud of doing the whole shebang-- a multi-layered cake (flavor of your choice), the eggy vanilla filling, and the icing by hand. She unrolled a whole kit of icing tips and little bags and could obtain any color of the rainbow with careful drops of food coloring stirred into white icing and ranged around her in a multitude of small bowls. No artist ever mixed a paint palette more carefully than my Mom concocted shades of cake icing. 


     Your birthday cake was decorated with some colorful appropriate theme involving lots of icing roses and leaves and then the cake was kept a secret from you until it was brought in after the evening meal. The lights in the dining room turned low, the candles on the cake lit in the kitchen, and then Mom came banging through the door with this flaming cake, her face beaming, as she led the family in a loud rendition of "Happy birthday to you-". 

Tomorrow is my niece Bethany's 27th birthday. I don't have a card but thought she might enjoy this: do what you want all day Beth-you have my permission. I remember you when you looked like this--God, you were a pixie of a baby! Come to think of it--you still are!  
                                                   
                                                








   Happy 27th and many more.
   Love from Aunt Pep.

For Mother's and Father's Days

Finding old family photos is always bittersweet. But my sister sent me this one and it's a keeper. It's my Mom and Dad, obviously head over heels in love. The picture was taken in 1941, likely on their honeymoon. After Pearl Harbor, pilots were seldom allowed leave but Dad got Christmas Day and so that's when they got hitched. Eleven months later, he'd leave for North Africa, leading the first B-26 squadron across the Atlantic, and my brother Scott would be born on the day he left.

Mom is Mary Elizabeth (Mary Lib) and Dad is Joseph Scott (Joe when younger and Scott later in life) Peddie. Love the peep-toe shoes.

After a career in the Air Force, Dad decided to hang up his wings and try for a halo. Upon retirement he went to seminary in Lexington, KY and was ordained an Episcopal priest. Always in uniform! This picture is the whole fam-damily together, taken around 1965.
Left to right front row: Mary Frances (Sissy), me, Elisabeth Anne (Lili), Christopher Jon (Chris). left to right back row: Scott Garrett, Mom, and Dad (in new uniform).

This posting has nothing whatever to do with quilts. Just a reminder to love your Mom and Dad while you have them. Happy Mother's Day.

Utterly distracted-Meet Rylee Elisabeth-the winner is...

Thanks to all readers who commented on the jelly roll thing last week. The deadline for comments was October 1 but on that date, I was totally distracted. My niece Becca (Rebecca) Brown was having a tough time of it at the hospital in Lexington, KY as she delivered her first baby. Here's Becca and her husband Rob on their wedding day-isn't she beautiful? And here's my new great-niece Rylee Elisabeth Brown as she lays in ICU.

For the last two months of her pregnancy, Becca was told to rest since she had a tendency to start contractions. But when she finally went into the hospital September 30, the baby decided to be stubborn. Eventually on Wednesday morning, they decided on a cesarean delivery. Rylee had some jaundice and low blood sugar, thus the ICU stay. Hopefully mama and baby are going home today-whew!

About the jelly role comments: I printed them out and cut the names apart with scissors and then drew them from a hat. Drum roll please: the winner is Janet who commented on September 23 with these words: "I've never bought a jelly roll-but if I did get one I would want one that when put together looked primitive-browns, greens, blues, dark reds etc." Your wish is my command! Ms. Janet,please email me at this address pepcory@gmail.com to reconfirm your jelly roll preferences and send along your snail mail address.

The final tally on the jelly roll debate was 36 comments (didn't count the repeats or those who just wrote to say 'hi') and the breakdown follows: 14 of you loved jelly rolls. You buy 'em and use 'em. However, the nays do have it: 22 of you were thumbs down. Reasons given ranged from, "I like to wash my fabric-", "They're too expensive-" to the downright ornery-" I don't want anyone else choosing my fabrics!"

And I learned a lesson too...next contest I keep count as the comments come in and don't wait a day past the deadline. Many thanks.

First time out of the gate....

My niece Julia Marshall has helped me set up this blog-correction: she set up the blog and I watched. Hopefully as I write more and become more adept, this endeavor won't be write so painful and I can take Julia's number off speed dial. I am fascinated by the blog concept but frankly find the word blog ugly and prefer online diary. So much for semantic niceties.

I know, this next info isn't about quilting but I'm easing into this thing, getting the lay of the land. So, living in coastal North Carolina, I'm always aware of the weather and the nearby (less than a block-) Atlantic Ocean. For all water lovers, here's a nice picture I took last April of a shrimper at rest in the harbor of a down east fishing village, Atlantic, North Carolina. Enjoy.