Two weeks ago, Pep and I packed our bags and headed to her homeland. It had been about three years since I had visited Beppee in Pittsburgh and I'm never one to turn down a trip back east.Beppee is my grandmother. You see, she didn't want to be called Grandma (would make sense if you knew her) and I couldn't say Betty when I was little so it came out more like Beppee. And it stuck. 26 years going strong. I always tease my mom that I'm going to have her grand kids call her Peppee. She would kill me. And luckily, she looks forward to do the day that she will be called Grandma. Not, of course, until someone puts a ring on it though, as she reminds me every time I pick up a onesie in Target and start cooing.
3 generations under one roof can get very interesting, especially when you have two that are as close as my mom and I are. But I have to say, thanks to some heavy drinking - I kid, I kid (kind of) - we all got along pretty well for those four days. We spent a lot of time going through Beppee's old photos and I was fascinated by her scrapbooks and the history...so many telegrams! I think she really enjoyed getting to show me a glimpse of her life at my age and I certainly appreciated taking the stroll down memory lane with her. She also gifted me with her sterling silver rose plated set which I will treasure until the day I die. As soon as Pep and I get it polished up, I'll have to post some pictures on here for you to see. And just in case THAT wasn't enough family history, dad got wind of my new obsession with antique items and brought me down two quilts that my great grandmother had made. They are so beautiful and the work behind them, I can't even imagine! I can barely get a button sewn back on!
My goal for the trip, other than catching up with Beppee and grabbing a beer and playing some pool with my dad, was to really document Beppee's house. My grandparents on my dad's side passed away a few years back and their house....ohhhh their house....I wish HOW I WISH I had more photographs of it. It was magnificent with sooooo much history (and ghosts, I'm not kidding, ask Andy). The best (well, depending on who you ask) thing about Beppee's house is that she keeps everything, there was enough canned goods in the basement to feed a family through the next millennium. And the can opener! OH MY. So when I wasn't drinking and playing games with family, I was taking photographs.
So here we go, Beppee's house and my Pittsburgh trip as told through pictures.
Yes, that is a caricature of yours truly at age....9 or 10 probably. Stop laughing.
2 comments:
Man, those are AWESOME pics. And you and your mom and Beppie — how cute is that? I can see your face in both of theirs.
What a great trip.
Great post, Katie. And there was a lot of drinking.
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