Putting Pieces Together

There are thousands of pieces of paper in the family archives. I know I should to discard some of them. Not everything needs to kept and/or digitized. I was working with a pile of Pepper papers, family of Joe's step-father Ray Pepper. 

 Above - these pieces were thrown away. Below - this newspaper article seemed to be about a random person without a connection to family. I thought it should go to the discard pile too. E.G. Rarey was in charge of the IRS office in Cleveland, Ohio. I couldn't find the article in online newspaper databases so I could date it. 

Then, when going through the Pepper papers, I found the documents below all related to E.G. Rarey and Ray's father, William Otterbein Pepper. After reading the letters, my guess is William and E.G. were in the same Masonic Lodge in Cleveland. E.G. might have been helping William with a business deal that went bad - just my guess. I'm glad I didn't toss that article. 

After some searching, I was able to date the newspaper by looking at the article on the back of newspaper clipping. It was about a meeting between England, Japan, and the United States in Geneva in 1927. 

All the papers related to William Otterbein Pepper

No names are on this picture but I'm 99% certain it's Ray's parents, William Otterbein Pepper and Florence Norcross Pepper. It might be their wedding picture from about 1914.

Ray Emerson Pepper, Mary Elizabeth (Maude, Betty) Neely Todd Pepper & Joe

about 1954

Acts of Light

Thank you for all the Acts of Light which beautified a Summer now passed to its sweet reward.

Emily Dickinson wrote this to Nellie Sweetser in 1884. They express my sentiments about 2019. I am thankful for the many acts of light that beautified the year for me. 

THANK YOU.

Exuberance

 When I looked at these blooms on the Christmas cactus, I thought of the word exuberance - a love of life and an excitement about the past, the present, and the future

Nativities

Bellevue Festival of The Nativity

hundreds of Nativities from all over the world

Poland

Kenya

Haiti - made from an oil drum

Amazonia 

Kyrgyzstan

Cambodia

in a matchbox

Nigeria

Malawi

Kyrzbekistan

New Mexico

Russia & Bulgaria

corn cob Nativity

Peru

Check out more posts from the end of December 2018. Click the tab to the right under Blog Archive. 

Festival of The Nativity

Bellevue Festival of The Nativity is a glorious celebration of Jesus Christ

In addition to hundreds of Nativities there is a room dedicated to the life of Christ

Art displays depict the life of Jesus Christ from His birth and ministry to His death and Resurrection.

Christ is the bread of life

The feeling in this room was awesome

The Snowflake room has Nativities geared towards children

Joe and I volunteered a number of times at the Festival. The last time, we were assigned to this room so Joe could sit and still easily interact with guests. This empty chair reminded me of our serving together. 

This room was set up with activities for children. In another room people could dress in costumes and  have their pictures taken in a stable scene

New Apple

Amazing flavor - infinite possibilities

The Cosmic Crisp apple is getting a lot of press around here. Washington State produces about 58% of the apples grown in the United States. Cosmic Crisp is the first apple variety developed in Washington State. 

The website says "... a classically bred apple grown in Washington State. ... Large, round, crisp and super juicy, these bi-color apples have a rich red that almost sparkles with starburst-like lenticels—which is where the name “Cosmic” comes from. The natural balance of acid and sugar in Cosmic Crisp® apples give them an unmatched sweetness, making them perfect for snacking, baking and entertaining."

20 years of study and research went into this apple. It's a cross between Enterprise and Honeycrisp. 

The website is full of excitement and imaginative hopes for the apple - "... will change the face of the industry and win enthusiasm among consumers with a combination of taste, texture, and usability."  It's named Cosmic because "of the striking lenticels (dots/pores) on the apple surface; they reminded the tasters of outer space and the cosmos." 

More here and here

Loving the Soul

 “So many little imperfections, but she loved the soul of him.”*

All of us have our imperfections. One of the keys to long-lasting, fulfilling relationships is getting to know each other's souls and loving those souls. 

*The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul
Maria thinking about her husband Peter