September 15th ought to be easy for me to remember. It's my sister-in-law's birthday. It's in the middle of the month...and, oh, (scratches head).....IT'S BETTSDAY!!
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| Once again, Bettysday celebrations were getting a little out of hand... |
I have a very busy Betty-inspired day ahead of me:
- My shabby, yet meticulous, grooming will commence as soon as I hop off 'computer'.
- My early morning will be spent in much the same way as how Constance Daisy Rose Smythe Fforde, daughter of the vicar, would spend hers--wending her way from cottage to cottage, checking on the pensioners and delivering needed tins of Bovril.
- Later, like Bertha Matilda Emily Araminta Seymour, I shall be pressed into service to mind an unforgivably scream-y, ginger-haired toddler. My gentle ministrations will soothe the savage beast however and she will be putty in my hands before you can say, 'Fairy cakes."
- Anxious to prepare an evening meal fit for my Mijnheer van Voorhees, I shall slap it together with an aplomb shared by any heroine who had to churn out vol-au-vents for sixty. No doubt the smear of flour on my unlined brow will inspire the Mijnheer to kiss me until my cheeks are rosy with confusion.
- Afterwards, I plan to don the aprons of Maisie the char woman and set to with a will. (Not at my house. That's what the kids are for!)
- At the close of the day I shall sit in the light of a rose-colored lamp, working away at my
gray grey cotton Sunday dress, whose fabric, salvaged from a fitted sheet, I will pray no handsome stranger recognizes as what it is.
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| Professor Nathan van Voorhees hid a smile. That was a sheet, he would bet his life. He shrugged and resumed admiring the neat pair of ankles that went with it... |
And, kidding aside, that's exactly what I'm doing today. I hope you're all having a wonderful day filled with Bettyness and if it's not, I hope you can find the Bettyness in your day anyway!
My day:
ReplyDelete*showering in my teeny tiny master bath (which would sound so much more Betty-like if it were squeezed into a nook under the stairs, just next to the kitchen...)
*teaching a class of teens at church (Question: Did Ermintrude Samantha Polly Brown Harding ever have to take the teenage class?)
*fancy needlework (which unfortunately features plastic canvas...yes, plastic canvas - don't ask)
*Carrying a basket to the village store (village store = Costco)
*whipping up a suitable Bettysday feast for my non R, non D, non D (he's more MAE (Middle-class American Engineer)
-Cleaning a large estate that has been shamefully neglected by the lazy lady of the house.
ReplyDelete-Teaching young children their lessons as governess
-Nursing a sad boy with a bad reaction to a wasp sting with swollen foot and ankle.
-Minding a fractious Toddler
-Donning an apron to clean the home of one in need.
-Taking care of small pets (granted a gecko and goldfish aren't really Betty's thing but its what we have.)
-Fall into bed in and be dead to the world.
All while wearing a dress I made out of a sheet and fighting back the beginnings of a cold.
I left off "snoring in a ladylike manner"...
ReplyDeleteHappy Betty's day to all! I spent mine as the live in governess, helping the children with a variety of maths ranging from 2nd grade all the way to Algebra I, whipping up cordon bleu (not) parmesan crusted chicken and sour cream scones, getting my hair done (very Betty!), and fixing my daughter's into a neat and tidy bun worthy of a Betty heroine for Civil Air Patrol (this is quite a trick as her chestnut hair is waist length and thick, ). Oh! I forgot my sherry before dinner. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteBlogger won't take my log-in, but this is Betty JoDee:
ReplyDeleteSince Betty Magdalen was shamefully galavanting in the wilds of Scotland, Betty Cindy and I decided to postpone our Central Pennsylvania Bettysday Get Together until she gets back. So I grabbed two unsuspecting friends (they gamely wore jersey and hats, although they had no idea why yet) and hauled them to the Edwardian Afternoon Tea at the newly opened Bell Mansion Tea House in Bellwood, Pennsylvania. (Here would be an excellent place to insert a link to the tea room's darling menu, but as many of my Fellow Bettys know I flunked Betty Magdalen's link-making class, despite admonitions from Betty Barbara to pay better attention.)
We enjoyed scones with jam and Devonshire cream, dainty sandwiches, delicate tarts and biscuits, and pots of (okay, not scalding) tea. They were each presented with a vintage Betty (imagine the roars of delight--Winter Wedding and The Secret Pool). A return drive at a brisk but under control speed in a Rover (okay, mini-van) through fog and drizzle completed the excursion. A grand time was had by all! (We forgot to take photos because we were having so much fun.) By the end, they wondered if we might celebrate Betty's Half-birthday, too!
A few Betty's Day revelations. (If any of you belong to Lou's Yahoo Group this won't be a'tall revelatory.)
ReplyDeleteAccording to her military record, Betty is actually celebrating her 102nd year. Other sites say she was born in 1910, but the gentleman that keeps the military nurse site informed me that she was actually born in 1909. And her birth name name is really Evelyn Jessie Neels. Betty was her nickname. Her married name was Meijer, her husbands name was Johannes and her daughter Charlotte married a man named Hammersmith.
Isn't it amazing what you can find on the internet.
At first I thought, "Oh. I'm glad she got nicked named. Can you imagine Evelyn Keira, Evelyn Debbie, etc." And then I read a fellow yahoo Betty who's name is Evelyn, (and was quite thrilled to hear she shared her name with the Great Evelyn, I mean Betty). And she goes by Evie. Now, I kinda like Evie Mary. Hmmmm
I celebrated the day with a cup of tea and some beans on toast. Just joking! I can't eat bean or toast these days! Too many carbs. ha ha ha
We had no time to do the Cordon Blue so we did a Ploughman's lunch for dinner. Did Betty gals ever eat sandwiches? I know the Prof.s did often at night in the kitchen. That's where my prof and I ate ours. BM had a tray is her cosy bedsit.(Actually she was sit-ting on her bed, and didn't bother with the tray.)
Betty Megan celebrated by making her personal best in a Golf match this afternoon. She beat both of the girls she played against and got a better score than some of the older girls on her team. She was beaming! Did Betty gals golf?
Now it's time for my own PIE* to ply me with sherry, champagne, & brandy, so he can give me one of those hard swooping kisses that will leave me rosy cheeked and irritated!
Hope everyone had a terrific Betty's Day!
* poor irish/amer. engineer
Happy BettysDay a day late.
ReplyDeleteMy day was very low-key. And other than several cups of tea throughout the day (as usual) and homemade "biscuits," (peanut butter, from my sister) for our snack last evening, there was nothing very Betty about the day. i spent a couple of hours finessing (muttering at) my computer while scanning some documents needed to clear up some hospital bills from my illness in the spring, and then I watched The Closer on DVD. From Netflix. And my nephew Ron came to spend the night, as he does 4 nights a week.
The three of us (with my very own park ranger hubby! - he got a job at World's End State Park this week!!) played Farkle for an hour, as we do every night Ron's here. (I am sure I must have mentioned him before but he's 40 and has Down's Syndrome and is an absolute peach) My Park Ranger won all three games.
Not very Betty but I did think of her and of, course, of Bettys Magdalen and JoDee, off on their other pursuits. (Esp. Betty Magdalen, off in the wilds of Scotland, wondering if it perhaps there was an early, brutal snowstorm, and if Betty Ross had to commandeer a bus with a plow on the front to get to poor, stranded Betty Magdalen.) I knew there was no such storm in State College...
:)
me<><
Betty Barbara here-
ReplyDeleteBetty Margaret and I celebrated Bettysday by going out to tea. Pictures and a description of the tea room are being sent to the Founding Bettys.
But, before I could frolic I had to do a spot of housework(ie clean the bathroom and wash towels).
The evening was spent quietly with Mijnheer van der Tarheelin and son. Their splendid appetites made short work of the lasagna and garlic bread(homemade, of course)that we had for dinner.
All in all a very good Bettysday here in maryland.
I really enjoyed the blog today, Betty Keira!
ReplyDeleteAlso enjoyed reading the posts. (Thanks for trivia, Betty Mary!) Mijnheer van der Huisma and our little moppet and I were out of town on Betty's Day. Alas, the fare wasn't anything Betty-worthy--just pizza, which was fine with the moppet.
Happy Belated Betty's day????
ReplyDeleteI'm convinced of the 1909 date, but will apply for a birth certificate to be sure, to be sure. I'm now curious whether Neels was born in West Ham (in Outer London) or Devon, as most of the online biographies seem to suggest. The certificate should clear that one up too. Too bad we were a year late celebrating the centenary!
ReplyDeleteSending off for birth certificates sounds so sleuth-y. Can't wait for your findings, Miss Marple!
ReplyDelete