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Friday, November 23, 2012

and my grandmother called me pie face...

Forty five years ago, on Thanksgiving day, my mother delivered the nine-pound turkey that turned out to be me.


The family allegedly missed dessert that day, which might explain my life long obsession with pie.

Here are two of the four I made on Wednesday:
A few days ago, I apologetically told Ric that there would only be two apple, one pumpkin and one toll house pie for Thanksgiving.
We'd almost be pie impoverished.
(We take pie pretty seriously around here.)
 
This is one of the earliest art journally kind of things I ever did:

 
 
Once, when we lived 3,000 miles away and had neither the time nor means to come home to our families, we had the "All pie Thanksgiving."
This has morphed into a separate holiday with a core group of pie-obsessed friends and their offspring.  Last year we had 9 varieties (with doubles on the pork pie and apple pie for a grand total of 11 pies for 10 people.)
This was my ode to the day:

But I digress.
One of the nicest things about having a birthday near Thanksgiving is that it greatly increases the odds of not having to work on the actual anniversary of your birth.
("Hey Ric, you wanna know why today is awesome?  Because it's my birthday.  and I don't have to work")
Today started with pie for breakfast, and presents from my guys (art books - hooray!), and then the rest of the day was my own.
There was lots of art, and singing along to the iPod, and hanging Christmas lights in the unseasonably warm sunshine.  There was more pie, and more art, and leftover turkey and a rousing game of dominoes with the extended family.
There was no cake.  Cake is stupid.
Who would ever eat cake when there is pie?
It was a perfect birthday. 

When I went looking for the above newborn picture, I found these favorites from just a few years later.
They say your personality is pretty well set by age 2, and when you look at these pictures you'll see not much has changed.
 
This is still one of my most comfortable positions:

I still wear more than one hat and could use an extra hand.
(and my tights still get baggy around the knees)

I still enjoy a good bottle of something or other.
 
and I'm still unstoppable on a beach.

Here's one of the things my mother wrote about me at this age:

 See?  some things never change.

I did put down my superballs long enough to continue my 40-day creativity experiment today, but you're going to have to wait until tomorrow to see that.
I'm off to have another slice of pie.





21 comments:

  1. Karen - wishing you a very happy birthday! Sounds like you enjoyed it! Loved your baby pictures. I have a favorite one of me at 3 months old where I'm smiling like a cherub, but my middle finger is up! I've been using copies of that photo in postcards I've been making. Will have to send you one... CAL

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  2. Happy Birthday wishes to you! Great photos and I love your obsession with PIE!!!

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  3. Awesome story and photos. Sounds like a great day!

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  4. Happy belated. Love your pie stories always....having second Thanksgiving tomorrow with friend, pumpkin pie is coming! Those kid pics ARE SO YOU! I forgot about super balls...loved those things. xox

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  5. YAY! Sounds like you had an awesome Bday :D. I look forward to someday having a pie-bakeoff with you! (They ALL sound awesome)

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  6. Happy belated birthday. I was trying to hold back from the computer for the family, that and my mother claims my kindle whenever I visit...and I thought solitaire could be played with real cards? Love the idea of a pie day. I don't like the cake either, but I go for cheesecakes. Red velvet cream cheese from that factory place, now I'm digressing and getting hungry. Hope your day was lovely.

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  7. Karen, this was a laugh out loud post for me!!! I loved reading about and seeing photos of your childhood. The pie thing is a bit bizarre, but, hey, I'm that way about anything chocolate. We usually have to have a pecan pie and a pumpkin pie or it isn't really Thanksgiving. BTW, Happy Birthday. Clever of you to arrive around TG so you wouldn't have to work. LOL!

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  8. You really were so cute. I take it you didn't hold that comment of your Grandma's against her as you gre up. How could she!
    Enjoyed this post so much. Happy birthday for Thanksgiving day.
    But talk about impoverished, I've never seen so many types of pie. (Except in the film 'Waitress', with pies like 'I' don't want Earl's baby pie'. Nice film if you've never seen it.

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    1. ah, but she said it so fondly, and generally followed it up with a laugh saying "I don't know why I call you that". It's a fond memory. I'd forgotten all about "waitress" - I remember liking it. I think I need to see it again.

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  9. Happy belated birthday and Pie party day, what a sweet note that your mom wrote about you. Love that!

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  10. TollHouse Pie???????????? must hear what that is (first things first)
    and
    Happy Birthday!!!!!! Sounds like a great celebration! (Hey--I was 9lb too!) I wish I had known so I could have sent you birthday mail.
    Next year. (and maybe belated this year)
    xo

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  11. You crack me up! Happy, Happy Birthday, kooky Karen! I hope you ate pie until your seams burst and you soaked up all the love and laughter of another wonderful year of living!!

    Those pictures of you are so precious!
    ...superballs....I wonder what that was all about in your little mind....haha!

    Big hugs,
    Cam

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  12. YOu are sooo adorable. I got your art today. Wow, so great!! Thank you so much.

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  13. Hey, Happy Birthday, Karen and Happy Thanksgiving. So, what could we use for one word... "Happy Birthgiving"? Love the pictures and the pies. The crust is art worthy.

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  14. Happy Birthday! Enjoy the weekend and ALL the pie.

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  15. Happy, Happy birthday Karen! Those pictures are wonderful and obviously caught your spirit perfectly! Enjoy all of your new books and pie after pie after pie xx

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  16. Happy belated birthday! It sounds like you had a wonderful day. And who deserves it more than you?!?!

    xo

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  17. Happy belated birthday! I totally agree about pie vs. cake. We had 4 pies (plus pumpkin whoopie cookies) for 6 of us at Thanksgiving (that put us at about 1-2 pies short of normal). Pie is important!

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  18. Late to the party, so belated birthday wishes are winging their way to you! I'm so with you on the pies though I have to say I've never seen an occasion of 11 pies for 10 people! Birthday pie for everyone!
    (adorable baby pics - weren't we all so cute then?)

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  19. Happy Birthday! I had some especially yummy chess pie on Thanksgiving and I thought about you. LOL!

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