Downstairs ~ Upstairs Quotes

“We were remarkably well-behaved in my estimation. I do remember coming down that narrow staircase and getting walloped with a hairbrush for sassing Mom. I think it was the better alternative to her bare hand, because Mom was proud that she could type seven carbon copies at one time as a secretary, pounding on a manual typewriter. I didn’t even like the feel of her spreading Vick’s VapoRub on my chest because her hands were so strong. I can recall one tiny infraction that Linda was involved in. One day, with permission, Linda and I walked up to the 5 and 10 cent store three blocks away, and when we returned Linda had a slightly melted candy bar in her pocket. “Where in the world did you get that, Linda?” “In the store of course. I saw this candy bar and thought it might taste good. Do you want to share it with me?” “No, because we didn’t pay for it, and now we’ll have to go tell Mom.” She scolded Linda and said we’d have to go back tomorrow, apologize to the man and pay for it, and we did just that. I took the job of watching over my three sisters very seriously, but once in a while I’d slip up.”
― Carol Ann P. Cote, Downstairs ~ Upstairs: The Seamstress, The Butler, The "Nomad Diplomats" and Me -- A Dual Memoir

“Upon the arrival of my sweet baby sister, Gina Louise on May 7th, 1955, Dad’s four “Little Women” was complete and I believe he abandoned the wish that the Pescarmona name would live on in a son someday. I tried to fill the void by watching the “Friday Night Fights” (which were boxing matches) with my Dad. I wonder what he really thought about his most “girlie girl” expressing the slightest interest in boxing. Now Linda, who always said she wished she was born a boy, had a Davy Crockett shirt and pants replete with a coonskin cap and sported a belt with two holsters and faux pearl-handled cap guns. I liked the smell of gunpowder for some odd reason and would play guns with her occasionally. We roomed together, but two more different sisters could never be found. I loved clothes with hoop skirts that had to be negotiated very carefully while sitting down in a church pew, which we found out the first time we wore them. We sat on the hoop and our skirts went up nearly over our heads revealing our unmentionables.”
― Carol Ann P. Cote, Downstairs ~ Upstairs: The Seamstress, The Butler, The "Nomad Diplomats" and Me -- A Dual Memoir

“There is a knock at the door and Mom answers it. “Hi, Joe, how are you doing?” “Terrific, I hope you have enough room in your refrigerator for this big bird! The Blisses send their best wishes.” Joe, a very thin wiry man, came close to stumbling over the threshold as he juggled the big, cold, slippery bird through the living room ‘round to our kitchen and into the refrigerator. “Thanks Joe, Happy Thanksgiving to you and all your family. Can you stay for a cup of coffee and some warm cookies?” “No thanks, I’m pressed for time and have a few more stops to make. I’ll see you at Christmas time.” We always saw Joe Lynch every Thanksgiving and Christmas making his rounds with the gift Turkeys from the Blisses. One year we saw him in the grocery store and he asked my Mom, “How many pounds should the bird be this year?” Whether Thanksgiving or Christmas, the gift birds were always appreciated and would always be stuffed with Grandma’s secret recipe dressing passed down from her family in Argentina. One of the secret ingredients is Gulden’s mustard. It just wouldn’t be the holidays without that heavenly aroma teasing our senses for hours.”
― Carol Ann P. Cote, Downstairs ~ Upstairs: The Seamstress, The Butler, The "Nomad Diplomats" and Me -- A Dual Memoir

“My baby sister, Janet, kept us all occupied with her antics. She could climb out of any enclosure and I actually found her on top of a bookcase one day. I gave her the nickname “Sweet Pea” after the character in the Popeye cartoon strip who possessed similar talents. She was a bundle of nervous energy and liked to tear out her pretty blonde hair in bunches, smiling all the while. I think she enjoyed all the attention from all of her supervisors. Thanksgiving was soon upon us, the time when Grandma would take out all her recipes and spices from a large Oriental tin she kept for the holiday seasons. I especially loved her Swedish Spritz Cookies pressed from a cookie press. Grandma took out the cookie sheets and said, “Carol Ann, you be in charge of the nonpareils. Linda, you can sprinkle the red and green sugar on the cookies after I press them out.” “Where did you get this recipe, Grandma?” “In Sweden, actually. I’ll tell you all about it as we bake. After only a three-year stay in Washington, during which Mr. Bliss was assigned to two different positions: first to the Washington, D.C. Conference on the Limitation of Armaments and then as Chairman of the Diplomatic Service Board of Engineers, President Warren Harding finally made Mr. Bliss, a lifelong Republican, the Ambassador to Sweden.”
― Carol Ann P. Cote, Downstairs ~ Upstairs: The Seamstress, The Butler, The "Nomad Diplomats" and Me -- A Dual Memoir

“In 1846, Edward M. Linthicum greatly enlarged the residence and named it “The Oaks” for the ancient oaks that still stand majestically throughout the grounds. President John Quincy Adams’ Vice President, John C. Calhoun, occupied the home from 1882 through 1889. When the Blisses bought the property in 1920 they decided to name it Dumbarton Oaks, combining the two historic names. They increased the estate to fifty-four acres through the years.2”
― Carol Ann P. Cote, Downstairs ~ Upstairs: The Seamstress, The Butler, The "Nomad Diplomats" and Me -- A Dual Memoir

“Mr. Bliss wanted a country home in the city, so he purchased the old estate called ‘The Oaks’ which they both had seen together before she left. He loved the fact that it sat up on a one-hundredfoot-high hill which sloped down to Rock Creek, and was the highest point in Georgetown. It would require very extensive work on the mansion and grounds over many years. Mrs. Bliss returned after only two months in Paris to begin planning the enormous task that the estate grounds would require. She envisioned an estate like those in Italy with terraces dug into the hillside comprised of lovely areas resembling outdoor rooms stepping down from the most formal at the top to less formal as you wander down to the creek. She hired Beatrix Jones Farrand, a famous landscape gardener who worked on estates from Maine down the east coast to Washington.” They would eventually name the estate “Dumbarton Oaks” because of its history as part of the Rock of Dumbarton grant that Queen Anne of England made in 1702 to Scotsman Colonel Ninian Beall.”
― Carol Ann P. Cote, Downstairs ~ Upstairs: The Seamstress, The Butler, The "Nomad Diplomats" and Me -- A Dual Memoir

“October 14, 1954 in Washington, D.C. seemed like a day like any other, until we were dismissed from school early because the teacher said there was a bad storm coming. The sky was turning quite dark as we hurried home. “Grandma, why did the teacher tell us to go straight home?” Grandma was trying to remain her calm self, but I know how much storms terrified her. Argentina has the most severe lightning and tornadoes in the world. She was leaning against the kitchen counter in the corner to steady herself. She always said she would love to go hide in a closet during thunderstorms. “It’s a hurricane they’ve named Hazel. Your mom will be home soon, I hope. She is out getting more food and supplies like candles and batteries in case we lose power and have no light. We’re so lucky to have a gas stove so we can still cook.” Dad came home early from his job with the Department of Agriculture in Beltsville, Maryland and Mom made it home just before the winds started. Dad chided Mom, and lessened the tension with, “Now don’t be getting any notion of taking a bath, Eva Beat-rice, there is no time for that!” Dad liked to change the pronunciation of her middle name, Beatrice, to Beatrice when he was teasing her. Mom always ran the water and took a bath during every storm. Dad always said, “Someday you’ll be flying through the air in the bathtub and they’ll find you blocks away!”
― Carol Ann P. Cote, Downstairs ~ Upstairs: The Seamstress, The Butler, The "Nomad Diplomats" and Me -- A Dual Memoir

“Dinnertime brought a big announcement from Mom and Dad. “How would you like to have a new baby brother or sister in six months?” I didn’t have to think twice. I got off my chair and started laughing and jumping up and down, dancing with my little sister, Linda, who didn’t understand, but it sure made me happy so that had to be a good thing. Janet Elise, (named for my Grandma whose name is Elisa), arrived on a cold day in February on the 25th, 1954. I had just turned six years old two days before Christmas and she was like a birthday present that arrived two months late. I was too young to remember Linda being born, so this was a brand new fantastic experience for a little girl who loved every one of her dolls and put them all to bed with great care every night.”
― Carol Ann P. Cote, Downstairs ~ Upstairs: The Seamstress, The Butler, The "Nomad Diplomats" and Me -- A Dual Memoir

“All of us kids walked home for lunch, anxious to see our moms and grandmas. Lunch would be waiting and the television, which I so loved, was always set to “The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show.” When he signed off with “God bless your pea-picking hearts!” I was out the door and back to my friends for the walk back to school. A better place to raise a family could never have been found. The milkman delivered quite a few quart glass bottles with the cream for coffee floating on top. A Wonder Bread delivery man lived next door. He delivered only to stores, but would bring us cute miniature loaves of bread once in a while. The scissors and knife sharpener man made his rounds. Grandma loved to work with sharp scissors and admonished us, “Don’t ever cut paper with my shears, it dulls the blades.” I felt sorry for the poor Fuller Brush man since my Mom never would buy anything, but she’d take the free samples. Maybe he just liked talking to my Mom who loved to talk. My favorite was the Good Humor ice cream truck, of course.”
― Carol Ann P. Cote, Downstairs ~ Upstairs: The Seamstress, The Butler, The "Nomad Diplomats" and Me -- A Dual Memoir