Is it Really Possible?

Is it really possible that five women who fought like cats and dogs growing up, who tattled on each other, who tricked and kicked each other, who shared bedrooms, bathrooms, cars, friends, hot rollers and cars with each other could spend 3 days together and not only get along but have the time of their lives?  I'm here to tell you, YES it's not only possible, but the norm for me and my sisters!  After spending a weekend with all of them (yes all 4 counting me = 5) plus my daughter and Karen's daughter-in-law...it's the honest to goodness truth!  Several decades later there's nothing more fun for me (and I think I speak for all of us) than spending time with each other.  Maureen and Tiffany fit right in with the more "mature"women (yea right!) and we hope to have them along on many more trips in the future.  You have never seen so much laughing going on...with each other, at each other and for each other.  Our mom is HUGELY missed when we are together.  The last sister's weekend she had with us was also spent in Pinetop.

The Last Sister's Weekend with our Mom....oh how we miss her!

During our adult lives, she was the central point of communication to whom we could all turn to get caught up to date on what was going on with each other.  Since her passing nearly two years ago we have all had to work harder to stay in the loop with each other.

BIKES ONLY????

Cindy has always wanted to stop at the junkyard in Rye. We decided as we were approaching it that there was no time like the present, so off we went to explore the junk!  First of many laughs....

Karen and Tiffany in this little ? (what was it that
Cindy called this...a Tick Tick?)

Tiffany trying out some new wheels!

We left on a good laugh after the
"Junkyard
Dog" chased us away for
touching the inventory!

"And this chair fits just right"
said "Little Kim" as she settled into
Hailey's sherpa chair!

Painting our wine and margarita
glasses rendered us as serious
as we got all weekend...

Our creations!

We whiled the weekend hours away on the deck with coffee, painting wine glasses, photographing critters, cocktails, a fire in the fire pit, celebrating Cindy's birthday, and games on the deck.  And we ventured out for photo shoots, antique shopping , an evening in the "Orchard" at Charlie Clark's Steakhouse, dinner at our favorite Mexican food spot, and more photos in "The Thing".  And if we weren't laughing we were talking...non-stop!  Our journeys through life have taken us on different paths but we come together with the commonality of our childhood memories, the moral compass our mother instilled in us, and a book of memories that we are thankful is continuing to grow with each passing year of life.

 

Celebrating Cindy's birthday Saturday!

"Where the Wild Things Are"

             

    

And... "Where the Wild Things Are"

Our pictures prove that in our case you're never too old to act silly in the company of your best friends!

So yes....it's really possible, and true!  I love and cherish these women with all my heart!

By the way...I love and cherish the photos we take with each other too!

                         Hug the ones you love!  ~Tina 

On the front of the shirts Karen had made for us :-)

    

We're on the Road Again!

We're off to the cool country tomorrow and "girl" are we excited.  Years ago we vowed to plan and follow through on a "Sister's Weekend" at least once a year.  A weekend where all five of us could leave jobs, kids, spouses and the ties of our home lives to frolic, laugh, shop, eat, drink, and be merry- uninterrupted.  Forty years ago that would have been the LAST thing we would have wanted to do is spend a weekend with "those sisters" that we shared everything from a bedroom to the hot rollers with! But with much of our lives behind us we have come to cherish our relationships with each other and I think I speak for all of us when I say that our relationships with each other are one of life's greatest blessings.  Our mom used to accompany us on our weekends and her absence has made making time for these get-togethers seem even more critical.  In fact, it's only been 9 months since our last trip and we were all feeling the need for a "sister fix"!   This year we are so happy that two of our "Gen Y" offspring are accompanying us (girls only)!  They are either going to be completely flabbergasted by our antics, totally embarrassed, or sorry they haven't joined us sooner.  I'm guessing it will be the latter.  So...down the road we go!  We hope to have some classic pictures to share.  Don't forget to record life's best moments by freezing them in time with photographic images...they'll be good for some heartwarming smiles later on!

At the "Shady Del"~November 2011

Until next time~ 

Tina

"Our roots say we're sisters, our hearts say we're friends."  

 ~Author Unknown

Sister's Weekend: Part I

Dear Sisters~ I wanted to compile our photos together and do a series of blogs about our sisters weekend to Bisbee in November.  Our photography blog seemed like the perfect vehicle to share our collective photos and stories.  For our offspring, spouses and friends at home wondering or (more likely) imagining just what do we do on sister’s weekends? ...read on!

Tombstone Arizona

Getting all 5 of us headed toward the same destination is nothing short of a miracle, even at this stage of our lives.  This year, surgeries, sprained ankles, and the loss of a loved one threatened to derail our plans, but I think we all had a strong sense of the importance of spending the weekend together during the one year mark following our mom’s passing.

We piled in the car and headed toward Bisbee with a (roundabout) stop for Starbucks in Tucson and a little planned time in Tombstone, Arizona.  It amazes me that despite the fact we were all born and raised in Arizona, there are so many places we have never been.  Tombstone was one of those places, for me anyway.  If Tombstone were on my bucket list I guess I could check it off the list because once you’ve seen Tombstone….well let’s just say there’s really no need to go back unless you’re taking relatives from back East (ahem…) who want a taste of the Wild Wild West!   

And this one's for you!

Tombstone has stagecoaches, and gun fights, and turquoise stores, and yes lots and lots of tourists….we were 5 of them!



I think I heard a certain sister comment on more than one occasion that this gentleman was
"very nice looking"...



Tourists ...yes that's (3 of) us!



We decided to have lunch at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon and when we travel by 5’s we get lots of questions.  The local cowboy was no exception and found us to be the perfect subjects to volunteer to take pictures with OUR cameras for us. 

Caution: Content not intended for young children

Before we knew it we were being herded to the poker table, dressed in Western attire and handed shotguns and moonshine bottles. 

You should have seen the "serious faced" version!

I’m not sure how or why but I was the lucky one he chose to put in the coffin, hang a noose around my neck and take my picture. I must look lile a "2 bit tramp".  We promptly paid our tab and left Big Nose Kate’s.  My reputation was tarnished.

About 20 stores later-2 times each (did I say Angie likes to shop?),  3 propositions to take a stagecoach tour, an equine chat between Kim, the stagecoach driver and 2 Clydesdales, multiple photo ops,  and 2 3 trips to the “public” bathroom, we blew that popsicle stand and headed for Bisbee!

As we decompressed from the hurried pace we keep in our every day lives we had to laugh at each other.  We took turns demonstrating how the aging process and stress have taken their toll on our brains!  First it was my turn.  As we were nearing a Picacho Peak road sign I saw a grove of trees and commented that I thought they were Pecan Trees, but the sign infiltrated my thought process and suddenly I was proclaiming that they must be Picacho trees…(thinking Pistachio but saying Picacho!)  I followed with “do Picacho’s grow on trees?”  A moment of silence followed while everyone processed what I had just said and then we busted out in laughter.

Cindy took a turn with a new twist on an old phrase about Hell but as further proof of that comment I made about aging brains…I’ve forgotten exactly what she said, but it was very funny at the time!

As we approached Bisbee, Angie saw a bowling alley in the middle of nowhere and commented “look we could stop and bowl a square, a …square?  What is it called?”  A frame Angie, we could bowl a frame. 

We knew it was only a matter of time before the others slipped up at the rate we were going. 

Unlike the days of our youth,  there were no fights about who got to sit by the window, who got to ride in front, who ate all the snacks or who got the bathtub first when we got there.  Our bickering days of childhood... a thing of the past, have been replaced with chuckles and grins!  And not unlike the times we spent in the Buick "Vista Cruiser" stationwagon, we cruised on through the Arizona desert towards the town of Bisbee, Arizona!

                                                                                                                   To be continued…

As Thanksgiving and the Holidays approach I am reminded of all that I have to be thankful for.  I count my sister's amongst my richest Blessings and I love you all!

                                                                                  Tina

 

Kinsale, County Cork, Southern Ireland

This was IT for me!  This was my vision of Ireland; this was what I wanted to see most of all…a little Irish town – quaint, colorful, full of pubs, greenery, shops, friendly people and history!!!  Kinsale was my favorite place to visit on our entire trip and I want to go back! I want to go there with my sisters and then I want to travel all over County Cork and Southern Ireland.  It’s a dream but you have to have those…

The drive to Kinsale from Dublin was beautiful, but so were all the drives.  At the beginning of the trip we worried about all the time we would be spending in the car but I never had a problem just staring out the window and taking in everything I could – fields, sheep and cows, hills, amazing green landscape and adorable (to me), quaint little hamlets.  If you blinked you would miss them but they were very special.  Maria and I actually got quite a few good pictures just by sticking our camera out the window and clicking as we drove past!!  Not enough time to stop for every “cute” sight we saw…

 
Compared to some of the little villages we went through, Kinsale was the big town! Almost as soon as we got into town, we came upon the Perryville House which was to be our home for the next three nights…ahhh!  Barry came out to help us park and help us carry our embarrassingly large amount of luggage and shopping bags up the stairs to the rooms.  Perryville House was like being in someone’s home and our entire stay there was very special, so special that I went on Trip Advisor and gave them 5 stars!!!  I never do that! We spent the afternoon checking out the town and its little shops, restaurants and people!  In the bakery, we ran into a cute little family who had a 9-month old baby named Charlie.  He was so dang cute that I took a bunch of pictures of him and emailed them to his mom, Sinead, later that day!
 
I can’t help myself…I just want more of Ireland!!!!  See if you want some too…

The beautifully furnished and very comfortable Perryville House...it made me think of my grandmother's home! 

You see this beautiful courtyard from everywhere inside.

Barry giving directions...it's hard to get lost though!

Would you believe they were selling "hot" sauce???

B is usually a few steps ahead of me...impatient!

Charlie...he wasn't too sure about me!

This marina was directly across from our hotel, the view from our window!!!  Lovely... 

At this point, I can't leave out the doors... 

Cheers... 

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.