A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

So, now we should gather a few pictures of these gatherings.  Here are some ideas:

blue toenails after pedicures in Colorado Springs
all of us in our white bathrobes at the Davenport
a few select photos of our time together in Paris/Normandy
the sisters' photo that Louise took with her timer on her camera in our bed and breakfast in Ashland
did we take a picture at The Garden of the Gods?
a couple of pictures that we will for sure take in June (right?)

(Some bizarre formatting going on with captions for these pictures, but there's a learning curve going on here. . . )

At Peggy's in Idaho Falls 2015

At Peggy's in Idaho Falls 2015

Palm Springs at Jake's wedding Feb. 22, 2014

Paris 2014

Paris together at last 2014

Grand Palais 2014

Mont Saint Michel 2014

Aboard the Botticelli on The Seine

Aboard the Botticelli on The Seine

Monet's garden

we attended the Shakespearean Festival 2007

Ashland, Oregon, 2007

Ashland, Oregon

At Louise's in Colorado Springs 2009

in Spokane, when we stayed at the Davenport 2005

Jackson Lake Lodge 2002

In Cheney at M.E.'s house when Mom was in the hospital

Mt. Holyoke College at David's wedding 1997

Location. Location. Location.

O.k., Sisters,

Here's where I need some help.

Where were our retreats?  And what years?

Four heads are better than one, so let's see how this goes.  The last three are accurate, but the other places undoubtedly do not match the dates.  Help!

Peggy-this is great!

2015                in Idaho Falls

                        A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
                        Landscapes of the Heart
     

2014                France

2013

2012                Class reunions in Kooskia

                        The Dry Grass of August and Prayers for Sale

                        Teresa’s wedding celebration at Jean’s

                        Great food and great family time

2011                Estes Park celebration of Louise and Jim’s 45^th

                        Sarah’s Key and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

                        Enjoyed having Sara as part of our discussion

2010                The Help

2009                Colorado Springs

June                Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

                        La Creperie

                        Summer Arts Festival Concert

                        Garden of the Gods

                        The Art of Racing in the Rain

English Cream Tea

                        Melodrama

2008                Coeur d’Alene

June                Water for Elephants

Daniel’s graduation

Roosevelt Inn

Dinner viewing the lake

All Shook Up

Carol joined us—cups and saucers of Grandma Ruth’s

2007                Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland

June                The Taming of the Shrew

                        Romeo and Juliet (with too many of Peggy’s favorite lines)

                        Bed and breakfast

                        Dinner at the Italian restaurant

2006                Rocky Mountain National Park

August                        Louise and Jim’s fortieth anniversary

                        Tons of good food and fun

                        Hiking, archery, viewing the scenery

                        Horseback riding, miniature golf

June                Ben’s graduation

2005                The Secret Life of Bees

                        The Davenport experience

                        Dinner at Clinkerdaggers in Spokane

                        Carol joined us

2004

2003                Woodward family reunion

                        Mille Lac Lakes, Minnesota

                        Meeting lots of relatives

  Putting together family book

                        Playing with Molly and Betsy

2002                Jackson Lake Lodge

                        Reading to each other

                        Hiking, driving, and enjoying the scenery

                        Foot rubs

                        Christmas tree ornaments from the Vatican

2001                TeriAnn’s wedding in Bend

2000                Louise, Mary Ellen, and Peggy in Colorado Springs

                        The Magic Flute

                        Shakespeare in the tent—The Tempest

                        The Broadmoor brunch

1999

1998                Four graduations in I.F.

1997                David and Cricket’s wedding

                        South Hadley, Massachusetts

                        Picnicking, canoeing, laughing

                        Crickets on the cake

1994                T.A.’s graduation in I.F.

Our List

When we asked Peggy if she could come up with the list of books we've read and reviewed over the years, she didn't hesitate.  "No problem, thanks to Amazon.com."

Here's our list:

2006                       The Secret Life of Bees                                 Sue Monk Kidd
2007                       Water for Elephants                                     Sarah Gruen
2008                       The Art of Racing in the Rain                       Garth Stein
2009                       The Help                                                       Kathryn Stockett
2010                       Sarah's Key                                                  Tatiana De Rosnay
                               Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet      Jamie Ford      
2011                       The Dry Grass of August                              Anna Jean Mayhew
                               Prayers for Sale                                            Sandra Dallas
2012                       Falling Leaves                                              Adeline Yen Mah
               (Jean)      Sala's Gift: My Mother's Holocaust Story    Anne Kirschner
               (M.E.)     The Gift of Rain                                            Tan Twan Eng
               (Louise)  The School of Essential Ingredients              Erica Bauermeister
                               The End of Your Life Book Club                  Will Schwalbe
2013                       Cane River                                                    Lolita Tademy
                               The Last Runaway                                        Tracy Chevalier
2014                       The Invention of Wings                                 Sue Monk Kidd
                               The Rent Collector                                        Camron Wright
2015                       All the Light We Cannot See                         Anthony Doerr
                              Landscapes of the Heart                                Cathy Cummings Chisholm

Ready, Set, Go!

O.k., Sisters, here we go!

Can I tell you how excited I am to get going on this project?  We've been talking about it for years (well, me mostly), so let's get this show on the road.

First of all, let me say how grateful I am to have the three of you as sisters.  How blessed can one youngest sister be?  I've looked up to you all for all of my life and I love you each dearly.

So, where did this idea of our 4 Sisters Book Club come from?

Well, let me tell you. . .

Our sister Peggy started buying us the same book for our Christmas gift from her many years ago; and since we make it a point to get together for our own little sisters' retreat once a year, we started including a book review of that new special Christmas book as part of our time together.  Here's how I remember that first sisters' book review.

We were at The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs where the red rocks loomed large and gorgeous and the day was sunny and beautiful.  We sat in a circle on some benches and dove into our first sisters' book discussion about The Art of Racing in the Rain.  I remember feeling the awe of realizing that we had underscored many of the same passages that seemed to speak to us and that the hour flew by as we shared our thoughts and insights.  When we got back into Louise's car so that we could head to dinner, Peggy turned around and looked at the other three of us quite seriously and declared, "If my students could have even half the book review we sisters just experienced, I would be elated!"

I felt like I had just gotten an "A" from my Literature teacher sister.  Yahoo!  As we pulled out of the parking lot, I sensed that we were on the road to something great.


I have a terrible habit of reading my new Christmas book from Peggy the moment it arrives to my doorstep via UPS.  I know, I know!  I should wait until Christmas.  How many times have I had to confess that I opened it up and had it read long before Christmas day?  You see, our sister Peggy has taught literature in high school for 39 years . . . plus she reads a hundred books each year . . . and we other three sisters are the benefactors because she buys for us her top pick of the year.  How great is that?!?  So who can blame me, right?