Sibling Gathering

 It's been three and a half years since my 5 siblings and I have gathered to catch up. I have seen all but two of them on other occasions but one brother lives in Arizona which means flying and one sister is the only one still working so scheduling attendance at other events was difficult.

It took a lot of negotiations to figure out a weekend and a spot to gather.  We actually had first selected the first weekend in October and booked an AirBnB but that weekend became problematic so we settled on this past weekend and managed to get the same 5 bedroom house.  Now there are 6 siblings but the location in Chambersburg, PA was where one sibling lived so she and her spouse didn't need  accommodations.

Siblings not in birth order.  There is a difference of 19 years between #1 and #6.

Suzie (#5), Steve (#3), Marie (#6), Phil (#1), Bonnie (#2) and yours truly (#4).

The weekend was filled with catching up, sharing, laughing, taking walks and talking some more, pickle ball for some, card games, gathering around the fire pit and wonderful food.

Here are a few photos.

The brothers: Steve (l) lives in Arizona and Phil lives outside of Pittsburgh.

Dan belongs to me!

Steve and Marie who lives in Northern VA.

Left to right: Bonnie lives in Chambersburg, Scott is Marie's husband, Suzie and dog live in southern Virginia (her husband couldn't make the trip) and Steve.

Marcie, Phil's wife and Phil.

Suzie and Marie the two youngest.

We played Scat, Hearts, and Spoons.

Paivikki on the right is Steve's wife.

Phil is the owner of the red Tesla.  Steve has one too in Arizona.

Dan was the fire builder.  We couldn't find any matches or lighter in the rental so he lit a chopstick in the gas stove and brought it outside.

Joseph is Bonnie's husband with their dog.

Marie took this photo of the fire pit.

The consensus at the end of the weekend was to do it again soon.  We're not getting any younger so even once a year we should try to find a gathering point.  Of course we didn't really settle on one though it was bandied about that maybe we try for the Pittsburg area.

For comparison: 2022 above and this weekend below.

Our ages left to right: 68, 78, 65, almost 84, 81, and almost 75.

Sharing Grandchildren Photos Plus

Sorry, no frontal views of my three granddaughters, but they are so cute even from the back or in shadow.

We had a wonderful family vacation in WV in August.

Here's Dan helping 4 year old A to get a drink of spring water.

A loves insects.  She's trying to get a huge beetle to crawl up on her stick.

L is almost 2.

In the water her teeth chattered.

A took swimming lessons this summer.

A & L are sisters.

The youngest, I, at 1 year loved the water.

As a plus here are my siblings in order from right to left.  I'm #4.

We gathered at the end of our week vacation at my older sister's retirement community in PA. There is 19 years difference between the oldest and youngest of us. We reside in PA, MD, VA and the brother next to me in AZ.

Following Through

Here are a few photos from the family get  together as promised in this post. Granddaughters' faces are blurred for their privacy.

Daughter Emily holding with granddaughters #1 & #2 and daughter Sarah with granddaughter #3 in utero.

Our living room.  You can see the twin bed mattress on the floor.  Usually during the day it was up on its side so we could use that hall.  Both daughters are working on projects.  Emily's husband Matt is reading to granddaughter #1.

Sarah's husband William is napping.

Dan practices his guitar in our bedroom but probably not when the other photos were taken since granddaughter #2 was likely napping.

Celebrating in Culpepper, VA

My sister Suzie, is celebrating her 60th next Sunday.  I suggested a celebration a week ahead of time so as not to conflict with the plans her children and grandchildren had for her.

We met up with Suzie and her husband, Jerry (on the right) who live outside Charlottesville and my youngest sister, Marie (in yellow) and her husband Scott who were returning from Williamsburg to their home in Northern Virginia. Our three older siblings live too far or in the case of our sister, Bonnie, were too far away to attend.

We enjoyed a wonderful 2 1/2 hour lunch at "Its About Thyme" in the downtown of Culpepper.

Not the best photo of the restaurant, but it was a charming spot.

Down the street opposite where we parked was the soldier from the Confederacy.

It let us know how far south we came.

Joining Tuesday Treasures

Random Offerings from the Files

First my parents.

My dad would have been 98 on September 12th, they would have celebrated 76 years of marriage on the 14th, and Mom left us 3 years ago on the 26th.  Dad died in December of 2007.

On a vacation to Lake Ontario we drove up to see the St. Lawrence and take a boat ride tour.  Here's our first view of the river from the street.  Town name has escaped me.

On board the boat with a view of some of the houses in the 1000 Islands.

This is a lighthouse on the St. Lawrence but from another trip there.

And from Landsberg, Germany this past June here is where Dan and I had lunch.

 Notice the shawls on the chairs?  I thought someone had left one behind then realized all the chairs had them.  The air could be cold as we sat there and I was glad to have the shawl.

Above a tomato and cheese sandwich on a baguette and pizza below.

Unlike any kind of pizza we've had before.  Good though.