KaLinn: Is: The oldest. Sorry KaLinn, inquiring minds want to know and it had to be said. Especially since the photos don’t necessarily tell the story and someone might have picked me as the oldest! And she is fiercely loyal –if anyone has your back, it is KaLinn. And she does love & take care of her Momma! (Good thing for her Momma, since the other two daughters can be a little less ..... um, reliable?)
Knows: travel! And travel of all kinds, from camping and hiking and high mountain huts to three-star restaurants and five-star hotels. She has explored everything from the bike trails of Moab Utah to the museums of New York City and Paris. She (and her dogs of course) have been to Europe more times than I have visited my own local park. Then throw in Europe, Hawaii, Australia, Hong Kong and South Africa and she’s pretty much seen the world.All that to say, she knows a thing or two about packing and the needs of an adventurer. Whether you’re going cross country, cross town, or crossing many oceans, she knows what it takes to get you there. Her collection contains some of her favorite ideas to make your travel easier and more organized. If she couldn’t find what she wanted, she came home and made it! Check out some of her favorites, and definitely delve into her (upcoming) blogs for some of her tips and tricks before you head out on your own adventures (even if, like me, they’re only to the neighboring town)! Oh, and I almost forgot her practicing for assisted living –which explains all her amazing "old person" skills. And the beautiful results in her collection of crocheted tea towels, pillow cases, baby blankets and all skills that should be kept alive for future generations! Passions: Her babies – known to the rest of us as ..... dogs (sorry Maisy and Dash, plug your ears, but you are not people). Europeans have welcomed them at many a restaurant table. They have hiked the Alps & Dolomites, ridden the gondolas of Venice, blah blah and blah blah and blah blah. Oh,the stories they could tell! They are some happy, contented, well-traveled dogs. And work. KaLinn works. A lot. She has a real estate company with 150 agents. Along with her dogs, they are all her children. I think this is where being the oldest (aka bossiest) comes in handy. She cheers their successes, feels every one of their hurts, and commiserates with their struggles. I can’t imagine – I have two children and that keeps me busy enough!
Shawna: Is: The baby. For her it meant, when we were growing up, she was the best at LOOKING like she was so busy doing our chores without ever really accomplishing anything. Unfortunately for her, I think that wore off when she had to do adulting. Well, mostly. Unless she can get away with it. And this one I’m going to hide in the middle here and hope she doesn’t see: she is funny. Yeah. There’s an ongoing competition for that crown. And even though I’d never admit it in public, here it is in print: she would win. She is one of those people who can look at the mundane and come out with some hilarious take on it all. My only secret weapon when she starts thinking she could make it on the comedy circuit is to ask her children how funny she is. Isn’t it just like kids to be able to jerk us back into reality. Knows: Farming. And Repurposing. Probably not many of you need her to share any farming tips or tools (and I’m not sure she’s even a very good gardener so no help there), so good thing she knows how to repurpose. Everything! You give her something random and seemingly useless, and when she finishes with it you’re first in line to spend your money and buy back what you would have paid to have hauled away! Just look through her collection and you’ll see what I mean. She can see treasure in things that most of us would pass by without a thought. If you love country or chic or just plain cool, you will love her collection. It really does cover a wide array of decorating styles and palettes. She also knows shop tools and can brandish most any tool made, with ease. Oh, and she can give you an amazing hair cut – generally not with a shop tool, but I’ll bet she could, if challenged! Passions: Family. And good thing because she’s got a lot of it. There is not a moment when her home isn’t filled with one of her 3 children or their spouses, her 10 grandchildren, or hordes of nieces, nephews, in-laws, friends or siblings. And her door is always open to any one of them. Amazingly, she always seems to have food enough ready for anyone who shows up. Heck, I could give you all her address and you could stop by. We always say she wouldn’t even notice a few extras and would probably just figure you belonged to someone there! And you would feel welcomed and loved. And should you find yourself with a random nagging farming question or what to do with 35 people and food for 10, she’s your go to gal.
Momma: Is: Oh, she really IS the oldest! 84 and going strong, she raised 3 strong girls in some environments that could be characterized as wicked harsh. And that’s probably an understatement. She shot a bear at the outhouse before it ate one of us children. Then skinned it and served it for dinner, and that is NOT one word of exaggeration. Nothing goes to waste in the wilds of British Colombia. Hey – I’m thinking now that’s why I had a kidney infection as a child – I was too terrified to go to the outhouse and pee ever again!
Knows: Sewing. Boy does she know sewing. Anything. No pattern? No problem, she’ll figure it out. She single-handedly sewed, gave away, or sold (to fund fabric for the give-aways) over TWO THOUSAND pandemic face masks! Most of the treasures in her collection came about from customer requests or children saying “hey, could you make......”. Fill in the blank, and she made it. I especially love the purses with recycled belt straps. Lined, pockets, durable and big enough for all my junk! Or the makeup bags. I didn’t think it really mattered what bag I threw my makeup in, until I used one of these. Just check out what her little arthritic hands have been up to –you’ll be amazed. Passions: Living. This woman just loves each day. She loves her house. She loves her family. She loves creating. She has developed a contentment over the last few decades that serves her well. I think her middle name should have been Joy. (Instead of the stupid thing that it is, which spawned my middle name “Vonn” –which is a head-scratcher and leads people to ask if I was supposed to be a boy.) P.S. She only recently moved back to Idaho after spending 17 years working and traveling the R.V. circuit doing gardening, landscaping, management, and manning an oil drilling entrance in Texas. Adventure runs in our blood, obviously.
Sherri: hmmm. Still blank here. I think she wore herself out describing the rest of us so perfectly if not slightly sarcastically - rebuttals to come (submitted by her older bossier sister).
By KaLinn: Sherri IS: Oh the dreaded Middle Child syndrome! Such a heavy title. Probably why she is SO tough. I mean truly tough; mentally, physically, spiritually. She got blamed for everything (only 1/2 of which she actually did - I was the one who ruined the bedspread, by the way, but I knew they'd believe 7 year old me when I said 3 year old Sherri did it). She is always the first to stand up for you, to forgive, to help, to give, and to take care of you. She is incredibly knowledgeable about medicine (her own health challenges and yours) as well as providing end of life care (for her M-I-L). She does not know the meaning of the word sacrifice or give up, she just gives from the heart every single day. One time she anonymously bought a piano for a guy who came into a second hand store every day to play it, but that's a story for another time. Knows: Well the coolest thing about Sherri are the things she doesn't know but wants to and then she goes and does it. Like adopting a child from Haiti, or flipping houses with her husband (they did ALL the work themselves), and building a shipping container house, and welding, plasma cutting, plumbing, electrical, music, designing, sewing, the list is just too long. Passions: Her faith, her family, her community. And creating.
