Just married!

I get in the car with Nancy. I have no idea where Norma , Licia and Gigino and all the Italian cousins are. I guess that everybody takes their own car to drive downtown to the Hesse Village. Bride apart. She goes with a white limo! When Nancy and I get to chapel it's still raining, but just a little. The chapel is already crowded and I see some familiar faces like zio Italo and Anna, zio Vittorio e Giuseppina. I start to feel strange and little emotional. I try to keep myself busy making pictures but images of the past keep coming in my mind! Finally the bride makes her appearence. She is beautiful. Joseph and Stephanie are by her side. Her children. I feel a knot coming in my throat. I try to find some confort in Nancy but it's already too late, she is also crying! I see in Sandra's eyes, when she exchanges her vows, that she loves this man. Deeply. This is a very emotional moment of the cerimony and I am not the only one trying to find a kleenex in my purse. Have Sandra and I ever thought that our lives would be like this when we were 17 and we still thought that life was a fairy tale? I am sure not. But after all life is still a fairy tale and I am so happy to be here today. After the cerimony the newly married couple takes pictures in front of the chapel. Families and friends are invited to join! I love to make pictures and I try to steal the photographer the best shot! Sandra shows her best smiles but also Norma, the maid of honnor, and Nancy are all glowing in front of the camera. John trys to smile when I take a picture of him showing a parking ticket!
Sandra&Jerry and the wedding party leave on a "just married" white limo and everybody goes home to get ready for the dinner!
to be continued....

Greetings from Paris!

Hello girls!! I really want to write in our blog, I have many ideas and a lots of stories to tell but unfortunately little time these last days! Meggie is back to school and it was quite a job to have everything ready. But I have a good news : I found a nice baby-sitter for Meggie, her name is Caroline and she will go pick up Meggie at school, everyday, at 16pm! Meggie is really happy because she can come home much sooner and she can play with her!! Plus there is my work, and the household and extra we are getting ready for this exciting week ind in Holland!
Busy yes but nevertheless I wanted to send you a cute card from Paris! Love you! xoxox

Going back in the years....July 1999!

I will write later on a post about this get together at Sandra's place in '99 but I wanted you to see this picture! I had short hair, Sandra long and Norma was curly curly! And Nancy looked already like Catherine!!

Fate...!

"Fate""Telepathic",Fluke","By chance",Destiny","Psychic","Karma" or is it plain and simply "Fate"?? What do you call it when two people living and ocean apart think of eachother at the exact moment. Well , that's what happened to me today.I woke up this morning thinking I have to start contributing to the BLOG "Olga" set up for us. It's such an incredible way to remember our past events, write about our present life and maybe even start making plans for our future get togethers. Well, here I go........There I was sitting at my computer organizing into folders the emails I wanted to keep and maybe someday contribute to the BLOG. The very first folder I labelled was "Olgas Letters", just then my daughter Madeline came downstairs and handed me the telephone. "Who is it??" I asked, she said "it's Olga" (Olga's in Paris, I'm in Canada - and ocean separates us). Needlace to say I was floored. What a wonderful surprise!!!! After catching my breathe I reveiled to her, "Oh my God!!!!, I was just thinking of you and I just finished labelling an email folder as "Oglas Letters".What a coincidence, what kismet, what a fluke, I thought to myself. Olga has now been part of my life for over 21 years and I can honestly say she never fails to surprise me. Her telephone call today made my day..... It was her way of saying "Hi, I'm thinking of you today and I needed to let you know". So, here it is Olg....... my very first contribution to the BLOG, I hope you liked it. Oh and by the way I think it was "Fate".posted by Nancy 8:45 AM 0 comments

Guess who finally made it???

Well...Guess who finally made it??? I am here.. Olga, I hope your happy now. I'm sorry for taking so long... I have to thank-you from the bottom of my heart that you remembered Elvis' anniversary. That means a lot to me. I spent the whole day watching his movies and listening to his music..
So, about this blog...What can I say...Olga, you have been a part of my life now for over 20 years. You have seen me as a young girl and grow to become a young woman. You have always been there for the important events in our lives and what I do know is that you will be part of my important events one day in the future. That I know I can always count on. You being there and being apart of them. It doesn't matter where you are in this world or what is going on in your own personal life, you always seem to make things work out and be apart of what's going on here in Canada with your Canadian family. Olga...Your the best!!!
Well, this is only the beginning for me on this blog site. Now I have to rattle my brain a little bit to remember all the good times we have all shared together as sister's growing up. See you soon!!!

And the day arrived...!

July 22nd, 2006! This is the day when Sandra became Mrs Jerry Velluto and Nancy and I got screwed by the hairdresser! But not in that order: after sharing the bed with Sandra for another night, and poor Jerry sleeping on the couch, for the last time, I woke up with the bride to be on my side, asked her if she was nervous and when I saw her doing great I took a shower and waited for Nancy to come and pick me up. She showed up little later with Maddy and together we went to her aunt's house to have our hair done. When we got there a little, soft rain started. Nothing nasty but to reassure ourselves we said "sposa bagnata, sposa fortunata!" Two hours later the weather was not improving and "zia" was still fighting with Nancy's hair and when she tried with mine was no better success. When Licia showed up we understood that we were running late, so trying to avoid a panick attack we went on a "solo" and finished our hair alone! When paying time arrived we thought that zia would ackwoleged her "failure" and let us go without paying! Ye right! The lady robbed us of 15$ each and to add the cherry on the cake Nancy left 5$ tip!! She is still wondering by what kind of "beneficent sentiment" she was pervaded to do such a thing!!! By the time we got back at the car the little, soft, rain become a sort of Caribbean monsoon and when we, finally, made it to Rymal Rd and our hair was totally undone, frizzy and it looked like a total mess! But we did not want zia or the weather to spoil our day and we decided to go our way! Hair straightner and spray and we started all over again!! By the time the bride and Norma were back from their fancy "hair stylist" (it means that it costs a fortune!!) Nancy's hair looked great : perfectly straight! Not too bad for an amateur like me! The bride and Norma in "Because you are worth it!!" style looked amazingly beautiful! Really gorgeous! The photograph showed up and we knew it was time to get dressed! What a joy for me to be with Sandra and the sisters trying to close dresses, putting boobies in the right spot and wondering if to wear panties or not. Licia was there too. She wore a beautiful burgundy dress and used the black purse I gave her some day before! And then it all just began...
to be continued...

Smart Suntanning...

Do you know about this new tanning-spray treatment available at some salons these days? It is quick, about 30 second application with instant results. These tanning options involve the active ingredient dihydroxyacetone (DHA.) which is responsible for the change in skin tone.
Sandra tryed this new treatment on the eve of her wedding! When I came back, that evening, after being to Niagara on the Lake with Nancy, John and Jerry's son Steve, Sandra looked "overhealthy"!! When I asked her what she had done she told me about this "smart suntunning"! This is great I thought!The "only" side effect of this treatment is that the spray-cream tends to penetrate deeper into the skin in certain areas of our body with the result of a darker colour of the skin. Sandra's suntan looked overall omogeneous but when she showed me her forearms and armpits I could not stop laughing! I still laugh when I think of it! Do you remember Eddie Murphy? Exactly the same!

16 Candles!

There were probably 10 truly landmark teen orientated movies in the 80's : Sixteen Candles was one of them! All of them feautered heavily about 3 things that teenagers from anywhere have always worry about : being accepted, finding love and high school! Sixteen Candles is rich of these ingridients and more: Molly Ringwald is charming in her portrayal of Samantha Baker, the high school student who is dumbfounded when her family forgets her 16th birthday. Her birthday is the day before her sister's wedding. Her family & relatives are so preoccupied with the wedding plans that they simply forget her special day. It is this that triggers off a series of hilarious & unforgettable situations.

This movie was a great hit. I saw it, for the first time with Sandra, Nancy and Norma during my first stay in Hamilton in 1985!
Probably if we would see it again, now, we would be disappointed but back then it was the perfect movie for that "phase" of our lives! We simply loved it!

Plumpness!

Yes, the 4 of us passed the cap of the 3O's (2 of us are getting, dangerously, close to 40!) and still we do stupid things at weddings! Even the bride did!
Well we grabbed her boobies, poor thing!
Oooh boy how much we laughed!!
A proper post about Sandra's Wedding Day will follow but I could not help myself and publish these pics!

Howling....

Dear Olga,
So here I am back at work, dreading every minute of it. We had a great 9 days off. Spent alot of time doing nothing, yet we did soo much with the kids.
Sorry we missed your call yesterday. My cousin Domenica's daughter celebrated her 1st birthday and we all got together at Zio Erminio's house for a party. It was such a nice surprise to have heard the message you left. I have 55 emails to go thru, not bad considering John went thru his emails everyother day. I can't wait to start writing in the BLOG.
Pochahonis to Catherine Zeta Jones, ya right!!!!!!
You kill me........I howled when I read that.
In MY DREAMS!!!!!!!
Listen I will talk to you soon,
Big HUGs and Kisses to all.
Ciao Nancy
xoxoxoxox

"I knew it!!"

"I knew it" Sandra scremed when I opened the door at her parents' house! "We knew it" Norma and Nancy said "We knew that Sandra would say exactly those words"!! Somehow we know each other so well that we just know it...!! Sandra told me that she felt that I was coming, a strange feeling in her gutts was telling her that I would do anything to be with her on this special day! I guess this woman or has a sixth sense or she knows me really well!! But talking about "senses" was it also a coincidence that she was wearing the blouse and the purse I gave her last year? The arrival of 6 Italian cousins slightly changed our evening plans but we had to celebrate this moment and we decided to go out just the 4 of us and we ended in Burlington at Pepperwood! A delicious chocolate cheese cake and a quite "strong" straberry daiquiri was the background of our "festivity". Nancy and I woke up the next morning with a light headache...probably caused by the jet leg! By the way : no tent or barn for neither Norma or me! I ended sleeping with the bride to be and Norma slept at Camelot drive!! This 19th of July lasted over 26 hours for me and any single moment of it was worth all my expectations!

Wham!

Allow me a "jump" back in the years when George Michael was still singing with Wham and when we all thought he was heterosexual!! Oh boy how we were wrong! I have to say that I prefer him, now, totally gay and singing in leather black pants : " I want your sex..!!" but let's admitt it songs like"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Careless Whisper." were really great. Sandra loved them! She was a serious fan knowing their songs by heart and dancing like crazy on their tunes! Sandra and I were matched because of WHAM! Our lives crossed because we both wrote in our personal cards that we loved Wham and Duran Duran (it was the 80's!!) to enroll in the Intercultura exchange programme!! Sandra and I lasted more than Wham! They split in 1986, 4 years after "Young Guns" their first song! Sandra : do you know that George Michael is born on June 25th 1963? Yes, another little coincidence!!

Yes, I do!!

"Yes I do" she said!!

Sandra got married! This was the reason of this 8th trip to Hamilton!I knew about this wedding since last year but I did not know if I could be part of it till the end of June...! Then, one really early morning I woke up and I knew that I would find a good deal (well good for high season!!) to go to Canada! And believe or not I did find it! Totally thrilled I called Norma to tell her about my ticket to Toronto and about the idea of "keeping" my trip a "secret" to Sandra! Norma thought it was a great idea and with Nancy's conspiracy we kept "our secret"!! Norma, Nancy and I exchanged emails, texts messages and our plans were getting more and more precise. Then one day I had to call Sandra, who was still expecting a reply to her invitation, to tell her that I could not make it! I still remember the her voice telling me "it's ok Olga, I understand, it's a small wedding and you have so many things going on there" but she sounded truly sad! I had to make this call, it broke my heart to do it but it was the only way to make this "surprise" happen!! Busy at work I was trying to hold my excitement...! I was counting the days and also Nancy and Norma were doing the same! Everyone was busy finding the dress for the wedding, going to the hairdresser in Italy (I will explain this later!) and getting ready for the big day!Here some correspondence between the girls!!

07/07/2006 22:54
Olga... you are tooo much... i'm not expecting you to organize anyhthing especially from Paris...lol
Don't worry about anything... Just worry about getting your butt here... that's all... We'll find a nice place here. There is a night Italian restaurant near me... There pretty good.
Anywyays...take it easy... and we'll see you very very soon...
Take care... XOXOXO
Norma!!!

Morning,
7 days to go!!!!!!!!Nancy

jeu. 13/07/2006 21:31 Hey,
This time next week you will be en route for Pearson Internation Airport.
It's really exciting!The quest for the dress is put on hold. I worked days Mon,Tues and Wed,and Mon and Tues were wasted nights, the kids had soccer games....Did I mention John coaches both Madeline and Gabriel's soccer teams. Ya, just kill me
now. Tonight and Friday night are also wasted nights I'm on afternoon shift at the hospital(2pm until 10pm). John needed the van this afternoon, so I had to take 3 buses to get here. I know don't get me stared today I'm pissed.... and we all know how I am when I'm pissed. I just need to relax, get my work done and think of the weekend. That is when I have planned to go looking for a dress. Yes, I am coming to the airport, can't wait, I love going there.
One week to keep this secret from Sandra. I haven't realy seen or spoken to her in a few days , so for me it's been easy. I think Norma is having a harder time.Hope everyone is well, please give my best to Wouter and Meggie, hug and kisses for Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital (I'm @ work right now)
PS: When are you going to Italy to get your "Highlites" done. When I think of that, it still makes me laugh.
Ciao

17/07/2006 03:02
Hello my dear!!
A little hello from Italy! My mission is accomplished : hairdresser,
dentist and notary to sell my car! So finally I can put my butt in the
plane and show my face in Canada, without grey hair!! hahahah In few
hours we drive back to Paris!! So just 3 days to GO!!!
I really can't believe it...that in less than 60 hours I will be there!!!
baci cari a tutti!
Can't wait to see Sandra's face on Wed!!
Ciaoooooooooooooo!!!
Olga

Hey newly blonde,
How was italy? How many hrs does it take to drive from Paris to your Parents house? Did the whole family go?
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED IN HAMILTON ASWELL.......I found a dress, yesterday John and I went to the states and hit the shops. To my surprise, the first shop we stopped at was where I found my outfit. We got to the Military Mall just over the boarder (Buffalo) @10:00 and by 11:00 we were done looking.
We spent the rest of the day simply shopping for FUN. It was great. With the canadian dollar being so good, it's worth going to the states to shop.
I can't believe you are going to be here in 3 days. Sandra is going to SHIT, you know she is going to kill us for keeping this from her. Ahhh, well. You are really going to like Jerry and the kids, they are great.
Can't wait to see you @ Pearson International. What terminal anyways??
See ya soon,
Nancy

Hi there,
You sound so excited, only one more day, Yes I am going to be off while you are here, I just have to get throught today's shift, then I'll be off. Didn't I tell you.......forget about sleeping in the tent, we cleaned out the BARN for you and Norma to stay in. Only the best for our 3rd sister.
So I'll see you tomorrow at Terminal 1. Have a wonderful flight.....
Ciao
Nancy

18/07/2006 23:45
It's 5:45pm this time tomorrow you'll be in HAMILTON, see ya nancy

On July 19th, just 4 days before the wedding, I finally stepped into an AIRCANADA's plane and flew to Toronto! A big smile was on my face when, in the distance, the Toronto's skyline made his appereance! Yes, I did it! I was back!

Remembering Elvis!

16th August 1977

For Norma!

Beginning...

Back from my "last" trip to Canada I decided to start a blog that tells about my sisters in Hamilton, about the time we spent together and all the plans we have to see each other again!!
Yes I have said “sisters” and if you know me you can recall that I have just one brother but these 3 specials girls are more sisters to me than friends.
My first meeting with the Tarquini’s sisters happened quite a long time ago….it was August 1985!! 21 years ago….Sandra and I were 17 year old!! Norma was a little kid!! And Nancy had long, beautiful hair most of the time she was having it in a braid and she looked like Pocahontas! Now she looks like Catherine Zeta-Jones!! We met on the parking lot of the Toronto University. Sandra was holding a flowers’ bouquet for me and we were all very shy!
That same day I met with Gigino and Licia : some of the most special people on earth!
And this was the beginning of a long, intense, emotional, special “sistership”!
I will try, with your help, to write some stories, some of our memories and some anecdotes about these 21 years…..and all the years that will follow!!!