National Holiday Gift Exchange Event 2018 for Members!

ANNUAL HOLIDAY GIFT EXCHANGE 2018

Get in the holiday spirit by adding this fun virtual event to your festivities!
Widen your friendship ring here and meet a new SOTF connection & acquaintance!
Sign up to be partnered with another Sister on the Fly member for a gift exchange.
Login, fill out fields/form HERE to sign up!
(Don’t just comment on that page that you "want to participate"-
actually submit your “booking” to be signed up as a participant and get started.)

Although this is not as much about “the gift” but instead about the giving and ice-breaking experience, you still must be willing to mail, ship, hand-deliver or get a gift of any kind (handmade, home-baked, store bought, ordered online, tickets to an event, a meal, an “experience,” a gift certificate, you decide) to your Sister partner. *This works both ways so please do not drop the ball here. This is about warm fuzzy holiday feelings, not hurt, sad & left out holiday feelings.

We have never had a price range since gifts are sometimes homemade and handmade items (“priceless”)… but some of you have asked & we think $15 to $25 is a reasonable range. If that is prohibitive for you, please do not let that get in the way! Wing it and do what you can to make it heartfelt & sweet for less.

(Maurrie started this exchange when Sisters on the Fly was a baby, way back when. Now that we are a much bigger group, the event page will facilitate an easy signup process and transparency for all participants to see and use. Last year almost 400 members participated in this event. Wow!)

Let’s get started! Here’s how...

Simply sign up HERE if you wish to participate. It’s FREE to sign up, of course!

2. Sign up starts Oct. 10 and ends Dec. 5. (an 8 week sign up period)

3. This year will be different..when you sign up, the person BELOW your name on event page participant list is who you have drawn. You will need to get to know her and send a gift to her. (The person ABOVE you on the list has YOU and will be reaching out to you.) That way you are connecting with 2 other Sisters but still committing to sending ONLY one gift to the Sister listed below you!

4. YOU WILL NOT get an email with who you have been assigned- that person is RIGHT BELOW YOU on that event page!!!

5. If you never hear from the person ABOVE you, you will need give her a shout out.

6. When you sign up, start communicating with her. Read about her in her SOTF Member Profile, ask her questions, text/call her, email her, find out what she likes, check out her Pinterest Boards.

7. DEADLINE to send your gift: Use good judgement to get it to its destination a few days before Christmas… or by a date determined by your gift recipient.

8. Please use Member Directory for contact info on your partner first before emailing membership.

9. If you have any question you can email glenda@sistersonthefly.com for assistance.

10. Due to the nature of this exchange please make sure your MEMBER PROFILE IS ACCURATE and up-to-date!

Event Recap: Lake Tahoe Adventure with Sisters on the Fly

We wanted to share this event recap that was published on the Gourmet Girls on Fire's blog.

Many women's groups and entities like GGonF share in the fun and sisterhood along with Sisters on the Fly and coordinate cooperative events with SOTF as is the case here. Sometimes they are Sisters on the Fly members but not always and not necessarily. We love just how into food and cooking, good eating and the great outdoors our Gourmet Girls on Fire friends are!

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Greetings!

Gourmet Girl Gail here. I’ve written before about some of my adventures with Sisters on the Fly, and the Tahoe event is one I’ll never forget. There were about ninety Sisters camping out at Tahoe Valley Campground in South Lake Tahoe, and Kim Matarazzo, our hostess and organizer, had some fun activities in store . . . from potluck the first night to the MS Dixie II Sunset Dinner Cruise to Casino night and a Sisters barbecue at Nevada Beach under the spectacular Pavilion.

...A special shout-out goes to Janice Schoonhoven-Rinehart who single handedly cooked the best pulled pork I’ve ever tasted. We’re talking 80 pounds of pork butt that she pulled out of her freezer on her ranch to feed us all for dinner and enough leftovers for omelettes the next morning. I have to say, I really can’t compete with that! And her sweet dog alerted Janice at 4 am to a bear in her campsite, trying to pry open her Yeti cooler! He wasn’t successful, but . . . I’m putting that on my list too. No, not the bear or the cooler (I’ve already got a Yeti), but the dog, yes! Speaking of bears, I awoke at 2 am in my campsite to the smell of one and it knocked into my Roadtrek (didn’t enter, thankfully), but the next morning my camp chair had a big ‘ole paw print on it. READ FULL BLOG HERE.

Photo credits: Gourmet Girls on Fire

SOTF Event Recap: 3rd Annual SOTF Birthday Party & CfR Fundraiser

Idaho Sisters on the fly have a very fun and gratifying event every September that celebrates the birth of Sisters on the fly as an organization (Aug. 1999) and at the same time fundraises for our local breast cancer recovery program on the eve of Breast Cancer Awareness month in October.

A very committed committee of about 6 women organized and executed the event. This year's theme was "Leather & Lace" for both decor and dress for the big Saturday night dinner & auction fundraiser. This event is always open to active Sisters, friends of members ("Sisters on the Try") and any one affiliated with the local Casting for Recovery program (past participants, breast cancer survivors, volunteers, supporters and friends of the CfR organization). There were 50 attendees- our biggest group yet!

It was held at Three Island Crossing State Park on the actual Oregon Trail and we practically camped on the wheel ruts these pioneers made on their way through Idaho to the Oregon coast. It was a gorgeous weekend weatherwise and perfect for fly casting lessons, fishing, kayaking on the Snake River, hiking on the river trails, antiquing, farmers market shopping and visiting the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center nearby.

Camping was made easy in this big shady campground with attendees sleeping in vintage trailers, modern trailers, mobile homes, tents, teepees, and on-site cabins. Gals who lived close by came for the day to participate and hang out.

Make-your-own name tags provided by Sister Morgan B were a highlight; blank leather "dog tags" on a lace lanyard were provided along with leather stamping tools to create & decorate your own. Dressing up in furs for the "What's Fur Breakfast" themed meal is always entertaining as well. The big event of the weekend, though, was the auction fundraiser.

After a very fancy and filling buffet dinner under the main pavillion Saturday evening, we held the silent and live auctions with a local professional auctioneer working the rowdy leather and lace clad crowd. The auction items for this event are always donated or acquired and brought by the attendees. Many donors created gorgeous things, gave gently used things, rounded up vintage/shabby chic/ glamping items, got 3rd party donors to donate items- anything goes here! Then we all turned around and bid on and bought what cool things our Sisters had brought.

A couple of items that brought in a lot of money: an exquisite hand etched and painted gourd bowl by a local artisan, a handsome kilim travel bag with SOTF luggage tags, and a fur coat/cape with a "Rhinestone Cowgirl" embroidery on the back! The "Biggest Donor" Award for the person whose donated item/s brought in the most money went to Melanie B, and the "Biggest Spender" Award for the person who shelled out the most money went to Tc S.! Thank you both for your enthusiasm and commitment to this event and wonderful evening.

We are proud to report we raise $5,000 for Casting for Recovery 's Southern Idaho Program, which now holds 2 free breast cancer recovery retreats; one in early June and one in mid-September. This donation really makes an impact on local Idaho women dealing with breast cancer!!! Thank you, everyone!!!

We can't wait until next year's event- same place and around the same weekend with a new theme- "Denim & Diamonds!"
We hope to see you there, Sister, to join in the fun and such a great cause.

Casting for Recovery