Linda is the youngest of 5 children. She owns three black cats that only she can tell apart. She frequently entirely loses all track of time while puttering in the garden. She feels most herself while sitting at her sewing machine, listening to an audiobook. She’s not at all interested in figuring out what to make for dinner for what seems like the millionth time in her life. Her pockets are full of pretty stones. She has cherries from her tree in the freezer, she’s saving them for a July 4th pie. When she is alone she closes her eyes and time travels to late summer days in years past when she and her mother and sisters canned peaches while their children played noisily at their feet. She cultivates monarch butterflies and orchids. She likes things made before 1980 best, but also likes things made lovingly by hand if they’re newer. She misses her mother. 

Shirley is the second of 5 children and the oldest daughter. She can tell you everything about antiques. She is her grandchildren’s biggest fan. She notices the child who is sitting alone at a party and makes them her friend. She thinks “should” is rubbish and you can find your own way. She grew magnificent gardens. She is a master cookie dough thief. She will make you believe your dreams are possible. She rescued a bullied junkyard kitty. She has a hundred favorite flowers. She believes in the power of vegetables. fruit, and whole wheat bread baked at home. She is a soceress with a needle and thread, she inherited this from her mother.  She also misses her mother.