The Blogs of TSP
THE SISTER PROJECT is a blog network: a blog of interrelated sister blogs. We are starting with a small family; soon there will be more sisters, perhaps including some of you. Here’s our family tree so far, with one caveat: Though there are a lot of Smiths in the cast, none of them is related, at 
least not genetically. SHE SAID, SHE SAID She Said, She Said is both sides of the sister story. A digital dual memoir by TSP’s oldest sisters, Marion Roach Smith (left), 53, with occasional outbursts by Margaret Roach, 55, it celebrates alternate realities, tenderly and yet bluntly illustrating the universal truth that no two siblings experience anything the same way. How to explain that truth? Nature? Nurture? It’s a little of both and also neither. And here, under one virtual “cover,” is what that looks like. Marion, a writing teacher, radio columnist and author, and Margaret, former editorial director of Martha Stewart Living turned blogger, don’t look, act or talk alike. Want to listen in, and watch what happens?
HEY, LITTLE SISTER In Hey Little Sister, as in life, Paige Smith Orloff, multitasks: She is a writer and a cook, a wife and a mother…an only child faced with the charge of helping her daughter to be a good sister to Paige’s son. “I’m not always sure I know how to do that, or even what it means,” she says. “If I don’t know what a sister’s supposed to do or be, how in the world can I help her learn?” Paige, 42, may not have biological sisters, but she has picked up some soul sisters along the way, throughout a life that’s taken her from New York, to Hollywood, and now (to the amusement of all who know her) to a farm in the Hudson Valley of New York State (just up the road from Margaret Roach, not far from Marion Roach Smith, and near where Anastasia Smith grew up). “My sisters-by-choice are her companions in the kitchen and in cahoots,” she says. “Whether over cocktails, coffee or broadband connection, they keep me honest, providing patient company as I try to understand my life as a person, a parent, and in my own way, a sister.” Meet Paige.
CLAIMING SISTERHOOD Anastasia Smith, 24, a recent college graduate now pursuing her MFA in creative writing, is the face of Claiming Sisterhood, exploring the two definitions of that tricky verb claim: “to take it as the rightful owner,” and also “to assert it in the face of possible contradiction.” A younger sister to a brother, Anastasia is setting out to find and claim sisterhood on her own terms, “equipped,” she says, “with enough brains and know-how from a liberal-arts institution to connect the dots on the most random of topics, and with no pressing domestic plans on the horizon (i.e., homeownership, husbands, Huggies).” For Anastasia, sisterhood is always linked to feminism—“perhaps simply because sisterhood and feminism are both gendered terms—though also because I think that a search for sisterhood, at its base, is a negotiation of women’s connection to a collective female identity.” She’s not claiming “to have a treasure map (yet) for the intangible meaning in sisterhood (or feminism),” but through this blog she is “exploring the facets of sisterhood, from identity politics to pop-culture.” Explore with her.
ASTROLOGY: THE THIRD HOUSE, by Sheilaa Hite: an exploration of the astrology of relationship, especially that of us as women and as siblings. Sheilaa kicked off 2009 with a look at the year numerologically, astrologically–and by telling her own sister story. Read her first installments here.
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First time here? Here's the idea: TSP is a network of blogs about the many facets of the word sister, and the concept of sisterhood. A sisterhood of sister blogs, you could say. Whatever sister means to you, from identical twin to sister-in-law (or in-friendship or in-feminism), we’ll make room to listen in about it or express it on TSP. Like the slogan up top says, “Don’t you have something to say to your sister?” We've got galleries of art and literature by and about sisters, and a Sisterpedia of sisterly trivia...but now we're getting ahead of ourselves. The quick study: 
As the suffix of its name suggests, 
No surprise, really, that sisterhood, often life’s longest relationship and always one of its most important, has been the Muse for so much creative self-expression by women, and also by men. 
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Hey all. It’s wonderful and beautiful that women can call upon each other and share this bond of sisterhood. I have a family sister who at times seems a million miles away because we are so different, yet she makes me laugh until I cry. I have one other sister friend who I can get real with. What a blessing. It helps to know that there are others out there in this tough world that are willing to share ideas and encouragement. Being from So.California it is rare that I find honesty and sincerity.
Welcome, Mary C. Sounds like you are blessed with the range of sisters, lucky you. :) Don’t be a stranger; see you soon again.
I love this site, it’s a grand idea! I found Way to Garden last summer while looking for a refrigerator pickle recipe.
I started a blog about my garden to help my sister plan her garden after moving from San Diego to the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington state. Of particular interest to her was the idea of seeing what she might be able to use and the fact that many of the plants in my own garden came from our grandmother, which I have called legacy gardening. So TSP is a welcome surprise. I will pass along to one of my sisters who also blogs–mostly about sewing, knitting, quirks of life, and life at the beach. Our two blogs keep our third sister informed about what’s happening. We all are very close and talk weekly.
Welcome, Gretchen. What a nice sisterly story, thanks. We will head over and have a visit with you and the family. :) See you soon!
MY SISTER (2)
This is about my sister
– but it starts with ME!
Because, after all, if it were not for me she wouldn’t be my sister, would she?
I am the oldest.
~ by 15 months.
I was the first child of an adored only son (there were 3 girls first and it was important that they have a boy to perpetuate the name!)
He was the youngest and he was the prince!
And I was his first child.
~also adored, as children of adored parents often are, by all who knew him Everybody said I was cute. Somewhat pudgy, but in those days that was a good thing,
My father was well known and well loved in the city and all those who doted upon him also doted on me and I liked it that way!
And THEN……
When I was fifteen months old my sister was born!
Well, she didn’t take up much room as she was only a baby and there I was, at a really cute stage of growing up, entertaining all those old people with my little sayings, my little antics and my cute little clothes.
UNTIL she got to be about that age of being cute….much cuter than I was, it seems, and I did not like it!. I was in the ‘terrible twos’ stage and she was sweet and good and perfect.
And that set the stage.
My brother was born eleven months later and was no trouble at all as he was usually left in his crib.
Granny Royce once told mother that she’d better get that child out of the crib or he’d grow up stupid!
About two years later another baby was born…this one yelling and stamping and demanding attention. Unfortunately they wouldn’t let me throw him out the window!
Up until then, I was getting all the attention that my sister wasn’t.
My sister was popular, pretty, thin and smart. She did her homework and had a lot of friends.
She used to get dates for me!
I hated that. Hated that I couldn’t get my own dates.
She has thin feet, too, the kind that fit neatly into Mary Janes and sensible brown oxfords without squeezing. Mine were always uncomfortable in the Mary Janes. And my sensible brown oxfords had square toes.
And nobody wanted play with me.
She hated and was very frightened of snakes. Our brothers chased her with little garter snakes making her shriek and run and making them laugh.
I threatened to put a snake in my top bureau drawer to keep her out. I don’t know what I thought she wanted. I didn’ t much like snakes, either, but I got attention by being the brave one and pretending. (I have always been a fraud!)
My sister has a lot of friends with whom she skis, drinks, travels, plays golf and tennis goes to plays and movies..
She was for many years the Editor in Chief of a newspaper…that’s how smart she is!
Just recently she suggested that she and I (!) take a trip together(!) this winter for a few days to get warm in the southern sun. (even if we don’t do it, it made me so happy!)
My sister is still pretty, popular, loved by her children and, even, by our brother. She had a successful marriage She’s not so thin anymore but she could be if she wanted to be. And, really, the reason she’s not is because of her popularity with her neighbors and friends with whom she has cocktails (and peanuts) most nights.
Her color used to be pink. She had the pink room and I had the blue room.
Oooh, did I make something out of that!
She was the girly one.(pink) I was called Nina-boy.(blue)
I tried to be pink – but naaah!
I just sent her a blue knitted hat for Christmas. (in January)
And she loves it. I’m sure it looks just sweet on her and makes her blue eyes even bluer and her pink cheeks even pinker!
I don’t know if she’s been through all this ‘mishegas’ about me but after it all we’ve come out winners. Both of us.
We love each other.
I’ve gotten over hating it that she was so perfect; that she had so many boyfriends and so many clothes that she could spare some for me.
One year I had my 18th birthday in New York City. I was living there by myself. Thinking I’d find lots of friends and a great job and be popular and pretty like she was. I went by myself to “Hickson’s” a very upscale drugstore, and bought a very upscale chocolate sundae and talked to the guy behind the counter.
When I got back to my room there was a package for me. My sister had sent me a black suede pocketbook and a pair of black suede gloves and a beautiful turquoise scarf with sparkles on it. My darling, thoughtful, loving sister.
As I recall, that was the only present I got that year!
( I think I got a telephone call from Mother!)
OH! And another thing comes to mind when I think about my sister…..She took me shopping for a ‘trousseau’ when I was getting married. Mother was mad at me for being pregnant too soon. But my sister took me shopping.
We went to a wonderful shop in Albany and at her urging I bought a designer (Claire McArdle) dress and a pair of shoes and stockings. I thought Mother would be very angry at me for having spent so much money but my sister told me not to worry about it. She took such care of me at that special time when I was needing loving care.
As I write this I am well aware of how very much I love my sister and how narrow my life would be without her.
I’m sorry for being so hateful and jealous of her. She can’t help being perfect. Thankfully, she is alive and in my life –, my caretaker, my rolemodel, my perfect little sister.
How I love her!
I WONDER WHAT SHE WOULD SAY????
Friday, March 26, 2010
Absolutely loving your blog(s)….have subscribed to yours along with several of the others you’ve posted here. Thanks so much for this wonderful forum for sharing among sisters (related, friends, lovers…sisters of all kinds)…Brilliant! Peace, Alisa Moore
Welcome, Alisa — and thanks for your encouragement. We are glad to have you.
Hi..just discovered your blog(s) via Margaret’s comment on Christine Kane’s blog. I started my blog (soul sisters) about 18 months ago as a way of sharing inspiration, photos and ideas with my sister who lives in Cape Town(I moved to Auckland 10 years ago). I’ve met so many wonderful people through blogging and I love the idea of a network of sisterly bloggers!
The first post on my blog included a sisterly quote from Louisa May Alcott:
‘Help one another, is part of the religion of sisterhood.’
I’ll be popping back regularly for updates :-)
Welcome, Kathleen, and thank you for your sister story — and the quote. Nice. I hope you will join us again soon (and bring that sister along, won’t you?). :)
A sister is the one person who can hold your hand and help you start your life over. Thank you Jan for holding my hand. luv ya. My fav quote is “without my sister i might have been my brother”. Don’t know where I heard it but I was little. It just always stuck!
Welcome, Sarah — and boy, that’s right. And I love your quote. Thanks.
It took me a while to actually click on this site. “After all”, I said, talking myself out of it, “I don’t have any sisters….or children. Do I really want to beat myself up by reading all the happy (or even unhappy) stories about women and their sisters and/or daughters?” I’m glad I finally had the courage to open this site, as I’ve found in all your words that “sister” doesn’t necessarily mean a biological connection. It’s a deeper, heart-felt feeling of bonding. That’s what I’ve been searching for in my life. It would be wonderful, too, to connect with other women who have no familial females in their life and share our lives!
Hello to Lynn — and yes, we have a liberal interpretation, so you are more than welcome! Glad you agree. :)
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