September 2014 - "Spool Party!"

September 5, 2014 - A dozen WWW ladies were treated to a "spool" party hosted by Sharon T at her lovely home.  In addition to the very best margaritas west of the Mississippi, the gals brought a variety of appetizers to nosh on.  Although the skies were threatening, the monsoon rains held off - and the party was on!

Sharon T, Christy C, Pam C, Judy M, Cathy H, Carolyn W, Susan M, Daryl L, Debbie H, Carole D, & Connie B (Vicky W not pictured)

Once again, the WWW show their stuff with wonderful appetizers!  

Yum!

Six bathing beauties enjoyed the 'spool"......  while the others enjoyed the camaraderie and ambiance of the patio with it's golf course and mountain views.

Carole D, Cathy H, Daryl L, Debbie H (Sharon T & Vicky W not pictured)

Things got a bit rowdy in the spool for a while......great fun had by all.

The wild Women Who Wine!

 Our thanks to Sharon for sharing her beautiful home!. 

August 2014 - "Spa Day at Starr Pass"

August 1, 2014 - Eight WWW ladies carpooled to Marriott Starr Pass Resort for a day of pampering at the Hashani spa and the  treatments of our choice.    Enroute we made a quick stop at Fry's for a few 'necessary' supplies.... 

Connie B, Cathy H, Susan M, Debbie H, Christy C, Kelly H, Vicky W (Carole D not pictured) at reception

Our thanks to Kelly H for arranging our visit - and for getting us our own private poolside cabana !

Cathy H, Christy C, Kelly H, & Debbie H checking out our cabana (pre renovation)!

And thanks to Connie B for negotiating complimentary champagne with our lunch -

Lunch with margaritas & champagne

After lunch, it was pool & cabana time....and having some of those "necessary" supplies from Fry's - on the QT of course!

Necessary supplies for poolside WWW!

Our cabana after WWW renovation & expansion!

 And some of us even got wet!

Carole, Cathy, & Vicky staying cool....

July 2014 - "Red, White, & Brews"

July 4th, 2014 - Nine WWW ladies  (and most of our sweeties) met at Carole D's to celebrate the holiday with red & white sangrias,  artisanal brews, and brats & burgers on the BBQ.  Our first rain of the monsoon keep us cool and under cover!

Carole D, Judy M, Christy C, Ruth N, Debbie H, Pam C, Connie B, Daryl L

Food & sangria central

Lots of great food was to be had - some of it even healthy!  (Note Ron Caldwell's carved watermelon - amazing!)  

The gang's all here!

Kevin the BBQ master

Kevin braved the smoky BBQ, and the men got to know each other.....

Ron C, Andy B, Bob C, Denny H, Kevin & Rick W (Paul N not captured)

And the final "treats" - homemade cherry cheesecake gelato (Connie B) & homemade icecream sundaes (Debbie H).  Yummm!

June 2014 "Staying Cool"

The temperatures were in the hundreds, but nine WWW ladies "stayed cool" at Debbie H's beautiful home.  

White & red sangrias were coupled with yummy antipasti, asparagus/prociutto spears, chilled roasted pepper soup, & sandwiches.   Definitely no room for dessert (which languished in the 'frig!)! 

Judy M, Ruth N, Carole D, Connie B, Cathy H, Debbie H, Christy C, Carolyn W

Great conversation and wine related games followed. 

Our winners!  Ruth N, Cathy H, Christy C, & Vicky W

Vicky W took honors in the Wine Word Scramble, Christy C & Cathy H tied in the Wine Tasting Word Find, and Ruth N & Vicky W tied the multiple choice (? multiple guess ?) competition. Prizes for each category were awarded - coke glasses with - what else? - but wine & chocolate!

What a spread!

May 2014 - "Queen For A Day - Champagne Brunch & Tea"

Susan M's beautiful home was the perfect setting for our May event - a champagne brunch & tea in celebration of Mother's Day.  Susan assisted Connie B (our very own 'chef extraordinaire') in preparing a brunch that was truly "fit for a Queen"!  Three different sparkling wines were served. 

Our very special thanks to Connie for all her hard work in making this a special day for all of us - Susan Miller, Kelly Hines, Debbie Huber, Christy Caldwell, Vicky Woods, Connie Bandstra, Cathy Hasson, Pam Coulter, Rosie Marchi (Vicky's guest), and Daryl Laux.

And I am happy to report we finally found a sparkling wine that seemed to appeal to all - including Christy!  Kaching!  (For the record, the 'winner' was Ballatore Sparkling Moscato Rose). 

The pictures really do say it all - don't miss Daryl & Rosie's hats! 

The Table is Set...

The Chef is At Work....

The Ladies Are Seated

Scones, lemon curd, & clotted cream - what's not to love?

Cream of asparagus soup, fruit medley, tea sandwiches, & 4 desserts!

April 2014 - "Sonoita Wineries & Overland Trout"

Eleven WWW ladies carpooled to Sonoita for a day of wine tasting and lunch.  Our special thanks to Kelly Hines, Susan Miller, and Ruth Naponick for being our designated drivers.

First stop Dos Cabezas Winery - where we tasted 10 different wines (primarily reds), all made with Arizona fruit.

Kelly H, Carolyn W, Susan M, Judy M, Daryl L, Cathy H, Sharon T, Carole D, Ruth N, Christy C, Pam C, 

Kelly our tasting room expert explained a bit about each wine that we tasted.  Yummm!!!

Dos Cabezas - Kelly & their wines!

From there it was on to lunch at Overland Trout where we each selected our choice from their unique gourmet menu.  Great food, but don't eat there if you are in a rush!   Followed by (of course) a brief stop in their lovely gift shop.

 

And then it was off to Arizona Hops & Vines where we tasted 5 wines and 1 bubbly, each paired with various flavors of potato chips or cheetos.  How fun!  AZ Hops & Vines is run by two sisters and a funky little place to visit and they serve a great goat cheese sampler.   I think the "fluffer" sparkling wine paired with cheetos was everyone's favorite!

Chilling out at AZ Hops & Vines

Heck yeah!  We'll take the job!

March 2014 - "U of A Art Museum & Lunch"

March 2014 - Our very first road trip -  to the University of Arizona Art Museum to see their "Unfolding Legacy" exhibitions.  Connie & Cathy were kind enough to be our designated drivers and after meeting up at Madera, off we went - (Some of us were even had a scenic tour & taxi ride!)   Much of the artwork (which ran the gamut from Calder & Miro to Dali & Renoir) has not been exhibited for several decades, with most donated by generous benefactors.   Although some of the art was totally lost on this blogger (? what the heck is that ?), we all found much to appreciate - and an unexpected bonus of live music - as one of the exhibition rooms was being used for guitar recitals.

Debbie H, Sharon T, Christy C, Kelly H, Vicky W, Cathy H, Daryl L, Connie B, Ruth N

Georgia O'Keefe

Guitar Recital

 After perusing the collections, it was off to lunch at the Blue Willow - on their patio deck where we had great food, conversation, and wine!  Highly recommended!

Clockwise from left - Cathy, Christy, Daryl, Vicky, Connie, Kelly, Debbie, Sharon, & Ruth