Some of the best matches are these quarterfinal games - Argentina v. Switzerland on now. It slow and fast, gripping with sweat and grit, good and bad referee calls (with cards or no cards), and young men stretching themselves to their limits as they try to bring home a win for their respective countries. Not only that, a win gets them into the semi-finals, on the road to the final game. The hot and humid weather in the USA and Mexico (maybe a few early games in Canada) have b

Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the USA, if not the world. I love to play this game. It has intrigue, skill, is fast-paced, and has a whole bunch of geometry. So, when my Pickleball club was having another 3v3 women’s “tournament,” I gathered my paddle princesses, Deb and Beth, and we went into this tourney as The Spice Girls (Beth's last name is Spicer- hence, the name used for our team). We had a blast! It was all very competitive, and my partners were aw

What a day to celebrate our country! Can you believe the USA has kept up the “experiment” for the past 250 years? It is the home of the free, because of the brave! Fifty years ago (I can’t believe it’s been that long), it was a big deal for the 200th anniversary of our nation’s birth—1776 to 1976! In commemoration, at the tender age of 14 years old and going into the 8th grade, I wanted to make a quilt, Betsy Ross style. I told my mom about my grand plan to create a quilt, th

France is famous for its flowers because of its rich royal history, its booming perfume industry in Grasse in Southern France, and its deep cultural love for nature. It’s like the French perfected the love of flowers, as they did with wine, and for centuries at that. Flowers are a major part of French art, fashion, and daily life, and it’s noticeable, or at least it is for me. Everywhere my eyes landed around Nîmes, Monoblet, Uzes, and little towns in Provence, they were met

YAY! Summer is here in full regalia - HEAT! Plus we turned the page on a new month - we've got half of 2026 done and in the books! Time is moving at warp speed, don't you think? It’s crazy being outside with the intense heat. In the house, I’ve got all the fans operating at almost full speed to keep the cool air down. However, I love the heat, just not the humidity and heat, which is what we’ve got now. I hope to swim some laps later today. Cool myself off a bit. I love that

This post may be similar to others I wrote a few weeks ago. However, this time I was able to reflect on and process what I experienced just a little more deeply. I am grateful beyond measure. “ Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men (and I’m adding women) and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime. ” –

It’s such a treat to meet up with Akimbo Alumni (the original, that is), as I did today with Betsy Bowen. We met in WIC (Seth Godin/Kristin Hatcher’s Writing in Community), as many of our writing friends did back in 2020 and beyond. We didn’t know what we were doing, though publishing a book was the premise of WIC. Kind of like, “the blind leading the blind.” I found out then that writers are good people, like quilters. So, it was Betsy who hosted me and my friend, Jodie,in

This is the second year for the Road2VA Quilt show being held in Richmond, Virginia from June 24-27. I was fortunate to attend last year’s inaugural show, a cousin to the West Coast’s Road2California that has been around for over three decades, and also attended this years’ show as well. The California show continues to draw thousands of fiber art enthusiasts, and the East Coast expansion in Richmond is growing by leaps and bounds. There is interest in having this type of lar

I learned a valuable lesson on packing during my France Trip… Are you traveling this summer? Do you struggle to “pack light” like me? If you’re traveling by car, you can practically take anything. Flying, especially internationally, turns packing into a puzzle. Not all airplanes accommodate the same size carry-on luggage. We like to think planes are fairly similar, but I’ve come to discover that size really does matter. Some aircraft are specific to certain airlines, too. Car

It's been over a week since we got home from our epic trip to France. The jet lag is gone (it was for me after two days), but catching up with life back home has taken some time. I've been writing France stories in my mind, and plan to get a few out soon. One thing about the trip, or should I say once I got home, was how impressed I was that I wore almost everything in my suitcase. That's a big deal to me since I don't want to waste the precious real estate in a smallish roll