Hubby Bill and I headed to Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, earlier today for the Special Love’s Parent Get-Away-Weekend. We are founding members of this program, dating back to the late 1990s, and hopefully helped many parents in the trenches of childhood cancer and beyond. Our original group of parent-led volunteers for this needed program (can’t parents run away to camp, too, but in a nice hotel?) is now led by Special Love’s Programs (and parent “board, of which I am a member ”)

Today is the iconic age of turning 64 for me. The Beatles even wrote a song about it (first two stanzas): When I get older, losing my hair Many years from now, Will you still be sending me a valentine, birthday greetings, bottle of wine? If I’d been out till quarter to three, Would you lock the door? Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I’m sixty four? I hope a few people still need me, and will feed me (buy groceries at least!). Celebrating can last all week

There are many goals I want to reach by the end of the year, and I will continue working hard to accomplish them. Those goals include writing more blog posts, publishing my second book, and finishing quilts! Today, though, is Veterans' Day. It's a good day to take heed of the sacrifice so many paid to keep our freedom alive and honor the military veterans, both dead and alive, of th e United States Armed Forces. My dad served in the Korean conflict and, as legend has it, was

Musings on Blog Posts as I Finish Quilts and Prepare (Once Again) to Work on Joy Ride Journeys -Now: What’s Your Earliest Memory? While catching up with a guild member at our annual Quilter’s Showcase recently, who is the same age as me, I asked her for some random reason, “What is your earliest memory?” The question hung there for a few pregnant pauses, and I could tell she got into deep thought about the query. I prompted her a bit, asking if she remembers going to Kinderga

Since our son Ryan had his life-saving Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant on this day 21 years ago, we consider it a birthday of sorts. Yes, we celebrate on August 16, his birthday, but Ryan’s “other” birthday (today) with a new marrow that manifested in Ryan’s body in less than 100 days between November 3, 2004, and March 1, 2005, is also celebrated. We are still grateful for the selfless act of Scott Harris of New Jersey, donating his bone marrow and a lot of his A+ blood for

My quilt guild, the Southern Comforters of Bowie, Maryland, was at it again with programming. And, in the process , I Won a Movie Night Raffle Basket! I also secured items for a huge food basket for the basket raffle with the help of my Just Sew Bee 🐝 mates, and Jane McKinley. Yesterday, my guild hosted a Quilters Showcase event, including our guild challenge, a robust handcrafted boutique, our raffle quilt, and raffle basket prizes. Since we do not host an annual quilt sho

Taking Care of Business - Last HS Soccer Games with The Lady in the Soccer Suit - Done! Queue the Bachman-Turner Overdrive song, Taking Care of Business …Every Day! Ha! Our house was a buzz of activity yesterday, as we had technicians from HVAC and plumbing taking care of business. We even got a new toilet in the primary bedroom for taking care of our “other daily business, ahem!” Another pleasure is receiving a paycheck with a T-shirt quilt pickup - always a good way to tak

This is Part 2 of yesterday's post, Part 1, on learning to quilt. Before diving into that, I'd like to share that I learned to crochet in 1976, the USA's bicentennial year. This was my mom's solution instead of my desire to learn to quilt and produce a quilted flag for my 8th-grade project in Social Studies. The bicentennial year of 1976 was a significant milestone in our country's history, celebrating its democracy. and a big deal. And while my mom taught me to crochet (not

Besides writing, quilting is one of my life’s passions! I started quilting in 1987 and never looked back. Fall in Ohio, with crisp days and long black shadows, seemed the perfect time to learn what I’ve always wanted to do: quilt. With Hubby Bill working long hours in accounting, and me working a 9-5 job for the state of Ohio, and training for marathons (no kids yet), I decided to dip my toe into the world of art in quilting, and have loved this choice for myself for over 38

It was great sitting in my hot seat to finish Part 2 of Ohio in October and the writing of the HOF dinner last Friday at Bowling Green State University. I still have one or two other posts from that weekend that I will get to soon. But today is a milestone day! It's been 29 years since our son Ryan Tomoff was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) - Pre B cell with Central Nervous System (CNS) involvement. Ryan was two years and two months old. Olivia was 4 years