Greetings from Colorado Springs, Colorado! I’ve just had the pleasure of celebrating my nephew’s graduation from the United States Air Force Academy and it was all so inspiring! These “kids” have done more than we can even imagine as they have pushed the limits of their body, mind and spirit over the past 4 years. The 2026 class motto is “No Quit, All Grit.” As I watched the commissioning Wednesday night, I was touched as they each promised to “Support and defend the constitution of the...
12 days ago • 2 min read
Hey sweet friend, Happy Memorial Day Weekend! USA! Yes, seems like an oxymoron since Memorial Day by definition is a bit sad. As we remember the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of freedom, our hearts of full of gratitude for them and sadness for their loss. It's a good thing we can hold both emotions at once. Both can be true for sure. And that brings me to an idea I wanted to share with you today. Gratitude In the words of the C.S. Lewis Institute, "Being grateful...
18 days ago • 2 min read
Hello there my friend, Well, I sat down to write this at 11am and it's now 3pm! Ha. That's what happens when you answer phone calls, do the wash, answer the door bell take the dog for a walk, and of course watch about 10 million youtube videos on what and how to pack a Scandinavian capsule wardrobe for summer of 2026, and also what and how to pack a travel art kit. :) Also, here's what my desk looked like when I sat down. oh my... I've been reading a lot this week, mostly in preparation for...
25 days ago • 3 min read
Happy Friday my friend! Today is day 50 of my "Draw Every Day" experiment. For 50 days in a row, I've picked up my pen or crayon or pencil or marker and drawn something. Some days I was following along with a class. Some days I was following a Youtube video. And some days - like last night at 9:00pm, when I was exhausted from a full day of driving to College Station to pick up Graham from college and then from evening errands...I just picked up my favorite tools (Caran D' Ache Neocolor II...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Happy Friday and May 1st my friend! Reviewing last month I saw the only thing I completed on my entire goal list, was to draw and make some sort of art every day. The art wasn't as good as I hope it will be soon, but it was the exercise. Remember, "I'm willing to be a beginner." ? That thought has helped me a lot. But all those things not completed! Yikes! So...what can I do to have a better outcome this month? I think it can be as simple as keeping the goal in front of me so that I see it. I...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hey there friend, I hope your weekend is off to a great start. Per typical, this week was another busy blurr of art and pickleball! Yippee! I'm finally figuring out how to add pickleball back into my life. I was at an art class earlier this week and I was talking with a friend about how we have so MANY art supplies - it's like such an addiction! So many pens and pencils and regular pastels and oil pastels and paints and tools and more paints. All kinds of paints...watercolors and acrylics...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Happy Friday my friend! I've just sent over my latest article for the Best Life 60+ online magazine and it will probably publish some time next week, but I thought you would really enjoy reading it first! I hope your week has been fabulous. It's been full of art and friendship for me, so I'm going to call it a win! I'll put a few pictures at the bottom for you to see. So with no further ado - here's the article. ---------------------- The Magic in The Ordinary As you may know, I’ve been...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hey sweet friend, It's Friday already! How did this week...month...year... go so fast? Today is actually the 100th day of the year. Can you believe it? As I've mentioned before, I'm doing The Bible Recap again this year, and today we celebrated 100 days of reading the Bible. If you've been thinking about it, I'd encourage you to join us now. We just started 1 Samuel a few days ago, so it would be super easy to "catch up" and join in the daily reading. 1 Samuel is the start of the Kings in...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hello sweet friend, As we move into the heart of Holy Week and experience Good Friday leading to Easter Sunday, I've had a few thoughts that I wanted to share. When Jesus was in the middle of his 3 years with the disciples, one thing I've noticed over and over is that he had an extraordinary amount of compassion for people. One story that comes to mind is just before he fed the 5,000 in Matthew 14:13-21. To give you some background, his cousin, John the Baptist, had just been killed...
2 months ago • 2 min read