Results: US Today Readers' Choice 10 Best Museums

US Today has announced the results of the Readers' Choice 10 Best in the Museums categories. Let's see what the results were and if any of my picks were the winners!

Best Children's Museum

I picked the Strong National Museum of Play. It placed #7. The winner is the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. I've never been there, but if anyone thinks it's better than the Strong, I need to add it to my must-visit list. 

Best Free Museum

I voted for the National Museum of American History, but it didn't even place in the top 10. The winner is the Toledo Museum of Art. I loved our visit there. It's hard to believe such an outstanding museum is free. 

Best History Museum

I voted for the Legacy Museum, but it did not place in the top 10. This doesn't surprise me, for two main reasons: 1) It is much newer than the other nominees, meaning fewer people have been there. 2) It covers a very unpleasant subject. My honorable mention, the Mill City Museum, placed #8. The winner is the Heinz History Museum. Another reason to visit Pittsburgh someday!

Best Maritime Museum

My vote, the National Museum of the Great Lakes, came in at #2! The winner is the Maine Maritime Museum, located in Bath (population 8,817), a city I've neither visited nor heard of until I just looked it up. It's not far from Augusta, which is one of the few capital cities we still need to visit, so we'll definitely add a stop in Bath to that trip. 

Best Music Museum

I voted for the National Museum of African American Music, but it didn't place in the top 10. The winner is the Johnny Cash Museum, also in Nashville. 

Best Open Air Museum

I'm really surprised that Colonial Williamsburg didn't place in the top 10. The winner is Plimoth Patuxet Museums.

Best Pop Culture Museum

My vote, Museum of Pop Culture, did not place in the top 10. The winner is the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, NY. 

Best Science Museum

I voted for the Exploratorium and it didn't make the top 10. The winner is the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio. 

On Monday, I'll share the winners for the Art categories. 

CityQuiz

Have you heard of CityQuiz? The concept is simple: name as many cities as you can. It sounds easy, but it is surprisingly challenging. And quite addictive! There are several versions, but I focused on the US quiz. The interface looks like this: 

You think of a city, type it in the box, and then it appears on the map. Big cities have big dots and small cities have small dots. It keeps a running total of how many cities you've named and what percentage of the urban population that represents. You can save your progress and work on it for as long as you want. I chose a different strategy: I gave myself 24 hours, refrained from looking at anything (maps, old blog posts, etc) that would remind me of cities, and tried to name as many as I could. They came fast and furious at first, then I would think of a few more here and there. Looking at my map, you it's pretty obvious where I've traveled and where I haven't. 

As you can see, I named 550 cities, representing 32% of the national urban population. I'm pleased with that. Of course, as soon as my 24 hours were up, I thought of dozens more cities! More on that later. 

The vast majority of the cities I named are in California. That makes sense; I've lived here all my life. My second best state was Washington, where my parents grew up. We visited often. 

It would have been pretty embarrassing if I'd missed any states entirely since I've been to them all. I've been to almost all of the state capitals (not to mention I spent 11 years drilling them into the heads of my 5th graders) so there's no way I would have forgotten those. I'm pleased that I remembered all of the US cities over 500,000 and more than half of those over 100,000. 

If you're going to try CityQuiz, this is where you should stop reading. Or keep reading if you want. Consider the cities I mention to be a free gift toward your total. 

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Here are the smallest cities and the rarest cities that I named. 

So what did I miss? 

The largest city I missed is Virginia Beach, Virginia. The largest city I missed that I've actually visited is Santa Ana, California. The most annoying city that I missed is San Bernadino. I KNOW that I added it, but I must have had a typo or forgotten to toggle the state to California or something like that. The largest city I missed that's on my list of Future Travels is Cincinnati, Ohio. That's pretty annoying too. 

Now check out this blog post by the creator of CityQuiz, Ian Fisher. 

'One Little Word' Tag Display (16 Years and Counting)

For 14 years, I displayed my One Little Word tags from cords, hanging directly on my wall. In 2025 when I made my 15th tag, I ran out of space with my current set up and moved the tags to a wood panel. I was really happy with how they looked, but it was only a one-year solution. There was no space for any additional tags. 2025 Cindy decided that was a problem for 2026 Cindy. 

2026 Cindy had been thinking about it for awhile (and occasionally shaking an angry fist at 2025 Cindy) before coming up with a solution that will last for 14 more years. I started with this 24x12" frame, then used Folk Art's Licorice (affiliate links) to paint the base black. I arranged my tags and stuck them in place with loops of washi tape. I still need to fix some little spacing issues and then put in the plexiglass, but this is how it looks now:  

I love seeing all my tags together and am excited to have so much more space for future years. I really hope I'm still making One Little Word tags 14 years from now.

I Love You, California

I've been to all 50 states, but I've only lived in one: California. Why move away when you're lucky enough to have been born in the best state of all? I combined old maps with scrapbook supplies to make this layout about the three cities where I've lived. The title is our state song, I Love You, California. 

I Love You, California (affiliate link)

I spent the first 18 years of my life (1972-1990) living in Livermore. It's about 45 miles east of San Francisco. Our family moved to a new house when I was 11, so I had two different addresses in Livermore. 

I moved to Davis for college in 1990. Davis is 15 miles west of Sacramento and 74 miles northeast of San Francisco. I spent two years in the same dorm in Davis, then lived in three different apartments between 1992 and 1997. 

I have lived in Fairfield since 1997. Fairfield is equidistant between Sacramento and San Francisco, about 45 miles from each, and about 15 miles east of Napa. I originally moved here to reduce my commute to Vallejo where I was teaching, but it's been almost 20 years (!!!) since I quit that job to be a full-time mom. I lived in an apartment first, bought a house while I was single, then moved to our current house with Steve just after we got married. 

I've had a total of 9 addresses in my life. Based on my age (almost 54), I'm right on track to be an average American in that respect. (There are many ways in which I am not an average American: my reading level is higher and my height is lower. I'm more widely traveled and have fewer children than average. This article about the "Average American" is really interesting.) We don't have any plans to move in the near future, but I doubt we'll live in this large, two-story house into our golden years. 

I really enjoyed putting together this layout. It's very unusual for me not to use photos on a page. I had fun working with the maps instead. I earned two more points for Twisted Scissors in Game 3 of the BYSS Winter Olympics: one for using green and black, and a second for incorporating circles. Go Scissors!

Beautiful Vermont

Vermont is one of my very favorite states. It is stunningly beautiful and full of interesting things to see and do. I would return to Vermont in a heartbeat. Someday!

Beautiful Vermont (affiliate link)

When we visited Vermont in June 2023, we were amazed by how lush and green everything was. No wonder it is the Green Mountain State! Naturally, I wanted to scrap the page using green to highlight that, which worked well for Game 3 of the BYSS Winter Olympics. 

I earned two points for Twisted Scissors: one point for using green and black and a second point for incorporating circles. I'm counting the dots on the background paper as circles. Which they are. Go, Scissors!

Heart-Shaped Pillows for Breast Cancer Patients

At my first doctor appointment after I was diagnosed with breast cancer, the nurse navigator gave me a pair of heart-shaped pillows, courtesy of Bosom Buddies of Solano County. She explained that they're designed to tuck under your arm after surgery to relieve pressure on the area. They also make wearing a seatbelt tolerable. My heart pillows were indeed extremely useful after surgery, but I appreciated them even more during and after radiation when my skin was so raw and painful. 

Last week, my friend Ann and I had the chance to finish some partially completed heart pillows at a local quilting store. Someone else had cut, sewn, and stuffed the hearts; we hand-sewed the openings. I finished 9 pillows. It was very satisfying to be able to make these, knowing that they will help other women with breast cancer. Heart pillows are also helpful after cardiac surgery. 

Many hospitals and support groups like Thriving Pink give out heart pillows and are always looking for volunteers to make them. If you are interesting in making heart pillows to donate, contact your local hospital or support group to find out if they have specific requirements and where they can be dropped off. Once you're ready to start sewing, my friend Becky has a great tutorial. On behalf of the patients who will receive them during one of the most challenging points in their lives, thank you. It means so much. 

Another Batch of Cards

We had a card making workshop immediately after church recently. Anyone who wants to participate can. The idea is that you leave some of your finished cards there for the church to send out to members who are celebrating a birthday, or are ill, etc. and take the rest of your cards home to use. It's always a fun time. 

These are first four cards I made:

Then I made these three. I don't work with purple very often, so it was really fun to branch out. And I really enjoyed layering the die cuts to make my own clusters paired with sentiments. 

Big thanks to Ann, who puts together these workshops. I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Mychal Threets and Friends

I did something really cool yesterday. I attended an author talk, hosted by Mychal Threets. 

If you're not familiar with Mychal, you should be. He is a social media sensation, the resident librarian for PBS, and the new host of Reading Rainbow.  

I first met Mychal in 2013. My son was 6 and Mychal was a children's librarian here in Fairfield. He eventually became the supervising librarian of the branch. He is a wonderful person, so welcoming and inclusive and everything a librarian should be. 

When the library announced this event, demand was enormous. There were 600 free tickets available, divided among all Solano County Library branches. The morning before we left for Las Vegas, I stood in line outside the library in the cold for a little over an hour to get my ticket. Time passed quickly though, as strangers became friends. The people in line reflected the diversity of Solano County in every sense of the word, but we all had one thing in common: a love of the library, a passion for books, and a deep appreciation for what Mychal has done to spread library joy. 

The event was held at the Fairfield Community Center. (The last time I was there was for the 2024 Senior Celebration.) Once again, I made friends in line: this time, with a charming pair of twins in kindergarten. As we entered, each of the 600 attendees received free books from each of the four authors / illustrators (affiliate links below). 

I'm So Happy You're Here: A Celebration of Library Joy is Mychal's debut book. It is a delightful tribute to libraries and the people they serve: everyone! I love Lorraine Nam's illustrations. 

 

The Day the Books Disappeared, by Joanna Ho, is a really fun book about a boy with a special interest in planes. He doesn't understand why other types of books exist until he takes the time to see why his friends like them. 

Partypooper is the 20th book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. It's clever and funny and a great addition to the beloved series. 

No Way, Wash Day (written by Adrienne Thurman and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita) is a charming book about a little girl who loves everything about her hair except when it's time to wash it. 

Each of the authors were introduced, then Mychal came on stage to lead the panel discussion. 

The time flew by. The stories everyone shared were so much fun. Each had fascinating insights to share. Jeff Kinney is absolutely hilarious. 

After the presentation, there was an opportunity to meet the authors and get your books signed. What a wonderful event! Huge thanks to Solano County Library, Jeff Kinney, Joanna Ho, Kaylani Juanita, and Mychal Threets. I am so glad to have been there and I hope this post inspires you to visit your local library and get to know your librarian. They just might become famous someday!

Dad's 77th Birthday

It's been 8 months since we lost my dad. I really miss him, but take comfort in the good memories. I am incredibly thankful that I was able to travel to Idaho for Dad's 77th birthday, a month before he died. He was at a care facility following a hospital stay and was having some good days and some bad days; fortunately, his birthday was a great day. My mom, sister, niece, and I brought gifts, balloons, cake, and ice cream to his room. He had invited the entire staff to his party. He never stopped smiling that day, but he positively lit up each time a nurse or physical therapist or receptionist would stop by for some of my mom's famous gingerbread. 

Dad's 77th Birthday (affiliate link)

I knew I wanted to use yellow and blue on this page to bring the attention to Dad (proudly wearing his UC Davis Grandpa shirt), so it worked out well that the required elements for this week's BYSS Winter Olympics challenge started with yellow and blue. 

I earned a total of three points for Twisted Scissors: one point for the yellow and blue; one point for using numbers (handwritten date in the top right); and one point for using something silver from my stash (the 77 stickers are silver foil but scanned dark). My three points aren't much, but last week's game was decided by a mere five points. Go Scissors! Let's beat the Banshees again this week!

Napa Lighted Art Festival 2026

We had such a good time at the Napa Lighted Art Festival in 2024 and 2025 that there was no way we were going to miss it in 2026. This year's festival ran from January 17 - February 15. The best time to go was during the first nine days when there were projections on three downtown buildings in addition to the 15 other artworks. But between our Vegas trip and other commitments, we weren't able to go until after the projections had ended. It was a bit disappointing, but the upside is that there were no crowds when we went. 

In the past, we've had dinner first and then went to the Festival. This year, we did the reverse. We actually got to Napa shortly before sunset and immediately started looking for the twelve Roaming Gnomes, a new addition this year. 

  

  

Since we had some daylight, we were able to enjoy some of the permanent public art too.

   

That's the beautiful Napa River. And in the distance, the first piece of Lighted Art we visited. You can read about it, and the rest of the artworks, on the map at the bottom of this page. The names of the pieces and their artists are here as well. 

The piece has a pre-programmed light show that happens occasionally; that's what's going on in this photo. 

The rest of the time, visitors can touch the buttons on the lowest orbs, which send color upward. Where two colors meet, they mix. It doesn't work that well when you're alone though - I'm pushing the button for that single red and there's no one else around (except Steve, taking the picture) to generate another color. That's the downside of avoiding the crowds, I guess! 

Oooh, pretty!

I love these guys. 

  

These flowers weren't lighting properly, so we hung out for a bit while they tried to fix them. Even unlit, they were beautiful. 

More string art. 

The interactive pieces are some of our favorites. Here, each time you touch a panel, it cycles through a bunch of different colors. You can record individual designs to make an animation. So neat!

I took this picture, then walked forward to read about the artwork.

I hadn't realized Steve stayed back and took a picture of me silhouetted in the heart as it changed from reds to greens. Such a cool shot!

I like frogs. Who wouldn't? I'm glad there was enough light for me to photograph him. It's been a long time since Steve and I have done the Napa Art Walk during the daytime. We'll have to do that soon. 

Many of the artworks at the Napa Lighted Art Festival are color-changing. It's fascinating how they can portray such a different mood in two photos taken just a second or two apart. 

Gorgeous. 

As the color changes on this piece of art, different designs are revealed. 

There was projected artwork on the bridge over the Napa River. 

One one side of the bridge, there were poems in English and in Spanish.

On the other side, some very creative shoe designs. 

More Roaming Gnomes. 

  

I thought he was reading a book, but it's a map. 

He's located just outside Napa Yard, which is where we ate. We'd walked by it many times but this was our first time eating there. 

There was a private event in the restaurant, so we ate in the bar. Everything was absolutely delicious. 

We had so much fun at the Napa Lighted Art Festival and are already looking forward to going again in 2027!