PTPC club member

Meet PTPC Member "Silvie Bliss"
pictured with her Goldendoodle  "Miss Sophie"

I grew up in Alsace, France, speaking Alsatian with my grandmother and French with my parents, without knowing the difference at first! My first job was using Swiss German in Basel, Switzerland, but I lived in France, which meant crossing the border and changing languages and culture every day. This was the beginning of a continuous thirst for discovering other worlds and people with different lifestyles.
 
At age 26, life as a cross border commuter was incredibly boring and it was time to make a big change. Little did I know that my dream of traveling would last 6 years, with a backpack as my sole possession. Except for a few unavoidable airplane trips - because of politics or the geography - I took overland transportation all the way from France to the Philippines. I got stuck in Afghanistan for 3 months, got lost in the snow in the Himalayas, a pilot dropped me in the middle of the jungle of Borneo because he suddenly didn’t want to go any further, I made a Tibetan carpet, learned to cook Indian and Indonesian food, picked up a few more languages on the way, and the stories go on and on. After spending 4 years living simply and cheaply in Asia, my savings were coming to an end. I flew to Vancouver, and spent the next chapter of my life working as a seasonal cook for treeplanters in British Columbia and selling flowers in Hawaii the rest of the year. In 1984 it was finally time to go back to France. I did, but it didn’t last! I came back to the United States 6 months later, because of love.

The story continues with my husband John Andrew in Seattle, and then Port Townsend in 1985 to raise our two children. So here I am, 36 years later, rooted in one little town. With two children and three granddaughters in town, there is no way I can leave for a long period without missing everybody. Savannah comes regularly to Mimi Sylvie’s house to make tartes aux pommes, Layla spends whole afternoons painting with Mimi, and the youngest one Josie Belle and Mimi have their weekly “Café et petit gâteau” date.
 
After teaching French in town for 10 years, while also working as a waitress at the Fountain Café, I became an accredited translator and am still working from home, which lets me spend time with my family and go for walks with my goldendoodle, Miss Sophie - who will shake your hand if you greet her with a “Bonjour!” When not translating other peoples’ stuff, I like to write my own stories … there might even be a Pickleball story in there!

Silvie and her husband John Andrew playing ping pong on the beach.

Silvie Playing Pickleball at Mountain View Courts in  Port Townsend, WA.

• How did you discover pickleball and how long have you been playing?
 
Charlene and Charlie invited John Andrew and I to come play with them and were very patient until we understood the game. I believe it was sometime in September.
 
•Do you have any other hobbies? 
 
Traveling, languages, cooking, baking, writing, painting, knitting, ping-pong.
 
•Do you have a favorite pro pickleball player? 
 
Don’t have one!
 
• Favorite quote or words of wisdom? 
 
Live now, enjoy the moment - even if you get pickled!

Thank you Silvie for sharing your interesting and adventurous story with us.