I live on the Columbia River in Oregon, right across from Washington, where my mother lives. My son just got out of the army, and daughter is working in Ca. after graduating from Harvard Law last May. I am an R.N. (now retired) and got married (not for the first time! Duh!) last summer. Love my absent-minded husband, who has retired from the kitchen since we got together. He always thanks me for making dinner, even if it is a grilled cheese sandwich. He is a total computer geek and we sit side-by-side at computers most of the time when home. My new family includes a stepson and stepdaughter who are the same ages as my granddaughters! Yike! Didn't really rob the cradle, he just started late.... Love chicken, and think I could eat it just about every day. Anything with cheese appeals to me, and I've recently been hooked on gorgonzola. Just love it. DH knows that I have to have my cheese fix daily, and is (pretend) upset that I taught him to like good -as opposed to cheap- cheese. I cannot live without my own cheese ball and/or cheese potato soup which MUST be in the fridge or I freak out. Favorite family traditions of course mean the holidays. But in my family, it also means firing up the grill. Everyone kind of congregates around the food prep area, taking tastes of whatever is handy, joking, getting in eachother's way. I love my family. And cooking together just gives us more opportunity to hang out together. The family has an annual picnic outing where we all meet at our ancestors' cemetary. (Sounds weird, I know, but it is so beautiful there. WAY out of the way on top of a hill, and nobody else is there.) We bring a grill and all kinds of food for after we tidy up the graves. One year I brought a special recipe I seldom make, Rainbow cake. It was just beautiful and the relatives really didn't believe that I had made it, until Mom stood up for me. Another triumph was the first year I had Thanksgiving at my house and roasted a 43 pound (grew it myself!) turkey. Everything came out perfectly and on time, for a change! Thankfully, few! Although I give up on soufles! There was one bread recipe I COULD NOT get to rise and bake properly. Tried over and over. I swear I must have cried at some point, I was so frustrated! Eventually I switched something and it came out just beautiful! I even took a picture. Another tragedy was when I was in High School and tried to make chicken and dumplings. Dad always made them perfect, but was out of town. I looked up a recipe and followed that... They were horrible little lumps of dough. My sisters sure had a laugh and still throw it in my face from time to time.