I live in Minnesota but have reached the point where I like to be in warmer areas in the winter. I have three children and nine grandchildren whom I adore. I like to garden in the summer ... mainly flowers. I enjoy reading,walking, and doing things with my friends. (And my husband too! :-) I like to cook all kinds of food. I collect cookbooks and love to try new recipes as often as I can. Some weeks I pick a cookbook and everything I cook that week will be from that particular cookbook. Often I will call some friends and say come on over I'm going to try a new recipe. Years ago I started making Curried fruit for Thanksgiving. My kids loved it and so it became a Thanksgiving tradition. It goes great with turkey. If I don't fix it, my kids who are all grown with families of their own, get upset with me. I've donated dinners for eight to benefit auctions to help raise money for charity. The last dinner I donated sold for $650. This has been nerve-wracking, but fun. I don't consider any of my cooking a tragedy. Not everything I've cooked has always turned out perfect, but when I encounter a problem it becomes a learning experience.