I live in what has to be one of the best places in the USA; Sunnyvale, California...it even sounds happy, doesn't it. The weather is great, 89% of the time, the city was voted 2nd safest in the nation for a city of our size, and we are proud to be one of the most diverse city's around. As for me, I have spent most of my life in service to others; mostly people with disabilities. Most recently I was a Dean at a Community College overseeing several departments, my favorite being Transfer & Career Services, where we helped people attain their dreams through education. Unfortunately I have become completely disabled myself and was asked to leave the college. So now, I am at home learning how to do things differently. Cooking is one of the hardest as I am in a wheelchair and my house is not built for people in chairs. My favorite things to cook used to be pastries, cakes and breads,but now it is anything that can be accomplished quickly as I cannot stand up for more than 3-5 minutes at a time...so that doesn't leave much time for anything elaborate! My mom was one of the worst cooks (sorry Mom!) as she used to boil everything to death. I never knew what vegetables tasted like until I ate at my boyfriends house for the first time, and I was absolutely shocked! So, most of the traditions I have picked up have come from my mother-in-law who has sweetly helped me through the years. Traditions include more pastry items, a killer cheesecake that there is no written recipe for, chocolate cream pie that was her grandmother's recipe, a very special Christmas roast and for dessert, a brownie and cream filled santa's sleigh - it's quite an adventure to put it together, believe me! My mother in law is now in her late 70's and she still hosts all of the holidays at her house and cooks EVERYTHING and insists upon it, and, it is all fabulous. I can only hope that I continue to cook half as well as she does when I'm her age.