I'm now in what they call "the empty nester" category so I have more time to do the things I love-cooking and gardening. I've been cooking since about age 7 when I tried to make a layer cake which was a disaster-1 tsp. peppermint extract and not knowing the method made for one very tough and not too high layer cake. My older brothers being good sports and having teenage appetites told me it was great and ate the whole thing. After that my mother decided to teach me the proper methods and I've enjoyed baking ever since. I enjoy just about any kind of cooking and also enjoy trying new recipes. My mother and grandmother were wonderful cooks. My mother won a baking contest in a family magazine for an apricot torte when we were children. We usually host family events for birthdays, holidays etc. I make the main part of the meal while everyone else chips in with the salads, veggie trays, and desserts. It wasn't always that way but as the family increases it makes it a lot less work for me. My boys say that I make the best pies so I entered a few in the township fair last fall and won first prize for cherry and second for peach. I don't especially like making pastry but will do it for them. I also like making bread and yeast buns when I have the time-kneading is good for my soul-my mother used to have me make a batch of buns when I was in a bad mood as a teenager and it worked most of the time. As I mentioned in the first paragraph the first cake was a disaster and also the first pie crust until I was shown the proper method.