A change is as good as a rest

Ice cream, the dessert of choice

My grandmother, who was notorious for her hard-work ethic, used to say, “A change is as good as a rest.” Change is in the air…literally.

Some like it hot

A view of Mission Peak from Lake Elizabeth

Growing up in Southern California, I don't remember owning a coat. In the winter, I was not alone when I wore shorts to school. Except for smog alerts, I was blissfully unaware of the weather for almost two decades. Then, for a brief college stint, I lived in Utah. That's where I learned to wear boots and curse the winter snow. It’s also where I wondered how people kept on living normal lives in the stifling summer heat.

Do you see what I see?

Mrs. Darylene Williams, teacher to many and friend to all

I heard an interviewer ask Annie Liebovitz, a world-class photographer, what the most important thing a beginning photographer could do. Her answer: "Learn to see." Leibovitz has trained herself to see everything as if looking through the lens of her camera.

A pound of flesh

Athelia Sears Tanner, my mom

This week was Barbie's 50th birthday. My friend, who also turned 50, received a Barbie doll as a birthday gift. Barbie looked the same as always--leggy and buxom, blonde and tan. And she still looks great in a bikini. Barbie hasn't changed, but the rest of us have. I daresay we've been through much more than Barbie, though. I never heard tell of her getting pregnant or giving birth.