October 23, 2006

Good evening from a very nippy Central Illinois! I started this blog so that I might post a comment on my niece, Alissa's blog (http://squeakpatrol.blogspot.com/). I am a great-aunt 2 times over now! It seems odd; you know how you hold a picture of someone in your mind as a certain age. I had this image in my brain of Alissa & Scott (her brother) being teenagers... after visiting her site, my brain has very happily (!) done the time warp thing and brought me up to present with beautiful grand- nieces & nephews in the world. Time flies!!!

I am not sure what form exactly this blog will take. My whole idea of a title, "Three Homes, One Hearth" is linked to the fact that tho' I was born in Central Illinois, lived here until I was 20 and have been living once again here for the last 12 years (talk about time flying!!!), I lived in Hawai'i for three years & Flagstaff, Arizona for nearly 10 years. Each of these places has carved it's own space in my heart and contributed greatly to who I am. Each of these is home in it's own special way. I believe that the kitchen is the center of the home. It is warmth and nourishment. Having been a chef in Flagstaff & Hawai'i, much of my creativity is based there. But it is more than that. When I have friends over, whether one or 10, we always gravitate to the kitchen & crowd in there no matter how cheek to cheek it gets. Many of my favourite conversations centre around creating good food and new recipes. I love to cook and pride myself on having a broad base of cooking skills & techniques and a love of foods from around the world. The kitchen, the hearth, is the centre of my life. It is where my heart & creative passions are but it is also where I reach out and, being a child of the world, know no boundaries, only Oneness. Many of my postings here will be about food, cooking & creating but many others will simple musings & "a day in the life of" observations. Aloha.