This lady would have been 80 years old today!  She was a woman who loved life and, as I was growing up, one of the most obvious examples to me was her zest to travel the world. She taught English as a Second Language (ESL) and was fascinated by cultural diversity.   She never passed up an opportunity to try the homemade food of another culture and was always curious to determine where people were from by listening to their accents and looking very carefully at them.  When we went on trips to foreign places, she refused to stay in fancy hotels, eat at Americanized restaurants or even rent a car.  She wanted to "live as the people live" and was thrilled to be on a bus that was full of people speaking a different language and if they had live chickens with them, even better!  She taught in China, visited her brother in law when he was in Russia, explored Turkey, Greece, and all over Europe-- always espousing her belief that people should travel light.  When I asked how she could pack everything she needed for a month in a backpack, she said all she needed was "a pair to wear and a spare!"  I love to travel too although I don't share her undying love of public transportation and I often pack as many as 4 pair of shoes for a weekend without a second thought.  I am thrilled to be getting ready to leave on a big trip next week as my family heads off to Australia for 2 weeks.  I know from traveling previously with my kids that we all share a bit of my mom's adventurist spirit. I'm sure the experiences of travel as always will enrich our lives and my art in so many ways; I know my mom will be walking with us as we go (probably teasing us that our luggage is too heavy). Happy holidays to all!