When we were young, my mom made every effort to make sure we were healthy. This meant no sweets, or junk food and plenty of exercise.

When it came to birthdays and occasions calling for sweets, she solved the health dilemma by making cakes out of fruit. Yes, my first birthday cakes were all “fruit cakes”. My mom would not settle for any regular cake. No no…she went for the gusto.

My mom was a double major (Art/Recreation) and she excelled at both. She would say she is not artistic but I tend to think otherwise. I mean come on. These are works of art! Coincidentally, I turned out to be an art major and my sister majored in Recreation.