Over the years, I learned so much from mom. She taught me about the importance of home and history and family and tradition. She also taught me that aging need not mean narrowing the scope of your activities and interests or a diminution of the great pleasures to be had in the everyday.

I'm very inspired by nature - you could say Mother Nature. I look at things around me and get all kinds of inspiration daily.

It's all about new techniques -- simplifying old techniques, and consolidating steps. Making things go faster, but not worse.

To entertain at home is both a relief and a rediscovery - of rooms and settings, of your favorite things, and particularly of your own tastes and ideas.

I'm never sick. Why get sick? It's a waste of time.

Once you realize that you have identified a passion, invest in yourself. Figure out what you need to know, what kind of experience and expertise you need to develop to do the things that you feel in your heart you will enjoy and that will sustain you both mentally and economically.

You have to be open to change. I never stop making sure that what I say is the best of what could be said about a particular thing. It's a constant evolution. If I planted a tree one way yesterday and somebody tells me of a better way to plant a tree, I think, You know, they're right, that's better. Then I change my way to accommodate the new way of planting trees.