Ellen Morgan:  

Life Summing up 34 years in 4000 words sounds like an assignment from an English class of long ago, but I'll give it a try. The 70's alone would take twice the verbiage so in an effort to share the really good stories of the 80's and 90's I'll simply mention that the the 70's were fabulous, fun-filled years of travel where I got to meet some life-long friends, see a lot of our world including Hawaii, Japan, Taipei and China and basically came to understand that there is, indeed, "no place like home"! In a desire to expand my horizons (an attitude that was hung over from the 60's) the 70's was a time for traveling with friends. I enjoyed becoming acquainted with people and customs from other lands and islands. In Taipei, I spent a few days with a grad student from AZ School of Int'l Management who taught me something about the Chinese design concept of "less is more". Her house was sparsely furnished, a feature that I misunderstood at the time because I thought she just couldn't afford furniture. However, I found out that to her, furniture was over-rated and it was far more comfortable and practical to sit on pillows or low benchs on the floor. But the floors were made of the finest moroccan tile and I was so impressed by the simplicity of the structure that I took a few interior design classes when I got back to California later that summer. Even though I was not able to afford my own home until much later, I've tried to incorporate the design concept into my own space whenever possible. In my case, however, the tile is on the wall, the theme is Southwest and the tile is from Artesanos in California. No dragons or tea lights, just an attempt to show-off a basic home with what I believe is a little flair of my own. Otherwise, the 70's was a time for introspection. I looked at the world somewhat philosophically, which didn't earn me a lot of money, but did give me a good perspective on what I wanted for my future. The "future". Now there was a concept I did not embrace until much later. Instead, I took classes at...Expand for more