From the Author At age 4, the daughter of a cattle rancher, I grew up herding cattle in the Sierra Nevada, mountains, near Yosemite National Park. My Father, Uncle and Grandfather all owned large ranches in the San Joaquin Valley, Arizona, Mexico and the surrounding mountain areas. There was a gold mine on our property and after much begging on my part my Dad would take me exploring in the abandoned mine. We were always careful to have a flashlight and pistol ready in case we came across a rattlesnake, which was a common occurrence in the mountains. I learned to shoot, ride, assess repairs and give orders to the ranch hands at a very early age. My Dad was a cowboy and even played the harmonica. My Mother is an excellent musician and music teacher so there was never a lack of music of every kind in our home. I have a sister and two brothers who are very unique people as adults. They all have great children who are growing up to be adventurous, curious people. My sister is a registered nurse, one brother owns a C.PA. firm and my other brother is a jet mechanic for a major airlines. I am very proud of my entire family. Every Monday morning my Grandfather bought breakfast for the ranch hands at a local coffee shop and made work assignments for that week. We were always feeding large numbers of people at our house whether it was work, church or just family. My Mom had a large separate walk-in pantry near the kitchen with a freezer and extra refrigerator. My Grandmother was one of twelve children and one year there were 127 people at our house for dinner. We always shared the cooking for that meal among the family members and the food was very special. I learned pickling, canning and quilting from my Grandmother, Helen Lewis-Toner, who was the first school tescher in Oakhurst, California. Her first teaching assignment was at the Manzanita School located on the Bissett homestead. Branding, ear tags, cattle magnets and de-horning cattle was a way of life for me and because I hated the smell I watched the process from the top of the haystacks some distance away. Cattle magnets are inserted in one of the cows four stomachs. Cattle sometimes swallow baling wire from the hay and magnets trap the wire in their stomach so as not to kill them if it should go on through their system. We also had a dairy where it was my joy to crawl up to the top of the huge aluminum vats and lick the cream from the chilling rollers before the milk was stored. Baby caves were, always being born on the ranch. At show and tell in kindergarden I told a story about how I had seen a calf being born, “...and it came in a plastic bag!” I told my classmates with excitement. In the eighth grade I rode my horse to school. I rode bareback and hung my bridle over my chair behind my desk. My horse grazed in the pasture outside the classroom window until I was ready to go home, After school my best friend and I rode our horses up to a near by lake for a swim. The horses loved swimming in the cool mountian lake. Later in life I attended college, joined the Army where I attended Jump School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, (82nd Airborne). I graduated from the American Film Institute and am a member of the Directors Guild of America. I have worked in the film industry for over twenty years. I am a member of the U.S. Lighthouse Society, Disabled American Veterans, the Inland Airborne Association, the 82nd Airborne Association and am in the Women's Memorial in Washington D.C. I married and have two daughters who are becoming everything a Mom would want her kids to be. They are independent wise capable individuals who are kind to others, able to cook and make repairs around the house when necessary. They both love learning new things. I hope you will enjoy the cookbooks, as we had a great time interviewing and collecting the most favorite recipes of many of our friends and relatives.