My motto is "Learn to laugh and laugh while you learn," because - what else are you going to do? Once you have learned, put it on paper and help others to learn. "Milk Cans and Quilt Blocks," a collection of essays that teach a lesson, is my second book. Some of the essays, however, are just for fun. From the book: While I was dating my husband, he being a diary farmer, I occasionally had the opportunity to visit the dairy barn. It was there that the charming young man transformed into a smelly workman, clothed in insulated coveralls and irrigation boots. The aromas swirling about in a dairy barn are distinctly "cow." Manure, warm cows' milk, hay, and the bodily scent of dairy cows combine to give a trademark odor to a dairy farm. On one cold October evening, I was returning to the house, for my delicate nose could only abide the aroma for a short time. I had good intentions. I thought that surely he must be lonely in the barn with none to commune with except the cows. However, my visits were short lived. On my flight to the refuge of the house, I had the distinct impression that he was The One, and that this country life was the life I would choose in which to raise my family. Sure enough, he was indeed, The One. And so it began.