My Name is Mary. I have been cooking since I was 8 years old, being taught by my Italian aunt and mom who instilled in me a love of creating and sharing wonderful food. I have experienced many injuries over my life starting 30 years ago, and all have left my body broken. Because of my limited physical abilities, I am no longer able to cook professionally. This blog is my road back from brain injury to reestablish my cooking and art abilities in order to make beautiful creations. The idea for this blog came out of being asked many times how I made something whether it be a craft, a useful tool or a great recipe. My injuries left me with barriers to verbally communicate with others and I needed to find a way to share my talents.The approach I take is to transform the materials I have into more than meets the eye. I have a talent for making a lot out of a little and repurpose every day objects into useful tools. I don't believe in things that only have one use. My mom always said to me, "You never make mistakes in cooking (or art), they are always recipes (or pieces of art) just waiting to be born." I hope to take the lessons I have been taught and share them with whoever comes to visit.

The hardest part of this journey so far was learning to ask others for help, so I want to take some time now to do just that. Thank you to my care team for help not only creating this blog but also for helping me navigate this crazy world we live in. Thank you to all of my family who have left me with many great memories that help me to strive to get better and keep going each day.

This is going to be a work in progress and posts may not come regularly, but I believe I have great things to share with the world. Once I get the hang of this, watch out!