Grandmother, Sandra Vitone; mother, Arathea Booth; and granddaughter, Elizabeth Dunn, with pool and palm tree backdrop, Marshallville OH, 2009

Arathea’s mother, Sandra, is a creative person who loves putting together a good party. By profession a cook, a baker, and a caterer and by avocation a thrift store shopper, she supplements well-considered but inexpensive props with items gleaned from Goodwill and other second hand stores to assemble themed parties near birthday time of her daughter, Arathea. The annual events occur when Sandra is able to make a summer visit to Ohio from her residence in Austin, Texas. This year they are having a luau among the corn and soybean fields of Wayne County.