Both of my parents worked full-time when I was a little girl, so my grandmother would stay at our house during the day. We would watch game shows in the living room. Our favorite was The Price is Right. We would call out our answers along with the contestants.

    When I got older and started going to school, we couldn't watch our game shows regularly. That was okay with me, though, because the one thing I liked better than watching game shows with my grandmother was helping her bake. Watching her in the kitchen was amazing: she never seemed to need the recipes but everything she made tasted delicious.

    At first I would just sit in the kitchen and watch, even though I didn't understand what she was doing. As I got older, she let me help with the easy parts, such as measuring the sugar. The day she let me separate the eggs，I felt like I had found complete pleasure.

    At last, my parents decided that I could take care of myself，and my grandmother stopped coming over every day. The love of baking, however, stayed with me. I started baking by myself, and even if the cookies ended up burnt sometimes, more often they turned out pretty well. I tried out new recipes, and whenever I got to a thorny part, I would call my grandmother for advice. Sometimes I would call her just to talk, too. I felt like I could talk to her about anything.

    My grandmother passed away ten years ago, but I still think of her every day. Last week, I found a recipe book she made for me. It included her recipes for brownies, cookies, and my favorite, lemon pie. As I looked through the pages, I thought I could hear her voice. She was the one who taught me not just about baking, but about life.

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Improve your memory

    Some people often complain about their poor memory. Actually there are several ways to keep your memory sharp. This article will show you some simple tips.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}When you say these things, you begin to plant the thought in your mind and it may become true. Tell yourself you can remember anything as long as you put your mind to the task. You  will see an improvement in your memory.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}If you have trouble remembering phone numbers or other blocks of numbers, it can be really helpful to try this method. If you remember them in smaller groups, like two or three digits (数字), it will also be much easier to remember the numbers.

    Be sure to see a doctor if you are really losing your memory. A poor memory can be a sign that you are in low spirits.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Playing games also helps improve your memory. Any type of games that involves(涉及) remembering things is wonderful.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Try and remember it when you have nothing better to do. A useful tip for anyone interested in games is to often work on solving word puzzles and similar types of games.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Not only will your memory probably improve, but you will also have a great deal of fun.

A. Remember numbers in small groups.

B. Stop telling yourself you have a weak memory.

C. Take a right attitude.

D. If you don't like games, you can go over a list of "to do things".

E. If so, treating it could be the key to getting your memory back.

F. If you don't know your condition, you cannot treat it!

G. Such games use the same skills needed to remember facts and help keep the mind sharp.

    Sweat (汗水)rail its way down my cheek. It was hot, but the air was still and wet. One final play and the State Softball Championship was ours.

    I looked towards people who were watching the game. Sure enough, I found my mom. I always wished my dad were here. The farm needed his full attention, but I did not care.

    Finally, we won! State Champs! I let out a scream of happiness, fall of tears. My mom made a “V” to celebrate my success and smiled. I smiled back at her.

    We all received medals (奖牌), but I cannot remember any of it. I concentrated my thoughts on my dad, I ran to my mom, asking for her cell phone. I had to tell my dad about the happiest day of my life, and complained (抱怨）about how he did not care.

    The phone rang twice, and no one answered. My heart sank with sadness, but I tried again anyway.

    “Hello?” My dad answered.

    “Dad!” I cried. “We won State!” Silence.

    “Dad?” I could hear something on the other end. “Are you crying?”

    “I'm just really happy for you, Meggie,” he said. “And I'm sorry I couldn't be there.”

    An apology（抱歉）was all I needed. I hung up the phone feeling relaxed, and I began to understand how it must feel to be a father. I forgave him for never being there. He worked so I could play. My father loved me enough to let me experience life^ happiest moments without him.

    No one can deny that buttons are an important clothing device. But, can they rise to the level of art? Organizers of an exhibit in New York City think so.

    Peter Souleo Wright organized “The Button Show” at Rush Arts Gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Eleven artists used the small, ordinary objects to create sculptures, portraits and wearable art. Some of the works are political, some are personal and others are just fun.

    Wright said each artist reimagines and repurposes the buttons to make art. “What I tried to do with this show,” he said, “was to look at artists who were promoting that level of craft.”

    He said he wanted the button art to be comparable to a painting “because of the amount of detail and precision in the work.”

    Artist Beau McCall produced “A Harlem Hangover”. It looks like a wine bottle that fell over on a table. A stream of connected red buttons hand over the side, like wine flowing down. Similar red button form a small pool on the floor.

    McCall layers buttons of different shapes and sizes to create the bottle. The stitching that holds them together is also part of the artistic design.

    For San Francisco-based artist Lisa Kokin, buttons are highly personal. After her father died in 2001, she created a portrait of him using only buttons. That memorial to her father led to other button portraits, including those of activists Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez.

    Others use buttons for details. Artist Amalia Amaki of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, placed them on and around old photographs. Los Angeles artist Camilla Taylor attached buttons to three large sculptures that look like headless animals with long, narrow legs.

    “The Button Show” ends at March 12. The Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation paid for the exhibition. The foundation was created in 1995 by the Simmons brothers: artist Danny, hip-hop producer Russell and rapper Rev. Run. The foundation seeks to bring the arts to urban youth and to provide support for new artists.

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    Does your local high school have a student newspaper? Only 1 in 8 of New York's public high schools has student newspapers—and many of those are published just a few times a year. A few more are online, which can leave out poorer schools.

    Rebecca Dwarka, an 18-year-old senior who works for her student paper said, "Facebook is the new way of finding out what happened. Nobody wants to actually sit down and read a whole article about it. This makes a 'whole article' sound a little like a long sentence in lonely places."

    I am not nostalgic(怀旧的) about high school student newspapers and never worked for mine. I put out what was then called a personal magazine with a group of friends because we wanted to write about peace, war and rock 'n' roll without school officials warning us not to make jokes about the local officials.

    School newspapers are in decline(衰落) because students now find out what happened on social networking websites. This is a little discouraging because it proves that for millions of Americans, journalism is becoming a do-it-yourself thing. Every citizen can be a reporter.

    When something happens, we look for social media messages. Facebook posts and Tweets have become the means by which citizens and reporters can prove, deny, pass on stories and express opinions without the press' challenging, researching or slowing the message.

    It requires seeing something carefully and it uses an eye for details to help prove a larger view. And even journalism that conveys an opinion tries to be fair. If school newspapers begin to disappear, I hope there are other ways for students to learn that.