The tower is coming along nicely. It's defensible with thick walls and even though I can't see them, I take great comfort in knowing that they are there. I imagine it's tall enough that if I climbed the stairs to the top that I could see for miles in ever…

As I turned right at the old adobe building, Carmen's voice piped up from the back seat. "Grandma, where are you going?"

I was surprised that she had noticed. Usually her head was bowed over her phone, oblivious to the world around her.

"The Iron Skille…

Devra picked up the completed Lego model of Big Ben. She had to be careful, the pieces weren't glued together--never that!--so putting pressure on the wrong point could lead to disaster. Looking at the minute, pixelated, shape of the iconic English monume…