Somewhere along the line, a lot of us pick up a notion that making things pretty is frivolous in comparison to the more important matters of life like paying bills and making a living. I did at some point. I have never been able to stop making things pretty, though. I have done it, wracked with guilt or an apprehension that I really should be doing something more important or more urgent like sweeping the floor or unloading the dishwasher.Last week, while I spent time with family at the beach, I sat down and read some books from my childhood that I hadn't picked up in years. It's funny how the passage of years can make you notice things in a book you didn't notice as a youngster. This time, I noticed that Ma Ingalls from Little House in the Big Woods liked to make things pretty.