My altar was inspired by my immediate ancestors and was meant to pay homage to the resourcefulness they taught their families, and in turn was taught to me. My main inspiration was the house of my great grandmother Herminia. She always kept a clean, tidy, and beautiful home along with a lush garden. Growing up, some of my fondest memories surrounding my childhood took place at her home in Anaheim, California. As a young person I also didn’t realize the poverty my family came from. I knew she would only buy us socks on Christmas, but I figured this was just a “grandma thing”. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized it was all she could afford; packs of socks she would buy multiples of, open up, and wrap an individual pair to hand out to each grandchild and great grandchild. I had no clue we were poor or came from a poor family because the environments we lived in did not reflect that. What my ancestors had, they made, and they made it beautiful. She kept a beautiful home full of her handmade aprons, clothes, linens, and delicious foods. She kept a lush garden bursting with life. I included many plants and flowers to pay homage to her garden and spent under 20 dollars on everything to keep it cost effective. Everything was donated or repurposed from my own home and I purposely kept the costs to a bare minimum. I included some of her embroidery and crocheted doilies to show her craftsmanship. I made a little “roof” from left over cornstalk to resemble a casita of sorts to pay homage to the homes her and her husband built from the ground up when they came to the U.S. from Mexico. The houses still stand today in Anaheim, California. I offered rice, beans, maseca, and an avocado on the table as these were all staples in her home and in remembrance of the massive avocado tree she grew in her backyard. Bay leaves from our own bay leaf tree here at home in remembrance of how I was taught to always season food and to honor the agricultural knowledge passed down generations. I will always carry with me the knowledge of how to make something from nothing and for that I thank my ancestors.