Time for bread and beading and a few other things. . .

Maya got a great cookbook from her grandparents in Baltimore, called Knead it, Punch it, Bake it! The Ultimate Breadmaking Book for Parents and Kids. Here's a link to it on Amazon.com, in case you are so taken with the idea that you'd like to purchase it for yourself: http://www.amazon.com/Knead-Punch-Bake-Ultimate-Breadmaking/dp/0395892562/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231795396&sr=8-1 . I have made two things from it so far, neither of which with Maya unfortunately: the Focaccia, which was so easy and absolutely delicious--doubled the recipe and made one traditional Italian Focaccia and one sprinkled with cinnamon sugar for dessert--yum! And then I have made the Challah twice now, and each time it has come out incredibly well. The picture above is of my first loaf, which is sprinkled with poppy seeds. We had the rest of that made up into French Toast this past weekend--there is nothing finer than french toast made with challah, let me tell you. . .


Another exciting thing that has been going on this week is that Maya used a gift certificate to Borders to buy a Klutz Beading Loom and Book. She is still working on her first bracelet, but doing a really good job:

It's called a bugle bracelet and once we figured out how to do it, she took over and did it all! I'm so proud of her and can't wait to see her finish it.

And one final picture--a strange-looking panorama, admittedly, but it shows how maya and I cleaned and reorganized her bedroom last week:
She has a cushy butterfly chair underneath with her bookcases and goldfish tank so she can sit in cozy comfort and read all by herself and her desk is now out from under the bed and easy to access and comfortable for her to sit at and draw or in the future, do homework.

Finally, I have been trying to sell my camera, a Pentax K10D dSLR and having little luck, probably due to the economy. If you happen to know anyone who is interested in a great dSLR with the 18-55mm lens, the original battery charger, battery, manual and a 2GB Extreme III SD memory card to start taking pictures with right away, I am your go-to girl! I am trying to get somewhere between $425 and $450.00 for all that stuff. Wish me luck!

Just a little update for you all. Thanks for looking! Cindy