...chocolate air...: cozy.

Am I the only adult who looks forward to snowy days as much as kids do? We're giddy around here. Well, Mike wasn't quite so chipper as he was shoveling the drive, but still... I feel so cozy on days like this.

Zach wasn't feeling well last night, so we decided to stay in this morning until we could guage how he was doing. So this morning we read wintry books, The Snowy Day and Snowballs, two of my favorites. Then we talked about the collage style of Lois Ehlert, and what she used to create her illustrations. And then we took that a step further and created a little mural. It's about 2-3 feet tall and hangs in the living room. Using crumpled white paper and odd bits we found around the house, Zach made a snow boy and I made a snow girl. I especially love the chicken bone unibrow on Zach's. Very clever.

Finally Daddy came home and it was time to play in the real snow. Happy day!

And also we did something brand-new to me... we made homemade bread!!! It's funny how even though I'd never done it before, it was still so familiar from seeing my mother bake bread as I was growing up. And yum, it's good. And much easier than I expected.

Buttermilk and Honey Bread

3/4	cup warm water
1	tablespoon dry yeast
1	teaspoon sugar
1 1/2	cups warm buttermilk
2	tablespoonsunsalted butter, melted
3	tablespoons honey
1	tablespoon salt
6-6 1/2	cups unbleached white bread flour
1	egg, to glaze

Lightly spray two small or one large loaf pan with non stick cooking spray or coat with melted butter.
Set them on a baking sheet and set aside.
In a kitchen aid mixing bowl, hand whisk the water, yeast and sugar together and let stand for 2 minutes.
Stir in buttermilk, butter, honey, salt and half the flour.
Stir with a wooden spoon.
Fit machine with a dough hook, then kneading, add in more flour as required to make a soft, but firm dough, about 8- 10 minutes.
Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise 45- 90 minutes until doubled in size.
Gently deflate dough and divide into two or keep as one loaf.
Shape into oblongs and place in prepared loaf pans.
Insert loaf pans into a large plastic bag and let rise until doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes.
Glaze well with a beaten egg.
(You can also brush loaf with melted butter).
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Place breads in oven and bake about 45 minutes until well browned. You may want to cover with foil partway through baking.)
Turn breads out onto a cooling rack and cool well before slicing.

One more cozy thing. My sister taught me how to do a basic knit this winter, and I actually created something! I made her this scarf for her birthday, and she finally got it only one month late. I think that's pretty good. Here she is modeling...