patron saint of baking

A couple of days ago, Yaya and I went to the Byrd House, to visit our dear friends. This sweet friend is a lovely baker. She rarely bakes the same things twice, and really finds that baking and cooking (two distinctly different crafts/skills that she has mastered) are a wonderful way for her to express that creative part of her soul.
On this particular day, Mama Byrd had a hankerin' for some fresh blueberry ginger bread. So she pulled out a recipe - last time she used it was several years ago. I don't even know where the recipe I used last week is - Ack! She also pulled out all of the lovely, fresh organic ingredients that she had on hand - like a movie, she had everything that she needed, including fresh blueberries that she'd picked with her children a few days earlier. (Did I mention that Mama Byrd is pregnant with her 3rd child? If I didn't love her so much, and know what a truly lovely person she is, I would begin to feel inadequate.)
Then, she gave up control - gasp! - and let our children take over the baking duties. Note: our children are 2, 3 and 5 years old. Did you notice that her son is sitting on the baking counter and Yaya has her whole hand in the mixing bowl? Who knows what actually went into the bowl (certainly organic, from one source or another), but in that happy and sunny and relaxed kitchen something magical happened. These children created the most lovely little loaf of homemade blueberry gingerbread I have ever tasted. We made our own version of creme' freche (?) and poured a tart glass of lemonade. (This was my contribution to our gathering. Do I need to tell you that is was a lovely plastic can of non-organic frozen concentrate? I know, magical....)
It was a fabulous afternoon spent in the kitchen with the Patron Saint of Baking. I hope to do it again very, very soon.