The ski village where we are “Saas Fee” has several things for kids. One was held today: a baking class. It was held in the bakery of a master baker here in town. Since we’ve been to that bakery every day it was appropriate we finally see where it all comes from.
The kids baking class was 10:00 AM at the bakery - in German. There were 6 kids including Sara. She was the perfect age. (Dan stayed at the apartment with Julia for a morning nap.)
When we first walked into the bakery (with the huge ovens, and big bins of flour) the baker kept at his work. The other parents (two other Moms and one other Dad) and I kept checking our watches to see if we had the right time. No one spoke. We just stood there a few feet from the baker - who was methodically working on some dough - and it was pin drop quiet. I decided to kneel down next to Sara and show her a few things about the bakery - the racks of rolls, the huge cakes, the sheets of donuts. After a while all the other parents followed my lead and talked to their kids by kneeling or squating down next to them.
Finally, the baker, finished what he was doing and turned to us. He said “let’s go!” in German and all the kids walked silently over to a HUGE wooden board by a window.
The kids climbed up on step stools and listened. I’ve never seen a better behaved bunch of kids. They were all still quiet - just looking at the baker.
He handed each kid two rectangular globs of dough. Sara gave one of hers to the kid next to her. (So later I had to get her another glob since she was supposed to have two, but I thought it was so nice of her to share.) The kids began rolling the dough as shown by the baker - and each kid was serious at their work as if they were master bakers preparing bread for the Queen.
After each kid at two things that looked like raw bread sticks the baker showed the kids how to make a beautiful bread braid. (I’ve braided bread before, but this was a different technique.) The kids did their best. The baker ended up standing behind each kid to help with the braids. Sara watched very closely. No kid goofed around- it was as if they were too busy absorbing how to bake bread!
We wrote each kid’s name on a sheet, then they did an egg wash on the bread. That was funny. The kids got a paint brush and a bucket of egg, and they did the most meticulous jobs. No kid spilled a drop. When they were done there were 6 shining bread braids on the baking sheet.
The baker took the kids to where the bread would rise. He described it. In German. Sara listened as if she spoke German fluently. Then he showed the huge oven - and how the bread would go there. Then he said we could pick up our bread in about an hour or so. Class over. It was fun!
We decided to have something from the bakery - I got some thing with some sort of crushed nut inside and Sara had something with all sorts of mashed nuts as a bace for a dense cake. (They like baking with nuts around here.)
Then we went back to the apartment. Feeling satisfied that we were both master bakers - after our baking class!
Dan left to go skiing. I gave the girls some lunch, then I stepped out on the balcony. Both girls stepped out onto the balcony with me. The sun was out. That is notible since with all the snow we haven’t seen anything but a white sky for days. To me, the balcony was a place to get fresh air. To Sara and Julia the balcony was a bonanza of fun. Julia sat down in the snow (I later gave her a cushion) and she played for at least an hour in the snow - in that one spot. She had 3 dolls, and 3 doll dresses, and she entertained herself with that snow and those dolls so beautifully. It reminded me of how she played in the sand at the beach - she just had the best time. Sara had a great time on the balcony also. Unlike Julia (who was out there in a dress and no socks) Sara went and got her full snow suit on. Sara proceded to play with all the snow on the balcony - and she made snow balls to wallop people on the street! She stood up above them and tried to hit people walking by with snow balls! I couldn’t believe our sweet girl was doing that - and you should have seen the grin on her face! I told her to aim behind people (and not actually hit people) and she had a lot of fun. We played in that sun and the snow for at least an hour - popping into the house for a drink or snack - then going right back to playing.
Dan got back from skiing while Julia was down for her nap. He said it was probably the best powder skiing he has ever had. Since he was back Sara and I immediatly left to go out since he could stay home with Julia.
Sara and I put on our snow pants and went back to the bakery to get our bread Sara made. She walked in and said, “my name is Sara and I made bread in class this morning” and they handed her a bag with her name on it and a certificate that said she was a master baker! She was over the moon! We admired her bread and went outside to eat it.
For about 2 minutes we sat on a stone seat outside the bakery. Then Sara said, “let’s go sit in snow” so we climbed up a nearby 13 foot snow bank. We sat down. “See, that is softer,” Sara said. And she was right. Our snow seats were softer (how can sitting in 13 feet of snow not be soft?) We ate bread for a while, watching everyone strolling the village down below us. Sara said, “let’s climb higher so we can be closer to the birds” - so we did. We climbed further up the hill. The snow was up to my thigh as I tried to keep up with Sara as she trudged along ahead of me - with her loaf of bread safely tucked under her arm. The snow was above knee level for her - and she just kept walking - once and a while she got stuck when her foot sunk her deep up to her lower hip. I’d pull her out and she kept walking. When we finally chose another spot we were up a 20 foot snow drift high above anyone else - and it did seem like we were close to the birds circling in the sky.
We sat there and ate the rest of her bread. It was grand. We were so happy to just be with each other in our chosen spot. The village bubbled down below and we watched it from our perch, but mainly we shared that bread and leaned back in our self-made snow seats and looked at the sky. Perfectly relaxed. Perfectly happy. The bread was good; our time together was perfect.
Finally we hiked down. We could have taken a short way - I showed it to Sara, but she wanted to walk back down the long way (much harder) that we walked up. So we trudged back through the deep heavy snow (it has been warmer, so it is less puffy now) and she got stuck several times - she’d fall forward or backwards, or even side ways, and I’d pick her up and set her on her feet again. Then she kept walking. Finally we were back on the street - back to reality after our sojourn with the birds.
We walked back to the apartment. We stopped in a shop where Sara decided she really wanted a pair of crocs. They are a type of shoe. She had never heard of them before, but they were lined with warmth and pink and she really wanted them. They were 35 CF, and unnecessary, so I told her no. She flipped out (out of character for her, but she was tired) and even when Dan and Julia joined us in the shop to meet us for a dinner out in a restaurant, Sara was nearly historical and we came back here for dinner. It was to bad after our nice time together our evening took that turn. But she was better after dinner, and we talked about how maybe she could earn her own money so she could buy things sometimes. Not sure how that will work out, but it may help in situations where she wants something that we don’t think is needed.
Post dinner time was good - the girls played nicely then it took 10 seconds to get Julia to bed (she walked to her room herself she was so ready at 6:45). Then Sara was in bed 15 minutes later.
It was a fun day.
Quote of the day:
(While sitting with Sara in a snow bank) Sara: “Mom, what if a bird jumps into a meat ball?”
END
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