Today Jim and I went to Williams Sonoma and bought my very first - ever - baking stone. We stopped at Kroger and picked up a package of unbleached all purpose flour, kosher salt, corn meal and yeast, and I have all the makings for my artisan bread recipes.

We hurried home and I mixed my first batch, and it is now resting in the fridge. I am so excited to try out the recipes for this beautiful bread. And I am excited in a way that I have never been excited about cooking.

Being the wife and the mother in my family, it has always been my responsibility to provide family meals. And while Jim has helped cook (his specialty was breakfast when our daughters were young) over the years, I have had the main responsibility of making meals and grocery shopping. I can't say that I ever really enjoyed cooking, it was just something that had to be done, and it worked out that it was my job to do it.

But today I am feeling very different. I really, really, REALLY want to make bread. I want to sit with a glass of wine, fresh bread, a pungent, yet delicious cheese and relish the beauty of this feast. I want to listen to Pink Martini or St. Germain Tourist while pre-heating the oven. I want to dance with Jim as the bread bakes, but mostly, I want the JOY of cooking something I don't have to cook. I want to experience the Joy of cooking just because the picture of the bread is soooo beautiful and I want to create this beauty in my kitchen.

This is my Joy - Delicious bread baking in the oven, beautiful music coming from the next room, a crystal glass filled with my favorite wine, Marietta Old Vine Red - and me and Jim slow dancing as the bread cools. This is Joy!

Here's to the Journey!