On Friday, my family and I grabbed the mail on our way out of the building to go on a beach camping trip. There was a media mail envelope for c/o sparklewater. I waited until I was in the car before ripping it open. It was 'Cooking in a Can - More Campfire Recipes for Kids' by Katherine L. White. It was so perfect I got a little teary. My gifter obviously put some thought into it and we love it. It has some great recipes and a bunch of fun ideas for projects like firestarters, paper bag cooking and making a solar oven. My 8 year old loves science projects and he spent a lot of time yesterday poring over it and suggesting things we ought to do for our next camping trip in 2 weeks. The recipes sound delicious. Easy enough for kids without being blandish type kid-friendly things.

Yesterday evening a second media mail envelope arrived and I opened this one excitedly to find 'Cooking for Geeks' by Jeff Potter. I love it! I will definitely read it cover to cover. I started doing just that last night instead of cooking dinner, which is perhaps counter to the point of the book. It really hooked me though. I love that it doesn't talk down to the reader whether he or she is an experienced or beginning cook. It is very learny, and I love learning!

Thank you so much gifter. It is very clear that you put some real thought into this gift and that means a ton to me. I am jumping up and down and screaming on the inside and on the outside I'm grinning hugely and getting a tear in my voice.