As did Week 1 of Day Camps, Week 2 has also flown by in a blur of phone calls and emails, which have kept me abreast of all the Teams’ doings in 5 Provinces!
It has been a week of contrasts with Camps ranging from 20 Campers in the East to 110(yes that is right!!) at a First Nation in Saskatchewan.Team Leaders have dealt with some pretty wild weather as well. Here in Montreal, we have had High Heat and Humidity warnings nearly every day with severe thunderstorms most evenings and it seems the weather was similar in Ontario. One of the Western Teams even had a Tornado warning! That same Team had to do their Closing Service, last evening, with no power, so they were unable to do the liturgical dance but fortunately the keyboard they were using had battery back-up so they did have some accompaniment for the songs.
This week we also heard that the Week 4 Camp for the Montreal Team has been cancelled due to very low registration. It is odd because the suburb it was to be held in is an area with many young families and the same Team, in another suburb this week, had close to 50 Campers. The Team leader told me a lovely story about a child at that Day Camp, who had said, during his devotion group discussion-“since God made the whole World in 6 Days and it is so amazing, think how awesome Heaven must be because He has had thousands of years to make it”. I thought that was pretty special!
I have been hoping I might receive a few photos from Week 2 Camps,but nothing has yet arrived. If any do come in in the next day or so I’ll add them to this post. So now we have 3 of the 5 Teams with no Camps booked for their final week. This is deeply disappointing for everyone. Needless to say I have continued, all week, to try and find somewhere they could fit in and there is a vague hope of still finding a placement in Edmonton for the Alberta Team but it looks as if the other 2 may need to disband a week early.
Mrs Philmore and I had a nice visit on Wednesday, as we worked together on her Guest Post for “Wednesday Words”, I hope it was enjoyed by some readers!!
At home I have spent time preparing food for the Senior Youth Camp Staff meeting to be held here tomorrow and for which I’m serving dinner- Jamaican Patties, Marinated Vegetable Salad, Peach and Orange Iced Tea and Mixed-berry Sorbet with Cream and Shortbread.
I am also on duty for lunch at church tomorrow (these things always seem to happen at the same time!) so in the midst of broiling heat I spent Wednesday afternoon baking the Patties and Shortbread plus a double batch of homemade Whole-wheat Pita bread! As a thunderstorm broke in the middle of my baking I just prayed the power would not fail and ruin my handiwork, fortunately it did not!
Work in the garden has mostly consisted of picking up lots of leaves and small branches and staking the taller plants all of which have suffered during the wild winds and rain. And there has been time for a bit of sewing and knitting, as I make progress on the cardigan I’m knitting for the granddaughter of a friend.
This afternoon I assembled the marinated salad, as it is supposed to sit overnight. It looks really tasty so I thought I would make that this week’s recipe!
Marinated Vegetable Salad
- 1/2lb green beans, trimmed
- 1 red pepper cut in chunks
- ½ lb. button mushrooms, halved
- 2 carrots, julienned
- 1 kohlrabi, Julienned
- ½ lb. cherry tomatoes
- 1 small head broccoflower or cauliflower,broken into florets.
Dressing: –
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1/3-cup cider vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1Tbsp. grainy mustard
- Salt and pepper
In a large pot of boiling, salted water,
briefly blanch first the beans, then the carrots and kohlrabi and finally the
broccoflower. Drain each vegetable and rinse in cold water. Combine the
dressing ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well. Add all the vegetables, except
for the tomatoes, toss well, cover and refrigerate overnight. Before serving,
blend in the cherry tomatoes. Serves 8-10.
briefly blanch first the beans, then the carrots and kohlrabi and finally the
broccoflower. Drain each vegetable and rinse in cold water. Combine the
dressing ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well. Add all the vegetables, except
for the tomatoes, toss well, cover and refrigerate overnight. Before serving,
blend in the cherry tomatoes. Serves 8-10.
Because tomorrow looks to be shaping up as pretty busy, I’m posting this tonight,but will try to add a Sunday reflection, if time permits!