Last evening we held our fall Coffee House Day Camps Fundraiser, thus much of the past week has involved aspects of preparation for this bi-annual event! However lots of other things have been going on in the little world of Day Camps so lets backtrack a bit.
Two important pieces were added to the 2015 “puzzle”, one being the completion of the second (and fervently hoped final) revision of the new Clergy & Coordinator’s Planning Guide, the other being the completion of the draft for the Creative Connection Program manual chapter. I guess “completion” is a misnomer since the choice of a Liturgical Dance song has not yet been made but several brand new activities have been invented and written down so it is good to see that work done well in advance of the yearend deadline.
By Thursday my thoughts were turned more towards the Coffee House as I baked a Blueberry Coffeecake for my contribution to the refreshments. Then yesterday there was the trip to the CO-OP to collect all the ingredients for hot beverages and by 5 pm I was over at Isaiah 40 concocting the three different drinks-Mulled Apple Cider, Mochachino, and Chai Latté.
By 6 pm the helpers were busy scurrying around- moving furniture, laying out Jill’s wonderful quilts, setting out baking, checking the sound equipment etc. and soon after 7pm we were up and rolling. By 940pm even the floor had been swept! the dishes were all washed and put away, the equipment packed up and another evening of amazing creative talent had come and gone. Sigh. Performers included everything from “sister act” duets to a bass guitar solo of Amazing Grace, from an original reading on “Winter”, to pop-song parodies. We at CTM are so blessed with many amazing artists and Jessica, as MC kept everything moving along with a flow of “segue” jokes, quite the event.
Other afternoons this week there have been major works happening in the basement
since I have finally decided not to wait for the return of the plumbers but instead to cement and paint most of the basement floor and various sections of ceiling and walls. It is now 2 weeks since the plumbers departed, leaving behind the oil tank, old furnace and chimney liner. The latter 2 items are in the garage but the former is still in the basement so it has been necessary to work around this very large object!
since I have finally decided not to wait for the return of the plumbers but instead to cement and paint most of the basement floor and various sections of ceiling and walls. It is now 2 weeks since the plumbers departed, leaving behind the oil tank, old furnace and chimney liner. The latter 2 items are in the garage but the former is still in the basement so it has been necessary to work around this very large object!
Meanwhile, outdoors, raking continues apace and the rush is on to spread compost and grass seed and to plant bulbs as 5cms of snow is forecast for next Tuesday, Ugh!
The week has also included the usual sewing, knitting and baking activities, a candle making evening with Matthew plus a fair amount of prep for tomorrow’s All Ages Gathering- more of this in Sunday Reflections!
But this post cannot be ended of without the weekly recipe. Today’s baking included a fall favourite-
Pear Upside-Down Gingerbread
- 2 Tbsps. butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. water
- 2Tbsps. white sugar
- 1 cupunbleached flour
- ½ cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 tsp.baking soda
- 1 tsp. ginger
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. each nutmeg, allspice & salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup butter
- ½ cup sour milk
- ½ cup honey
- 2 ripe pears peeled, cored and thinly sliced
Combine first 4 ingredients in a shallow, flat-bottomed glass casserole dish. Set the dish in the oven while it preheats to 350F. When the mixture is melted, remove it from the oven, stir well and arrange the sliced pears over the sauce in a decorative pattern.Combine brown sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer, until fluffy. Beat in the egg. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, spices, soda and salt.With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients, alternately with the milk and honey, beating after each addition. Carefully spread the batter over the prepared pears. Bake for 30 mins. Allow to cool for at least 15 mins. before inverting on a serving plate. Serve with whipped cream.