Whoa, how did we so quickly get to the end of the Epiphany Season? It is hard to believe. Here we are looking squarely in the face of Lent, and Lent brings Easter and Easter brings spring and then …WHAM…. DAY CAMPS!!! Agh!!!!
But let us backtrack a bit as, if you look at the pictures above, you can surely see that it is certainly still 100% winter in these parts. Despite mountains of fresh snow and extremely cold weather, the world of Day Camps is really waking up with each morning bringing news of some fresh aspect of the Ministry. The Manual is beginning to take shape, with only a couple of segments still missing and the promo bookmark is at the copy centre where Henry reports that it will be ready for pick up on Monday morning.
We now have TWO Training Day Camp Team Leaders!! When the second one confirmed her participation I decided that surely this is a sign from the Lord He will send us enough Team Members to benefit from the expertise offered by these two amazing Leaders. Still we do not have any Team Applications, although I have a Skype appointment, Monday morning, to talk with a young woman in the UK who assures me that she has already started filling out her form. Even Mrs. Philmore has weighed in to encourage Applications, this week she penned a plea, which we posted on Facebook!! Being a firstclass “badgerer”, she assures me that she intends to make regular appearances on the Page in the weeks to come.
There have also been preparations for Monday evening’s Committee meeting and the agenda was sent off, along with a draft of the Retreat Week Schedule, which we will be reviewing. On Thursday I met with Angela who has agreed to coordinate the Spring Coffeehouse. Yay! As well as to record, with Luke, the 2015 Song CD. We met over lunch (always a good move to include food bribery) and later today I shall be sending her the complete list of 2015 songs. Last year there was a lot of difficulty mailing the CDs so this year we shall only offer them in advance via Dropbox with the Teams also carrying enough copies with them to give to each community.
The other half of my life (is there another half? not sure), this week, has been involved in a whirlwind of intensive menu planning, grocery shopping and cooking. My friend Linda sprung another “Dinner for 20” for me to cater, as well as a request to cook several main course dishes freeze and keep on hand for serving to her Vegan son. Combined with a LOT of snow shovelling there really has not been time for much else this week although I did manage to sew a couple of gift bags- one to wrap a baby gift, the other for an upcoming birthday, and to get the gifts in the bags with a card attached, ready for pick-up! Yesterday Jill stopped at the door to deliver fabrics she had been commissioned to buy for me at Ikea. Jill is my “quilt expert” friend and since I was given a wonderful parcel of quilt blocks a while back I have been longing to turn them into a quilt and, having consulted with her on a possible design she had kindly agreed to shop for me.It will be really exciting to make a start on this quilt, although it is going to be a “Winter” quilt and sadly probably will not be completed in time for use before the house is turned upside-down with the change to Lent/Spring/Easter Decorations (coming up at the end of the month). However, I console myself with the thought that it will be VERY special to get out a brand new quilt when next year’s Epiphany/Winter decorations are arranged, especially since changing from the Christmas decorations can be a bit depressing! Jill also dropped off the patterns from herModern Japanese Dress book from which I soon hope to make two NEW dresses using fabric she gave me for Christmas. WOO HOO!! Two new dresses!!!
The coming weeks will also bring the start of my annual Pysanky-making, a Lenten activity that brings me so much joy. But right now there is no time to even consider any of those activities with a three-course meal to complete for Monday pick-up as well as a dinner to prepare for the Day Camp meeting the same evening.
As I type, the two main course dishes are baking in the oven- Chicken Meatballs and Boeuf en Daube and I soon will be mixing dough for a Greek-style pizza, for my own dinner.
The Chicken Meatballs are a really tasty dish,which seemed a good choice as this week’s recipe!
Chicken and Brown Rice Meatballs
- 1-½ pounds ground chicken
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 3 cups fresh breadcrumbs
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup onion, finely chopped
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. each salt & pepper
- 2 cups Italian tomato sauce (preferably homemade)
- 2 Tbsps. olive oil
In a large bowl, combine all but the last two ingredients, mixing thoroughly together.Form mixture into 2” balls. Heat a large frying pan, add the olive oil and brown the meatballs over medium heat for 5 minutes on each side. Spread half the tomato sauce in a shallow casserole dish and top with the browned meatballs. Cover with the rest of the sauce. Bake in a preheated 325° for 45 minutes, or until bubbling. Serves 4 and is easily multiplied!
