Here we are with the second Blog Post produced directly into Blogger since, sadly, there is only bad news about my beloved MacBook Air. Sigh.
For those of you who read about last Sunday’s CTM “Marathon” let me report that we had over SEVENTY people at Crossroads that evening! There were people sitting everywhere, including on the staircase in the front hall! It was a very encouraging start to a new academic year of Crossroads Services. Jillian is working hard as director and we are praying that she receives all the support she needs to move ahead.
Monday morning I hit the deck running since the Day Camp Committee meeting (with dinner) was that evening and I had not really been able to do any prep work over the weekend. Five out of our six current members were able to attend and a ton of business was covered as we looked over the final details of summer 2016 and began work in earnest on the 2017 Program -“On Fire!”
We discussed key dates for all the meetings and events over the 2016/17 season, came up with a theme for our next series of “Wednesday Words”, did some serious planning for the Fall Coffeehouse and then launched into allocating Program Manual Chapters. It was a long, full meeting but most productive.
Of course with no access to files I have not been able to actually send chapters to people but have spent the week doing a huge amount of contacting via email and Face Book. It is a bit nerve wracking that we still do not have a Speaker pinned down for the Team Gathering NEXT Saturday (eek!!) but Randy has kindly offered to fill in at the last moment if the person I approached does need to decline.
So far there has also not been any success in getting a Coordinator in place for the Fall Coffeehouse although there have been offers of help for some of the lesser roles, which is great!
Hopefully the people to whom I’ve written about Wednesday Words will be willing to take on a bit of guestblogging, we shall soon see!
Yesterday I had a short “Morning Coffee” visit with Jill (one of our para-committee members and lender of her amazing quilts for the Coffeehouse!) hopefully she will be able to share them with us again this time.
As CTM “Office” work stumbles along,the Networks newsletter has also moved forward with all copy now in the hands of a proofreader after which it will go to the editor to be set in the template and emailed out to our constituency. Whew!
Due to the slow speed of communication at present most of this work has taken much longer than usual so there has not been much time for other activities. However I did have Natalie and Andrew to dinner on Tuesday as an extremely belated celebration of their first wedding anniversary that took place in July, in the middle of Day Camp “busyness”. We had such a nice visit, Natalie is a former Team member and she and Andrew continue to be involved as Senior Youth Camp Staff.
A start has also been made on Christmas gifts in that I have cut out several sewing projects, which will be begin as the weather turns colder and afternoons can no longer be spent outside on the porch.
With my Lionberry Shawlette completed Christmas knitting is also underway with the first of a pair of fingerless gloves almost completed.
In the garden I’m starting to trim down the irises and daylilies now that their long leaves are turning brown and looking pretty straggly. The plan is to work in rotation one bed at a time. Several friends have also been invited to stop by and choose some herbs to dry or freeze as the hot summer has produced a bumper crop, far more than I can use even with all the quantity cooking around here!
Speaking of cooking… last evening I made Harvest Chowder, with (I think!!) the last of the zucchini. It really hits the spot on cool Autumn Evenings and, with a baguette, makes a hearty meal.
Harvest Chowder
- 2 Tbsps. margarine or butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsps. each chopped fresh parsley and basil
- 3 medium zucchini (or summer squash), diced
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp. each black pepper and sea salt
- 3 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 4 large tomatoes, diced
- 2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup freshly grated old cheddar
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Melt the margarine in large soup pot and saute the onion, garlic, zucchini and fresh herbs until tender. Add the flour, pepper and salt and cook ,stirring for a couple of minutes. slowly stir in 3 cups of water and bring to the boil.Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the milk, cream, tomatoes and corn and simmer gently for a further 5 minutes. Just before serving, add the cheeses and stir until melted. Serves 4 as a main course.