And now for my regular Post !
Things around have been pretty much as crazy as usual over the past week.
Happily, on the Day Camp front, I have managed to complete the Creative Connection Chapter (CCC) of the 2018 ProgramManual (not a small accomplishment 😊) so at least progress was made in that area. Other progress included the (extremely late) publication of CTM’s Fall Newsletter “Networks”. My responsibilities for this publication are solely in badgering people to submit content and then sending it off to the editor. Unfortunately our editor had been dealing with a lot of challenges lately and so things were delayed but at least it did get out before the end of October (just!). Almost all the Day Camp payments for 2017 have now been received, a great relief and in sending receipts I have been encouraged to hear back from several communities that they are certainly on board for next year. Yay!!
With the CCC out of the way, there are other portions of the Program Manual that I need to edit and update before sending them off to our tireless typist, Arnee. Having heard this week that her daughter, son-in-law and four grandchildren are coming to stay with her this Christmas, I’m pretty sure she will not be tackling the Manual until the New Year, but she is a very efficient person so you never know…
I am SO EXCITED about this visit since Arnee’s daughter, Michelle, is a dear friend and we go back about 25 years, our friendship having begun (of course!!!) through Day Camps!!! The family has lived in the UK for about 15 years and so we rarely see each other, I couldn’t be happier to think I will see them in just a couple of months 😊
Of course, outside “office” hours the work of raking has continued. On Tuesday we had a torrential storm, which brought down a ton of leaves and which also caused rain water to pour down our furnace chimney, flooding the furnace room and necessitating a panic call to the plumber. AGH!!! The company was dealing with a bunch of such crises so in the end the technician did not come until Thursday morning, but once the rain let up so did the flow and thus not too much damage was done. Christmas baking has continued, along with quite a lot of Christmas sewing, which I squeeze in whenever I can find a free hour.
Thursday evening was our monthly House Eucharist but having unsuccessfully tried 5 Clergy none of whom was available we decided to have an Agape Meal. Not being able to find a suitable Liturgy on any of the Anglican Church websites, I ended up “Googling” and found such a nice simple rite from the Mennonite Church. Two people cancelled at the last moment so there were only 5 of us but it was very special and everyone agreed that we should use it again when a priest is not available. Happily I’ve already booked clergy up to February so there is no need to worry for the present.
And so today, having put in my hour of raking, the plan is to bake this afternoon and maybe squeeze in a bit of sewing. Another serious storm is predicted to hit tomorrow but today is warm and sunny so it was a joy working outside, as most likely this next rain and wind will strip the remaining leaves from the trees.
But before I begin setting some bread dough we need a recipe. For dessert one evening this week I served a bowl of crispy red grapes with a Giant Almond Cookie. It was a hit and so simple to make 😊
Giant Almond Cookie
- 1½ cups whole almonds
- 1¾ cups flour
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- 12Tbsps. butter or
margarine - 1½tsps. vanilla extract
Grease and line with parchment paper the bottom of 10” springform pan. In a food processor finely grind the almonds and then whisk them together with the flour, sugar and salt. Add the vanilla and cut in the butter as for shortbread. Press ¾ of the mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining crumbs evenly over the top. Bake in a preheated 350º oven for 25 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 300º for a further 10 minutes. Cool on a rack. To serve place the
cooled cookie on a large plate in the center of the table and allow guests to break off chunks. Serves 4
cooled cookie on a large plate in the center of the table and allow guests to break off chunks. Serves 4