Once again my first thought for this post was to whine about the weather. Is this just a Canadian obsession?? But…REALLY This week started off with a humdinger of an ice storm and everyone in our big city is still slithering around trying not to fall and break bones.
Monday, before the weather turned ugly, Jessica came over for a lunch meeting so that we could hash out some more points about the changes to the 2018 Program Manual. We had a productive conversation so that subsequently I was able to send a huge zip file of documents to Arnee who is now busily typing from her sister’s home on a sheep farm in Ireland (so appropriate that it is a SHEEP farm, given our intimate connection with all things “LAMB”)
Being hardy Québecois, most of us have still gone about our regular business over the past few days although all schools and universities were closed on Tuesday; but Wednesday Mae Anne braved the ice so that the two of us could meet. Part of our conversation was about her plans to change direction in her education (all very exciting!!) followed by a discussion around various Day Camp committee issues such as the recording of this year’s songs and her (possible) availability for summer ministry (woo hoo!!).So quite a lot of progress has been made on a number of fronts, which is really encouraging as January draws to a close.
Yesterday morning I had a long phone call with the incoming Coordinator of Youth Ministry in the York Region of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto. It is such a blessing that she is just as keen as her predecessor and intends to encourage a lot of churches in that region to host Day Camps this summer 😊Squeezed in between the meetings and conversations, I finished typing the Board minutes from last Sunday afternoon and also did a bunch of follow up from that meeting.
Then on Thursday evening “The Pod” held our monthly House Eucharist. Although it was still pretty treacherous outside it was warm and cosy in here as eight of us gathered to share supper and then the Lord’s Supper. Christopher even risked life and limb by carrying his electronic keyboard to the Gathering so that we could have an accompaniment to our songs, Yay Christopher 😊
Yesterday, after Day Camps and Office work, I spent the afternoon crawling around on my hands and knees re-stencilling the dining room floor. It was (for once!) bright and sunny providing excellent lighting for drawing all the fine details. There is a lot of wear and tear that happens in the dining room so this job needs to be done every few years. Next project is to do the same on the living room floor stencil!! However I think my big indoor task in the coming week will be the dusting of all the books in the living room. This is a big job since there are eight shelves, which flank the fireplace and they hold roughly 400 books!!
Today has not been devoted to “Bake and Blog” since my next big baking will be on Tuesday. Some former neighbours will be joining me for dinner that evening as, when the ice storm hit, we had to postpone their visit planned for last Monday. So this morning was devoted to a couple of sewing projects- the first a special gift bag for Pippa’s upcoming birthday and the second a patchwork lap quilt made from some quilting blocks that a friend gave me this Christmas.It is now late afternoon so my thoughts are turning to dinner and also to a recipe with which to close off. Hmm…
Last Monday evening I made a supper that I had not had in a very long time, but one that was a family favourite – Welsh Rarebit. It makes a perfect cosy dish on a cold winter’s night. Here is my Mum’s recipe: –
- 2 Tbsps. butter
- 2 Tbsps. flour
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp. sea sal
- t½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup pale ale
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar
- 2 drops hot sauce
- Toasted baguette
In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, being careful not to brown the flour. Whisk in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add beer and whisk to combine. Pour in cream and whisk until well combined and smooth. Gradually add cheese, stirring constantly, until cheese melts and sauce is smooth; this will take 4 to 5 minutes. Add hot sauce. Pour over toast and serve immediately. Serves 2.