It’s been quite a rough week around here with several pieces of hard news on the Day Camp front and in my personal life too.
Monday evening we did have a very nice committee dinner where we were able to thank Arnee for all her hard work on the Program Manual and present her with her gift of a gardener’s tool apron and some special gardener’s hand soap.
After Arnee left we got down to business and covered a lot of territory. Sadly, two people whom I had approached to lead Teams have declined, one because she will need to do an internship for her school course this summer and the other who feels it is not the time to take up a leadership role again after some work-related burnout.
Then on Tuesday we had news that TWO Camps had been cancelled in Saskatchewan due to the ill health of the pastor. Of course all these issues are totally understandable but we are now looking at SIX vacant spaces in the Day Camp Schedule plus a real dearth of Team Leaders (only 2 potentials and we need six 😞).
So as you can imagine all of this has not been easy to deal with and there are no quick solutions. I have reached out to many people looking for help but so far there have not been any positive responses.
Then on Tuesday, after a short illness my best friend and companion, Wil was euthanised. I chose to have the procedure done at home and so he died with his head on my lap. The veterinarian thinks he had a brain tumour. Needless to say, I’m feeling quite heartbroken.
The best thing to do is to keep as busy as possible and since this is the weekend of Pentecost, I have been blitzing the house and gardens changing all the decorations and moving out the deck furniture etc.
This morning I spent two hours thinning Day Lily tubers and sweeping the maple “keys”, which are just beginning to fall and cover every square inch of the whole neighbourhood.
Tomorrow afternoon is also a CTM Board meeting so later today I need to make some refreshments for that. I’m just doing some simple maple-coated toasted almonds and will make a cold drink tomorrow, as it is supposed to be mild, if rainy. Then Monday is a holiday so, if the weather improves I intend to stain the living room porch floor and railings.
For dessert at Monday’s meeting I made an Angel Pie and several people wanted the recipe so before I start a bit of sewing I’m going to share that recipe.
Angel Pie
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- pinch of salt
- grated rind of 1 lemon and juice of 2
- 2 cups heavy cream
Grease a 10” deep-dish pie plate. Place the egg whites in a large bowl with the salt and beat until frothy. Gradually beat in 1 cup of sugar until glossy stiff peaks form. Spread the meringue in the pie plate building in up around the sides. Bake for one hour in a preheated 275º oven then turn the oven off and allow the meringue to cool in the oven until room temperature.
Meanwhile, place the yolks, remaining ½ cup of sugar, lemon juice and rind in the top of a double boiler and cook whisking constantly until thick, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Beat the cream until stiff. Fold half the cream into the cooled lemon mixture and pour into the cooled meringue casing, spreading evenly. Decorate the top of the pie with the remaining cream. Cover carefully so as not to touch the meringue or cream and refrigerate for 24 hours before serving.
Serves 6-8.
Sir Wilfred Grenfell the 2nd
May 2005-May 2018
Rest in Peace my Beloved Companion