Oh my goodness, we are already at the last September post! I’m getting a head start today (Friday) as tomorrow looks like a full day with a large amount of baking to do, a sewing project to complete plus a dinner visit with Jessica.
Mercifully I got my phone back on Wednesday and I fervently hope there will be no more issues with it for a very long time. 😊 Every since then I’ve been busy taking photos but the week has been dark and rainy so I’ll try and get a few good pics today as the sun is brightly shining. Yay!
This week I sent out Applications and 2020 Fliers to quite a long list of potential new communities. So far I’ve only had 2 replies but will try to remain positive a while longer as I know people are often swamped at the start of the academic year…
Well that didn’t last very long, yesterday’s work took over so here it is a wet Saturday morning and I’m back to complete this post!
I got the lawns mowed yesterday, which takes almost 2 hours and it worked out super well as Steven had the day off school and was working from home so he kept an eye on Thomason as I mowed.
As soon as I get this squared away I need to dash to the grocer and then after lunch start my baking marathon. Sadly, it is raining as predicted but only light showers so Thomason and I have already had one long Saturday morning walk although I’m sure he will be happy to join me when I head to the grocer.
Next Saturday at this time I’ll be preparing for the Team Gathering. I’ll probably post next Sunday so that I can include lots of photos of the evening. We are going to do a small group Bible Study using Taizé materials, the way we do during the Retreat Week. For the last 2 years we have used this format for the Thanksgiving Team Gathering, as it is nice for the Team Members to join in their small groups again as a sort of first reunion time after the summer. I’ve decided to make an Autumn Charcuterie Board as my supper contribution since it was very popular at our evaluation meeting in August. And everyone has been asking for my mulled cider drink so I’ll be making that in my largest slow cooker.
This afternoon I’m baking Sue’s Gluten-free Bread, a batch of Pita, Bird’s Nest cookies, Ginger Shortbread and Pumpkin Muffins (yes I’ve decided it is really time to embrace Autumn 😊) and for dinner tonight Jessica and I are going to have a Szechuan Eggplant dish with rice, Oolong tea, red grapes and fancy chocolate.
The plan after dinner is to knit and watch a “Miss Marple” DVD lent to me by Barb. Sounds pretty good for a wet evening. Steven is going CAMPING!!! I cannot imagine a colder or damper activity, but he is also visiting a friend and they are going hiking tomorrow, hopefully not in the rain 😊
Time to close off with a recipe.
Since Eggplant is in season at the moment, I think I’ll feature it again and share …
Szechuan Eggplant
2 Japanese eggplants, cubed- 1 large red pepper, diced
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 Tbsps. vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 Tbsps. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. Sriracha
- 6 green onions, sliced
- 3 Tbsps. orange marmalade
- ½ cup cashews
Heat the oil in a large wok and fry the onions and garlic for 5 mins. Add the eggplant and peppers and continue sautéing until browned. Stir in the sugar, sriracha, green onions and marmalade, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for approx. 10 minutes until the eggplant is tender. Serve immediately with steamed rice.Serves 3-4