It has been another full week around here. I am thankful that, despite the cancellation of Day Camps 2020, there is still much to keep me occupied each day!
Our new CTM Treasurer has needed answers to several questions and of course I like to keep on top of the email correspondence, which seems to fill the Inbox every morning.
We are getting close to completing the draft of the 2021 Program Manual, which will go to Jessica for final corrections and formatting. Once that is complete it will need to be set aside until we are able to meet again in person to work on things like craft samples, music recording, liturgical dance filming and the compiling of Team Leaders Binders. All those tasks require us to gather in small groups so it is hoped, as lockdown is gradually lifted, we will be able to begin work on some of those tasks.
I have also reviewed the Program Manual that will be used, God willing, in 2022 and several people have already volunteered to begin writing and editing content. It would be amazing if we could establish a schedule whereby the Manual was in production a year ahead of it’s being rolled out. This would allow much more lead time for the other parts of the program as well as giving time to focus more on filling the schedule of host communities. Although I love the final rush in late spring as the season of Day Camps (usually!) nears, it can also be extremely stressful and it would be fantastic to be able to pace ourselves a bit more during that period. The committee is very keen to put this plan into action during this “gap” year.
As well as all the CTM work this past week there have been 3 Diocesan committee meetings to attend via Zoom. We heard at the Diocesan Council meeting, last Tuesday, that our annual Synod is being postponed from June until November and that when it is convened it will be a virtual Synod, via Zoom. As there are still no concrete plans in the Province of Quebec for the reopening of places of worship, larger gatherings such as Synod seem very far down the road.
Montreal is still the Canadian epicentre of COVID-19 and so even plans for reopening of schools seem to be changing every day. Yesterday our Premier changed his mind yet again and has announced that elementary school in greater Montreal will not reopen until August or September.He is also urging Québecois to wear masks, especially in areas where social distancing is hard to maintain. One afternoon this week I decided to sew a fabric mask for myself in case I need to use it. There are gazillions of tutorials online so I studied a few and combined some patterns and am quite pleased with the results.
The weather has still been too cold to do outdoor house painting but it looks as if the next few days are going to be warmer so I might finally get to refurbish the front stairs. Of course I’m well aware that puppy claws will soon add new scratches but at least they will look fresh for a short while!
And with Ascension Day on the horizon in the coming week I am looking towards the next “Changing of the Decorations” as it will soon be Pentecost. At the moment I think I’ll do that task just prior to the last weekend of May.
But today’s schedule includes bathing the cat 😊 and hopefully finally staining those front stairs!
My friend Sue doesn’t need any baking this week so I don’t think I’ll do any myself, which will give time for these other big jobs.
Before I head off to catch the cat I’ll just end with a recipe.One night this week I enjoyed a bowl of-
Niçoise Pasta
- 2 cans safe catch tuna, broken into small chunks
- 12oz. spaghetti or spaghettini
- 2 cups frozen green peas
- 2 Tbsps. olive oil
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 eggs
- ground black pepper
- ¼ cup black olives
- 2 Tbsps. fresh chopped chives
Cook pasta, adding the peas for the last 2 minutes.
Meanwhile heat the oil in a small frying pan and sauté the garlic for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the lemon juice and bring to a boil, remove from heat. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl and whisk in the lemon garlic mixture.
Drain pasta and peas, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Return to the pot, off the heat. Whisk the reserved pasta water into the egg mixture then fold it into the pasta along with the tuna, olives and plenty of ground pepper.
Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chives.
Serve immediately. Serves 3-4