Continuing on the crazy roller coaster of weather we have been experiencing for the past few months, this week started out super cold and is ending with epic hot weather nearing 40ºC 😊
I am writing this post outside on a shady porch but Thomason has chosen a bare wood floor in the house, which I guess seems cooler to a furry person!
A highlight of the week was a visit, Thursday, with Jillian. We had had a number of FaceTime chats and Google Meets over the past 4 months but not met in person. As an elementary school ESL teacher she has been working from home online with her pupils but now the term has ended she needed to visit the school and clear out her classroom etc. I needed help with Google Docs (she’s a pro!) and she wanted to pick up a Lamb puppet who will be “joining” her when she records songs for our “Terrific Tuesdays” Blogposts, in July. It was a super hot night so I made a big bowl of Taboulleh served with iced Rooibos tea, followed by fresh local strawberries and Lemon Yoghurt cake. We ate outside on the porch and stayed there chatting until it got dark. I confess that we hugged, both when she arrived and when she left. After 4 months never touching another human being, it was very powerful and I shed a few happy tears 😊
Since last Monday evening’s Day Camp committee meeting, there has been plenty of follow up work to do. As well as adding more content to the first Terrific Tuesday post draft I have been working on some questions for a survey we plan to send out later in the summer in which we will ask for peoples’ preferences among several possible scenarios for Day Camps 2021 and beyond.
We had a good frank discussion at the meeting about the huge challenges CTM is facing as we move forward but I think, despite the challenges, we all strongly believe that our Program is still a valuable tool for introducing children to Jesus as well as strengthening faith for everyone involved to leading Day Camps. It’s not going to be easy but often the hardest things are the ones we need to fight for, so we plan to give it a try, whatever the future holds.
Outside the world of CTM I have finally wrestled the last of the maple pods into submission, ruthlessly removing as many as I could from lawns, pathways and flowerbeds! Apart from the fact that having had no rain all vegetation is dry and crispy, at least it looks a lot better now it is free from the mess of a gazillion pods.😊
Yesterday I spent an hour deadheading the dwarf French lilac bush. It was a sweaty job in the heat made worse by all the dead blossoms sticking to my clothes and hair. Gardening books recommend making sure all the dead blooms are snipped off right after they wither since this promotes an even more abundant flowering next year, I’m glad the task is completed😊
Last evening Jenna came for dinner Imagine two friends visiting in one week after 100 days alone. woo hoo!!!). We ate outside, this time an Asian meal of summer rolls and Jasmine tea followed by melon with Chinese Almond Cookies. It is such a treat to see friends in person again and also eat a meal with someone.
Well today, despite the heat, I will soon need to put the oven on to bake GF bread for Sue and cookies for her husband and son, so I had better wrap up this post and start mixing ingredients!
One of the recipes I’m also making is my favourite Blueberry Scones so I thought it would be a good one to share today-
Blueberry Scones- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 3 Tbsps. raw cane sugar
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 6 Tbsps. cold butter, cut in small bits
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- grated zest of 1 orange
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the blueberries and orange zest. Whisk the eggs in a measuring cup and add the cream and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture just until combined.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times to bring it together. Form it into a rough 7” square. Cut the square in quarters then cut each quarter diagonally into 2 triangles, making a total of 8 scones.
Transfer to a parchment–lined baking sheet. Brush with a small amount of cream and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake for approx. 16 minutes in a 400F oven..