As we prepare to celebrate Christ the King Sunday, we also come to the close of another Liturgical year. A number of people have mentioned they plan to put up their Christmas decorations early this year. I can’t quite decide if this comes from a desire to hurry the end of 2020 or just because it has been a year filled with so much darkness and sorrow that everyone is looking for some extra joy and an opportunity to celebrate.
My usual plan is to “Change the Decorations” a couple of days before the first Sunday in Advent, however I too have caved early and am hard at work changing everything this weekend. Ha! There are a number of factors that caused this decision, most of them related to Day Camps! One is that during the coming week committee member, Jillian, is going to pass by and take photos of my “Welcome” banner as she has a proper camera and can take high resolution photos and we need this one for the new blog format. Since she is coming around the “Changing of the Decorations” time she will actually be able to take photos of both the Harvest/Thanksgiving Banner and the Advent/Christmas one, which will be most helpful. Secondly our Team Alumnae Advent Program kicks off next Saturday Afternoon so it would not be possible to be in the middle of decoration work that day and thirdly I have a list of Christmas Baking for gift giving, which I could work on next weekend, hence the rationale for my decision!
For those of you who are real purists I shan’t be posting the decoration photos until next weekend and so hope you will be less offended.
Plans continue to come together for Carols and Cocoa although I seem to have had little success in contacting Kelvin (our MC) and have been reduced to extra badgering via text message as we are supposed to “meet” online to go through the running order ahead of time. Sigh.
All the meetings went fairly well last weekend, apart from my losing electricity part way through the Synod, which necessitated turning my cell phone into a personal hotspot while missing a chunk of my secretarial duties. Sunday’s Board meeting was shorter than the last one, for which I was most thankful and then, of course, the Day Camp committee (Monday evening) is always enjoyable and was also productive. It was great to welcome Christopher back to the committee although the Internet connection with both Winnipeg and Halifax was less than perfect.
Afternoons this week I have managed to finish up some small crafting projects, sewing a gift bag for baby Sean’s knitted overalls, finishing a French Cheesemaker’s Smock for myself and completing the bunny I’ve been knitting as a “stash” gift for another baby soon to be born.
Today is bleak and “Novemberish” outside but indoors there are plenty of warm red bows to be tied onto wreaths, containers of Christmas china to unwrap, and piles of bed linens and other soft covers to put in place. I just stepped into my front porch to remove the Autumn decorations and was most excited to see TWO Red-Headed Woodpeckers on the trunk of one of my Maple trees. We often see smaller “Flickers” but rarely the larger birds here in the city.. I was most chuffed to catch a photo of them.
There will be extra time tomorrow for more work on the decorations as we have moved the Pod to Monday evenings during Advent since Sue’s husband, Nick (my former boss and Pastor) is serving Parishes in the Laurentians, north of Montreal and spends the weekends up there staying at their family cabin so, during Advent, Sue and their son Matthew will also not be returning to Montreal until late on Sunday evenings.
Since the house is currently looking wildly chaotic I think it best to close off here and get back to work. My soundtrack for the task is my favourite Advent CD, gifted to me several years ago by my dear friend Anna.
Before I hurry off to deal with the mess, let’s have a recipe: –
Last evening I enjoyed a hearty bowl of Dragon Noodles. If you are feeling more carnivorous you can add some cooked chicken strips or even shrimp, enjoy!
Dragon Noodles
- 4 oz. brown rice or egg noodles
- 2 Tbsps. butter or Earth Balance
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. Tamari sauce
- 1 Tbsp. Sriracha sauce
- 2 cups shredded red cabbage
- 1 handful fresh cilantro
Cook the noodles according to package directions. In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar, Tamari, and Sriracha. In a large skillet melt butter over medium-low heat and add the red pepper. Whisk the egg and add to the melted butter, stirring gently to cook through. Turn off the heat and fold in the cooked noodles and cabbage. Pour the sauce over and toss thoroughly . Transfer to individual bowls and sprinkle with cilantro leaves. Serve immediately. Serves 2.