As you can see if you scroll through the above photos, I have been rather busy this weekend with “The Changing of the Decorations”, hence I’m publishing this post later than usual 😊
After listening to last Sunday’s sermon podcast from St. Benedict’s Table I was sorely tempted to leave at least some decorations up until Candlemas (there is a history of leaving up one’s Crêche at least until then) but I do have a separate African Crêche that is a part of the Epiphany /Winter décor plus there is quite a bit of “star”-theme going on so I went ahead and made the great “Change” !
After all, dried out pine needles falling from a Christmas Tree are not very festive anyway and my Epiphany/Winter décor is big on continuing a very Hygge vibe, so here we are into a fresh season 😊. It will be a great challenge to remain positive and to “hold onto the light” since Wednesday evening our Premier announced that we are going into a severe lockdown mode until February 8th. This will even include a daily curfew from 8pm-5am and churches are once again shut down completely with the exception of funerals at which no more than 10 people may be in attendance. Inexplicably primary schools are to open next Monday for in-person learning, this is most upsetting to teachers, the medical profession, parents and caregivers and there has been an immediate negative reaction from all these parties.
Of course compared with the virtual state of anarchy currently unfolding across our southern border we can hardly complain. The situation in the USA is quite terrifying to behold and we have been asked by our Bishop to pray for our American neighbours.
The past week I returned to office hours albeit flexing between morning and afternoon sessions. As of Wednesday I started steadily fitting in some of the decorations work.
That day, being the Feast of Epiphany, I dismantled the Tree. The city picks up Christmas trees on the first 2 Wednesdays of January and turns them into mulch for city gardens so it is important not to miss one of these pick up dates.
Thursday I was looking forward to having two visitors and so turned my attention to office work in the morning. Committee member Jillian had planned to come in the early afternoon and I had a list of Day Camp related questions and problems with which I hoped she would be able to help but since she is a primary school teacher she was called into an emergency staff meeting that day. Then Jenna had been going to come after work but felt it best to avoid extra time on public transportation and thus regretfully did not come.
Fortunately, at least our weather has been decent. The first week of January is often one of the coldest but we have had warmer temperatures and sunshine, which does help with one’s morale.
I was not able to do any baking today as I was still in the throes of decorating but will do some essential baking tomorrow afternoon. We have decided not to hold The Pod in person since some of the members who have been attending need to use public transportation so the risk of infection is heightened. Much of our content is online so we will use Zoom to meet tomorrow and probably for the rest of January until we see if the lockdown continues. All of which means that I need to close off this post and pull together the links to various sites so I can finalise our Liturgy for tomorrow morning.
One evening this week I enjoyed a yummy Portobello Mushroom Burger. Mushrooms are in season, here in winter, if they are available wherever you are do try this tasty recipe 😊
Spicy Portobello Mushroom Burgers
- 2 Tbsps. olive oil4 large
- Portobello Mushrooms, stems removed
- 1 avocado
- ¼ cup mayonnaise or vegannaise
- 1 Tbsp. Sriracha
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 4 large rolls or buns, split
Clean the mushrooms and place stem side down in a large skillet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Pour ½ cup water around the mushrooms. Cover the pan loosely with aluminium foil and braise the mushrooms over low heat for 20-30 minutes, or until tender.
Meanwhile mash the avocado and combine with the mayonnaise or vegannaise and Sriracha. When the mushrooms are almost ready, toast the buns and spread each generously with the spicy avocado sauce. Place a mushroom and a slice of tomato on each bun and serve immediately. These are extra good with a side of homefries! Serves 4