Hello Blog Friends!
What a hot week it has been in Montreal!! We have had temperatures in the mid 30s Celsius all week with very high humidity. My garden is turning brown and shrivelling up, as are those of my neighbours. Some friends across the street are away and had asked me to water their potted plants so I’ve been kept busy dumping buckets of water on all of them and praying that the cherry tomatoes won’t die. EEK!
Meanwhile office work goes on! Tuesday-Thursday were the 3 days of activities organised by CTM’s Junior Youth Camp to take the place of their usual week-long residential camp so I have spent most of my office hours dealing with registration fees and staff donations, all of which come via e-transfer.
Tuesday evening was our DC committee meeting and as we had not met since early June there was plenty to discuss. We evaluated the July Team Gathering (the first one we had ever held online) and everyone agreed that there were certainly benefits in being able to connect with Alums across Canada and even in the US. Going forward there are plans to continue holding some TGs online and others, hopefully, in person.
We also discussed the upcoming Thanksgiving Cook-Along series; the initial plans for our Autumn Day Retreat for Alumnae and also touched on ideas and suggestions for Carols & Cocoa in December, quite a lot to cover 🙂
Since the meeting I have sent off the e-book draft to the committee, designed a flyer for the Day Retreat and yesterday emailed the Cook-Along chefs to remind them that they need to send in their recipe titles so I can pass them on to those who want to sign up for the 3 sessions.
Outside of office time I’ve been continuing my exploration of Coptic Binding and am part way through making 4 small sketch books to add to my Christmas Gift Stash 🙂 I’ve also finished knitting the little girl’s cardigan and am presently blocking it before sewing on the buttons. My next knitting project is a pair of socks for myself before moving onto the 4 pairs destined as Christmas gifts for my Godsons.
Yesterday afternoon committee member Christopher dropped by for a snack and to say good-bye as next week he is returning to Winnipeg where he teaches Classics at the University of Manitoba. Of course it was the usual chaotic visit with Thomason leaping around and barking while I tried to serve kombucha and shortbread and deal with a pot of plum jam that was on the boil, “just a quiet afternoon at the Taylor’s”, as my friend Michelle would say 🙂.
Early this morning we welcomed my former boarder, Steven, who arrived on a red-eye flight from Halifax and will be staying until next Wednesday. Steven was boarding here when Thomason arrived on the scene and so both he and my pup were very happy to see each other. We did see him briefly last summer when he and his father drove to Montreal to collect the rest of Steven’s belongings from a storage locker, this time he has plans to visit with several friends but has also scheduled time here at the house and I’m sure Thomason will enjoy the extra attention 🙂 . Steven also brought a delightful treat of LOBSTER from the Maritimes, which we will be enjoying for dinner tonight. Yum!!
Of course I still have my usual Saturday chores scheduled so I had better end off here as I have baking to do, as well as watering the neighbours’ tomatoes!
This week I made a really good main course salad so I thought I would share the recipe, as it is great for a summer lunch or supper.
Millet and Black Bean Salad
- 2 cups millet, cooked & chilled
- 3 cups black beans, cooked & chilled
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ a red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ each of a large red and a large orange pepper cut in thin strips
- 2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, blanched
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 cup freshly grated old cheddar
- Dressing:
- 2 Tbsps. roasted paprika
- ½ cup Olive oil
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- pinch of salt and pepper.
Combine the ingredients in a large serving bowl. Place the dressing ingredients in a small jar, close tightly and shake well. Fold the dressing into the salad and allow to sit for half an hour or so to meld the flavours. Serves 4-6