Hello Blog Friends-
Welcome to April! Although we have had an extremely cold week, the snow is finally beginning to disappear and a few green shoots have been spotted in the garden. Monday it was still -18ºC and by Thursday it got up to +10…. but enough of the weather report.
This week has involved a real mixture of “office” type work and Day Camps ministry. The CTM annual general meeting will not be taking place until mid-May but it is necessary to make sure all eligible voting members receive written notice at least one month prior to the date. All these people did receive a preliminary notice along with their income tax receipts that were sent our by our Treasurer in February but at this time we need to send out a full package including all the Annual Reports so a lot of cutting and pasting has been happening as I pulled them together 😊.
The second session of the Alumni Lenten Study Program will be taking place later today so on Tuesday I sent out a reminder to the participants, including a list of suggested art supplies and a link to the video we will be watching, and Wednesday I put together the PowerPoint that will be used today. I also posted some of the artwork from session 1 @mrsphilmoreschickens
Of course all week I have continued to chip away at the giant task of editing and formatting the older Blog Posts and have just reached December 2013 so I will be starting a new year next week, leaving approx. 6 to go as most of 2021 and all of 2022 are already formatted in WordPress.
As an extra office task I completed the Police Records Check forms for the kitchen staff of Junior Youth Camp and they will be mailed to the SPVM next week, so I can check that side project off my list. Every day I also try to think of ways to approach more communities in the hopes someone will apply to host a Day Camp. Tuesday I sent off our promo sheet to the editor of the Diocesan E-News asking if she would be kind enough to include it in a few upcoming issues and I also plan to consult with the communications person at the Synod Office to see if she can suggest any other avenues worth trying. There are 4 or 5 churches that have indicated they might apply but that is a far cry from the 30 or so who hosted Day Camps each summer, prior to the pandemic. Happily, Thursday morning did bring a completed form from a church in Windsor. Past committee member and former Team Leader, Josiah, is now a curate there and when I saw him briefly at Christmas he had said they would be applying. Lastly, yesterday brought a form from a long-time host church in Edmonton so it is is lovely to have ended the week with some signs of hope 😊.
Outside of office hours I started some of my annual “spring cleaning” tasks. Because I do such a complete overhaul of the whole house five times a year, when “Changing the Decorations”, I don’t do a major spring cleaning but twice a year I defrost and wash my two chest freezers and once a year I deep clean the fridge and stove and also oil the butcher-block kitchen counters so those tasks are scheduled to take place in April, then later in the month there is the major job of washing all the windows and curtains. That job cannot be undertaken until the weather warms up as it is still far too cold to wash the exterior of any windows 😊.
The Easter plates are all completed and I think the fluffy sugar cookies will be a perfect addition as treats for these Easter gifts. Now that the varnish is completely dry on the Pysanky I’m planning, tomorrow afternoon, to wrap each one in clear cellophane and add them to the plates, I shall also include a painted bookmark with an Easter Greeting.
Of course this morning I’m squeezing in another early baking session before launching into the online Lenten Study Program with the alums. Today’s bake will include a batch of Hot Cross Buns, the weekly GF loaves and another batch of the fluffy sugar cookies. Unfortunately I cannot yet make the icing for the cookies as I’m out of icing sugar and my grocery order does not come until next Wednesday but it is actually easier to freeze them first and then apply the icing to the frozen cookies as it adheres better and sets immediately 😊
So now we had better end off with our recipe, as Thomason will not be amused if he misses his long walk before I sit down at the computer for the Lenten Program.
Last Sunday afternoon I enjoyed another of my mini-High Teas and at the last moment decided to make some crumpets as part of the menu.
Making these is not a task for the faint hearted, but I think homemade crumpets are worth the extra effort and the recipe makes a good quantity that freezes well 😊.
Whole Wheat Crumpets
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1 Tbsp. yeast
- 1 tsp. honey
- 1½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1½ tsps. salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
In a large bowl combine the warm milk, honey and yeast and set aside until frothy. Add 1½ cups warm water then whisk in all the other ingredients to make a thick, smooth batter. Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour. When the batter is risen, heat a large skillet and oil several wide mouth Mason jar rings to serve as crumpet moulds. Place the rings in the skillet with the flange edge uppermost. Pour approx. ¼ cup of batter into each mould and cook for 5-6 minutes on medium low heat. Using a fork or thin spatula, ease the rings off then flip the crumpets over and cook for another 1-2 minutes to lightly brown the tops. Put the crumpets on a rack to cool and repeat the process with the rest of the batter, making sure to oil the rings well between batches. Serve the crumpets while still warm or toast before serving. Makes approx. 18 crumpets.