Hello Blog Friends!
Here we are whizzing through Lent, although there are certainly no signs of spring in the frozen north!
This week we received one cheering piece of news when an email arrived from a church in British Columbia saying they plan to hold a Day Camp this summer, bringing the total of host communities to five. Of course this is a pretty discouraging number when looking at pre-pandemic years but it is two more camps than we had in 2022,which is something to be thankful for 😊.
Much of this week has had to be devoted to general office duties since there was a slight hiccup when it was discovered that CTM’s March Board Meeting, originally scheduled for the 19th of this month, would need to be postponed as two key people could not be present. Trying to reschedule was complicated but we have finally settled on Monday evening, March 27th.
There was then a conversation between myself and Mark, our Treasurer, as the plan had been to gain the approval of the Board for some important financial information which must be sent as soon as possible to the Foundation that has allocated a grant to the Day Camp ministry and waiting until almost the end of the month is not ideal. It was finally decided that a motion be circulated via email to all the members, asking them for an endorsement of Mark’s suggestions then it can be ratified when we meet at the end of the month. Whew!
Meanwhile all the reports for the Annual General Meeting need to be collated and prepared for sending, next week, to all voting members AND I am in the middle of compiling the Lent/Easter Networks newsletter. All I really want to be doing is memorising the choreography for the Day Camp Liturgical Dance and proofreading the 2023 Program Manual 😊.
I did manage to fit in completing the PowerPoint for the Alumni Mini Retreat and, by Wednesday, was able to share the link with our speaker and musicians. I’ve also committed myself to sending 5 emails each week (for the foreseeable future 😊) to potential host communities reminding them about our summer programs. The Newsletter template is also now ready to go to the director of communications as she does a final proof read before it is circulated to the subsctibers.
Outside of some very long office hours, a bit more progress has been made on my first dozen pysanky and I should be able to begin varnishing them tomorrow. I apply two very thin coats of varnish, just using my fingertip, the traditional “varnish” was goose fat, but presumably Ukrainians did not store the pysanky for any length of time since obviously the fat would go rancid 😊.
Thursday I also had a lovely lunch visit with Jillian. Of course the visit also included some Day Camps work as she helped me to create a fillable Google Form on which to track donations to the Day Camp ministry and we also discussed the work she is doing preparing the PowerPoints, which are an important component of the Main Presentation in the Day Camp Program.
Yesterday afternoon I was relieved to finish the Birthday Crowns for Alexander and Andrew, two of my Godsons. Earlier this week we arranged that they will be coming with their Mum and older brother, William (my eldest Godson) next Friday to stay overnight as they are going to the Lakeshore Light Opera matinée performance on Saturday. Before she was married their Mum sang in the LLO and so they try to come from Ottawa to see the annual productions. Actually that is a good segue into ending here since I need to turn my attention to baking as I am making a couple of things to put in the freezer in preparation for the visitors.
Today I’m making a second batch of Hot Cross Buns, a batch of peanut butter cookies, two trays of cream crackers and some baguettes, as well as using a low oven to melt the wax off the first dozen pysanky. So now we had better close off with our recipe:-
Last evening I made a pot of Tom Gai Soup. It is super tasty, especially with a side of steamed Bao 😊.
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
- ½ onion sliced
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- ½ red jalapeno pepper sliced
- 3 ¼” slices ginger root
- 1 lemongrass stalk pounded and cut into 2” pieces
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 tin full fat coconut milk
- 1 block tofu, cubed
- 8 oz. Cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 Tbsp. raw cane sugar
- 2 Tbsps. each fish sauce & Tamari
- 3 Tbsps. lime juice
- 2-green onions, sliced
- fresh cilantro chopped, for garnish
Heat the oil and add the onion, garlic, jalapeno, ginger, lemongrass, and curry powder. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until onions are softened. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain out the garlic, onions, lemongrass, and ginger and discard. Stir in coconut milk, tofu and mushrooms. Simmer until Heat through then add fish sauce, Tamari and lime juice. Cook for 2 minutes then ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro and green onions.