Hello Blog Friends!
Disclaimer !- Yesterday I ran into difficulties uploading photos to this post. Many thanks to Guylaine, who came to my rescue last evening, so here it is, better late than never 😊.
Here we are barrelling towards Easter as we are now in the week of Passiontide and on the cusp of Palm Sunday.Although the weather here is still cold and snowy, the first brave clump of Snowdrops has just appeared in my garden and this morning as I was pulling on my gloves in the front porch I looked out the door and there was the very first robin, returning from wintering in the south😊.
The week started off with the CTM Board meeting, which took place, unusually, on Monday evening instead of Sunday afternoon. The meeting had originally been scheduled for the previous Sunday when our President, Chris, had been at a Clergy Retreat and since this was the last meeting before the AGM it was particularly long with several discussions.
Tuesday morning there was a Bishop’s Commission on Ministry meeting so I fitted the typing of the Board minutes in around that other commitment and then went on to deal with responding to several application forms from the host communities and sending invoices to those churches.
We now have 7 prospective Day Camps and the paperwork is in place for 4 of them. All of which means that the Acceptance Package also has to be ready to share via Google docs so I have been uploading the various documents for that to the “Something to Celebrate!” folder.
The Resource Package cannot be finalised until some key components are completed. The Program and Extended Day Manuals still need to be finished but both been proofread and sent to Jessica who has promised to have a final copies back to me in a few days. We also need all the craft sample photos and Main Presentation PowerPoints, all of which should be ready in the next couple of weeks. Even pre-pandemic, the Resource Package was rarely sent out before the end of April, so we are still on track.Whew!!
Today is our Alumni Lenten Mini-Retreat but since it will not be over until late afternoon, I will be making a special Wednesday Words post about it, but since there is plenty going on in Holy week, it might only appear on the Wednesday following Easter 😊.
I think there will be 14 people joining although each day, this week, has brought additions and deletions to my list 😊. Yesterday a final reminder and “last call” went out so we are now in a space to sit back and welcome whoever comes. This morning I have been laying out all the supplies for my Hot Cross Bun tutorial, which forms part of the Retreat. I really hope that Thomason will not cause background noise as he is always in close proximity while I am cooking and baking. There will be a stash of his favourite treat (sliced carrots) on hand, in case he gets too obstreperous 😊.
Outside of actual work hours there has been a steady stream of visitors this week in almost pre-COVID proportions starting with Guylaine and Matthew for lunch last Sunday, Bishop Mary popping in to pick up some mending I had done for her (and staying for coffee!) on Monday, the Rev. Linda Borden Taylor (now retired, and my predecessor as Day Camp Director) for coffee on Wednesday, Jillian, Thursday, for a working lunch all about the Main Presentation PowerPoints and finally Mae Anne, yesterday, for High Tea and to discussed the prayer portion of the Retreat, which she will be coordinating.
Needless to say, there has not been a lot of time for handwork, although I always make a bit of space each evening to knit a few rows on current projects. One afternoon I also managed to make gift tags for my Easter Baskets and tomorrow afternoon hope to sew a bunch of furoshikis in which to wrap them, as well as an extra one in which to wrap the wedding gift I have completed for Christopher (Day Camp Committee Member) and Fabienne.
As Mr. T will need a long walk before the mini-retreat begins, we had better wrap this up. Early in the week I tested out my own (organic!) adaptation of a Korean/Fusion pasta dish. It turned out to be very tasty, so I served it to Jillian when she was here for lunch. If you like interesting and spicy fusion foods do give it a try 😊.
Korean/Fusion Linguine
- 12oz. Linguine
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 2 Tbsps. butter
- 2 Tbsps. miso
- 1Tbsp. Korean Chile Crisp
- ½ cup finely grated fresh Parmesan
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the linguine until 2 minutes before it is al dente. While it is cooking, combine the milk, miso and chile crisp and whisk until completely smooth. Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of the pasta water. Return the linguine to the pot and add the butter and milk mixture. Using a wooden spoon stir constantly, over medium heat until it is summering and well combined. Add some of the reserved pasta water to create a thick creamy sauce that coats the linguine. Test to make sure the pasta is fully cooked, then transfer to individual bowls. Garnish each bowl with some of the Parmesan and a generous sprinkling of black pepper. Serve immediately. Serves 2-3.