Hello Blog Friends!
I hope all Canadian readers enjoyed a Blesséd Thanksgiving Weekend. Montreal had a very wet one, ushering in the real autumn weather as people turned on their furnaces for the first time and hauled out warmer clothes and rain gear. I was delighted when a second pair of warm boots I had ordered, arrived just in time for this cold snap, so now all my autumn gear is ready!
Although Monday was a holiday I ended up spending time on office work, as there was a flurry of emails around a variety of subjects as well as some urgent texts from board members- no peace for the wicked 😊.I did enjoy a holiday task in the afternoon. A friend had dropped off a container and asked me to make a large dried flower arrangement for her front hall. I had a pleasant time putting it together and both she and I were pleased with the results!
By Tuesday things were back to “as normal as possible” and it had finally stopped raining, which was a bonus as I was able to dash out before 8 am and make a start on clearing up all the debris that had fallen during the heavy rains. That day I worked some more on the Google fillable form for the 2024 Day Camp application but got stuck trying to insert the header logo. Thankfully, after a “help!!” message to Jillian (who, as you may recall is technically on sabbatical with baby Amelia) she kindly offered to Photoshop the image so by Wednesday afternoon I was able to complete that task. Next week I plan to send the first round of emails out to communities giving them a heads up about the 2024 program,Signposts.
Thursday I continued badgering families with reminders to register for Season 6 of the Day Camps Cook-Along. People have been slow to sign up and we currently only have 4 small people signed up for the course. I’m hoping the current round of badgering will bear some more fruit. CTM’s Communications Director, Guylaine has been busy creating a schedule of FaceBook posts for the ministries so that morning I also added notifications to the office calendar reminding me of all the dates between now and yearend when it is my turn to do the posting. Now that we have the 2024 logo for “Signposts” (do you like it?) I spent the latter half of Thursday updating the Day Camps dropdown menu on the website. This required a fair bit of editing and, of course, the insertion of the logo, but it looks pretty good. I will also ask Guylaine to post a notice about Day Camps 2024 on the home page of the CTM website. And at the same time to give the DC page her professional “once over” 😊.
Yesterday I created an email for sending out on Monday to all potential 2024 Day Camp host communities. Now that the fillable form is completed it is time to make a first attempt at finding new host churches as well as updating returnees on our program plans for the coming year. The message will include a direct link to the fillable form, making it easy for those who want to sign up.
Afternoons and evenings, I have put in a lot more work on the Psalm book I have been illustrating. All the paintings are almost completed and I am waiting to discuss them with Jessica, next week, to see if she wants me to add more gold metallic highlights. And Wednesday evening I finally completed the polymer clay checkers, destined as Christmas gifts for my four Godsons 😊.
The weather has improved a bit over the last couple of days so outside work continues as I begin the long task of putting the garden to bad. Yesterday my friend Barb brought over some herbs she had cut for me to dry and, in return, I was finally able to dig up the Japanese Anemone I had promised her., I was also able to cut her a bunch of lovage for drying.
So today I have been cutting down more of the perennials that are beginning to look scruffy as well as transplanting the hardy potted chrysanthemums, which, since August, have been decorating the deck and porch with frost soon coming those areas now need to be swept clean, ready for winter.
With the garden work behind me I moved into the kitchen to start the Saturday Bake. Today’s list includes a batch of granola, a pumpkin pie, some coconut macaroons and 3 more cinnamon swirl loaves to add to my Christmas stash.Once everything is in the oven I hope to make a start on a lap quilt, which will become a Christmas gift for some “small people” I know😊,
This week’s “October Soup” was my Thanksgiving Dinner treat last Monday evening, it is quick to put together if you happen to have some cooked chicken (or leftover turkey 😊) on hand. Here goes!……
Chicken and Dumplings
- 2 Tbsps. butter
- 1 cup diced cooked chicken
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup fresh lovage leaves, minced (or a small stalk of celery, diced)
- ½ tsp. each thyme, salt, black pepper and rosemary
- 1 ½ Tbsps. flour
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
Dumplings:-
- 2/3 cup flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 Tbsp butter.
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbsps. milk
First prepare the dumpling dough by combining the flour, baking powder and salt. Rub in the butter with your fingertips then stir in the parsley. Whisk together the egg and milk and gently combine with the dry mixture. Set aside.
Melt the butter and sauté the onion, garlic, carrot and lovage for 5 minutes. Add the herbs, salt, pepper and flour and stir for 2 minutes. Pour in the stock and cream and bring to a simmer, while stirring, then add the chicken.
With the mixture still simmering, drop in the dumpling dough, in 1 Tbsp. portions. You should have about 8 dumplings. Cover tightly and simmer gently for 20 minutes, without removing the lid. Serve garnished with more fresh parsley. Serves 2, but is easily doubled.