Hello Blog Friends!
Note:- sorry about the late post. My cell phone has bit the dust (along with all of the images destined for this week’s blog! )Those, above, were kindly taken, yesterday, by Donna, when she and Miriam came for High Tea! Thanks, Donna, for coming to the rescue.
It is really hard to believe that tomorrow marks fifty days since Easter Sunday! In some ways, Lent and Easter still seem very recent but, looking back at all that has happened, both in the world of Day Camps as well as in my personal life, it makes sense that 50 days have passed since the ”Great Festival”.
This week has been pretty packed. Not too many in-person visitors but several meetings on FaceTime or Google Meet and an in-person one with a priest from the Laurentians, north of Montreal, who is going to try CTM’s Backyard program this summer. I’m happy about this as six of the other Day Camps are all the full day program and, until now, all the work of preparing the Backyard version was only going to be for one church.
The audio files for all the songs have f8unally been submitted. There were two communities hot on my tail, asking when the slides will be ready and, as of yesterday, I was able to say they would be uploaded next Monday morning. As I write, two committee volunteers are putting the finishing touches on the audio files for the songs and it is imperative that I take one last hard look at everything before it is shared with the communities, after all, I’m the one who wil need to respond to any problems should something be incorrect of missing from the files! (yes, it has happened before!)
Thursday morning, I had a productive online meeting with the Speaker who is lined up for the Summer Team Gathering, happening July 4th. Deacon Jessica was on Travelling Team in 1996 (I looked to see when she was billeted at “The Taylors’ ). It is always nostalgic to open that file, first compiled, years ago, by one of the many CTM secretaries, who used to work beside me, and previous DC directors, in our office at St. Matthew’s Church. It was a bit sad seeing that title, as it is now just my house, with, of course, the larger than life, personality of “Mr.T”!!
Somehow, despite the song file crisis, it has also proved possible to publish CTM’s quarterly Newsletter and (drumroll!) to submit the Police Records Check forms for the Junior Youth Camp staff -Hallelujah! Now one waits, with baited breath, top see if any forms are rejected for mistakes in any of the fields.
Today started with daily battle of the Maple Keys, which are still falling in their millions. I have now, several times raked and swept every section of the lawns plus the driveway, deck, front path and side porch. The task over the coming days is to work one’s way through the flowerbeds painstakingly gleaning the pods, bare hands. If thew pods are left, each one is capable of geminating and producing the beginnings of a maple tree, not a good idea between the early summer flowers. I set myself one section a day and try to reach that goal but can rarely devote more than and hour or so the job may stretch over more than a week, factoring in rainy days, when it is impossible to work. Following my hour of “pergatory” it was lovely to go back over the beds with secateurs and cut flowers for 2 vases of “30-stem Challenges”.
The rest of the day is to be given over to preparing a High Tea for two of the young Team Alumnae from First Filipino Baptist Church, who will be organising the worship music for the upcoming Team Gathering. In preparation for this little “party”,the Bake took place yesterday afternoon, interspersed with a gazillion emails, texts and calls about the Day Camp songs, sigh! This afternoon I shall focus on making three types of sandwiches, stuffed eggs, dates wrapped in bacon and crudités. The sweets will consist of a Jelly Roll (soon to be filled with raspberry jam, generous provided by Jessica, from her homemade stash), and chocolate digestive biscuits. I have some very nice Earl Grey tea, to wash it all down.
The Jelly Roll recipe is from my Mum’s handwritten cookbook. You can fill it with any fruit jam or it is also lovely with lemon curd or soften ice cream. If using ice cream, fill and roll the cake and serve frozen.
Mum’s Jelly Roll
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup raw cane sugar
- 1 cup unbleached flour
- 1 Tbsp. Baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup cold water
First prepare A 10”X15” baking tray by lining it with parchment paper, greasing it and sifting lightly all over with a little flour. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl beat the eggs on high speed for 5 minutes, or until pale and thick. Gradually beat in the sugar, vanilla and cold water. With the mixer on low speed, slowly beat in the flour mixture. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared tray and bake at 375ºF for 12 minutes. Meanwhile place a tea towel on the work surface and sift all over with icing sugar. Remove the cake from the oven and quickly invert the tray over the prepares tea towel. Gently remove the parchment paper and trim all four edges of the cake. Starting at the short end, roll the cake in the tea towel and set aside until cool. Gently unroll and spread, thickly, with chosen filling. Roll up, and place on a serving dish, dust with icing sugar.