Note:- this post comes late to you as the CTM website has been, inexplicably, down for several days but is now, thankfully, restored!!
Hello Blog Friends; welcome to February!
This past Monday afternoon, I joined the Candlemas Eucharist from Canterbury and specially enjoyed the closing liturgy, when the congregation, singing “O Come All Ye Faithful” processed to the font, with lit candles. There, the Clergy lit pillar candles and the officiant asperged everyone. We now turn our hearts and minds from “the crib to the cross” as we begin to enter the season of Lent.
Early in the week, the Retreat Flier got put together and, Thursday, it was shared on social media and emailed to a bunch of Alumni. The hunt for volunteers to make creative activity samples was also launched, and two volunteers have already signed up.
Badgering for the Cook-Along series continues. Although we now have 4 participants registered, we are still lacking a chef for the first episode, which is only 2 weeks away, EEK!!! I would do it myself but, as I am still having serious laptop issues and, it is still set up on my kitchen table and cannot be moved until a replacement is found, I am loath to promise to be a chef it would be feasible for decent videography. Sigh.
Wednesday evening, we held our monthly committee meeting. Sadly, three members were unable to attend, but on the flip side, one member joined, at 8am Philippines time, as she and her husband are currently there, visiting family!
Thursday, I “re-badgered” two of the people on my original chef list as they had both indicated I could check in gain if we were “desperate”, hopefully one of them will take pity on us and come to the rescue! Then, yesterday, I sent a reminder to all of the families who participate on a regular basis, in the hopes of gleaning a few more small cooks!
Thursday, the ZOOOM chapter of the Program Manual arrived and I am proud to report we now have ALL the chapters. The only additional small task for me, would be to up-date the cover and intro pages. NOW, all we need is someone with the editing skills and software to tackle desktop publishing plus the time to take on this vital project.
Outside the mountain of Day Camps tasks, I began the week with another household project. Late last summer, following the main drain plumbing debacle, I purchased a litre of eggshell-finish paint with the goal of repainting the interiors all the lower kitchen cabinets. Lots of other things got in the way of my plan but, starting last Sunday afternoon, it seemed a sort of “now or never” moment to begin! First all the cupboards had to be completely sorted and emptied and a few items ended up in the recycling bin, then everything was thoroughly scrubbed down and a few bits were also sanded. Monday evening, I applied the first coat of paint, and Tuesday the second so that, by Wednesday, everything could finally be put back and my dining room (which was the repository for EVERYTHING) also restored to order.
While waiting for the paint to dry, I managed to fit in the sewing of two sweet pairs of “salopettes”, destined as gifts for two soon-to-be-born Alumni babies and a velvet pouch, holding 2 tuns of homemade lip balm as a birthday gift for a dear friend.
The restoration of the dining room came just in the nick of time, as a good friend was here for lunch on Thursday and then my former boarder, Steven (now a full-fledged resident doctor, living in Winnipeg) stayed over last night before heading downtown, this morning to attend a medical conference.
For dinner, last evening, I made a big pot of Smoked Salmon Chowder, served with soft-sided rolls and followed by fresh fruit with candied ginger shortbread.
This morning, for brunch, Steven insisted on walking up to the local Boulangerie Bio to collect some delicious Pains au Chocolat, which, when he boarded with me, we used to share, almost every Saturday. The treats were accompanied by bowls of Latté and a platter of fresh fruits. YUM!
Steven departed before noon and I headed outside to shovel after last night’s snowfall. Next, I shall be squeezing in the weekly Bake and so now will leave you with the recipe for ….
Candied Ginger Shortbread
- ½ cup candied ginger, finely chopped
- ½ tsp. coarse sea salt
- ½ cup frozen butter
- 1¼ cups unbleached flour
- ¼ cup icing sugar
Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Grate the butter into the flour, using a box grater. Stir in the ginger then, gently bring the dough together with your hands. Line the bottom of an 8” cake pan with parchment and press the dough evenly into the pan. Lightly score into 8 even wedges and prick each piece in several places with a fork. Bake for 30 minutes (or until golden) in a preheated 325ºF oven. Carefully, score through the wedge lines with a small sharp knife and then cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then break into wedges and finish cooling on a wire rack. The recipe may be doubled and baked in 2- 8” pans. Freezes well.