Hello Blog Friends!
We are now entering the final week of the Easter Season as, this year, Ascension Day falls on Thursday, May 14th, which means it will be time to pack up all the baskets and bowls of Pysanky! I will be so sorry to see them go.
Meanwhile, it has been the usual full week, wrestling with the vagaries of the new laptop, while attempting to deal with all daily business in the small world of Crosstalk Ministries. The week started off with some tasks for Junior Youth Camp. The Directors had, recently, signed the contract for their weeklong campsite rental ,in August, so it was necessary to send off an E-Transfer in payment of the deposit. The camp also requires CTM to provide an insurance certificate for their week, on the site, so that also meant contacting our Broker to ask for the document.
With that work out of the way, it was time to do a final testing of the Day Camps Resource Package, to be shared with the host communities who have already applied for a Day Camp. Jillian had offered to check over the contents of the package and I had shared the link with her last weekend, but knew she and her children were staying with her parents for a couple of nights so she was not able to do the testing until Monday evening. Jillian caught 2 items that required some changes so ,Tuesday, I made the tweaks and was finally able to share the link. Yay!!
As our monthly committee meeting was on Wednesday evening, that morning, I took the opportunity to (politely!!) badger three host communities from whom we had not yet received application forms. Two of the Coordinators responded that they are, indeed, planning to host a camp (thank goodness!) and one filled in the form straight away. It was good to be able to share this positive news with the committee.
At our meeting we also discussed reaching out to a few other churches, in the hopes of finding one or two more communities who might be interested. We also did some long-range calendar planning, even ,briefly touching on the program will be looking at for 2027 (EEK!!) .We had hoped to welcome a new committee member,a former priest of this Diocese, who has ministered in both the USA and Europe and has, recently, returned to Montreal. Many years ago, the church he Pastored, hosted Day Camps, and his younger sister was also on the Travelling Teams. In the intervening years he also sent us several Team recruits from both the States and Europe and has always maintained an interest in the Ministry. Unfortunately, he was not able to make it, we really hope to have him join us in June.
Thursday, I followed up on a number of points flagged at the meeting, and was pleased to receive the minutes, from Sharon. Having these notes helps myself and Mae Anne to compose the monthly prayer concerns and I’m hoping they will be sent out in a timely fashion. One long-range project we have also begun, is to compile an E-book of recipes from the Day Camp Cook-Alongs, as we have now completed 12 “Seasons”. One of our committee members, along with his wife, is interested in looking at what is involved, so I also spent some time, both Thursday and yesterday, collecting up a few of the recipes and other documents to share with them.
This is the second post typed directly into the WordPress platform, as I still am without Office software. Late yesterday, I had hoped for a visit from the person who so generously gave me this laptop but they were unable to come so it looks as if setting up Office may need to wait to be sorted out after next Tuesday’s Diocesan Council meeting.
There hasn’t been much time for handwork, although I am pleased to have completed the body of the cardigan I’m knitting and, last evening, started one of the sleeves. I have also basted the changes on the prom dress I’m altering for Seren and hope she and her Mum will come later today for another “try-on”.
Although it is still unseasonably cold, the weather is more springlike so, nearly every morning, I have been whiffling around the garden. The City has chosen to randomly start planting trees on front lawns (the border of one’s house property does belong to the municipality!) and, on Monday, a Sweet Gum Tree was planted in what I consider a rather unsuitable location near the corner of my lawn ,ARGH!! This morning I headed out ,early, to mow the grass for the first time this season as it was getting pretty shaggy and it is not advisable, when using a push mower, to let it get too long or it becomes really hard to cut. After a 2-hour workout , it is now time to tackle the Bake, but first, here is your weekly recipe!
One night this week, I made this Japanese/Italian fusion dish for my dinner. It was quick to put together and super yummy!
Yoshoku
- 8oz. spaghetti or linguine
- ¼cup ketchup
- 1Tbsp Tamari
- 2tsps Worcestershire sauce
- 1tsp raw cane sugar
- Olive oil
- 2garlic cloves, sliced
- ½ onion, sliced
- 1red pepper, sliced
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 eggs
- chopped cilantro
Cook the pasta until al dente, drain and set aside. Meanwhile combine the ketchup, Tamari, sugar and Worcester sauce and set aside. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic and red pepper and fry over high heat for 1minute. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook until crisp/tender, 3-5 minutes. Add the pasta and and sauce, stir ,over medium heat until the sauce darkens, cover and remove from the heat. In a small skillet, heat 1Tbsp of oil and fry the eggs until the whites are set. Divide the pasta between 2 serving bowls and top each with 2 eggs. Sprinkle with black pepper and chopped cilantro, Serves 2.