As always occurs at this time of year, the days of Advent seem to whoosh by so darn fast no matter how hard I try to stay focussed on this, my most favourite, season. It seems that every day more and more things need to be squeezed in.
Each morning has been devoted to the work of DayCamps. I am still anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new Program logo and so have not yet sent out the reminder to churches and communities to sign up for their 2017 Camps! So far we have only one slot pencilled in thus, logo or not, Monday morning, I’m hitting the “send” button on that notice!!
This past Monday evening we had a meeting of the Publicity working group, which is looking at strategies to upgrade our public profile. There is a new CTM Website in the works ready to go live early in the New Year, and plans are underway for visits to churches so promotional materials need to be assembled. Tuesday there were notes to type up and circulate to our Board of Directors.
Wednesday I published this month’s Wednesday Words guest post, a happy little article written by Melina. Watch for more posts from our Day Camp alumnae in the months ahead 😊 And do take time to check out yesterday’s “Family Friday” post, written by Anna and full of ideas around the theme of Nativity Scenes.
Over the latter part of the week some time was spent pulling together the final few bits and pieces of content for the Advent/Christmas Networks newsletter and all of that is now in the hands of our Editor. We also had a request from the Diocese of Saskatchewan for reminiscences from the Team who ministered there this past summer. The two female members were able to help out so that copy will be sent off early next week.
Monday I shall also need to send out the Day Camp Committee agenda since, due to the upcoming Holidays this month we will be meeting a week earlier than usual.
Now that the garden has finally been put to bed, afternoons have been spent with a wide variety of projects from my bi-weekly menu planning, to crafting a dozen sparkly stars for a clergy friend to use for the “Children’s moment” at her church. I also managed to sew a simple Christmas tunic for myself from a lovely piece of fabric in my stash and to cast–off what I do believe is the last of a bunch of hats I’ve knitted as Christmas gifts!
Wednesday evening I boarded the bus in the pouring rain on my way to the Special Vestry at church where a motion was passed to close our buildings. As Nick will be leaving December 31st there will only be a couple more Sunday Gatherings. Tomorrow will be the final celebration of Holy Communion together, a sobering thought.
It will be a busy morning for me as it is also my last turn to prepare and serve lunch. Yesterday I made a big pot of Winter Borscht and baked fresh bagels; everyone has always said they enjoyed my homemade bagels!
In the last week several friends have asked me to help them with Christmas catering (doesn’t this seem to happen every year??) so the next couple of weeks will most certainly include a LOT of extra cooking and baking! The Lynns (long time family friends from St. Matthew’s) hold a Christmas Cocktail Party every second year and I am always co-opted to make appetisers for it. Thursday afternoon Jeanne Marie met with me and I now have a rather daunting list to prepare. There are only 4 types of canapés to make however there need to be 7 or 8 dozen of each kind!
Then another friend has requested dinner for 12 so I’ve made up some menu suggestions for her to review and will soon be adding that work to my growing list. Since I shall be alone for Christmas it is rather nice to have an opportunity to prepare lots of special party foods as my Mum and I did that for so many years, cooking and baking for our annual Open House.
Last evening I had an email from a dear friend who is with the Canadian Diplomatic Corps posted to Nigeria, she is in Montreal this weekend and will be popping by very soon for a cup of tea. Before hurrying to put the kettle on all this talk of food certainly requires a recipe. The Winter Borscht made for church is a great recipe at this time of year. I’ll give quantities for 6-8 servings, not the giant pot just made!
Winter Borscht
- ½ lb. ground chicken
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cups diced potatoes
- ½ a head of shredded cabbage
- 3 beets, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
- 8 cups water
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cupped chopped fresh parsley
In a large soup pot, brown the chicken and onions together for 10 minutes, adding a little vegetable oil if there is not enough fat. Add all the other ingredients (except the parsley) and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 20-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are just tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley just before serving.