As I start today’s Post, rain is lashing against the windows and the vast expanse of ice continues to make the thought of the next expedition with Wil a very scary prospect! God has been so good to me over the past treacherous week, sending angels to keep me from falling, although there have been a number of close calls!
The comforting aroma of cabbage rolls is now beginning to pervade the house as large slow-cooker pot has just been filled in anticipation of tonight’s Epiphany Team Gathering.
It looks as if almost 20 people will be in attendance, the buffet table is all set up, boot trays waiting in the hall and a giant pot of Hot Lemonade waiting to be warmed on the stove. Team Members are made of strong stuff and a little gross weather does not deter them, so far no one has phoned to ask if the event is cancelled.
Once again, this has been a very full week. Monday morning began with the stripping of the Christmas Tree.Removing it from the house was quite an adventure; manoeuvring down the outside stairs and along the ice covered path, as that day we were also experiencing 90km winds. After packing all the ornaments and sweeping up a pile of pine needles my attention was turned to other aspects of “Changing the Decorations”.
Tuesday the house was cleared of all the other Christmas paraphernalia-china, linens, bedding,wreathes etc. and given a good clean so that Wednesday there was a blank slate on which to arrange everything for Epiphany & Winter.
Each morning I was also working at the computer and the week brought 2 more Day Camp Host Churches plus a flurry of correspondence around the Program Manual Chapters as Arnee has made a short trip back to Montreal, before returning to the UK at the end of the month and plans to begin her mammoth task of “Manual Typing”.
Wednesday afternoon Pippa dropped by with Seren so I could give her the birthday gift I had made. She seemed to really like the Gnomey Hat and Gnome Maiden.Then Thursday morning Jill came over with Emma and Owen, to return the CTM projector she had borrowed. We enjoyed some coffee while Wil tried to steal the children’s cookies, with the usual chaos ensuing! And yesterday Barb popped in to check out the Seasonal decor.
A bit of space carved was out of the week in which to finish the hoodie for Michelle’s
baby, and to make a gnome for her 3 year old little boy. I’m also planning to make some sweet hair clips for the two older girls and a garland of little fabric flags as a “house” gift. All of which I very much hope Arnee will be good enough to take back to the UK.With the hoodie finished more knitting has been cast-on, the next project being a pair of felted Norwegian-style mittens for myself before launching back into baby gifts since there are two or three more little ones on the way!
Tomorrow I hope to write a post on tonight’s Gathering and perhaps a bit about the Epiphany Intergenerational Service at Church, we’ll see how that goes!
Yesterday afternoon I did some bread baking and put together a Salmon Strata for my dinner. It makes tasty comfort food for cold January nights.
Smoked Salmon Strata
- 1 tin organic smoked salmon
- 5 eggs
- 150 grams Feta Cheese
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
- 1 500-gram loaf focaccia or a baguette
- 2 Tbsp. melted butter
Lightly grease a medium soufflé dish and set aside. Tear the bread into rough chunks, flake the
salmon and crumble the feta. In a medium bowl beat together the eggs and milk.Make two or three repeated layers of bread, salmon, feta and rosemary in the soufflé dish, beginning with bread and ending with cheese and rosemary. Pour the egg and milk mixture over everything and drizzle with the melted butter. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight. Remove from fridge3 0minutes before baking. Bake in a 350F. oven for 45-50minutes. Serves 4
