Lent and Bread and Syrup

So here we are, in my favoritest season of all time. I know I’ve been fussing for months and then all week but that’s just because February was unreasonably long this year and lent is late. This, hopefully will provide great happiness later when Easter itself isn’t bitterly cold. I guess I should start praying about that now.

Still, what a long week. The pancake supper was a riotous success. The sheer number of shouting children beating each other with balloons and screeching was extraordinary. The little girls and I escaped into the atrium for some quiet. I’d forgotten to clear up the flour spilled everywhere from The Kingdom of God and the Leaven, and there was water still in the font, and lots of sticky wine in the cruets. The girls posed for a picture. They were crusty with dried syrup and whipped cream or something.

Most of Wednesday afternoon was spent cycling every one through the shower because of endless amounts of syrup. Very early in the morning, dawn or something ghastly, I had preached my sermon. Don’t usually go to the morning service, but can’t skip when it’s me providing the preaching. Wandered back in a fog and took a nap and then cleaned the kitchen all afternoon. No school for Ash Wednesday. Too much to cope with.

Somehow, every year, I think because thinking and stuff is a point too far, I end up doing some huge home improvement project, like painting a bedroom, or cooking for the whole day. This year I cleaned out all the kitchen cupboards and made bread and muffins and soup. Recently discovered these cool little muffin papers. Always avoid making muffins because of having to butter the tins. But, and I dont’t know if you knew this, you can buy fancy clever little papers the shape of your tin and then you don’t have to butter it. So helpful.

I commend so much the making of oatmeal the week or day of making bread. No one wants to eat oatmeal anyway and so there is always nearly all of it left over and it makes the most glorious fluffy delicious bread. Just use cooked oatmeal instead of water or milk and there you are. And because its lent, I added a couple eggs (cough).

So, a season of fasting and repentence. It will go by too quickly, I’m petty sure. I’m so grateful we don’t have any kind of special program at Good Shepherd. Nearly everyone is in ongoing bible study and Christian Ed and we don’t want to over burden people. So theoretically, life should be completely normal and unbusy until Palm Sunday (cough). There must be something caught in my throat. I’d better move along to the next thing.
Have a great day!