Monday, February 4, 2013

Beef and Barley soup was on the menu at BOND today. I looked at several recipes, picked a few things from each and headed off to do my shopping. I was a bit worried about getting the barley cooked in the limited time I had, but it all worked out well. I planned on soup for 15, our usual number, and didn’t even think to recheck that number with the coordinators. They have had six new intakes over the past week, and when I heard that I was concerned I might not have enough.

As the ladies arrived we realized we were going to have a good turn-out so the coordinators and I didn’t serve ourselves any soup until the late-comers had arrived and everyone was served. Then, just as we served ourselves, the ladies started asking for seconds. We managed small bowls of seconds for those who wanted it, but there wasn’t anything left in the pot by the time the guest speaker arrived. I even had requests for my recipe from both the coordinators and a couple of the Mums.

There were a lot of dishes to do. In recognition of the Food Safe guidelines, the ladies, if they have seconds, are requested to pick up clean plates. And because we had soup as well as the usual veggies, fruit, buns and crackers, everyone had at least one plate and one bowl. For those who had seconds there were two sets of each. The dishwasher was full and I had to wash three sinks full by hand.

After reviving myself at home with a cup of coffee I headed upstairs to get my gear organized for tomorrow. I’ll work on some Valentine projects and some cards. I’d love to be able to continue with my quilting, but Ruby doesn’t travel!