Whisper or Shout

December 9th, 2008 by Romelda

For about 5 or 6 years now, I can’t remember exactly how many, Heather and I have coordinated a volunteer depot for the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund, through Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto. 

The Santa Claus Fund delivers over 45,000 gift boxes to needy children from newborn to age 12, throughout the GTA each year. The boxes are delivered right to the family’s home in time for Christmas morning.

Our depot at MCC Toronto receives about 1600 boxes each holiday season, with the majority of those boxes being delivered to most of the Riverdale area, and about 500 going to an area near Don Mills and Overlea.

On Friday Dec. 5th we received our boxes from the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund warehouse headquarters and went to work. Each year we receive the list of recipients, and the boxes are routed using great mapping software (Streets & Trips), which took me about five days as I also had to learn the software for the first time this year. Once the routes are established, volunteer elves go to work sorting giant piles of boxes into their respective routes. This took 5-6 elves about 3-4 hours on Saturday. Thanks to all the sorting elves that helped. Without you this job of coordinating would be a huge task…you make us look good! Read the rest of this entry »

December 6th, 2008 by Romelda

This week we had our first official dinner guest (other than people who also live in the building) over since we have been back in our apartment after the summer explosion. This dinner was the first with friends who are outside the building. 

It was nice to just sit and talk about life, and not the explosion, and we got talking about the dessert I made, Poached Pears with a honeyed pomegranate ginger and cinnamon syrup, and about holiday foods, and baking. 

Well, we talked cookies, and shortbread and christmas cake and about how we needed a little tree to dress up our place to at least be a “little” christmassy! So, the talk of holiday baking got me to thinking about some of the holiday baking that our family is known for and the items I tend to be known for come the holidays. My mother became famous for always making Pecan Butter Balls (my Dad’s absolute favourite cookie I think), and when mom would bake like a fiend, like a baking marathon – usually when the spirit of the holidays really overtook her – she would make Santa’s Jelly Finger cookies. Now, she didn’t make them every year, because they are a little labour intensive, but when she did, people raved about how divine they were, and how they just were the perfect blend of melt in your mouth and nutty crunchy all in the same bite. Read the rest of this entry »