It's a Little Brisk Out There...

Here in Michigan we have coasted along the early winter weeks wondering where winter was. (I, for one, wasn't complaining.) True, the skies were gray, there was plenty of drizzle, and it wasn't great weather for something like a picnic, but the temps were adequate (high for the month) and I didn't mind not having to battle snow or ice if headed out.

Then we got our share of the deep freeze.

The day I started writing this, it was three degrees, and soared to ten by mid-afternoon. And, while we didn't get the ten inches of snow predicted, we had enough for Rick to ski. (He was thrilled.)

Meanwhile, inside, my friend Kate came over to paint. I haven't painted since quickly doing a few Christmas cards in December (and I do mean quickly; I'm not terribly proud of them). 

I'm not terribly proud of this either, but it felt good to be in paint again. This is for Este Macleod's "coloricombo" challenges where we have four required colors (plus neutral b/w/gray) and a theme -- House. The two shades of blue, the brick red and the yellow of the boat were the colors (I made the sand with the yellow and pale blue). 

And, I started a new puzzle. I'm contemplating putting all the pieces back in the box. It didn't seem so hard -- until it was. But I shall persist!

I enjoy cooking in winter months and this salmon recipe over rice with broccoli was a good dish for a cold winter night. I'm putting the marinade recipe down at the bottom of this post. (I may have posted before but you might as well have it here!) It only takes 10 minutes to prep and about 20 in the oven so it's a fairly quick dinner.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mold Inspector came and yes, there is mold in the basement. I'll get the lab tests back this week and we'll see how much (or possibly if) it needs remediation yet. So, all the Christmas is still up. I am kicking myself for having buried the Christmas boxes at the bottom of everything I took downstairs! Much as I hate working in the basement, I'm eager to get it put back together.

And then there is this one.

 

She is definitely my happy, cozy girl! 

In the category of "lovely finds," I was cleaning out the bookcase (sort of) and this holiday journal fell out, begging me to look inside. Beginning back in 1978 when my cousins came from Cleveland to Lansing to celebrate the holidays I forced (yes, forced) everyone to write in the journal. 

 

They could record wishes for the new year, thanks for gifts, memorable moments, whatever they wanted. This continued until we stopped doing family holidays about ten years later.

It was such fun to pour over memories, badly written poems, funny drawings, many of which were written by my dad, aunt and two uncles who have since passed. It is a treasure.

 

 I leave you with another look at the frost on my front door. 

It may be cold but at least it's pretty!

 

Keep cozy out there!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Salmon Marinade

Prep takes 5-7 minutes; baking about 20.

Combine: 1/4 c. brown sugar / 1/4 c. soy sauce / juice of 1/2-1 lemon / about 1/8 c. olive oil (I eyeball it and probably use less) / a few Tablespoons of water (again, I eyeball it) / 2 minced or grated garlic cloves / about 1 inch or  more of grated stem ginger.

Pour over salmon (a pound or a little more) and marinate several hours (but if you don't have that much time, no worries. Try to do at least a half hour.)

Heat oven to 400. Spoon marinade over salmon again before baking about 20 minutes (depends on thickness of fish). 

Serve over rice with marinade spooned over the top. (It's really nice with broccoli.)