Christmas in June!

I am on a much needed and appreciated break visiting my Mom as well as my dear little sister!. Although my sister is in her forties, she will always be my little sister. They live a 4 hour drive away and I do not see them as often as I would like.

I have written before that my little sister was an Olympic rider. Her love of horses and dedication to her sport is evident in her home decor. Her Christmas decorating is all equestrian themed.  It is such a treat to Christmas shop for her as we have more access to these types of things in the city. My girls and I always hit the specialty shops as soon as the Christmas decorations hit the shelves, as the Equestrian themed items sell out in a couple of days. 

I have wanted to do an Equestrian Christmas post for a long time but did not have access to her pictures. I have spent a good part of this morning drooling over her "my pictures" files. I thought I would share a few with you. I am hoping that writing this post will spur me on (no pun intended) to finish my items for the Xmas Craft Fair I hope to participate in. Perhaps you will enjoy this little Equestrian Xmas interlude! LOL

The first few are closeups of the decorations on the tree. 

This little tree is in the sitting room. It is part of a set of two. A friend hand painted the scenes on the pots.

This is the light fixture in the dining area.

Biannual Blogathon Bash Wrap-up

The blogathon has wrapped up and I am pleased to say that I was able to complete everything on my list!
I learned  so much and had a lot of fun.

As many of you know, I do have some lingering problems from a concussion. I had some scary moments when I couldn't figure out a specific direction, and some triumphant moments when I realized I had finally figured it out!

I will participate again next time and hopefully learn even more. All in all, I spent about 8 hours on the bash...not bad considering I had company from out of town and was also in the midst of packing for a two week vacation.

My favourite challenge was learning  how to make a photo collage and insert it into my blog. http://americanmominengland.com/2012/06/20/how-to-make-a-photo-collage-easy-steps-blogathon2/

Off for some much needed rest!

How to Barbeque Sockeye Salmon

This is a test post for my newly aquired skills of "How to post a recipe" thanks to the Biannual Blogathon Bash. I am also incorporating some of their writing style idea such as using lists and titling the post with "How to...".  Not sure I like this style but will give it a try.

Without further adieu

Our Fathers Day celebrations were changed as DH was not feeling well that day. We postponed Fathers Day till Tuesday and  we all met up at the Domestic Diva's to feast on a medley of fresh Sockeye Salmon.

With any large group of people there is a variety of favourite recipies. My family is no different! Here are our faves:

1. My husband likes mayo with dill.
Take a fresh piece of Sockeye Salmon and slather with mayonaise. Fat free or Reduced fat is preferred (due to his heart issues).
Lay coated salmon on a large piece of tin foil.
Scissor fresh dill  over the top. Dried dill will do in a pinch!
Fold edges of tin foil together across the top edge (to make a pouch).
Crimp up the side edges to finish off the pouch.
Barbeque on medium heat for 10 min per inch of fish width.
5 minutes per side is usually about right.
Remove from heat and plate.
The salmon should still look moist on top as it will continue cooking while plated.
His  mayo/dill favourite is lying on tin foil in the top portion of the next photo.
Click on the link below to get a printable version of this recipe.
Hopefully I have created this link properly! Finger crossed!
printable recipe

2. The rest of us, grandchildren included, like cajun spice rub. We are not overly picky about the brand. We all seem to prefer Trader Joe's blends but we will happily chow down on any Cajun brand. Our scrumptious Cajun Rubbed Salmon is in lying on the cookie sheet in the bottom portion of the photo below. We usually use the same tin foil pouch method for this one as well, but it can be barbequed as is, on a well oiled grill

3. The wild card this time was a rub of brown sugar and then oranges sliced across the top.

We served this with barbequed green beans. The beans were spritzed with a mist of olive oil and sprinkled lightly with sea salt before being placed in their tin foil pouch! Two different salads and the meal was complete.

mmm  mmm Good!!!