However, winter is a quarter of the year and I don't want to spend 25% of my year crabby. I have done an excellent job of achieving 100% crabbiness for the 25% of the year known as winter in the past; and now that I am nearly a full 50% of a century years old, it's time for a change.
Therefore one of my goals for January is to find the joy in January. Today is day 5 of January and here is what I've come up with thus far...
When I am out for a run and it snows the snow makes everything quiet and muffled like I am alone in the midst of everything around me. It also cushions my fall when I slip on the ice I couldn't see.
Lucky for me so far, so far this year it's been mild and the snow isn't sticking around for more than a day on the sidewalks. That fact helps me enjoy winter. The gloomy grey sky is like a blanket blocking out the arctic air keeping our temps above freezing during the day.
The smell of a wood-burning fireplace is an unmitigated plus in my book, so that is nice and also during the winter it is much easier to stay home and not feel compelled to go out and do stuff. Winter is also when I regret not buying a car with a remote start. As you can see my quest to find the joy in January is a work in progress.
One thing I do know is that winter is a good time to try new soup recipes and a bowl of flavorful soup is a joy. This week another soup from Real Simple Magazine.
I made a few changes. I used 1 lb of ground pork and 1/2 a lb of ground turkey. I didn't have mirin so I used pinot grigio and I used 3 tablespoons of grated ginger. 1 tablespoon in the meatballs, 1 tablespoon sauteed in the pot and then 1 tablespoon more when the soup was done. I also added a splash of oil when the soup was done because it needed a little something more and toasted sesame seed oil was the right little something. Lastly, my grocery store didn't have baby bok choy so I cut up 1.5 full-size bok choy like you would cut celery. (see below)
