Rhubarb Cake Recipe

One of the volunteers at the garden Carolyn gave me this recipe. It is so good!  The sourness from the rhubarb and the sweetness from the frosting is just perfect balance. You gotta put the frosting... it's what make it so good!

ガーデンボランティアの一人のキャロリンがくれたルバーブケーキのレシピ。お勧め！ルバーブのすっぱさと、フロスティングの甘さのバランスがぴったり。フロスティングを省かないでね！

Leavenworth, WA

Last weekend, Atsuko and I made a day trip out to Leavenworth, WA.  It is a small little town on the other side of the Cascades about 120 miles drive from Renton.  The two and a half hours it took to reach it, driving along US 2 through the mountains, was a gorgeous site but definitely out-done by the town itself.  In the 1960s, the economy of the town had taken a hit so a project was started to revitalize the town.  The end result was a neat Bavarian stylized town, geared towards tourism with some great restaurants, shops, hotels, and wineries.  Our original plan was to eat lunch here then go to a wine tasting event, but we ended up just walking around for an hour or so after lunch.

It's Hot Again

It is once again in the 90s here.  The days start of great, but the heat comes in heavy by noon or so.  At least it isn't 100% humidity like it is in Arkansas.  I couldn't bear it if it was.  Honestly, I think next summer a small portable AC unit would be nice to have just for the days when it gets 85F or hotter.  We have another 3 or so days like this then it will be nice again by next weekend.  The question is will that soon enough?

Rainbow Bridge

My friend Amelia send this poem to me. I post this for my family in Tokyo, who had to say good bye to Lappu.

友人のアメリアが送ってくれた詩です。東京にいる家族のために載せます。

Evening in the garden

Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, where I work, hosted a party called "Evening in the garden" last night.  The party was for the members of Rhododendron Species Foundation.  Almost 100 people showed up including the members, guests, and the staff. I have been involved as a planning committee and planned this event. With a lot of help of volunteers, we successfully managed the party. I was going back and forth between the work in the garden and the preparation of the party, so it was a extremely busy week for me! I even mowed the meadow where we hosted the party and it was a hard work!

Already August

It's almost a month since we got Darma.  It feels like she has been here for more than a month though. She is very good with people, but not with the dogs. We took her to the off-leash dog park, but she started fighting. It might have been too overwhelming for her.