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.

Leninade!

Fred Meyer has an old fashioned soda section.  Not all the sodas are old fashioned, but they are pretty unique.  While posting for the night I thought I would throw this up for people to look at.  Leninade, "It's worth standing in line for!" the bottle says.  While I am not sure of that I am sure that it is growing on me.  The strange taste of Sprite-like lemonande and what reminds me of cream soda was strange at first, but now I grab a bottle each time I make a trip to the local FM!  Next time I grab a bottle, I'll try and get a few better pictures of all the tag lines and the art on the bottle.  I really wish it said, "In Soviet Russia, thirst obeys you!"

LEGO

Hurray for Lego.  Atsuko and I were at the Bellevue Square Mall the other week and I picked up a Lego set to keep me busy one night.  This Lego Creator set has instruction for three different houses.  It had been a long time since I had put a set together, and it was real fun.  Though, it took almost two hours to complete the set.  I took a few pictures while the light in the living room was cooperating, and a picture of the finished product.  You can see them after the jump.

Capitol Hill & Coffee

The teachers I am currently tutoring expressed interest in wanting to visit Capitol Hill last Wednesday.  Being new to the area as well, I was happy to figure out which bus routes to hop on to get there.  Of course, I know absolutely nothing about where I am going, but they knew of a coffee house they wanted to visit.  One, I am told by Atsuko, that it is quite famous.  Espresso Vivace Roasteria, while not totally my thing, made a great cup of coffee even if you couldn't just grab a straight cup o' joe off the menu.  Besides that, you get lovely artwork to go in your drink.  We spent about forty-five minutes there talking, enjoying our drinks, and snacking on some nice pastries.  After that, we strolled down Broadway back towards the bus route to get home.  We found a great used CD/DVD shop too.  I was able to find a copy of New Order's Power, Corruption, and Lies on CD.  Since my cassette tape of that album had worn out long ago I snagged it without a thought.  I am happy with my purchase :)

A Trip to The Park

We decided to get out yesterday and take Darma to the park.  We first went to Gene Coulton Beach, then found out they have a no dog policy.  The signs were placed quite lousy and we assumed they meant no dogs without a leash, but they meant no dogs.  Someone informed us they had been told it was a $250 fine to have a dog there.  they were leaving with there puppy as well.  So, we went home and grabbed our parks map and used it to find Petrovitsky Park. 

Movies and more after the jump..