There isn’t really a lot I can do at the moment. Still too early to plant out the seedlings I’ve started, I’ve watered and weeded until this Saturday and I’m out of room to start too much more inside. I am planning on starting one more batch of okra because the seedlings I have are looking iffy. If they come back, then I’ll just have more to share at the plant swap next month. I did start a few more tomatoes last night using my new “greenhouse” method of planting in iced mocha cups. I’ll try to remember to post a picture of this next time.

I’m giving the lemon tree a little break from my ministrations. I’m sure it appreciates having a lot less scales each time I work on it, but using so much rubbing alcohol on such a young tree doesn’t seem right. I suppose I can just use water, but I was under the impression that the alcohol kills off a lot of the honeydew residue easier than just water.

Also, while admiring some sugar snap pea seedlings, I saw a green “stick” standing about 5 inches out of the soil. Almost looks like asparagus, but I thought my asparagus all disappeared the year before last. Besides, this is in a totally different bed than they were planted in. Did I transfer it when working the soil in both beds and trying to even them out? I’m tempted to let it do it’s thing for a bit to see what happens with it.

I’ve been debating whether or not to start a garden blog because it would be yet another thing to keep up with. However, every year the garden bug gets me more and more, so this may just be an appropriate way to feed the urge. Since this is my first garden blog post, it’ll most likely be way too much information.

It’s still too cold most days to do much gardening-wise other than fuss over what seems to be coming up, leafing out or struggling too survive. We did feel that it was warm enough to put the gargoyles out. They never made it out last year due to the mess that the geothermal install made. Last year was primarily cleaning up and installing a new paver walkway.

I have high hopes this year for the gardens. I may finally be able to dedicate some solid effort into the front yard, giving it a good start at becoming the cottage garden I’ve been wanting. It looks like I’ll have to be dividing a lot of my lilies for next season. I want to spread the seeds from my hellebore when they are ripe. I’m trying my hand at propagating to finally start an honest effort to fill in the backyard’s brick bed edging. If I didn’t think it would take away from the dogs’ lawn, I’d consider ripping out the foot-high edging altogether.

I’m trying some new things in the veggie garden, slowly letting go of my issues about growing crops that only one of us likes. It feels like I grow the same things every year and I’d like to try different veggies to keep the beds interesting. This year, I’m trying okra, romanesco broccoli and cabbage. I tried growing okra last year by putting seeds directly into the bed. They never made a showing. I’ve tried broccoli raabe, but not the romanesco broccoli that looks like a fractal pattern. Cabbage was tried once because a half-head that was left in the crisper too long started sprouting 4 individual heads. I planted that in the garden but it was Penelope Envelope’s first year gardening and she ate them when they got to be the size of lemons. Now that she’s older, and there’s a simple wire fence around the veggies, I’m giving it another go.

I’m also trying dahlias again. My first attempt was because I wanted to have a plant for each member of our families in our garden. Dahlias are for my sister whose original name was supposed to be Adalia. However the priest in the Philippines would not baptize her because she had the name of a flower (or something along those lines from what I’ve been told). I tried them my first year gardening in this house and I got one beautiful bloom. I had it in a less-than-ideal location and didn’t know I had to dig up dahlias each fall, so the tubers rotted. Now that I know better, I’m trying two varieties and keeping them in pots in ideal locations. That way I know I’m digging up dahlias and not any of my lilies.

Tonight we went back for our second dinner at Hiroba Sushi. Even after our first time there, we knew that it already replaced Sushi Pier 2 as our favorite.

The first time we went, our party of three filled the remaining empty seats at the bar, but it felt like we got our chef’s undivided attention. Tae, our chef, chatted with us and recommended rolls for us to try. Tonight, being a Sunday, the restaurant was not busy but we got the same undivided attention from Tae.

What sets Hiroba apart from other all-you-can-eat restaurants in Reno is evident throughout your entire meal. First of all, the chefs have an artistic elegance about themselves. Dressed in a traditional Japanese ensemble, their movements seem precise and mastered. Not harried and rushed like other places in town. Second of all, the presentation of the food is beautiful and, well, there. Rolls like the Sunflower and Cope *could* be served in a normal row like most other maki rolls, or they can be served with a presentation that’s almost too pretty to eat.

Speaking of the Sunflower roll, I really do like the sushi rolls I’ve had that contain banana; the Sunflower at Hiroba and the Geisha at Sushi 7. Tae said most people shy away from the roll because it contains banana. When I first ordered it, he asked, “You know this has banana, right?” But I’ve found that it really goes well with the right combination of fish.

Other reasons Hiroba stands out:
– Appetizers are included in the all-you-can-eat price. TRY TRY TRY the Yakiton. The description says, “cream cheese wanton with seafood.” You’re thinking crab rangoon, right? Oh no my friend. Oh no. This is much better.

– There are no stars on the list of rolls that mean “for dinner only.” Granted, I haven’t been there for lunch so I don’t know if a different menu is put out for the lunch crowd or what, however the Spider roll is also unstarred and that is usually an á la carte-only item at other restaurants.

– Freshness counts. There’s just something fresher about the food at Hiroba. A big vat of spicy tuna is not premade to use throughout the day; on both visits, the rice cookers were changed while we were there and the cucumber salad you get when you first sit down is made when you sit down.

– Pickled ginger. I hate pickled ginger. I never eat the stuff. Palate cleanser my ass. It tastes and smells like Lemon Pledge. Ralph took a bite of his ginger and said that I had to try it because there was no hint of Lemon Pledge to it at all. He was right. It had an almost fruity-sweet taste to it before the ginger kicked in. Halfway through my meal, I even took another bite. That’s more pickled ginger than I’ve eaten in at least 5 years (ask Ralph. we’ve been together that long and he’s never seen me eat it).

– The A.Y.C.E. card. Hiroba is wise to acknowledge that many people like a great deal. That’s why they’ve got their A.Y.C.E. (all-you-can-eat) card. Eat 10 all-you-can-eat meals, get your 11th for half off.

– Free Sake on Fridays & Saturdays. At least for now. Mind you, you’ll be dealing with the crowds those nights, but you’d be dealing with those crowds at other places that weren’t serving free sake anyway.

– Unique rolls. Yes, there are a handful of popular rolls (Godzilla, California, etc.) but the rest of what they offer is unique, blending great flavors and textures. You are reminded that sushi is also considered an art and not a “how many fish can I cram into this maki roll” contest (as Ralphie describes it).

– That damn tree. There is a black silhouette of a tree on the largest wall of Hiroba. I’m not saying it’s the best tree silhouette I’ve ever seen or that it’s the first mural to ever grace a Reno sushi bar wall (it’s not). But there is just something about it that constantly draws your eyes to it…my eyes at least.

Hiroba Sushi is worth the few extra dollars and trekking further than the 3 blocks to Sushi Pier 2 from our house. It not only satisfies your sushi craving, but makes going out for sushi exciting again.

So what do you do when you are finally facing the lead singer of one of your favorite bands, after making three attempts at building enough courage to walk right up to him? Well, my friends, if you are me, you let the adrenaline building up in you tell him that you don’t like one of his albums…

m: Chris? Could you please sign my cd covers?
Chris: Sure. *shuffles through the cd covers* Wow. You have all of them.
m: Well you’re one of my favorite bands.
Chris: Really? :)
m: *diarrhea of the mouth* I don’t have Stay What You Are with me because I’m really bad about putting cds back in their cases and I couldn’t find it in time to make the show. Do you have it here for sale? I’d be really happy to buy it again. It was the first album of yours I bought.
Chris: Was it? :)
m: *diarrhea of the mouth continues* Yes and I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but it did help me through a really hard time in my life and I just wanted to say “thank you” for your music.
Chris: Thank you for coming to the show. :)
m: *diarrhea bonanza continues* I try to make all your shows. The first one I went to was when Ash opened for you.
Chris: Wow! Yeah. That was a great show. :) So is there a song in particular you want to hear tonight? :)
m: Freakish, Third Engine, Jessie My Whetstone…
Chris: :)
m: *diarrhea floodgates have opened* Anything, really. I just, well, of all your albums I just couldn’t get into Can’t Slow Down as much as the others…
Chris: :|
m: so, um, anything really. I just want to be able to sing along with at least one song.
Chris: :| Thanks for coming to the show.

Aaaaannnd then I was dismissed. I feel dumb. I blame it on the adrenaline it took to give me the courage to walk up to a stranger whose music I admire so much. The show, in fact, was incredible. The whole bar/club/lounge sang along with Chris on every song. He did sing Freakish and Jessie My Whetstone, but I’m sure not because of me. Several people in the crowd were shouting for them to be sung. As far as Third Engine, I’m thinking it’s one of the songs that he needs the rest of the band for. He had to apologetically not play a few requests because he said that he needed the band for those songs.

Afterward, I decided to make him suffer my presence again. I went up to tell him the show was incredible (hahhahaa looking back, he seemed very wary of me when I went up to him again). Then I told him that his music always seems to cleanse my blood, which it does and that’s how I’ve described the band’s music to people over the years. I think that was enough of a truce for him because he said, “Awww” and gave me a hug. I thanked him again for the great show and wished him safe journey on his tour.

I feel bad that I basically told him,”I’d love to hear you play anything except any song from Can’t Slow Down, because that album sucked bung hole.” I honestly didn’t mean for it to come out that way. I love his music and it’s a good album. I just say stupid things. That is my way.

Hi all,

I live at 440 W. Arroyo, right off of Plumas. It’s a one-way street and I’m in the wrong direction from Plumas. So here are a few ways to get to my house:

From 395, exit on Plumb and go west. Make a right from Plumb Lane onto Plumas. The first light is Mt. Rose, where you will make a left. Your first right is Humboldt, right after Westside Chiropractic (Westsiiiiiide!). If you pass the 7-11 on your left, you missed Humboldt. After your right on Humboldt, you’ll turn right at the second stop sign, which is Arroyo. My house is the brick one right after the alley and has a brown picket fence. If you hit Plumas, you went too far.

From 80, exit on Keystone and follow it south to California Ave. On California, turn right onto Arlington. You’ll pass a school on your left and then a church. Right after the church is Arroyo. It is hard to see if you’re not looking for it, but it dead ends onto Arlington so there is no right turn, if that helps. Follow it down 3 or 4 “blocks”. After Humboldt, slow down because you are almost there. My house is the brick one right after the alley, brown picket fence. If you hit Plumas, you went too far.

If you are unlucky enough to be leaving from work, I take Sierra all the way down (it will turn into Plumas). Right after the soccer field, you’ll make a right onto Monroe. Take the first left (after the alley) which is Humboldt. Left again at the stop sign, which is Arroyo and my house is the brick house right after the alley with the brown picket fence. If you hit Plumas, you went too far.

Lost? Call my cell at 813-4462. Fair warning, my dogs are barkers, but they don’t bite at all and will settle down in a few minutes until the next person arrives.

Yeah, what grows, will grow this year.t I’m not all too happy with my garden at the moment so I don’t think I’ll be putting as much into it as I normally do. Plus, Penelope Envelope keeps eating all my lemon cucumber seedlings. This just won’t be my year for gardening.

To take its place, Ralph and I have been searching for art (our anniversary tradition). Of course the stuff I really want is way out of our price range or hard to find. We have been finding possible treasures, but we’re still deciding on what we like and want to get.

My niece wants to come visit for a week. I think I’d like her to, but I’m nervous about trying to keep a 16-year-old entertained. I’m especially worried about how bored she might be while we’re at work. I know of things I’d like to do when I get home or on weekends (take her to the Chocolate Bar, an all-ages concert, museum, maybe Tahoe, etc.) but I have no clue what things I can do/suggest while she’s home by herself. I dunno, I guess our floors need refinishing…

For some reason, I think I may be in trouble gardening-wise this year. In an effort to make our front patio sitting area more level, we moved some of the dirt into my raised veggie beds (because I have a really bad habit of taking from it to pot stuff). Since it was kind of an impromptu thing, I didn’t clear out all of the rocks that I should have and now I’m worried I just introduced weeds into my beds.

Two of my artichoke plants are doing well, as well as the horseradish. All of the bulbs I’ve planted seem to be doing well as long as we don’t get more strong winds that blow the petals off of the flowers. Totally ruined my plan of having one planter of just black and white tulips.

Composting isn’t going as smoothly as it did last year. Too much nitrogen no matter how much carbon material I add. My laziness in the fall has caused what I think are 20 zucchini seedlings to grow. Instead of putting all of the spent zucchini into the compost, I just turned some over into the soil…thinking it would compost straight into the dirt. If I’m lucky, there will also be some crook neck and patty pans in there, because 20 zucchini plants is way too many. I could just pull them all up and plant the seedlings I’ve started, but I kind of like that these grew on their own and that I have back-ups in case we get another frost before the end of May.

Had to put fencing around the veggie beds because Penelope Envelope decided she likes nibbling on cabbage. I don’t like the way it looks (fencing around my veggie beds) but it should prevent her from boxing with any of my eggplants like she did last year. Besides, we got the green plastic net fencing so I’m hoping that the sugar snap peas will use that for support

–How cute. My niece just called me to ask how to cook chicken adobo. She’s so darling. I love her. Wish I could see her more–

instead of the tomato cages I normally use.

My next big garden project will be what to do about my cheapy greenhouse. I joke around that it’s not spring yet until it falls over in a windstorm, causing damage to any seedlings I’ve started or at least causing them to fall out of their labeled containers. That’s the worst part, having unknown seeds to plant because I like to arrange the plants in my beds according to what grows well together.

I’ll keep you posted. :\

My last few birthday dinners have been at 4th Street Bistro because they have foie gras as an appetizer and I looooove foie gras. Ralph got me some to try cooking with and when I go to 4th Street, I can find something I want to try, but it’s usually just the one thing on the menu that caught my eye. However, our beloved Sezmu usually has numerous things I want to try, and sometimes a selection of goodies is just what you want for your birthday, so that’s where we went.

I was prepared to pick á la carte, because I had been perusing the menu throughout the day. However, after hearing the Chef’s Choice, both Ralph and I had to order it.

My first cocktail was the Alley Cat Love Potion and Ralph got the Pomegranate Manhattan. The Alley Cat consisted of a variety of citrus juices, ginger beer and champagne. Delicious and refreshing without being too tart. Ralph thought his drink had too many flavors that he liked, but wasn’t sure if he liked *that* many all at once. I thought it tasted very spa-esque. Not only like what you would drink at a spa, but it also smelled like a lot of the essential oils you’d pick from for your massage.

The taster was cauliflower vichyssoise with a dollop of lobster oil. This was light, not too fishy and would be ideal for a hot summer day as a full serving. For a cold February night, a taste was just right.

The first dish of the Chef’s choice was sushi-grade raw hamachi (my favorite sushi fish) wrapped around avocado and sprinkled with hearts of palm and, I think, young sage leaves. I could have eaten a full meal of just this. The hamachi melted in your mouth like butter and the nutty tastes of ripe avocado and crunchy hearts of palm balanced the texture without over-powering the fish.

Our second dish was a dairyless razor clam chowder with prosciutto hash. To give the soup the texture of chowder, a bean purée was used. Ralph said a bigger bowl of this with some bread would have been a complete meal in and of itself. The presentation of the prosciutto and some of the clam in the shell was nice and actually useful (I had to use the shell to push the last of the bite-sized pieces onto my spoon).

By now I’m starting my second cocktail, the J D’anjou. It consisted of pear liquor, vodka, pear purée and pinot gris sweetness (or something), garnished with a thin slice of pear. Ralph ordered the tried-and-true Thai Heat. No chili garnish this time, but it was definitely hotter and just as tasty.

Main course was tempura snowpeas, “forbidden” black rice and snow grouper with some sort of savory sauce on the side. This dish was very good, but larger servings of the previous dishes would have been just fine. That’s not to say that I was unhappy or disappointed with this in any way, it just…would have been nicer to have more of the other stuff :)

For dessert, I went with the Medjool Date cake, with brandy foam and cardamom ice cream and a glass of sauternes. This was absolutely delicious and the ONLY reason I hesitated in diving in right away is that the presentation was very phallic. Yes, I’m immature, I don’t deny this, but I’m not exaggerating. There was a long line of brandy foam (ribbed with date slice…penis thorns) and the smallish cylinder date cake was at one end…nestled by two little scoops of cardamom ice cream balls. The jokes are just too easy, which is why I made sure to rate it before describing it. Ralph, of course, had his cheese plate with a mediera. Seemed a little light on the serving sizes compared to previous times, but Ralph was still very happy with it.

I think I just need to not go to Sezmu again. I am so stuffed, it’s almost painful. But the food is so good! Tonight it was just the two of us. We got to sit next to the window, which was nice. I was sitting right on top of the heater, which was really nice considering how easily I get cold.

My first drink was the Harvestini. I’m not too big on the martini scene, but I’m a big sucker for “Fall” flavors. This drink consisted of pumpkin, apple and cinnamon flavors. Unfortunately the nightly drink specials aren’t on the web site (even though the menu changes very regularly, if not every day). Ralph had the Thai Chili-tini which is unusual but delicious. I couldn’t drink a full one on my own though. There are flavors you find in many Thai dishes, including lemon grass, I think, as well as a little chili that gives a decent bite to it. Ralph had two and really enjoyed them.

Warm bread was served, as well as a courtesy sample of a spring roll taste in lime-basil sauce. This tasted probably better than a full spring roll you’d get at a vietnamese restaurant. I was sad that it was just a bite.

Ralph ordered the Chef’s Choice 4-course meal. His first course was a pear and crab neapolitan with a vinaigrette-like sauce, served cold. This was refreshing and light. The second course was monkfish cheek (a.k.a. “poor man’s lobster” according to the server, Lissa. I’d choose this over lobster any day.) with a light sauce (I think it was a pink pepper jus) and truffles. Third and main course was bison short rib with Hawaiian blue prawns. He was looking forward to his dessert, the cheese plate that he had before; three types of cheese, honeycomb and lavosh. He also ordered the recommended madeira port to go with it.

I decided to pick my courses, starting with the wild mushroom soup with a “beggar’s purse” consisting of carmelized onions, spinach and mushrooms. The soup was creamy and earthy. I put the beggar’s purse into the soup and the combination of textures worked very well together (forgive me as I try not to sound like a judge from Iron Chef. A loamy forest did NOT frolic in my mouth when I tasted this).

Second course was fuyu persimmons salad, red oak leaf and lambchopper cheese with tangerine vinaigrette. While very delicious, I think the description makes it sound more decadent than it was. The lambchopper cheese was interesting though. Reminded me of a swiss-mozzarella. Not too pungent of a Swiss, but not nearly as mild as a mozzarella. Around this time, I finished my Harvestini, so I decided to try the Green Fairy Mojo which is an absinthe drink with a lot of lime. You get the whole shebang, burning sugar cube and all. However, I couldn’t stomach more than a few sips as the over-whelming black licorice taste threatened to make me queazy. Ralph tried a second sip and said, “Oooh, it smells like a Good & Plenty.” :(

So with my third course, I had the server’s favorite drink, the Shiso-tini. This was a citrus-y drink; tangerine and grapefruit flavors were most prominant. My main dish was Atkins Ranch lamb shank, saffron couscous pearls, eggplant and pomegranate. The lamb was unbelievably delicious and I didn’t really need the knife they gave me as the meat was so tender. The eggplant was interesting because the center was scooped out, puréed and then put back in. Almost like baba ganoush, but mild and delicate with seasoning. I’m convinced now that the only couscous I ever need to buy will be the pearls. It’s just a nicer texture.

My dessert was the chocolate brioche bread pudding, accompanied by bananas with Banana Foster’s caramel sauce on it, a wedge of chocolate-covered toffee and a scoop of creamy ice cream. Yes, this all came as just one dessert. The bread pudding was a perfect texture for me. There weren’t large chunks of soaked bread, it was a truly creamy texture with a deep cocoa flavor. More cocoa-y than sweet, which lets you eat more than just a few bites before it becomes too rich or sweet.

I really should have stopped eating sooner than I did, but the offerings are too tempting and the atmosphere is just so pleasant. If I could just control my gorging when I go there…

She’s little, awkward, has a bobble head and the worst coffee breath you can imagine. Damn she’s cute.