OK, so I had the most fabulous pictures of our recent trip to Dong Yang market for lunch, but I accidently deleted them. sigh. I'm bummed, because I was hoping that if I posted them, someone more knowledgable about Korean food would advise me as to the name and contents of several of the condiments that came with our delicious meal. Anyway....
Dong Yang is a Korean market and cafe located in what used to be the Franks Nursery and Craft in Columbia Heights. Conveniently, it's right next to a Harbor Freight, in case you need a cheap wrench or engine hoist to go with your meal. Although I've shopped in the market several times before, I wasn't aware of the deliciousness that was being served up in back. Fortunately, boy had been let in on the secret by one of his foodie friends, so at his suggestion, we stopped in for lunch after a tool shopping adventure. We ordered spicy stir-fry pork and vegetables and beef short ribs, and both were amazingly good and came with a full array of yummy, mystery side dishes.
I'm definitely not an expert, but I've been told that Dong Yang serves some of the most authentic Korean food around. Here's my only surviving picture:

Boy tells me that last time, the menu was sans any English, so apparently the English descriptions are a new (and welcome, at least to us) addition. After our meal there I'm guessing it would be hard to go wrong with any of the dishes, but it's nice for us non-Korean literate folks to have a bit of an idea what we're ordering.
It kills me to know I ate a bunch of good stuff that I have no idea about...that green saladish stuff with sesame and something spicy, the jicama (I think) and carrot slaw, those square chunks of something crunchy in a Kimchee like brine, and those tan, chewy, flat and fishy rectangles??? Oh, yeah, and the main dishes were fabulous too. This just might be one of my new favorite quick-meal hangouts. I can't wait to go back.

Dong Yang
735 45th Ave NE
Columbia Heights, MN
(cafe is located at the back of the store)

I just finished reading both of Ruth Reichl's books, Tender at the Bone
Comfort Me with Apples. They were funny and delicious and I couldn't put either of them down. Great reading for foodies, and an entertaining peek into the life of a free spirit.

We've gotten a bit of a break from house building due to having fired the world's stupidest, loser low-life of a contractor. (Finally, and good freaking riddance!!) Anyway, although I'd much rather be forging ahead at full speed, I'm happy for a few days of recharge and I'm acutally thinking about getting out some knitting if you can believe that. It will most likely be either the mate to the Color on Color mitten (of which I have only the cuff started), or the Trekking socks, since both are small and the idea of having a lapful of wool sweater when it's 90 degrees outside is less than appealing.

Speaking of downtime...
Ms. Knit-Whit and I had a little lunchie the other day, and here's one of her fab pics:

Then on the way home I spotted some of those giagantic dandelion looking things that had gone to seed and said how I had seen some while I was out on a walk the other day with boy and wished she was there because she always has her camera and they would make excellent photographic subject matter. So, being the crafty chick that she is, Ms. Knit-Whit went back later, parked her car next to the freeway overpass where they were growing, risked life and limb crossing a busy street, and snapped some fab shots...

neato, eh? She always manages to acutally DO stuff that I'm only able to think about and then not get around to.
Thanks friend!

My most favoritest flower ever, the poppy:

If I were Dorothy and ever woke up from the poppy-induced sleep put upon me by the wicked witch, I'd never make it to Oz anyway because I wouldn't be able to drag myself away from huge field of poppies. They are just the coolest flower EVER.
This is one of three different colors of poppy that are blooming in my garden right now, but the other two I can't get a decent picture of to save my life, so orange it is. I think I'm going to plant oodles and oodles of them in my new house garden.
And here's my to-die-for poppy:

Unfortunately I can't lay claim to having these in my garden. Sigh. I read they are difficult and not at all suited for the climate here, but holy cow they are cool, no?

I found something at the grocery store recently that I just couldn't pass up.

How could I resist a bottle of creme brulee flavored soda for just 99 cents? It was so delicious I wish I would have bought a few more. Ironically, I found this at one of our high-end grocery stores. Given the price, I didn't actually think it was some kind of frou-frou super gourmet item and Ms. Knit-Whit confirmed this for me when she said she saw it at Pamida in Princeton. Funny.

Sadly, I have yet to find any of the Orville Redenbacher Cinnabon popcorn I discussed (and begged for) in a previous post, but during my perusal of the popcorn aisle on my errand for real popping corn, I happened to spy this and figured it was worth a try:

I wasn't expecting much, as products like this are typically inedible by anyone other than those that are the target audience for the ill-fated blue and green ketchup. Anyway, it was a pleasant suprise. They say it's marshamallow and I was having a hard time imagining how that would work, but really it's just a regular bag of microwave popcorn with a little packet of "marshamallow" that you drizzle over the top after popping. It's less sticky than one would expect of a marshmallow, and actually very similar to in taste and smell to that icing that goes on a Toaster Strudel after toasting. Boy said it tasted like Lucky Charms. It's not super sweet and the salt of the popcorn is a nice compliment...for the sugar-junkie in me that is. I'm looking forward to enjoying the second bag.

There just isn't enough real popcorn being popped in the world. When was the last time you made some...fresh and hot with real melted butter?

Oh no! I almost forgot this is my little kitty Angela's pagent week!
Go here and vote for this little beastie in the Purrrfect Kitty contest:

Here's what's going on in my garden:

siberian iris

scarlet rose

clematis

another clematis

Even though I'm looking forward to planting a new one, I'm really going to miss my garden. I personally dug up and moved about ten yards of ugly old landscaping rock and chopped, and cut and yanked out old overgrown shrubs to plant this garden four years ago and it's finally starting to look like something....just in time for me to leave it to someone else. Sigh. I also recall spending several swelteringly hot summer days mixing bag after bag of concrete to make the edging pavers, which at the time I thought was going to kill me. Of course that was before I started building a house and figured out what physical labor really is.
One of the things I love/hate about gardening is that it takes time and it takes time, you know? I really enjoy watching everything change with the seasons and look forward to things sprouting up in the spring. I love that it's a learning experience that can be as simple or as complex as you like. I hope my garden's future owner takes good care of things, because I won't be able to resist checking up on things with a drive-by from time to time.

A few better-suited-for-hauling-motorcycles straps found in our truck, a rope scavenged off of an extension ladder, and a very, very great friend volunteering to help our sorry butts on one rainy, muddy day:


Those big blue bundles are our roof insulation, and there were enough of them to almost completely fill a semi trailer. I actually can't quite believe they're all up there, but they are and we are SO grateful we had some help because I don't think Boy and I would have had a chance at getting them up there on our own.

We've had an extremely busy and exhausting week doing the prep work for window installation, unloading trucks and supplies, making countless trips to the home center stores, and actually getting a few windows installed. Up to this point it's been accurate to say we're doing some of the work of building our house on our own, but I think we've officially reached the point where we can say WE'RE building a house. And I think I can also officially say I have carpal tunnel (or corporal tunnel, as Boy's dad called it). Shooting pains in my forearms and numbness and tingling of my fingers/hands. Not good, and a fair indication that some knitting therapy must be in order :) Maybe next week.