What's eating my plants? *sniff sniff*

Most of the plants are doing well, but lately (as in past week or so), I have noticed that something is eating my sunflower and the runner bean vine. There are random holes and toothy edges in the leaves. At first I thought they were kind of dry, but they are getting adequate water and growing just fine... except for the disappearing portions of leaves. See pics:

Runner Bean







Runner Bean... different leaf, same problem







The whole runner bean plant







Mammoth sunflower. This is the most damaged leaf, but there are others. In addition, there was another one that I cut off that was pretty much eaten all the way to the central vein in a toothy, zig zag sort of pattern.






There are also mushrooms growing in the runner bean pot. Could that be significant? I've been picking them out because I think they're just ugly, but perhaps they could be bad for other reasons?

Anyway, the rest of the garden is doing well. We've taken to putting the pots up on platforms when we're not entertaining to ensure they get enough sun. It doesn't look so pretty, but it works :) Here are the latest pics:

Easter weekend BBQ & Brunch AND Ten Thousand Waves

Easter weekend was a BLUR. Friday night we had a BBQ for some friends, Saturday night we had a more formal dinner for my ex-boss, her husband and some co-workers, then Sunday we had my mom and sister over for Easter brunch. Whew! Talk about a whirlwind. Luckily, I had the week off, so I cleaned pretty much every day leading up to the dinner parties. Josh & I spent the evenings going over menues and beer pairings and various other details. Here are some pics.

Friday:
Josh preparing the burgers - they were stuffed with bleu cheese. YUM!

Keith's phone is blocking Janae's face. Boo. But, it's Keith, Janae, me... and the hummus and veggie tray Janae brought.









Saturday
Me and my mom in the kitchen. I am poaching some eggs and my mom is making her famous fruit salad in the KITCHENAID MIXER. Hehehe







All in all, the three events went well. Our friends ate, drank, and left happy. None of them were drunk - well, except Keith, but that's a given! My coworkers had good conversation, the food was AWESOME (especially the salad), and we compliments all around. Easter was nice. Josh & I made brunch, my mom made dessert and brought flowers, and we just had a quiet morning in. Hope they all go this smoothly!

Ten Thousand Waves:
I planned the Girls Night Out for April and I'm so glad I did. After all the hubbub of the previous weekend and the other crap that's been going on lately, I sooooo needed a massage. And I got the best at Ten Thousand WAves. Keith, Erica and I made the trek up there this past Saturday and treated ourselves. Despite a few setbacks (like passing the exit and turning around in the dirt median on the highway - EEK!), we arrived there just in time. We did the private hot tub first. You know us... we had the wine going on and chilled out for an hour just talking and relaxing. Then we got the treatments - herbal wrap, massage, and salt glow (I think Keith got a yasuragi instead of the wrap). OMG... I can't imagine anything better than that. It's definitely recommended. Here's a pic.

Chocolate chip cookies and my new toy

All you foodies out there (and probably even the non-foodies) have experienced the allure of the Kitchen Aid mixer. I, myself, have coveted this device since I first learned the hassles of mixing cookie dough and the like with... *gasp*... a hand mixer. You know what I mean... you're excited about making cookies, the sugary unmixed ingredients smell delicious, and the oven is warm.

But then you get to the mixing part and your arm spasms just thinking of the effort it will take and the mess that will be created when you flip the switch on your hand mixer. You can't help but remember that you're going to struggle to maintain control of the mixer while the whisks struggle to rotate in the thick, floury mass.

Granted, I don't bake very often (though, I love to cook), but the thought of it doesn't make me cringe inside anymore. Now, I'm super excited to bake and use my new mixer. In fact, Josh & I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies just last night. And... I have to tell you. It was an amazing experience! The Kitchen Aid handled the thick, gooey cookie dough like it was water. I didn't have to stop and peel dough off the whisk, the flour didn't go everywhere, and I could even leave the mixer to do its work while I prepared the other ingredients. In one word, it is AWESOME. I recommend a Kitchen Aid mixer to anyone and everyone who bakes :)

Growing indoors... for awhile

Since the freezing temps and wind have continued, we've been forced to leave the plants in the shed on a semi-permanent basis. Naturally, this led to them being sad and wilted and in need of sun... but there was no sun! So, I got a grow light. So far, so good. They seem to like it and are perking right up. In fact, I think they are doing better than when they were outside... this is probably due to the fact that even when it IS sunny outside, the balcony gets hardly any direct sun, especially the south end. I think even after the risk of freezing has passed, I will continue to put some of the plants, like the sunflowers, in the shed for periods of time to allow them to get the light they need. Here are a few pics.