denbushi | blog

We spent Golden Week this year in Kumamoto (where R is from.) and  had a swinging time. I was informed that this–unlike some of our other vacations–would NOT include me hovering over my ThinkPad tappity-tapping away in the name of work. No sir, this was going to be a PROPER vacation complete with lots and lots of Fambly Fun and entertainment for the girls. I followed the rules and we had a great  week-long break in Kyushu.  Visiting Kumamoto always means lots of good stuff like daily trips to the onsen and dining on tasty fare, but this time we also make it a point to get out and take the girls around to different places like the zoo and the mountains, which they enjoyed immensely. We also made an overnight trip to Kagoshima (my first) for a bit of outdoor fun and domestic tourism (= visiting temples and steeping in hot springs). I shot scads of photos and have put them online, have a look if you’re interested in seeing a visual summary of the trip.

Located maybe a minute from our office is Concombre, an exceptional little French bistro that serves a wickedly good lunch for around 1500 yen. The room is small and the tables packed closely enough together that you can sometimes here your neighbor chew, but what Concombre lacks in elbow room it makes up for with great dishes and artful presentation. Even the 1000 yen set lunches come on a heavy silver tray, with the main course tucked inside a covered silver dish. All of the lunches are served with soup, salad, bread, dessert and coffee, all skillfully prepared in generous portions that make you forget your dining in Tokyo. (Anyone whose enjoyed one of those 3 leaf “salads” you find in some lesser restaurants knows what I mean.) Free refills on coffee and a friendly staff make Concombre a place not to miss! Almost as good as Beacon, but without all the suits and styling gel.

Rowan Muir Duff-Rollins was born yesterday, at 6:30 PM Portland time. Weighing in at a hefty 9.5 pounds, I’m sure he was ready to move on to more spacious accommodations. We’re all very excited about welcoming him to the world, and will look forward to meeting in person for the first time later this year. Congratulations to my brother and his wife. We’re so happy for you!!!

I’ve moved off the servers at the incredibly lame Intermedia.Net and over to a different provider. Among the many sucky things about Intermedia is that they don’t make an Export function available for their WordPress installations. All I have is an SQL backup of the data, which seems not to work at all when moving from 2.0.x to 2.5.x. Please tell me I’m not going to have to re-enter all my posts manually…

Friend Rick and his new girlfriend joined us for dinner Sunday night, a four-person collaborative affair that produced an exceptional four course dinner and a good evening for all of us, kids included. The food was great, of course, but the real star of the evening was the Freeman Pinot Noir from Californian that Rick brought along. The 2004 vintage we enjoyed has ruby-brick hues and an earthy nose with notes of cherry and raspberry, followed by a hint of peppery spice. Fruity on the palate, the wine is light- to medium-bodied with a silky, balanced flavor. The finish is long and exquisite, and makes you want to go right back for more. This is a wine to pair with duck and a fruit chutney or grilled salmon with dill sauce, served perhaps with a rucola, walnut and apple salad on the side. An exceptional wine, though not cheap at 6,500 yen.