Yes, Katamari is the rolling stuff up game. Its really addictive for such a simple game, and theres three of them. The part I like the most is the amazing effort they put into the music. I found some of it on youtube and it ranges from techno to jazzy lounge music, swing music, Im pretty sure someone even snuck a gospel peice or two in there. While Iw as writing yesterday I stumbled across someone who had done an orchestral version of one of the themse that made my jaw drop. Video game music is constantly impressing me with every passing year. But anyway, back to gardening... Part of my problem with the space issue is theres a movement out here for the "Grow Biointensive" system. While I'm interested that they've managed to do so much with such small topsoil space, I've noticed all the beds dealing with the system need at least two feet of soil, dug down or in raised beds, and thats not what I have. My mum has been trying to push me in that direction, but I dont feel confident with it at this time since I wanted to get more of a feel for the general gardening situation since its my first time and all. Some plants still got pushed closer together than I would've liked but then none of us had seen some of these plants actually growing before. The cukes are doign better than I expected for being about 6 inches closer to each toher plant than I really wanted them to be, but we had such a huge amount of plants to deal with that I did the best I could. I think the funniest part about all this is while it is my first time growing a real garden, I've been growing virtual gardens since I was abotu 19, playing an online game called "Final Fantasy 11", which had a really complicated planting/gardening system most people didnt know about. That game system is actually what got me really focused on the seasons, when to plant, where to plant, when to fertilize, what plants grew better in what geological areas, and I even had a little notebook for a long time where I'd record the weekly cycle of my virtual plants in relation to the moon phase and exact time I made any modifications to the planting space. Even the gamers thought I was nuts, but I loved it! They'd even die off or give terrible results if I neglected them for too long, or give off better results if I got proper gardening tools, workbenches, and diffrent planters had diffrent effects too. Im getting better results with a real garden than I was in my virtual gardens though... Except for that one time I accidentally harvested 122 virtual onions. I can tell you, the cooks sure were happy with me.

Kew does have a 'train' for those who prefer not to walk or experience rainfall - more specifically the 'Kew Explorer' people mover. But if I were you I'd bring a sturdy brolly and poncho and stick it out in the open - you'll soon forget the wet for all the amazing plants. Should conditions really deteriorate the northern end of the park offers denser tree cover. In any case indoors is arguably just as fascinating as outdoors at Kew. If you do get to see behind the scenes, don't get waylaid by mucky horticulturalists or weird herbarium people - the real jewels of Kew are to be found amongst the Jodrell research staff... jokes! :oP

I am so sorry that I missed it, Robo! I initially signed up to "attend" your virtual baby shower (and did contribute), but this Saturday morning instead found myself in our car heading from our rented house on the Oregon Coast up to tour some other cute beach towns north of us. I was outvoted by my DH, Sis and BIL, who were anxious to get an early start. I'm so glad it went well and that you had a fun time, though.

Somehow I missed this thread earlier, and so I will wish you a belated happy anniversary! I think grocery shopping can be fun, especially in specialty markets. That market that you went to is quite a bit larger than the Middle Eastern market that I go to in Culver City, but they are fairly similar. I agree that Spanish olive oil is very good, and so it Portuguese, which I buy at a Brazilian market across the street from the Middle Eastern market. However, I do tend to buy California olive oil at the farmers' market and get a good deal when I buy a gallon! I've not looked for goat, since Kevin won't eat it, but I do love it although I have never cooked it myself. The best goat I've had was in Mexico City, but I've had it at Jamaican and African restaurants in L.A. One thing I would caution you about is the Shan spice mix. I avoid that brand because it is made in Pakistan (pretending to be Indian), and it is mostly salt with a lot of cayenne pepper. I think it is hotter than you will like, but for me it is too salty. Look for spice mixes that are made in India, if you can find them. They have a lot less salt and cayenne. Just curious - does that market have oxtail? I've not looked for it, but I've had it in Jamaican restaurants and liked it a lot. Cactus leaves make a nice salad (Ensalad de Nopales), which I've had in restaurants but not made myself. It's pretty popular in Mexico. You do have to cook the cactus before making it into a salad. Where was the feta from that you bought? When I buy it at the Lebanese market, it is usually from Bulgaria, but I sometimes to go a Greek market and buy Greek feta. I cannot tell that much difference between them. I was surprised to hear that Toledo has a large Lebanese population, since Lebanon is a very small country, and the Lebanese tend to go port cities like Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver, etc. I am always happy when I find a good Lebanese restaurant or market, and there are some good ones in Seattle and Vancouver. I've not been to Boston, but I was told by a Lebanese man that there are a lot of Lebanese there. I do not know from personal experience. Thanks for taking the time to post all the wonderful photos. It was fun going on the virtual shopping trip with you and Elery!