Fixing Up the Yard

Today was a long day of yard work. We began with a trip to Home Depot to buy some plants and some Round Up. The day alternated between clearing the weeds and dead plants and putting in their replacements. The one great surprise was that the dogwood tree we have in the front yard, that I thought was dead, had some new shoots of growth. So, instead of throwing it away, we cut it back and replanted it.

I am also making an all out effort to grow grass this year. I thatched all the moss and spread grass seed on half the yard a month or so ago and that is starting to look pretty good. Today we raked out the moss on the other half of the yard and spread grass seed on it. I also went back and over seeded the first area to hopefully fill in the gaps. I don't know how successful this venture will be as the back yard is very shady due to all the trees we planted when we first moved in.

As a reward for our hard work, we had a great dinner at Nostrana. We stuck with our regular order, the Insalada Nostrana, which is a ridicchio caesar, and the charcuterie plate to start. Then we got the Margherita pizza with arugula and prosciutto and the Diavola pizza with spicy sausage that were both excellent. Their wine list is a little expensive, but I have found a Barbera D'Alba from Filippo Gallino that is a steal at $27. It was also nice to say hello to Chef Cathy Whims, who was nominated for a James Beard award for best PNW restaurant.

Nostrana

1401 SE Morrison Street
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 234-2427