Joe's Birthday

March 26th was Joe's birthday. So, on the 25th here, which is officially the 26th in Japan, Joe got to open his presents from me: a good Calphalon pan to replace our 3-year-old frying pan he uses every weekend to make breakfast & a "Kung Fu Panda" DVD.

It's also Joe's youngest brother Mark's birthday (17 years apart exact to the date), so we had a traditional joint party at Joe's parents' house, with much more noise and lots more people!! Joe got geared up for the upcoming fishing season... hipboots, hooks, lures, and slimy fake fish bate. As soon as the thin ice melts by the breakwalls and that north wind quit biting just a little bit, he'll go out fishing for salmon.

March 26th also marked the three years since I had come back to Joe. We've made a Japanese meal our tradition as a part of the day's celebration. So the day after, on Friday (still fish Friday),we had sushi rolls, spring rolls (technically not Japanese but Vietnamese), and SAKE.

Salmon and shrimp along with assorted veggies made wonderful sushi fillings, dipped in wasabi-soysauce. At the end of dinner I made pretty looking maki-rolls with leftover everything... I'm now seriously thinking of getting a bamboo mat.