Here’s an excellent guide on how to install PHP 5 on IIS 6 that I found today while struggling to set up a work server to recognize MySQL.
The return of an old favorite
Hong Kong Royal
3030 N Josey Ln
Carrollton, TX 75007
(972) 492-9999It’s back! After shutting down its operations in its old 2nd-story building off 75 and Main St and the Lucky House restaurant in Plano, Hong Kong Royal is reincarnated in Carrollton. While not as sprawling as their first location, the new Hong Kong Royal is still pretty roomy. Much of the staff and decor I remembered from Lucky House are here. As usual, the big draw is the dim sum lunch. All our usual standbys are here, from steamed fresh broccoli to jellyfish, sharkfin dumplings to steamed spare ribs, stuffed eggplant to those football-shaped shrimp pies. The staff urged us to try a couple of new dim sum plates, one of which was a fried phyllo-wrapped whole shrimp (with crunchy head attached) which proved delicious. Fair warning for the shrimp allergic, there seemed to be more shrimp in their dim sum menu than expected. On the ala carte side, their Young Chow fried rice still impressed. It seems that Hong Kong Royal is here to stay…they also offer a dim sum lunch buffet during the week at the tasty price of $5.95!
My rating: stars
The first flower of 2008
I caught sight of a pair of dwarf irises (iris reticulata) blooming in B3 yesterday. I snapped this picture this morning; not sure if it’s Cantab or Harmony. It looks like the rain we received Monday night (or was that Tuesday) gave these irises enough incentive to put on a show. I’m hoping to see more irises pop up in both S1 and B3 in the next few days.
Also, as I was doing some yard clean up yesterday, I spied what looked to be either a tulip leaf or a calla leaf in S1…can’t wait to see what it is.
Don’t shop a flower by its picture
Now why can’t I follow that advice? I swung by Home Depot after lunch today to purchase some gardening gloves, and walked out with 2 packets of Burpee seeds: Dianthus deltoids Microchip Mix and Centaurea cyanus Blue Boy Bachelor Buttons. I opened the seed packets to see the likelihood of sowing these seeds for spring…as usual, I can’t see how dianthus seeds successfully sprout given their near-microscopic size. The bachelor buttons look more likely to produce some results; I’m looking forward to adding them to S1 and B3, along with Miss Jekyll Blue nigella damascena.
In addition, I rediscovered a seed packet I received from Wildseed Farms last year. Bluebonnet, coreopsis, Indian Blanket, Black-Eye Susan, Lemon Mint, Drummond Phlox, Cornflower, and Corn Poppy are listed. I’m debating the placement of these seeds; I’m uncertain that I want to introduce these into the beds but it may give the flower beds a burst of color for spring, until the lilies and flowering perennials can come into their own.
First order of spring
After spending some time perusing their entire online catalog, I couldn’t help but place my first plant order with Sooner Plant Farm. Their professional site answered all the questions I had, and I’m looking forward to receiving my plants the first week of March (actually I requested that the plants ship the prior week).
| 1 | Hosta PLANTAIN LILY ‘FIRE & ICE’: Premium Potted 1 Gallon (3 Quart) | $19.95 | $19.95 |
| 1 | Heuchera CORAL BELLS ‘OBSIDIAN’: Premium Potted 1 Gallon (3 Quart) | $12.95 | $12.95 |
| 2 | Ajuga AJUGA ‘CHOCOLATE CHIP’: 3 potted plants (3.5inch pots) | $11.65 | $23.30 |
| 2 | Artemesia WORMWOOD ‘ORIENTAL LIMELIGHT’: Premium Potted 1 Gallon (3 Quart) | $11.65 | $23.30 |