Forgot to report on the Pho. Thumbs up!
We're happy and see a lot of promise in it - want to keep tinkering with it to get closer to the taste we enjoy in restaurants. The recipe (link I gave) does seem very true to our restaurant memories, especially the aroma which would make anyone believe they'd just walked into a really nice Thai or Vietnamese restaurant. After eating we had walked outside and when we walked back in we were amazed at the wonderful aroma.
Things we will change next time include: replace the harsh-tasting radishes with celery, decrease ginger, increase soy sauce, and add chopped peanuts as a final garnish like Thai restaurants do. The garnishes are very beautiful, btw - 5 different ingredients that you don't simmer but use to garnish the bowls: mint, cilantro, bean sprouts, red onion, scallions.
A little wire basket or tea brewing gadget/infuser is nice to corral the whole cloves in this recipe (and maybe some other spices that seem large, if you'd like) that are not really for eating, but it's not absolutely necessary. Cinnamon sticks are easily removed, of course. Flat rice noodles are simpler to serve and eat when broken up some first.