Yesterday, we went to the Lan Su Chinese Garden, which is a lovely oasis in the middle of the city. My mom has an annual membership so she, my sister and my nieces can pop in whenever they need a dose of tranquility. Plus they have a gift shop. My family loves a good gift shop, especially when its stocked with adorable things, like cups with pandas on them. You can never have too many panda cups.
We went on a guided tour of the gardens, which was quite interesting. But then we got hungry so we ditched the tour to go in search of food at the tea house.
My mom got her usual (noodles and a mango nectar drink), I ordered dumplings and my sister opted for a really weird egg. Don't get me wrong, it was a pretty egg. If there was a prize for most aesthetically pleasing egg, this egg would be wearing some sort of beauty pageant sash right now. But I thought it tasted downright weird. Thankfully, a few sips of oolong tea got rid of that horrible taste in my mouth.
After the weird egg, we had a wander through the garden and came across the fortune telling sticks.
You shake the container until your stick falls out. Then you read the number on your stick, find the drawer in the cabinet with your number on it, open up the drawer and take your fortune out. It's a lot more work than cracking open a fortune cookie, so I was expecting a really good fortune. Instead I got #22.
"Tricky number 'twenty-two' is unusually good. A matter of considerable importance soon must be decided."Personally, I don't think having to make an important decision is all that good. What if I pick the wrong thing? What if I can't make a decision? Should I drink 2% milk or non-fat in my coffee? Are oatmeal cookies better with raisins or chocolate chips? Do I really need panda cups for the boat?
After one last stop at the gift shop, we headed off to the Oregon Humane Society to look for a kitten for my sister. That's when I realized that my sister traded fortunes with me when I wasn't looking. Tricky number twenty-two was definitely her fortune because she couldn't decide which kitten to get.
First there was Dimitri, an adorable black kitten with incredibly sleek fur. He's super mellow and is content to just be cuddled. Then there was Kit, a feisty little tortoiseshell who loves to play with anything and everything, but still happily sits in your arms to be petted.
My sister finally made a decision and we're picking up her new kitten today. If you want to know which one she ended up choosing, check out our Facebook page later today. I should probably apologize in advance for all of the cute kitten photos I'm going to post up there.
By the way, I like my new fortune, which I finally got back from my sister.
"Good old number 'eighteen' for today. If you have a wish, your luck is good and it will soon be realized."My wish is to not have allergies anymore. Cats make me sneeze. But they're cute, so it's worth it.
Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi!
Linked up with Weekend Travel Inspiration.
Cats make me do more than sneeze, but I love them so. I'd be a cat lady if I could.
ReplyDeleteLove the garden and the gift shop. I'll pass on the egg.
Have a fabulous day. ☺
It's a great garden and the teahouse is a nice place for lunch as long as you skip the egg.
DeleteI wish I could have a cat but, like you, allergies. Damn it. I love cats and would have several. Perhaps my allergies are not such a bad thing, as I would probably become 'that' cat lady. And Galapagos would smell terrible. Lucky sister. Portland also has a lovely Japanese garden. Your mom probably already knows that.
ReplyDeleteA volunteer at the human society said that people have either one cat or two cats. After that no one has just three cats, they then jump up to having five, six, seven or more cats and become official cat ladies. I think my sister is going to stick with just two cats ;-)
DeleteHands down - chocolate chips. No question.
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely the correct choice :-)
DeleteI want to know more about the sash wearing beauty pageant winner, Weird Egg. That's it. More info needed.
ReplyDeleteThere really needs to be a beauty pageant for food! It would have nothing to do with taste, just pure looks. I bet Sushi would be a strong contender.
Deletei was hoping your wish was that your boat survived Joaquin and that it came true. I agree about the weird (preserved?) eggs. much prefer noodles and dumplings.
ReplyDeleteThis is why people like me shouldn't be allowed to make wishes. It would have been far more sensible to wish for my boat surviving :-) Fortunately, Joaquin didn't go anywhere near Florida and all was well with our boat. However, I still have allergies :-(
DeleteYou should get panda cups for the boat anyways. Is the egg a Tea Egg? That brownish-tinged egg "white" is what has me thinking along those lines. They sell teas boiled and steeped in an herbal solution all over the place in Malaysia. I think it's supposed to be healthy. I guess I was so not-interested in Tea Eggs that I never tried one and cannot tell you what they taste like, although based on the aroma, I think star anise must be in there.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying hard not to buy things I don't need, so I reluctantly passed on the panda cups :-( I think tea eggs must have been what my sister ordered.
Delete