Prezzies for Prez Day

My longtime bestie, EAS, came to visit for a long weekend. It seemed like the time flew by, and it wasn't really a long weekend at all. We did most of the fun stuff Portland has to offer in February AND managed to be super productive otherwise, as well.

I left work a bit early on Friday because I checked the weather and found that although it was great weather, the rest of the weekend was going to be abysmal, weather-wise, so we needed to go do the First Thing on the Portland Bucket List:

Pittock Mansion

There are so many windows in this place. <-- And the view! Oh, so amazing. This is the view of the mansion. -->
 The big bay window is the music room. Two of the ladies of the house studied music in PA. The original Steinway and a concert grand harp are in the room, along with some cool paintings. (None had cows, however, so obviously they weren't that cool.)



The old man definitely liked his bath time. His bathroom was huge! It had a tub and another smallish tub -- perhaps it was just for washing feet? Not sure... and it had a shower with at least five valves...one of which was a bidet, which shot up from the bottom, and one was a jetted stream.

--> It's all about perspective. Tasty snack! Loads of vitamins/minerals.

Then we went to get take-out from House of Teriyaki. We both got the spicy chicken because that's what Yelp! said was good. Em wanted to call in advance. I voted no. I have been having trouble with my ear (see Glue Ear post) and I didn't want to try to talk to someone whose native language wasn't English and try to order food. We should have called because it took seemingly forever, but we both have an aversion to calling people so we went and sat and waited. It was fine. :)

 We had a genius for waiting in the longest line possible several times throughout the weekend:

Line #1:  Marco's for brekke. (I liked it a lot better than Fat City.) Em got an avocado bacon scrambly thingie <-- while I got a burrito with spicy black bean chili in it <--. I have never had black bean chili for breakfast before. It was good!

Line #2: Voodoo, for donuts.  We approached the line, determined to come back later when it was shorter, and then it was even LONGER when we came back. We bit the bullet. Em read the paper (free) while I did the crossword puzzle. In the rain. We discussed the pros and cons of mandatory water fluoridation, how soon sex offenders should be able to get off the list, and determined that Voodoo should really have menus posted in the windows instead of just online. We're cool and serious like that.  I guess we were just keeping Portland weird...-->

Lan Su Chinese Gardens

Then we went to the Chinese gardens. --> I'd never been before. Yet another bucket cross-off! This is hard to describe...but the Chinese gardens are so...Chinese...and the Japanese gardens are so...Japanese. Although I have been to neither country, I could tell the difference in the feeling of the culture by how the plants were arranged, the buildings, etc. It was a really odd sensation. It was like because I know the Chinese and Japanese people I know, by visiting the gardens, I was able to make what felt like fairly accurate extrapolations.

We saw the yo-yo team do some cool tricks, and also saw a lion dance and got completely soaked. In between, I smelled some Drama Queens <--  (no, I'm not making it up...that's the actual name of the tree), and had our sign written in calligraphy by an old man.

(As a side note, it's amazing to me that although we are less than 24 hours apart in age, we are so very different. I jabber, she listens and nods sagely. I rush into things, and she is calm and steady as a rock. (With an occasional girly squeal. ;) ) So much for astrological signs!

Here I am standing in front of the waterfall with my sign <--. BTW I love the shirt I was wearing. Slate blue chamois. A true make-out shirt* if there ever was one.  Below is what looked like a blueberry tree. And also some sparkly red flowers. These, the Drama Queens, and the flowers just starting to bloom (next row) were almost the only blooming things in the entire garden.

 
<--This has a bunch of thorns on the ends. It honestly reminded me of the hedge Maleficent puts up with her creepy green staff (by the way, Sleeping Beauty is amazing), with the thorns and the variegated coloration. It reminded me of a muted version of what the hedge looked like when she started burning it down after she turned into a dragon. My, Prince Phillip sure is dashing, and Samson sure is smart! :)

Then we went to get dim sum. (Em had never had it!) Our hands were so cold we just held the tea cups and shivered for a bit. 

Sunday, we made chicken noodle soup with daikon and mushrooms and green beans and carrots and celery and chicken, of course. We did the stock from scratch. It was yum. We also attempted to quilt.


Japanese Gardens 



Monday we went to the Japanese gardens (it was free. Whee! It was awesome, but in a way I wish we had gone on a different day because the gardens are so much more peaceful when you're with fewer people.)  Not much was in bloom, but the sheer variations of the color green within the garden was absolutely mind-boggling. 

OMSI:
Where we held on for our lives (or at least, simulated doing so with varied effects -- I only made it three seconds), saw a duct tape canoe, built mini houses to withstand fake tornadoes, and determined that it doesn't matter if you run or walk in the rain. Oh. And we tried our hand at the old whisking away the tablecloth and without disturbing the dishes trick. We did pretty awesome at that one! I had my doubts that I could do it, but on my first try only one little flower vase knocked over. Go Me!

And we went to see what I call the Baby exhibit. I think that everybody who is considering having a baby should go through the exhibit and look carefully at the fetuses there. It gave me goosebumps. It's so much work to grow a baby inside of you! Babies are so complex. When they're halfway to being born they already have most of what they need in order to be a success. The fine downy hair on their heads, the expressions on their faces...each baby is a miracle and undertaking such an endeavour should not be done lightly!

Then I drove Em to the airport. It had been clear all day, but as soon as I dropped her off the rain started to fall. It seemed fitting that the sky was crying in withdrawal as she went away. It was such a great visit -- I'm so glad she came. 

Glue Ear

I've got glue in my ear
I've got glue in my ear
I've got so much in there
I no longer can hear

My story begins two whole Fridays ago
I started to feel in my ear a slight woe
I thought I was fine, so I drove to Sea-town
I had a good time, but my pain slowed me down.

By the time I got home to rest my wee head
My ear felt so full that I was filled with dread.
I woke up on Monday; thought I would be fine
But something was wrong with that left ear of mine.

So I called up the doctor, and lickety-split
I got an appointment and went through with it.
The doctor was nice and on time, and explained
An outer ear yuck-fest was to be contained.

He took out the goop and the wax and the stuff
That was blocking my hearing like an ear muff
The pain in my ear seemed to go right away.
My hearing was tested (above average -- hurray!)

Fred Meyer never seemed quite so far away
As it did when I got my RX--same day!
I insisted on ear-drops -- yes, no pills for me
The kind without steroids cost $73.

The doctor said I was okay to fly
So I went to Seattle - Portland, goodbye!
My flights went by smoothly, no pain in the ear
So I thought I was fine and had nothing to fear

But here, one week later, I sit and I type
Because I can't hear, and I'm starting to gripe
It seems my yuck-fest has migrated freely
And middle-ear problems are more of a "dealy."

I feel at a loss - not quite sure what to do.
Take one decongestant? Perhaps even two?
If I do, it seems that much better I'll fare
But I probably should seek additional care.

I've got glue in my ear
I've got glue in my ear
I've got so much in there
I no longer can hear.

Cats

Last night, as J and I were listening to Cats as we worked on our projects (it literally was a working weekend, as you will see in a later post), I was wondering what so enthralled me by the soundtrack when I was a small child. Because I was enthralled, and I've heard it probably about 50 times. The whole sountrack.

(By the way "Magical Mister Mistoffelees" was then my favorite. Mostly because our neighbor had the same issue: They thought their cat was Mr. Whiskers, when in fact she was Mrs. Whiskers, and they ended up with kittens.)

"Jellicle songs for Jellicle cats" echoed through the house as we cut and ironed.

Over and over again, the line repeated, as if it were on "endless loop" setting. I wondered if there was a Jellicle song mentioned in the chorus for each Jellicle cat. Then I started trying to count how many cats that would be...and decided that it would have to be more cats than even a cat lady could handle.

Never having seen the production, and having not thought about the musical in years, I peppered J with questions about the history of the musical:

Me: When was this written?
J. I dunno. Are you thinking that piano sounds awfully synthesized?"
Me: Yep.
J: Funny, I was just thinking that, too.

Me: Is there a man who is a cat herder and who introduces all the cats one by one as they come on stage?
J: I think there's a narrator cat.

Me: Are there speaking parts in between all the songs?
J: I don't know.

Me: What would it be like to dress up as a cat in full makeup and dance about in song? I'm so glad I'm not on Broadway.

After one particularly odd song/poem:

Me: I think whoever wrote this was inebriated. Or was on some sort of illegal drug-induced haze. Either that, or they had small children.

J: /surprised, laughing/ What?

Me: Why else would you (a) write so many poems about fantastical cats [you can tell I'm not much of a feline-lover] and (b) why would you set them to sometimes creepy music? How could you possibly conceive of the notion that combining a bunch of poems about the cats, and write hissing, scratching, stalking music and have adults dress up as felines and prance about is a good idea?

And, as an afterthought, why would it be a best-selling show?!?

Guess I'm going to have to go see it to find out.