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.
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