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More Tea Gadgets

12 Jul

On top of my delightful discoveries and purchases, there are tea gadgets too added to my collection now. M1 knows I prefer tea over coffee for health reasons, so it was very sweet of her to get me a couple of tea brewing gadgets.

Introducing my Deep Tea Diver and Loch Ness Tea Monster! Aren’t they adorable? Forget them tea bags, tea leaves are the way to go now to enjoy a nice cuppa.

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I will dive for you…

So if I want to see the effects of my Diver especially from the side and not the top, I need to get a glass cup to use instead of my existing ceramic mug. But if I choose to use Nessie, the mug will do; Nessie will just chill and stick her head out of my cuppa. Totally cute to the core, love ‘em!

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Nessie and Snoopy contemplating life over a cup of tea

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All Good on the Home Front

5 Jul

Now that the bag delay issue is settled, there are other matters to tend to.

Official pet number one, Rooney, was confused then happy to see us when we got home. Generally all was good on the home front except for two things – the Marimo Moss balls and the cocoon still hanging on the tree in front of the house.

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He loved his new chew toy

The moss balls would need some serious TLC to recover as they have turned brown but this wouldn’t be an issue to revive them. The cocoon is quite a challenge though. It’s been too long at this stage. Did we miss the emerging moment and deceived by the cocoon shell, still hanging up there? Maybe I should brave climbing up the tall ladder to have a closer look. Hmm…

I’m glad I didn’t gain too much weight, only a pound. I thought it would be more considering the 16/8 diet was thrown out the window the minute we arrived at KLIA and had a beer and indulged in snacks at the Premier Lounge before we boarded.

It wasn’t just the things we ate in the US but when we ate which was always late dinners past seven and sometimes even nine or ten at night, hardly at five or six like we normally do back home. And I ate breakfast constantly eating because it was cold and I needed food to fuel the body to keep warm.

Being back means being back to routine and I am pretty sure that extra pound will be shed in no time especially once I get over my jet lag. So it’s great that all’s good on the home front.

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So Tired

29 Jun

I was feeling tired and we were not even halfway when we were in transit at SLC International Airport. I suspect waking up at 6.30am could be the factor.

We boarded our Amsterdam-bound aircraft at 8.15pm mountain time and there was a 20-minute delay before the aircraft departed at 9.20pm. Finally, on the way home.

The cabin lights before take off

Two hours into the flight, dinner was served. I watched a movie and then tried to sleep. It was so difficult. The space was not comfortable – I twisted and turned but could not find a snug position. My Mi Band2 showed four hours of light sleep and zero deep sleep. Yawn…

Before I could try again, the cabin lights were turned on and our next meal was served. Breakfast? Lunch? It’s hard to tell because it’s almost five in the morning Oregon time and almost one in the afternoon Amsterdam time.

The cabin lights before the second meal

By now the body is all confused, the perils of long distance travels. And we have one more 12-hour leg to go!

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Willamette Valley Vineyards

27 Jun

We drove to Willamette Valley Vineyards after having lunch with M1 and joined their 2.00pm daily tour. It was a really small group, just us, our guide and three new employees.

The weather was lovely to be outside too as we toured the grounds. When we were indoors, we saw all the facilities, from the lab, bottling and packaging sections to the cellars.

After our tour, we stayed on for wine tasting. We tried the two choices on their Tasting Flights menu which consisted of the Daily Tasting and the Reserve Tasting. Basically the difference being the former had more whites and the latter, more reds.

Both choices had very nice flavors, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. So much so, we bought two bottles from the list – the 2016 Pinot Blanc and the 2017 Tualatin Estate Semi-Sparkling Muscat; and we will drink them this evening.

Willamette Valley Vineyards is a must-visit if one ever visits Oregon. They get my thumbs up.

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Mind Boggling Choices

27 Jun

Yesterday I was at the stores and was browsing aisle after aisle. The choices are mind boggling!

Just for bread alone, a stretch on the aisle with so many variations. Gatorade had super sizes that I have never seen on the shelves back home. The other stuff on the shelves too, I could go on. Amazing.

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A Rest Day

24 Jun

Even holidays need a break! It’s Sunday today and we’re keeping the itinerary easy. We slept in longer this morning.

We spent the day without a fixed itinerary so we decided to do something fun – a round of mini golf!

Then it was basically checking out all the stores around town to see lovely packaging design and colorful produce on the shelves. It’s a good bonding time.

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The Crazy Drive

24 Jun

Yesterday we were on the road for slightly over 13 hours, reaching Corvallis at 11.30pm after the day’s adventure.

The drive back heading West after Bend was crazy. There was one stretch through Willamette National Forest that made us felt like we were racing along the Monte Carlo circuit in Monaco.

It went on for an hour or so, as we turned left and right many times on the road that curved almost like Monaco. Along the way, we saw a few more deers and even a dead one by the road side. Oh dear (no pun intended).

This fella paused to pose for me in Bend!

Bend was very nice and we had dinner at McMenamins, trying out their stout and beer. As M1 is now of legal drinking age, we had three drinks. I must say, I still can’t appreciate a Stout, even a good one, so I stuck to beer.

Well deserved drink after a long day

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Farmers Market

23 Jun

It was interesting this morning to check out the Farmers Market akin to what we have back home, the ‘Pasar Tani’ which means the same thing. The only difference is the produce of the stalls.

Back home it’s more of daily vegetables, food and made in China gadgets, here I see things like unusual mushrooms, seasonal fruits, exotic jams, honey, cheese and organic produce. Besides these, there were also crafts, plants, flowers, some clothes and coffee.

I bought a jar of Chardonnay Pear jam after taste-testing a couple of exotic combinations. We also bought a pound of roasted hazelnuts, some pastries and a tray of fruits (Mulberries, Golden Raspberries and Gooseberries) to eat in the car.

After trying out the other berries, I think I like the Mulberry best. The Golden Raspberry are a bit mushy in its overall texture and the mini Gooseberries are almost like grapes, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside but not as sweet though.

By noon, we made our way towards Crater Lake.

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What Do We Do Now?

22 Jun

After saying goodbye to M2, we left Portland and headed for Washington Square to check out Dick’s Sporting Goods. There I found a box of matte fluorescent golf balls which I had to buy. I’ve never seen a purple matte golf ball before. Pretty cool.

So colorful

We hung out at the mall and the Tesla showroom caught our eyes. There were two cars – the Model 3 and the Model X. The X was way, way cool with its super huge double iPad touchscreen panel and wing doors.

The super cool Model X

Checking out the Model 3

The 3 has its appeal too with its super minimalist look and equally huge iPad-like touchscreen panel which controls everything. So clever.

We left the mall to go get an Earl Grey boba tea at Bubble N Tea en route to TopGolf golf range for some fun. The weather by then was beautiful to be semi-outdoor, so we ended up spending an hour and a half there, hitting balls into targets. Quite a good workout!

But the day went by slowly as we waited to hear from M2 which we did when she finally arrived at Atlanta in transit to connect for the next flight to Ireland. Feeling assured that she’s safely on her way, we made our way back to Corvallis, had a home-cooked meal and prepared for an early good night’s sleep to recover from today’s trip.

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Hello from Portland!

18 Jun

We got into Portland in the late afternoon and the must-do included taking pictures of several iconic places. The weather here feels more like Summer.

Our precious box of doughnuts

The choices we picked

One of the stops included Voodoo Doughnut and we got got our good things that came in a pink box! Yum…

Next was Powell’s Bookstore. I felt so overwhelmed with so many books and categories, I didn’t know where to begin. M1 suggested for us to explore in pairs otherwise we would be lost. By eight, hunger got the better of us and we headed off for dinner at Washington Square. We had to have Xiao Long Paos!

It was ten by the time we checked into our Airbnb. Tomorrow we will sleep in!

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