We spent our morning at the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden (affectionately called The Rhody Garden by locals) on Sunday. This was our second time there in just a matter of 2 weeks. We decided to come again because there was a Mother's Day Rhody Sale and Show, and also thought that the garden may be awash in various colors of the rhody blooms by now. Last time we were there, the buds had not bloom yet.
Seeing all these gorgeous flowers with so many color variety makes me want to get one of them. I can only get one, due to the size of this plant which could grow quite big, and even the smaller variety can get as big as 3-4 feet tall and wide. Not only space is the issue in my garden now, but also the vast number of delicious colors available - I'm just too spoilt for choices!! On the other hand, I might get azaleas instead, also from the rhody family but smaller, but their flowers are not as show-stopping as the rhodys. Anyway, I am still contemplating.
As always, one could always find waterfowls in the lake and pond areas of the garden. They are so accustomed to the presence of humans that one could come very near to them and some even begged for grains or eat out of the hand of a boy as in the 3rd picture below.
We only stayed there about less than an hour and then proceeded to the flower sale at the parking lot. We looked around but didn't buy any plants.
It was already almost lunch time when we nearly arrived home. We decided on the spot that we'll eat out at Tualatin. We wanted to try Famous Dave's BBQ Ribs, and just as we reached the their main entrance, we found out that it was still under renovation. They have completed the outer building but the interior was still unfinished. No wonder there wasn't any cars in the parking lot; we thought we were too early!
So we opted to go to the nearby Greek Cusina for what else - Greek food! Greek Cusina has a main branch in downtown Portland that occupies 3 floors of a building (I've never been there, but that's what I read in a brochure). The ground floor is for dining, the 2nd floor is where all the Greek shows (belly dancing, ceremonial plate-breaking and folk dancing) are held and the 3rd floor is a nightclub. The branch in Tualatin, however, is a satellite branch and it is only a diner.
This Tualatin Greek Cusina works like this - grab a menu, browse and make your selection, pay at the counter and a server will bring your food to you. There is no waiting persons to take your order at your table.
We went in there not knowing what to expect, what to order and everything on the menu looked very Greek to us! What the heck, we'll just had to be adventurous, we told ourselves, and so ordered something that seemed edible to our palette (click on the images below to view the menu - front and back - in larger size).
I ordered the stuffed grape leaves with lamb from the small plate category, while hubby had the Moussaka. As for side, we had the classic gyro which is lamb meat.
My stuffed grape leaves tasted tangy and refreshing, although I didn't taste much lamb in it. Portion-wise, I can say it is a little small (since it is from the SMALL plate category, anyway) if you just have that for your lunch, unless you order a side dish to go with it. But then again, I had a bowl of ramen (instant noodles) that morning, so my tummy wasn't completely hungry yet.
Hubby's moussaka is delicious. Firstly, the Greek salad in the dish is freshly crunchy and tangy with a hint of mellow because of the crumbled Feta cheese. My only complaint is that the marinated pitted olives that came in it were too salty for my liking - but I still ate it, because I love olives (I had all of them because hubby doesn't like whole olives)!
And then, there's the main star, the grounded beef that was baked with some vegetables and topped with cheese and I think some filo pastry as well. The moment I put that in my mouth, the top layer melted, giving away to cheesy or buttery but tasty vegetables and meat in it - mmm, it's simply wonderful and soul-comforting. Overall, the tangy salad went well with the cheesy mellow meat and the portion is just nice too.
Finally, the classic gyro. What can I say about this? It was smoked, moist and surprisingly not dry for (grounded?) lamb meat. I am still wondering how they made the texture so smooth - did they add lots of flour and water in it? I think this was a tad salty, since we ate it just like that. They normally serve this with warm pita breads or paninis, which I believe could offset the saltiness taste in the gyro.
As for the ambience in the restaurant, I think it has a diner-feel in it. Interior decorations are are just okay, and neat and clean. There were only 3 employees working at that time, and we didn't need to wait long for our order to arrive. For sandwiches, they prepare it on the spot in front of you like how those folks in Subway do.
Overall, we were pleasantly surprised by the tastes of the food there and were also quite satisfied with the portions for the price we paid ($22 including a large tumbler of drink shared between hubby and I, plus $2 tip). We also thought that the choices of food available are quite healthy, considering that there were lots of vegetables included in most of every dish. Will we come back again? Yes for light meals, but no to this Tualatin branch if we want a heavy meal (perhaps their downtown branch offers a wider variety).
May 11, 2009
Our Mother's Day
May 07, 2009
More new cacti
I just did a minor change to my mini "rock garden" today. I wanted a variety of shapes in that particular pot, so I took out my split rock (living rock) cactus and replace it with a globular, spikey cactus. So now, I have triangular (aloe vera leaves) shape, flower shape, round shape and tree shape in that pot.
(My updated mini "rock garden")
You can also view more images of my new cacti in my Facebook.
May 05, 2009
My gardening update
I expanded my gardening this week to include planting succulent cacti. At first, I just wanted to have a couple of aloe vera for medicinal purposes. Then I got tempted to do a mini rock garden for my aloe container, so I bought a bag of cactus soil mix and three more succulent cacti variety. After I was done with that container, I had some leftover soil, so I went to buy a couple more cacti, and what started as just 2 aloe vera plants became 6 different cacti variety. And then there are the "baby cacti" (leaves) that I scooped up from the shelf (of the store where I bought them) that can be grown as separate individual plants. I planted them in a separate pot which I call it the nursery pot. If the growing of these babies are successful, then I'll have 3 more variety, and so 9 in total.
Some of my vegetables that I planted from seeds have grown now, but still not mature yet to be consumed. I also bought some broccoli and cauliflower plants (grown by commercial nursery) to add to my vegetable corner.
And here's my favorite plant of the year - my miniature water lily. I bought this slightly more than 2 months ago, and it is still in "baby" phase, but it is steadily growing new leaves. The mature leaves will be green in color with each leaves about 5-6 inches in diameter. I am hoping warmer, sunny weather will come soon so that it could elevate the water lily's growth.
In case you wonder, I added special chemical into the water which prevents mosquito breeding and algae growth, as well as acts as water clarifier. This chemical is safe on plants but not for fish. I also added a bunch of floating aquatic plants called hornwort into the water so that they can feed on any algae growth. Hornworts are also used in some aquariums because it is an excellent source of oxygenator, as well as hiding places for fish fry.
Finally, my favorite perennial - the calceolaria a.k.a. pocket book. Since I bought it a month ago (see previous posting here), it has grown very well, and has spread out to cover almost the entire surface of my 6" container. It is also a prolific bloomer because I feed it bloom booster (fertilizer) weekly.
May 04, 2009
More update on Ian
Today, Ian surprised me with another one of his progress. He could hold a pen fairly properly now, like how a normal person holds it. Before, he would grasped it in his fist. The doodles that he makes are still quite faint because he doesn't know how to put pressure on the pen yet. The doodles are still mostly lateral lines, and just now, when I drew circles on the paper, he tried to trace the circles too. He also imitated a handful of my vertical lines, but still doesn't know how to draw it by himself.
