Louise gave me a gorgeous copy of the Tao Te Ching. It’s translated by James Legge, with classic Chinese art from the Cleveland Museum of Art. What’s especially cool is that the fonts used for the titles is Avenir, which is the same font I used for my second Tao tattoo.
It’s perfect because I feel like I’ve strayed from the path lately. It’s been a few weeks since I picked up the book and read a few verses.
I really like the fact that many of the pages have no verses, and only artwork. It’s nice enough that I’ll probably keep it out on my coffee table, instead of in my bookshelf hidden in a closet1.
She also gave me this bamboo bookmark, with a Confucian saying on it. I find it funny because Confucianism opposes Taoism, though they both have very good ideas.
Louise also took me out for lunch for my birthday. We went to my favourite sushi place, Sushi Banc for their all-you-can-eat lunch special. At $12.50, you can’t beat the price, and it’s always served fast and fresh. She enjoyed it so much that she went back the next day with her husband.
When Misun was here, she gave me a blueberry tea from a tea company that’s in her small town in of Chartres, France. It smells absolutely amazing and tastes even better, with a mix of tea and fruit that evokes the image of an exotic garden with every sip.
Along with the beautiful case, it came with a little slip of paper that explains the blend:
THE BLUE DE CHARTRES
Mélange exclusif
de la Brûlerie Chartraine
composé de thé vert et noir aromatisé
aux fruits rouges, agrumes et violette
Heather gave me this plant, which I believe is flowering cabbage or kale. I’m not used to having something so alive in my house. I have one other plant, but it doesn’t have nearly as strong an aroma as this one, nor the little tiny insects in the pot and soil. I hope it doesn’t die, because I have a black thumb.
- Not that I don’t like to display books, I just prefer to keep a neat house. [↑]
That TTC book is beautiful! I’ll have to add it to my Xmas list…
Hah, I knew you’d appreciate it. :) And I never realized that your gravatar is two trigrams. Love it.
That’s not fair, not many people get this kind of indulgence :)
I didn’t know you ate raw fish, I thought you ate only veggie sushi. I think sushi with Canadian urchin is the best.
It’s quite rare for me too actually, which is why I wanted to document it.
I used to stay away from raw fish, but after trying several times to understand what the big deal about sushi is, I’ve acquired a taste and really enjoy it now.