Mother's Day Around the Island, Around the World

Mother's Day 2012, Tainan

Mother's Day is on the 14th of May which means I will have to treat myself again! Provided you want to treat a single Dad or Mom, or you want to honor your spiritual mother (or the mother of your child), treat them to one of the following specials below.

If like me your mama is across the ocean, don't fret, I just made a card with photos from Snapfish to send to my mom. I usually buy her a massage on Travelzoo, but I am thinking about adding something more humanitarian. Some ethical ideas  (assuming you know her taste) include buying handmade gifts from Ten Thousand Villages,  or Novica. If your mom is in the UK consider gifts from  the Ethical Superstore or Moral Fibers.  Supposing your mom loves scarves like I do,  buy her scarf from the Obakki Foundation which in their "Water for Scarves" campaign has already drilled 13 wells in South Sudan (500 scarves = 1 well).  Finally you can sponsor a healthy birth, emergency birth, maternity care in your mother's name through Maternity World or Pregnancy Twinning (both UK). The IRC's  Rescue Gifts offer sponsoring girl's education, school clothing, business training, food, as well as newborn baby kits and safe births.

Mother's Day 2015 Le Temps

Yilan

• Le Temps (Yilan City) French restaurant with imported ingredients, very accessible across from the train station. I ate a Mother's Day lunch special here a few years ago and assume they will offer something again this year. You must call for a reservation.
• Fulong Beach: Bring your mom to the sand sculpture contest, take your photo between May 8-15  upload, like the NECoast page and be entitled to win a prize draw.
• Artemis Garden (Yuanshan) Bring your mom to make her own perfume with pure essential oils grown  from herbs on the premises. They also have a Mother's Day Dinner for 6 people May 13th 3800+ %10 (18:00-20:00). Year round they offer a garden buffet (11:30-14:00) and afternoon tea (14:00-17:00 with live piano on the weekends (more info here).
• Hotel Royal Chiaohsi (Jiaoxi) offers 5 star hot springs with a view, a royal outdoors swimming pools and several restaurants, like the Zen Garden buffet for lunch or dinner- any day of the year is a treat.

Card from my daughter not too long ago

Taipei

• Flower arrangement with your mom and coffee at the Kidchen May 9th 11am.
• Taipei Children's Amusement Park will offer free admissions for mothers on Sunday the 15th as well as discounted tickets for extra activities, theater and gift bags (bags available until May 31st) for uploading photos on FB (more info here).

Mother's Day Pampering

• Pampering Package until May 31st including one night stay, traveler's massage, buffet breakfast, a youth serum (NT 5000 retail price), Mother;s Day cake and extra spa treatment for 10,500 at the Regent Taipei.

Lunch or Dinner

• Italian at the Bencotto (Mandarin Oriental) for 2,500 + %10 per person or try homemade lasagna at the Marco Polo (38th Floor Shangri-La) by an Italient chef.
• Both the Shangri-La and Mandarin Oriental also offer Japanese, Cantonese restaurants with Mother's Day specials as well.
• The Imperial Hotel offers dinner guests a special 8 set Bird's Nest and a bottle of French wine as a bonus during May 1st-14th.

Afternoon Tea:

• The Jade Lounge (Mandarin Oriental) offers British and Oriental teas with pastries (1,300 +10% per person)
• The Lobby Court (Shangri-La) offers free access to their health and fitness facilities with afternoon British tea.

Cakes:

• The Mandarin Cake Shop (Mandarin Oriental) "To celebrate Mother’s Day this year, Executive Pastry Chef Gregory Doyen presents “Maman D'Amour" to spoil all mothers with the loveliest treat! Made with vanilla sponge cake and seasalt biscuit, “Maman D'Amour” is topped with raspberry cream, raspberry coulis and different layers of berries. The cake is then garnished with a handmade chocolate carnation to symbolize a mother's uncodotional love." A 7" cake is 1,850 NT. To place an order, please call +886 2 2715 6789 or email MOTPE-CakeShop@mohg.com."
• The Cake Room (Shangri-La) "This matcha mousse cake with cherry jelly and grape fruit cream layers features a perfect combination of sweetness and sourness in six layers, providing both visual joy and gustatory delight.   The Cake Room now accepts pre- orders; orders must be made in advance."
• The Mother's Day Garden and cake basket (Regent Taipei) has a French pastry chef who created two cakes using fruit and vegetables. The first is  a vanilla sponge with raspberry and red bell pepper jelly, with a lychee and red rose mouse. The other cake is a hazelnut sponge cake covered with a tangy yuzu lemon mousse with layers of green apple and cumber jelly. The cakes by slice or 4 inch and 8 inch sizes bare reasonably priced. 

Mandarin Oriental
Shangri-La
Regent Taipei

Taichung

• Semi buffet at The Landis Hotel 5/14

Tainan

• Sweet Treats for Dear Mummy at the Shop (Shangri-La's Far Eastern) from 4/10- 5/30. Call to make a reservation.
• Afternoon English Tea at the Tai Landis Hotel or book your mom a room there for some pampering and inclusive breakfast buffet with their special Mother's Day offer 5/1- 5/31.

Kaohsiung

Mother's Day Jewelry Carnival (4/28- 5/1)

Mother's Day Weekend

Mother's Day was categorically a weekend and not just a Sunday, at least I started getting the stipulated greetings and carnations starting Friday eve. My first gift came last Sunday, my Uni student hand made me this incredible shoulder bag. The fabric fits my personal tastes in color and design to a tee. I still can't believe she made it. I'm happily surprised she judged my preferences so well.

My lovely one of a kind bag, leather and printed canvas

 My weekend started Friday night after my tutoring, when I am at my energy's lowest ebb. I dragged my kid and I to the Sports Park for an hour Hiit followed by 30 minutes boxing, sparring with partners. My TRX teacher provides this on the side of working at various gyms. Its exactly what I need because I resist it so much at that end of the week/evening time.

Saturday morning I woke at the crack of dawn and took my kid and I to Wai'ao beach to catch a yoga class. It was part of a bigger weekend retreat that was organized by the radiant  Mind Body Yoga at the Rising Sun Surf Inn. I obviously couldn't live in a dorm for the weekend, but the instructor was open and kind  and invited me to drop in for any of the asana classes. We missed the 6:20 train to Wai'ao and drove, making the 7:30 class right on time. Z played near the rocks and we vinyasa-ed with the waves.

Dancer's Pose with a partner

It was uncharacteristically hot for 8 am in Yilan,we were all sweating profusely and I stripped down into a swim suit at first opportunity. We had to end our pranayama (breathing) exercises on the boardwalk under the shade. Z and I frolicked a bit on the beach and headed back to Tainan, it was too hot. Fortunately in typical Yilan fashion, it cooled off with a rain.  The rest of my day was spent in my hammock.

I received a postcard from Z in the mail. She illustrated a triune picture of this Rose with massive thorns (our relationship) what was me in the center with chili peppers/horns in my hair and a mysterious flower. How strange she said that was me, I told her, "Its you, not me with the yellow hair and bangs." She still hasn't completely differentiated herself from me. This dance of her dependence and self's need for independence. She wrote about surviving our "2 hell trains," the 15 hour train in Burma that stopped in the middle of the tracks for hours and the more recent day trip to Taitung and back (see previous post.) She wrote, "I made it because you were with me." My heart is still gushing.

Then Sunday at church more carnations and a gift. Z was moved to give me an exceptionally long and tear filled hug, her head hidden in my chest under my arms. She's always on the move and unless one of us asks for a hug, we don't usually cuddle until bed time. So that voluptuous hug was gratifying.

 

A luxuriously long and late lunch at the French Bistro Le Temps, which had a special course for Mother's Day was in order. Z shared my plates with me, except for her own dessert, black sesame tarts. We were perfectly satisfied from the fresh, organic produce and contented with each other's company.

Mother's Day, Le Temps

 I have this past year or half year feel like she and I in our relationship are in a golden period, the eye of a storm. Its as if a light bulb went on in her head recently that she actually understands what I am talking about. I think even when she was in 1st grade or 2nd grade I was still speaking gibberish, like a Peanuts cartoon, she even didn't really understand the concept of lying. It wasn't easy for me because when I was 4 or 5 I had a clear moral understanding of what was wrong or right, especially with things like just for example, lying. Because of this sort of jump in her EQ (thank God) communication has been so much easier and gratifying than years past. Big sigh. Not only that but her lifelong prayer for a Dad has lost its teeth in intensity. I think after dating AJ and then breaking that off, she can see for herself that its better for her and me to be alone than with the wrong person. Thankfully this lesson was learned with a real nice friend.

 

I just pray she continues to grow in wisdom and grace especially as the teen years are right around the corner. I've begun to "batten down the hatches" on an inner level, mainly by trying to utterly enjoy this stage she is right now.

Z playing with pigeons draws the customary crowd outside Le Temps

The Merry Month of May

My May really kicked into summer that first weekend with local music festival May Jam. The first night, I went with my good friend Grace and our kids. I was a little stunned that her husband decided to join us, he usually opts out when we hang out, but I'm glad he did. Those two acted like Uni students and it was good to see him relaxed and dancing, getting into the music.

Our kids were certainly in awe of the fire jugglers. We left before we could see fellow beachcombers  Dog Eat Dog rock the venue. The kids were getting tired and my ride was leaving.

Day 2

Here is Grace and I below and our kids (Day 1).

Imma's Bakery  and Tin Pan provided some yummy bites and beer. And it was good time to be had by all. The mosquitoes certainly were out for a good time. I saw some old friends I hadn't seen in a while.

The following weekend my former housemate Eric was in Taiwan and came down to Tainan for a visit. I hadn't seen him in maybe 2 years when he brought his wife and daughter. He and I go way back, we once squatted in a condemned building in Chu Wei, Tamsui around 2001. He is the illustrious founder of Happy Cow website an international guide to vegetarian and vegan eateries and lifestyle.

He  first came to Tainan many years ago before moving on and it was great to hear his stories of local mobsters. His first day in Tainan he found a job and an apartment in like 20 minutes. When he came back to Tainan this most recent time, I picked him up in Anping near the Tree House, and by then he had already made some beautiful female friends and other friendly locals were swarming him ready to take him home for dinner. He was grinning ear to ear and remarking on the hospitality of Tainan (its true.)

Eric, me and Z went to the beach before dinner and he said to me, "uh the water looks green , is it radioactive?" On closer inspection the beach was covered with a slimy, thick layer of seaweed. In four years I have never seen it like that. It did look like the water was green, breaking lime green on the shore. It was so nice to have him around, he is so "present" and he made space and time even in his short visit to really BE with me and Z, very enjoyable.

May was also Mother's Day, had a lovely morning w/my daughter followed by lunch and dinner with her best friend's family. Her mom cooked for us and we watched the kids catch fish in the pond. I was exhausted and then I found myself in an indoor playground (with AC) in some place in the Tainan City Council building affiliated with the YMCA. 



The girls were hungry and on our quest we accidentally came across a young calf to bless the opening of a tea shop (also had never seen that before). We had dinner at a local pasta joint.

 

The calf thing was surreal. Just before I had this insane dream about a bull that would jump out of the TV in intervals, each time getting closer and closer until this massive, powerful beast was literally sitting on me, breathing heavy in my face, eye ball to eye ball until we sorta merged (maybe the bull was part of me?) It was scary and exhilarating and one of those dreams that were meaningful in an unexplainable way. So it being Mother's Day I felt like I wanted to free this poor baby calf and feed it and bring it to some green pasture.

May ended with more festivities. That last Friday, Z's kindy class had a camp out at school, so Mommy could have a very late night. My friend Gregorio took me out to the new and improved Olga's Russian BBQ, near my house, followed by some salsa dancing.

Now June is almost halfway over, I'm trying to enjoy summer before it passes away like an easy breeze while also counting down until our July holiday.