Solve the Puzzle

Last weekend I turned down an offer to meet UnScurvyGirl and Mr. Fabulous for dinner so that I could stay in and work. Glamorous, I know. Maybe as a way of showing me what I was missing (or maybe just because she was thinking about me), USG sent me this photo of her Lone Star beer cap:

Can you solve the puzzle?

 While I did miss out on an evening of puzzle solving, beer drinking, hipster watching, and locally sourced, inventive dining, I managed to secure a fortune by ordering takeout from China Hill:

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

Are there any more actual fortunes?

Tonight I received this text from G: 

"I'm beginning to wonder if there are any fortunes at all" 

followed by this photo:

"Broke is only temporary; poor is a state of mind."

Yep, that's a not-a-fortune. As is this, shared with me by another friend a few weeks ago:

"Something wonderful is about to happy."

Man, I love an improperly worded not-a-fortune. What's that? This *is* a fortune? Huh. I must have been distracted by the awkward wording and lack of a period.

Write Your Own Not-a-Fortune, Win Things

Do you drink Sweet Leaf Tea? Have you noticed the sayings on the undersides of the caps? They're called Grannyisms. I thought I had featured one or two on the blog in the past but a quick search returned zero results. Sweet Leaf, an Austin-based company (woo hoo!), is running a contest - the Great Grannyism Cap Off Contest. Click HERE to enter or vote on the entries. 

http://www.sweetleafalmanac.com/contest/

A Fortuneless Cookie, Baby Slippers, & an Update

First up, no one has commented in response to the questions I posed at the end of the last post. Feel free to click here and do that. I actually want to know what makes you save fortune cookie inserts (or not).

And now, for what's happening in the world of fortune cookies:

Pam shared these two inserts, which she said were not-a-fortunes:

"Someone is looking up to you. Don't let that person down."

"You will bring sunshine into someone's life."

I told Pam that the second is an actual fortune but she says, "Maybe technically, but 'you will bring a phrase from a Stevie Wonder song into someone's life' is a pretty floppy fortune." It's tough to argue with that.

Have you seen these White Lotus "Fortune Cookies"?

Colleen sent me this pic and said the cookie is labeled "fortune cookie" but doesn't offer a fortune, even on the package. Things that make you go hmmm...

And finally, from Uncommon Goods via Myrtle, these adorable Baby Fortune Cookie Slippers, which immediately made me think of Cristina, who guest blogged here and here about her most recent pregnancy and the relevancy of fortune cookie inserts.

The tiny little inserts sticking out of the slippers say "An amazing adventure awaits you" and "From small beginnings come great things." Cristina's baby girl was born just a few weeks ago. Congratulations! Now go kiss that elephant! ;)

Which Ones to Keep, and Where to Save Them?

A few days ago Jenny Gardiner, whose new book happens to feature fortune cookie inserts in some "relevant" way (perhaps a blog review is in order?), told me she keeps "memorable fortunes" taped next to her desk. One of them reads, "You are the greatest person in the world." It's not a fortune, per se, but probably an insert I'd keep in plain view if I ever received it. Another reads, "You are a happy man," which is maybe a little off target for her but hey, whatever makes you smile, right? 

When Jenny said she has some fortune cookie inserts taped to her desk (or nearby), I responded that I love to hear about places people store their memorable inserts. I most often hear about wallets and refrigerators. (Jenny keeps the inserts in her wallet, too.) I have a few special inserts I keep in plain view, pinned above my desk. One was given to me by UnScurvyGirl; another I received a couple of years ago. I keep the rest of my inserts (fortunes or not) in these two places, which I've written about before:

my first cookie insert holder, courtesy of Myrtle

my newest holder, thanks to Hester

This conversation with Jenny made me wonder: where do you all keep your fortune cookie inserts? More importantly, how do you decide which ones to keep and which to discard, leaving them on the table at the restaurant after having read them aloud to your dining companions, possibly laughing at their messages, or perhaps even carrying them around with you in your wallet for a few days or even weeks and then, upon finding them again and remembering why you saved them in the first place, tossing them in the nearest trash can? Respond in the comments if you feel so inclined...