Hoppy New Year! 兔年快乐！

How did you usher in the Year of the Rabbit?

Ours was one of over-eating... as usual. Chinese New Year brings out the gluttons in all of us and right from the Reunion dinner, we steadily feasted our way through a series of delectable meals, peppered with snacks in between. Even as I type this post, I have a bottle of prawn rolls in front of me and wondering why my pants have again, mysteriously shrunk in the wash.



This being the year of the Rabbit, of course the White Rabbit sweet had to make an appearance. I hear melamine in small doses is harmless. Oh wait, didn't they change the formula? Too bad, I think it was the melamine that made it yummy.

Then there was the saga of our pussy willow. Usually, we buy pussy willow that comes in a bundle and just stick them in a narrow pot. This year, we decided on the spur of the moment to buy the potted pussy willow from Ikea (mainly because the accompanying crimson pot with the auspicious 福 was so pretty).

We'd never encountered pussy willow grown in soil before, so we were totally fascinated when it started sprouting leaves. Kenneth, not wanting it to bloom too much, decided not to water it, leading to all the leaves wilting about a week before CNY. We're a family of blue fingers.

After trimming the dead leaves, we discovered the branches had begun to lean to one side. Plant moves towards sunlight, ohhhhh.... It was like an evolving science lesson. Futile attempts were made to coax the branches towards a more balanced position.

In the end, it kinda worked itself out (with a little help from newspaper stuffing in the pot).


Chinese New Year is primarily about family afterall and it was great fun catching up with relatives we see just once a year. It's also a little sobering to realise that the number of places you visit decreases as the years go by, due to deaths of older folks. Always a timely reminder to cherish loved ones.


兔年吉祥, 年年有馀!