I have a friend whose husband passed away about 6 months earlier than Chow. She told me that life is meaningless. I shuddered and realized the important part friends play in life.
(Left: Elsie, Jocelynn, Carmen, Jenny, Anne, Lilian, Elaine, Veronne, Gene, Eric, Johnny and Susan)
I am lucky to come to know few friends in Taiji. Though the time we got to know each other is not that long, but somehow or rather, i could feel the growing concern among ourselves. We seem to be sharing quite some common interest, like Taiji, views and some philosophy of life.
So, i had a small gathering with these new founds friends of warm hearts, all are Taiji enthusiasts, my si jer and si heng. They give me a much needed hand to go through a new phase of life without Chow. To share out the work, we agreed to have a pot-luck party.
Warming up slowly, blessed with a cool and breezy night, as compared to the sizzling warm night the day before. Should consider ourselves very lucky.
Let's toast and welcome the Year of the Tiger with zest. Bye the way, everybody liked the garden party setting.
Everybody was in a happy and jovial mood.
A very serene garden setting for gathering, all were feeling very relaxed.
My plants were playing their part too, adding a touch of green and a feel of nature to the party.
Too much of food left. Not that the food was not good, but that everyone was very generous. All were excellent cooks. Moreover, Isabel & Tan, and Sng also took the trouble to bring over some food, though they were unable to attend. Earlier, Xiang was worried that there might not be enough food for all, so she was relieved to see the amount of left over!
Elsie was late, as she had to send her daughter to KLIA. Veronne was bad enough to pester her to send off the daughter as early as possible. Shy to say that it was in my mind too, but i was smart enough not to say it aloud, haha...! Finally, poor Elsie turned up passed 10 pm, hopping from hubby's car into her car, and came darting to meet us. Well, she had to rush as we only would start to 'lo sang' with her together. Good things in life are meant to be shared.
Veronne and Eric were seen busy helping me to prepare the Yee Sang, while Lilian looked on, waiting to be served like a queen!
Anne and Jenny looking for 'hou swee kween' for Jocelynn. Xiang and Kevin were with us to average down the age!
Everybody 'lo sang', tossing chopsticks as high as possible, chanted out as many wishes as possible. Somebody commented that we were wishing for the impossible. Well, never venture never gain! It is better to wish for more so that you get more wishes answered by the number, within the same percentage. The Yee Sang was delicious, if not too sweet, as i added fresh fruits like apple and pear too, besides the normal ingredients.
For Yee Sang preparation, refer to: Fa Cai Yee Sang for Chinese New Year Celebration
Finally came the celebration for Jenny's 1-day belated birthday. Gene, our cake expert, had a rich chocolate cake ready for her. Lucky Jenny, how i wish that all of you celebrate my birthday too!
Eric was in elated mood, turning romantic and finally received a loving kiss from the wife.
I told Jenny to have the first piece of cake, as a birthday girl.
Our initial plan was to have some dancing and card playing, but we had so much to chat about, or maybe we were too lazy to change from our comfortable position, that we did not have time for those. Jenny was in her flare skirt, all geared to release her 'chi' in dancing, but alas...!
It was a very enjoyable night. Before the party came to an end, everyone insisted helping me to clear the food, wash the plates, put back the chairs and tables and 'tar pow' the excess food. My fridge was too full to take in any extra then.
We planned to have more gathering in times to come.
Posts
Hey j.Lynn,
ReplyDeleteAn interesting and 'broadway' writeout on our recent cny gathering at your house. My wife and I enjoyed the nite with rest of the group, appreciating your beautiful matching flora plants outside your house. Many thanks for inviting us!
Johnny Ringo