Happy New Year of the Dragon

Good health, success and peace to all!

The happy company around the table

Last night's Reunion Dinner was great despite the storm that raged during the meal. Luckily for us it was mild when we arrived and left.

Ah Ling did up a fantastic meal - rare food in Israel: there was Shanghai buns (vermicelli/veggie bao), shrimp and veggie jiao zi (steamed dumplings), minced beef with mui choy, luo bo gao (carrot cake) and nien gao!!!!  Then there was the traditional noodles, rice, sweet/sour pork, beef with cashews, steamed fish, veggies, mushrooms/toufu in oyster sauce. Can't remember the rest.

Nien gao - what's left of it!

Luo bo gao - yummy!!!

Everyone enjoyed it very much ... not least me. Haven't eaten nien gao and luo bo gao in decades!!!

And my stomach held up. Too bad Osvalda and Pedro couldn't come. Both were ill form the cold.

Fiery sky with rain at 1am

No fire-crackers :(  Well, you can't have everything, I guess. After the dinner, stayed up late in order to call home to wish Happy New Year. It was then that I realised the sky was fiery red and raining. Fantastic sight. Reminded me of the dragon, fiery protector of waters. Nice contradiction. It was very cold. So cold that there was a snow storm up in the Golan. Even Hebron in the desert was snowed. And Bethlehem I heard. This morning Osvalda said she saw slight snow on the rooftops of the houses in Jerusalem before the sun melted it away. Well, its a nice start to the Dragon year. Hope it'll augur well for everyone.