Celebrating The Year of the Horse

Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014 – Celebrating The Year of the Horse

Wearing red to celebrate the Chinese New Year

It’s great to have another reason to celebrate in the middle of winter, so we welcomed the Chinese New Year with enthusiasm.  First of all, I invited Elliott, Marshall and Matt to join me for lunch this past Thursday at P.F. Chang’s.  It may not offer authentic Chinese cuisine, but the restaurant has been a family favorite for years.  I can’t seem to shed my teacher habits, so I did some research online and made up a quiz to teach the boys a little about traditions related to the Chinese New Year.  Of course, you probably already know that this is the Year of the Horse.  But did you know about the five elements (metal, water, wood, fire, and earth) that interact with the 12-year cycle of animals, thus creating 60 different combinations?  So this is actually the year of the wood horse.  We also discovered that in China the festivities last for 15 days, commencing on the first day of the lunar month, when we don’t see any moon at all, and culminating on the 15^th day of the lunar month, when the moon is full.

In addition to being an educational experience, our lunch at P.F. Chang’s was a tasty treat, especially the dessert – chocolate-raspberry fried wontons.  Not traditional, but so delicious.  And when Elliott broke open his fortune cookie, this is what he found:  Your example will inspire others.  It couldn’t get more perfect than that!

Chocolate-raspberry wontons - yum!

"Your example will inspire others."

I continued celebrating the Chinese New Year on Saturday with dinner at Mala Tang with my friend Michelle.  Mala Tang’s specialty is the hot pot, which is ideal for a chilly winter night.  This is a fairly authentic Chinese restaurant, so we didn’t find any chocolate-raspberry wontons on the menu.  However, we shared an order of mochi – adzuki-bean flavored ice cream inside a ball of sticky rice paste.  It was the perfect cool finish after the hot pot.  By the way, Elliott stayed home to eat his leftovers from P.F. Chang's. 

Ready for hot pot with Michelle at Mala Tang

Mochi - a cool finish after the hot pot

Good news at Elliott’s latest medical appointment.  His pulmonologist was very pleased with his condition.  In fact, the doctor was amazed that his COPD hasn’t progressed.  So we’re expecting to celebrate his 102^nd birthday in a little less than four months.  We don’t have any big trip planned for the occasion, but we hope that the new kitchen will be installed in time for a little party at home.  Elliott’s approach to the kitchen remodeling project is very thorough and he won’t make any decisions without a great deal of deliberation.  (I tend to be a little more impulsive.)  Although we still haven’t made a final choice for the cabinets, we were able to reach an agreement on the kitchen layout.  The goal is to begin the actual work early in April. 

I have had a busy couple of weeks, with subbing at AHS, trips to Lowes and other vendors for the kitchen project, and keeping up with homework for my class at George Mason.  I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to The Kennedy Center for a fascinating performance called Beyond the Score: Dvorak’s New World Symphony.  It was a multi-media presentation that featured archival photos and film, actors, a singer, and a full orchestra.  Unfortunately, Elliott wasn’t able to join me because it was one of those bitterly cold nights when it was dangerous for him to be outside.  But we’re planning to go to more concerts in the near future, especially now that I can get free student tickets to events at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts, which is only ten minutes from home.