02.19.07
Happy Year of the Pig
The Year of the Dog is over, long live the Year of the Pig!
To celebrate Chinese New Year, we had friends over for a get-together last night. This is the first time we have entertained guests in our new flat so it was very exciting! I am hoping to do more entertaining this year.
To start, we had lots of dim sum – spring rolls, prawn won tons and so on. I didn’t make them from scratch but Waitrose (a posh supermarket in the UK) had a good selection and they were really quite good. For main course, I cooked Chinese noodles with mock duck, Chinese greens and mushrooms, seasoned with Chinese wine, soy sauce and sesame oil. I based it on a Kylie Kwong recipe but couldn’t resist making my own modifications and I thought it worked really well. For dessert, we had a few Chinese treats (glutinous sesame balls and fortune cookies) and a delicious sherry raisin cake, which was not Chinese at all but was mighty good. The cake recipe was from Olive (a UK food magazine) and involved butter, ground almond, polenta, flour, eggs, raisins and sherry. Yum! There was ample wine, beer and juice to wash it all down with.
It was fun just relaxing with some good food and having interesting conversations with friends. It wasn’t a large gathering but we don’t have a large flat so it was probably about right.
The Year of the Pig is meant to be a year of great prosperity for most signs. I am a Dragon and this is what my horoscope says is in store for me this year.
Dragon, this year is your chance to alter your luck! You have many possibilities and fortune in front of you. This is the year of much happiness and celebration for all Dragons. In fact, these celebrations will be impossible to avoid. You will have many happy events all around you, everywhere you look! From celebrations within your family to those offered by friends and acquaintances, it will literally be a year of joy. You should strive to celebrate any and all positive tidings that come your way. From weddings to job promotions to smaller, less noteworthy affairs, everything should be celebrated. In fact, it is important to know that all types of celebrations will be of benefit to the Dragon.
This year is your chance to alter your luck and to fight back in strong, positive measures. In your future are many possibilities of good fortune. On the other hand, your status and name may be in peril, so you must work to manage these issues with talent and grace. If you evade well enough, you will find an amazing life filled with riches and good fortune right around the bend! Do not ignore what is right in front you, and be sure to put the proper importance on these issues, otherwise you could end up in a courtroom or face an onslaught of other severe penalties.
Your Palace of life (Life Constellation) is without a top-level powerful star in 2007, and unfortunately, the minor stars that are in residence, ‘Star Hong Luan’ and ‘Star Yue De’, are not helping matters any. This being said, you do have many other lucky stars arranged around your Palace of life(Life Constellation), and they are scattered everywhere. Be careful until you arrive at your end goal, and do not waste your energy on arrogance, as you may have trouble lurking around the corner. There are people in your circle that you trust, but be cautious, as you may have to deal with a disloyalty.
The possibility of such a disloyalty seems to come from the unlucky star ‘Star Yin Sha’, along with the unlucky star ‘Star Xiao Hao’. Combined, these two stars could bring about a myriad of failures, the degree of which could fluctuate among all Dragons. In 2007, the Year of the Pig, many Dragons will face a negative blow to their status and name. It is essential to watch on what you say, who you say it to, and where you store private information. Be positive that your private matters remain private!
Remember to focus on celebrations of all types this year! The happiness of these functions will help to dispel the poor and depressing forces within your Palace of virtues.
It’s convenient that the horoscope seems to be saying it’s a year of both success and failure for me; they’re clearly covering all bases!
Jess (fushmush) said,
February 19, 2007 at 6.23 pm
I’m a snake. Apparently it will be a revolutionary year for me. I have a chance for exception good fortune. But “any Snake who believes himself to be above harm, those Snakes who are in a medical profession, and those who are martial artists or work in a disciplinary field all need to exercise extreme caution in 2007.” Guess I won’t take up Kung Fu this year
Sorry we couldn’t make it. Sounds like it was a fun night!
Natalie said,
February 20, 2007 at 11.57 am
I’m a snake too. No Kung Fu for me either. What’s worrying me though is our star will cause us to choose a door which behind it could be exceptional riches or destituition. Not looking forward to that one!
Sorry I couldn’t make it either. Damn cold keeping me inside all weekend. Your food sounds delicious. Where are the pics of the food?
Caitlin said,
February 20, 2007 at 7.22 pm
I’m not big on taking pics of the food, I’m afraid. You’ll just have to let me cook for you another time; I want to perfect that cake recipe for one thing (it was a little underdone this time around).