Woke up early this morning to do last minute cleaning. I started to boil the soup base for tonight's Steamboat dinner. Then I made mango pudding & kept it in the fridge.
I realised the plants which I had bought for the planter outside the Entertainment Room were dying. Quickly I asked Chris to get me 20 bags of garden soil from the nursery. Chris brought the kids & they were very tired after carrying all those soil up to the third storey. Finally the planter was done by 4pm.
I started preparing the vegetables & meats. I cooked a whole pot of rice, we should have rice left after Chinese New Year Eve's dinner - to signify abundant food for the new year. I bought a fish for the same reason. For us Teochews, we need to have leek. Leek pronounced in Teochew means 'count', we should eat leek so we could have 'plenty to count (money)' in the new year.
Dinner started at 6pm. We had the dinner table moved to the front of the TV so we count watch the TV programmes as we eat.
The kids were thrilled as they get to drink as much soft drinks as they want. They can watch TV as they eat, something which is forbidden on normal days. Most important of all, they get to stay up all night if they want. It has been a tradition in my family, for the children to stay up all night on Chinese New Year Eve. It is supposed to add more years to their parents lives.
Dinner took more than 4 hours. The kids helped to clear & wash up. They also helped to put out the new year goodies.
By 11pm, I was exhausted. I went to bed while the kids sang karaoke. Chris went to the temple to pray.
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