from left: My Mom, My 2nd brother (Siantar), our childhood friend Akheng (who happened to be in Singapore with his family for a vacation, from Indonesia), my daughter (Natalie), my husband (Layminto), my brother's gf (Sachiko), Sanae & Kayo (Sachiko's friends, from Japan)
Happy New Year!!!
Sachiko roasting the rice cakes, to make "mo-chi"
My 2nd time making cup cakes with sugar coating... these were made 2 days ago, & well,... finished alrdy, hehe... While the kids were sleeping, I got up to the kitchen to start making more of these, thinking it'll be nice if I can make them right then for everyone, & also to bring to the beach. Unfortunately there were not enough butter & icing sugar, so I didnt make any. Perhaps I'll make these again tomorrow ;) my kids & everyone else in the family loves them!
As I found out, the Japanese treated the 1st meal of the day on the New Year, to be a very important meal. Ideally, that first meal is supposed to be breakfast. However, since Sachiko will be hosting this gathering at our house, she changed it into a lunch gathering, for that all important 1st meal of the year.
She started getting busy from the 31st Dec afternoon onwards, preparing & cooking most of the dishes for the 1st Jan lunch gathering. Seems like quite a lot of work ^^ And, we're all impressed that everything turned out well, & it was a sumptuous & inviting spread!
Our childhood friend Akheng happened to be in Singapore with his family, so my brother invited them along. It was a good time to just catch up, chat with his wife & exchange stories & tips about our kids. With the exception of Sanae, everyone else stayed on the whole afternoon to just chat & relax... the kids managing to get an hour's sleep in between, as we promised them an outing to the beach that evening.
Overall, it's a good day to kick start the new year. I get to know 2 new Japanese friends, who are really friendly, & easy to talk with. (btw, did I mention that Sanae speaks fluent Indonesian as well? She went to Jakarta few years ago to learn the language at the University of Indonesia. And Kayo, is quite the career woman, who also danced the Flamenco!)
Us (the family) had a good laugh talking about (not gossiping) how the 3 Japanese ladies (guests) got themselves busy at the kitchen preparing the food, while we (the host) hang out chatting & enjoying the "tasting" of "mochi" served on the table. And afterward, when everyone was done with lunch, Akheng's wife started to get busy helping to clear the table. What "thick-skinned" hosts we are! hehe... but it was all good fun. Those who were busy, did that happily... & us who did nothing, enjoyed it happily as well :D
Around 5pm, we set off for the beach, which is abt 20 mins leisurely walk away from our house. It was relaxing & the kids enjoyed themselves at the playground. Us the adults got to know each other better, chatting away anything that came to mind.
I'm really really thankful to God, for all his abundant blessings in our lives. Our family are well & healthy, we got our new house & settling down comfortably. Hans & Natalie starting school on Monday (4th Jan), my "new-found" freedom drawing nearer (haha...), a new maid who is settling down happily in our family, made 2 new friends & met up with an old friend, ... the list continues endlessly, if we really look into our lives & see how good & gracious God has been to us!
I'm looking forward to this journey on 2010... with many things I want to do, learn, achieve & overcome. I hope everyone looks forward to walking through 2010 as much as I do, & may it prove to be a wonderful year for all of you out there :)
Happy New Year, God Bless YOU!
No comments:
Post a Comment