It’s the new year–Year of the Ox. The water reflects peach blossoms as they spray skyward. Winter jasmine drapes into the water. Chinese narcissus breathes fragrance into the garden. Fish are becoming less bashful. We’re celebrating springtime by donning on hanfu for a stroll by the pond.
Yesterday was Chinese New Year. Many of the plants in our yard are in bloom now, and all of it added to the atmosphere yesterday. We celebrated by having company over, and to finish off the evening, we had a dumpling-making party.
I took a break from making the guqin and resumed this afternoon. Progress has been much slower than I had thought. This partly because I’m routing a lot more carefully than before (and at finer step intervals). I’m almost done hollowing out the top panel to match the convexity.
Today is Chinese New Year! The 12-year cycle starts today, beginning with the year of the Rat—year number 4706, according to the traditional reckoning.
The main celebratory act today was the installation of the two stone lions. The whole process was quite complicated. It was only accomplished through much maneuvering with a fork lift and a tractor. After the whole process, the lions were christened with the eye-dotting ceremony.
