Dance and Crackers

January 27

Adrian continued with the rest of the walls and beams whilst I painted the other side of our gate and the grill of main entrance. After lunch when we resumed our task, we heard drumbeats and clanging cymbals. Lion dance performance at one of the houses further down the road. Needless to say, the performance would not be complete without the crackling of firecrackers. The dance ended as there was silence. Just as we thought we'd have some peace, the whole routine started again, and this time two houses away from the one earlier, and there was a third. It was more than 30 minutes when silence returned for good.

We stay in a quiet neighbourhood, and after a while, we (at least for me) grew to appreciate the peacefulness, and though sometimes could do with some liveliness, such loud chords could be, let's just say, a test to one's patience and tolerance. The again, it was CNY, and there were reasons for such boisterousness. What is CNY without lion dance and firecrackers?

Turning to Olive

January 26

I woke my hubby up for a quick breakfast. First day of CNY and we were to do what most (almost all actually) Chinese would think as taboo - painting! Out came the paint pan, brushes and rollers. We decided to go with olive green for outer walls of our house. Our rationale was simple, it'd help to camouflage the mildew that kept growing on them :)

We started work, and soon were getting the healthy morning sun in our face. The rays turned scorching hot when it was close to noon. Out came the straw hat and face towel. Whilst I was painting one side of the gate, an ice-cream seller came by and Adrian, being Adrian had to have ice cream. He hailed the ice-cream seller, and stood next to him like a school kid waiting for the two cones he ordered. "Tahun Baru you cat rumah ah?". Even the ice cream seller could not believe his eyes and just had to ask. "Kami tak pantang," was my reply.

By the time I finished one side of the gate, I got a wonderful tan :P and my husband had turned lobster red, so totally burnt. We moved to paint the parts of walls that were under shade. During the whole painting process, Adrian and I debated on the direction the rollers should go, and how the sides and corners should be done. Adrian being Adrian again just left the parts that needed more precise and careful strokes to his naggy wife. That was what he termed as preserving marital harmony :D and I agreed.