Happy New Year

Saturday was Tết -- the first day of the Lunar New Year! This is the time of the Vietnamese New Year and the first week of the Year of the Rooster. The city has spent a week preparing for the holiday and we have enjoyed the Flower Street, the all-day music, and the myriad of rooster decorations.

Evenings were filled with lights, lotus flowers, and roosters in many shapes, sizes and textures. The only roosters that we did not appreciate were the real ones! The neighbours bought roosters for their yards. There are now many roosters in the neighbourhood. And the roosters start crowing at 3 a.m.....

On New Year's Day we were invited for dinner with Nhung's family. What fun we had! We ate traditional Tết food -- Banh Tết (tightly wrapped sticky rice with mung bean in the middle), hạt dưa (roasted watermelon seeds), dưa hành (pickled onion), thịt kho tàu (pork stewed in coconut juice and served with boiled duck eggs). Everything was delicious and we were so full!

We laughed a lot, despite the language barrier, and had a glimpse into the lives of Vietnamese families. Chúc mừng năm mới!

Exploring Mekong with Friends

Last week we were thrilled to host friends from Doha who now live in South Korea. We spent our first day with Brenda and Todd exploring the Mekong Delta. We took a speedboat on the Saigon River and traveled on several canals into the fertile area south of Ho Chi Minh City.

We visited several farms along the way. We walked through fields of rice and tapioca and we visited a family that raises pythons to sell for the skin. We sampled coconut water, fresh from the tree, and also whisky made from bee larva and honey.

We visited an orphanage, a Buddhist temple and ate lunch of traditional Vietnamese fruit and foods, including the Elephant fish.

Saying Hello to 2017 in Vietnam.....

As we get ready to celebrate the Vietnamese New Year on January 28, the whole city is frantically preparing to usher in the Year of the Rooster! The boardwalk near our home has received truckloads of sand, soil, trees, grasses, and flowers as it is transformed into a country lane.

Saying Goodbye to 2016 in Canada....

We celebrated Christmas and the New Year in Canada, among family and friends. Here are the highlights of our holidays.

We spent much time with Lisa's parents, worshiping, cooking, eating, sharing space for two weeks. It is always such a valuable time of connecting and growing and reminiscing.

We also had a few special moments with Lisa's and Tim's siblings, their extended families, and Tim's mom. Yes, it usually involved food.

On one beautiful afternoon, the three amigos went to the cabin to hang out. No-one expected that the ice on the lake would be frozen enough for walking. Max and Simon were especially thrilled that they had time to play!

We traveled to Truro to spend a few days with friends. On New Year's Eve we played games and watched movies, and ate way too much!! We also took a trip to the Sugar Moon Farm for a feast of pancakes and maple syrup.