Chilly Winds

Normally about a month before Chinese New Year chilly winds will blow and these winds are from the northern hemisphere. Geographically these are the North Easterly winds from Central Asia. This is the time when the humidity level in the air is greatly reduced causing much of the lawns in most houses to dry up with the help of the ever hot sunny sun.

This year the wind had been exceptionally cool until it is chilly in the early to late mornings. I had not experienced this phenomena for a very very long time but I am glad to have this opportunity again. Taking a deep breath in the early morning reminds me of the time when we were staying in the village when I was just a kid. During this time our mum would make sure that we had our sweater on in the mornings so that we would not catch a cold. This was also the time when we had to help out in the kitchen to make Chinese New Year goodies like rolling the love letters, grating pineapple for pineapple tarts, cutting pastry into shapes for kuih bangkit, pounding hundreds of eggs to make kuay nang koh or steam egg cake and so on . It was hard work but we know Chinese New Year was close by and the fun that goes with it.

It was really a nostalgic moment and I am glad that Chinese New Year is just round the corner.