Chinese New Year

I smiled when I saw Google's Doodle this morning reminding everyone that today is the Lunar New Year.

It's the year of the Rabbit.  If that's your Chinese Zodiac sign, you are talented and affectionate, yet shy.  You work well with people and and do well in business,  You're most compatible with the ram, pig and dog, and least compatible with the rat and the rooster.  [My Chinese Zodiac sign is the pig.]

I celebrated the occasion a day early.  When I was driving home from work yesterday afternoon I was thinking about the Chinese New Year, so decided to place a take-out order with my local Chinese restaurant.  The gal at the restaurant was happy because this is the year of her Zodiac sign. She happily proclaimed she was a rabbit.

Delicious Oolong tea, Egg Drop Soup, Pork Fried Rice, Egg Roll, Tangerine [for prosperity] and Fortune Cookie.  It was a fun deviation from a normal dinner.

My Fortune

The Whitney reopened Thursday evening after being closed for 10-days for a 1st-floor kitchen renovation, so my mini-vacation ended and I went back to work yesterday.  98 guests for Mansion Tea.

We have a new executive chef to go with our new kitchen, Mark Donovan.  He's a southeastern Michigan native [Troy, MI] who graduated from Schoolcraft Culinary Arts Program, and has spent the last 18 years working at Disney properties.  He wasn't camera shy and let me take his picture yesterday.

Today I'm putting the finishing touches on my presentation about The Whitney for the residents at Independence Village in Plymouth tomorrow.  I have thoroughly enjoyed delving into Whitney history again regarding the mansion as well as the family.

I'm also racing with the clock to finish a Shutterfly Album with photos from my four years at The Whitney.  A special for unlimited pages expires tonight at midnight.  I won't have the album to show at tomorrow's presentation, but I'll have it for any future ones.