Nine Seniors, a Table Full of Food, and Plenty of Laughter

 There are many ways to enjoy a good lunch. But getting together with old friends, sharing a table full of Cantonese dishes, and enjoying one another's company is hard to beat.

Today, we had lunch at Kingsfield Chinese Cuisine御品海鲜粤菜. There were nine of us, men and women, all seniors. It was a wonderful gathering, and I am sure everyone went home with a happy heart and a satisfied stomach.

We certainly did not order lightly!

The table was filled with a generous selection of dishes. We had ginger chicken buns, siu mei, beef rice rolls, stir-fried beef and bitter melon with rice noodles, steamed beef ligaments, radish with ngau chap 牛什, and stir-fried noodles with green bean sprouts and thinly sliced red and green peppers.

And that was not all.

We finished with red bean dessert and Chinese donut in rice rolls 炸两 . With so many dishes on the table, there was something for everyone. We shared, sampled, and enjoyed the variety. Nobody needed to worry about going home hungry!

But the food was only part of the enjoyment.

What made the lunch special was having nine people sitting together, chatting, exchanging stories, and enjoying each other's company. There is a certain comfort in meeting people who are at a similar stage of life. We have our own experiences, memories, families, and stories to share.

At our age, these gatherings become increasingly precious. We may not be as energetic as we were thirty or forty years ago, but we still enjoy good food, good conversation, and good friendship.

Nobody was in a hurry to leave. That, perhaps, says something about how much we enjoyed ourselves.

I have always believed that friendship does not need elaborate arrangements. Sometimes all it takes is a restaurant, a large table, nine friends, and enough food to keep everyone happy.

We had a wonderful afternoon at Kingsfield.

As we said our goodbyes, there was already talk about getting together again. I look forward to the next one.

After all, growing older is inevitable. Growing apart from friends is not something we have to accept.

A little food, a little laughter, and a lot of friendship. That is a good recipe for enjoying our senior years.

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Grandpa's Note: We may be getting older, but our appetite for good food and good company is still very much alive!

Grandpa Journey — A Little Advertising. A Little Friendship. A Lot of Heart.

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A Little Bit Each Day: Julie and I Tackle the Autumn Leaves

There are things in life that we used to do without giving them much thought. Gardening, cleaning the house, walking long distances and doing all sorts of household chores were simply part of our daily routine.

But time changes us. We are not as young as we used to be, and we have gradually learned that we need to approach these activities differently.

This afternoon was a good example.

After returning home from a quick lunch at Ying Kee, Julie and I decided to tackle the fallen leaves in our garden. Autumn is beautiful, but it also brings us plenty of work. The trees are generous with their colourful leaves, and someone has to clear them away!

I took out the leaf blower and started blowing the fallen leaves into manageable piles. Julie followed behind me, collecting the leaves and putting them into the garbage bins.

We made a good team.

In the past, perhaps we would have tried to finish the entire job in one afternoon. We might have kept going until everything was done.

Not anymore.

We worked for about an hour and decided that was enough for today. There was no need to exhaust ourselves trying to finish everything at once. There would always be another day to continue.

Our approach is simple: a little bit each day.

I think this is one of the adjustments we learn to make as we grow older. We begin to understand that completing a task is not always the most important thing. Looking after ourselves while enjoying the process matters just as much.

There is also something pleasant about working together. I operate the blower, Julie collects the leaves, and between us we get things done. It is not a major undertaking, but these little moments of cooperation are part of our everyday life.

At our age, we should not measure a successful day by how much work we have accomplished. Sometimes, an hour of gardening, a nice lunch together and a little satisfaction from seeing a cleaner garden are more than enough.

Tomorrow, there may be more leaves on the ground. That is perfectly fine. Nature has its own schedule, and we have ours.

We will deal with them another day.

After all, life is not a race. We have earned the right to take things a little easier.

A little bit each day. One step at a time. And, most importantly, enjoy the journey together.

That's our philosophy for this autumn.

— David Au, Grandpa Journey

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