We couldn't decide if it was better to have the tray be half empty with only Chinese candy or full with Chinese and American candy. 'But there's not enough Chinese candy to fill it,' I told her. 'It's a Chinese tray only Chinese candy is supposed to go in it.' 'You can't fill the tray with M&M's,' she told me. When Lissy saw the tray, her mouth made a big O. So I filled the rest of the tray with that. I looked in the cupboard for more, but there wasn't any more. Ki-Ki kept eating the candy, so I couldn't fill the whole tray. New Year's candy is sticky taffy melon candy, the color of the moon. It isn't real candy like chocolate or lollipops. Ki-Ki hung up our drawings and then came over to help me, though she didn't really help much. If it's full of sweet things, it means your year will be full of sweet things. It's very important that the New Year tray is filled with candy. I also took out a bag of the special Chinese New Year candy. We had polished it so much that I could see myself shining in the red and black wood. I went to the cabinet and took out the New Year tray. 'Pacy, stop drawing and go fill the New Year tray.' 'We will, we will,' Mom said, and she looked at the clock. We still have to make the shrimp, the pork, and the vegetables. 'Well,' Lissy said, 'I've decided I'm definitely NOT going to be a chef, because I'm tired of cooking. 'Like deciding what you want to be when you grow up?' I asked. 'No,' she said, 'finding yourself means deciding what your values are, what you want to do-that kind of thing.'

Since dogs are also honest and sincere, it's a good year to find yourself.' The Year of the Dog is also for thinking. They say the Year of the Dog is the year for friends and family. 'That's true,' Mom said, her hands mixing speckled brown meat, 'because dogs are faithful. 'You know how they say a dog is a man's best friend? Well, in the Year of the Dog you find your best friends.' Lissy always thought she knew everything. 'Yes,' Lissy told me, nodding her head so hard that her black hair swung back and forth. 'I know every Chinese New Year is a different animal, but is something special supposed to happen because it's the Year of the Dog?' I was teaching Ki-Ki how to draw a dog for our decorations. Our kitchen was full of rich, heavy smells because Mom and Lissy were cooking the special Chinese New Year dinner. 'What does it mean when it's the Year of the Dog?' I asked. 'Yes,' Dad said over the phone to Uncle Leo, 'happy Year of the Dog!' But since we lived in New Hartford, New York, they called us instead. If we had lived in Taiwan, we would be having a big dinner with all of our relatives-aunts, uncles, and cousins. 'Gong xi-gong xi! Xin–nian kuai le!' The phone had been ringing all night with relatives calling to wish us a happy Chinese New Year. 'HAPPY NEW YEAR!' DAD LAUGHED INTO THE phone.

Grace lin the year of the dog