I.I. Chapter 56 celebrated start of the Year of the Rat with a buffet brunch at the Waialae Country Club.  The centerpieces and exhibit arrangements all incorporated various references to the new year and participants were challenged to create their Chinese zodiac animal out of tin foil.  Mrs. Misako Ito, wife of the Japanese Consul General in Hawaii, regaled us with highlights of the recent enthronement ceremony and her impressions of how Japanese New Year traditions are celebrated in Hawaii.  (She had never made mochi before coming here!)  We were also graced by the presence of Seema Sud of the Gurgram Chapter near New Delhi, India, who had just arrived for a short visit and was able to enjoy our speaker and exhibit with her daughter.