Puzzle Notes

Dear solvers,

Two things to celebrate this week: Lunar New Year and a new puzzle from Lily Geller! I, for one, love the way her mind works and think you're in for a treat with her latest work.

I could go on about the evocative surface senses and clever wordplay tricks in this puzzle, but wouldn't it be more fun for you to see for yourself? Enjoy!

--Stella, for the AVCX Cryptic team