Mating Butterflies

Remember the story I told in the earlier post about my sister, her son and I running around in the field in front of our house armed with our cameras? Well this is one of the photos I took while I was there - a pair of mating butterflies up close.



And this is the first photo I took of the pair before Ethan came charging towards them but luckily his grandfather stopped him before he could accidently chase them away!

A funky restaurant in Kochi

I was in Kochi last November for a conference and we stopped by this funky cafe in town. Well, actually the interior wasn't all that funky but they had this huge chandelier decorated with (fake) antlers and wings!





Now you can see the interior of the restaurant and the antler-wing chandelier properly. I was so amused and I have to say, am a bit impressed with whoever who had thought of this idea. I wondered what had inspired him to do this?



The dessert which I ordered was matcha (green tea) ice-cream with whipped cream and mochi balls (made out of glutinous rice flour).



Another dessert ordered by my friends. Enjoy!

The many faces of Dylan

I wonder what he was dreaming about?



One of my favourite expressions!



Look at me posing!



Sweet, sweet slumber....



Playful mood!



Another one of him sleeping.....well, he sleeps alot!



Yawn.......!

What is in your kitchen?

Apparently, in my parent's kitchen, all types of insects and snakes. We have found several types of snakes and all manner of insects, big and small. This one flew into our house one night while my sister was cutting my hair. Of course, such photo opportunity should not be wasted, so I immediately took my camera and tripod and started clicking. Tripod was a bit shakey so I really had to click alot to get the clearest picture. Thank goodness it was a moth, so it stood quite still was I was busy making it a star. Lovely yellow moth (I don't know what species), quite a change from the usual brown ones that flies into the kitchen. There was a huge one once.......

New Year, new stuffs?

I am killing two birds with one stone in this post. I have not posted the pictures of Sento Palace in autumn as promised, so I would do so now. And interspersed between the pictures would be my ramblings about my time at home and how I ushered in the new year.



So how did you guys celebrated the New Year? Mine was a lazy celebration back home. My sister's place has a great view of the city and I saw the fireworks displays from all over. I was with my family that day and that was enough celebration for me.



If I were to describe my holiday back home in just one phrase, it would be "lazy pigging". Honestly, I was just glad to be back home and pigging out on all the good food I had missed while I am here. Spoiling my nephews. Catching up with my friends. Walking around familiar places. Good times.



I remembered one day, in my hometown, when I was obsessed with photographing the dragonflies flying around in my garden. My nephew was with me and he was equally fascinated with them as I was. My sister, his mother, was also trying out her new camera, so there we were, three people, armed with cameras, stalking the field in front of our house in search for the National Geographic picture. We were quite a sight. Of course I came back with insect bites all over because I was stupid enough to wear shorts. But it was worth it.



What will this New Year bring? I know for sure that it will bring me the final chapter of the Harry Potter series. (Who wanna bet that it will be Harry that dies in this book?) I would also have the chance to go to the summer sonic festival again. And there will be another round of spring and autumn, another round of festivals in which we can have fun. Another chance to go on a holiday and most importantly, another chance to go home.



However, this year would also be bittersweet. Some of my friends will be going away, eiher back home or moving on. And I will miss them. I will be here for another three more years and I know that my last year here will be the most difficult, not only because I have to finish my thesis but also because I would be alone.



"That is life" is what most people would say. And it is true because life is not always about roses and candies but also thorns and salt. We have to make the best of it because I refuse to think about the alternative. Do not dwell on what could have been but what you could be.



"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep" - Thoreau. God, I wish I could write like that, but I couldn't, so the best I could do is quote.



Happy New Year!

For more Sento Palace pictures, please click here.

My nephews

The mighty stretcher



The cheeky boy