Our 13th anniversary do

Last Saturday, we celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary at home with some friends...

the pale lilac coloured orchids were specially sourced for the occasion from an orchid farm...

While waiting, guests nibbled on fresh cauliflower and aïoli spiced with piment d'Espelette.

First course was an easy choice - foie gras with some apple confit and a slice of kundang, a local fruit that has a rather tangy mango flavour.

Though carbonara is technically Italian, well, the guests loved it. French hams from the Comte région made it French!

Main course - on a bed of potato mash flavoured with truffle, orange-flavoured duck roasted with baie de genièvres (juniper berries), cherry tomato confit and oven-roasted courgettes.

Wedges of Comte cheese with orange slices and cress salad.

Another crowd favourite despite its Italian origin - Tiramisu...

Denizens of the undergrowth during the dry spell...

The current hot spell has been exceptional as the hot and dry weather has slowly left its mark on the usually wet undergrowth of the forest...dry paths free of leeches and mosquitoes is a welcome bonus of the dry season...

A forest gecko ponders in the shades...

a female Darkwing butterfly

a most unusually coloured spider...

the Gem Demon sunning itself under the sun-speckled undergrowth...

the Common Wright, not a very common butterfly for the name it carries...

a mating pair of Darkwing...

the Malayan version of the Morpho, the Dark Blue Jungle Glory (male)

a female

a frog sits quietly on a leaf...

dry spells often brings out the usually unseen flowers of myriads of vines and plants under the canopy...

and some

Mi casa 5 years on...a CNY preparation

This CNY, we prepped up the house to receive guests as we had decided not to travel and put ourselves into stress using autoroutes. 5 years after we have first done up the house, we actually maintained its style - just some updating for the festive season...

The entrance with a pot of pink Hydrangeas to spruce the colours...

My favourite corner - my library...the painting was done back in 2001...

The hall remained very much the same - tried not to add any clutter to an already small space...

The bedroom, well, just a red-themed bedcover for CNY...

 Dinner's coming- and we were expecting relatives from afar...

My humble but utilitarian kitchen.

A poster from the Belle Epoque of France...

The corridor leading to the back of the house...

and my butterfly collection from the butterfly farm in KL...

The exit to the backyard...