tecoma in bloom

its the season now. not only the local fruits are aplenty.

but driving along the roads here in Kedah is such a pleasure. for the tecoma trees are in full bloom.  blooming pink and white. you can't see the leaves for the hundreds of flowers covering the trees.

sheer  ethereal beauty.

the trees are on both sides of the road  which runs through padi fields that stretch to the horizon.

can nature be more beautiful?

the pretty blooms of ulam raja

she plants them in pots. also amongst the grass. sweet sweet pink flowers of the ulam raja flutter in the breeze, beckoning to little birds and bees. the multitude of airy pink petals hover over her little garden like the flimsiest chiffon....

the cape/crepe myrtle is in bloom too. fuchsia colored blossoms hug slender branches. a riot of pink while the white jasmine blooms profusely sending whiffs of the most beautiful fragrance into the air.

orange heliconias grouped under the broad green galangal leaves.

oh what singular beauty.

and then she saw them. little kiko and koko. busily munching..... on ulam raja shoots! and daun kaduk!

the little guys love herbs!

the rabbits think they are cats

kiko and koko must be thinking they are cats.

each time she opens the kitchen door, both kiko and koko would rush into the house.            

koko the youngster to his favorite place between the m.s. grille and the glass sliding doors where he can view the outside world. while kiko is content to stay in the kitchen while she cooks and talks to him.

kiko loves to lay on the cool ceramic tile floor,  facing her, watching her as she goes about the kitchen. sometimes she'd give him carrots. or sunflower seeds.

then koko would come to nibble on the cold slices of carrots or the nutty snacks of seeds they love so much.

they look so comical, balls of black and white side by side munching daintily.

sometimes koko would run underneath the kitchen cabinets and she has to switch on the light fixtures under the black cabinets to see where he is.

both would come to her when she calls their names.

he's fast the little boy koko. while kiko is more laid back and serene.

whenever she's out of the house even for a few hours, she'd miss them.

dear little kiko and koko.

gardenia's sambal bilis buns and daphne du maurier

these days she is addicted to gardenia's sambal bilis buns. they are so delicious, fresh, so good as a snack while watching anthony bourdain  in siberia or a re-run of 'enemy of the state'. but best when re-enjoying 'rebecca' for the hundredth time.

ah daphne du maurier's 'rebecca'.... haunting, ever captivating the senses.... the dark, attractive, enchanting maxim de winter...and the nameless young, gawky, plain wife.....

she first read 'rebecca' in secondary 2. and fell in love with all of daphne's  books after that. my cousin rachel, the loving spirit, frenchmen's creek, the du mauriers, mary anne etc. did she sense a kindred spirit in daphne?

she then started emulating daphne's writing style, in her first short stories in those uncertain, gangling teenage years, self conscious and introverted.

seems such a long time ago...