The things we do...

On my way home from work today, I have to go forage for food to keep YK's caterpillar alive. His caterpillar is about to pupate in a day or two but until then, it needs to feed on fresh leaves. It has been rejecting the wilted ones picked over the weekend.

 

Apparently we have plenty of saga trees in our neighbourhood but the leaves are beyond my reach. With him away in camp, I have to deal with this mini crisis. When he returns this weekend, he wants to shoot, oh I mean photograph, the specimen and release it back to the jungle. If you're interested in what he does, you can check his album.

 

Now that I only see YK during the weekends, I try to spend more time together. This can only mean two things - hiking and eating. Thanks to him, I've practically visited all the nature reserves and parks in Singapore. A typical weekend would involve driving from one end of Singapore (eg Changi Coast) to the other (Jurong), stopping only for lunch. Sometimes we even take the bumboat to Pulau Ubin.

 

It's a good thing I enjoy being outdoors and find the forest fascinating. Last weekend, we came across an off-trail flanked by large tree ferns. With the morning light filtering through the tree canopy, it looked like a scene out of Jurassic Park or Lord of the Rings.

I've resheduled my household chores like sweeping and mopping to Fridays so that I can enjoy my weekends. When he's shooting bugs (which can take hours), I read a book under the shade or simply sit back and enjoy nature.

 

One of his favourite haunts is the mangrove area around Pasir Ris Beach (below). It's funny now that I think about it. This park used to be their playground when they were little. It still is after all these years.

I treat the boys to a good lunch every weekend. Since YK is the one who is deprived, I try to satisfy his cravings. Lately we've been eating at Japanese restaurants. He always orders grilled saba (mackerel) which I think is so easy to cook at home. Now I buy fresh ones from the market and grill them myself.

 

One place that we all like is Skinny Pizza. The paper thin crust makes eating pizza a guilt-free exercise. I particularly like the generous serving of salad greens while the kids like the crispy texture of the pizza base. The squid ink pizza is their favourite.

We always order the smoked turkey swiss pizza which comes with heaps of turkey ham, swiss cheese, rocket and lashings of sweet blueberry jam.

 The fries that come with the fish and chips can be very addictive though I can't say the same about the halibut chunks which are just too bland and  meaty for my liking.