Trees and such

I have an obsession with trees. I love taking photos of them: the big or the small, the old or the new, the green, yellow, red or brown, the bare or the full - they all amaze me. This obsession with trees probably started during my university days. When I was in school, I remember feeling overwhelmed when drawing trees; what with the intricate branches and full branches of leaves, it was not an easy task at all. It was always much easier to draw a coconut tree or a banana tree! (which brings me back to the time my painting of a beach scenery with coconut trees was chosen to be sent for an international art competition in Japan).

Deprived from receiving any art lessons during secondary school, it was only at university did I have the opportunity to do something I always liked. I took Art as my elective and my life immediately changed. I used to spend time in the parks to sketch and doodle the intricate branches of huge old trees. Of course, autumn and winter was the most perfect time to do this as the trees were bare! LOL!

When it snowed a few days ago, I was again mesmerized by the beauty of the trees when covered with snow. They were breath-taking! I long to sit and sketch or paint these wonderful scenes but I simply do not have the time to do so. Hence, these pictures will have to do for the time being. I've also included some pictures of the things in my back garden.

my favourite (above) - this would be an interesting one in charcoal

the pond my twins made with their own bare hands

A few posts ago, I wrote that I don't make it a habit to look out of the window in the mornings. Well, things have changed since it's been snowing during the night for the past 5 days. And the forecast says to expect more during the weekend.

Monday - Abang H with his baby snowman

Abang H wanted to lie down and let the snow cover him but I told him he was too big and would require too much snow - at that point, the snow was slowing down (he only gave it a minute though!)

The amount of snow we're getting is not as much as what we had exactly 2 years ago (February 2007). Nonetheless, the snow that hits the ground stays and that's enough to evoke feelings of excitement and exhiliration; not to mention nostalgia. Unlike the few other occasions it snowed earlier this winter - in October and November - the snow this time is very much welcomed as it didn't come after a week or two of bitter cold. I hate it when the temperature gets below freezing point and still, there's no sight of snow. This time around, it just snowed... almost out of nowhere. The weather forecast had already warned us of the snowfall, which was reported as coming from the direction of Russia (Nana, so you went to Italy to enjoy and sent the ridiculous winter in Russia to the UK? LOL!).

In the school field on Tuesday

The snow for the past week is rather interesting. Sometimes you get heavy flakes falling, and covering branches of trees, rooftops, cartops, grass and the road. Sometimes, in the afternoon, the sun melts the snow on the road, and some of them which settled on open surfaces. On Wednesday, we thought that the forecast saying it would snow more on Thursday or Friday was just wishful thinking. No, no, no... it worsened on Thursday that most of the schools in the city were closed. The children were overjoyed - Our prayers have been answered! And that was the day I went on a baking spree - making kuih cara, sausage rolls and banana muffins for the children and also for some of my neighbours. Hehe... I even had the urge to make some doughnuts but I had to put myself on a harness and remind myself that there would be other rainy days, if not snowy.

Today, I drove to the university (after staying in for 4 days) and on my way there, I became mesmerised by the picturesque wintry atmosphere! It reminded me of the scene in Narnia. The leafless trees looming over the roads were generously sprinkled with snow and gave the most perfect picture of winter. Subhanallah... I have always had an attraction towards trees during autumn and winter - an inspiration when drawing and painting. Oh how I wish I had my drawing kit with me then, or had the time to stop and capture the beautiful scenery.

Well, we'll see whether we get more snow during the weekend and if we do, I know where I'll be heading with what!

What you CAN do with snow

In my earlier post today, I said I had something to do with the snow. Well, I raided my pantry to look for some proper ingredients. Zilch... Nada.... No colouring whatsoever for this special project.

Well, I'll let you in what it is. You know how people joke about having some snow for ABC. Snow is not for consuming, so it's just a joke. Still, I'd love to just decorate a bowl of snow just like what you'd get in most stalls or restaurants back home. Frustrated because I didn't have the ingredients to fix my bowl of ABC, I flunked back into my chair to (supposedly) work on something. Low and behold, there was mamasarah on the line!

I pleaded her to fix a bowl of ABC for my sake because I know she has syrup in her larder. Whatmore, she's such an artist in the kitchen and with the camera! She'd be the perfect person to help me out with this favour.

So here is the picture of the Coventry ABC. Any orders????

WARNING: ONLY FOR DISPLAY PURPOSES. Sarah and Amar, keep your hands (and mouths) off!

It's Snowing...

We've been listening to the weatherforecast and believing that it'll snow today. So, when I got up this morning, the first thing I did was look out the window. And of course, that got everyone out of bed!

Apparently, it started snowing at about 5 am. Most schools are closed and people are advised to stay off the roads to avoid traffic and accident. Still, we went for a drive with the kids. Down to our usual hangout - the park where we loyally fed the swans and ducks (despite the signs saying "DO NOT FEED THE BIRDS"!!!!).

The man who religiously fed the birds daily was already there with his big bag.

The park was deserted. No one was crazy enough to play on the swings when it was snowing. Guess we're among the few crazy ones!

The twins had the most fun playing in the snow and never seemed to have enough of it, exclaiming, "This is what I mean by fun!!". On the other hand, my princess and little one have had enough of the cold. "I want to go home!!"

Princess crying because it was too cold for her!

Back at home, the kids (with the help from their mommy of course) made this 1.5 feet snowbaby. Perhaps we'll make a snowman in the evening if it doesn't stop snowing. Or maybe the snowbaby will grow into a snowman on its own! We tried sticking a carrot in its face but it would stay. I abandoned the snow-fun because my feet were already numb. The twins looked for pebbles to make the eyes but they were all buried under the snow. So, they were creative enough to use milkcaps for the eyes. And, when I looked out the window later, they had stuck two pieces of branch as hands for the snowbaby.

After some hot chocolate and lasagne (from the neighbour across the street - in return for the bread n butter pudding i gave them yesterday!), the two younger ones were game for some fun in the snow. After some snowball fights and fun just lying on the snow (yeah, trust my twins to do ANYTHING!), everyone retired into the house, warming up next to the heater.

According to the news, the Midlands and Wales have been hit with the worst snow. Even Scotland's not snowing. Strange, eh?? When I was in Scotland many, many years ago, it was cold ALL the time and the worst snow hit was when we first arrived. That was great fun!

There's something I've been wanting to do with snow so I'll have to key off now... Anyone wants to join us??

The first time it snowed (for D's kids)

Last night, it snowed for the first time since we came. I was already under the duvet half asleep and Mr.D called me when he got back from the loo. "Snow". Yeah, sure... He was just trying to get me out from under my haven - NO WAY! But he managed to get me up to crawl to the window. Yeah, it was all white. Perhaps 1 cm thick (or thin), and the snow was still falling. He wanted to wake the kids up, but I insisted : N -O !! Abang has had this crazy idea that he doesn't want to sleep at all during the night. don't ask me what he wants to do to keep him awake. He said he didn't want to sleep ever. So, an excuse to get up from bed and watch the snow fall from the window or even sneak out to play, would certainly be a brilliant idea for him!!! We snapped photos from the window and I crept back under the wonderful warm duvet (15 tog tau!!!).

This morning, Abang walked into my room, "Mama, sakit perut..". I asked him to walk to the window and tell me what he saw. He said, "Apa? Kereta? Kenapa?" From under the duvet, we asked him to look closer (no, I wsn't ready to leave my wonderful warmth). "Cuba abang tengok betul-betul..". Then, the shriek, "Snoooooowwwwwwwwww!!!!" . And there wasn't any more pain. He went shouting to the rest, waking them up from bed . Aaaaah, if only it snowed on Mondays, it would be an excellent wake-up call!

Of course, this morning the snow had melted already. It wasn't as white as it was last night. Still, the boys went out to play with what little snow was around. Hopefully, it'll snow more today and tonight, and tomorrow. Meanwhile, brrrrrrrr...

Reflecting on Abang's reaction to snow this morning, I recalled another incident some months ago. A friend in Durham has not been feeling well with all sorts of physical and psychological trauma. We went to visit them. When we walked in the house, everything was gloomy. One child (B) was slumped in a chair, with a long face. Another (C) was lying on the sofa. They have had tummy upsets and were slightly feverish for the past week.

So, we came and tried to cheer them up with some care and excitement. Half an hour later, B was running down the stairs! "I feel grrrreeeeat!!!" He was grinning from ear to ear, and his arms were in the air. We laughed looking at him. Was this the same boy we saw half an hour ago, all gloomy and droopy?? Even little C had forgotten whatever was wrong with her!

The next day, we left the house feeling that our visit was indeed very worth it. We managed to cheer them up. Initially I thought that the visit should uplift my friend's low-spirits, but indeed it has cheered the whole family up! ALhamdulillah..

So, perhaps we should be wary of all the psychological elements out there.