Winter Wonderland

It snowed again last night, so after dinner we went out in it to play. (Snow is such a rare and precious treat for us that all normal routines are gone with the wind/blizzard.) This time it was the perfect snow for snowmen... We rolled a HUGE snowball, until it was too heavy to turn over again, and then rolled one nearly as big for the middle and then the head - which was nearly too high for us to lift it up. But we did it. We were very pleased with ourselves, and so in fine old tradition we began to pelt each other with snowballs... I am not a very good shot - almost as good as the kids, in fact, and so I got very cold down my back... ug!

By the time we brought everyone in for a bath we were freezing again, and they were whiny! Cold, tired and whiny! Great combo. Warm bath, warm pjs, hair dryer and bed...

And then I got the camera out again...

I had to get one of the eucalyptus covered in snow. I could title this What Nature Never Intended, I think.

And I was at it again, early morning... or, not so early because sunrise is pretty late mid-winter, but in time for the dawn colours.The birds were out eating again, and I got these shots of ground-feeders having a go at the crushed fat-balls and sunflower seeds I put out for them.

Funniest was the magpies which were stuffing their beaks with fat and then stashing it in holes in the snow... squirrels of the bird world! They were intimidating everyone who flew away from the saucer when they showed up. Until, that is, a collared dove came and started intimidating them. This is a picture of two magpies pretending that they don't want anything to do with that saucer and they would much rather have peanuts than fat, thank you.

Here is the snowman that we built last night, in the sunshine of this afternoon. It's as tall as I am.

And the setting sun (at 2:30) across a snowy field.

Icicles hanging from the church.

Our hedge and bin covered with snow. That's the depth of snow that fell last night. 3 inches or so.

And finally, our Christmas tree. Potted, so we can (hopefully) use it again next year.

Baby, it's COLD outside!

As usual in this cold weather, my first task after hauling myself out of bed was to give the birds their breakfast. They were right on it!

It had snowed in the night, covering up the tracks made the day before, giving us a brand new piece of paper to scribble on.I stayed warm inside while my eager offspring bundled up and headed outside to throw snowballs at the windows.

After breakfast (hot porridge with brown sugar!) we went out sledding. There is a nice little slope about 100 yards away from the house... very convenient. We stayed out for a good hour before my toes were just far too cold and I insisted we all came in. There wasn't too much argument so I suspect they were cold too. Maybe it was the offer of hot chocolate...

But right after lunch they were out again, trying to make a snowman.

Unfortunately the snow is very crunchy. The kind that sticks to your gloves and not to itself. In Feb when we had our last snow it was perfect snowman snow. A small ball rolled around the garden gathered everything up to itself and we made a huge snowman...

This time, however... not so huge (bucket for scale):

So they turned their attention to sledding again. Well, not the downhill sort, but the pulling-each-other-around-the-parking-lot-next-to-the-house sort.

It was 2:30 and the sun was already starting to head low.

An hour later and this is the situation.

More snow is forecast for tonight, and the temperatures remain well below freezing, so I think this will continue for a few days. Luckily the roads are clear and we have no-where to go - until Tuesday morning that is, when we gather in our Grandma from the airport!

Woohoooo.....

Hey, guess what? It actually snowed! A whole 2 inches or so... more in London and on the hills, I think, but here is where it counts.

So today, the last day of school, the boys went in wearing their wellies and have no doubt spent most of the day playing out in the snow - when they weren't in their classrooms playing games. What a way to end the term.

Spike has his nursery Christmas party this afternoon, complete with magician and a visit from You-Know-Who! He went in his wellies too.

This morning though we took a trip to Tesco to get more milk, and this was our mode of transport:

and we had some lovely visitors...

Real Snow Day?

There has been a 'Severe Weather Warning' for our part of England...

Heavy Snow, Thurs 17 Dec

There is a moderate risk of severe weather affecting Eastern parts of England. Rain showers will turn increasingly to snow, especially during the late afternoon and evening. Accumulations of up to 5cm are likely with perhaps 10cm over hills.

Now, those of you reading in places where it really does snow a lot can just stop laughing now. Remember, we don't often get snow. This is cause for dismay/excitement depending on your age.

My family and I are in the 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeee................' camp! We know where our snow suits and sled are and we are ready! (And will be really disappointed if it just rains.)

What makes it all the more exciting is that Friday is the last day of school here, and it is traditionally a 'toy day'. They spend the day playing games they have brought and enjoying themselves... that is after such a hard week of Christmas parties, Christmas worksheets, finishing off Christmas gifts and cards, singing Christmas songs and going to the school Christingle. So a snow day at the end of the week will be just the most exciting thing and a wonderful way to start the Christmas holidays.

And here's a picture from our last snow, back in February. Just to get us all in the mood.

So, how's the forecast where you are?

SnowDays

This is one of our favourite wintertime websites.

You get to make your own snowflakes...

Its easy and fun, you don't waste paper, and there aren't any little scraps all over the floor at the end.

Go on, give it a try!

Stones into Schools

I am all excited! Greg Mortenson has a new book out. It's called Stones into Schools and it is on my Amazon wishlist!

His last one, Three Cups of Tea was amazing. He is amazing. What he does, and has done is amazing. And wonderful. HE should have got the Nobel Peace Prize, not Obama. Not that I have anything against Obama, but really, compared to what Greg has acheived...

Anyway, very excited about the prospect of this new book, and wanted to let you all know about it.

And if you order it from Amazon.com (not sure about .co.uk, maybe there too) the CAI (Central Asia Institute) which Greg founded and runs (with a little help from his friends) gets a whopping 7%. Which they are very pleased about... it makes me wonder how much (how little!) authors usually get from book sales!

Anyway, go find out about it, and if you haven't read Three Cups of Tea, please do. The generosity and kindness in it is wonderful. Amazing. Inspiring.

And go find out about the CAI and the work they do here!

Good News and Bad News

The good news is that Spike is feeling fine, bouncy, playful, happy - in short his usual self.

The bad news is that his cough has returned and this morning he was wheezing a bit, so I called up and got him an appointment with a lovely doctor (every time we seem to see a different one... this one was really chatty and friendly - just right for a little boy who didn't want to be there in the first place!) that morning (again, thank you NHS). And his chest infection has returned and so he is back on another course of Amoxycillin. Hopefully this time it will clear up completely, but if it doesn't the Dr said to come and see him again.

While we were there we saw three other kids we know... it's that time of year. All the best kids are coughing, spluttering and dripping snot. Don't you wish you could be here?

Wet and Cold

We needed more peanuts for our feeders, so I took Spike with me on a 'job' to go get some. And there was a deal that if you spent a certain amount on a particular brand of peanuts you got a peanut feeder free... no way we could pass that up! He chose an apple shaped one and he is very proud of his 'apple feeder'. Here is a very blurry picture of a tit investigating it...

To be honest they seem more interested in the one they were used to, but I'm sure they'll figure it out. For now it is just one adventurous tit braving the scary new thing in the tree!

But look who I got a picture of the other day! Our lovely Greater Spotted Woodpecker! He has been a regular visitor this winter. He grabs a peanut from the original (long) feeder and takes it to the stake next to the tree and hammers away at it. It's always a thrill to see him! And the frost this morning has brought them all flocking in. Nothing better than standing in the kitchen with a hot mug of coffee watching the birds and ignoring the housework... (there you go, a confession of a guilty pleasure!)

It has been pretty rainy over here in the past week or so.

Last week the North West of the UK got it all - Cumbria (the Lake District) was terribly flooded. This week it looks like it's our turn. This is what it's like just down the hill and 'round the corner from us. Those are newly built half-a-million houses there in danger of being flooded out. I wonder what the new inhabitants think about that! Living close to a river is lovely, but this close? Hmm...