Snow!

We've been hit by an unexpectedly cold & snowy winter here in the UK and wow! The country is just not able to deal with it, they're running out of salt for spreading on the roads and most people have no clue how to drive in the snow/icy conditions since they never get any practice, so it's pretty dangerous on the roads.

Luckily, the public transport has been reasonably reliable (when the freezing temps aren't causing doors to get stuck & engines to not work) so overall, if you can get a bus/metro to where you want to be then it's been a-ok! And i think kids are loving the fact that the schools are closed and they get to go sledding & build snowmen & have snowball fights, it's great.

I've gotten out into the snow a bit myself and have had some nice walks among the white prettiness. I even built a little horizontal snowman(it wasn't the right kind of snow for packing into an upright one - so i improvised!) in my back yard. I am just loving this wintry weather! It finally feels like we've had an actual season here in England for once.

A little bit of snow & a weekend away

So today there has been a little snow(about 2 cm), and yesterday there was a little snow(maybe 1 cm), and both days the snow was gone by about noon, oh well. I know it causes all sorts of problems for people with driving and slipping, but i do like a good snowfall! I haven't been sledding in years. I would just love the opportunity to get a sled out and get out there, altho i may have to wait until i visit home. Either way, if i get to have some snowy fun i don't mind!

I've been busy in the many weeks since i've blogged. I've been to Amsterdam for a weekend and took the opportunity to put some of my newly learnt digital photography skills (another thing i've been kept busy with, an online photography course) into practice.

Here are some of the results with explanatory blurbs.

A beautiful building in Amsterdam which i've given the "aging" process to(sepia, grainy & with a border), i'm proud of the overall aged effect.

Playing with colors and black&white - another Amsterdam building, they've got such great architecture!

A swan in the park. I was so happy to catch this moment when all the ripples appeared, it looked like the swan was having a scratch behind its ear or something. I made it b&w to really show up the ripples.

The same swan pre-scratching, looking all handsome and elegant. I made this one b&w with a slight tint. I really think b&w images have an extra "something" to them that makes them stand out more.

Bikes. There are many, many bikes in Amsterdam. I tried my best to capture that in this photo.

The canals, anyone & everyone who visits Amsterdam gets a photo of the canals!


In gourmet circles, the frites of Amsterdam are known as being superbly exquisite. Served in a swathe of paper with a dallop of mayo plopped on top they are the epitome of a fry experience.......ok, i'm lying but they are damn good, and don't i just WISH the servings were THIS big - woooo!!

So yeah, there ya have it.....a short photographic journey through my Amsterdam weekend.

Now i'm off to find some fries
:)