Oh Dear Me!

Well, I was still lying in bed this morning - still recovering from a minor fever which I managed to catch while walking in the rain yesterday. My mind is still trying to remember the fact about the Non-Parametric Methods. So, there is not much requirement for the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon Test. Only that at least the measurement scale is ordinal. Doesn't require interval data, doesn't even have to assume a normally distributed population... At this point I was interupted by my daughter Damia. She came rushing into the room announcing "I want the Kaka..!" And imagine my confusion - from statistic facts to the very reality of life which came so suddenly and announcing something somewhat foreign as well.

"What?! What is it that you want?" I asked her back.

"This!" She said showing me a crispy new packet which she had with her.

And imagine how I feel when the words written on the packet is simply "Cucur Ikan Bilis". Well, I should have stopped there, but I can't let it go.

Damia starts her reading lesson here. And that explains her pronunciation and slang and whatever else. And the fact that we are bilingual at home does not really help either.  Now, it makes me think of the time when I asked her "Di mana Mia letak Mia punya kasut tadi?" and the response that I received is "Kotak dalam". Well, I really have to work something out. So much that I want her to be bilingual or even trilingual or to absorb as many languages as she could, she has to be good in all of them. Guess it is time to go to ebay and get some Malay books for my Mia. Oh Dear me!!!

Our Trip to Durham County Part 1

Back in Malaysia I was never a fan of ebay. I was very sceptical about it. I felt very insecure dealing with something E-lectronic like ebay. And I listened without any comment whenever any of my friends told me they bought this and that at a fraction of the cost at ebay.  But now, I am quite comfortable with it. And I couldn't believe my luck when I won a bid for a 5D4N stay at a cottage in Rookhope - really, for a fraction of the normal price! Unbelievable that I emailed the Seller twice for confirmation!

Rookhope Burn Cottage where we stayed at

So, last Monday we started our journey to Rookhope - a beautiful village in the Weardale Valley. As we make our way through the North Pennines way through Middleton-in-Teesdale, we were met by beautiful, beautiful views - of mountains, terrains, farms and miles and miles of them. And the weather is matching the scenery. Opps, sorry - but as was put in by Prof Haslam, you can't avoid talking about the weather when you are in the UK! You see, it is truly a blessing when you have a good weather here.

It is farm after farm around here

Anyway, since I have to get ready to go to my group discussion, I will leave with some pictures taken along our way to Rookhope. Perhaps, if I am not back that late and not too tired tonight I will continue with the next part of our trip. Study I must!

I just love the clouds in the sky

After miles and miles alone on the road, we started thinking f our SatNav is all right!

Finally! I am taking this kind of picture. It may not be much but I like this type of scenery :-D

And this one too!

Well, see ya!!! :-D

Of Fishing and Crabs

Well, the truth is I am still very tired. We just came back from Rookhope (a beautiful countryside in Durham County). But, it has been quite some time before I key in anything in my blog. So, before I start on the story of our trip to Durham, let me just start with our fishing trip last Sunday.

Aqil quietly waiting for his brother to come with the wet wipes to clean his hands. He fell off and managed to get some mud on his hands

One happy man in his element!

The first catch of the day! A fine rainbow trout

The younger fisherman in the family

Happily striking a pose!

At the end of the four hours, they managed to catch 3 rainbow trouts between them

Back in Malaysia, at least twice a month we will be having crabs on our dining table. But here we hardly have any until last Saturday - after almost 7 months! We went to the fish monger while at Arbroath when we came across some. So, that night, we had a lovely butter crab for dinner!

Three big juicy crabs!

 True decapod crustaceans! 

Dinner, anyone?

Short Trip Part 3 : Beatrix Potter Exhibition Centre, Birnam

Well, after having our second picnic (the first was at Alyth) at the Hermitage Garden, we actually planned to go home. However, a brown signage at the junction caught our eyes and since it is just about 10 minutes away, we decided to visit the Beatrix Potter Exhibition Centre at Birnam. A few years ago, we went to the Beatrix Potter House at Cumbria (in the Lake District) such, we decided to check out this one.

Danish, Hakim & Mia inside Mr Tod's house

Aqil riding Mr Tod?

At first we thought she's giving a pose but actually she's struggling with tummy ache!

Little that we know of Aqil's plan at this stage

See the distance between the bridge and the rock? The one which Hakim stood on?

See his wet shoes & pants? Hmm... he thought his step is as wide as Hakim's. And fell right into the pond. Too bad I was to busy rescuing him that I can't capture that moment!

My Eldest & Youngest. Hey! It's time to go!!!

In our excitement in exploring the Beatrix Potter's Gift Shop, we forgot to take any snap. A lot of beautiful things to see - pleasure to the eyes unfortunately not to the pocket :-D In the end we just bought a little notebook for Mia, a bar of soap and a medium jar of rose apple homemade sweets. Taste heavenly!

Our journey home is a bit of a nightmare as Mia was having tummy ache. She was crying part of the journey and asleep the rest. Too bad we didn't bring any medication with us which is a real big lesson for us to learn. We can only offer her tea and sweets! And we folded her jacket to press her tummy on. Gladly it seemed to comfort her a little which put her to sleep. Ahhhh!.... How glad we were to reach home that day! The best thing is, she's OK as soon as we reached home! 

Short Trip Part 2 : The Hermitage Garden

We continued our journey from Alyth to The Hermitage Garden. Well, Perthshire is known as the Big Tree Country.  And that is not without reason - it boasts some of Europe's most remarkable trees and woodland including the Fortingall Yew which is believed to be the oldest living thing in Europe at between 3000 and 9000 years old (source : Perthshire, Angus & Dundee Visitor Guide 2009).  However, we have yet to witness the Fortingall Yew. At the moment we're quite satisfied with the Douglas Fir which is reputed to be the tallest.  Anyway, enjoy the photos, yeah!

Somehow my travel photos will always have to have rivers and trees in them! I believe this is part of River Brann

Danish posing with the young giant - hmmm...... the Douglas Fir

Black Linn Falls

Supposed a bench carved out of the tree?

Mia & Aqil taking a short break?

Four trees? Or one tree branched out into four? 

With Baba Dearest

and Mummy Dearest

Other than rivers and trees, I also like to take snaps of moss. 

All those walk make us hungry! Say, cheese! 

A Sneak Peek of Spring?

As we were on our way back from Birnam last week enjoying the sun shiny Saturday, I overhead part of the weather forecast on Radio Tay : ".... we will be experiencing a winter spell next week where forecast of snow and blizzard...".

"That can't be happening." I said "What can't?" asked my husband. "Snow and blizzard... C'mon! We just have a week of nice weather. White, yellow and purple crocuses are everywhere. Daffodil too! All symptoms of spring."

Symptoms or not, Monday night as I was putting away the dishes, looking through my kitchen window, I saw snow pouring down! Pouring down like rain! Oh no! This was not happening...! 

Tuesday morning, as I was walking the children to school we were almost blown away by the wind. And I was informed by my neighbour that there were 63 trees fell down in Dundee (one or two nearby the University) and one just in front of Dickson Avenue (yes! That close to home). And the strong wind continues until Thursday (though not as strong as when it first came!).

And today, as the school starts it's term break, the weather is very much better! It is still cold but there is a promise of sunshine. Hopefully our trip to Stirling and Loch Lomond tomorrow will not be marred by bad weather.

So? The crocuses, daffodil, are they just a sneak peek of spring?