Helen Plus Three

Five little birds sitting on a branch, preening themselves.  Managed to grab a still and while I was fumbling with the camera trying to figure out how to switch to video,  they decided they had sat long enough for me. Such a pretty sight. ..... Bulbuls..

When I move, this will probably be one of the things I miss the most. Stepping out and walking in any direction, taking in the cool breeze, sitting in the park.. the quick 'hop, skip and a jump' to church.. It will not be the same in a HDB estate, especially when the high blocks seem to close one in. No I'm not taking a snobbish point of view, just speaking as plainly as possible, this is what it is. Sure there will be greenery and trees, but somehow it will still not be the same. I suppose for the major part of my life, I have lived in a more open space environment. But I will get used to it, adapt like everything else that has passed in my life. It will be a small price for peace and comfort. We'll carve out our space like we always can and accept it; and eventually to add to pleasant memories. We can still take our walks. Not so much to mourn about, positive changes, the ones who matter are with me. A loving family is all that matters. I'm sure there will b...

The new house is quite cozy, the first informal house warming was today. There's still a bit of work to be done, but it didn't get in the way. Dad's got a lovely view out his study window, there's a huge green tree with a good distribution of branches, a breezy sway today and feels very cool.  Settling in with his TV sets and electronic gadgets.  Still lots of wires to go into place.  Soon he'll be putting his plants in and smelling the roses. Mum's finally getting comfortable. Soon her spanking new kitchen will be filling up with the old smells of spice, curry and onions. I thought it would feel small but it didn't, it felt comfortable, it felt like home.  The contractor took close to two months and it's not totally completed, odds and ends still not done yet. It will be my turn to move house soon, I'd better start making notes and get advise on good contractors.

Coincidence or is there some strange message behind there ? Sometime ago at my parent's house, the Sunbirds decided to build their nest right next to the house entrance, against the wall. There are so many trees to choose from and yet they had decided to brave the very human zone. Somehow they knew my folks and any one who goes there can be trusted not to disturb the nest.  Sunbird's nest Ok I'm not saying they fully trust us humans, not like they were willing to hop onto our hands or anything like that. They were very watchful. Whenever any of us wanted to poke our heads closer to see what was in the nest, momma or papa bird would fly out - flitter here and there at a distant, twitting very loudly as if to say get away ..get away... They would calm down when we moved away. Yet inspite of our 'kaponess' or should I say  'caring curiosity', I believe there has been 3 generations coming out from there. A week ago at our house, a pair of doves deci...

The Noisy grill Mum and Dad are moving out of the house I grew up in, of almost 30 yrs 50th Wedding Anniversary Card There's something steady and stable about that old house almost as steady as Dad. That's what it represents. I could always come home or go home - it's always there. I never thought of it differently. Front Porch The landscape has changed, the neighbours have seen a turnaround too. Lots of tall houses now poking the heads up higher than the rest, to the left and the right a few doors down and immediately behind us and in front of us. The school grew taller too over time. The side Garden.. But the house remained my comfort zone.. memories of my dogs, the old iron gate - yes I had a share in painting it too, the plants, the trees - ah.. the old forever non-stop flowering and fruiting drumstick tree. This estate - it is all home. Even when I moved out of the estate, here was where comfort was.  The warmth of  memories, growing up, scraped kn...