Wow: 10 days.......

How time flies. It has been 10 days since my last posting. Annikki and I have been up to our necks doing all sorts of things.



Annikki’s mother went into her new Old Peopler’s Home for the first time on the 2nd. When we visited her we found that they were keeping her in bed and she was losing muscle strength. So we had to visit her everyday till we ensured that they were keeping her mobile.




Then Annikki was able to visit Joanna and her new granddaughter. We had a tough time as the little baby had no name. I started calling her Kochmol. But on Friday last, Joanna informed me that the baby is probably getting a name - the world’s most used name, but the Finnish version is not so common.

Maria is the choice of Tony, while Rebecca was the choice of Joanna. Maria (related from Mariam, Mary) seems to have won the day. Both Annikki and I think it is a lovely name.

Remember Tony and Maria in West Side Story? That was Tony’s rationale for choosing that.

We know a couple of Maria’s and they are wonderful people. First there is Shantakochamma’s and Mohanchayan’s (Dr. K. O. Mammen) daughter to whom I used to tell Noddy stories (not Enid Blyton’s but those made up by me) to in the 70s. And then there is Maria Tuominen who became a great friend of the family in the late 70s when she and her family were in India and their son, Kari, became part of our family.

I had a gruelling schedule, but a very enjoyable one. Take Samu to school every morning and bring him back in the afternoon, play hide-and-seek with Daniel, tell him two to three Jungle Boy stories (again those which are made up on the spur of the moment), look at a few nature books and then have tea and biscuits with him while Samu enjoy’s his late afternoon meal that Joanna has kept ready for him.

Besides this many of the new Indians in Oulu have been pushing me to help them in different ways. I have been doing that with some pleasure. It is so wonderful to have such a vibrant community of Indians here.

The combined CHAFF and O-India lunch meeting at the Crecian Restaurant (Sunday before last) was really wonderful as Cypriot Andreas and his Finnish wife gave us a great treat.

We have been busy designing the O-India web site and there have been many discussions in progress on the O-India Google Group. This has meant regular review meetings once or twice a week and a lot of reading the inputs and editing it to be suitable when put on site.

The routine was so hectic that last Monday I actually overslept and did not get up to get Samu to school. But Tony stepped in and took him. I really felt terrible at my lapse, but the body was speaking about my schedule.

Finally I had the eye check up at the Oulu University hospital. Cataract was ruled out. There is only mild “glittering”. However, I suffer from quite severe myopia and the doctor has prescribed that I do not use the multi-focal lenses but separate ones for reading and long distance vision. I do not know how I will get used to that after having used multifocals for over 15 years!

And since winter has been so mild, I have not been using the scooter as the roads have been quite treacherous. I used it yesterday as we had a cold spell for a couple of days so there was quite a lot of grit put on the cycle tracks where we are allowed to drive the scooter. It is still quite dangerous, but I enjoyed being on the scooter again. However, it will be good when spring arrives and I can be more mobile on the two wheeler.



And not to forget - we had the world first - Annikki and Samu's Mobile Snowman sliding down the snow-slide - and I have been trying to put together the movie about this historic event. The video was shot by one of our new Indian friends in Oulu, Vishwanath Mallabadi, who is a professional photographer.

Hopefully the next blog entry will not be in another 10 days!

Action Snowman - 2nd Installment

Many of you raised the point that the pictures in my previous post on the Action Snowman did not really explain how the Action Snowman would actually move, unassisted.

Blame this on my poor photography skills, my lousy camera and the bad lighting.

I got a few more explicit photographs today afternoon. This will show you the extent of the sophistication of Annikki's design of the Action Snowman.





The first two photographs above show the slide and the snowman, with his feet raised so that only the snowman's bottom rests on the plastic plate which will propel him down the slide.



The third photograph shows the precise position of the snowman as he is ready to slide. It is just a cm away from moving and even that has been designed by Annikki as a very delicate snow ridge.



The last photograph shows the rear of the snowman as he sits on the plastic plate ready to go.

We now wait for an accomplished photographer and cameraman who will take those last few seconds when the Action Snowman slides down that slide to become the world's first unassisted moving (probably self-destructing) snowman!

If you look at the detail of the snowman, beside his delicately raised feet, look at the beautiful eyelashes - an effect Annikki got from using two rose berries.

Look at the wonderful broad smile. This was achieved by using a single twig and a little more snow. She did not use the usual carrot nose, but just a blob of snow.

This will stand out as one of Annikki's greatest creations - where she leads the rest of the world in her creativity.

World's first "Action Snowman"

Annikki is famed for many things - but one of her specialities is designing snowmen.

Many will recall how, a few years ago, I was greeted at 4:30 am by this snowman.



Or the one she created in 2006 November:



Or her seated laplander of late last year:



But her creativity phase has reached a new high.

She wanted to make a snowman which moved.

Who would think she would ever achieve this goal?

But now she has succeeded, aided by the enthusiasm of her grandson, Samuel. First they created a snow-slide:



And Annikki created a snowman which is delicately balanced on a plastic plate which children use to slide down snow hills.



We are waiting for a good video camera before she lets the snowman slide down the snowslide!!

Annikki takes art to the limit.

I was really amazed and laughed my guts out when I saw her working in the garden late last night (after 11 pm) and saw that snowman just ready to slide down the snowhill!

Why is the Laplander sitting down?

The temperature was just right and the snow was perfect for making the snowman. But, this year Annikki has him sitting down on a snow stone! (Sorry about the quality of the pictures!!!!!)




Was it just because the Laplander was tired like Annikki and me?

Actually, Annikki had a specific practical reason to have him sitting down on a stone also made of snow.

A prize for the first person who gives me the correct reason!