Singapore's Spring Bloom

For the first time after I have come to Singapore, I have experienced spring blooms along this island nation.I could see rows of pink blooms filling the trees. In fact there was mass flowering in the trees as  it was  flowering after a  relatively long dry spell.It just looked  like Japan's  Sakura bloom in the spring time.I had  seen the Singapore bloom so many times  along train  and  bus  raids but couldn't snap  any picture as  I was on move .I was lucky enough to get last glimpse of the Singapore bloom this weekend when I decided to bring Arshi to my nearby  park- Tampines Sun Plaza Park.Though there weren't many flowers in the trees, as it had rained the previous few days.But there was some floral carpet spread across making us possible  for  a small photo shoot with Arshi as   my model.......

This spring pink blossom is   fondly nicknamed and called the "Sakulah" -Singapore's very own Sakura.Isn't the name very nice  just like Uniquely Singapore.

White Trumpet tree's flowers

Pink trumpet tree's flowers

A closeup view of the pink Trumpet flower, so fondly called as our Sakulah

Along side Griffits school last week.But when I went this week, I couldn't see any flower.The picture looks blur  as it was taken from my cell and  it was also showering that day.So there is darkness in this picture.

alongside Griffits school,Tampines

at City Square Mall

Tampines Park

Now some yellow blooms :

a yellow bloom

Tampines Park

Golden Shower tree

near Tampines Street 12

Now after the pink fever, yellow fever is in the town,These trees found alongside HDB s are visual beauty and I can find them almost every where.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the beautiful pictures of  Singapore booms as well as that of  Arshi in it.Hope ,Arshi has done her job as a model pretty well.

The pictures below were not taken by me , but were taken by other readers and I got  it from NP-National Park's NP's Facebook page:

Felt I simply couldn't resist sharing with you these beautiful sight.So sharing some great pictures by others.








          

Photo Coutesy:NP Parks facebook page

Aren't they simply lovely visual treat.

I learnt an important lesson this week-enjoy nature's beauty when it is there before your eyes before it is too long.We witnessed Singapore Bloom and  it is simply so beautiful.I regret for not taking many pics of the bloom then.But still managed to get some good glimpse of the bloom.From the pink bloom , now it is  turning to yellow  bloom and   we are enjoying every bit of  nature's beauty.

Now eagerly looking forward to next year's edition of  Singapore Blooms , and hope our mother nature won't disappoint us next year too.

Make your own book mark

When kids grow up , they tend  to read some novels which may require them to take more than 1  day to complete it.What does your child  do when they have half  finished a  book .We use bookmarks   right.We can make our own bookmark very easily.Have  a look at this bookmark which Arshi made in an event (Music @ Tampines) recently.

Things needed:

small chart paper,
 some gift wraps,
colour /plain papers,
washi tapes(for deco only) ,
satin ribbon to decorate
colour pencils,sketches, crayons-to customize ,
stickers

and

glue, scissors for almost all kids related art work and also

loads of your and your kids imagination....

How:

Cut chart paper into your required size and then cut gift wrap and  plain pale coloured(pink,yellow.....) or plain white  papers of the same size too.Glue them on each side of the chart paper.On the plain side, decorate according to your taste.Finally tie a satin ribbon at the top by making a  punch hole.Now your very own book mark is ready.

The visual shown above is for  reference only.You can let your  own imagination go wild while doing any art activity.

Sweet dosai(A type of pancake)

This is  a  traditional recipe which my mom used to make when I was a  kid.It was called as  vella dosai.

Arshi loves this dosai.It's very simple to make.All you need is 

1.Wheat flour-atta,

2.Jaggery

3.Elaichi-cardamom powder

Method:

Prepare dosa batter with jaggery and little water.Once jaggery is dissolved in water , add atta, cardamom powder.Cardamom powder gives nice and good aroma to your finished dosa.Form like a dosa batter by adding more water if  needed.Add pinch of  salt too to enhance taste(optional).

Now heat the pan.Pour little oil.Make dosa as usual. 

Now your yummy sweet dosa is ready to be served.Kids can eat this without any side dish.If you want, you can give a  slice of  butter along with this sweet dosa.

You can give as  a snack or as a  lunch box  menu.Unlike other dosai varieties, it won't go rough after a  few hours.It will retain its softness even if  kept in a  lunch box.

It is very simple and quick to make (just 5-10 minutes to prepare) as  well as  nutritious as we have wheat, jaggery.Hope you love this instant dosa recipe and will try this for your kids too.

Ice- cream stick puzzle

Kids love puzzles and you can make your own one with ice-cream sticks too.So simple to do...Just arrange a few ice-cream sticks and cello tape the edges so that it stays still.Ask your kid to draw simple drawings on the other side of it.After they have finished drawing and coloring , remove the cello tape from the other side and your puzzle is ready.Jumble up the sticks and ask your kids to arrange them in sequence.Suitable for smaller kids.If  the kids are too small to draw on their own, we can draw and  ask the kids to color or  we can colour too(!!!!!)

Trip to Raffles Light House

Myself and Arshi were lucky enough to visit Singapore's oldest light house-Raffles Light House this week.It was a  a sort of   picnic  for us though it was organised as part of a   learning journey.The journey began at Marina South pier.We visited The Singapore Maritime Gallery very quickly as  we had to catch the  boat.If I had known that there was a gallery in Marina South Pier, I would have bought Arshi a  little  earlier to have  a detailed visit to the gallery.

riding a ship !!!!

it's an inner part view of  a real container

view from the gallery

The kids gallery!!!!!

Add caption

all ready to sail...

 It took almost 50-60 minutes to reach the island  where Raffles Light House was located.On our way , we saw Sentosa Cove(ultra modern residential estate for the super rich),Kusu ,St John's Island(a  tourist cum pilgrimage site),Pulau Semakau (the landfill site)and many small islands.Everyone was having blast on the boat.

in boat

view of the city from waters

We even climbed the top of the boat to have cool breeze.

Outside the boat.It is so cool!!!!!

On normal days, we don't have access to the light house.They are open  for the public only on few occasions.

Raffles  Light House dates back to 1850 s when it was constructed.It is functional even today with the light keepers on duty.There are 5 lighthouses in Singapore.All the 5  light houses are not open to public and are restricted.Raffles is  1 of the  5 light houses and  also the oldest of the 5 lighthouses in Singapore.

Raffles Light House has  light house tower, a gallery and small beach resort type coconut farm, which I heard was part of reclaimed land later on.The view from all sides of this small island  was  so beautiful.

Very creative right?They wrote the name on a chair so that we can sit on it if we are tried....

The gallery showed us the various things used on olden days in the lighthouse including some giant lanterns.

 Our old president's letter.

There was a giant water tank too which had pure drinking water for usage in the lighthouse .The guide told us that the water were transported from the mainland to this island for pure drinking purposes.Previously, they had been using water filters and purifiers.

 I loved the olden styled stairs and the window pattern to keep the lighthouse lighted up during day time.

 Later after climbing atop the tower we took some pics for name sake.

atop the lighthouse tower

view from the tower

the Singapore maritime flag

we can see the water tank from top

stairs

olden day clock

read it if  you can.....

After visiting the tower, as  we had  some more time, we made a   quick visit to the beach.Arsheitha collected many shells and  now   her shells collection is even more.

now, the fun part of the whole trip....

a  true drumstick plant !!!!

a beach house ???????

collecting shells

many sitting chairs has been added around the place.

Though the island was small, it was  very beautiful.If you happen to get a chance to go there, sure go there.