Monday, February 11, 2008

Winter Daze


Hmmm... been a month exactly since my last blogpost. I try to update at least a couple of times a month but January went by in a daze of über cold, frequent disruptions to my little old archaic dial-up connection, and attending one funeral after the other of elderly relatives. Now I don't know much about global warming or the Greenhouse Effect or all that environment in-talk but I do know that monsoon-like weather in January is miserably and wretchedly cold. All that rain and fog is bad enough during the monsoon but in frigid January when the walls take on a new emptiness after all the Christmas trimmings have gone back to their boxes, it's major horribilus.

This winter I discovered the joy of something that I've long associated with the sick and the old, especially my grandmother. Namely, the hot-water bag. A good friend of mine, a much much younger friend in fact, often texts me that it's so cold she can't get warm enough even with two hot-water bags. Maybe her immune system's kicked in to it but for me, nothing warms me up faster than a hot bag nestling at my feet beneath the blankets. And no innuendos please. 10 minutes and I'm kicking off my socks and pushing the water bag aside. Mmmm pure bliss.

Of course, what I call cold may be relatively warm compared to other places and temperatures. The pictures on TV of China the last few weeks have been reminding me how lucky I am, and never mind the West because it's always cold there anyway. Always so cold they have Central heating and the works which isn't the case out here. All we have to ward off a shiverfest are woollies, hot-water bags and sigris. But much as I gripe, and much as I love waking up to a beautiful sunny morning, I love winter. Up here in these mountains especially, winter means days of perfect blue skies and warm bright sunshine, and cozy early nights. Now that's magic.



Picture credit: Nell Khiangte

13 comments:

  1. Hman ni khawvawt tak tak kha chu aw... Kan veng pa pakhat chuan, "Ozone hi poh belh hlek se a tha ang"..zu tia...!!!

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  2. i love mizoram winter too. it's not the cold that i like but the festive season and all the good things that come with it!

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  3. Vawt tak a ni, samuelapa. Tunlai boruak hi chu thil hun lo a piang hi a hun a ni zok toh in ka hria. Thlasik laiin ruah a sur a, nakin fur laiin khua a kheng leh churh lo ang tih a sawi theih miah lo.

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  4. Yep W, the festive season and the end of the year...all that contributes to a magical time of year. I've sometimes wondered what it would be like if Christmas came in the middle of the monsoon season.

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  5. Keini pawh a lum deuh a.. a rawn vawt leh tawh.. 'very very dry cold wind' in min nuai a.. kan khaw bul lawk ah phei chuan nimin khan, ram a kang vak mai. Kan va ai pha lo zawk mah mah a.. hehee

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  6. no innuendos meant ;), but the best way to keep warm in winter is a warm body next to you - much better than a hot water bottle ;) and the best thing about winters is the warmth that comes at the end of the day when you can slip into a blanket next to that warm body :)

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  7. lexx, vawt lo sawi ve suh. Nangni te chu central heating in nei a, lum chikimin in lum! Ram lo hal poh ngai hlei nem hehe

    CS, when you've never had a warm body to cuddle up to in bed, you don't miss it. Funny how you married ppl always think there's just one way to keep warm! I have this much married friend who razzes me on that all the time, sigh. Guess singledom has its pros and cons.

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  8. Tuilum ip ka vote e! Keipoh hmang ziah... Tuilumip a tha...tih lawm a ngai lova, a hnar ngai lova, a tawng vai lova, kuah peihloh hunah tlawh pon poi a ti lova...less complications, more warmth!! tee hee

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  9. haha lal bahuram, i hehe khan thil tam tak a sawi...right, what's a little arctic weather for a honeymooner!

    daydreambeliever, guess I've just joined the club then. Total no strings attached, no emotional baggage relationship tiraw hehe

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  10. I strongly disagree with calliopia and daydreambeliever ;) ...W

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  11. Cmon W, it's a win-win relationship all the way! :o)

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