"Christine (casually, avoiding her eyes): Yes. He's much better now. He'll soon be going the rounds to his patients again, he hopes. (as if anxious to change the subject, looking at the flowers she carries) I've been to the greenhouse to pick these. I felt our tomb needed a little brightening. (She nods scornfully toward the house.) Each time I come back after being away it appears more like a sepulchre! The "whited" one of the Bible--pagan temple front stuck like a mask on Puritan gray ugliness! It was just like old Abe Mannon to build such a monstrosity--as a temple for his hatred. (then with a little mocking laugh) Forgive me, Vinnie. I forgot you liked it. And you ought to. It suits your temperament." 

Eugene O'Neill. "Mourning becomes Electra". Part I - Homecoming. Act I.

Although it might be unfair to tone images of wintering Almaty black&white, my excuse is that I recently listened a lot to "Pretty in Black" by The Raveonettes, which has evolved as a complementary soundtrack for the cold season here.

.... at least for me.

"It is shortly before sunset and the soft light of the declining sun shines directly on the front of the house, shimmering in a luminous mist on the white portico and the gray stone wall behind, intensifying the whiteness of the columns, the somber grayness of the wall, the green of the open shutters, the green of the lawn and shrubbery, the black and green of the pine tree. The white columns cast black bars of shadow on the gray wall behind them. The windows of the lower floor reflect the sun's rays in a resentful glare. The temple portico is like an incongruous white mask fixed on the house to hide its somber gray ugliness."

Eugene O'Neill. "Mourning becomes Electra". Part I - Homecoming. Act I.

I´m convinced that I´ll be the victim of harsh criticism by my friends Leila and Victor for posting those rude Almaty-In-Winter-Images and I´m sure some people in my family won´t like them too. As a compensation I - hereby - grant to publish some The-Beauty-Of-Almaty-Images here soon.