We Played Kites

Coming back from a break away from the office, the question asked would definitely be pergi mana? My answer this time is, nowhere. The children are working, it is the year-end after all and Iman, as usual would be working evenings and weekends. Ilyas has recently moved job so no leave there for him.

And we have always planned our year-end holiday for early in the year anyway. No pressure then, although it is not the school holidays. Eirfan doesnt mind it as much as I do, co-incidently..

My do-nothing, tak-pergi-mana time was spent at home doing everything and nothing (you may interpret that as you will). One thing for sure, the kitchen was definitely well-used. We made cakes and cakes and cupcakes (nak kata banyak nye buat cake compared to other days; tapi tak banyak pun in actual fact - yang jadi dan yang tak jadi..), we baked lasagna, tried a new baked chicken recipe.

We also tried a local Trengganu gulai ikan aya recipe which we followed from a 'gerenti jadi' buku masak that I got for RM5 (it was a gift to my hubby who loves nasi dagang with a passion - cheapskate, I know). I'll show some pictures (with the other recipes) later. For now I'll share the chocolate cake topped with chocolate ganache that we made.


We went for a picnic and mandi air terjun. We shopped. We walked. We did the garden; and cut our pokok jejawi which neighbors called cantik and likened our lawn to the tropics garden because of its green-ness. If we sit on our porch, the tree can hide the fact that we spy anyone passing by our front gates (ps you Cronies, or maybe spying on Zarina - haha). But it was too big already. The roots have gone all over the pond. Takut nanti pond pun crack.

And we played kite at Kepong. It was fun. Maybe we'll go play kites again. And get even bigger kites. Something like those that the pros play.

The kites come in many shapes and sizes. We had two, one of them is the bat (I'd love to get the one with the princesses - but Eirfan would surely make a case out of it). Our bat (in the photo at the very top) could almost look like the batman emblem (except that it is a bit fat, come to think of it).

We also flew a fish. It went up high but came down quickly when the wind stopped.

The guy above looked like he's a pro. His kite has got 4 strings and there is this 'zinggg' in the air when his kite cut into the wind. I gaped and just had to take photos (dia buat donno, maintain macho gitu..).

And you cant believe the number of people playing kites here in the afternoons. But the wind is good and the field is vast.

Nothing beats an afternoon in the open space - made even better when you have a kite or two, to fly.

*****

Something Serious This Time

Sesungguhnya Allah menciptakan Neraka berpintu tujuh.

"Ia ada tujuh buah pintu." Surah Al Hijr Ayat 44

Jibril as datang kepada Rasulullah saw (lalu Rasulullah saw bertanya,) "Wahai Jibril terangkan kepada ku tentang neraka dan panasnya". Lalu Jibril berkata, "Sesungguhnya Allah menciptakan neraka dan Dia nyalakannya seribu tahun sehingga merah. Lalu dinyalakan lagi seribu tahun sehingga memutih. Dia nyalakan lagi seribu tahun sehingga menjadi hitam. Hitam pekat dan gelap. (...)

Kemudian Nabi saw bertanya lagi kepada Jibril, "Wahai Jibril ceritakan kepadaku tentang pintu-pintu Jahanam (...)". Jelas Jibril, "Dari satu pintu ke pintu lain memakan waktu perjalanan tujuh puluh tahun. Tiap pintu lebih panas daripada pintu sebelahnya berlipat tujuh puluh kali."

Kemudian Rasulullah bertanya tentang penduduk pintu-pintu itu. Maka Jibril menjawab, "Pintu terbawah, di sanalah tempat orang-orang munafik. Namanya Hawiyah (...) Pintu kedua tempat orang-orang musyrik. Namanya Jahim. Pintu ketiga tempat orang As Shabiun (orang-orang yang menukar agamanya). Namanya Saqar.

Pintu keempat tempat Iblis dan pengikutnya daripada golongan orang Majusi. Namanya Ladha. Pintu kelima tempat orang-orang Yahudi namanya Huthamah. Pintu keenam adalah tempat orang-orang Nasrani namanya Sair.

Kemudian, Jibril terdiam. Maka Rasulullah saw segera bertanya lagi, "Mengapa engkau tidak menceritakan penduduk pintu ketujuh?" Lalu Jibril menjawab, "Wahai Muhammad, janganlah engkau bertanya aku tentang itu." "Ceritakanlah kepadaku" desak Nabi saw. Kemudian Jibril berkata, "Di situlah tempat orang-orang sombong dari umatmu yang mati sebelum bertaubat."(...)

Lalu Nabi menangis keras sekali.

~Mukashafah Al Qulub

Selawat & salam kepada junjungan besar Nabi Muhammad saw.

Picture above gotten from here.

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Charts You'd Never Think Of

I wanted to put up some other stuff but somehow my enthusiasm for them has somewhat ebbed.

If I learn one thing (and one thing only) from blogging, then it has got to be that writers are right - you've got to get your story on paper (or equivalent..) when you feel it. Otherwise it'll be gone and you will lose that moment. With nothing write. Well you can write, but it wont come from the heart. And it'll show.

So since I am having no heart for my own stories I'll share these with you.

I dont do facebook..

I dont really watch CSI. But I agree with the chart.

Yeap.

Zana might just try this on her cat(s).

I've got my fair share of the question.

*****

Getting Old (er) Part II - As We Age

I like this info that I've gotten via email from Aton. It puts the important things in a simple manner without the cliches attached.

In a crunch, take your Bs for mental alertness. B12 for your heart. Use UV sunglasses and have enough ACEs for your eyes. Do weight exercises for bone density and to prevent muscle loss. Use sunscreen to protect skin. Read more below.

Choose health.

*****

Getting Old (er) Part I

So I am on a three-day medical leave. The bones are weary. The shoulders achy. The back tired. Knees buckling. And I was popping pills again.

I went to see the orthopaedic surgeon again (who is the most nicest doctor), who said the ailment is due to wear and tear. Over-used muscles. And who am I to argue with the specialist?

But secretly I also like translate it as penyakit orang tua (only the doctor's too nice to say it like that in my face). Let's be pragmatic about it.

And now my mom's words of caution came back to me. She had said, simpan sama tenaga tu untuk tua besok.. And if you havent discovered it yet, let me tell you that mothers are always right.

So today the doctor jabbed me in the tendons at the side of the kness. He said those muscles are all bunched and swollen (no wonder I had developed a nightly ritual of minyak gamat on the legs. Now I know why). I seriously didnt think I need any jabs actually, I thought those are normal sakit urat. How naive am I about health?

My back, shoulders and neck are old stories to the doctor. We had xrays and scans and mri's done on that during my last visit early in the year (come to think of it I should be grateful for small mercies - I havent been to the specialist for almost a year after all).

The funny thing is, I felt worse once I am home and took the medication prescribed. And lay down to rest like the doctor said I should. How's that? I am thinking that maybe after the consultation it finally hit home that this is more serious than I originally thought it was.

Earlier, as the doctor wrote notes in my personal file, I mused loudly to him and the nurse. I said, I think it is time to re-learn about yourself and your habits. What your body can take. How much you can do. When to stop. He said yes, you have to adjust with age (like I said, it is penyakit orang tua).

And all in all, in the mean time I am appreciating my boss more as there is no call / text messages from him about work or due dates although I know (through the grapevine) that he was asking about things; but only from people who are actually in the office.

ps - I hope to write some more about getting older. Soon. Thus the title.

*****

Busy, Indulgent (Words That Could Never Go Hand In Hand)

Hello darlings. Yes I know, it has been almost two weeks since the last update.

I've been busy - challenging myself. Every time I show myself up to the new day, I want to be certain that I will be significant that day. That I will prove a point whatever that point is. That I will be relevant. That I have achieved my goal come evening. It is not easy. Sometimes the day becomes long as you keep stretching yourself. A few times I failed, because I failed to connect with whatever I wanted to achieve. But enough said.

On other days I took things easy. I have also been idle and indulged myself in frivolous stuff (I like that word. Frivolous).

Still, at other times days could be so urgh.. bitchy I suppose. Nothing goes right. You are so aggravated (or equally aggravating? Maybe). Anything and everything infuriates you. You can feel there's a storm brewing somewhere but cant name the reasons why.

You think you might change your clothes. Your hair. Your FACE (?!!). And man, for sure you are getting nowhere **.

OTHER than that I've been seriously busy (mostly in the kitchen). We had loads of cookies made for Eidul Adha orders. I half finished my current beading project. Will show the photos once that is ready. For now I have photos of older beading stuffs I had made.

And I tried the new Briani & Ayam Goreng Rempah recipe I had gotten some time back. It tastes good, but much better when cooked by my sister.. (I'll never win any competition with my sisters, that's for sure). The children like anything other than nasi putih, which too often showed up at our table anyway. And the chicken is fried with lots of spicy 'debris' (orang Kedah panggil serdak, or maybe I should spell that 'seghdak').

And I tried the granola recipe that I found (it was seriously yum) . Follow through the recipe, but you can turn it into bars - or not (make sure they dont stick together too much and you'd have delish healthy home made cereal). The kids love the bars but I prefer the loose version with milk for breakfast. It's full of oats and nuts and fruits. And of goodness. The next time I make this maybe I'll omit the sugar altogether.

I also did the chicken and mushroom party pies that I said I would. And yes they turned out almost as nice as the ones I bought. Practice would surely make them perfect. Recipe of this later when I have photos to go along.

And I made popiah goreng too, with lots extra in the freezer. It's filled with vege and chicken, cooked chinese style. I'll share that with you another time too (I feel like I am overloading this post already. And I hate information overloads anyways).

And it is already well into ZulHijjah. Next week is going to be short; with Eidul Adha on Wed. Selamat beribadah. As usual we will have the qurban done here. With superb sup gearbox and tulang for lunch with the neighbors. I'll share pictures too on that.

** If you dont already know, this is taken from Bruce Springsteen's Dancing In The dark actually (that's the part of being indulgent and frivolous). And while on the subject, let me leave you with Bono's / U2's One video. Frivolous.. and yet not.

Have a blessed eidul adha wherever you may be reading this from.

*****

Books, Books And More Books Part 24

Would 'reading' a recipe book be considered as reading? I did go through all the recipes on all the pages from the front cover to the back. I even read what's written on the insides of the cover.

That's how I know that zucchini (what we always see in the States) is also called courgette (what I always see in Jamie At Home - he's British after all.) For a time I've wondered whatever is a courgette. I think they are somewhat between the labu and the timun family. Anyway. This is what zucchini and a zucchini flower look like and you can actually fry the flowers like you would any tempura (I am imagining the maybe we can do the same with the bunga labu..)

And I also found out what a microplane is. No darlings, it is not a tiny airplane.. It is actually a grater or a zester (for you to grate the zest of a lemon, orange etc); alaf baru. Like so.

See? I learned something from the recipe book after all. And oh yeah, the book contains recipes - obviously - of dreamy pies and tartlets and muffins and quiches that I always dreamed of making. Let's hope I not continue to only dream of making them all.. I think as a start I will try the chicken and mushroom party pies (sounds delish, dont you think? Entah dah masak nanti jadi apa.. muah-ha-ha..)

And talking about food somehow reminded me of a request I had for the brownies recipe I have always make. It's yummy and gooey and has a whopping amount of calories I suppose; but so irresistable. I've been making this for years; for birthdays and school parties, canteen days and raya. Trust me, it is that easy.

*****

Beautiful In My Mind

I came across a few blogs and photos with fall scenes on the internet that tugged and wrenched at the edges of memories of days gone by (à la a drama queen, you say..?) But seriously, arent these lovely? (Ciptaan Allah; which makes me wonder what magical things await in Jannah).

This I had gotten from Peter's Paris.

And this is from Kathi's, at a Maine farm called Cob Cottage. I love her life story on the farm and the fact that she paints beautifully.

And sounding like a broken record, let me tell you (again and again and again..) fall is my favorite season. I have a post of reminiscing the chilly fall days in Sept 2008. And (more) reminiscing fall in Nov 2008.

Wiki said autumn is associated with the feelings of melancholy (so I deduced that man, was I ever so melancholy in 2008.. I think this is a cue for Delinn to go ha-ha..)

I also have a post on the colors of fall in Oct 2009 (I suppose I wasnt that melancholy last year).
And I am not feeling melancholy this year although come to think of it, this is a post on fall (I have a feeling that maybe I should append a 'yet' here). Have a beautiful Oct/Nov, my dears, wherever you maybe.

*****

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

I was passing by the gorgeous beauty product counters this morning and remembered it has been ages (I do tend to exaggerate..) since I had decent cleansers and stuff for my own. I was happy with Artistry years ago but all that went awry when my membership expired.

I then tried Mary Kay via a pretty, petite lady introduced by Mijah. I find the products so-so. So when I finished that I went to Body Shop. I like the brand, but I think it is rather mild for my.. cough, cough err.. mature (yeah, that's the word I am looking for - instead of aged..) complexion. After all that I stopped using any stuff at all. I had used Clinique at college - it was rather affordable then - but gave up on them later (I mean tell me, whatever can you afford with five kids - four then - to support..?)

So this morning as I passed by the array of wondrous beauty counters (do you find you are in awe whenever you walk around these areas? I do) I stopped to chat with the Clinique Consultant named Juliet (that's what her name tag says). I was in a chatty mood and she is in sales after all - so what's there not to chat about?

She's in her mid fifties, a grandma she confessed, and has got only tiny lines around her eyes and forehead. Her complexion is clear and smooth. Cantik kulit dia. I peeked into her tag again, her photo on it looked gorgeous and I told her so. I can see she was pleased, but said that photo was taken like 15 years ago.

She guessed my age accurately (damn, I thought I might have looked younger than my years.. I am lucky I suppose that she hadnt thought I am already well into my fifties or sixties.. Vain, you say? I couldnt agree more. haha) She said she can tell I havent been pampering my face.. and then the bad news kept coming.

She remarked on the dark circles I have under my eyes (so tell me something I dont know Juliet, I said), I have lines around the eyes (I thought, I am middle-aged; not twenty. Of course I have got crow feet) - deep lines she added (what?!! where? and she pointed THEM ALL all out to me) and I've got open pores (and she pointed them all out too..).

She brought a mirror and invited me to look at both our faces in there. She pointed at her cheeks and the laughing lines. Her cheeks looked like they've got more elastics in them and the lines arent etched so deep. I concur to the differences she pointed out.

She showed me the products that she has. The techniques to everything (well, almost everything). How each and the how's can help.

So. You dont think I'd come home empty handed after that, do you? Juliet gave me her number and told me to call her if I need any beauty advice at all (she was the nicest beauty grandma I've ever met) and put my stuff in the prettiest cosmetics bag (picture above). She gave me numerous other bottles and tubes too, oh samples I said. She said these are no ordinary samples - these are meant to help you. She had selected and given me those that I need (how sweet..) and in no tiny, minute sample packages mind you. The sample bottles she gave are big.

Maybe one day I can tell you about the beauty treatment aka regimen, in my opinion, that Juliet goes through. Oh, and the (expensive) pills that she takes to rejuvenate her cells (psst.. let me tell you her secret ~ they are sheep placenta pills out of New Zealand!)

ps - I remembered the time I went to a Bobbi Brown counter (years ago) and the girl there had complimented my complexion. I was over the moon and I've been carrying that picture for years.. I suppose the picture frame crashed into tiny pieces today.

And pps - what you should take away from my nonsense in this post?
1. Your complexion should be numero uno to you (apart from other MOST important things of course)
2. It is never too late (or too early!) to start a beauty routine
3. Find a product you trust (whatever it maybe. I had seriously liked and trusted Artistry)
4. And oh, one last thing - never visit a beauty counter that's manned by a sweet grandma (these days banyak counter yang ada budak2 lembut yang temperamental tu.., go there. You may not spend a cent..)

*****

This Early Morning

I like mornings when I have off-site meetings. The meetings usually starts a bit later than the usual clock-in time -

.. yuck, do you ever have those punch cards? Sort of reminds me of arwah Sudirman with his song of the same title when I ride on the (pink!) mini busses to work like eons ago. Al-fatihah.. anyway, these days we have access cards to glass doors -

- right, back to my morning with off-site meetings. Since the meeting starts a bit late I usually have extra time to myself as I'd leave home at the usual time (I hate getting caught in the peak hours traffic, dont you?) I'd get my breakfast somewhere with the newspapers or my notebook or prepare my meeting notes. It's rather peaceful in the early mornings. Sememangnye lah, the early birds will catch more worms (?)

This morning I am at *** (a place where Eirfan would say mama, kita kan boycott tempat tu? if I ever suggest we have a meal here) Nevertheless, there is no other convenient place open this early in the morning with wi-fi, to boot (we always can come up with the flimsiest excuses ever if we try hard enough!)

I like the coffee at this place. The smell reminds me of the coffee aroma at the cafetaria of my old college days. So here I am blogging (and listening to My Ummah by Sami Yusuf, my new fave. Listen to it here). The girl washing the glass windows shot me glances that I could translate to, ye ke makcik tu blogging and surfing here? So are the other morning customers. But man, this is the new millenium and makciks do blog.

The same stares I'd get whenever I whip out a camera and take photos of anything and everything. My more demure, politically correct, immaculate mannered, home-grown (and older, of course) sister would, without fail, remark on it. She will say, tu la engkau born and raised overseas (her words, not mine). Personally I dont think that's it.

Whatever. I have a photo I am trying to upload, but cant since the upload sevice is down, said Blogger. I'll put that in later. Right now I need to leave for the meeting.

Have the nicest day ahead (I sort of have a feeling I will, Insya'Allah).

~ postnote : have managed to upload the photo afterall; my notebook, my usual arabica coffee (large, of course), my watch .. which I adore (it was a mother's day present), the headphone and my daily prescription of mecobalamin (that's something like vitamin B to you and me).

*****

Whatever The Mood Is..

Occassionally I wonder what'll become of me if I hadnt done what I did when I was younger. Like maybe I had traversed down the road I had but taken. Maybe's and could be's. Or should have beens. If only's.

Let bygones be bygones. Things that are meant to be will be. Qada. Qadar.

(I figured it must be age that's catching up with me)

Anyway. I found some stuff I like on the net..

I love reading about Bob - funny, endearing conversation snippets that Lisa, mom, would post. It is simply addictive. Like when he joined her and friends for lunch and talked about Star Wars.

And I love Syib's (as I affectionately call her sometimes) post on Azri's out of tune singing of Maher Zain's For The Rest Of My Life and she twirling her hair (what?!!) I find difficulty placing her in that scene actually. If you know Lara, the tomb raider, then that's Syib. But then again, there is always layers upon layers of an onion.

And what's not to love about this place? I like Gabrielle's for her designs (and that she is a mother of six!) but actually fell in love with her site when she confessed she only ever keep a journal when feeling blue. I thought - finally, someone to bond with! Pix above from Gabrielle's too.

And anything on this mouth watering food blog is surely a sin. I love all Tex-Mex (not that I know how to make any; I cant even handle simple nachos let me tell you) with all that cheesy flavors spiked with super hot jalapenos.

Last but surely not the very least, I do confess that I occassionally sneaked to this site to prove to me that life will still be fabulous at 50; and beyond.

So there!

*****

Doodles

This is something I like at this time. The children were listening to him.

There is something soothing about his songs. He is a Swedish singer/music producer with Lebanese origins.


I bought his CD and passed it around to share. Has had said, I'll buy his CD sebab dia cute! I went like, okay.. He is having a mini concert this weekend and tickets are all sold out (not that I am looking for one).

Also.

This is something else I like too. My favorite pakcik at the gerai buku recommended the singer (I had thought like, tak kenal pun..) But I googled the name later and found that he is quite popular actually.

He is a British Iranian singer/songwriter and had appeared in numerous publications. Read his story in Time magazine and on The Independent (note : I hate that label Islam's Rock Star - whatever does that mean anyway?)

He has this new song I like but it is only a single. The good thing is you can download this for free now. The full version on a CD is said to be out soon. The same song on youtube already had >2mil viewing at this time. Listen to it here.

*****

Walimatul-urus

That's the arrival of the pengantin. The wedding was meriah. That's the word to use. Ramai orang datang and receded only when it rained. Maybe it is a blessing that it rained?

Because we ALMOST ran out of lauk. The ayam panggang-air asam pair was way too appetizing for a wedding I think. Sebab tu cepat habis (moral of the story is kalau kenduri masak lauk ala kadar je sebab nya kalau tak, orang makan banyak!! Dah sedap, kan..? haha).
But seriously. Mungkin niat baik ibubapa pengantin nak menjamu. Berkat, InsyaAllah.

We missed the akad - as usual the children had got to work. But it was meriah as well from the stories we heard. It was a niece's wedding di kampung.

The 5-tiered wedding caked looked pretty and so much fun. The best thing is, it is made by the bride herself! She is after all the owner of a bakery.

There were actually three pretty little flower girls. The third, a 3-year old cried on the red carpet and refused to let go of her mum's hand and therefore had to be uh, dropped. Arent these two cute?

*****

Last Call For Raya Stories

Feel like I must squeeze in another update on raya. Yeah, yeah - that's a done story I know but this is a must.

We had our office raya do only today. It was fun. Lots of food. Good food, must emphasis that. With laksam (yumm..), satay Keting (or is it Urat Keting (?) from Bangi), rendang negeri etc etc. Nice people. Basically a good day.

The paparazzi boys came out of their shells with techie cameras.

The nicest gambar I took was of the satay actually..

Satay testing di dapur..

The children had also invited friends for raya makan2 recently. Luqman had 10 or less friends around. Iman a few. Kaia invited 30 friends (which made me feel like pitam) but told me not all will come. Trust me he said (I should have known better because more than that thirty friends showed up). And when asked if Ilyas had invited like 10 friends or so he said mesti lah tidak. I thought (or hoped..) less. He said more. Twenty? I asked. He shook his head and said maybe twice that number. Wow.

But trained as we are at the office to accept all hurdles as challenges, I thought hah, what is 80 or so hungry young men/women who wanted to eat? I made pizza (with ready-made crusts) just to add a different flavor to the kids' raya; and with the usual stuff like mee curry (thank you Fahmi for the recipe and the last minute tutorial! haha), bakso and lemang-rendang-nasi impit trilogy. I suppose the whole event went rather well. It rained (but it didnt ruin the parade), what's a little rain - actually it rained quite a lot - to a bunch of hungry boys?

Unfortunately I got no at all photo as I was too busy in the kitchen.

And last but not least, I have some (more) raya di kampung photos I simply must share.

Eirfan wore a pair of swimming goggle to protect his eyes from the smoke while making the rendang.. what can I say? They are all budak2 pekan..

That's the dearest oldest lady I love.

He is a town boy who had NEVER EVER belah kelapa (when asked if he sees a rabbit or a rat face at the top of the coconut - coincidently my dears, do you know this? - he said ma I dont see anything..) I gave up and said ok, ketuk je lah kelapa tu sekuat hati! And he did just that.

So there. I suppose that is a wrap on the raya stories this year.

*****

Give It A Hug!

I have much to update but so little time! Like the raya invites we had, Ana's wedding, some old photos, bead updates etc etc.

But for now I've got to tell you about my new laptop handbag! Yes I know - doesnt that sound like a dream? Laptop handbag. Photos below.

They are called Hugger bags because you will hug it to your body (maybe because of your precious laptop inside). For a while I thought it seem like Huggies.. (God forbid that anyone should think I am carrying a diaper bag!)

For many years previously I've been carrying a Microsoft backpack (let me emphasis a FREE backpack). And it had served me well that backpack.

Now (at least until last week) I lug around a FREE backpack from Basis Bay (yeap, I love freebies). That bag is pretty handy with many pockets. But somehow felt heavy and bulky for my fragile (you are allowed to substitude that with aged..) shoulders.

And I have a feeling I'm outgrowing backpacks too.

I was looking for wedding presents when I saw the bags at the mall. They looked good, so to borrow a phrase from Delinn, terus rembat satu.

If you are looking for a laptop bag, read here for tips for getting one. Like the size of your laptop, material etc etc ; http://alimbag.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-to-choose-laptop-bags.html

And more photos of the bag options here - http://www.huggerbag.blogspot.com/

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Books, Books And More Books Part 23

Salahudin Ayubi Penakluk Jerusalem, oleh Abdul Latip Talib

Masya'Allah (that is my comment on the book). This is a very good book.

It is Eirfan's actually. I bought books in this series when his B Melayu teacher remarked his karangan is limited in ideas and his sentences are too simple for his age. Thankfully he likes these books and are asking for more.

As usual I read stuff that the kids read - their comics, books, websites, their fbs - just so I can gauge what they are up to and if they are reading suitable materials (and I also read what the kids read so that I dont get lost when we converse and that we are somewhat on the same page) - not just in terms of content, but also dalam tatabahasa, spelling and other important things like that (somehow I sound like a skema mum for a bit here..) I hate books where words are misspelt, inconsistent, bahasa tunggang-langgang. But not this one. You can tell care was taken during writing and by the editor. Printing was of high quality also. Semuanye disusun cantik.

Anyway.

As I said, this book I really like. I suppose it is not too young for someone old like me.. And not too old for someone like Eirfan. Buku ni best sebab it tells about sejarah Islam, namun dicerita dalam gaya yang tak boring (pardon me please for saying this, but I usually find buku Melayu uninteresting. Bukan salah penulis2, tapi salah saya yang tidak begitu gemar membaca buku Melayu - saya yang tak nak berkenalan, maka mana lah nak bercinta.. but I hope to mend my bad habits.)

And history is a boring subject anyway, unless you have a good teacher who can draw your interests. It is all about memorising facts with no visuals or a story line - maybe I should rephrase that, the story is mostly about war. But this novel sejarah paints a very clear picture of the battles, of the wira Salahudin Ayubi pejuang Islam yang berjaya menakluki Jerusalem from the Crusaders after 80 years of the Christians rule of Jerusalem (if you've heard of King Richard aka Richard the Lionheart, then yes, Salahudin defeated him too at the Battle of Hittin).

Seronok baca gagah rupa nya pejuang Islam Kurdish yang berasal dari Iraq ni. . You can borrow this from Eirfan if you like. On a scale of 1 - 10, it is definitely a 10 for young teenagers to get their mind thinking about deen and the serious stuff. And of course for adults too. Bacalah.

ps - after reading this I tapped my son on his shoulder (he is soo busy playing his war game on his laptop) and said yang, orang pergi jihad, pergi fisabilillah. Jadi ke kita main game je kat rumah? He hmmed his response (whatever that means). And I thought, susah hidup anak2 kat pekan ni bila emak mula baca buku jihad..

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Getting Creative

And I hadnt done anything much this long raya holidays. Ziarah friends and family here and there. Cooked my mum's rendang - tasted nothing close like mum's of course. Tried out a new recipe called daging masak hitam - which turned out unsuitable for public consumption..

I have sworn off baking cookies for now, but my sister insisted. So I need to make some, but am putting this off until I can do so no more. On top of that mintak semprit lagi - which I have no clue of making..

I bought stuff for pie tees but no pie tees so far. Bought carrots too - konon nak buat carrot cake - no sign of a carrot cake either..

But I did a couple things I am proud of. I finally finished this kurung for a mother of a bride-to-be. She had asked, dah siap ke baju tu? I replied not yet (the wedding is less than 2 weeks away - she must be anxious!) I tossed and turned over what to do with the kurung as it is pretty colorful and comes with flowers and finally did this. I think it is very-de-pretty. Hope she likes it too.


More pix at my a-glitter aka bling-bling blog here (I know I said I am closing this down; but my own limitation makes me think I need to continue posting photos here.. It's okay if you dont get me, I dont 'get me' myself sometimes.)

Anyway.

While sorting out my kueh raya the same thing came to my mind this time like it did every year - are my containers air tight? I hate taking the kueh in and out of the containers everytime and I also hate having the biskut all masuk angin dan lemau.

I had earlier gotten some pretty decorated bottles made by Haslina at the office (using those plastic bottles yang tudung merah tu she had cleverly transformed them with ribbons and renda). I gave these bottles to my mum and unfortunately do not have any photo to show. But I did a copy cat of Has' creativity and came up with this which I love!


And these.. I wanted something fun.


I was pleased with the results actually. I have more photos here, the same page as above. What did you say - what to do kalau comot? I figured I will get new bottles and decorated them all over again. The key thing is that the biscuits stay fresh for LONG while looking pretty.

Enough of my mundane thoughts. I am actually counting down the last hours of a great long couple of weeks break..

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Selamat Hari Raya

And how time flies. It is already the 4th day of Syawal. I didnt have the window for any blog update at all between here and the previous post. Seriously. But thankfully the company enforced mandatory leave all week this week (yeay..) and I am taking things slow. Very slow in fact.

And how's your last ten of Ramadhan and raya? Blissful. Peaceful. Fruitful. And joyful I hope. We went back to my mum's place this raya. She insisted on having raya at her own home this time. We had celebrated the last couple of raya with her in KL. This time we did all we can so that she can have a raya the same like those she had always prepared for us, nothing less. Biar lah mak rasa seronok raya kat rumah sendiri - berapa kali sangat pun nak beraya dengan mak lagi kat kampung..

I have here some raya photos that I love..

Our home-made ketupat (next raya I can make these myself too); cute Kinah & Safiyyah, nieces; Scrooge! aka Syazwan, nephew; an unbelievable bright red lily in bloom from my mum's garden.

Raya feast in the best wares (Mum: bawak keluar semua pyrex tu - nanti kat akhirat pinggan tu kata dok simpan dalam almari je.. Me: Ye mak!); ayah cu and family; mum (she was seriously tired tapi masih berkeras tak nak baring. She said, hampa semua balik mak pulak nak pergi tido!); bangsal at the back of our house (it looks so kampung. Love it).

We made the rendang in the kawah (I wondered how folks cook on this fire with all the smoke going on in the long ago days.. actually the thought that came to mind was how my mother and late father went through all the rayas cooking everything from lemang, rendang, dodol, wajik on this fire.. kasih nya mak-ayah); Kak Zah and Syadah, sis-in-law & niece; Umar, cucu yang amat comel; and woo-hoo! the gorgeous vehicle on my mum's lawn - to die for!).

If I had the time, I'd love to read in the shades of this bamboo tree in mum's backyard; unlike any previous raya, this year we wore the same color although in diffrent tones (malu le nanti orang kata beli kain sepapan bawak balik buat baju.. I had a HORRENDOUS time looking for material in all the different shades of purple though); Kinah & Syuhaib, niece & nephew; juadah raya sepanjang nye meja..(Mum: kueh raya dah bubuh dalam botol? Kek mana? Wajik dah ada? Sirap dah buat? Tambah lagi lauk2 yang dah habis tu. Letak cawan2 semua nanti orang nak minum senang.. Me: Ye mak! Bila lagi nak melayan mak? (actually these are the questions she asked / her instructions every raya; but not as many this time. Dah tak larat. But old habits die hard, we did what had always been done every raya. She looked and nodded).


This gambar is one of the many I seriously love. Three generations (I wanted to get a photo like this for quite some time..) I was pleased to see mum wore the baju I bought for her (actually I bought that like two years ago - ? - masa nak kenduri Ina / Aing or some other cucu when she said she wanted to wear something new. She was hospitalised instead; langsung tak buat pun baju tu then)

And of course I love this too. I think five is a good number.

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Tales of Ramadhan

A Full Moon
I noticed that the moon is full this morning at dawn. It was luminous, its light illuminating the skies around it (although we know that's the effort from the sun, not the moon itself). Anyway, must be mid month already - without realising it do you know we are already into the 15th day of Ramadhan? Hope you are having the most peaceful Ramadhan ever.

The Wonder of Nature
And as I was driving today I saw amazing blue/pink hues across the early morning eastern skies. Masya'Allah, it was a wonderful sight. I didnt stop to watch it turn colors; although I did the last time I saw that same wonder. I took photos too that morning, from the car; above.

Funny
Funny. Or was it unfortunate? Anyway. A couple of days back, while coming home from fetching the young man from school and stopping to get some keuh for iftar my hubby saw a car that broke down in the middle of the street. Helpful as he was (chewwwah.. siapa lagi nak puji?) he stopped and dua beranak tu tolong tolak kereta, with another guy who also stopped to help. Even pushed, the car refused to start. My hubby said the wife and a couple of young teenagers were in the car. The kids were maybe aged 10 or so. Sehat-sehat belaka. I said dalam kereta? Cant believe anyone can sit in the car while others are pushing it. My elder son who was also listening to the story said, Gila diva..!!! (at that point I went like, what the..? And gave a big laugh.) That was the funny part. But now our hero has sprained his ankle/foot sebab menolak kereta (dengan penumpang nye sekali..) Unfortunately. Ingat lah kawan-kawan, kalau kereta rosak tolong lah keluar kereta. Kalau tak nak tolong tolak pun berdiri je lah kat tepi. Lagipun orang berpuasa. Kesian.

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Salam Ramadhan

And we are already into the second week of fasting. How's your Ramadhan so far? Mine is sluggish at best, at worst - I dont even want to go there!

And Masya'allah, the kids have been wonderfully kind, behaving themselves, berterawih, mengaji. Allah has been benevolent indeed this Ramadhan. I want to ask for more, but realising at the same time things could be worse. I have so much already. Namun masih juga berdoa untuk rahmat Allah.

And Alhamdulillah for a very supportive husband (puji hubby tak boleh banyak2 because men always let praises go to their heads.. hehe)

And Alhamdulillah also that city traffic has not been bad at all this Ramadhan (surprise, surprise). I got home latest by 6 which still gives me ample time for iftar preparation.

Would love to write some profoundly inspirational, motivational words on 'amal, ibadah here but I concur that I wouldnt be able to write anything that big.. (siang2 lagi dah surrender.)

But I hope our Ramadhan this year will be better than our best Ramadhan to date - whenever that was (mine was like 2 years back. It was a most wondrous Ramadhan ever. Tenang.)

All the best to you my darlings, in search for rahmat Allah. Keredhaan Allah. Keampunan Allah, di bulan Ramadhan kali ini.

(photo from http://www.boston.com/)

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