Spring Time in Paris / Parisienne Walkway

(The title is a bit disconnected from the post ~ maybe next time I'll tell you why.)

Come to think of it November has got to be my favorite month.

1. Russet, the color of fallen leaves, is my favorite color. It is bold while not garish.
2. November reminds me of red apples hanging on low branches
3. It is the football season after all
4. Think pumpkins and turkeys.
5. There would be chill and a nip in the air. Refreshing.
6. I was married in November after all! (uh - many, many years ago)
7. Woolen sweaters, kilts (I know, what?) and gorgeous cashmeres
8. Beautiful mountain colors
9. Tiny flakes of snow (if you are lucky)
10. Berries and wreaths
11. Longer evenings where you stay warm under a throw and watch city lights from the windows. Sigh.

More photos.

*****

Books, Books and More Books Part 43 Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary A Biography

I was on my way for the morning papers and roti canai breakfast when I first saw this book. Thinking of the many books I have on the almari (only yesterday evening my hubs said, banyak sangat buku kat sini..") I refrained myself from buying. But later when getting books for Eirfan to read for the school holidays saya terbeli jugak buku ni.

Years ago Ilyas came home from school and said ma, I'll be coming home a bit late from school x times a week from now. I have tuition classes at school (I thought baik nye sekolah). Some time later I found that the tuition costs were actually borne by the alBukhary Foundation. My curiosity was piqued since then.

Yeap, the book. Good to read if you are curious about the name. Or trying to find the "how" to be that successful. I find that there is magic - and magic in this case is spelled w-o-r-k-h-a-r-d. He didnt even finish his Form 5. I like the part when he met Tun. How he talks to his mother every day. How deep rooted he is. And the stories on his business - of triumphs and challenges. And what motivates him.

It is a rather thin book considering. It is not an autobiography (I think he should write one). The writer didnt really capture the essence of the man. It is a bit lack luster, for such a big name. It tries to emulate the way Tun's book was written but falls somewhat short, I think (pandai komen, cuba tulis buku sendiri - hancur). But nonetheless I think it is a good book to read.

I also read a short article on Twiggy recently. Growing old(er) and still working hard as ever. She still models, judges on top model series, has her own line of clothing, has a tv show, does tv ads. And she is already 63. That is the reason why I like biographies (auto is even better). They never fail to inspire you to do something for yourself whatever that may be.

Dont shoot - but maybe I should continue with Tun's memoir after all.. (duck!)

*****

A Gem!

Aww, this is so sweet. McBeal was like so addictive for a time. Iron Man is an all time #1 favorite super hero. Loved Sting and Every Breath since forever. All in the same video? Be still my heart.

*****

We Will Return

We went for a meal at a place called Toowoomba; co-owned by Ilyas' friend that serves meat and western meals. They have wagyu and other meat as well. The dishes we ordered werent too bad at all.

 

I love their house salad. The salad was fresh and the croutons crisp and crunchy. I love the salad bowl too, the edge is sort of slanted (although you cant see that in the photo).

The wild mushroom soup was nice too (tapi anak2 kata sup mama lagi sedap. I like theirs better though).

The boys ordered assorted wagyu meats - ribs, rib eye, sirloin and mixed meat (unfortunately I cant say if I appreciate wagyu..)

 

 

 

 But the star dish has got to be the fettuccine. Heaven. 

 

The decor was outstanding too.

The next time I come I will order the fettuccine, salad and soup (dah plan tu!) That was how good those dishes were. I know Delinn will laugh - but I asked the waiter, agak2 chef akan bagi tak kat antie resipi fettuccine tu? He said entah. We started to leave but the chef came. He told me how he cooked the fettucine. Haha. I know - I thought I was a makcik kepoh too. But he was a sport.

Oh, they had stars visited their place too. Amongst others there was a photo of Aaron Aziz. Swoon. And Norman & Memey (I told the waiter, letak la gambar star lain!)

*****

1434

Saya terjumpa sebuah hadith,

"Barang siapa yang mencari dunia yang halal untuk menjaga diri dari meminta-minta orang, serta kerana berusaha mencari rezeki anak isterinya dan supaya dapat berbelas-kasihan kepada tetangganya, nescaya dia akan menemui Allah sedang wajahnya berseri-seri seperti bulan di malam purnama". (Riwayat Thabarani)

Pengajarannya : dengan niat yang baik, perbuatan harian maupun adat kebiasaan boleh ditukar menjadi ketaatan dan pendekatan diri kepada Allah (terjemahan dari Yusuf al-Qardhawi)

Dan saya terbaca,

"Hanyasanya amal-amal itu dengan niat, dan bagi setiap orang dikira apa yang diniatkannya." (Riwayat Bukhari)

Lalu saya memberitahu anak2, kalau minum pun duduklah. Sebab sunnah Rasulullah minum sambil duduk. Jika diniatkan untuk menghidupkan sunnah, minum pun dapat pahala (InsyaAllah mereka ingat. Dan buat).

Dan sebuah hadith lain yang saya terjumpa,

"Yang halal itu sudah jelas, dan yang haram pun sudah jelas. Dan di antara keduanya itu ada beberapa perkara yang masih samar, tidak ramai orang yang mengetahuinya, adakah ia dari yang halal ataupun ia dari yang haram? Maka barangsiapa meniggalkan yang syubhat itu selamatlah ia. Dan barangsiapa yang mengerjakan sesuatu dari yang samar-samar itu, maka akan hampir-hampirlah ia terjatuh ke dalam yang haram. Sebagaimana orang yang menggembala (binatang ternakan) di tempat larangan, ia mungkin akan terjerumus ke dalamnya. Ingatlah, bahawa bagi setiap raja ada tempat larangannya, dan bahawa tempat larangan Allah adalah semua perkara yang diharamkanNya". (Riwayat at-Tarmidzi)

I am reading a book on halal & haram at this time. So I'll update interesting stuff  I find yang bila baca, bak kata ustaz, bergetar dada.

Dan yang ini, hadith all-time favorite saya yang semua pun sudah maklum,

Hadith riwayat Abu Hurairah ra bahawa Rasulullah saw bersabda, "Tuhan kita yang Maha Suci lagi Maha Luhur setiap malam turun ke langit dunia ketika malam tinggal sepertiga terakhir. Dia berfirman, 'Barangsiapa yang berdoa kepadaKu, maka akan Aku kabulkan permohonannya. Dan barangsiapa yang memohon ampun kepadaKu, maka Aku akan mengampuninya.'" (Riwayat Muslim)

Selamat mencari keampunan Allah. Rahmat Allah. Selamat menyambut Maal Hijrah. Semoga tahun baru ini lebih baik amalan kita dari sebelumnya. InsyaAllah.

*****

The Nicest Brunch, Hands Down

Luqman turned 24 last weekend. I forgot his birthday; and sent an sms one day late with "happy 24-years-and-one-day^th birthday".

And I was at the grocery store today with Iman and she said, nak beli potato chips lah untuk Luqman untuk birthday dia (Luqman had bought her baloons for her birthday!) She bought a few bags and added a couple bottles of soft drinks. Looking at the stuff I said, we should have a picnic for his birthday. 

We cooked stuff for brunch and thought hard where to have the picnic. It has been raining everyday; the ground would be wet. And the clouds looked laden with rain again. We decided to eat at home after all, outside on the porch. We carried the table and all the food outside and ate. Kata Luqman lagi best makan kat sini dari picnic anywhere in Melawati. Nanti orang nampak malu - haha - what the heck?

And I have photos!

 

We had (from top photo) potatoes au gratin (kata Iman au gratin means anything that has got cheese and bread crumbs on it.. I wouldnt know), salad Veronique (orang putih bagi nama macam best je) - this is green seedless grapes, celery and grilled chicken salad with mayo actually,  meat pies (I bought ready made pastry), Ayamas chicken (well I didnt have time to cook everything!) and assorted cake slices. And of course the potato chips and drinks.  

 

 

 

 

  
And a view of our debilitating garden / pond from where we ate.

We actually had the nicest birthday brunch. MasyaAllah.

Dan teringat kata ustaz, lebih bermakna mengucapkan "selamat hari lahir; semoga sentiasa di dalam kebajikan". Bukannya semoga panjang umur. Apa gunanya umur yang panjang jika tidak dimanfaatkan rezeki Allah itu.

Selamat mencari rahmat Allah (diucapkan juga untuk diri sendiri).

*****

Fresh Part 2 - Bunga Dip Dulang Hantaran

And this is the continuation of the fresh series posts I have. This is something I made two weeks back (I cant post this earlier sebab as usual, tak ada gambar).

I copied this from a sample I've got from Aton (thanks Aton!) I've made some bunga dip before but nothing like this (hmm, maybe I should post photos of those flowers too).

I must say that I enjoyed making these bunga dulang / bunga hantaran; they could very well be the most prettiest I've done so far (sebab sample nya pun teramat lah cantik).

And this past weekend I made some new bunga pelamin which I'll share later. I find that to tangkap gambar of the things I made is actually pretty exhausting; you never know if you'll have good enough photos to post.

Btw, somebody asked where to get the dip from. You can actually find them at kedai Bunga Reben at Jalan TAR or the place called Sayang You in Semua House. The one in TAR has a lot more colors and other stuffs to go with the project, if you ask me.
 
Also, this is the recipe for the meatballs and tomato sauce from the previous fresh post (the last two weeks). Cubalah, it is simply the easiest recipe I have found.

*****

Random Thoughts On Any Given Random Weekend

Diam tak diam it has been two weeks since I last post anything. I tried to write a few times but no topic could strike a chord with me (including today, in fact).

We had a good raya qorban. Kami sekeluarga berpuasa sebelum raya; masyaAllah anak2 pun tiada yang membantah bila saya kata kita puasa esok (I always think I have nothing to write about tapi saya selalu terlupa menceritakan antara nikmat Allah yang banyak - antaranya anak2 yang menurut kata) Kami berbuka dengan lemang, ketupat, nasi impit dan wajik. Dengan rendang yang tiga jenis (!) - yang beli dan yang dibuat. Rendang tok dibeli untuk standby in case my rendang turn out weird.. (tak mahu mengaku tak sedap). Namun Alhamdulillah, anak2 puji rendang saya tahun ni! Ini satu progress. We also had lodeh, sambal sotong, kuah kacang and kari ayam. If you dont know, it is quite common untuk orang utara makan lemang dengan kari, bukan rendang. And I learn from my mum that raya comes with a feast (I wonder if this raya tradition should change).

There was also potluck dinner with the neighbours and takbir rumah ke rumah that evening. Dan kami balik kampung on hari raya, melawat bonda-bonda tersayang. Walaupun tak lama jadilah sekadar bersua muka di hari raya. Both of them said sekejap / sat nya balik!

The next day kami potong lembu. MasyaAllah, anak2 turut membuat korban tahun ini. Alhamdulillah. Nikmat Allah. And they helped with the kerja korban. Later the evening we had a feast, again with the neighbours. There was sup tulang, kerutup kambing, masak cili api daging and even nasi beriani.  Jiran2 saya rajin memasak, sayalah yang untung.  

And I've been very productive too. I've got photobook projects. Bunga dip projects. Trying new recipes. I also got good clothes from my sister that I plan to sell (good means high street stuff like MNG, Zara, FCUK, River Island, H&M, Forever Twenty-one, GAP, a few M&S etc) - her daughters came back after finishing studies in the UK and has loads of clothing that dont fit anymore. I am thinking of opening an on-line second hand store - chewwah - or at least I hope to. Bila tak tau sebab nak tangkap gambar baju tu takes time, effort and good lighting. Not to mention editing later. Wish me luck.

Enough said. What are your plans this weekend? I am doing a (few?) photobook(s) for my mum (I brought back all her albums for the project) and also hope to try a new orange cake recipe that I got. Have the best weekend ever!

 Bonda di petang hari raya. Semoga bonda dirahmati Allah sentiasa, InsyaAllah. Amiin.

 *****