CERITA MAMA

GLOOMY JANUARY

2012-01-30T16:54:00.001+08:00

After the frenzy at the end of 2011, the beginning of 2012 seems to be sluggish for me. When Adik started schooling , I was overcome by a feeling of melancholy. After having her home constantly for over a month, I felt the days stretched too long and I was wishing the school hours that end at 2pm would end sooner. It somehow escaped my mind that the primary school she used to attend for 6 years ended at 4pm everyday except Thursday ! The weather doesnt help either...

Matter was made worse when my gym instructor, a sweet, friendly and most helpful young girl, involved in a motor vehicle accident and died instantly. I was with her on Thursday and on Friday she was gone forever. I got the news at home and was very thankful that Abah was around as I needed a shoulder to cry on. Adik was attending the tamrin as a part of the school's orientation week program. When we picked her up later in the afternoon and conveyed the news to her, Adik too burst into tears. Over the school holidays,Adik regularly accompanied me to the gym and had become close with the late Nik as she would spent time while waiting for me, either on the net or chatting with the late Nik ( if nobody needed Nik's attention).

All of us, Adik and me, all my gym buddies and her co-workers are missing her a lot and we still talk about her from time to time. We kept reminiscing how she would go extra miles to make our sessions at the gym fun and beneficial for us. How she was always open to suggestion from us, the makciks. She was the only girl in her family and was engaged to be married soon. One could only imagine how hard the news affected her own family. I couldnt bear going near the building for more than two weeks.

Adik and me especially had a good long talk about her death and we mutually agreed that we should appreciate everyone we know more, and be more forgiving to others even if they might have hurt us, as we never know when they or we are going to be called back to our Rabb.

In the following week, another young person that we have never actually met, but the family has a close relationship with us, also died tragically while fighting narcotic addiction. As the family related how hard the effort he made to change, and how the wardens actually witnessed him recited the shahadah before closing his eyes permanently, we gleaned another lesson here. We shouldnt be quick in judging others at all. And as we talked about it on the car later, I felt that I could relate to how addiction was so hard to fight. Even in our all sound faculties, its not easy for us to control, say, our unhealthy eating habit, let alone to fight something that has gotten grip of our whole being.

January progressed with more depressing news. A close friend of mine was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, another close associate faced another crisis in her life, a cousin trying to weather the storm that is brewing in her marriage and a shocking revelation from someone who confided in me how she is actually a hermaphrodite and asking for help...

These are all strong women who face the trial with redha and I learn priceless lessons from all of them.

Then, Abah got an attack of severe vertigo. He used to get it every few years, the first one while we were in the UK about 17 years ago. Initially,I was not alarmed as it usually last for a day and then he would get better and wont show up again for a few years. But this time, it recurred after two weeks. Abah was listening to the khutbah Jumaat when it hit again for the second time. (The first one was while he was waiting for iftar at home with me.) He managed to finish the prayer sitting down and vomited right after that. When Adik saw a car stopped and three people carrying a man into our house, she called me and said somebody's sick and came to see Abah. Then Adik got to see how sick Abah was...She was at the said tamrin when the first one occurred and was like 3 years old when the previous episode took place.

In this very last week , I finally gather enough strength to resume my normal activity. I have been to the gym and have been sprouting seeds for our edible garden. I bought the seeds from here. And teach myself Arabic. And started my class again at the shelter home (after a two-month hiatus as I need some respite). And read, a lot.Currently, I'm reading this.(InsyaAllah I'll be writing more about my salad growing and about the very beneficial book)

Adik is happier now. In the first two weeks, I have to deal with her mood swings as she was missing her friends from primary school. Most of them chose to be in full boarding school, so they couldnt even meet on weekends. She would cry for no reasons and all I can do is hug her....

There's some uplifting news too, to be fair.

Ayah Long is a Dato' now, being knighted by the Agong and Ummi and Abi are grandparents as Achik produced a super cute baby girl.This technically made Abang and Adik, uncle and aunty as both of you suckled from Ummi, my most beloved oldest sister.

And funny news too. We discovered that the girl wedded to the famous TV3 presenter is actually one of the girls that showed us around Seoul when we were there.And we have photos of her sans hijab and Adik edited the photo here as she was asking for anyone who has photos of her on fb or blogs etc to please respect her new image...

So, that is a looong account of our (mostly depressing) January.

Anyway, we still have so much to be thankful of...

Here's hoping for a better month ahead...( and more cheerful entry!)

FAREWELL 2011, WELCOME 2012...

2011-12-30T12:50:00.003+08:00

2012 is looming and the auditor who keeps checking on this unworthy blog keeps harping on me to update...do you really have to?

Its not that I dont want to update but December, as always, is a hectic month. To begin with, lots of walimahs to attend, high on list was the one for both Mak Uda's daughters who got hitched on the same day and were feted in one big kenduri to save cost, hehe (as Mak Uda has so many children!!). Our beloved Kak Naheed and Kakchik Khadijah are now wives...Alhamdulillah. So, we were in KL for almost a week, then back to Kelantan for another round of walimahs of various friends and relatives. Then off to Penang to visit Abang of course.

In between those times, we did nusrah for jamaats that came to our mosque. As it was raining almost everyday, we took the task of washing their clothes and the drier never stop spinning.

Then, came the preparation for Adik's new world in secondary school...Right after the UPSR result was announced, the application form for the much sought after school, namely Maahad Muhammadi (P) was promptly filled up. Adik was then called up for an oral test followed by a written one. Alhamdulillah, with so much do'as from all of us, Adik got a place. There were 840 students competed for 400 places allocated. A scramble for all spanking new school uniforms and fees to be deposited in school's account, amongst other things, followed. Then only could we relax a bit...

And to end 2011 on a good note, we went out for 3 days in Masturat Jamaat so that we could remind ourselves again and again on the importance of having constant worry on our imaan and amaal. Alhamdulillah, Adik picked up another good habit this time, which is reading 2 pages of the holy Qur'an upon finishing every fardh solat. By Isya', she would have read 1 juz,MasyaAllah....May Allah gives Adik taufeeq to hold on to this good practice throughout her life...In the last khuruj she participated, Adik picked up the good habit of performing ablution before going to bed and it seems to stick, Alhamdulillah. May Allah choose all of us again and again to go out on the path of Allah to learn Deen , to correct ourselves, to restrain our nafs and to learn to live our lives according to the way of those who had been declared radhiallahu 'anhum .

So, in a few days time, we will have a change of our timetable. As Adik's new school is quite a distance away and a stay in school hostel was ruled out,(for the house would be very lonely without you) we have to start early. No more dilly-dallying in the morning as you used to. It will take some times to get used to it and stronger willpower of course. For the whole 6 years of primary schooling, with the timing of a private school and the fact that the school is just in our vicinity,Adik could afford to iron her uniforms, finish up homeworks and even memorised few ayaahs from the holy book before setting off to school.No more of it ya Dik....

Its quite a task for Mama and Abah too... We have mapped out the shortest and least congested road though, with the help of google map no less haha!! InsyaAllah, we are quite sure you could handle it well Adik...Abang was faced with harder challenge when he entered the madrasah and he adjusted really well and seems to flourish even more in stricter regime...

Lastly, we are praying that 2012 will be a better year for all of us...Abang aims to finish his hafadzan in 2012, Adik to learn more religious subjects in Arabic. It is actually the single most important reason why we choose MMP for Adik, not because it is arguably the best school in Kelantan or the fact that it has produced the best student who hold the record of 20As in SPM.

May Allah makes everything goes smoothly for both of you my beloved Abang and Adik.....

OUCH!! (part 2)

2011-11-24T08:40:00.003+08:00

Just as everybody in this household is taking it for granted that I am all fit and healthy all year long, and they were all happily packing away to go for a short break, I decided to pull a quick one. Its a given anyway. I deserve extra attention once a year. And to get that, I must fell sick...(and err... I kind of promised myself to do this anyway)

I perched on the study table and stared and stared...halooo,look at me!!!! but they were so busy zipping and unzipping the bag again and again and didnt notice my staring at them with a crooked smile until the very last minute.

And Adik shrieked!!! Huh,at last I got your attention!.....Yes, my lower canine tooth was falling out okay...it was juuust hanging on and kind of pointing out to one side already, causing the crooked smile as I couldnt close my mouth properly by then. And Mama shrieked even louder when she saw it. They fussed and fussed about me and I loved every minute of it!!

The BIG questions were, was I in pain? Should they go ahead and try to pull it out? Was any of them brave enough to do that?

No answer to any of those...

They wanted to consult Abah who had flown a day earlier to do some work, but decided against it as it was very late already. Abah must have gone to sleep. Mama then went online in search of advice and instructed Adik to look for signs of:

Red, irritated appearance of the gums
Bad breath
Rotten appearance of teeth

Alhamdulillah, none of it....From the net, Mama deduced that if a cat has teeth that are falling out, it can either be a completely normal process or one indicating that an underlying health condition exists.

They decided to deal with it tomorrow, kissed me goodnight and allowed me to sleep with them. YES!!!

I slept soundly but I know Mama didnt, because she had learned so much from the net just then and she was feeling guilty!!! The vet did check my teeth when we go for our yearly booster but he never said a thing about brushing teeth and Mama, ignorance in many things as she is, never seen anyone brushes cats' teeth in her life!!

Morning came and it was very chaotic. They had to catch their flight around noon but I was the priority here!! Matter was made worse when Abang called early in the morning asking Mama could she please send him a towel! He said he has been borrowing a friend's towel for the last few days...Mama was beyond shock!! ( biasa la mama kan, drama queen sokmo!) How could he leave towels behind? Personal hygiene ranks very high in Mama's list, so she didnt take it very well when Abang said to just bring the towel when they come to visit .(Abang said that after Mama exploded)

Well, in my opinion, Abang shouldnt be blamed. It was frantic the day he left. On the first day of Eid-al-Adha we slaughtered 2 cows on our backyard , shared mostly with Abah and Mama's siblings. So, you can imagine the full house with cousins ( an occasion very much enjoyed by Abang and Adik of course) and the works that followed after. Abang helped out a lot. Yes, it was a yearly affair and Abang is quite adept at it by now but still, his room was a mess as it was used for male cousins to lepak, change and pray. He had tried to gather all his things but still...And his flight back to Penang was very early the next morning.

So, Mama became very stressful and snapped at Adik at every single mistake she made...kesian adik.

The vet was closed and so were the courier companies as it was the birthday of our beloved Sultan. Many calls were made and to cut the long story short, a back-door transaction(shhhh!) was finally made with a courier agent. A visit to the famous pet shop of Kubang Kerian and a chat with the ever friendly and knowledgeable owner saw Mama heaving a relief sigh . He calmly assured Mama that it is an entirely normal aging process.

Just before noon, I was left with the neighbour who is as crazy about me as my own family with loads of premium wet food together with a what-to-do/ watch-out list.

They barely had time to catch the flight...and off the went to KUCHING, of all the places!!

I am very satisfied to know that they didnt really enjoy their time there as there were too many reminders of me...heheheh. Mama even updated her fb status with: In Kuching and missing our kucing!!

none of them is as cute as me tho...

Ok folks,I need my beauty sleep now...so long!!

Dr. M. Grey

COME HOME NOW!!!

2011-10-29T10:56:00.002+08:00

Friday Evening

I'm writing this sitting in the car waiting for Abah praying the Maghrib prayer at Masjid Muhammadi. Its so serene here, the sight, the sound. We arrived 5 minutes before the azan was called out, and within that few minutes, cars lined up and filled both sides of the road shoulders. Family with children, youngsters, old men and women and all sort of people thronged the majestic building. Really evoke the grateful feeling of being a Kelantanese and actually living here in me. Not 15 minutes ago I was horrified at the crowd at KB Mall. Truth is, we very rarely go to the mall on weekends. So, what is normal to others was frowned upon by us. When we were coming out, there was still a long queue of cars waiting to get in and I was horrified that people were still coming in to the mall when Maghrib is so near. Well, there is a small surau in the mall anyway...

I came to realise that it has been a long while since Abah and me got to spend time alone together. In fact, I think this is the very first time both of you, Abang and Adik, are not with us at night time....Adik went off to join her school program, camping on some beaches, around 3 this afternoon. Soon after, Abah and me decided to go out as Abah needed to find something for his never-ending DIY home and garden projects . And I wanted to find a gadget to transplant the seedlings that I saw on this new-found information -laden gardening blog. Sadly though, I couldnt find it...must try other garden stores soon. I have had enough frustrating moments trying to transplant without injuring the seedlings...

So, there we were. Walking hand in hand, looking at things and ended up buying a micro fiber carpet for our bedroom. We were sold on the fact that they are super absorbent,stain resistant, do not shed, bla,bla,bla...the salesman claimed that it was made in Belgium but I doubted it. (Upon checking it on the net just now, true enough, I found that they actually came from Taiwan!!) Then, we got the tools Abah was looking for. Soon after,we passed the lingerie section and I was attracted to sports bra on sales. After a few minutes looking and discussing them with Abah, it suddenly hit me that Abah might be embarrassed to be there and and apologised to him. Abah was surprised and said no, he's not embarrassed at all, automatically reminding me of how around ten years ago, it was a normal thing for us to do, browsing all departments together as I could never shop or even walk alone. But Adik, since you arrived and especially after you reached certain age, I think 9 was it, you have become my best shopping companion and I thoroughly enjoy your company that I have forgotten I used to do it with Abah!! You are always my best critic, honest as you are...(though sometimes I wish you are more subtle, like Abang....)

When you turn 11 and and we shared the same shoe sizes, you become more enthusiastic. Thank God, by this year your feet has grown even more and my shoes are safe!! Recently though, whenever both of us are wearing black abaya and walking/standing side by side, people have been commenting that we are of the same size. Something like," Eh, dah sama besar Mama ngan Adik"...Adik beams whenever anyone says this as it means she's taller, which is true....and errm, Mama beams too as she thinks (read: perasan) she looks smaller now, which she hopes is true!! And yes, we wear the same S size abayas.

Okay, Abah's here. He's finished the prayer....

Now we are having dinner at Hayaki Kopitiam at Jalan Kebun Sultan as I've been reading good reviews by some bloggers here. Our verdict,the food's not bad at all.

And now we stopped again for Isya' and here I am again waiting in the car as I am on 'leave'.

Saturday Morning.

We just came back from tosai breakfast..

I thanked Abah upon realising that we were out till late last night so as to avoid from me having to be at home alone if Abah was to go to mosque from Maghrib to Isya' as usual...how thoughtful of him.

I have ran out of things to write.

Adik, please come home soon!!!!!

And, hooray!!! the day after tomorrow, Abang will be home too for Eid al-Adha, InsyaAllah...He'll be home for one week and all of us must brace ourselves for another surge in weight-gaining haha!!

SYAWAL 1432H

2011-09-26T11:08:00.003+08:00

Abang's coming home for Raya this year was uneventful, Alhamdulillah. He arrived around 11a.m, thus having ample time to drop at Tok Ayah Wahab's on the way home from the airport. Next destination was to the mosque where Abah confined himself for i'tikaaf as he had been sending numerous text messages reminding me to bring Abang to see him before going home.

And with Abang home, as expected, all carefully planned healthy meals disappeared!! We were back on rice on that day itself as Abang said he dreamt of Mama's Nasi Lemak with Ayam Goreng Berempah the night before! And the dream happened to has a continuation with the list of food items getting longer and longer. Adik, ever the cheeky one, tried to capitalize on it by asking Abang to think/dream of several other types of food not included in Abang's list!!

And oh, I must stated here too,for the records ,that the last Ramadhan was the first Ramadhan I prayed Taraweeh with Abang as imam. Awesome!! ( a bit funny too as Abang didnt memorise the taraweeh du'a yet and he kept asking to make du'a and he and Adik amin-ed it)

With your presence too,Abang, the festive mood started to creep in. Before that, Adik was bent on studying for her UPSR, but now that you're home, all revisions considered done!! All you two did were talking, playing, giggling, talking again...all day long! Okay,okay, so you did help vacuuming, dusting and wrapping the eid gifts for uncles and aunties, which Adik enjoyed so much. She wrote cute eid wishes and drew silly pictures and stuck them on the packages.Abang laughed and thought that his sister is the cleverest and funniest girl in the whole wide world!

We got many gifts too and the one that I like best is this;

This Nut Tray came all the way from Tehran...Thanks so much Kak Ni. Definitely the best gift for a nutcracker like me!!

On the eve of Eid, we gathered at Tok Ayah Mustafa's and recited the whole Qur'an as a gift to Mama's late grandfather. Tok Ayah Pa has more than 10 sons + grandchildren whom are huffaz but not all were present on that day. So, we divided the parts amongst us and Abang alone recited 3 juzuks ...Alhamdulillah. I hope this practise of giving will continue in our home forever, InsyaAllah.

We didnt hold our customary 3rd Syawal open house this year as all the clan of Hj Mustafa headed to Kuala Trengganu on that day to celebrate your cousin's, Kak S, wedding.
This is one wedding I would like to remember and refer to when the time come for your turn. ( Adik naturally, screaming when I mused aloud about it...she went,'"Mama! but I'm only 12!" . And I went, "Its not wrong to plan early la Dik"!)

Ayah Yie and Cik Ninie went to great length to ensure that the nikah and walimah , which is a form of ibaadah, stay true to its meaning and serve the purpose, that is to close the door of those shayateen.

An 'aliim once said in his lecture, instead of closing the door to those doomed creatures, most people actually invite them to join their feast. How? By indulging in extravagance that lead to wastage, thus joining them together in a brotherhood ties... By mixing of non-mehrams during the feasts, by blaring music and by all those traditional practices so rampant in our society that has no basis whatsoever in Qur'an and Sunnah.Not to mention the exposure of auraah and being made-up by transvetite make-up artists.

They began with a simple invitation card printed on regular papers. Stick To Sunnah was the theme, so it was keep-it- simple and no-waste all the way. I especially like the way they printed the card:

Ayah Yie kept out his daughter's name as she is a strict niqaabi who started observing the niqaab as soon as she reached puberty. Everything about her is considered a 'secret',so well-hidden, yet jodoh found her at the age of 18. An 'alimaah, she is an exemplary young muslimah both in ibaadah and akhlaaq. I always pointed it out to Adik that, she's the one to look up to, to imitate and to admire.

The banquet area was totally separated for male and female with no male attendant at all in female area. (What always happen everywhere are, the area may be separated but there's always male attendant refilling the dish, collecting the plates and glasses etc.) As many of the brides friends and students are strict niqaabis, they were able to eat and talked freely. Well, it might not be a big deal for most people, but it is for me...

They spent very little on dresses and made no fuss on hantaran thingy. Yet the bride shone...and nobody were too interested to look at those gifts (because no emphasise were put on those) or asking questions as per usual in weddings everywhere.Alhamdulillah...lots of du'a for newlyweds were heard that day...I now thought of it as a successful walimah and making azam to emulate it when the time comes....

Let us pray again for their good life together showered with mawaddat and rahmat from The Almighty,Amiin....

RAMADHAN 1432H

2011-08-20T16:21:00.004+08:00

So, 20 blessed days of Ramadhan has passed by...leaving us another 10 more greater days for us to strive even harder to gain as much blessings as possible. In keeping with the sunnah of our beloved Prophet, Abah will start his customary last 10 days i'tikaf tonight, InsyaAllah. May Allah accepts the effort and give Abah strength to do as much devotion as possible . Goes for us at home too. Adik has promised to do khidmat on whatever needs Abah might ask for during this i'tikaf...and now Mama, Adik and Grey are eagerly waiting for Abang who will come home on the 28th by Firefly, InsyaAllah. I cant thank Firefly enough for re-introducing PEN - KB route. One big headache gone, Alhamdulillah.

This year marks a meaningful Ramadhan for both of you as this is the first Ramadhan that you go through as fully responsible adults according to syari'at. Alhamdulillah, I can vouch for Adik as I'm seeing a vast difference from last years effort. More discipline in tilawatil Qur'an, taraweeh prayers and generally more agreeable in all aspects. I am sure Abang is doing as good or even better as he is constantly in a more a'maal conducive environtment. As UPSR is looming, right after eid that is, Adik seems to be more attentive on her study too. As for Grey, she's doing not too bad at all...having her meals as we are having our suhoor and iftaar, sits and listens to our Qur'an recitations. You should see how she sits most respectfully with her two front legs put together, head cocks up and ears straining. She really is an amazing cat!!

In the 2nd week of Ramadhan, Tok Ayah Pa was warded for a few days for acute coronary syndrome . He has just got home a few days before Ramadhan after spending 40 days on the path of Allah with Alang. He has taken ill during the khuruj too. Alhamdulillah, Alang was with him and did lots of khidmat to Tok Ayah. Since last year, whenever Tok Ayah went on a khuruj fisabilillah, one of his sons or grandsons or nephews will go along with him. I wish one day Abang will also be able to accompany Tok Ayah on one of his journeys, InsyaAllah. I'm sure Tok Ayah will like it very much...

And oh, I must record here too how we try to do a rice-free diet starting a couple of weeks before Ramadhan. We were well into our 20 odd days of no rice when Mak Tok came to stay with us during Tok Ayah's hospitalisation. Mak Tok was horrified that we didnt eat rice during iftar. So, rice meals made a comeback to our table....Now that only Adik and me at home, we have pledged to go sans rice again...only to be broken when Abang arrives I guess. I must say that not eating rice-based meals proved to be easier on us. Upon iftar, there's no heavy feeling, thus make for more enthusiastic taraweeh...and of course made my life easier in the kitchen. We go for single-dish meals most of the time...I made a large batch of something that all three of us like ,eg lamb stew, and eat it with nan one day, freeze the rest in single portions and eat them again with wheat bran boule, couscous, baguette etc. And we eat lots of salads...

organic sprouts

pecal with veges from mama's garden

wholemeal organic spaghetti aglio e olio

grilled salmon

chick-pea salad

couscous with lamb stew

mashed sweet potato with grilled lamb

These are not meant to entice anybody ya...just for the records...and to appreciate Adik's effort on photographing every single dish I prepared!

As for raya cookies, I have no intention to make any as I have placed orders with your aunty Cik Ni and cousin Kak Intan. These two enterprising ladies produce awesome melt-in-the mouth cookies ( and all sort of cakes) using the best ingredients and we can rest assured of the hallalan toyyiban status of their offerings. I may bake some cakes...(please notice the word 'may'...). Gotta rush now...Till then.

PRETTY BISCOTTI....not!!

2011-07-20T21:54:00.002+08:00

Failing to find anything healthy to munch on ( and munch must I because I am a natural muncher...and you guys know how crazy I am over anything that goes c-r-u-n-c-h!), I decided to make myself some.

So, as the posting trend of late on this blog is just posting whatever is handy for the current month,( for the lack of ideas and to keep up with the promise to you two, if you cannot tell already) here is the account of what I have gotten myself into last week.

On hindsight, this is really not a bad idea at all as this recipe is definitely for keep if you wish to continue eating healthily throughout your life.(I surely hope you do!)

Maybe one day, when I'm long gone, you could take a peek here whenever you crave for something healthy Mama used to make.

So here goes....

PUMPKIN SEED, OAT AND CRANBERRY BISCOTTI

200g egg whites

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

150g caster sugar

2 egg yolks

1/2 tsp vanilla extract( I still fail to find this, so I use the usual cheap vanilla flavour)(edited later: yeay! Abah brought back pure vanilla crystals from Turkey for me!!!)

grated zest of 1 lemon

zesting the lemon was easy-peasy lemon squeezy using this zester (hehe..sorry, cant resist it!)

Flour Mixture

300g plain flour,sifted ( I used Red Rose flour, being low-gluten, it helps produce a tender and light biscotti compared to normal flour)

2 tsp baking powder,sifted

1 tbsp ground cardamom,sifted ( I have never seen one but I have ground cinnamon of course, so, in it goes..)

100g rolled oats

150g dried cranberry

60g sweetened shredded Hawaiian coconut (I underestimated our local bakery supplier and asked for regular dessicated coconut and was pleasantly surprised to find the exact ingredients asked for sitting pretty on the shelf)

200g pumpkin seeds.(The original recipe uses pistachio instead of pumpkin seed. I have pistachios as my gym buddy who is married to an Iranian keeps kindly supplying me with plump pistachios,walnuts,almonds and raisins from Iran. But I love eating pistachios on their own too much...so I used pumpkin seeds as they have the same green hues....Whattodo, I'm greedy when it comes to nuts!!)

I tried to use as much organic product as I could....

Step 1: Preparing the dough

Whisk egg whites with salt until foamy. Gradually beat in sugar till glossy and stiff peak forms. Look something like this;

Beat in yolk until combined. Add vanilla and lemon zest. Fold in flour mixture in three batches and mix well with a spatula to form a sticky dough.

Step 2: Shaping

You can shape the dough as desired but as I was pushed for time ( as I always am...), I opted for the easiest one lah...the logs!

urghh..they look so ugly!! (next time, must make it flatter)

Do take note that you need to oil the plastic sheet otherwise the dough will stick. (I am so lucky to still have this Tupperware rolling sheet that I got in the UK almost 14 years ago. It is still in excellent condition after serving me well in my experimenting years of baking pies after pies and piling pounds after pounds on myself and Abah,huhu...Adik, when the time comes and I pass this to you, take good care of it okay. Even if the Tupperware claims that they give it a lifetime guarantee, they just dont make this anymore...With all those measurement printed on it, it really made things a lot more easier and less wastage .)

Step 3: First Baking

Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with a non-stick parchment. Brush the top with egg whites for glossy effect. Bake @ 160C for 20 to 25 min.

I have used this magic carpet over and over again for so many years.....

Step 4: Slicing

Cool the logs before you slice it and use serrated knife. It is a MUST!!

Step 5: Second Baking

Arrange the slices in single layer and bake @ 150C for 25 min, turning half way through baking.

(That is what the instruction in the magazine said...

But, a glance at the clock told me that I only have 15 minutes before I have to rush out to get Adik at school....)

So, I made up my own timing.

And ended up with.....

not so pretty biscotti......

This recipe is taken from Malaysia's premier food and lifestyle magazine,Flavours, which I subscribed to. It promised a colourful mosaic of green, red and white fine textured biscuit riddled with tiny bubbles , and offers a crisp , firm bite with with cardamom spiciness.

Well, I got green and white from pumpkin seeds and oats alright but the red of the cranberries was nowhere to be seen after I decided to turn on the the temperature to speed up the baking time....they turned dark brown!!

BUT, rest assured, they ARE good and filling and satisfying. Totally recommended. I baked it on Sunday and on Monday Adik fasted and ate a piece of it for sahoor with a mug of hot chocolate and came back from school at 4 PM saying, "Mama, please make more for Ramadhan. I'm going to eat them for sahoor everyday...".

p/s; I gave a few pieces to my good friend cum business partner, the famous Kak Chik, and she gave her thumbs-up with caution, "not for denture wearers", haha!!

NOT A BOY, NOT YET A MAN......

2011-06-23T09:12:00.001+08:00

Well, as you ( the 2 or 3 regular readers of this space) might have presumed, I am going to write about Abang. Its a given. Everytime he came home for holiday, the story about him would soon emerge here...After all, this blog is dedicated to them, Abang and Adik. ( feeble excuse really.....reality check: #1. I dont have anything interesting to write about . #2. I want to get Miss Auditor off my back...aiyaa, why do you have to check in here ever so regularly? and pressing me to update! I regret telling you about this blog...)

see, he had a cheeky smile on...

Anyway, Abang was home for just one week...and all of us couldnt get enough of him. This time around he arrived looking very relax, not tired or anxious as before. Looks like he's got used to long bus rides, Alhamdulillah.He said he slept all the way and ate well at one of the stops, so he did not arrive famished as on previous bus journeys . He could even teased Mama upon seeing how excited Mama was when he arrived on our doorstep. Eyes twinkling,he quipped "Relax Ma..."

We saw many changes in him indeed, not least the physical side. In the above pic, he stood on a step lower than Mama so that Mama could hug and kiss him comfortably.( As a matter of fact, my tall nieces/nephews/females cousins are all subjected to this kind of treatment from me when they want to bade farewell to me....)(hehe,sounds familiar kan cik auditor?)

And Abang has pimples now!! And kind of proud of them, much to my bewilderment...And he kept showing his biceps (haha) and demonstrated to Adik what kind of exercises he does everyday to gain that. I wish Abang would grow a beard soon!!

Physical aspect asides, we are happy to notice that Abang's confidence level has raised quite a few notches up. Previously, only the three (or four if you count the snotty cat in) of us are privy to his silly antics,even sillier jokes and ridiculous behaviour. Outsiders will only see a quiet, gentlemanly Mama's boy. He used to get tongue-tied when speaking to people and often reduced to silence when he couldnt find a proper answer to any questions.

Not anymore!!

Soon as he arrived, as usual Abah asked him to call Mak Tok, Ummi and other elders in our close-knitted family. Surprise, surprise!! We didnt need to coach him anymore! He asked the right questions, gave the right responses to enquiries....leaving Abah and Mama looking at each other with raised eye-brows and broad smiles....

The next agenda was a visit to Tok Ayah Wahab's. Again, when we arrived, he needed no prompt from us to go directly to Tok Ayah. He even managed to ignore Aqim The Favourite Cousin !! Tok Ayah was as usual, sitting on his recliner. After the customary salaam and all, he proceeded to massage Tok Ayah's legs. We were like, WOW!! When Tok Ayah asked him to recite a surah, he readily did it, attracting Mak and her children who were creating a ruckus in the living room to come gather and listened in.

Up until today Tok Ayah still talking about how good was Abang's recitation and keep saying Alhamdulillah. He even said that amongst his many grandkids, Abang and Abang Abdullah Zahid have the best voices. Hahaha...Yes,(soon-to-be-a-dentist) Abdullah Zahid has lovely voice indeed, having competed and won in many musabaqahs and nasheed in his school and college days. But the same cannot be said about Abang...He does recite beautifully, but good voice is not one of his attributes. Tok Ayah seems to forget that Hassan has a very good voice too.

When we next visit Tok Ayah Mustafa, the performance was repeated and got even better. When Tok Ayah asked him to recite, he asked Tok Ayah in what tarannum Tok Ayah wanted him to recite!! Adik went, "fuyyo, terernye Abang.....show off!!"

All in all, we were suitably impressed with Abang's more mature attitude.....

Then came the Trengganu trip to visit Mama's siblings. First stop at Ummi's then to Cik Nini's and Ayah Ji's for he has just got a long-awaited son. The first one is in Jerteh and the latter in Kuala Trengganu and Kubang Bujuk. And what do we have in between? Yes, miles and miles of inviting white sandy beach.

And I got my boy again........

He has always loves sand. Everything else would cease to matter when he got his hands in the sand.

full concentration.....

As for the little fashionista, she was more concerned with her shawl.....Nowadays she spends a few more minutes more than usual in front of the mirror wrapping the shawl whenever we are going out. Now on the beach the wind was threatening to undo it ........

Abah took a 40 winks...or maybe 100 is more accurate as I could hear a snore.

Oh, what a relieve now that I dont need to be right there under the sun anymore.....Ten years ago I would be sitting cross-leg covered with sand and drenched in perspiration
playing with you two...and mostly to make sure that Adik stayed out of water. Adik is always attracted to water as Abang is to sand.

PEACE OUT.....

THE HEAT IS ON..... pt 2

2011-05-24T09:09:00.002+08:00

Mama and heat are just not meant to be together...that explains why am I here again, filling the void as May is nearing its end. As usual, I'm not very good at giving titles to my entries,so just let me repeat the title for last year's entry on the very same subject matter....Do not complain or I promise never to write again!! You better take heed as its not everyday you could read a blog entry from a clever cat like me...

Daily harvest from Mama's vege beds

May started out very-very hot, with no rain at all. Mama's enthusiasm for the kitchen garden died with all the crops. Alhamdulillah though, the effort was not at all futile, the family got to taste all the veges from the few harvests before the heat sets on.

After a couple of weeks of hot spell, the rain came for a few days, giving us much needed respite....and Subhanallah, it was so refreshing. We could all really taste the barakah in that.....the air became cooler, new shoots sprouting everywhere and flowers started blooming.

Brunfelsia blooms...(mama's garbage enzyme does help too)

Now, the heat is back on again to test the patience and to see how grateful some of us are over the other blessing showered upon us everyday by HIM. InsyaAllah it wont be long anymore before the next rain come...

Mama is a bit better this year. ( compared to last year that is...I'm sure my advice did play quite a role in this...). Yes, she still stay away as much as possible from the hot kitchen, but at least she did something quite useful. As for staying away from the kitchen, it was not a bad thing either. First and foremost, unlike me, she really doesnt need to eat three square meals a day....well, I dont have to spell it out clearly why it is so, do I?

And Abah was not around most of time, away as external examiner in other university for those sitting for professional exams and aspiring to be doctors. And when he was back home, he was busy entertaining external examiners that came to HUSM.

As for Adik, now that she is a teenager ( and very conscious of that fact!) is forever watching what she eats...I'm quite sure Mama's behavior is affecting her's. Mak Tok is always asking her to eat more rice...and Mama is always saying good eating habit must start early. I dont really understand all these talk about basic metabolic rate, calorie requirement and what nots that Mama has been explaining to Adik. So, I better not go into that. I dont need to anyway, being an individual with an ideal weight...hahaha..I can see Mama is green with envy over this statement!!!

Oh yes, I was saying about Mama doing something useful earlier and I almost forget about it...dont blame me! Its easy to forget because its not everyday Mama does useful things.

The heat would keep her in the bedroom, forcing her brain to work a bit , tap-typing away Malay translation of a book on Etiquette For Teachers And Students for madrasahs use. It was Ayah Chik Razif who gave her the chore seeing that Mama has so much free time and living her life like a madam tai-tai.( albeit not a wealthy one) He is supposed to do that but re- delegated the work to Mama. It is not that easy as the book was originally written in Urdu and then translated to English causing some original connotations to be lost somewhere . And the fact that it is dotted here and there with the Holy Verses and Ahadith that need accurate translation. Ayah Chik is always a phone call away to guide as he has got lots of experience, having translated the Fadhai'l A'amal series when he served at Sri Petaling Madrasah few years back.

Exercise wise, unlike last year,she has been good this year. Reason, she found a "ladies only" gym. So there she goes twice weekly for a couple of hours doing cardio and strength training in air-conditioned studio. So, no excessive sweating or heat stroke or whatever excuses of last year's. Those strength training has proven good as I personally saw Mama clearing and digging up the vegetables beds with no complain whatsoever!! My Mama is no longer a lembek lady..yeay!!

Abah is especially happy about this as he will have less chores to do at home. To encourage Mama more, he even bought a portable air-cooler and place it in front of the treadmill at home so that Mama could still use it on the days she doesnt go the gym. He 'incidentally' bought it on Mothers' Day...I must use the word 'incidentally' as Abah insists he does not celebrate birthdays,Mothers Day or whatever days. He said,giving gifts are simply sunnahs, thats the only reason he is so fond of giving gifts to Mama... and somehow the gifts are always the practical ones...I wonder why?? And oh ya, Adik got some hand-made chocolates for Mama on that day. Mama ate two of them and she finished the rest..... Practical too, isnt it? Hhemm, like father like daughter...

Anyway...that's all I can think of. Hopefully next month, you'll read Mama's entry and I dont have to write again until the next hot season. Abang is coming home on 4th June for a week, InsyaAllah...Please pray that Mama dont do anything stupid such as eating whatever Abang will eat in that one week and 'undo' the 3kgs she has lost in the gym.

Signing off,

Dr.M. Grey

ADIK...

2011-04-26T09:00:00.000+08:00

Adik's name began with the capital A followed by a D, thus makes hers the first in her class roll-call. Somehow, there's no one named Abdullah or Abdul something in her class. Not only that, she seems to be the oldest too, being born in February. Weird, no one was born in January in her class...Well, its not a big class to begin with, being a private school and all.

Anyway, it boils down to Adik becomes the first to own an IC in her peer group. And believe you me , THE CARD is a BIG deal for a bunch of 12-year-old....

So, exactly on her birthday, which fell on a school day, Adik nagged us to take her to the JPN, telling us that her school allows parents to take their children out during school hours for that purpose. Abah said to wait for a few days, until he is free to bring Adik. But, as we know, Abah's free time is about next to never....

To cut the story short, it was Mama who finally braved the rain to go to the JPN during the weekend so as to avoid parking problem and the queues...Its a good thing that the JPN opens on the weekends albeit for the first half of the day only.

It was an interesting day at JPN....first of all, we were allowed to drive through the gate and parked in front of the Federal Building itself...the guards being friendly since it was raining cats and dogs I guess, and its Friday anyway, meaning only a small staff were at work, so there were lots and lots of parking space for the take. The lady who took Adik's picture was even friendlier as in offering to take another shot after noticing that Adik has dimples when she chatted with Adik. So Adik sat on the chair again and smiled 'deeply' so that the dimples showed, haha!! All in all, Adik ended up with a very nice IC photo, a very far cry from Mama's first black and white ( yes, I'm THAT ancient!)12-year-old IC photo.

So Adik, you are now officially an adult...as well as a 'baligh' teenager. Thus said, I think there are a lot of things that are not 'blogable' about you anymore. What with respecting your privacy and more importantly, being a muslim girl, its not proper for you to be too exposed to the world.(as if the world is reading this!!)

And in September you'll be sitting for UPSR which you think is the most important exam ever!! Please forgive us for always trying to play it down when you were so agitated about it. We just want you to take it easy...we do understand how you feel to see all your friends attending tuition classes everywhere and you are not. But, really, you DONT need them. Abang didnt attend any during his time because he didnt want to miss solat with jamaat and look how Allah elevates his status now. He has memorised 10 juzuks of the Holy Qur'an beautifully in such a short time.

We do understand though, being ambitious, how frustrated you are over the fact that your school doesnt have aggressive revision program that normal schools carry out to ensure that their kids get all 'A's. And knowing how private schools like yours do traditionally gets marked down....

Your school has never been aggressive in achieving academic excellence , preferring a holistically well developed child instead, which is why we chose it in the first place.

So Adik, fret not..all 'A's or no 'A's,wouldnt change the way we look at you. We are just happy now that nowadays you are more mindful of your wudhu' and solats, reciting daily surahs and doing other 'amals more consistently as well as readily attending weekly taa'lim without any fuss.
As for housework, I cant be any happier now. You made up the beds exactly or even better than I do, able to cook simple meals and tidying up the house is almost a second nature to you now.
Alhamdulillahi llazii bini'matihii tatimmu ssolihaat....

And Adik, we love you soooo much!!

THE GARDENING MAMA

2011-03-23T12:55:00.002+08:00

In continuing with the effort to eat more healthily and be greener, I started, or rather, expanded our kitchen garden. The garden was already there since day one. Abah and me planted the basic need of Malay kitchen supplies the like of galangal,lemongrass, turmeric,pandan, various kinds of lime,the beautiful edible torch ginger (bunga kantan), curry leaves and chives soon as we moved in. And a variety of ulams that we sow or just grow by themselves.I love the fact that I could just open our back door and cut/dig/pluck whatever amount I need for the dish I was making.

The chives has a special story on its own. I must tell you here lest I forget. It was originally planted by your late grandmother, Nik Noriah Nik Mahmood, loooong ago. When Mak Uda and family had their first home in Dato Keramat, Tok brought a clump from Kota Bharu and planted it there. Mak Uda has since moved to a few houses before settling at their current 3-storey abode in Subang Alam. The chives always moved with her. And I took it from her house (when she was living in USJ I think), because I like chives and because of the memories...Never have I look at or use the chives without not remembering the woman who had affected my life in BIG ways...I really wish you two could have met her. Oh, now it has bring tears to my eyes....

But, I digress.

So, I consulted Maktok whom as you know, always have vegetables growing around her house. She makes it looks effortless to grow anything, be it veges or flowers. She came over accompanying Tok Ayah on his scheduled follow-up at the hospital and give me valuable pointers. She said I need raised beds and showed me how to do it. Well, Maktok is 30 years older than me but errr...I am a bit ashamed to admit that she fares a lot better than me at hoeing. It left me breathless after a few swings...(left me wondering how could it be when I could easily work the treadmill for 30 minutes covering 3km quite breezily) So I stopped her and said I would continue later.

Okay, another confession..I of course, asked our gardener to finish it ...and he thoughtfully made 4 rows of them raised beds. I could only fill 2 of them and asked the Pakcik to fill another two with tapioca as all of us are crazy over tapioca shoots.

Soon, beautiful plants just sprouted and I started calling myself a farmer,hehe... Cool mornings and evenings are now spent sowing seeds and hoeing weeds.

The red okra that turn white upon steaming,much to my disappointment

The beginning of an angled loofah

Red amaranth that we shared with ulats

The beans that refuse to climb

I made organic pesticide using garlic,chilli , onions and soap and tobacco too...The internet is extremely useful here.You could choose any recipe that works for the pest in your garden.. I tried out quite a few before I hit the right ones. I found many helpful gardening blogs too and I especially love this one.

Abah is very helpful and full of support...Adik shows slight interest..hemm..and Abang, when he was home for the holidays enjoys eating all those veges including those he never likes before. He said they are tasty because Mama grows them...biasa lah anak lelaki I,pandai ambik ati!!

Then, I discover garbage enzyme.

And I am experimenting on it too.

Freshly made...

One month later..

Cant wait to use and see the result...Please pray that it will work and we will soon harvest better produce...

WHEN WORDS DONT COME EASY...

2011-02-18T16:21:00.007+08:00

Oh the chubbiness...

...just scanned some old photos and they came pouring in. Abang were 2+ and Adik were 3 months old...I had to bite my own hands on a daily basis to stop myself from biting you two...Seriously, both of you looked good enough I could eat you!!...and oh, the heavenly smell! I SOOO miss that. Abah swears that he could still detect some of those smell on you two even today...I somehow, fail to do that. (Told you, my olfactory system is super efficient especially in detecting bad odour....)

Perhentian Island 2003

To the beach, to the beach...
That was always the theme for our holidays of yesteryears. There were tons of our beach photos...but I just love this one best. We couldnt fish you two out of the water, so, the milk bottle had to go in to 'refuel' Adik....

My most favourite photo ever

Late Spring 2002. I just loved the way the neighbours's nasturtium flowed over to our side of wooden fence.....

First bus ride

We just got back from Sydney and realised that you two have been on planes, trains , boats and every other single moving vehicle except bus! The perfect opportunity came when the Paediatric Department chose Trengganu as the location of that year's Family Day and a bus was made available for it. Abah followed on his car as he guessed it correctly that both of you wanted the car ride on the way back.

The must-do activity in hotel rooms

Jumping on beds....the highly sought-after activity that was totally banned at home. I figured out that most hotels have better, sturdy beds than ours, so I let you two jumps your heart out on them whenever we were in one. Okay, okay...I was a bad mother then, but this uncivilised manner was stopped when you reach school age though.

Our months-old garden

The making of a bully....

And it continues....

Abah was always trying to introduce traditional games to you...so when he found an 'upeh pinang' lying on a roadside, he took it home and showed you how to have fun on it...Adik enjoyed the ride (and bossing Abang around,as usual!) so much, and Abang , being Abang, obligingly and lovingly pulled and pulled...until the upeh torn.

The 'colgate' moment...

I just realised that none of you has ever had 'rongak' days...your milk-teeth would only fall off when the permanent one was already in place ready to take over.Hemm, now does it not prove that I have done a good job taking care of your dental hygiene?? YES!!

Another favourite...

Read-aloud session

Abang began to take over the reading-aloud sessions as soon as he got the grasp on reading...oh, how relieved I was!! Adik couldnt get enough of it and I couldnt cope...Thanks Abang!

Schools First Day

2004 Adik started at Kid's Excel and Abang started at SRI Al-Qari. Abah and me were not really keen on letting Adik start that early ( we still believe best early education starts at home), but Adik, you were very insistent...partly because you wanted to be like Abang, attending school. We were hoping you would be bored after a couple of months, but no such luck. You loved it to bits and still loves school until this very day.....

Oh for the memories....

ON BEING ENVIROMENTALIST........

2011-01-18T13:15:00.006+08:00

So, its already 2011......and the talk of going green is everywhere. Caught some people by surprise too when they were denied the usual free plastic bags in the stores nationwide on the new years's day itself. Not us though, Alhamdulillah, as we have started carrying our own reusable bags in both cars since last year. And early this year I have started putting some tupperwares too in the carboots for tapau purposes.

I took a green quiz ( yes, I do those kinds of things when I am bored) and was told I am only fairly green..huhu..compared to these people that is. But to our close relatives and friends who visit our home regularly, I am the Green Woman...
They learn to put waste in the designated receptacles to avoid listening to my little speeches of biological and non biological waste, bla,bla,bla....
Some do made fun of me over this..but, being utterly a good sport as always (ehem), I took them all in stride.
Just recently, Tok Ayah Pa was hospitalised for heart ischemia and your uncles and aunties all balik kampung and camped at our place. When they were gone and we tidied up the house, as usual, we discovered the few things left behind. Adik, as usual,is very good at pointing out which stuff belongs to whom. So, amongst the things we gathered, there was this eerr... a tired-looking, well-used nursing bra...and Adik guessed the owner. So, we called her and asked, she screamed and we laughed . And then, without missing a beat, she said;

" Sis, dont bother keeping it , just toss it in your compost heap. That's my contribution towards your green effort".

HAHA!!

Okay, so I'm not green enough, and will try to improve...but not to the extent of calling myself a greener or greenist... I think it is funny and kind of taking things a bit too far. I would never bake egg shells, blend and feed them to the animals. I would rather just crush and throw them onto my inproper compost heap. ( yes, you gotta crush them, otherwise it'll be ages before they breakdown.) We dont want to consume more energy in the name of recycling, do we? And we definitely dont want to incur more cost in the names of going green. Some people even thought recycling is counter productive.

So, I say, we do things in moderation, shall we?

We, as a family has agreed to be green in a practical and as natural a way as possible. And talking about natural, nothing can beat this;

meat wrapped in its own omentum, okra fresh from garden and milk straight from the cow's udder.

In India, we noticed that people are naturally environmentally friendly. In wet markets,no plastic was used at all.Maybe out of poverty...but I saw many ingenious ways of doing things that we simply dont do here. Wrapping meat in its own omentum( some kind of membrane) is a novelty to me. Though Adik said, she felt geli...

And look at this bowl....

cleverly made out dried leaves

As they used two layers of them,post-eating, Adik put the outer dry layer on her head as hat!

Back home,we have started using more of the induction cooker since learning that it is the most energy-efficient way to cook. By focusing heat only on the pan as it heats up via an electromagnetic field, it is able to cut down cooking time by 1/3.

And we shop nearer to home now to save energy needed to fuel the car and cut down pollution too. It helps a lot that the particular mall provides oxo-biodegradable plastic bags for those err...green ignoramus.

We try to eat more fresh sardines (ikan selayang ya anak-anak). Apparently, environmentalists all over the world give this humble fish a super green rating due to the fact that they are very sustainable species and are fished in environmentally friendly ways. Mature sardines are able to spawn between 6 to 40 times a year, thus making them able to rebound from overfishing. As a bonus, fresh sardine is rich in antioxidant and omega 3 fatty acid. As for their small soft bones, they are rich in bone-building calcium. Excellent source of vitamin B12 and D as well as selenium too. And yes, protein of course...

Meanwhile, Abah's take on going green is by practising more sunnahs in our daily life. Eating with fingers instead of using cutleries save on water and dishwashing liquid. Ditto by eating together in one large plate . And having a simple meal while at that. Use miswaak instead of toothbrush...no plastic is used and totally biodegradable.( which reminds me to put a miswaak in my handbag to be used during ablutions on the go..psst, its one of my 1432H resolutions) And oh! the benefits of using miswaak...it needs an entry of its own. Luckily I found this site, so, go check it out....

And just so you know, Grey, as a member of our family, does her part too in this so-called green effort . How? By doing away with the litter tray and does her 'business' in the backyard... Good on you Grey!!

Caught in action!!

THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE.

2010-12-12T10:12:00.001+08:00

We just got back from India after spending more than a week there, in Belgaum, Karnataka to be exact. And it turned out to be an experience of a lifetime for Adik...and a pleasant surprise for me.

I went expecting the worse...Truth is, I have been to these parts of the world before and eerr...its not quite my kind of things I would say. I was in fact, quite reluctant to go ...and, Adik, naturally sided with me. ( hehe...I am always a big influence to my kids, good or bad). Abah had to resort to some persuasive methods to make us agreed to go .
And then, Adik said, if we were going, she wanted the Indian train experience....and I dreaded it more!! I read and read and read on Indian train over the net...And since I have had a preconceived idea about it, my mind played tricks on me and I saw only bad things!!!

So....
We touched down at Bengaluru airport and Adik was excited to find a man holding a board saying, ''Welcome Dr S and family....'' haha!! The airport was as good as ours and when we stepped out, the temperature was a nice 23C.I was like, 'oookay... this is nice'. Then, we hopped on the waiting car and listened to Abah chatting amicably with Mr Tajee. We wondered at how Abah could possibly understood him...Yes, he was speaking English , but we could only decipher less than 30 percent of what he was saying!!

A few minutes into the journey, as we were nearing the Bangalore town proper, we, or rather, I, had the scare of my life!! Needless to say, the rest of the journey was spent with closed eyes and constant prayer!! Driving on Indian roads are certainly not for the frail-hearted!! And oh, sounding horn IS a way of life here and a horn sound could mean lots of things here...

you are a rude driver if you dont honk.....

We were taken to dinner at a hotel en route to the guesthouse, which turned out to be a newly and tastefully decorated serviced apartment and we were the first to use it...As for the dinner, it was awesome.

post-meal,they always give a bowl of warm water with a piece of lime for hand-washing n some spices combination for breath freshener

fancy pan cone wrapped in edible silver paper

Adik got fascinated with a pan(sireh) stall in front of the hotel. It was amazing to see everybody including young and hip-looking youngsters just stopped, took a pan, popped it into their mouth and chewed away.

The two 'servants' in the guesthouse wouldnt even let me put my drinking glass in the sink! By this time, I have started to like it here....And adik said,"Mama, its not bad at all..." in an accusing tone!

high-quality linen with low-low price!!

The next morning, we were taken to Commercial Street where I have to pinch myself to realise that I havent die and go to cotton's heaven!! Not to mention saree's....

Adik choosing materials for her salwar kameez

Evening came and off we went to the ''dreaded'' train station....but lo and behold! It was so clean that people actually sit in the open arena in small groups having a picnic while waiting for their trains. And no offensive smell whatsoever. The train was on time and we soon settled into our AC sleeper carriage. Again I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was so comfortable...Thick fluffy blankets, pillows and crisp white linen were handed in brown packets,freshly laundered. The journey from Bangalore to Belgaum where the university we were heading to located, took 12 hours. Adik said she felt like sleeping in a buai and was lullabied to sleep immediately and drawing the curtain, I soon followed suit. Abah woke us up for Fajr prayer and again I was so relieved to see that the latrine was actually clean with no foul smell emitting at all. I had actually restrained myself earlier to avoid visiting it. All in all, I would say, Indian train beat ours.

Concerned friends have reminded us not to eat from street vendors and the likes, but we are a bunch of happy people by the time morning came and the sellers came aboard crying "garam chai, idlii,vada,pakora....!!"

a standard breakfast fare of 1 idlii + 1 vada

the bowls holding pakoras n sambar made from dried leaves...

We threw caution to the wind and enjoyed our breakfast while feasting our eyes on the views of the ever changing landscapes.We especially love those fields full of purplish blooms of sugarcane plants.

Around 9 in the morning we reached Belgaum and after disposing our things at the dean's residence, we were chauffeured to another round of shopping spree. Everything was cheap, cheap, cheap....We even made a suit of a salwar kameez each and the tailor charged us less than RM10 for one suit!!

The next day, Abah started working and as the good Prof left for Malaysia during the night, we have the house to ourselves. Waited upon by not one but three servants!!(they actually made us uncomfortable with their self-imposed inferior behaviour). Read here. Adik and Mama took looong walk every morning to burn out those calories from all those lovely foods we consumed.
Abah walked to the office too despite having the driver. The campus is nice, with lots of old shady trees and very clean.

We also walked to the alleys of small shops and bought veges sold at the roadsides.It was like in the old 60s Malay movies. They still use the old scales to weigh stuff.

And of course we did not miss the chance to experience the auto riding.

Adik enjoyed the ride, not me though..its too dusty n scary!!

Everyone in the university was very nice to us. The honourable director himself came to see us and took the trouble to make sure our stay was thoroughly enjoyable.He insisted that we took a guided tour to the historical Goa.

Inside Goan Museum

@ the Goan beach with Dr Reshma

The two tourist guides were none other than the lovely Dr Vidhya and Dr Reshma. I gained lots of knowledge talking to them.And they spoiled Adik with attention and gifts!!

We are glad we went....Alhamdulillah. We asked from Allah and He made everything easy and nice for us. We were spared from bad experience others have had.

If there is any regret at all, it is due to the fact that Abang couldnt be with us. But never mind Abang, InsyaAllah, you will be travelling the world as a dai'é of Allah very soon.

In his quest to be fair to both of you, all the expenses spent on Adik for any holidays, Abah would put the same amount in Abang's account.
So, at the moment, Adik maybe richer in experience than you Abang....but you are richer in RM!!

OUCH!!

2010-11-12T17:17:00.010+08:00

Yes folks, its me, Grey... and last week, I was in pain.

It was my right front leg....it hurt so much when I moved. I'm better now, thus able to write this account of my once-a-year sickness. See, I got sick around this time too last year. (Hemm, thats a thought...based on the amount of attention lavished on me, I should make it a yearly event!)

Unlike humans (err..a woman in particular), we cats are very good at hiding pain,but there's no fooling that lady! Mama noticed my limping straight-away. I tried to tell her that it's no big deal but she wouldnt listen to any of it. She wanted to run to the vet immediately. Abah stopped her, saying,"let us wait for two three days, it may be nothing"...As she very much wants to be one isteri solehah, she reluctantly agreed. But, literally on the third day, ( and I was still limping and had a slight fever by then) a visit to the vet was on the top of her to-do list of the day.

The vet did a thorough check-up and declared that I'm a healthy 6-year-old cat with a body score of 3 year-old . Do you hear that, I am officially an awet muda cat, seriously!!!

The limping was nothing serious, it might just be a traumatic injury following my misjudging a distance and fall not so gracefully on the feet as usual. So said the vet.

But my Mama wasnt buying it!! She tried to put forward her theory but the vet was in a hurry to finish as he was going out to to do a housecall or barncall or whatever a vet does...He calmly assured Mama that everything was okay, gave me an injection for the fever, recommended a tasty high energy dietary supplement ( I like!!!) and left.

You see, in those three days of observing and fussing over me and worrying and crying and doing solat hajat, ( if you think Mama is over-reacting, you should see Adik...she was expecting the worse.

She even wrote an entry in her blog implying that I might die...oh, how could you Adik!) , Mama had also been doing her housewifey research on the net . And she came to the conclusion that I have all the symptoms of Feline Osteoarthritis.

She observed that my limping was worse upon arising from rest. I didnt move very much, let alone jump, and had obvious pain when walking. I just stay put either on Mama's or Adik's beds, curling at their feet at nights and leaned against the pillows on the days, gravitating towards the warm spots. I wouldnt eat at all. (but they carried me to the bowl and pleaded with me to eat.) I neither poo nor pee on those three days. And Mama said, I had some sort of personality changes...whatever she means by it.

Mama tried to emphatise with me. She put herself in my shoes (not that I'm wearing any, and even if I do, our sizes would vastly differ), and said she could actually feel the pain. Such a drama mama she is!! She thought that as our age are approximately the same ( when you convert the cat years to human years that is. I could tell Mama's age directly here but Mama would ban me from this blog forever....yes, she's a bit vain..please forgive her, she cannot help it, being a Libran), we'd be having common ailments.

My Mama, you see, suffers from plantar fasciitis. ( yes, go google it now!) She brushed aside the suggestions that her insistence on wearing unsuitable footwear read high-heels and her err..excess weight are the main contributing factors. She instead, is convinced that her alternate day brisk-walking on the treadmill is the main cause, made worse by her small feet and reluctantly admits that her age too, might has something to do with it.

Now, she thoughts we share the same attributes..my constant sprinting here and there, my small feet (seriously Mama, have you ever seen cats with large feet?), my age and my eerr... rotund body, which I totally disagree . For the umpteenth time, I state, I AM NOT overweight!

Even if I am, it is a universal truth that FAT CATS ARE BEAUTIFUL. Unfortunately though, the same cannot be said to human. Umm, I'm so sorry you are not a cat Mama....

No, that's not the real colour of my eyes!! Mama really is a bad photographer!

Anyway....

My point here is, Mama IS wrong. I dont suffer from osteoarthritis. I'm still too young to get it. Deal with it Mama!!! Even if our age are in the same bracket, I am much healthier than you are, due to my healthy eating, exercising lots more than you and stress-free life I am blessed with. Scratch your plan for my weight loss or exercise regimes. You, on the other hand, SERIOUSLY need them....

Okay folks...before you think that I am cruel to Mama and sound a bit smug, I must tell you that I really do appreciate Mama's efforts ( however misguided it was) and I'm showing it...So much so, that I have broken quite a few of my feline principles so far.

I have become the opposite of aloof cat I was before.

Nowadays, I'm a sweeter cat. I let them rub my abdomen, which they are crazy about.

Please note that not everybody is welcome.....

(The rubbing/scratching area used to be limited to neck and head areas only .) I've started licking Mama's and Adik's hands and feet daily to show my affection. ( Abah, though, is not priviliged to this affectionate behaviour as he doesnt deserve it. He didnt do any solat hajat for my speedy recovery) I let all of them carry me for as long as they like,( I'm doing away with the 5 minutes time frame) without me struggling hard to wrench myself free from their suffocating embraces. (Abah is included here as he did give me some massages and enquired after me everyday during those limping days.)

Okay, I think thats enough to quench the longing someone has for my writing....(*wink to Miss Cat expert in Wangsa Maju)

I'm gonna have my beauty sleep now.... I'll have a short nap in Mama's wardrobe,the coziest spot in the whole universe. Since recovering, they've been spoiling me rotten. Mama, happily lets me in whenever I want to, which she totally prohibits before (mental note: must get sick more often)

InsyaAllah, starting tomorrow, I'll have some peace and quiet for one week. Abang is arriving tomorrow and all attention will shift to him. I'm not complaining though...these people are too much sometimes!

Till we meet again...enjoy your weekend and Selamat Berkorban. Dont forget to fast on the Days of Tarwiyah and 'Arafaah ie 8th and 9th of Dzulhijjah.

Sign,

Dr.M.Grey

LAMB PILAU

2010-10-21T10:12:00.006+08:00

Abah was in a place where halaal lambs are plentiful and quite cheap. His host, one Uncle Prof KJ , kept making lamb soup as it is ( I suspect) about the only cooking method he knows!! After a few days, Abah decided its time to show-off his skill in the kitchen... (as well as wanting to escape eating another meal of lamb soup!!).

So, in one of Abah's frequent calls,skypes and emails,( cant remember which one as he did all these every so often) he asked for the recipe for lamb pilau. So, I wrote down the recipe and emailed it to him.

At the same time, I was pondering on what to write for October entry...and beginning to regret my promising Adik and Abang to post at least one entry per month. I cant go back on my words now.

Suddenly, it struck me! I could just copy/paste this recipe for my October entry... Hemmh, what a relief! But then, as I have editted last month's entry to include a recipe, this blog will look like a cooking blog with two consecutives entries on recipes...takpe la ya, Abang, Adik...Mama memang takde idea ni!

So, here goes;

LAMB PILAU

Ingredients

Lamb (obviously!)

Onions (thinly sliced; quantity- gram to gram with lamb) 

Basmathi rice (get the best u can)

Skinned and chopped ripen tomatoes (use the canned ones or failing to get it, scald the fresh ones in boiling water, the skin will come off quite easily)

Coriander seeds  (lightly crush in lesung batu, does Abg Din has it?)

Black peppercorn (ditto)

A piece of cinnamon bark

A couple of black cardamom (if using the white ones, tambah skit)

Green chillies (cut up)

Ginger (lightly pound)

Cilantro (its daun ketumbar ya laling,lots of them, roughly chop)

Salt and water ( water and rice quantity must be in equal ratio)

Cooking oil

How to go about it:

Heat up the oil, add onions. Let it fried until very brown. Just one degree away from burnt state. (This is important, as it will give the colour to the dish, we dont want a pale pilau,okay)

Add some water. Cover for a minute to sweat out the colour and sweetness from the onions. Add lamb. Put the lid back on until u see the meat has absorbed the brown colour of the onions.Add tomatoes and garlic, cover for 5 min.

Add all dry spices and salt, cover and let it simmer until the lamb is tender. Add ginger, chillies and cilantro, turn off heat and let it be at least for a couple of hours ( this is optional, just to let the meat absorbs the spices etc. U cud just go to nx process)

My style is; roughly one hour before serving, add more water to the pot ( remember to take away the amount u already added). Bring it to boil and add washed and drained basmathi. Cook till the rice is fluffy.

Serve with salad,pappadom and raita.

Good luck and dont burn down KJ's kitchen...hehe. Let me know how it turn out ya!

****************************************************************

That's about it....

But, rummaging through the pictures file, I found these;

the spiced pappadom that both of you dont really like...always preferring the plain ones.

salad of diced tomatoes,cucumber and shredded iceberg lettuce. Dressed with homemade vinaigrette. (3 parts olive oil to 1 part of malt vinegar,salt and pepper)

When I cook large portion like this, I will finish them off in the oven ( after most of liquid has evaporated) to avoid burning at the bottom


the raita which you guys loooove. (Just plain yoghurt with mint sauce or chopped cilantro. Salt and sugar to taste.)

Looks like I have a proper entry after all!!( Now, wont you say your Mama IS clever, kids?)

Come to think of it, I wish both of you will master cooking this dish as it has always been the dish that I'll cook for any Da'awah Jamaat that happen to come to our mosque, especially for those from the foreign countries. And they always appreciate it so much and end up making special do'a for us, Alhamdulillah...and all masturat jamaats that came to our house were subjected to eating this too... and the session of recipe-taking (after the program end) was always inevitable!

I would like it very much that you two shall continue feeding the jamaats even when Abah and me are not around anymore....

p/s

after all the effort I made to write the email most explicitly, Abah called and said, "payoh weh, tak jadi la buat..". hemmm, why am I not surprise! ( and this is despite the fact that he was always hands-on whenever I cooked a large portion)

THE QUIET LIFE ( just for the sake of having a title...)

2010-09-22T12:16:00.003+08:00

The silence is deafening...

How much more dramatic could I get??

Yet, truth does prevail...

It is so quiet here...too quiet.

After almost two weeks of chaos, laughter, riots of taste and colours...

Ramadhan 28th

Abang arrived home barely one hour from iftaar. I have had two episodes of tearing out by that time. His bus was supposed to reach Kota Bharu main station by 4pm but no sight of it until a good one and a half hour later. Abah was doing full i'tikaaf for the last 10 days of Ramadhan, so the task of picking Abang up was redelegated to Ayah Chik Razif. It was totally understandable if my brother-in-law got sick of hearing my voice as I made frantic calls every few minutes. Whattodo, I was under a full-blown anxiety-attack !

After Abang was safely deposited on our doorstep could I breathe normally again...

(Abang actually arrived home looking like a 'princess'...yes, not a typo there. He wore a white jubah which is far too long that he had to pinch up on the sides to lift it up to walk...hhaha..Apparently, his ustadz just presented him the robe for getting the highest mark in tajweed test in his class. To show his appreciation he decided to wear it home, on the long bus journey. When they stopped for prayer, he actually had to change for solat. Mama and Adik cruelly laughed at him!!)

The irony of it was, I couldnt manage to cook anything special to celebrate the home-coming of my ~~prodigal~~ much-missed son. We had a pizza delivery instead!! Talk about being a good mum!! I am SO NOT!!(when I am nervous-stricken that is....please note that I do not function under duress)

I made up for it the next day and the day after and the day after, right to the morning of Syawwal 9th when Abang hitched a ride with his friend's father back to madrassah.

We couldnt pick him up as Abah was occupied with i'tikaaf and couldnt send him off because Abah was flying off to a distant place in the evening.

On that day, my heart was twice broken...

Now there are only me and Adik home...Abah wont be around until Oct 2nd.

Thanks Adik, for being here and soothe my sore hearts with your antics, your laughter and and your love.

And oh, yes, you too Grey...( she just nuzzled me to remind!!)

As we look at the various photos taken during those days, we can only but reminisce...

Alhamdulillah, it was a good Ramadhan for us. Adik didnt ponteng a single night of taraweeh. She prayed with me and continued doing it alone in the last week after Mama was visited by the 'friend' who come-a-visit everymonth. On the first night Abang home, I asked Abang to do taraweeh at home so that Adik could pray with him and I could listen to his reciting. The next night, Adik asked Abang to do it at the mosque as she couldnt stand another night of loooong rakaats!! Abang recited one whole juz the first night and Adik has had enough!

It was good too because we managed to meet the targeted number of Qur'an khatams. Good because we managed to eat simple healthy meals during sahoor and iftaar.

our standard sahoor meal..a tumbler of protein drink,dates, honey and occasional energy bars

We didnt make a single visit to any Ramadhan bazaar. That is a success in my book!!

I learnt that adding oat bran in rice porridge made it more tasty and filling. Sprinkling it on the kerabu pucuk paku to replace toasted coconut works as well. Abang's requested durian fritters was mixed with it too, and the lepat pisang got the same treatment too. ( which prompted someone to pronounce it as lepat 'piseng',haha)

We lost a few kgs but but it came back ever so swift ...especially on ME!!huhu...

Raya came and the usual funfare took place. Our customary 3rd Syawal open house was a hit as usual. Guests started coming as early as 9.30am and the lasts groups left at 6.30pm.It peaked at around 12 noon when most of mama's and abah's siblings came together. All spaces were occupied, leaving standing room only for some of us! We had laksa Sarawak, ketupat palas with rendang and the satay with nasi himpit. I was so busy entertaining that I didnt have the chance to take photos. But I'm sure you two could check them out at your various cousins' facebooks as I remember seeing lots of cameras went clicking that day. Some of your naughtier female cousins took shots of Abang saying that they will post it on their walls claiming that Abang is their current boyfriend...haha.

Thanks to my ever-so-helpful niece, Chah, for helping out. Aminah too...and Toksu and family of course.

The merrymakings continued with lots of kenduris and open houses do that we attended and some had to be apologetically missed. We hardly had leisure time for the only four of us ( which Adik still grumbling over up to today). Its either we were out or guests were here.

the fruit custard that Abang and Adik are crazy about

I cooked ~~all~~ most of Abang's favourite on the pretext of cooking for guests, so it was like killing two birds with one stone.....

fried tomyum beehoon with sambal kicap

and other tidbits

I think that's about it...

Let us pray that Allah accepted all our good deeds in Ramadhan, give us the taufeeq to be istiqaamah in all our amals and bless us with better Ramadhan in future. InsyaAllah.

p/s as promised to Prof Has,here's the recipe for the fruit custard;(I always make large batch as the kids are so fond of it, u may want to halve it)

3l water

1large can of fruit cocktail- strain and put fruits aside

10 heaped tbsp custard powder

sugar to taste

1 can evaporated milk

1/2 can condensed milk

pinch of salt

Mix everything except fruit together, stir well,put on low heat till it thickens. When its cold,put in the fruits and chill overnite.

Just b4 serving,in my attempt to make it healthier (and prettier), I wud add seeded n halved black grapes,watermelon scooped in its baller n segmented oranges. Just put any fruits u fancy.... Alas, my kids will make it unhealthy again by putting lots of cut-up ready-made jellies . Well,it looks much prettier though with those colourful jellies.

Happy trying! (am sure u'll make a healthier version of it...)

WELCOMING RAMADHAN...

2010-08-10T16:22:00.001+08:00

InsyaAllah tomorrow , the blessed month of Ramadhan will be here again...I just cannot describe how I feel today...everything is so peaceful and oh, this expectant mood. I feel excited, nervous and somehow melancholic.

Abah brought home boxes of dates from markaz last night. It has been a routine for us to distribute them to our neighbours and relatives year in year out. You two were always so excited about this...the chore you always look forward to. Going round our neighbourhood on your bicycles. Alas, this year, Abang is not around....Adik has been pondering for the past few days of how is she going to do it alone....dont worry Adik, Abah will of course accompany you...

We just got home from visiting Abang...He's looking very well now with more flesh on compared to last time. And he's keeping his hair this time around. No more shaved head...hemm.. I saw a twinkle in his eyes when I pointed that out. Looks like, puberty agrees with him. I just hope he wont go changing so much and so fast.....I want my baby back!!!

We have to make sure, this Ramadhan, we will visit Mak Tok more frequent . Apart from deteriorating health, she is also missing 3 of her loved ones this Ramadhan. Tok Ayah is still in his 4 months khuruj, her youngest ( read most manja) daughter, Cik Ti is also on the path of Allah for 40 days with her husband Ayah Az, while Ayah Ji left for New Zealand yesterday, being invited to lead the taraweeh prayer somewhere over there.

Not forgetting Ayah Long who is also overseas, though he is bound to travel home more frequent now that the most awaited cucu is now out!! Speaking of which, Mak Tok and Tok Ayah now have a great grandchild. And I am called Mama Tok! Has been one for quite sometimes though as from Abah's side, we already have 2 from Kak Long Iman/Abg Farizan and one from Abang Long Anas/Kak Izza. Another one is on the way from Abang Ngah/ Kak Emma.

Tok Ayah wont even be home for Eid....Its okay though. All of us are well prepared for it, and happy about it, knowing how much Tok Ayah loves spending time doing this. Alhamdulillah Ayah Su is working in Kota Bharu, thus able to keep Mak Tok company.

Next week, as Mama and Abah spend some times on the path Allah, Adik will stay for the weekend with Mak Tok. I hope you will do as much khidmat as possible to her. Make her happy.....And dont forget your promise to Abah to recite one juzuk of the holy book for each day of Ramadhan.

Before I sign-off, I take this opportunity to wish everyone who comes here ( well, not that many...), Ramadhan Kareem...and May Allah gives us taufeeq to do as much devotion as possible....and, please forgive me if I ever hurt any of you with my words ........

A GIFT FROM ABAH....

2010-07-15T10:43:00.005+08:00

I'm so glad Abah planted these Kemunting bushes, seeing them bear fruits, and thus, afforded me with another entry. Truth be told, I have ran out of things to write!! But write I must as I have promised Adik to post at least one entry per month. So Adik, be sure to appreciate this effort ya!! I do it solely for the love I have for you...and Abang of course.

So, these are our Kemuntings that Abah is so proud of and we are so fond of...we and the birds!! And seems that they always won the race of reaping the ripe fruits. As a matter of fact, we only managed to get our hands on those scrumptious berries recently despite the fact that they have started fruiting for the past few months.
After long hot months, the rain came and all kinds of flowers and fruits came out to celebrate the gift from God. Having lots other choices of delectable to select from, those naughty but cute birds at last decided to leave the kemunting alone....baru lah kita dapat rasa!!

Anyway, despair not. We, or errrr.. maybe Abah alone ( for he single-handedly planted that while Mama looked on with sceptical look) gets the sadaqah pahala for all those fruits eaten by the creatures of Allah.

Kemunting picking was Mama and Abah's favourite pastime in our childhood. We eagerly waited for the season each year and went about it most fervently. Many a time, it resulted in we being scolded by our concerned parents as time tended to fly away when we were at it. They would be worried sick as dusk approached and we were still at the foothill, gathering those ripe berries.( Being 'hidden by the genie' was the order of those days as compared to being abducted/raped by so many sick people of today.)

As you, Abang and Adik, are so fond of listening to our childhood stories but cant really connect with what we went through as a result of this rapid development that has taken away all those bushes in our respective kampungs, Abah decided to plant this Kemunting....as well as teaching you how to play all those traditional games that you two enjoy enormously.

Abah got the seedling during one of our weekend getaways in a small resort off Cherating white sandy beach. I didnt know then that Kemunting could grow on sandy soil too. When Abah scooped it up, after asking permission from resort's owner, I was quite sure that it wont be suitable for the soil around our home . And when it struggled to grow at a snail pace, I 'advised' Abah to give up...but true to his 'healer's personality, Abah persevered....Tending it with love and care (read: put fertilizer etc) with Pakcik Noor's help of course.

All of a sudden, lovely pink flowers started to come out and soon enough, small berries followed suit, profusely so too!!

And following the tradition initiated by Abah, the first juicy fruit from any of the trees in Abah's orchard was always presented to Mama....and MasyaAllah,in this case, it was soooo sweet!!

Mama sheepishly said ' Thankyou...' and Abah beamed with satisfaction!! ( of being able to show the berries to you two and...also I suspect, of being able to prove that Mama was wrong!)

Abang and Adik, please take care of the bushes ya!! InsyaAllah...one day your children will get to see them too.

BOY TO MAN

2010-06-20T16:48:00.002+08:00

Alhamdulillah, the weather is getting nicer...not as hot as for the past couple of months. No excuse to stay-away from the treadmill anymore, no excuse for not fasting on Mondays and Thursdays and no excuse to ignore the now overgrown garden. Hemm...looks like Mama has her hands full. And believe me, she really needs these. Those extra flesh are prove enough...need I say more?

Abang was home for the first week of school holidays. And Mama fed him very well....and in the process of fattening Abang up, Mama inadvertently fatten herself up too! Well, I witnessed how the three of them, Abang, Adik and Mama, finished up 4 big tubs of different flavours of ice-cream in the span of one week. Add to that, big boxes of BigApplesDonuts, all kinds of nasi for breakfast, lunch and dinner, various kinds of puddings and cheesecakes, you get a perfect formula for fast weight-gaining....(especially if you are in a certain age-group and you fold up and stowed away your treadmill and let it be covered with cobwebs).
The two young competitors in that eating marathon used up all the energies on badminton, cycling and whatnots while the older one just played it down, trying to fool herself up by telling her oldself that she didnt really eat, just accompanying the kids...a small serving here and there, a little bite of this and that and a tiny-miny spoonful of whatever....Haha, kid yourself not Mama!!

She is now too absorb in endeavouring ways to get back to her former self ( which is not too good to begin with, haha), thus leaving me to take care of this space again.

Anyway...

Abang came home by bus...much to Mama's annoyance. She strongly opposed the notion when it was first brought up. But, Abah, Mak Tok and Umi ( among the peoples consulted over that BIG decision) were all for it, leaving Mama grudgingly agreed to the idea. But, how she fussed and fussed about it!!! I,as one wise cat, advise you Abang, please do not do it again as I couldnt stand her state of mind during that time . You have got the experience you want, now get over it already!

Abah fetched him from the main bus station as Mama couldnt be trusted to brave the crowd in Kota Bharu town during school holidays. I tell you, it was crazy out there. All the roads are jam-packed with holiday makers.

So there we were, waiting excitedly for Abang at the door after getting a call from Abah saying that they would arrive in 5 minutes. We were literally jumping ( yes, mama sometimes forgets to act her age) at the sight of Abah's car and Abang just stepped out and calmly arranged the scattered shoes and sandals at the bottom of the stairs!! Mama was like,"ABANG!!! LEAVE IT, WILL YOU!!".

It was another 30 seconds before we could maul him down.....

Abang said he felt like a grown-up riding the bus home. Got down at the stops and bought all kinds of gift for Mama, Abah and Adik. He, somehow, couldnt find anything for me, sob,sob...( he made up for it though by buying me a ball at the nearby supermarket)

The truth is, Abang has really grown up. Really. Know what I mean? He is a man now....

Apparently 'it' happened sometimes before he came home.But he was not too sure about it. Mama, being inquisitive by nature, and closer than close with Abang, managed to uncover the whole sequence of the 'dream' and inexperienced as she was, consulted Abah and Ayah Ji the maulana.

Abang ended up having to qadha' around 10 days worth of prayers. And he did it most dilligently and the whole family got to hear him reciting all the surahs he has memorised in those qadha' episodes.....it was just beautiful!!

reported by;

DR. M. GREY

AIM FOR THE SKY

2010-05-17T18:00:00.002+08:00

At the end of last month, we made another journey yet once again to The Pearl of the Orient. A meeting of parents and teachers were scheduled to take place from April 29th to May 1st. We were given a specific time on the 30th.,10.30a.m to be exact.The ustadz who called us at home to arrange the meeting stressed on being on time as they have arranged to meet each and every family separately, with 45 minutes time allocated for each family.

As a stickler for punctuality, I really liked the way they handled it.

And to make it possible, for us who live about 400km away, we have to be there one day earlier. So , off we went, on Thursday morning as Abah had to attend a meeting at USM around 3pm on that day. Adik, as usual, played truant ...( one of the benefits of sending you guys to a private school! ). Right after Asr, we went to Abang's school, bearing calorie-laden supplies in the form of organic pasta with rich bolognese sauce, fresh milk, mango juices and creamy trifles as the dessert. All are Abang's favourite....and as usual, shared with Hassan, Tareeq and Amir.

I brought forks and spoons but Abang said he wanted to stick to sunnah and all his friends agreed. So, they ate spaghetti with their fingers, sauce and all, having second and third helpings.

The next morning , after breakfast , we took off from Vistana and reached the madrassah just in time. Abah could barely squeezed in our car in the compound turned parking area.

That was the first time I saw the madrasah proper, I mean the classrooms, the dorms and the backyards. In the previous visits I just stay put on one of the cute gazebos . Though permissible, I didnt feel comfortable to roam around so many boys however young they are. Now that I have seen it all, oh my, was I impressed!! Spotless classrooms, shining windows, orderly double-deckers with neatly made up beds, not a single pair of shoes/slippers in front of any doors ( everyone will automatically put up theirs on the tall racks nearby) and the best part is, even the laundry hanging up to dry was not haphazardly done as the usual scene in any other school hostels. Yes, I'm aware that the kids have made special effort for that particular day, but I'm sure they wont be able to it excellently if they are not used to it. MasyaAllah, I'm so impressed....(now it makes me sound like a totally clean-freak, which I'm not, okay)

Alhamdulillah, now I fully understand how Abang could quickly and easily fit in . ( I used to wonder and worry, knowing how difficult/ fussy he could be). When Abang was 6 y.o and finally agreed to start attending a playschool, we went around looking up at so many kindergartens before Abang would say yes. I was aiming for the one within a walking distance from our house, but, no, one look at the toilet, he just walked out. The fact that he had spent a couple of months in a playscool in Sydney made things worse. He kept comparing!! A few toilet-inspectings later, he decided on an expensive playschool which distance required me to drive . That was exactly the point where I finally put my driving license to good use after having and keeping it as a decoration in my purse for so many years.

But I digress...

The day progressed to be a day not only I was suitably impressed, but , enlightened as well.

MasyaAllah, I learnt a lot from the ustadz assigned to talk to us.

He brought us to a greater height in understanding the importance of ilm in just a few minutes. Subhanallah! He showed us the way to gain it and to properly put a place for it. He opened our eyes, made us see a new dimension. And he talked with so much passion it brought tears to our eyes. I shed tears for my ignorance, for new revelation, for new understanding and for the almost tangible honesty in the ustadz's words. And all the time, Abang sat and stare at him with such open admiration that I could almost see he absorbed each and every word of his ustadz like a sponge. Subhanallah, it was all so beautiful. It ended with report on Abang's progress and attitudes in classes which are all Alhamdulillah and then Abang recited a surah and the ustadz asked Abah to recite it too. Hemm, nasib baik Abah hafal that particular surah...

We left feeling high-spirited, more determine and full of new resolutions. We are now aiming for the sky. Let us all pray that Abang will not only be a hafeez, but an 'alim too, and not just an ordinary 'alim, but one that reach the status of Imaam Syafi'e of even greater than that.

And now, I have to do my part at home......

THE HEAT IS ON.....

2010-04-18T12:31:00.004+08:00

...and Mama is eerrr..out ( of her elements)

So, guys, looks like its me, Grey, again....

Apparently,our beloved Mama is badly affected by the weather. The heat really gets to her and taking its toll on her, draining her out, turning her into lifeless being. ( the creativity juice, if she has any in the first place, is totally dried too, thus the need for me to take over). These days, she's quite a different person. Right after zuhr prayer, she'll get into this weird mode of 'not doing anything'. To me, it looks like as if she stops functioning. I think she even stops thinking. Truth be told, I'm a little worried about her. Worse still, I'm the only one around from 7.50 am to 4 pm. I, therefore, as a responsible and sensitive and loving ~~child~~ cat of hers, never leave her side.... ( except for a few minutes to,y'know, answer the call of natures...)

From 2 to 4 pm she'll sit still on that recliner, do nothing except reading and sipping cold water, while I obediently sit at her feet. She hardly moves. And when the pitcher she's been drinking from becomes empty, she'll look at me longingly, wishing that I could go and fill it up again...and I stare back at her, conveying message that reads, 'Mama, I would if I could...but you know my limitation. And, frankly speaking, you are already spoilt as it is, you dont need a cute cat to spoil you further'. I'm quite sure she reads it perfectly fine as she would lazily and ever so slowly drags her feet to the fridge....

She's been eating very little...the heat has taken away the usually ~~very~~ extremely healthy appetite. She then wonders, why she hasnt loose any of those excesses pounds despite not eating as usual. Oh Mama, do I need to explain this too? You see Mama, all the energy you use are only for flipping those pages of books you read, and nothing else...so, do I need to say further? Being polite as I am, I really dont want to insult your intelligence, or whatever shred of it left. Furthermore... do I need to point out the fact that you have conveniently forgotten your routine on the treadmill? Looks like the alternate-day regime has been replaced by once-a-week half-hearted effort!!

And I pity you Adik and Abah, for having to live with her ...and good for you Abang! ( for being away that is...) . The idle mode means very few cooking done , as the kitchen is,well, obviously the hot spot!!( our kitchen faces west where it gets the full brunt of the fierce sun) After asr prayer, she'll start rummaging in the deep freezer, and more often then not, comes out with some frozen ready-to-eat 'something' from as far back as eidil-adha!! And throws it into the microwave. Seriously Mama!! Where is your 'trying to eat natural food as much as possible' so-called principle? Have you forgotten the fact that food that has stayed too long in the freezer are of lesser quality? Dont you feel guilty for not feeding your family the nutritious meals at all? Hah, I guess not!! The heat has taken your memory away too....sad!!

Abah and Adik, good-naturedly, bear with this...all in the name of protecting Mama from the evil of migraine which is ever-looming nearby.( heat,fatigue and bad smell are the three migraine-inducing factors to Mama) They have to...Or else suffer from a darker mood of Mama. A situation where the need for the whole house to be kept in the dark and everyone is reduced to tip-toeing around her, making as little noise as possible and never to let any offensive smell, especially of food, to come near her...Yes, she could be very difficult to live with. Abah would be the one suffering most as he will have to lovingly massage her to sleep.( err..somehow Mama always know if the massage is done secara terpaksa and will refuse it!..followed by a few hours of sulking thereafter)) All alone now that you are gone Abang....you are the one who would usually rescue Abah from that ordeal. ( And we must never mention Abang at this stage or the waterwork will start and will be quite difficult to be stopped once it begins).I do help sometimes too...by walking on her feet and calves...I really do!! And I'm quite sure Mama does appreciates it. Despite all those massages and whatever strong painkillers administered, the evil throbbing will not end until she becomes sick enough and throw up all the contents of her gut . Some kind of abdominal migraine I would say...and its bad, real bad. Seriously.

Ok guys...if you have any love for Mama, please pray for her. She's in dire need of your prayers to become wholesome again and be patient and be thankful of whatever situation she's in. Look no further than at ME!! With my thick fur, I should be more uncomfortable than she is...but, do any of you hear any complains from me? NO. I am always grateful of what Allah decides for me....

With that wise words, I end this entry.

well, no mama here, she's gone for yet another refill...

THE WEEK THAT WAS...

2010-03-23T16:25:00.004+08:00

It was one delightful week.... Alhamdulillah. Abang was home from 13th to 20th and we enjoyed every single minute of it. Saw lots of relatives, attended oh so many kenduris, ate loooots of food ( Mama gained 2kg huhu) , not to mention huge doses of talking and laughing.

But for Adik and Abang, nothing beats the pleasure of being surrounded by cousins. And Alhamdulillah, almost all of your cousins from Abah's side were home and many from Mama's too.

When Abang arrived, Tok Nazi, Kak Shara, Abang Halim and that adorable Rayyan were already here. Rayyan was inseparable with his life-size Barney. That prompted Abang and Adik to dig out Abang's own Barney that was also inseparable with Abang about 7 years ago. We were in Sydney at that time. It triggered happy childhood memories of our dancing in a circle while singing to Barney's song of I love youuu, you love meeee.....and ends up with BIIIIGGG hug!! We had fun singing with Rayyan.

We sent them to the airport the next day and dropped at Tok Ayah Wahab's to find the compound filled with cars from Kuala Lumpur. All the cousins were here!!! It felt like Eid.

There was an awkward moment at first when Abang met Akim, the most-missed cousin. Akim, as usual, straight away jumped into the small stream behind Tok Ayah's house as soon as he arrived, closely followed by Zaid. It was nearly 12 noon. Soon, Aman and co arrived and joined in the fun. Abang was in a dilemma. To join or not to join....He desperately wanted to stick to his routine at the madrassah, keeping in mind every word of his ustadzs's. He dilligently did his daily recitation, dhuha and tahajjud besides doing loooots of khidmats...and play time is always after asar!! Abang finally opted to sit in and listened to the conversations of Tok Ayah, Pak Uda, Ayah Man and Ayah Yi though his minds was with his cousins having fun under the sun...

And I'm ever so proud of you Abang for your perseverance.

But, he crumbled at last when we were going home and Akim refused to come with us despite being asked to by his own mum. I saw a fat tear rolled down Abang's cheek. Akim and Muslihin are always his favourite cousins, being the same age and all. Those are the two cousins Abang always look forward to see during every holiday. It was bad enough that Muslihin's madrassah in Kubang Bujuk was not on holidays, now Akim was also not agreeable. I tried to console Abang by saying maybe Akim was feeling a bit ill at ease with Abang's strict adherence to his maahad's rule.

Anyway, all things went well after that. Akim came later and things were never better.

Adik's sanctuary became very popular.

Grey never left Abang's room. It was amazing watching her jumping wildly upon seeing Abang. I never thought she could be that clever. Sowwy Grey....but you always seems to have this couldnt-care-less look on your face!

I cried the tears of happiness when I listened to Abang's Qur'an reciting. Subhanallah! It was so beautiful...almost perfect tajweed, excellent pronounciation of the letters and all. I never thought he could achieve that in such a short span of time. Not that I ever underestimate you, but it surpassed my expectation. The next day, Abah and Adik took turn to do tasme' of the surahs that he had memorised. Adik was so inspired that I found her doing her own tilawah more carefully now, trying to imitate Abang. We are so thankful to all his ustadzs for their patience and diligence in teaching our beloved Abang. May them get the most bountiful rewards from The Almighty.

We were supposed to go on a trip to Pulau Redang with Mak's family but a couple of days before the holidays started, Wafaa had to undergo an appendectomy, thus the plan was aborted. To make up for it, we had a picnic with Umi's family at La Hot Spring in Jerteh. It was a lot of fun!!

Abang and Adik also had fun listening to 5-year-old Naqib reading the Bawal books. They made a video of it and after Cik Jah and family went back, they kept playing it and laughed their heart out everytime. So, you had conveniently forgotten how you two also read in that way not too many years ago!!

All in all, it had been a fulfilled week....

Came Saturday, Abang took off with Tareeq's father around 9.00 in the morning. The house became unbearably quiet . Adik slept if off until midday...and Mama cleaned up the house while Abah had to go to the hospital and then off to do nusrah at one jamaat.

We thought all of us were doing well. No tears during the goodbyes. Abang was smiling brightly and we were joking about something.

During the taalem, there were only Mama and Adik. Suddenly, Abang's absence was profoundly felt. We missed listening to his careful reading (very much different from before) for the past few nights. Soon as we recited the kaffarah tasbeeh, Adik literally dived at me and the dam was broken....So much for being cool in the morning!!

ADIK IS ELEVEN

2010-02-27T19:05:00.005+08:00

Adik turned eleven few days ago...and as an advance birthday gift, we brought her along in our routine 3-days every three months trip of rejuvenating our faith, so to speak. Adik thoroughly enjoyed it despite the negative preconception. Before the trip,always the one with sharp mind (and a tongue to match) she pre-empted by making Abah promised not to put her under any obligation to take up any duty.....

However, Alhamdulillah, she did manage to follow every program on time . Did most of nafil prayers, daily zikrs and MasyaAllah, lots of khidmat...The only thing she missed out was tahajjud. She said she was aroused from sleep when the makciks woke up one by one but didnt have the strength to actually wake herself up and do it...But, in her own words, "nampak best sangat..., Adik teringin sangat nak bangun tapi tak larat".

InsyaAllah Adik, in time, you will have the strength....

By the way, Adik has actually joined the school program that consist of sleeping at school and wake up for night-prayers but it was done in congregation with lights on. She said it was a whole different thing seeing the makciks tip-toed silently to the toilet under minimal lighting, made ablutions and prayed and made looong do'as and crying while at that. Wow Adik! You must have stayed awake for quite sometimes to abserve all that!! Might as well bangun and sembahyang 2 rakaat....rugi lah Adik!

Anyway, Adik is now counting the day for the next trip.....

As for me, I hope to be able to always bring you with us but its all depends on the mesyuarah. So, Adik, ask from HIM, The Most Benevolent Provider.

Post 3 days trip, Adik needs not much cajoling anymore to accompany Mama to weekly ta'alem program. It used to be quite a chore for Mama to plead with her every Friday morning and it always ended with some ice-cream on the way home. Very damaging indeed to Mama's ever-expanding waistline!! Last Friday, no pit-stop at Pasar Segar Kubang Kerian....Alhamdulillah, selamat duit dan pinggang Mama. She was in a hurry to get home to do 'tashkil' to Abah after listening to an enlightening and moving bayaan. Haha, kesian Abah...from now on, you'll have to contend with another feminine voice nagging you to go out there doing the work of our beloved Prophet .

Adik now is very consistent with the few amals that she picked up during the trip. One that I am really proud of albeit a bit envious of, is her determination to always make ablution before going to bed every night. And just before bedtimes, our nightly taalem sessions are more alive now that the girl who always complain of sleepiness is nowhere to be seen! In her place is a girl who keeps asking to do the reading as she said she could read the Arabic parts of the hadeeth better than Mama and Abah!!

I hope and pray, it will last forever and getting better and better.....May Allah choose you again and again...and if He does, please dont expect me to always be there to scratch your back, head, shoulder and everywhere because you couldnt feel with your gloves on...Yes, Adik chose to don the full hijab while on the journey, complete with khimar and gloves...and Mama has to be on her beck and call in case she feel itchy...Thank God it was just a short journey! It got juuust slightly better on the journey back....

As a reward for the excellent conduct, Abah bought Adik a gold wristlet for her birthday......Happy eleventh birthday Adik...May Allah increases your ilm, beautify your akhlaq and showers you with the nur of hidayaat. Always.

Adik at Aunty Niza's cute lil bookshop, following Mama's footstep, Adik is crazy over books and Abayaats. ( Kak Bashirah, thanks for the cute pink handbag, Adik is absolutely in love with it!)

And these are birthday presents from Mama, bought at discounted prices on occasion of Maribaca's Official Opening.

MEEOOOW....

2010-02-02T11:07:00.011+08:00

(Please excuse the title...I'm not very good at giving post title, given that this is only my second attempt at blog-posting. Unlike 'someone' who usually put fancy title only to write about how she misses her son!!)

Annnywayy....

Here I am again, taking over from Mama for this month lest she will bore you to death with her same old - same old stories of you know what la kan...

Hemm, what should I write about now...

Let me begin by sharing with you my ever-increasing duties in this household.

I still guard the house.

Here I am at the vantage point where I could keep an eye on everything that moves. (and yes, the car is YELLOW...with the word 'Dragon Sound' on it...sungguh tak seswai dipandu oleh a niqaabi, dont you think?)

And yes... apart from that important duty, I still have to entertain the naughty girl... mostly by playing hide and seek with her. Ah, she's easy to please...

My favourite hiding spot....where is she now?

Right after 'Asar prayer, off we go and jump on to her new-found sanctuary.....

Yes, you see it right. Its a rambutan tree....These days, weather permitted, she can be found here, reading, almost every afternoon. And I keep her company, always. To tell you the truth, it was ME who discovered this spot. She saw me crouching there,enjoying the afternoon breeze while listening to those birds chirping and those naughty squirrels jumping mindlessly , eating all Abah's bananas, snakefruits, papayas and everything edibles. I have quit chasing them after being severely reprimanded by Mama long ago. She taught me to love all things breathing and non-breathing ...though I still cannot comprehend why she screams her lungs out whenever those cute smallish green snakes slither by every now and then. Well, this place is like a zoo sometimes, all kind of creatures can be seen here.....While at this, I must say that I am so aghast at peoples' reaction whenever they see me approaching the fish bowl to have a drink.

yesss, this is my favourite drink. Fish flavoured water. I dont eat fish though!!

They thought I'm gonna eat those tiny colourful fish. No way!! I'm much too civillised to do that okay!! Plus, I dont eat anything but my premium kibbles. Call me a food-snob, go on, but I stand my ground!

But I digress.....
Back to Adik's adventure.

I have always known that you, Abang and Adik harbour a dream to have a tree-house. I remember how the two of you even tried to build one by yourselves after your request was turn down by Abah and Mama. They have their own valid reasons for turning it down though.

So, one day, Adik was doing her daily chores of putting the organic waste into Mama's compost heap when I sort of meoowing at her from my perch. She came, she saw and she conquered!! Not one to argue over trivial matters, I just let her.....Well, she still needs me up there as a company , so, no big deal.
Since that day,she'll be here until the sound of Qur'an reciting came from the nearby mosque indicating Maghrib is soon approaching. Nothing to worry here as the rambutan tree is actually in the backyard garden with chain-link on the perimeter.

At the moment she's reading Alice In Wonderland and I am being subjected to some kind of harrasment. She insists that I should grin like that stupid Chesire Cat!! She has tried pulling my lips out and upward, cracked silly jokes, danced an awful dance and even threatened me in her attemp to make me flash a grin!! I feel like screaming, ADIK, STOP IT!! Yes, I could wink at you every now and then, but that's it ,okay,...I dont do GRINNING! Werent you and Abang believe that I am an 'aristocat' not too long ago? I am therefore, a lady-cat who must maintain her posture, stature and that nonchalant, indifferent look all the times. A grin will just wipe it away! NO CAN DO! Stop harassing me already!

In the morning, when she's in school, I take my much-needed rest...I used to sleep for hours and hours.

BUT, not anymore.
Recently I found Mama did something quite detrimental to the household finance. I observed her for a few days and concluded that I need to do something before it gets worse. Ah, what to do, duty beckons.

So, nowadays, whenever I see her sitting in-front of the desktop or her netbook for more than half an hour, I"ll just leisurely shashay my catwalk over the keyboards. With my ample size, I just cover the monitor nicely and with my weight, everything she's been tapping away just vanish into the thin air. Abah is very thankful to me and applauds me for rendering a grrreat service to the household.

(I can only have my beauty sleep uninterrupted on mondays and wednesdays when Mama is not home,doing her so-called charity works.)

Yes, you guess it right.
Mama is on the slow but sure path of addiction to the on-line shopping!! I have seen packages arriving from all over the world for the last few months....THIS REALLY HAS TO STOP MAMA!! And she has a partner-in-crime. A cousin who shares the passion. They call each other almost everyday, comparing things, prices, web-addresses, whatever...This cousin, I happen to like her because she provides good advice to Mama regarding my well-being, otherwise I should ban her from visiting. I heard that her next visit will be on the coming CNY break, is it right?

I have to stop now...some noise is coming from the ceiling, gotta go inspecting.

And oh...Abang, if you read this piece a few years from now, please be informed that I DO miss you...I visit your bedroom everyday, sleep on your bed, on your swivel chair and on your study-table where I can still sniff your smell....I know you miss me too. Dont worry, the coming weekend, Abah, Mama and Adik will go visit you and I'll make sure they wont forget to bring the camera to show you all my cute poses.

I end here with a picture of me wearing the bling-bling Adik bought for me in Seoul....very befitting me, if I can say so myself....

Signing-off,

Dr.M.Grey

RETROSPECT.....

2010-01-09T18:49:00.003+08:00

We have been making so many trips to The Pearl of the Orient that we almost know the east-west highway like the back of our hands. Abah could point out the exact location of which mosque in which locality. Mama knows where best to stop for toilet break. We even have a pet name for our favourite stop ( silly little private joke of Mama & Abah) . We marked the best goreng pisang stall ( at the junction of Panglima Bayu, from Jalan Rantau Panjang Lama onto highway) and a shop that sell keropok lekor that taste as similar as the 'originals' in Losong. And yes,we also pay close attention to those treacherous slopes too.......

We do not feel that the distance is that far anymore....how could we, when the apple of our eyes is there waiting for us!!

And I must mention how I am yet to tire of drinking the greens of the hills and the blues of the rivers along the way. (Tasik Banding is just soo breathtakingly beautiful!). And Oh, it is SOOO refreshing. We always end up winding down the car windows and let the fresh cool air of the Banjaran Titiwangsa in.( We usually make our journey in the early hours) Abah likes it too, but not so much for the air, but more for economic reason!! He could saves on petrol as no air-conditioning is in need, plus, it gives the machine more power to climb those hills. Dont forget, we are an environmentally-conscious bunch of people!!

Lately,we took to bringing a picnic basket whenever we visit Abang. How satisfying it was to see Abang, Hassan, Tareeq and Amer relished every single morsel...they do miss home-cooked food though they never complain about the meals served by the school.

seen here, Abang,Tareeq, Amer and Hassan eating in harmony and penuh adab...

As for us visitors, delightful as they are, Penang foods generally are not very agreeable to us. We always go to Penang armed with a supply of Loratadine or risk disturbed sleep due to blocked nose. But of course it doesnt stop us from sampling the northen delicacies....

Abang ( as well as Hassan, Tareeq and Amer) are painfully thin and it worries me to no end. I would go on and on about it.....complaining,whining, crying ( typical of me!) and asking Abah to request from the management to allow us to bring some supplement for Abang. I know Abang misses having fresh milk as it has always been his preferred drink and used to drink copious amount of it everyday at home. And honey too. The inhaler and nasal spray was not so much in need when he constantly took honey as is practised in our home. And I lament over the fact that as we are trying to eat more of organic products at home, Abang just has to make do with whatever given to him.

Abah would usually listen to me for a few minutes, than started his pep-talk. Abang is thin, so what. Most of the Holy Companions were thin. And they lived the life that we should modeled on. A simple lives free from ostentation and extravagance. A little hardship it is indeed....why making a mountain out of a molehill. Isnt it a common believe that hardship is more beneficial to the soul of man than are comfort and ease?

I was afraid that we are depriving him of certain live-style that he's used to or what I perceive he should be having...What live-style? On what do we based it on? The way accepted by common people? Do not confuse ourselves of what are the REAL needs of our children as opposed to those preached in the books of the kuffaar. Are we not telling ourselves every night in our ta'alem about it? Now is the time to put it into practise.

Astaghfirullaah hal 'Adzeem....

Sometimes I wonder at my own shallowness!!

Adik is far better than me. She accepts it whole-heartedly.She deals with her loneliness. Concerned aunties, uncles, cousins and neighbours keep asking if she's okay, knowing how close she is with Abang. She pacifies them all with a big bright smile and told them she has got another best-friend now named Mama and ,of course Grey too!. No sooner than I uttered, "Oh, its so sad to see Abang...,she would take my hand and stared at my eyes fixedly and said," Mama!, Abang is okay, he's happy, stop worrying!". She even takes precaution. As we reached the gate of Abang's school, she would remind me, " Mama, no crying okay. If you do, Abang will too.... ". Abang himself tried to make me feel better by actually lifting me up by way of proving that he is STILL strong no matter how thin he gets. And I am a good 20 kg ( or more) heavier than him!!

Thanks Adik, you are a gem! And of course Abah too. Your pep-talks are always a soothing balm on my wretched heart...I love hearing them so much that sometimes I just "buat pe'el" to induce them!! Hehehe...jangan marah Bah!!

I know, I should be the one comforting them, not the other way around.........

So ,in this year of 2010, I intend to grow-up....I'll try to learn more, put into practise even more of whatever little 'ilm that I have and be a better muslim as a whole, Insya Allah.... Kind souls who chance upon this page, pray for me please.....thank you.

ABANG.....again!

2009-12-08T17:15:00.001+08:00

Three days after coming home from Seoul, we went to Penang to fetch Abang. The madrassah gave all students 5 days leave for Eidul Adha. He raced towards us and hugged Mama tightly...(in front of so many onlookers!)

Mama: "SO, you DO miss me!!"

Abang: "But of course!!"

Mama: "But you said you didnt miss us at all!!"

Three weeks before, exactly a week after being apart, we called him at the school......

Mama: "Abang, do you miss me?"

Abang: "No." ( firmly)

Mama: ( taken aback)"How’s everything? The food, the people,bla, bla..bla…" ( in motherly mode)

Abang: "Everything’s good. I like it here very much."

Adik took over…..

Adik: "Abang, I'm sure you think of me all the time, arent you??" ( confidently)

Abang: "I guess…but somehow I’ve forgotten how you look like."

Adik: ABANG!!!

I was highly perplexed… how could my only son who is soooo manja does not miss me at all!!!! And... I must admit that I was a tad sad. Abah was amused…. done with laughing at me, he pointed out that I should be relieved that he is adjusting well. Was I not so worried that he would be home-sick, not eating, not talking…. being morose in general? Yeeeesss, but, but….not missing me at all!! That’s too much…. Well, I am one fickle-minded, vain mother, I guess.

Anyway....

At Home.

Mama: "Do you crave for my cooking? ( still vain) Tell me what you wanna eat, I’ll cook it for you…."

Abang: "There are a lot I want to eat, but we are not suppose to follow our nafs, said our ustaz ."

Mama: "Oh… okay….,buuuut, I am offering you , you didnt ask, and you wont be home again until March next year. You are so thin anyway, you need to fatten up, bla, bla,bla…" ( bad mother..)

Abang: "Okay, I want to eat lasagne, any pasta with bolognese sauce, trifle, that fruit custard pudding, that white kueh......(the list goes on and on....)ogo on and on…)

Alas, he was home only for FIVE days…there wasnt enough time to cook and eat everything….

But I tried to cram in as much as time would permit and make it as healthier as possible by using organic ingredients as far as I could…

Abang is crazy over all things pasta....

His all time favourite..........lasagne.

The trifle that Adik tried to ‘beautify’ by sprinkling chocolate rice on top…....

Abang finished 2/3 of it by himself…......

On the second day of Eid, we had qurbaan at our place where Abah slaughtered two cows shared with Abah and Mama’s siblings, plus Tok Ayah and Tok Su. After dzuhur, Abang had to leave for school again……

Alhamdulillah…thank you Allah for choosing my son to be there in that madrassah. He didnt miss a single day of tahajjud for the whole time he was home. Insisted on dressing according to sunnah and doing khidmat all the time . Being young and innocent, he seems to absorb every word of his ustadz. He may not understand the depth of everything his doing now, everything is because ustadz says so. And Alhamdulillah, the ustadzs are giving good tarbiyyah while being understanding to the needs of the young lads. Abang now is convinced that he’ll look more handsome only in Sunnah attires. He said he didnt miss me because ustadz said, you need to forget everything in order to gain ilm. And everybody in school is good because we are not to talk about bad things of others lest all our good deeds will be wiped out.

I earnestly pray to Allah that He will grant you the taufeeq to grasp the true meanings of all good things you are doing now and be steadfast therein for the rest of your life. Abang, we all love you soooo much and we are glad that you are so happy over there……..

THE SEOUL STORY

2009-12-02T09:37:00.011+08:00

So, we sent Abang to the madrassah on the 1st of Nov and braced the loooong journey home in almost complete silence. Adik fell asleep almost instantly and stayed that way( switched herself off) until we stopped for prayers and thereafter continued sleeping. I sobbed silently. Abah had only one hand on the steering wheel as he hold mine with the other.....

We reached home and Grey kept trying to get into the car, looking for one missing member of this family.....

We then found Adik sat stone-faced in front of the opened wardrobe in Abang's room, looking at Abang's clothing. And I joined her. We then hugged each other and cried openly.....and loudly! Abah came in and tried to say something funny ( as usual) but stopped midway and walked away...

Adik was so down for the next few days that it worried us....

Then, the journey to Seoul came on the 14th of Nov and it saw Adik smiling again...what a relief!! Thanks to the fact that Kak Bibah was joining us in this trip. Kak Bib, along with many other nieces of Abah and Mama, are absolute addicts of Korean dramas. But she got lucky as her mum decided to reward her dilligence by paying for the airline ticket....needless to say, she was in cloud nine leaving Kak Aminah, Kak Basyirah, Kak Syida, Kak Maryam, Kak Syifaa and Kak Tim green with envy!! (these are all korean wannabes!)
Seoul was approaching winter, so it was -2 C when we arrived. It went lower in the evening and Adik prayed that it went lower still so that she could see some snow....As it was, she just had to be satisfied with some frost on the treetops in the morning.

Adik and Kak Bibah ( very knowledgeable with all things korean) enjoyed Seoul very much. Personally, I dont really fancy it. For one thing, everything is much more expensive than in our own country and we do have all that they offer over there. Anyway, Abang and Grey were not forgotten, Adik kept trying to buy knick-knacks for them...

Here are some pictures of Adik and Kak Habibah in Seoul....( Mama and Abah are not photo-friendly!)

Waiting for trains that comes in every 3 minutes ( Yet the Korean still running towards them as if it is thelast train of the day....they really value every second of their time...No, I dont wish to have to rush everywhere like that))Kak Nana( in blue) is Cik Jae's daughter who is studying engineering in Seoul. Without her we would be loss. She was such a great help....and her friends too. And all of them speak Korean fluently.

@ Namsan Tower where lots and lots of lovey-dovey couples 'locked' their love using all kinds of padloocks. Hic!

At the Bear Museum

We went up the tower, which is quite similar to our KLCC, in the evening and saw Seoul bathing in lights.

At the famous market with Kak Alin (in red) and Kak Farah (in black). ( Adik and Kak Bibah were smitten with Kak Farah whom we first mistook as Korean as she looks, dresses and acts like one) We went to Dongdaemun and a few other markets as well...cant remember the names.

Nana brought us to this humble Korean eatery frequents by Malay students. I LIKE!! A dish of three types fish (barbecued outside the shop in using special coal) served with four tpes of kimchii and a bowl of rice and vegetable soup for each. Cost the four of us 18000 Won . And that's the cheapest food here.... On the day we arrived, Ayah Long's and Ayah Mat's friend, one Col. Aziz who is a Defence Attache serving at Malaysian Embassy came to pick us at the hotel and brought us to a seriously luxurious Korean lunch. But all of us was so hungry that we forgot the camera!! It was at a gourmet restaurant where we experienced all those exotic Korean dish. I shuddered when I glanced at the bill....it was paid by the good Colonel of course. Thanks Abang Aziz....

The only mosque in Seoul...and we stayed in Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon which is a walking distance to it. Alhamdulillah, Abah got to say all his five prayers in jamaat. We saw a group of local preparing to go out in 'khuruj' when Abah brought us to visit the mosque. It was awesome. We were told that Malaysian students brought the work of tabligh to Seoul and spread it around....

p/s thanks to one miss fadzila for lending the winter clothings...all have been dry-cleaned, dun worry ya! and i only bought you a humble brooch...huhuhu,told u , everything else is not worth buying!!

OCTOBER TRAGEDY…

2009-11-01T21:43:00.007+08:00

I didnt post any entry last month not for the lack of ideas to write on or because nothing ‘interesting’ happened . It was quite contrarily so!!

The month of October began with Mama getting one year older, and wiser hopefully…. We then took off to Penang for two days and then resumed the journey to celebrate the last days of Syawwal with relatives in KL. Oh, we enjoyed ourselves so much! We went to Mak Uda’s and gobbled up her many types of kueh raya and Adik joined her cousins beraya to their friends house. Meeting aunties and cousins at Tok Zam’s open house and eating her delicious offerings was the next agenda. From there, we tagged Tok Su’s entourage beraya sampai ke Tanjung Malim.

Having lived all his live before in the UK, Imran couldnt contain the excitement of seeing live ducks for the first time @ Pak Usop's in Tg Malim.

By the time Kak Long Fazrin and Kak Chik Illa dropped us at The Royale Chulan, we could barely open our eyes. Off we were to la la land. Oblivious to something sinister taking place in our home at the very same time.

By 10 am the next day, fully rested and fed , we started our east bound journey home. Planned well by Abah so as to avoid the morning traffic congestion. So far so good….
As we reached Bentong, the phone started ringing and we got the news.
Our neighbour just discovered that our home had been broken into . And the car that we parked on the porch was not there!!
All of us were like, oh oh….and automatically recited Innaalillaahi wainnaa ilaihiraaji’un.
And the next question on everybody’s lip was, “ What about Grey? Is she safe??”
When Uncle Azman assured us that our beloved Grey is fine and fat as usual, we were able to breathe normally again…..

To cut the story short….we reached home around 6 pm amidst heavy downpour that reduced the visibility almost to zero especially in Kuala Krai.
We started counting not what we lost, but the things/blessings that we still have. Mama, house-proud as usual, was very thankful that the house is still very much in order, unlike what she had been picturing in her mind all along the journey. The bad men seemed to be in a hurry to leave the house after they saw the car keys, thus leaving our house almost intact . (Mama didnt need to count the golden ornaments lost as she doesnt have much of those to begin with.) Abah was thankful that our passports were not taken as we are going to need them for our overseas trip soon. And so relieved was him that the other car’s ( the one we brought with us) spare key was not taken. We have been greatly spared. Abang and Adik of course mauled Grey and kissed her repeatedly. Abang checked and found his duit raya still intact in their packets and Adik was so happy that her diary was not taken!! It was beyond us to understand why the thief would want to take her diary…..

We are so thankful that we have caring neighbours.. Almost all of Taman Syifaa’ s residents turned up to console us….and the good thing that came out later was, a meeting was held and a committee was set up to beef up the security in our area. The YB who stays in our neighbourhood pulled his weight and summoned MPKB to come and clean all the bushes and tall tress in vacant lots which had been providing perfect hiding spots for those drug addicts while they spied/planned to attack our homes. Its about time actually….most of the homes in Taman Syifaa’ had been broken into and the police actually did nothing significant to counter it or to solve the crimes though the clues were all there.

All in all, what we should be thankful of, was the taufeeq given by Allah that prompted us to seek His help with sabr and solaat soon as the bad news reached us . Abah stopped at the next mosque we passed and all of us did the Solaat Hajat , asking for His assistance and strength to face this test. The rest of the journey was filled with our reciting Istighfar and Innalillahi……with full conviction that everything is from Him and belongs to Him alone and what is meant for us will be ours if He ordains it. We also recited Allahumma’jurnii fii musiibati wakhluflii khairumminha after checking the correct pronounciation with Ayah Chik Razif. We talked about how Allah has been keeping us and our properties safe for so long that we took it for granted. We looked back on our ‘amaals and found loopholes here and there. Adik even pointed out that we didnt do the full sleeping ‘adaab the night before. Oh, how neglectful were we. The comfort of a 5-star hotel had robbed us from our routine. It just goes to show how weak our imaan is and how much harder we should strive to better ourselves. Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah, for putting us through this test and woke us up…..and for letting us see the beauty of your promises that came true sooner than we expected. The car turned up at the Kelantan riverbank after went missing for only two days, minus all tyres.

So, that is the tragedy, if you could call it one…..
The other tragedy is….No, its not a tragedy…its a good thing actually. We finally sent Abang to the madrasah….Abang is now, huhu.... almost 400km aways from us…..

I must stop here lest the keyboard be drenched………….
Till then.
(will write up a piece on Abang soon as I overcome this feeling of emptiness…..)

GREY (herself…)

2009-09-29T10:35:00.007+08:00

For most of you who frequent this blog ( i really cannot see why though), you should know me well by now…..

Mama, head still fuzzy with overdose of ketupat and such, has been ignoring this pitiful space….

I, the cat with, ahemm, quite a few talent….have decided I should take over for at least, this one time. (depends though, if you guys like my style, I might consider writing again).

Since Syawwal is still here, I might as well recount my experience during the festive days. Alhamdulillah ( for I am a muslim cat), I am thankful that this year, I was much spared compared to the year before, from molestation that is. (oh no, not sexually, just physical attack I mean). The little girl who used to pull me by my tail while walking the opposite way of my direction, didnt come this year. People seems much more civilised this year. They still look at me admiringly, but, they just ask the usual questions and stroke me gently. Quite a few fell in love in me, which is, well, totally understandable( smug look)…..For the few little rascals who tried to suffocate me, I have learned the trick or rather have found some strategic locations for refuge whenever I smell them kids.

During the last few days of Ramadhan I got really sick and discovered how much love this family has for me. All three of them ( Abah was out of the picture for he was away, doing the usual last 10 days Ramadhan i’tikaf ), were worried sick. Adik and Mama cried a lot while Abang, trying to be macho, (part of his psyching-up to be away from home soon), blinked away the tears.

Oh, by the way, Abang is still home. Mama, hemmh, as expected, has asked for a postponement for the registration date . Reason, she couldnt bring herself to part with her son yet!! So, Abang will leave home by the end of October….InsyaAllah, by that time, both of them will be ready. Judging from the way they talk about it and NOT crying anymore, I think, they’ll be okay. Dont worry Mama, I’ll be here for you…and I’m quite sure I am far more adorable than Abang, and as a bonus, I do not talk back…..

Alhamdulillah, I was my healthy, rotund self by 1st of Syawwal. Not without drama though….When Mama first noticed that I’ve not been eating like usual , she was puzzled, she thought I finally took her advice to cut down on my food and slim down a bit. Mama is a bit off here…I am not overweight, I just look big because my hair are long and fluffy. Plus, I do eat very healthily, I dont just eat anything, in fact, I just eat what I perceive as healthy. I read all the small prints on the food packet y’all!! Gotta make sure they have all the vitamins and minerals essential to my growth... Look at this pics;

oookay...the nutritional values is acceptable here!

and weigh myself right away to ensure I didnt exceed my portion...oh, I'm so disciplined!!

Back to the story, after two days of not eating AT All, Mama made a frantic call to Abah. ( i have an appointment with vet a week ahead for my vaccination booster, so Mama tried to avoid bringing me to the vet just yet). Abah, thinking that I resemble his patients in cuteness and sizes ( No way!!, I am cuter!!! ), prescribed some pcm after enquiring about my weight, in his paediatrician manner. It took turn to the worse. I got sicker!!!

Ran to the vet….mama got scolded by the vet for giving human’s medication to non-human. Mama, in turn, called Abah and scolded him. Abah, just laughed it off....huh! I have decided to love him less for it!!

The vet even told a scary tale about how just a week before, a cat died from some sort of renal failure due to its owner playing doctor and fed it with human meds. Shudder!! Mama should have listened to her cousin cum eating comrade for any cats advice.( I am convinced that she is actually a vet disguising as auditor so that she can work in a company which provides free meals of fried chicken and pizzas to its execs)

All in all, I think I have a good life…..as a matter of fact, I do think that everybody SHOULD be a cat. It’s a blissful life you know. Take me for instance. Unlike dogs, who have masters to obey, I have a staff of four, serving me. The oldest one, goes out to work everyday so as to ensure I got my premium kibbles, my supplements and other stuff which are quite pricey. The lady of the house, owner of this blog, is the one making all the purchases. She’s quite good in that department and has a good taste I might say , wink*! She makes sure I got all the beautiful and nice quality stuff. The tall lanky boy in the family is the most gentle one with me. He is in charge of cleaning after me. I really dont know what I’ll do when he’s not around soon. The girl, who is a bit of a bully, is the tukang sikat diraja , whose job is to comb my hair until it shines, feed me supplements and play hide-and-seek with me. She’s the only one in this house who has had the mark of my claws on her body as she keeps wrestling me….Collectively, they love me as much as I do them.

filling raya packets for cousins....

at Maktok's after Eid Prayer

With cousins, Dijah, Nabil ( who had new baby brother on raya eve) and Haikal

7PM, 1 Syawwal 1430H...on the ride home

p/s please ignore other pictures and look at mine only…honestly though, i look far better in ‘person’. Mama, poor lady, has no camera skill whatsoever and cant be bothered to read the manual. Miss illa, can you testify to this?? I’ll be grateful!!

signed,

Dr M.Grey

ANTICIPATING…….(more like bracing myself up)

2009-08-27T08:47:00.006+08:00

I have noticed that nowadays Abang talks to Abah more than to me. Gone are the days when he asked me just about anything…which used to irk me sometimes, especially when he asked medically-related questions which clearly could be better answered by Abah. I never thought that I would miss it now that its gone……Silly me, now I feel a tinge of envy whenever I saw him having a low-tone conversation with Abah. He looks so grown-up, speaking in that manner…..

He used to come home from school and regaled me with the words of praise from teachers. Always a model student ( in akhlaq matters, not academic!! he got 5As in UPSR trial though), he was once crowned ‘Pelajar Mithali”. But, he is reluctant to indulge in that kind of talk anymore, though, from Adik, I could still hear the good words on Abang in school, and amongst his many admirers!!

Up to now, the 6th Ramadhan, he is still maintaining the 20 rakaats of taraweeh plus 3 of witr at the masjid ( and wait for the ‘moreh’). Abah would come home right after taraweeh as he prefers to do witr on his own and to partake dinner as he has been having iftaar of dates and drink at masjid and would only have dinner after taraweeh to avoid sleepiness. While we are eating and chatting, we could hear him coming home, closing the gate, opening the door with his own keys, gives salaam and lock up the door, checking the bolts and all. Abah and me would smile to each other. I, for one, cannot help having this swell of pride inside me. You are so brave, matured and responsible…….

From the deepest of my heart, I thank ALLAH for giving you to us…..you came to us after 10 years of waiting, hoping and praying. Indeed, Allah answers the prayers ( in HIS most mysterious ways) after we have reached the stage that we were certain that nothing could make it happen except when HE ordain it to happen. We have resigned to the fact that we might never have children, and strangely, were feeling okay with it. But, you came and Subhanallah, you were everything that I always dream in a baby!!

Growing up, you have fulfilled many of our dreams. When you were just a toddler, Abah would say, “lambatnya Habri besar, nak bawak naik motor pegi masjid”. It soon happened…and when we moved to our own house, the mosque is nearer, so Abah and Abang would either cycle or walk together to the masjid. In manners too, you are what we always hope in a child. Our many relatives will testify to it!! Getting bigger and taller, you take over many of our tasks at home, making life much easier, more so as you would do it willingly on your own accord. Almost everything that we hope you would do, Allah has given you the taufeeq to do it…..

And now, is the biggest dream of Abah….and you are about to embark on the journey to fulfilling it. MasyaAllah, though we never impose it on you, you have finally decided by yourself to embrace it fully and happily. The nightly readings on the virtues of ilm and Qur’an( among others) has once again proved to be fruitful.

This melancholic writing actually came out of this……

I have been feeling sad and have been crying from time to time. Sometimes alone and sometimes with Adik or Abah when they care to layan an emotional me…huhuhu…

My beloved boy will be gone from home a few days after Raya!!!

The madrasah he is going to attend will start on the 10th of Syawwal. I am now imagining life without him….no more tens of daily kisses from him. He kisses me before and after every solat. Going to the mosque, kiss-kiss, coming back, kiss-kiss and hug, going to school, going to bed and going anywhere, must kiss Mama first…No more massaging, no more extra hand in household chores, minus one taalem reader at night, no man in the house when Abah goes out-station, the list is endless……

I A.M S.O G.O.I.N.G T.O M.I.S.S H.I.M !!!!

O Allah, in this month of barakaat, I ask Thee for the strength to face the separation…and please accept our beloved son, the apple of our eyes, to become the hafeez of Your Holy Book, the ‘alim that will benefit many and the da’ie that follows the path of the holy companions r.a….

As Anne (with an ‘e’) from The Green Gables would say…..
“Abang, your coming to our life has made our cup of happiness to be full, and Adik, when she arrived two years later, has caused it to overflow……”

(must mention Adik too,nanti ada yg merajuk)

Alhamdulillah….(feeling a bit relieved after writing this….)

HYPER-PARENTING

2009-08-05T12:46:00.004+08:00

….is something that I am guilty of. Sucked into the black hole of endless improvement along with many other parents all over the world, some being worse than the others.

BUT, from today onwards, I solemnly promise to you, Abang and Adik, to correct myself . I dont want to fall into the trap where each accomplishment is eclipsed by another apportunity, thus subjecting the child into never-ending pressure. I checked, and Alhamdulillah, I havent been that bad, but am surely going that way if I didnt wake myself up now. And thanks to Abah too who has always been the level-headed one, making sure all along that you two grow up to be a fine, balanced kids. Left to me alone, I’m quite sure you two will become a bit like robots…hehe.

I have known for sure now that I cant control and shape my childrens’ lives, tried as I might. It all had been pre-ordained, written in Lauhul Mahfuz, maktub.

‘Abdullah ibne-‘Umar Radhiallahu’anhuma narrated that Rasulullah Sallalahualaihiwasallam said: Everything is destined, even mental weakness and intelligence. ( Muslim)

Over-managing and over scheduling you stems from the belief that I, as a parent, should do all those things in the names of giving you, my children, the best chance to succeed in life. How stupid I have been!! I even thought that I could produce a super-achiever!! hahaha… Please forgive me if all those hyper-parenting treatment you have been receiving all this while have subjected you two to enormous amount of stress…. ( and to think that how Abah is always trying to do opposite of what I was doing and how I always got angry with him for doing exactly that….well, u know the scenario!) I will make amends, promise!!

From now on, we will have quality time together where I wont have this nagging feeling to fill you up with infos and infos….. I will have no goal in mind beyond the pleasure of spending time together. We dont have to have a clever conversation every time. I dont have to correct your manner of speaking, point out the grammar error,point out better choice of words, the intonation etc etc….Urgh, did I really do that? Unfortunately yes….(shudder!!)

If I ever find that at the end of the day, I feel exhausted, angry and stressed up because of what I have been doing with you all day, I know that I am hyper-parenting again…..And I promise to avoid it like a plague!!!

IMPERFECTLY NATURAL pt 2

2009-07-18T18:33:00.009+08:00

I have successfully convinced Abang to completely stop using hair-shampoo.

No, we dont let him goes around with a headful of foul-smelling hair….. instead, he is now going around smelling like….. tomyam!! hehehe…its limau purut darling.

Yes, he’s replacing chemical shampoo with a natural, healthier and cheaper substitute. Plus, no plastic bottles involved….The environment is smiling at Abang!

As for Mama and Adik, we are slowly following suit….the thing is, we need the conditioner to deal with the tangles . Well, actually we wouldnt need the chemical-laden hair conditioner if we strictly follow the sunnah of our beloved prophet of oiling the hair before bedtime. Alas, due to the weakness of our imaan, we’ve been neglecting this practice. InsyaAllah, we’ll try to be more steadfast in following the sunnahs in future.

We are now using more plants from our garden in our cleansing routine, the limau purut( kaffir lime), hibiscus leaves, bunga telang and santan to name but a few. Adik sometimes has a mandi bunga session which she loves, loves, loves…..We picked up flowers in 7 colours, put them all in a basin of water and let them soak up some energy from the sun prior to using it.

The limau purut which are in abundant in our backyard, they make good shampoo and leave behind a fragrance bathroom.

Abang and Adik, please forgive me for drilling into you (when you were smaller) to use shampoo every other day. (Or everyday if you come home with your hair soaked in sweat after an evening of out-door games with your friends) I was ignorant and selfish. I just want you two to always smell fresh like babies, thus the enforcement. My ignorance has exposed you to those harsh chemicals which, Na’uzubillah, could lead to many form of skin disorder/disease. From now on, I promise to make amends. So, please bear with me while I experiment with this and that….

Food wise, we have been cutting down on the usage of white flour. No more white bread now and I thank you Abang for always reminding me whenever I touched any white-flour based products. (much to my annoyance sometimes…especially when I have this craving for something not- so -wholemeal ) I’m so happy that all four of us are in this together. Everyone seems to like the changes I’ve introduced. I thought Abah would be sceptical, but turn out, he’s giving me full support, even commending me….with a reminder though. One that I absolutely agree….which is, whatever those scientists/nutritionists are discovering or recommending, we shall only follow them if they do not clash with the sunnahs of our beloved prophet. No matter what their arguments are, there’s no better way than the way of Rasulullah SAW which will guarantee the success in this world and the hereafter.

So, whatever information I came across, we make sure they are not contradictory to the sunnahs before applying them.

The more I read, the more I see that we should go back to the ways of our grandmothers. Eat what they ate, use what they used. I still remember my own grandma ( passed on before you two were born) painstakingly made her own cooking oil from coconut . The by-product of which would be used to ‘shampoo’ our hairs. Nowadays, nutritionists all over the world are praising the coconut oil which was once deemed as the bad guy.

See, science changes all the time, but the sunnahs stay and will always be relevant till the end of this world.......

So, remember Abang and Adik, always follow the one that always stay true from the beginning to the end….

I CAUGHT A SNATCH-THIEF!!

2009-06-24T22:21:00.007+08:00

Yes I DID!! But, errr…only on camera , hehehe..And it wasnt even me who snapped the pic! It was Fatihah (the girl I’m training to replace me at the shelter home) who did it.

I was too astounded to do anything. It happened right smack in front of my eyes!!

We were walking towards my car, having finished the day's work at the office. I didnt get to see the actual ‘snatching’ action, but I saw the snatcher being chased, caught and handcuffed . It was horrifying watching three guys chasing him, moving swiftly amidst the traffics and ended up tackling the snatcher face down in a nearby petrol station.

And the fact that one of them produced a handcuff….(it was like watching a scene from Gerak Khas ) .
Apparently,they were plain-clothed policemen who were actually patrolling that area. Unknown to me, the area in front of our office is actually one of the most targeted area for snatch-thief, thus the patrolling.

We actually had a lot of pictures and even one with his face right on camera but I dont feel right publishing it. And, oh, this guy was wearing a t-shirt with an " Impossible is Nothing" written boldly on the back....the other guys seen here (except the one in helmet) are the policemen.

I just cannot forget the guy’s face. I always have this image in my mind that a snatcher is a scruffy-looking, thin with an unkempt appearance…..but this guy totally did not fit into that. He couldnt be more than 20 years of age, have a strong body and surprisingly, good-looking. He looked just like your typical college-goers…..When he was caught, he got the gut to smile at people crowding in to take a look at him!!

People were saying that he was lucky the police were there, otherwise he would have been beaten to a pulp by the people.

I felt uneasy for the rest of that day……I told Abang And Adik about the incident, showed them the pictures and as usual, poured my heart out to them. I told them how sad/ashamed his parents would feel should they get to know of their son being caught snatching……

Two days later…….

Adik and me were browsing the aisle of children clothing at Billion supermarket and it happened again!! And I saw the snatcher again. This time, surprise, surprise…..it was a teenage girl! Dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans. I actually saw her when she was running away after snatching a necklace from a 6-year-old girl who was trailing behind her mother. The little girl cried out of pain as her neck was bleeding from the snatching and it was only then her mother realised and shouted for help. One of the sales attendant gave a chase but lost her in the midst of weekend shoppers.

Nowadays, Adik’s hand is always firmly in mine whenever we walk in the public places. Not that Adik is wearing any golden ornaments, but , still, I dont feel safe anymore. I feel suspicious to all youngsters hanging around in malls, on the bikes at the traffic lights and everywhere….

I know we are reading/hearing about this snatch-thief almost everyday in the media, but when it happened right in front of you, you get some sort of rude awakening…..

All I can think of is, all of us must double our effort in amr maaruf nahi mungkar works….this is the only sure-fire way to combat all these bad things happening around us……

p/s yes, i have a new template, thanks to Kak Cik, the petite lady with many blogs, talents and professions....

RUBELLA STRIKES!!

2009-06-15T20:15:00.003+08:00

Abang is down with Rubella....on the very first day the school re-opens after a 2-week holidays. My poor darling boy...... He's covered from head to toe with angry red rashes. It started on the face and then rapidly spreaded to the trunk and limbs. We cannot be sure where did he get it. As the incubation period for this disease is 2 to 3 weeks, he might had contracted it from somebody way before school holidays.....and now, looks like Abang got himself another week of school holidays!!

Alhamdulilllah, regardless of the fever and itchiness, Abang is doing all what he's supposed to do. The five prayers, the daily qur'an recitation and hafadzan, the study and even his share of houseworks....I cannot help feeling proud seeing him doing all these.

Here's Abang, smiling, despite the discomfort.....

The rashes even got into his eyes and scalp too....but Abang is so patient, hardly scratching/complaining at all.

And here's Grey, faithfully accompanying Abang, in health and sickness.....

( she's wearing her new bow, a gift we brought home from our holidays to make up to her for leaving her , taken care of by our kind neighbour who is also madly in love with her, Makcik Zon...Grey, as usual, was upset to be left behind and rebelled by overeating.....result being, her tummy now touches the floor when she moves. Must put her on a strict diet......)

Well, Abang, just thank Allah that rubella strikes you in your young age, thus, minimal systemic upset. I got mine in my late twenties and had to suffer stiff joints for nearly a month , made worse by the notorious Scottish winter. As it is a self-limiting disease, Insya Allah, you'll be up and about in just a few days. Till then, enjoy your extended leaves!!

VENTING OUT....

2009-05-19T08:14:00.009+08:00

This is my third and I hope, the last of my appointment as the manager of this shelter home. I know, it sounds selfish when I say that....but, one cannot swallow more than what one can chew.(ada ke peribahasa mcm ni, kalau takde, consider it my invention, tp mcm pernah dengar)

I got mentally and emotionally exhausted at the end of the days that I have to deal with parents and problematic trainees. No, its not about their discipline or anything to do with it, the two wardens handle that admirably. I deal with their innermost feeling. Their confusion, their uncertainty, their fear, their guilt and everything else in their heads. They will just pour their hearts out and look up to me to give the solution..... How I wish I could have the answers , only I dont........But I try me best. Summoning all my concentration, for these kids always know when we are listening to them half-heartedly. At the same time, trying to assemble an answer in my head. Raking my failing memory box for the stories of Anbiyaa' or the holy companions that I could relate to their predicament. Then, speak to them word by word, repeating it again and again...trying to make them digest the words and praying to Allah to please, please give them understanding.......and most of time too, the 'waterwork' will be going on full-blast and I would involuntarily join in. Sigh......

The days with parents are no easier...... When they come for interviews, they are all humble and repentance. Nodding vigorously to all my suggestions, agreeing with my every word, attentively listen to my 'lectures'...model parents in short!! And if I say,
" Maaf ya, anak puan/encik ni tak sesuai dengan tempat kami / kami penuh sekarang, next intake is in 2 months time...",
they will start pleading...Oh how they plead! They would accuse me of not understanding their HUUUGE problem. So now they have the biggest problem on the earth. So now they realise how bad the situation is and look, it has crept into their own home!! They couldnt believe it is happening to them. They are good people ( they always say that) and their children are good, they are not at fault. It is the world against them.......I will usually let them blabber for a good 10 minutes or until they are out of their breath. I dont need to counter that, dont have the strength left even if I want to.

These are the same people whose forehead never crease a single frown seeing ma'asiat rampantly taking place around them . Enough said.

By mid-June or latest, early July, I hope to be freed from this taxing task....I need to tackle those books that I ordered online and still in their wrappers. Ditto those magazine that we ( me and Abah) subscribe to that keep piling up and blogs of friends that I used to frequent before. So swamped I was with works that I even missed an important announcement made by a good friend on her blog. What would she'd think when I didnt react to that piece of joyous news....some good friend I am.

Thanks to you my dearest.....Abah, Abang and Adik, for bearing with me and my mood swings( always happen when I'm tired and under stress), for listening to me when I felt nauseated and had to spill everything out and for closing an eye to all my shortcomings in being a wife and mother during those times......

p/s Dik, sori ye,this month I can only manage this one post....

COMING OF AGE

2009-04-23T10:14:00.008+08:00

Adik turned 10 on February 19th and Abang became 12 on March 5th. As usual, we do not make a fuss over birthdays. Sometimes we even forget about them altogether.

However, this year, Mama happened to remember ( actually, I always remember..) and wished or, more accurately, made a special do’a for both of you. Adik requested a home-made chocolate cake and to please bake it in a bundt tin. Abang, ever the thoughtful one, gave Mama a choice, either a cheesecake or a fruit cake, whichever is easier for Mama. ( Mama translate it to what ingredients do I have in my pantry).

It was weeks later before the cakes materialised. Better late than never kan!!

Here they are…..drool!

(Abang's fruit cake that he brought to school to share with friends)

(Adik's chocolate cake baked in bundt tin becouse she loves to see the topping running dow n the grooves...)

With 12th birthday, come the long-awaited IC. Abang was so excited by it. A few of his friends have already own one and been showing them off at school. Abang couldnt wait to have his….

Seeing how excited you were, Abah and me, took advantage of it……hehe..sorry ye Bang…we told you how you must now be more responsible and be a grown up in general…..otherwise, the JPN might deem you are not quite ready to own an IC and refuse to let you have one!!

We started with your waking up in the morning, as in responding to the alarm instead of sleeping through it nonchalantly!!! Abah stressed on the importance of going to the mosque for all 5 prayers regardless wether Abah is around or not. Mama stressed on less manja/merajuk/long face dan apa2 yg sewaktu dengannya.

So, I'm happy to report now that we dont have to wake you up in the mornings anymore!!! Soon as the alarm went-off at 5.30 am, Abang is all rise and shine!! By the time the mu’azzein calls the azan, Abang is all ready in school uniforms and goes to the mosque either walking or cycling, depending on the mood of that particular day.

Hehehe…it works!!! Err…cannot say the same about the manja part…he still need 3 good night kissing sessions before bed…..one right after ta’alem, another one coming out of toilet and teeth-brushing and last one, Mama and Abah have to go kiss him in his bedroom!! Either that or he’ll come knocking on our door…..deny him of that, a long face will greet us in the morning!

Abang now goes to the mosque for all 5 prayers, with Abah and alone if Abah is not home. Abah got him a kind of torch light that you wear on your head . So, Abang shines in the dark….literally. May Allah shines your way in the akhirah as He has promised to for those who frequents the mosque even in the dark.

Alhamdulillah….so much improvement in other areas too. Abang has taken full responsibilities on making sure all windows are shut by six pm. and taking out the garbage, both to the compost heap and to the big bin outside.

As for Adik, you are doing extremely fine with keeping your room spick and span. I am so please about this!! We got her a set of cute pink broom and dustpan ( YES,everything must be PINK) and hang it behind her bedroom door and she’s been using it every morning before going off to school. Well done Adik!!

And Adik has taken up the task of clearing up the table after every meal and has been doing it remarkably well. All these however, cannot surpass the happiness she brought us when she declared that she’s now going to be a full time hijabi……Alhamdulillah!! Now we see Adik putting on a tudung everytime she goes out of the house….

All things well and good…..but I cant help noticing something that never were there before…..and they’re bothering me!!

Abang used to be clueless about why girls kept throwing glances at him, kirim salam via Adik, sending to him small gifts every so often etc. Nowadays, he smiles sheepishly everytime one particular girl passes in front of him/us and blushes too!! Oh, how he blushes!!

Out of a heap of gifts he gets from girls on his birthday, ( it came from year 4,5 and 6 girls!!) he seems to like the one from that girl so much. Hemm…very disturbing indeed!! And, oh, dont let me start on the girls…they are so daring nowadays!! The girl from year 4 sent her gift, a story book, with the inscription, ‘untuk lelaki pujaan ku !!!

Adik pulak….keeps noticing her physical body changes and secretly wishing ( I just know!) that she’ll have her menstruation soon!!

If it is up to me, I want both of you to stay young forever….be my babies always…..

But,….I guess the time has come for me to start telling you about birds and bees…more seriously. I’ve been telling you bits of it every now and then, but now is the time to be open and all.

I am so worried about this. Working with the shelter home, make me more aware of this matter. Seeing three 13-year-old gave birth has changed me. I am now more committed than ever to do the work of da’awah. I have come to realise that what is happening to our society now is actually a bala from The Almighty. Every one of us has to do the work of amr maaruf nahi mungkar. It is the neglecting of it that has brought out this calamity that we are facing now. It really is not enough for us to just keep an eye on our own family and turn a blind eye on our neighbours, friends and society as a whole.

O Allah, give us strength to do this noble work and please, please choose all of us to be Your da’ie......

AN ORGANIC FIELD DAY

2009-04-12T22:36:00.011+08:00

This is another no-brainer filler post…..

Well, I dont mean to brag, but I do keep to my new year resolution to feed my family more natural food and be kinder to environment as a whole.

On the days that I felt extra conscious on these issues, I went shopping for groceries with carefully drawn shopping lists. And it made for shorter shopping times!! Talk about killing two birds with one stone!

I went to Pasar Tani and bought produce from all those makciks who grow their own veges on small scale in their backyards. And I bought wild  freshwater fish, not the farmed ones. Organically reared ducks too.

I brought a shopping-cart  with me and put the groceries directly into it, refusing plastic bags wherever possible and get either grateful or guilty reactions from the makciks. They would thank me for saving their plastic bags and/or offer me something else to make up for it. So I end up with some free veges. See, it helps to be kind to the environment. We got rewarded instantly!!

I brought the ‘green bag’ when I go shopping in the supermarket for those stuff that I couldnt get at the farmer’s market. Crammed it full to the brim with wholewheat pasta,wholemeal pitta, tempeh wrapped in banana leaves, freshmilk and some other organic produce. I actually hate it that I have to go to tesco to get them as other supermarkets in KB do not stock these items. (I am now actually boycotting tesco for not responding to my emails complaining of something despite their promise to reply all emails within two weeks!!) 

And here are what I cooked on one of the weekends that I felt particularly environmental friendly and health conscious and extra rajin……

Stir-fried organic soybean sprouts.....
 

                        Braised organic duck breast...yummy!! 

.

the works...... 

We also got grilled wild catfish and acar pisang benggala that I bought ready-made from one of the makciks at the farmer’s market. And, as  I am crazy about veges, I made another dish of pucuk paku goreng with extra chilly that I end up eating alone as nobody else could tolerate the hotness of it….

Well, we dont usually eat many dishes in one meal but as I said, it was one of those weekends…and it doesnt happen very often. I feel obliged to cook something extra on weekends that we are actually home ( quite rare too) after feeding all of you simple meals throughout the week. We eat mostly pasta and pitta dipped in either fish curry or beef/lamb stew that I usually made in huge quantities and freeze and ration it out throughout the weeks.  

And I did go an extra mile and actually cooked/baked organic dessert….an achievement indeed for me!!

Abah’s all time favourite, lepat pisang.......(as he has been  hinting many times before that I cooked too much western kuehs that he doesnt dig!!)

 Yes, the flour is inorganic, I know….but everything else is…bananas from our backyard of course!

Bingka Ubi Kayu....(Ok, I didnt make this one on the same day...the fact must be accurate, ada auditor baca this blog maa...wink* to youknowwhoyouare) 

It smelled Oh so good!! It’s my first time actually….

….( this one is almost hundred percent organic. I used grated tapioca wildly growing in our orchard, extract colour and fragrance from pandan leaves and a bit of coconut milk…well, got to use a bit of inorganic sugar for some sweetness.)
I think this is the most natural food I ever cooked! 

That’s all….hope it satisfies you Adik…I posted my  entry for April!! Stop bothering me now!!

EFFECTIVE PARENTING

2009-03-26T17:00:00.004+08:00

I  attended an effective parenting workshop during one of the weekends last month. I mentioned it to two friends. One said,

 “Why did you bother, you are an effective parent already maa…”. 

 The other said,

" Your kids are like angels, I wish mine are more like yours…”

Little that they know I am more of a defective parent than effective one. 

And those two ‘angels’ could raise your blood pressure to an immeasurable level!

The workshop was fun….Well, I didnt actually learn anything new, but it was good nevertheless. I like the first speaker’s presentation the most. I know all  the 3 speakers personally, they being in the same academia world as Abah. The second speaker is an adolescence psychiatrist and  the other one is a paediatrician too.

The psychiatrist put us in 3 separate groups and we were to make a role-play based on a given scenario. He wanted to see how we generally deal with our kids in a ‘difficult’ situation. He observed, invited comments from other groups and lastly, gave his professional overview.

I didnt agree with everything he said, but it was good to hear what others think. 

One of the things that I do not agree in the concept of counselling is where the punishment is concern. I stick to the principle that based on the  wise words of Luqman al Hakim which could be  loosely translated to the meaning that, the use of the canes on our children are as indispensable as water to the plants.I often find myself in a situation where I was so angry with you two and lashed out words that were really uncalled for. I regret them as soon as it came out from my mouth. And I might have pinched or slapped your wrists on many occasions.

 What makes the difference are, when I do it ‘consciously’ as opposed to doing it to satisfy my own own anger. Doing it consciously mean that I plan ahead what   to say, and if the need to use the cane arises, I’ll recite Basmalah prior to it and make niyyat to actually acting upon the wisdom of Luqman and pray that you wont repeat the same mistake in future. And, MasyaAllah, it works all the time!! But, being a weak human being, I dont always remember to do it…. 

I succumbed to my own nafs …… 

Abang, Adik…I’m sorry for all those times that I simply lost it.

Interestingly, at the end of the session, the psychiatrist himself admitted that, in certain situations, he himself wouldnt practice what he preaches…..proves that there is no hard and fast rules in raising our kids. What may work with some kids would never work with some others. After all, each child is a unique individual…..

In our case, Abah and me found that though we raised you in the same way, talked to you in the same tone, try to instil into you the same values, yet both of you are like chalk and cheese. So different!! I am ever so thankful to Allah that we only have you two.  Hats off to mothers who have many children and yet able to keep their sanity. I am nowhere near these wonderful women.

I have concluded long ago that whatever good or bad you have in you, doesnt really come from our teaching….well,maybe some, but not much. Lots of other things are contributing to it….Of course it is tempting to take the credit for all the good things  and blame others for the bad ones, but the reality is not like that. I would say that our nightly taalem plays a very important roles. I have seen and heard good things coming out from both of you when I least expect them. Things that I have not literally teach you yet. For all your sleepiness and bored looks during the session, you do absorb like sponges!! 

Alhamdulillah….

It also proves that reading-aloud really does work wonders with kids and adults alike.

SENTIMENTAL BOOK MEME

2009-03-03T09:54:00.010+08:00

Kittykat tags me to do this meme. And with tags of all kinds, there are a certain set of so-called rules to be followed….BUT…I am not the most ‘sporting’ blogger, I’m going to ~~break~~ bend some of the rules here…
(sorry Kitty, you may not want to include me in future tags after this, and I’ll understand, no worries….)

For those who are interested, you can read the rules here.

But of course I have valid reasons for being a spoilsport…….

Anyway, here goes my list…..

THE BOOK THAT’S BEEN ON YOUR SHELVES THE LONGEST

My shelves? My own shelves? Hemm..let’s see. We have been in this house close to 10 years now and yes, I can see that those Patchwork and Quilting books have been there forever. Now, they do bring back memories….
Those years of loneliness, in cold Royston Hill of Glasgow, when you two havent arrived in our life. I occupied my time, trying to beat the winter blues , with this self-taught craft. I made many beautiful things, quilt,pillow covers, table clothes etc ,scattered throughout our home and also as gifts to friends and families, which were always highly appreciated. I used to be crazy about it,spending my money on books,materials and gadgets. (Mail orders are just so reliable over there.)
Alas, the passion has died now….

Here they are…….

I have though of donating the books to the library so that they could bring enjoyment to others as they have brought me. BUT, I still cannot bring myself to do that. I guess I’m still hoping that one day, the passion will resurface….or, you , Adik, may want to take it up later….Sewing is, especially with your hand, is a good way to occupy your time and I read somewhere that the syaitaan find it difficult to kacau orang yang menjahit….I think there’s some truth in it. Time flies quickly when you are at it and you could recite as much zikrullah as you go about it.

THE BOOK THAT REMINDS YOU OF SOMETHING SPECIAL IN YOUR LIFE ( a person, a place,a time, etc)

HAYATUS SAHABAH VOL 2….I always have this warm tingly feeling whenever my eyes chanced upon it. Abah gave it to me during our short engagement period.(he actually sent it via Tok Ayah when they met at the markaz where they gathered every thursday night.Yes, Tok ayah was our 'posmen',haha!)
On the memo page, there was this sweet little note, he wrote,"....
Well... sorry, I changed my mind, not gonna publish it here, its kinda private. But, you two, Abang n Adik, can check it out yourselves.
Ok,ok...I'll share a bit of it...in a nutshell, he asked me to read on the marriage of Hazrat Ali r.a to Fatimah r.a...and wished the same could be done in our wedding ceremony. It sounds impossible at first, but, Alhamdulillah, with a twist of fate , we were able to pull it off.....not 100%, but close....
What made it even sweeter was, accompanying the book was this very pretty colourful beads rosary(tasbih) that Abah strung himself as a token of love for me….hihi…
(so you can just imagine how I then said my daily tasbeehat using that tasbeeh while day-dreaming of my future husband!!)

A BOOK YOU ACQUIRED IN SOME INTERESTING WAY (gift,serendipity in a used bookstore,prize, etc)

This book….

It was presented to me at a Reading Contest held at our favourite library. Only a good friend like Niza, or popularly known as Kak Chik, would think that I was fit to be a judge….So, there I was, being a judge ( but couldnt pick Adik as a winner because she’s my daughter!!) . That was the first and the last time I was chosen to be a judge…..hahaha

Anyway,it’s a good book that we had read over and over again in those years of reading aloud together….hemm, suddenly I”m missing those moments…. ( Kitty, this really is a sentimental book meme!!)

A BOOK THAT’S BEEN WITH YOU TO THE MOST PLACES

Always the La Tahzan ( Dont Be sad).

You will find me poring over it while waiting at the bank, at the airport, in the car, everywhere…..It is some kind of warm soup for the soul kind of book, authored by Dr ‘Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni. I first bought the Malay translation of it but couldnt help feeling there’s something missing. You know, macam tak puas baca. I then got the English version….and it is SOOO good, that I read it in small ‘serving’ as I would the food that I absolutely love. ( I know, many friends have told me that I’m weird….I just dont want it to habis cepat!) The feeling of something is still not right is still lingering though. I now fantasise of knowing Arabic and read the original version, with all the precise wording of the poetry which had lost many of their original connotations in the process of translating . How I wish!!

THE MOST RECENT ADDITION TO YOUR SHELVES

The Kite Runner.

I know, I know…its kind of ketinggalan keretapi…but I read Khaled Hosseini’s second book , A Thousand Splendid Suns, first , and it made so much impact on me that I just thought, I must read his debut novel. I Read the ATSS exactly at that time the attack on Gaza was going strong, so, the effect was indescribable… I really felt for those who had to live their everyday lives with mortars and bullets whizzing over their heads 24/7. I just have to say that the book was so intense that at times I just had to stop reading and go doing something else for sometimes until all those overwhelming feelings subsided. I’ve yet to finish the Kite Runner, but so far, so good…

A BONUS BOOK THAT YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT BUT DOESNT FIT INTO THE OTHER QUESTIONS

This book….

I have read it many times and always get new perspective, new understanding every time. I realise that only with the ihsan of Allah would anyone be granted the real understanding of deen….I just hope that we would be blessed enough to be able to grasp the wisdom contain therein….Someone, may Allah bless you, has been putting up excerpts of the book here.

As I grow older, I became very choosy of the books I read, more so on religion-themed ones. It is so easy to be influenced and, Na’uzubillah, corrupted, by what we reads and perceive as right with our limited intelligence. I am forever grateful for my own brother, an alim in all four mazhabs, wherefrom I always get good advice and to whom I always turn, whenever I’m in doubt, apart from Abah of course. I would also like to remind you, Abang and Adik, to always hold these two uncles of you, Ayah Cik Razif and Ayah Ji,(the two maulanas in our family) in high esteem, and to always seek their wisdom in all your urusan dunia dan akhirat.

Now, I just cannot think of anybody to tag…… as a reluctant blogger, I dont have many friends in the blogosphere. And the one I know, Niza is already being tagged. All my nieces and nephews that made up the majority of readers of this blog are all busy with their never-ending assignments/thesis whatever. My two loyal readers who might be suitable to tag, do not blog. So, how??

I, however would like to tag my new-found friend Jannah…..but, of course I would understand if she refuse to do this…..(as i myself has refused to take an award given by a friend and she understood it which made me forever grateful to her)