Love your pets

I'm sooo happy! My article in the Mami & Baby magz (Oct issue) came out in the VoxPop column! It's about "My kid shows interest in...."

I wrote about how keen Adam is on animals, particularly cats! Well, maybe what the old folks used to say was right..."Kalau budak-budak ada ekor rambut (mcm ekor kura-kura) kat belakang kepala, tandanya diorang serasi dengan haiwan."

That day, when Abah & us were at Lrg Kulit, we stopped at a stall selling pets. There were cute little fish, hamster, rabbits, etc. I showed Adam the colourful fish and his eyes were also looking at the rabbits.

I remember Along, Acik & I used to have rabbits when were were so small (I was only 4 years old, or maybe younger). Along's rabbit is the white one, Acik's is the patchy (black & white) one while mine is black.

Those days, vege were quite expensive. So, we didn't have the chance to buy food for the pets. I remember, if Mak cut some carrots in the kitchen, we'd patiently wait to get the unused parts, so we could feed our rabbits. (We didn't know that rabbits eat other stuff too). Hehehe...

I asked Abah what happened to the rabbits? I reckon he told us a white lie, bcoz I don't remember crying when losing them.

Abah said that actually he had given them away to a neighbour, bcoz the rabbits ate their youngs right after they were born. What??? How brutal! Lapar sangat agaknya...

Hmm... apparently, haruan is not the only one who eat the youngs! Maybe Malays can vary the proverb with "Arnab makan anak" too!

O-ga-wa !

Acik, Intan & us have developed a crazy interest on massaging machines this time. Whichever shopping complexes we go to, we'd stop by at the health & fitness shops selling various massaging chair like Osim, Gintell, Takasima & Ogawa and try 'em all.




In fact, Adam has tried once too- and he enjoyed it beary much!

However, the one that Sham really fancies is the Ogawa Mobile Seat. It has moveable rollers and vibration motor at the cushion to massage us while sitting on it.


The best part is during this promotion period, they offer a special package together with a foot massager. Hmm... that sounds worthy to pamper yourself huh!

Next time, may be we'd argue to be the one who drives although it's a long distance journey. I think I'd rather drive and being massaged by the miracle-of-modern-science than sleeping on the nothing-special-co-pilot seat.

Bcoz of that, whenever Adam and Iman got ang pau from relatives or friends, the first word we'd utter is O-ga-wa! (in a melodious way like in the ad). Hahaha.

So, dear.. if we happen to buy this indulging luxury, will I still get my daily manual massage? Above all, I prefer that one, coz it's with TLC. Tender, love & care.

Raya 1429

The day started with mandi sunat Aidilfitri and off we went for solat Aidilfitri at Masjid Kubang Semang. Everytime when it's raya, the story about being very late for solat raya will be mentioned. It was a very funny one, but will remain a secret to be laughed amongst us.

Back home, prepared meals and ate... then the salam-salam & duit raya session.

This is pix of my happy family on the 1st Syawal 1429. Last year, Adam was such a little baby, but now... look at him!

Siap dengan kopiah lagi.
Apa ni? Tangan ayah busyuk! Adam tak nak cium tangan Ayah! Tidakkk...

Acik's family in turquoise blue theme.

I forgot to snap the pix of Along's family, but I have this- Along, Aida & Ian in raging red.

The five of us. The three in the middle (sitting) were the ones born in Butterworth, while the other two were the products of Tanah Liat.

The next pix shows the cabaret dancers (sambil buat tangan sotong) after more than 20 years. They retired so long ago. Dah insaf & taubat dah... hahaha

Little Adam is half naked. He just loved leaving his pants behind. Oh boy...

That afternoon, we went to Yabun's house (not sure why is he called like that- is it his real name?). Along tanpa segan silunya melahap 4 bijik kuih makmur yang dijamu. Hishh... kot ya pun favourite, cover-cover la sikit!

Then, we went to Mak Timah Pulut Udang's place which was just a shout away. They were both our neighbours when we were still in Balai Pukat.

After that, for the very first time, I went to the unlike-kampung-anymore area where I was born (to Pak Isa's house). I could hardly recall anything in that area. Hmm... this old guy was so lively spirited when we talked about Malay (Hey, wait! Why on earth suddenly this issue came up on Hari Raya?)

The 2nd day of raya, we went to Shahril's house and Acik's colleague's. We rushed back home upon hearing that the snobby 'gang' was at home.. but they left just a few mins before we arrived. Actually, it's not that we really wanted to meet 'em, but just wanna snipe their overbearing pride!

Later, we paid a visit to Tok Ndak's (Bagan Dalam) & Tok Cik's (Kuala Juru). I'm glad to see Sham mingling and mixing around very well with everybody, including those he just met for the first time.

The 3rd Syawal, we went to Lrg Kulit and then to Pok Ya's in-law's house. Uiii... rumah besau giler, siap ada viewing tower facing the paddy field. Not to mention, the poem scribbled on the gate. Hehehe (smug face)

Menjelang Hari Raya...

As sung by Mat Salleh (a.k.a Salleh Yaakub in Sinar.fm)

On the way Hari Raya
The end of fasting
Echoing takbir in the dusk
Celebrate Syawal arrive :P

Well, we went back to Penang for Raya since Friday... so we had ample time to do some more shopping and to break fast with the family.

The next day, we went out for iftar at Nur Ly Nun Restaurant with Acik's family. Then, came the time for the dessert. I insisted to try the donuts that people have been talking about, and we drove to Nash Donuts & Bakery in Bandar Perda (not Perdu ye, bang! hehehe)

The place was empty when we arrived. I believe it's bcoz nobody would break fast with donuts only. Apart from the donuts, it also had a small corner for buns and breads. I love the setting of the place, it was nice and so relaxing.

It was very hard for the rambang-mata me to choose the donuts, however I finally settled on half a dozen of donuts after questioning the staff which one is the favorites, which one has fillings (not only toppings), yada...yada...

...And here are the donuts that captured my attention. The one with almond flakes, durian, tiramisu, chocolate & custard, mango and peanut butter. Yummy yum!

Whether or not I'm a BIG fan of donuts, it's hard to tell. I just love sweet stuff. Once in a while, when I feel like eating cheesecake or anything fancy like that, I'll just go for it. So, it's kinda bias to ask me whether the donuts were really nice or just average.

Okay, enough about donuts.

The next day, Acik drove us to the Chowrasta Bazaar, the crowded place with various clothings and fabrics, to look for Adam's & Iman's baju raya. Unfortunately, there was nothing interesting... except that Acik felt like burning the shop where he bought kain pelikat for Abah, when he realized the stalls on the street sold the same material for much lower price. Hahaha.

Then, Iman buat perangai (again!). As usual, Acik would pretend to leave him there and ask him to stay where he's standing. Iman would constantly apologize, and cried... yet he would never move from the point he's standing (lawak la pulak!). These are the pix of the drama.

Hahaha... Kesian Iman... Lain kali, kalau buat lagi, Papa kurung dia dalam bilik ayaq. Mau dak?

* * * * *

Once Along & Yone got home, the painting started. It's just the living area, as the time was so crucial.

An angle of the painter (who's busy painting the wall). Hehehe.


That Raya eve, Along cooked the kuah for the mi rebus and sup tulang. She mistakenly put the finely sliced sweet potatoes into the latter, as she thought they were carrots. Hahaha. Tak pasal-pasal ada keledek dlm sup dan kuah mi tak pekat-pekat jugak.


And when I snapped these pix, they already knew I'd put them in this blog. Hehehe. Ampun na, Along!

Dam dam dum...bunyi mercun!

Raya is meaningless without colourful sparks of fireworks and firecrackers. Back in Brisbane, I was lucky to get some bought from I-dunno-where. I had so much fun playing fireworks with Fiza, Suraya and some other guys in front of 10 Twelfth Avenue.



This Raya eve, while the other females were bz in the kitchen, I sneaked out to take some pix of the kids (plus the bapak budak) playing with the brilliant display of pyrotechnicses.

Wahhh... the attentive Acik lighting the firecracker, observed by Iman, Ian & Aida.

When I was small, I'd play fireworks & firecrackers with Along & Acik. At the same time, the usual song coming out from our little mouthes was the one sung by Saloma.

Apart from that, we also had some evil agendas, such as searching for frogs. We'd hold two firecrackers (one on the right hand as a torch, the other one on the left as a 'gun') and we'll walk around the house, looking in the narrow corners and between flower pots. Once we found a frog, we'll chase it and aim the sparks at it. Hahaha! Jahat giler.

Regardless of the grim tale that the abused animal would come back to us and ask for our soul as replacement, we had fun doing the ironically harsh thing. Those were the days. Before I learnt about conserving biodiversity. Hehehehe...

Another fireworks-story that never fails to make me smile was the one when Acik & I used the flame to burn the old newspaper wrapping of the guavas. It was enjoyable...until the next morning....

suddenly Mak shouted... "Oi, ni #$%*&^#$*& mana yang gatai cucuh bungkus jambu ni? Ni takdak lain la... mesti keja budak-budak ni..."

And Acik & I never confessed. Hehehe.