she watched shane delia's spice journey where he travelled to some mountain villages in south lebanon.
goodness, it was so beautiful, small, open whitewashed abodes on green mountain slopes shaded by courageous fig trees, sheep grazing in the tranquil, cold mountain air. serene.
it must be wonderful living in such an environment , far far from the madding crowd. high above the din of concrete jungles. totally in another dimension!
the mornings must be crisp, misty and cool. the nights silent and chilly. frozen stars hanging low on midnight skies.
she could almost hear the sighing of leaves against fierce northern winds.
and smell the fragrant pine needles carpeting the forest floor.
she once read about the magic of the whispers of the mountains......
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
aidil adha
those at the holy city of Mekah must be so happy that their haj is sempurna now that aidil adha is here.
she could still remember the feeling, especially during the wukuf at Arafah. melontar at the jamrahs. tawaf and saie at the Baitullah! oh so beautiful! she was 43 years of age when she performed the haj, so she had the energy Alhamdulillah to fulfill the wajibs of the haj as well as doing the subuh, zohor, asar, maghrib, isyak and other sunat prayers at Masjidil Haram in Mekah and at the Masjid Nabawi in Madinah everyday except for the few days that she had a cold. it was a fantastic experience. spiritual and physical.
a unique beauty!
and what a satisfaction to be able to bring along her mother for her haj! double happiness!
here at laguna on aidil adha she cooked mee kari as requested by dyra, with plenty of fish balls, chicken, prawns. also chicken rice for the boys and a savoury chicken loaf.
she could still remember the feeling, especially during the wukuf at Arafah. melontar at the jamrahs. tawaf and saie at the Baitullah! oh so beautiful! she was 43 years of age when she performed the haj, so she had the energy Alhamdulillah to fulfill the wajibs of the haj as well as doing the subuh, zohor, asar, maghrib, isyak and other sunat prayers at Masjidil Haram in Mekah and at the Masjid Nabawi in Madinah everyday except for the few days that she had a cold. it was a fantastic experience. spiritual and physical.
a unique beauty!
and what a satisfaction to be able to bring along her mother for her haj! double happiness!
here at laguna on aidil adha she cooked mee kari as requested by dyra, with plenty of fish balls, chicken, prawns. also chicken rice for the boys and a savoury chicken loaf.
rock buns for tea
this afternoon she baked some rock buns, using gula melaka. she still remember when she first baked these rustic looking biscuits in form one eons ago...
hot from the oven they tasted great with peanut butter.
on sunday she baked curried tuna loaf, for the boys for lunch they had fried koay teow, rice (brown rice of course), sambal bawal, kicap cabbage, acar rampai (the boys didn't eat this) and bawal masak cuka.
she loves cooking for her children. but sometimes she cooks too much! dyra would often tell her not to cook too many dishes....
she used to cook as many as ten types of fish, chicken and veggy dishes when her children were at home, to cater to all their favorites!
most mothers do this...
hot from the oven they tasted great with peanut butter.
on sunday she baked curried tuna loaf, for the boys for lunch they had fried koay teow, rice (brown rice of course), sambal bawal, kicap cabbage, acar rampai (the boys didn't eat this) and bawal masak cuka.
she loves cooking for her children. but sometimes she cooks too much! dyra would often tell her not to cook too many dishes....
she used to cook as many as ten types of fish, chicken and veggy dishes when her children were at home, to cater to all their favorites!
most mothers do this...
dawn with the little bunnies
each dawn after the subuh prayers she'd be out on the terrace with the little rabbits kiko and koko.
the fluffy duo loves eating sunflower seeds from her hand. she'd call out to them and they'd come running to her like two little balls of fur, one black and the other white.
she realised that both bunnies love being in the garden at night, at dusk and dawn. the most cooling parts of the day.
after eating both bunnies would lay at her feet or under her rattan chair, being close to her. so manja....
when she trims the grass little kiko and koko would be beside her, sometimes right in front of her! she'd laugh then, cos it was difficult to cut the deep green grass with them around her.
she'd cut a few galangal leaves for them, sometimes kaduk and ulam raja leaves too which they pecked at merrily. her bunnies are into herbs! how clever of them.
kiko and koko have a balanced daily diet of carrots, sengkuang, kangkung, cabbage, galangal leaves, keledang leaves, pellets, kaduk leaves, ulam raja and jasmine shoots.
and of course green grass too! one evening she saw kiko with a mouthful of grass....looking so cute...
the fluffy duo loves eating sunflower seeds from her hand. she'd call out to them and they'd come running to her like two little balls of fur, one black and the other white.
she realised that both bunnies love being in the garden at night, at dusk and dawn. the most cooling parts of the day.
after eating both bunnies would lay at her feet or under her rattan chair, being close to her. so manja....
when she trims the grass little kiko and koko would be beside her, sometimes right in front of her! she'd laugh then, cos it was difficult to cut the deep green grass with them around her.
she'd cut a few galangal leaves for them, sometimes kaduk and ulam raja leaves too which they pecked at merrily. her bunnies are into herbs! how clever of them.
kiko and koko have a balanced daily diet of carrots, sengkuang, kangkung, cabbage, galangal leaves, keledang leaves, pellets, kaduk leaves, ulam raja and jasmine shoots.
and of course green grass too! one evening she saw kiko with a mouthful of grass....looking so cute...
yellow twilight
she went out with carrots and sengkuang for the bunnies and a yellow light hit her vision.
it was a very yellow dusk!
instantly she was brought back to those eventides of her youth in the tiny hamlet in dear betong isle.
the old folks called it mambang kuning. kids were forbidden to be outside the house when there was a mambang kuning.
she would sit on the wooden armchair by the door on the ground floor of her grandparents' home, facing the gentle hills. it was so spectacular, the trees around bathed in the warm, ethereal yellowness..... the hue changing by the second as the sun wearily sinks below the horizon... it was a feast for the eyes and the senses...
birds would be noisily hurrying to their homes, the crickets would be warming up for their nocturnal orchestral debut, village folks walking or cycling quietly, serenely.....kids tired after an evening of play....
ah, yesterday when she was young.....
it was a very yellow dusk!
instantly she was brought back to those eventides of her youth in the tiny hamlet in dear betong isle.
the old folks called it mambang kuning. kids were forbidden to be outside the house when there was a mambang kuning.
she would sit on the wooden armchair by the door on the ground floor of her grandparents' home, facing the gentle hills. it was so spectacular, the trees around bathed in the warm, ethereal yellowness..... the hue changing by the second as the sun wearily sinks below the horizon... it was a feast for the eyes and the senses...
birds would be noisily hurrying to their homes, the crickets would be warming up for their nocturnal orchestral debut, village folks walking or cycling quietly, serenely.....kids tired after an evening of play....
ah, yesterday when she was young.....
southern thailand rendesvouz
it was the friday before aidil adha. she journeyed to danork with q.
stopped at alor setar's pekan rabu on the way. bought otak-otak (delicious, not the type sold in johor), bahulu panas, kueh peneram, karipaf mini, agar-agar kering, gula melaka and lots of good asam jawa.
q prayed solat jumaat at masjid zahir, the beautiful more than a hundred years old mosque across the road from the old balai besar in the heritage enclave of alor setar. the proportion of the black and white mosque is great and well thought of, thus the building looks very pleasant.
the weather was mild and the sky was overcast, hinting at rains.
they reached danork, thailand at about five in the evening after a lengthy queue at the checkpoint. bought colek nenas, mangga and a container of the colek paste (rm6) including a plastic full of dried tiny shrimps! been longing for these...
they headed for the pulut ayam stalls, looking for the most hygienic. most of the stalls were at road corners. bought 5 packets of pulut (with fried shallots in them) and seven pieces of chicken. q did not want pulut.
the fried reddish chicken thighs were priced at rm6, 7 8 and 9 each while the pulut at a ringgit a packet.
they then entered a muslim restaurant, ordered fried mee, koay teow, iced lemon tea and warm water. the mee and koay teow came in small plates, and tasted horrible. she finished her plate cos she was rather hungry. q couldn't eat the koay teow which tasted only of soya sauce/kicap. the bill was a whopping rm12!
they then strolled along the streets and lanes. bought some boiled purple corn, some yummy kuehs, dried cuttlefish, mangoes and of course football jerseys for q and bill.
it was drizzling by then but it didn't hinder them. they went round the many stalls at leisure. she realised that now more of the stalls were manned by muslim girls where once only thai women could be seen.
they started for home at dusk. stopped at changlun for drinks.
reached laguna at about ten pm.
stopped at alor setar's pekan rabu on the way. bought otak-otak (delicious, not the type sold in johor), bahulu panas, kueh peneram, karipaf mini, agar-agar kering, gula melaka and lots of good asam jawa.
q prayed solat jumaat at masjid zahir, the beautiful more than a hundred years old mosque across the road from the old balai besar in the heritage enclave of alor setar. the proportion of the black and white mosque is great and well thought of, thus the building looks very pleasant.
the weather was mild and the sky was overcast, hinting at rains.
they reached danork, thailand at about five in the evening after a lengthy queue at the checkpoint. bought colek nenas, mangga and a container of the colek paste (rm6) including a plastic full of dried tiny shrimps! been longing for these...
they headed for the pulut ayam stalls, looking for the most hygienic. most of the stalls were at road corners. bought 5 packets of pulut (with fried shallots in them) and seven pieces of chicken. q did not want pulut.
the fried reddish chicken thighs were priced at rm6, 7 8 and 9 each while the pulut at a ringgit a packet.
they then entered a muslim restaurant, ordered fried mee, koay teow, iced lemon tea and warm water. the mee and koay teow came in small plates, and tasted horrible. she finished her plate cos she was rather hungry. q couldn't eat the koay teow which tasted only of soya sauce/kicap. the bill was a whopping rm12!
they then strolled along the streets and lanes. bought some boiled purple corn, some yummy kuehs, dried cuttlefish, mangoes and of course football jerseys for q and bill.
it was drizzling by then but it didn't hinder them. they went round the many stalls at leisure. she realised that now more of the stalls were manned by muslim girls where once only thai women could be seen.
they started for home at dusk. stopped at changlun for drinks.
reached laguna at about ten pm.
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