From Aku, with love

I went to the market with my husband this morning. I thought of not buying a lot as my mother is not staying with us this week but I still bought "banyak". Ish Ish ish. When I was in the market, I always looked at the things first like the fish, the vegetables, .......Then I would think of the menu and the recipe ingredients. We are the one who are going to cook in our office ( the kitchen ler ), so we know better what to buy. Today, I'm going to cook ikan kerapu tomyam stim and kerabu udang. I asked my friend, Nyonya what I can cook if I buy kerapu fish from her. So she gave me her recipe. Ok lah. Thank you.  So, are you ready to cook? On your mark, get set, go....

I have already bought two hampers of Tupperware Party Keeper set. They're for my niece's and my nephew's wedding. The weddings will be next year. Well, they look nice on the online catalogue and the price is ok, so better order.  And I'm planning to give angpow to my sister. Not that much. She can use it for the wedding preparation.  And we're going to Melaka today. It's my brother's son's big day. It's his engagement and as his Mak Su,  I'm very happy for him.  It's rainy season here in Malaysia. Please take care ok. 

Husband and wife had a dinner date in a cafe. W : Did your colleagues always come to this cafe? H : Yup. Like yesterday, a few of them came here after school. W : That's quite far. H : Yes. They're good friends. W : Wah. Can I go to New Zealand with my friends? H : Do you know where New Zeland is? W : Ok, ok, ok. Sorry.

Met my mosque gang last night. I didn't know they miss my presence. Even when I entered the women's praying area, the two kakak looked surprised but excited to see me. Why? They just mentioned my name and I was there. Hahaha oklah. Alhamdulillah. I think I should go to the mosque often. Insya- Allah. 

Wan Su called her niece but her niece's daughter, An answered it. She is three years old.  An : Hello WS : Hello An. Wan Su ni. An : Hello Wan Su.  WS : Where's ibu? An : Ibu is praying. WS : Oh it's ok. Nenek ada? An : Ada. WS : Ok good. Can you please call nenek. An : Nenek ada. Ada di rumah dia. WS : Ohhhhhhh.  Ok. Thank you An.

My mother returned to her home this morning. Before that , we had breakfast at the new cafe in Bandar Satelit. It's her second time. She loves the food and I'm happy to take her there. Moreover, her teeth are ok now. Both of us had mi Bandung and I also ordered a set of dim sum, our favourite.  Today, my husband has no extra class, so I cooked something special for my family, sambal sotong petai and fried pak Choi with egg. Special lah tu. But something happened while I was cooking my sambal sotong. There's no fire on the gas stove. And I don't know how to replace the gas cylinder. Yalah my husband wanted to teach me before but I didn't want to learn. Serve me right! What did I do? I transferred my sambal to my Europlus emerald multi cooker. I cooked in my pantry today. After taking out my sambal sotong, no need to wash the inner pot. It's non stick. I just used tissue to wipe it clean. Then I continued cooking my fried pak Choi . Easy to cook in my pantry becau...

 It's easy to be a bad person. And it's also easy to be a good person. All from our mind and our heart. We want to help a poor girl. Our mind tells us not to help her. She's not our family. But our heart shouts at us, "Where's your empathy? Help her." Ask ourselves. What do we want in our life? Ops! Sorry.  What do we want? Is it heaven? Set that in our mind, then we'll always try to be a good person. 

Alhamdulillah, my mother is ok now. No more gastric and no more toothache. Her front tooth was extracted yesterday. There's a small girl who looked panicked in the dental clinic. But my mother told her that they had the same tooth problem, so no need to worry. That girl looked at my mother and smiled.  This morning, my husband and I are going to the orchard. Thanks to Encik A. He had done his work very well.  Insya Allah, he will help me to cut the grass there every month. Thank you.

 I took my mother to polyclinic in Bandar Satelit yesterday morning. Then the  doctor told us that it's gastric. Yup, I made a right guess. Before she came to my house last Tuesday, she had it already. But the pain was gone until last Thursday night, she had it back.  So I asked her to stay longer with my family. May be till Thursday. I need to make sure she eats her medicines. This morning, a dental clinic. Insya- Allah, she'll be ok. 

It's raining. Husband and wife were on the way home. Husband was driving while the wife was thinking hard. Suddenly.. Pottttttttt H : Did you fart? W : Yes. Husband lowered the car window. W : It's raining outside. H : It's not a heavy rain.  After a few seconds, husband raised the window. Pottttttttt H : Did you fart again? W : No, it's burp. H : I don't trust you. Husband lowered the window again. H : What did you eat? W : I had watermelon juice while waiting for our food ready. That's why....gassss. H : You're enjoying your drink while I was in the car waiting for you. W : Yup. Bestttt. Husband sighed and his wife smiled.

I watched 'Dakwah live' last night.. One of the panelists said that we must learn to know our partner, not only for the first five years or the first ten years of our marriage , it's forever.  Ok , let me..........Before having my son,  just assume, I was "A". After having my son, I become "B".  Now, I'm a retiree, I transform into "Bumblebee". Oh tidakkk.  After B,  it's "C" ler. Yup, he's right. People change.

Marriage  and friendship, both are important in our life. In marriage, we accept our partner's strength and weakness, so does in friendship. And the best part is our partner and our friends also do the same thing. They accept our strength and weakness. Good teams 😊. 

 W : Is it ok if I join my friends going to New Zealand? Husband kept quiet. W : Yes or No? H : You want to go there, so I cannot say no. W : Yes, I want to go to New Zealand. But is it ok with you? Husband didn't answer. He got up and left the room. W : Does that mean "No"? Or is that "Yes"? Still no answer from him. Wife talked to herself. Quiet means yes but quiet also means he doesn't want to discuss about it anymore. Full stop. It means "No" laa. W: Ok , no New Zealand. H : Ok.

My husband and I had breakfast at a new cafe in Bandar Satelit. It's our first time but we love the foods, the drinks and the place. This Tuesday, my mother will come to our house and Insya Allah, I will take her there. At noon, three of us went to FAO Melaka to buy our son's bedsheet. He cannot use the old bedsheet because I bought a super single bed for him. My son's a bit plump. I just want him to feel comfortable. He also got a free pillow, a bolster and a mattress protector from the furniture shop. Thank you.   Oh ya , again, don't forget sadaqah subuh. If every morning, you only put rm1 into your special jar, it's ok. As long as, istiqamah. Same with waqaf. Try to do it every month. A little is ok but you should do it consistently. If you cannot do sadaqah or waqaf, try to find something that you like to do. May be Quran reading, puasa sunat or tahajjud prayer. But  istiqamah. Do it consistently.  Ok ba bye and take care.

Any Malay weddings, we will remember the bride, the groom, their parents, the wedding dais or pelamin and the foods. I  love attending weddings. End of this November , it will be my brother's son's engagement. And in December, I will attend Angah RR's son's wedding. Insya Allah.  Ok, let's go to 2025. Start with January. It's my brother in law's son's wedding in Kuantan ( the bride's side ).  February, I have problems. They have the same dates. The first same date, my brother in law's son's wedding in Kelantan and my sister's daughter's wedding in Melaka. The second same date, someone's son's engagement and someone's son's wedding. Sighhh. It's sad. Not all weddings I can attend. I continue with other wedding dates. In April, only one wedding. May and August also only one wedding.These are the dates that I know so far. May be , I will receive more wedding invitations next year 😊.

I still have my retirement video. I really appreciate Adik F's work. It's a masterpiece.  And I still have all the flower bouquets, flowers in vases and flowers given by my former colleagues and my students. I put them at the corner in the living room. I know it's not easy to buy the flowers , especially my students. They had to use their saving to buy the flowers. May be they had to sacrifice their breakfast at the canteen, just to save money to buy the flowers. So, I really appreciate what they gave.  Even the small gifts and the letters from my students, they are in the drawer,  in my glassroom.  THANK YOU.

Cantiknya tamanku, Cantiknya tamanku, Cantik sungguhhh. Well, that is my song. I always sang that song when I felt happy with my flowers. My first time singing that song, my son looked at me then he closed his eyes. Maybe he needed to calm himself before he continued eating. Later, when he heard me singing that song again, he just ignored. Never mind lah. This morning, my mother heard me singing my song and she  smiled. Ok lah, I have a fan now. I cooked fried rice for my family today. My mother loved it. She added more after her fried rice  almost finished. Alhamdulillah. As long as she enjoys eating her food, I am not worried. She's going to her home today. Insya Allah, next Monday or Tuesday, she will come here again.

 My family went to a furniture shop last week. We wanted to buy our son's single bed. There're a few salesmen but this guy came to greet us first. He's very friendly. And always smiled. I told him that I wanted to buy a single bed for my son. Straight away, he showed me the best single bed. I looked at my husband, he just shrugged. I looked at my son, he smiled widely. Ok he loves the bed. Settled. Before leaving the shop, we saw another salesman who was still asking his customer. Asking whether she wanted to buy it or not. Then he looked at me and looked at his customer again. He's not satisfied.  Sighhh. All depend on their luck. May be, the salesman will get a customer who really wants to buy something. If he is unlucky, he will get a customer who just wants to look around. But the most important one is whether the customer wants to buy or not, the salesman must treat the customer nicely and patiently. You don't know your luck.

I think it's time for me to focus on my orchard too. My garden at home - only to water , put fertilizer and check the plants. I can do that alone. Moreover,  I have enough plants in my garden. It's complete.  The orchard, I need someone to help me. Someone that I can count on. Luckily, Encik A is willing to help me. Alhamdulillah. Thank you. My late Abah gave me that land. He's the one who planted all the fruit plants. All are big trees now.  It's been so long I haven't gone to that place. Miss my orchard, miss my Abah. Al Fatihah for him.

I didn't cook yesterday. For our dinner, I went to Secret Recipe with my son. Just packed the foods because my mother was at home. My mother, as usual, her Thai style fried rice with grilled mackerel. She loves it.  And today, as my 💓 is coming home, so I went to the shop in Bandar Satelit with my mother this morning to buy a chicken, green and red chillies, tomatoes, kurma powder and petola. Other ingredients, I have them at home. So I cooked tadaaaa... chicken kurma , fried  chicken and fried petola. Ok lah. Oh ya remember the jelly gedik that Achik RR made. It's not only one, she made two  flower shapes of jelly. One was for the gang and another one was for me. Thank youuuu. I really love the jelly.  I received the jelly during the reunion. The next day, it's safely stored in my stomach....Hahaha.

My mother is staying with me, may be until this Friday. May be until next week. All up to her. I don't mind. She fell down in her house so her legs are not strong like before. So it's better staying here with my family. Alhamdulillah, she still can walk but she has to be careful,  not to fall again. I also have to make sure the floor is not slippery, especially the toilets.  And I'm so happy today. My granddaughter, An came to my house but only for a while. Her mother (my niece) wanted to give me the beef curry noodles that she made. Thank youuu. An is an active little girl. She still remembered her snails hunting in my garden. Good! 

Taking my RR friend's pictures in my garden and seeing the results , make me proud of myself. She , the colourful flowers, the plants and the hills background look perfect on the pictures. Thank youuuu. I love sharing my flowers garden pictures on the RR Whatsapp group. Alhamdulillah she likes them. Oh ya good news. My other two bromeliads are pregnant. But this time,  I am going to keep the babies. Let the babies two or three weeks with their mother, then I will do the operation to separate them. A plant surgeon hahahaha.    About my blog, I think I have new viewers from Malaysia and other countries. Thank you and welcome to my blog.

Why the house is so quiet. Where's the guy who always asked me, "What do you want to eat?" "I'm going out, anything to buy?" Why the house is so quiet. Where's the guy who showed me funny videos? And always made me laugh. Why the house is so quiet. Where's the guy who always listened to my stories? Although they are stupid stories, he always laughed with me. Why the house is so quiet. I can feel the emptiness, Only for three days, I feel like three years.

Only six RR members came for the reunion yesterday. Three are unwell and the other three had things to do. But, less doesn't mean that we didn't have great time. We still enjoyed ourselves immensely. Flashbacked our old stories at boarding school, laughed ngilai-ngilai and of course, enjoyed the foods. Ateh RR with her sambal siakap, sambal ayam, sayur campur goreng, rendang ayam and nasi impit. Orange cake and jelly gedik from Achik RR. Itam RR, her dadih. How about the fruits? Yes, Usu RR brought guava and its dip. Our Yong, her lasagna. Me, the host? Hehe sup tulang, sambal udang petai, sotong goreng, fruit tarts. And white rice ler. My mother also enjoyed herself yesterday. She didn't help me  prepare the food. All on my own, except fruit tarts. I ordered from Adik F.  I was not nervous, may be because they're my close friends. Yalah we have been friends since we're 13 years old. And like our reunion before, we also exchanged gifts. So, each of us received lots ...

Sorry, I forgot to thank Achik RR for the digital RR Reunion invitation card with our last year's reunion picture on it and abundance of love for our nostalgic reunions video completes with our favourite background music. She and her daughter are amazing. Thank you so much. 

Insha-Allah, this Saturday, I'll meet my RR gang. It's our reunion. I'm looking forward to seeing all of them. My heart is flying here and there now. We always chat on our Whatsapp group but a reunion is a must. It is  different. Only once a year.  Lots of things need to be discussed or may be  gossips to be shared. We're going to have a potluck. I have already planned a menu, doorgifts and activity for that hoo-ha day.  My dear husband and my son will go somewhere. He gives chance to his wife to enjoy herself with her friends. Really appreciate it.Thank youuuu. Today and tomorrow are my busy days. Lots of things need to be done and to be prepared. So, take care and ba bye.

Some people act unkindly to the childless woman. They think they are better than the woman. I had a bad experience in my old school, somewhere in dot dot dot. The staff club was going to organize a programme on how to teach our children reading early. I didn't want to join because I didn't  have a child at that time. But the club president told me that I could teach my niece and my nephew. For this programme , we had to pay RM50. I didn't mind about the registration fee but I did mind about what people would say. Later, when a few ladies found out that I wanted to join the programme, they made fun of me. One of them asked who was I going to teach at home? Was it a kitten? I kept quiet. I went to the toilet and cried. Then, I went to see the president and told her that she could keep my RM50 but I wouldn't join the programme. She asked me why . I just shook my head. The next day, when I went to school, that lady was absent. I asked her friends . They told me that the lad...

Alhamdulillah, no more bad cough. Thousands of thanks to Encik A for his tips using tamarind and hot water. Stir, then drink it slowly before it is cold. Very simple but effective. I did drink honey + lemon but it didn't work. Thanks again to Encik A. Last Sunday, I received bad news from Kak J. She told me about Kak Y. Kak Y passed away  because of heart attack. I didn't go for her funeral because I only found it out around I p.m.  I just recovered from my flu and I still had bad cough. So I didn't check my phone that morning. Kak y and other nine kakaks came to my house for the "Yang Bersara" reunion last September. She was the last person to reach my house on that day and the last person to leave my house. She had to wait for her son to fetch her. My mother and I had a long chat with her. Kak Y smiled a lot. Until now, I remember her smile.  Then that night , I received a message from Kak Y. She said thank you to me because she could meet her friends during the...