greens

the thought of having a pondok with lots of greens was hani's dream before. with no basic and background of plants and staying in terrace house with limited land area was the main barrier to tree planting those days. once we moved to bch 9 yrs ago, hani bought few bougainvillas which were full of flowers. 3/4 weeks later, the plant dah jadi botak since all the flowers had dropped.

thank you to abang rahim, was my neighbour in selayang, who had given me lessons in planting trees. once a while abg rahim and kak ani will pay us a visit in bch and monitor the plants progress. slowly, planting trees and looking after them had become hani's passion when more and more plants and trees hidup ngan subur dan hijau kat pondok. being a fulltime working nobody, hani cant hardly water them. alhamdulillah, the greens manage to survive and breed.

hani loved all types of greens, the helicornia, bird of paradise and all species of keladi is my interest. they are easily looked after provided with the right sunlight and water. dulu, the greens jarang dibaja but now, hani dah lebih rajin especially having ample time after being a pensioner.
not only kita tak berapa nak sihat during renovation progress, hani lost banyak plants during this period. being busy as the project supervisor and sibuk ngan lawatan luar kawasan, most of the plants were neglected and the leaves are covered with thick cement dust.

well, the renovation has finally come to a stop and hani has promised to give more attention to the plants and trees. hani is at peace with the plants and trees, they are a form of therapy to hani and really happy to use them at the wing kat pondok. always welcome family and friends who wanted anak2 pokok especially anak keladi gajah ..

finally ..

guess the job as the project supervisor is gonna end soon since the renovation of our pondok is almost completed. currently, hussin the contractor is focusing on the kolam ikan, which is the new addendum to the contract. all this while, hubby is so passionate to his japanese carps and had negotiated with hussin to make a new one bila the old pond bawah porch terpaksa dipecahkan to give way to the tiles. it was a pity, due to long hours of electricity failure, only 3 carps managed to survive and guess with the new pond, he'll start buying new ones back.

we had created an external living area, siap ngan bumbung, sink, fan and few chairs and table untuk kegunaan semua. luckily with ample pots and plants, hani managed to decorate the wing as cosy as possible. yesterday, together with the smskel clans, we had our makan2 and chitchat session here. last nite, nd my brother came for dinner and stayed back till late nite for carrom kat luar nii. lepas nii, kena shop for blinds since bila hujan tuu, tempias laa jugak ..

dari luar this is how hani's pondok looks like and there are still few small touch-ups yang hussin kena siapkan before the contract ends. after more than a month duduk dalam debu simen, finally hani and family will be free from all those dusts. tq to my chomel, aamal who had composed the view of our pondok in 3-diamensional, not bad for an amateur ..

old friends ..

friends are easy to come and go but true friends are difficult to find. actually, my smskel clan, cikgu ju had called the clans for lunch untuk majlis kesyukuran sempena her only daughter's engagement as well as kenduri doa selamat since they are leaving for mecca this 26th nov. since cikgu ju is just my neighbour at the next taman and teaching in kota bharu, ju had requested hani to cater on her behalf and hani had indirectly pelawa the clans for hi-tea at our pondok.

while cooking spaghetti and trifle for hi-tea, had received call from pn su in putrajaya enquiring whether we are able to fetch them (ha, su and az) at rawang train station since they wanted to attend ju's function. cant help imagining since they are 3 mak datins whose husbands are prominent figures in the country, belajar naik train to rawang. hani had agreed with the thought of sending my daughter, aamal to fetch them.

az, a teacher whose husband is the ketua pengarah in usm, kubang kerian hailed from kota bharu, is on holiday in kl and been staying at her sister's residence in bangi. both su and ha are home-makers and staying in putrajaya as their husbands are the ksu in the government's department. az had joined su and ha in the erl before taking the commuter to rawang. since it was their first experience naik train, macam2 incident happened and we really laughed to their stories. being mak datin from kelantan yang tebal ngan barang kemas, they managed to reach the destination without much hassle.

lepas dari rumah ju, all of them came for asar kat pondok hani before having the minum2. had served the smskel clans with spaghetti, trifle and tauhu ros with tea and strawberry juice. well, really blessed to have old friends who will not mind going thru thick and thin together ..

cooking ..

well, those were the days when cooking was very far away from hani. masa family hubby masuk meminang pun ayoh had hilited on hani's handicapped in the kitchen but hubby was ok with it. hani could hardly differentiate between halia and lengkuas, kunyit was easier since it colored the fingers. trying to run away when cek minta tolong untuk kupas bawang since all types of onions will make my eyes sore. tho anak sulung, but being in boarding school since age of 13, tak minat and a big M(alas) in the kitchen, it was hani ..

only learnt to cook after marriage and Allah had given me a husband who doesnt mind eating outside most of the times. we were in trengganu during our early marriage, hani only knew to bakar ikan and cicah air asam je. feeling like hani was just a kindergarden girl in cooking. as years passed and being a more matured wife, with the aid from cek especially and mak, more and more recipes were accumulated and tried successfully.

alhamdulillah, now approaching a golden age, hani can cook more varieties of rice and lauk pauk. being a kelantanese, nasi dagang and gulai darat is a must during festive seasons. nasi kerabu and laksa lemak will be alternately cooked during weekends. aqeel loves hani's nasi lemak while aamal prefers the sambal sotong. aliff will be ok with anything which is rice based. hubby used to complaint about hani's previous asam pedas but now, dah dapat pujian memanjang. altho' in laws are from the southern, they are ok with my pantai timur's cooking

both hubby and hani like to invite friends to our pondok and we'll try new recipes, tak kira laa melayu or western food to be served. hubby is a very good companion in the kitchen and his rendang is superb. being a pensioner and trying to cook most of the days, tak de laa nak nangis lagi bila dapat call that someone's dropping by. just felt i'd graduated with a PhD in cooking ..

beautiful saturday

15th nov, immediately lepas subuh je, sarung track suit and pegi jogging ngan hubby. lately hubby had changed his golf schedule to sunday morning since banyak kerja nak kena settle on saturday. since he is not into jogging and sekadar teman je, jadi tak laa dia keen sangat. tak sampai 40 mins, we had landed kat kedai mamak for breakfast.

then, hani had popped into the sauna space for more than 30 mins whereas hubby was discussing with the contractor for his kolam ikan. had promised him that we'll be going out around 12 noon to buy the decorative tiles kat jalan ipoh before pegi rumah smskel clan, en tora in bangi. aqeel had informed us earlier that he'll be joining his colleagues to town and wont be following us. being part of the secretariat for anugerah oskar untuk penggiat filem in nikko hotel, aamal had left earlier to get her new dress and hair-do in curve.

managed to get 4 pieces of beautiful tiles for the external sink and 3 pieces of water frame for the kolam ikan, we reached tora's house around 3 pm. ramai regular faces dah ada and we were served with delicious laksam, fried mee and satay kajang besides the other tasty delicacies. more clans started to arrive and the house was full of laughter and happiness. as usual, banyak topik2 hebat diperdebatkan ..

lepas je maghrib, we went to one of the lighting shop in rawang to enquire on the decorative fan which we'd ordered earlier. decided to change for another type cos dah lama sangat menunggu, then we masuk into one of the new kopitiam shop as recommended by aqeel and had a beautiful dinner. managed to see cerekarama played by umi aida and fahrin ahmad before sailing to the moon.

dulu dan sekarang ..

was just questioning aqeel on the rationale of him buying an expensive handphone. at the age of fifteen, aqeel is requesting to buy one sony ericsson which is almost rm1500. altho he'll be using his own money, to hani, at that age, guna je laa phone yang biasa2, macam budak2 lain. well, phone tuu memang laa semuanya ada, 5mpixel, wifi, 3g, etc, tapi with the psp yg sentiasa with him, he's able to access the wifi. bila mama bising requesting anak2 to save for the future, the answer is simple, ada banyak lagi. zaman mama dulu lain, trying to save ..

teringat early morning masa aliff was in alpha studies kat university, was shocked when he didnt attend class due to drizzle in melaka and quoting that he couldnt walk in the rain. bila relate the call to dear hubby, dia pun terkejut cos zaman dulu, kami nii panjat bukit shah alam tak kira dalam panas ke hujan untuk belajar. during his alpha, dapat laa aliff pakai 2nd hand kancil. now, aamal pun drive to setiawangsa to attend classes setelah satu semester full of complains bila kena naik train. alhamdulillah, we are now ok and looking back, those were the days ..

during the 26 years of working and hani being the tak berapa rajin nak masak, bila dapat masak once a week tuu dah rasa macam bagus sangat dah. most of the time kami akan makan di luar, tak kira di mana, cos hubby jenis yang rajin drive untuk mencari makanan2 yang sedap. dulu, bila ayah dapat gaji je, cek will pujuk the brothers to take the afternoon nap cos malam nanti kita nak keluar makan malam. all of us will be excited and berbaju paling glamour, maklumlaa sekali sekala je dapat keluar malam and there will be nites, kami terus masuk studio for family photos.

now, bila cuti sekolah, kalau tak pegi holiday, semuanya asyik terperap kat rumah je. the computer, ps2, psp, magazines and tv will be busy entertaining them. dalam sehari tuu, entah berapa kali dapur and fridge dikunjungi oleh aliff, aamal and aqeel. masa kami kecik2 dulu, pantang ada matahari je, everybody will be playing outside and tak hiraukan makan minum till cek panggil balik. now, after 5 pm hani will ask aqeel to go out and play with the boys ..

comparing dulu and sekarang, there are vast different. those days, we will happily walk to town but nowadays, anak nak jalan sorang pun parents dah risau. ya laa, now ozone dah nipis and air pollution at critical level compared to dulu ..

birthday present ..

last saturday, lepas je balik dari rumah tok rosed and tengah dok dressed up to le meridian hotel, magicboo lorry had delivered the infrared sauna space. dearest hubby had chosen the infrared sauna for this year's birthday present since dia tahu hani nii memang suka benda-benda cam gitu. lepas pencen nii, hani will habiskan masa either in the steamer or sauna lepas jalan on treadmill kat club.

hani used to have the steamer but bila ayah recover from stroke, hani dah bawa balik steamer tuu untuk kegunaan di kampung. cek will masukkan daun serai wangi, daun pandan, daun stroke and beraneka lagi ke dalam cooker of the steamer. kat rumah, the main difference between sauna and steamer is that kita boleh masukkan beraneka herbs, inclusive of the aromatheraphy in the steamer but not the sauna. sauna will be a totally dry and odourless agent untuk kita sweat.

guess, lepas nii asyik dok kat bilik je laa since the sauna is installed in the room. today, anak2 had tolong rearrange mama's room and hani had belanja pizza for dinner. tq abang for making my dream comes true ..

fara's wedding ..

it's been sometimes since hani had updated this blog of mine; been so busy with fara's wedding. fara is the youngest of two girls, anak kak ani and abang faisal, my closest neighbour. the nikah was held on thursday, the 6th nov in masjid alfaizin desa jaya, kepong. fara's groom is david, hailed from sydney australia. well, it's a beauty to see all the mek-mek salleh in baju kurung and tudung during the wedding ceremony. tuan haji ayub, hubby's uncle was the kadhi and he had read all the clauses in english. it was amazed since david had chosen to akad in malay. kak ani had catered a nice lunch from kampungku in her garden then.

my in-laws, mak, kak long and kak iza were invited and ramai laa juga geng-geng from bch yang lepak kat pondok hani after the kenduri. luckily had ordered carrot cake from kak long and tak laa malu sangat bila ramai orang singgah till petang. majlis merenjis was d0ne kat dalam rumah and we'd prepared the pelamin for this occasion. all the mat salleh, from australia and france (kak ani's first besan is from france) were impressed with the tepung tawar and bunga telur. the in-laws left pondok kami after maghrib.

on saturday, a bigger reception is held in kl's le meridian hotel and it is more for mat salleh. kami anak beranak were there despite of aamal having her viva. kak long came with aim and kak iza with abang tom had joined us at the table. the food and music were tremendous and so are the guests. food is a mixed of continental and western. kak ani's family je yang melayu and adik beradik abang faisal were in their best sarees. ramai kengkawan abang faisal, felinda and fara are non malays and thus, jarang je yang berbaju melayu. we came home almost 11 pm with a full stomach and satisfaction. it was an expensive dinner indeed ..

adinda ..

decided to buat laksa lemak (kelantan) for en zol and family. around 9 am, ngan aliff we went to pasar bch. on the way, had breakfast and collect baju2 kat laundry. lama jugak kat pasar cos terjumpa ngan geng2 hitea. bila dah balik rumah, kumar si wireman dah menunggu and there goes another hari2 yang berdebu ..

since petang baru nak masak laksa, hence lunch is home cooked black pepper fried rice. my youngest brother, g arrived shortly and joined us for lunch. g, who is self employed will always ada kat rumah bila aliff is on leave since still dok asyik ngan ps altho anak dah dua.

altho dah pencen, hani jarang take afternoon nap and bila dah lepas zohor, decided to cook laksa. tengah dok prepare, dapat salam from another brother, nd with his two sons, shakir and syauki. nd is also staying in bch and he'll singgah kat rumah hani as and when dia terasa rindu, in fact dia yang lebih monitor the renovation work. nd had helped hani in the kitchen since my dearest aamal is still busy in college.

had received call from zol apologising that they all tak dapat singgah kat pondok kita due to heavy rain. immediately laksa masak je, without waiting for hubby to come home, kami makan dulu since adinda2 ku berdua will be back to their nest sebelum malam. this morning cek dah bagi credit about my laksa since adinda2 ku had called her earlier ..

last nite ..

for what ever reason, my handphone was downstairs last nite, normally it'll be in my room since am not accepting calls after office hours (masih habit di zaman kerja dulu). finishing our dinner, the first call was from my 2nd sister, ana in p'mas. she'd invited us for the kenduri kesyukuran on the 10th nov, siap ngan khemah2 and catering lagi. being a couple of graduate teachers kat kampung and with the backdated arreas announced by the government, alhamdulillah meriah laa hidup adindaku ini. before ending the call, siap ngan "we'll c u in december, nak shopping handbags lagi"

tak sampai 10 mins later, the phone rang again and it's from mak arwah yusliza, my friend in f.r.a.n.c.e. well, syawal dah berlalu and dalam kekalutanku yang dah pencen nii, janji untuk menjenguk family arwah belum kesampaian lagi. the whole family is in kulim, rumah adik arwah cos zol, arwah's hubby ada outsation in the northern part. they'll be back today and nak singgah kat pondok hani cos anak2 arwah, syazwan, syahmi and sofea dah bersungut nak jumpa kawan lama ibu, actually they missed abang aqeel and his gadgets ..

bila dok tengok 'awan dania' ngan aamal, received call from another smskel clang, pn aar asking whether we'll be attending makan2 this saturday kat rumah another colleague, tok rosid. since they've other commitment and wont be going, minta hani tolong sampaikan something to tuan rumah. well, we've to be there early cos malam on the 8th nov nanti, kena siap cantik2 for farah's wedding reception in le' meridian hotel ..

ramblings ..

had received a phone call from an old friend, the smskel clang. had not met him since the mce days ie: more than 30 years and he'd not changed a bit. despite of not working and having 11 mouths to feed, his ego is still at his peak. initially, he'll brag of his harta kekayaan yang turun temurun and slowly and softly, baru laa cerita hajat di hati, nak pinjam duit sikit untuk downpayment rumah baru, cash yang ada tak cukup ..

early this morning received news from a colleague who had 'keguguran'. she was at our pondok last week and happily sharing the news that she is again pregnant after her last girl is 10 years old. well, ina has 4 girls and still hoping for a boy. hubby was lecturing and joking of her pregnancy at an old age. diharap ina bersabar dengan segala dugaan ..

well, the whole of last week was rather busy ngan tugasan sebagai supervisor projek. luckily aliff is still on leave, managed to go to bathroom gallery, jalan ipoh looking for beautiful sink to be installed outside. had managed to buy new tempat sidai kain which is now drilled kat the house wall. had bought barang2 untuk the new wet kitchen ngan hubby on saturday immediately after he's back from his golf tournament. new paint for the pagar dah dibeli. cant wait to see the end result of the pondok ..

as usual, hani tried to cook dinner since lunch tuu banyak makan kat luar ngan aliff and will always tapau for aqeel who had finished the pmr. aamal was rather busy with her assignment and shooting and she'll be back for dinner. hubby is doing his routine work and no outstation at the moment ..

on friday, mak, my mum-in-law and kak long came to the pondok since mak dah rindu sangat ngan hubby and siap bawak baju nak duduk ngan kami. lepas je maghrib, mak kata nak ikut kak long balik since pondok kami nii masih berdebu and she cant stand it. actually had invited my smskel clan, pn ju and family for dinner as they'are going back to kota bharu on saturday. had cooked sup campur comprised of tulang rusuk, tulang tengkuk and ekor, masak sambal sotong, ikan goreng, sayur campur, sambal belacan and ulam-ulam. yummy ..

terover laa pulak ..

alhamdulillah, at last our pondok dah selamat dikepong bila gate siap dipasang. the automatic wrought iron gate is ok to our eyes and the best part is, it comes together with bekas sampah, mail box and the house number. since the gate ada red roses with green leaves, so do the others and imagine, kat mail box and bekas sampah (luar and dalam) tuu ada sekuntum ros merah and daun hijau, terover laa pulak ..

really hope that our pondok masih mengekalkan kemelayuannya and tak confuse ngan rumah arumugam or chandran. guess, to friends yang belum sampai kat pondok kita, that will be our new landmark then ..

well done ..

just came from damans*** specialist center after visiting kak **m my friend in unexpected call. alhamdulillah, after my first visit, a week ago, she'd improved a lot better. her memory is back and she can recognized all the visitors. physically, her left side of the body is still very weak and needs lots of massaging and physiotherapy. kak z, our buddy had bawa makcik urut from puchong every day and guess, it helps a lot. well done, kak **m