Few More Days To The New Year

Assalamualaikum! I am looking forward to today. There lots of things to be done. I anticipate there will be little time to blog later, thats the reason I am doing it now. Day before I came back from Alor Setar having very acute stomach ache. I must have got the bugs from food eaten in Alor Setar day before. Now I am still having it that I dare not take my breakfast this morning!

Anyway coming back to the items that makes me look forward for today; top on the list is 'My good friend Mazz is coming home today for she had ended her stint in Labuan', second ' Meeting with the staff (including new staff) to give thier duties for new 08 session'. Next, to go out shopping for items for the 'asrama' and new kitchen utensils to cater for the bigger number of students.

There's only two more days before the new students will come to register with our school. There's also the school uniforms to be collected and the marketing to be done. So you can imagine the numerous things we have to do. At the same time there are still enquiries about our school and a number of new applicants to be interviewed. We wanted to close the appliccation but feel it bad not to listen and try to help those who wants to come to our school. At least we have to see what we can do to help them. We may direct them to other schools.

We feel that we need a lot of help but we do not know where to turn to and what help to ask. However I think we can manage with the help of our children. Some of them may take leave to help us out during this few days. Yes, all the children are very involved in the school.

My Youngest Going To ' Full Boarding School'

My youngest daughter Cik Su is preparing to go to the 'asrama'. I have not been involved in her preparation. It is done by her eldest sister Kin and second sister Ude. After taking care of the other 8 children all these years I am happy to relinquish the job to Kin. Anyway my husband and I are busy doing more important things. We are making sure that when the school opens in January, everything is ready for the start of the 08 session.

Kin and Ude are making sure Cik Su has everything will need for her asrama stay. It does not matter that the asrama is just walking distance round the corner from our house. It also does not matter that the full boarding school that she's going to is her father's school. Yes! Cik Su is going to study at MTAQSA. This has been the plan since we opened the school. She is lucky that we have opened the school or else by now she would have been shipped off to Cairo to join her fourth sister Yanna who is studying at the Al Azhar College for foreign students. Yanna has been there for 4 years now, doing her secondary education.

Cik Su will be subject to the same rules as the other students. She is not allowed to come home unless the the school calendar shows that is 'leave - go home day'. Parents are only allowed to visit their children once a fortnight. I hope this will work out for Cik Su because if we do not follow the school rules it will be difficult to decipline her. This is also the way to keep the children focus on their studies especilly the 'hafazan' ie the memorising of the Quran. The students in our school have to memorize one page of the Quran daily in the beginning later some may advance to 2 pages daily. They will complete the whole Quran when they are in form 3 or form 4. At form 4 and form 5, they will focus for the SPM exam ( targetting exellent results).

When I see our students able to carry all their subjects and show great interest and are well deciplined, I have to take my hat off for them, (tabik spring!). At my age I am not able to memorize even the 99 names of Allah (Asma ul Husna) without difficulty, what more to memorize the pages of the Quran! In this matter it is very true as the Malay saying goes "Nak melentur buluh hendaklah dari rebungnya! It means that if you want to bend the bamboo, it must be done when its young or bamboo shoot stage!"

It is heartening no note that of late many young parents are very concerned about their children education and upbringing. They came to consult us about their childrens' education even as early as when the child is 7 years old. So some of them have made their booking to place their children in our school in the future. Our school offers 3 curriculums, ie The Quranic studies and Hafazan, the religious subjects (13 subjects in form 1 ), and the academic subjects ie maths, science, english, bahasa Melayu and history (form 1 to form 3) In form 4 and 5 their subjects will be according to their stream eg they will do add maths, modern maths, biology, physics, chemistry and others if they intend to take up medicine, engineering or to be a pilot. As it is, most of our students intend to do the sciences.

It would not be difficult to acheive whatever they want to be, since by that time they would have completed their memorizing of the Quran and the religious knowlege and practice is already ingrained within them. With all that and the decipline that we have imposed upon them, Insya Allah they will be great leaders and useful citizens of the future!

Going To The North Again

Assalamualaikum! To night in the wee hours of the morning we are going to the North (Kedah) by car. In Arabic we say, " Nahnu sanazhab ila Khodah bissayaroh fi haza lail" He, he, he. Itulah bahasa arab yang saya dah belajar sikit-sikit.

The main reason we are going north this time is to visit the family of my husband's distant cousins who had passed away last week. When we heard that somebody passed away we will say, " Innalillahi wainnailaihi rojiuun!" which means " From Allah we come and to Him we go back!"

So tonight we are going just the two of us ie my husband and I. We could not take the others because we are also going to fetch an extra helper who's giong to help us in the kitchen preparing food for the students. The two maids that I have now would not be able to cope with the workload. This is part of the preparation to accommodate the increasing number of intake for year 08 for our school.

The other preparation is that we have rennovated the present hostel for the boys and we have rented another building for the girls' hostel. I could forsee that I would be busy helping my husband to manage the school. So I have decided to teach the students English only. New teachers will be joining us, including maths and science teacher, Bahasa Melayu and History teacher and an Ustazah for the Quranic subjects. At the moment we already have three ustaz and 1 ustazah full time, and 4 part-time teachers. We hope to give the best to our students in every aspect.

Menyambut Aidil Adha

Assalamualaikum! Selamat menyambut Hari Raya Aidil Adha! How was your (all of you out there) Aidil Adha? As for me and family, we did the normal things that we do almost every Hari Raya Aidil Adha. The night before I cooked some food meant for the morning breakfast. I got up early to prepare for more food meant for lunch. Then we had small breakfast and quickly dressed up for the Mosque. Then we did the Aidil Adha prayers. I was surprised that todays sermon by the Imam was more 'daring' than ever before(if you understand what I mean). So I nudged the Imam's wife who happened to sit beside me.(He, He, he)

We came back from mosque, we had some Raya food. As her usual practise, my kind neighbour gave a tray and bowls of her special Raya menu. (How lucky we are to have her as our neighbour!) So we ate her delicious nasi beriyani and the accompanying lauk-pauk.

After that my husband and my son went to help people at the surau to cut the korban meat. Later one of the surau committee came to deliver about 1 kilo of the korban meat.

Then my brother and her family came over and we ate more food. My sister in law brought me a beautiful cake (lucky me!)

Later a special guest visited us and we accompanied her to eat the laksa I specilly cooked for her. Then my sister in law (husband's sister) came over and brought more food (people say, murah rezeki, Alhamdulillah!).

To cut long story short, as I am typing this I am so full and bloated. Alhamdulillah, all went well for today's Hari Raya Aidil Adha. Hope yours (all of you out there) went well too. At the same time I remember my 2 daughters far away overseas, Yanna in Cairo and Lia in Jordan. I hope they enjoyed their Aidil Adha too with their friends over there! Eid Mubarak!

Sesuatu Yang Pelik

Petang itu sedang Wan Harun membersihkan porch depan bersama anak-anaknya, Yasmin bersendirian didapur. Ditepi ruang dapur ada satu bilik yang dibuat setor tempat simpan barang-barang. Pintu bilik itu tidak berkunci, Yasmin menjenguk kedalamnya. Dia melihat ada banyak berkotak-kotak barang tersusun diatas kabinet yang melekat kedinding. Ada sebuah katil dan banyak perkakas-perkakas lama di dalam bilik yang tidak berapa besar itu. Yasmin menutup semula pintu bilik itu dan membuat ingatan akan membersih serta mengemas bilik itu untuk dijadikan bilik pembantu rumah nanti. Yasmin membelakangkan bilik itu hendak ke sinki, dia berasa ada orang melintasi di belakangnya. Dia menoleh tiada sesiapa! Mula-mula dia menyangka mungkin suaminya telah masuk kedapur kemudian keluar melaui pintu ruang makan. Dia meneruskan kerjanya lagi menyusun barang-barang yang dibawa keatas kabinet dapur. Terasa ada orang memerhatikannya. Dia menoleh lagi, tiada sesipa di ruang dapur yang sunyi itu. Sambil dia meneruskan kerjanya itu terasa ada sepasang mata memerhatikannya! Gelisah dengan perasaan itu Yasmin terus kedepan mendapatkan suaminya.

"Abangkah masuk ke dapur kejap tadi?" tanya Yasmin.

"Taklah! Dari tadi abang disini membersihkan porch ini. Kenapa?" balas Wan Harun.

"Tak! Tak ada apa-apa. Saja tanya." kata Yasmin wajahnya berkerut.

Wan Harun memerhati ekspresi wajah isterinya dan dapat mengagak ada sesuatu yang tak kena. Namun dia teruskan kerjanya memberus lantai simen porch yang telah naik tanah dan lumut. Beberapa minit kemudian, Wan Harun sedang berehat diatas tangga depan, Yasmin membawa satu jag minuman air limau nipis. "Abang, tadi semasa Min didapur, terasa ada orang yang melintas, ingatkan abang lalu ke ruang makan!" bisik Yasmin.

Wan Harun melihat kemuka Yasmin dan memahami apa yang tersirat. Dia terdiam sebentar, kemudian berkata, " Tak apa, nanti malam ni Abang buatkan." kata Wan Harun, sejurus wajahnya kelihatan serius.

Kebetulan malam itu adalah malam Jumaat, Wan Harun dan Yasmin telah besedia lebih awal menunggu masuk waktu maghrib. Azan berkumandang di masjid setengah kilometer dari situ. Semua tingkap dan pintu telah ditutup, Wan Harunpun segera melaungkan azan agak kuat dalam rumah, Villa Seriwani itu. Wan Harun kemudian mengimamkan solat maghrib, isteri dan anak-anak menjadi makmum. Setelah selesai zikir dan doa, Wan Harun berseru, " Wahai penghuni rumah ini, kami balik ke rumah kami nak tinggal disini, pergilah ketempat lain. Ini adalah rumah kami, kami nak tinggal disini." Tiga kali Wan Harun berseru demikian. Itulah seruan atau kata yang pernah di ajar oleh neneknya kalau kita pindah ke tempat atau rumah yang disyakki ada didiami makhluk halus. Kemudian dia membaca Ayatul Khursi berualang kali.

Bagi anak-anak pasangan tersebut mereka sudah tahu tentang seruan sebegitu dan tidak merasa apa-apa peliknya kerana mereka juga tahu rumah itu sudah lama kosong. Anak-anak pasangan ini tidak diajar takut akan keaadaan sedemikian. Namun Yasmin dan Wan Harun tidak pernah bercerita perihal yang rumah itu dianggap berpenghuni dan cerita-cerita bahawa saudaramara yang pernah pulang kerumah itu tidak berani bermalam disitu. Mereka juga tidak memberitahu kepada anak-anak mereka apa yang telah berlaku pada siang hari tadi.

Keluar Makan

Panggilan telefon dari Zed memberitahu semuanya ok di Shah Alam. Zed sengaja ditinggalkan di Shah Alam untuk menjalankan beberapa tugas. Tugas Zed adalah untuk mengemas dan mengunci rumah Shah Alam yang akan di tinggalkan itu. Zed akan bertolak ke Alor Setar dua hari lagi iaitu pada hari Ahad. Dia akan memandu sebuah Nissan Vennette membawa adik-adiknya, Alan dan Cik Su, pembantu rumah Indonesia, Wiwik dan semua barang-barang yang perlu dibawa ke Alor Setar.

Matahari sudah menegak, Yasmin sudah kemas dan bersihkan bahagian dapur. Cerah dan kemas nampak ruang dapur, angin dari luar meniupkan udara segar melalui tingkap-tingkap yang telah dibuka luas. Kaca-kaca tingkap telah dibersihkan oleh Lia tadi menampakkan kilauannya. Terdapat sebuah peti ais jenama GEC model lama masih boleh berfungsi dan ada sebuah dapur gas yang masih elok. Namun Yasmin belum boleh mula memasak kerana masih banyak perkara yang perlu dilakukannya.

"Mama Lia dah laparlah! Kita nak makan kat mana?" tanya Lia.

"Ok! Semua orang pergi mandi, siap kita nak keluar makan kat Alor Setar atau Jitra." kata Yasmin.

Setengah jam kemudian Wan Harun memandu kenderaannya menghala Alor Setar.Keluarganya yang ada bersama rancak berbincang tempat mana yang mereka akan tuju untuk makan tengah hari. Akhirnya mereka sepakat. Wan Harunpun membelok kenderaannya masuk ke kawasan kedai-kedai makan di Pumpong. Ada banyak gerai dan juga kedai makan disitu. Menu di kedai yang mereka masuk itu sangatlah banyak jenis lauk-pauk seta ulam-ulamannya. Anak-anak yang letih dan kelaparan itu ghairah memesan pelbagai jenis makanan. Tanpa melengahkan masa, merekapun menjamu selera hingga puas dan kekenyangan.

Hampir selesai makan Wan Harun ternampak seseorang masuk kekedai. Dia bangun lantas menyapa, "Assalamualaikum! Pak Ndak."

"Waalaikumsalam! Eh, Bila hangpa balik sini?", Kelihatan Pak Ndak tercengang.

"Baru malam tadi sampai pukul 12 malam." kata Wan Harun. " Pak Ndak mai makan sorang sajakah? Mana Mak Ndak?"

"Mak Ndak ada kat rumah, kurang sihat hari ni. Ni nak mai beli bungkus bawa balik. Hangpa mai dok kat mana?"

"Kami tinggal di rumah Wa Sin yang lama dah kosong tu! Pak Ndak mailah rumah bawa Mak Ndak sekali" Kata Wan Harun.

"Hangpa mailah rumah kami dulu! Mai makan! Nanti Mak Ndak dah sihat dia boleh masak."

"InsyaAllah! Tapi ni kami baru sampai, rumah Mak pun belum pergi lagi!" kata Yasmin.

Setelah berbual-bual sekejap, mereka semua bersalaman dengan Pak Ndak, "Kirim salam Mak Ndak ya!" kata Yasmin sebelum mereka beredar dari situ.

Masuk saja kedalam kenderaan, Aly bersuara, "Siapa tu Mama?"

"Tok Ndak hangpa, sepupu Tok Hangpa. Dia bekas ketua Tok Penghulu Negeri Kedah."

"Ya kah? Padanlah badanyapun besar macam sesuai watak Tok Penghulu dalam cerita P. Ramlee!" kata Aly membuat semua orang ketawa.

Hembusan Angin Yang Nyaman

Jam menunjukkan 8.00 pagi, keluarga dari Shah Alam yang baru pindah itu sedang bersarapan pagi. Mereka bersarapan ala camping saja, diatas lantai alas surat khabar lama dan makanan di makan terus dari bungkusan yang dibeli. Sekejap saja merekapun selesai bersarapan.

Tingkap-tingkap rumah yang telah lama tidak dibuka itu telah dibuka. Hembusan angin lembut dari kawasan bendang sangatlah nyaman.Rumah satu tingkat dikenali sebagai 'VILLA SERIWANI' yang selama ini kaku seolah-olah hidup semula.Cahaya matahari menjenguk masuk ke dalam rumah. " Aly sukalah rumah ni mama! Besar ye rumah Tok Wa ni. T.V tu boleh pasang ke ayah?" kata Aly sambil menunjuk ke arah TV besar model lama yang terletak disudut ruang tamu.

"Tu tv model lama, gambarnya hitam putih, rasa ayah dah tak boleh pakai! Nanti kemudian ayah cuba pasangkan " kata Wan Harun.

Selesai bersarapan Ida kemaskan bekas sarapan di masukkan dalam plastik sampah. Yasmin dan Lia kemaskan tilam-tilam tempat tidur dilipat dan disusun rapi disatu sudut.Beberapa minit kemudian mereka mula membersih mencuci rumah itu. Mereka mulakan dengan mencuci lantai ruang ke dapur dan ruang dapur. Kemudian air basuhan melimpah ke porch belakang dan ruang luar rumah tepi dapur, jadi bahagian itu juga dicuci. Membersihkan sawang kerja Idah, mengangkat mengemas barang kerja yasmin, membasuh lantai kerja wan Harun, mengelap tingkap dan perabut kerja Lia, sedangkan peranan Aly adalah membantu ambil itu dan ini.

Dua jam kemudian mereka berehat di porch belakang sambil menikmati minuman teh panas dan biskut. Sambil rehat mereka menikmati hembusan angin yang sepoi-sepoi, menyejukkan badan mereka dan mengeringkan keringat mereka. Angin juga membuatkan daun-daun pisang melintuk-liuk dan daun-daun kelapa melambai-lambai. Desiran daun yang paling ketara ialah desiran daun buluh dan bunyi dari batang-batang buluh yang bergesiran. Namun disuasana pagi yang nyaman sebegini bunyi-bunyi itu kedengaran indah dan romantis tidak seperti yang dialami pada malam tadi. Di siang hari keadaan halaman sekeliling rumah jelas kelihatan hijau dan indah, ditanam dengan rumpun-rumpun pisang, pohon-pohon mangga dan kelapa. Ditepi alur yang mengalir lesu tidak berapa jauh disisi rumah ada deretan rumpun-rumpun buluh dan pohon-pohon kelapa yang tinggi.Seberang alur terhampar sawah yang luas saujana mata memandang. "Ahh, indah sungguh suasana kampung ini!" kata Wan Harun, penuh nostalgia.

Pagi Yang Tenang

Yasmin terjaga, suara azan yang sedang berkumandang telah mengejutkannya dari tidur. Dipandangnya jam tangannya menunjukkan pukul 6.15 pagi. Sejurus dia terfikir, "Eh! lewatnya azan" Kemudian dia baru teringat bahawa dia sedang berada di utara Tanah Air. Sememangnya dia sudah tahu di utara, waktu solat masuk 15 minit lewat dari waktu-waktu solat di Kuala Lumpur dan Shah Alam. Dilihatnya anak-anak masih nyenyak tidur begitu juga suaminya. Badannya yang masih terasa keletihan membuatkan dia berasa ingin saja menyambungkan tidurnya. Namun Yasmin tahu dia tidak boleh berbuat demikian, saperti kebiasaannya dia perlu menuanaikan kewajipan bersolat subuh. Lalu dia mengejutkan suaminya serta berbisik, " Abang! Dah azan subuh. Bangun bang! Kita di Alor Setar ni, banyak perkara yang kita nak buat hari ini."

Wan Harun mengalihkan badannya mengiring kekanan sambil menarik rapi selimutnya dan mengerekutkan badannya. Matanya belum terbuka, dia bersuara. "Eeee! sejuuuknya!" Yasmin menjawab, "Memanglah sejuk bang! Ni kan Alor Setar, pagi-pagi tak payah pakai air-con, tambahan pula musim kemarau ni." Mendengar kata-kata isterinya itu Wam Harun bingkas bangun, " Eh! ya kita dah pindah Alor Setar! Eh, banyak kerja nak baut hari ni." Wan Harun lantas bangun bergegas kebilik air. Yasmin menoleh kepada anak-anaknya yang masih nyenyak tidur. Dia memerhatikan tubuh-tubuh kesanyangannya itu, lalu timbul perasaan keibuan yang kasihan melihat anak-anaknya keletihan. Dia bangun membetulkan selimut-selimut mereka serta hatinya berkata akan mengejutkan mereka lewat sedikit.

Selesai solat sunat fajar dan solat fardu subuh, Wan Harun dan isteri berdoa kepada Allah dengan panjang lebar. Saperti biasa mereka memulakan doa dengan memohon keampunan dari Allah SWT, menyatakan kesyukuran mereka diatas segala rahmat yang diberiNYA kepada sekeluarga, seterusnya mendoakan keselamatan mereka sekeluarga memohon Allah memelihara anak-anak mereka, Ain yang sulung dan Ammar yang kedua, sedang berada di United Kingdom melanjutkan pelajaran masing-masing. Mereka juga mendoakan keselamatan anak-anak yang masih berada di Shah Alam dan anak-anak yang bersama-sama mereka. Mereka menyambung doa agar perpindahan mereka ke Alor Setar ini mendapat kebaikkan kepada mereka sekeluarga. Doa ditutup dengan permohonan, "Ya Allah ampunlah dosa-dosa kedua ibu-bapa kami, dan datuk nenek kami, kesihanilah mereka saperti mana mereka kasihani kami semasa kami kecil. Cucurilah rahmatMU keatas roh-roh mereka yang telah pergi terdahulu dari kami. Ameen, Ameen, Ya Robbulalamin!" Wan Harun beralih kepada isterinya, Yasmin mencium tangan Suaminya sebagai lazimnya setelah selesai solat dan berdoa.

"Hmmm! Syukur kita dah selamat masuk rumah ni. Apa perasaan Min, kita dan pindah sini?" kata Wan Harun.

"Rasa lega pun ada, sikit cemas pun ada. Banyak kerja nak kena buat, tapi buat masa ni I want to take it easy!" kata Yasmin.

" Abang rasa lega kita ada rumah ni, macam rasa balik kerumah sendiri. Ok! Min buat minuman, gunakan plug dekat ni untuk flask air tu panas tu. Abang akan keluar beli sarapan bila cerah sedikit. Selepas bersarapan nanti kita aturkan kerja untuk setiap orang. Sementara itu abang nak cucikan bilik air dahulu dan isikan air dalam kolah. Senanglah anak-anak nak mandi nanti. Min jangan pergi dapur atau bahagian lain dahulu sebab debu dan habuk di atas lantai dan merata-rata sangatlah tebal. Kita kena tackle section by section."

"Baiklah bang ! Nanti kejap lagi saya kejutkan budak-budak ni. Cerah sikit kita bukakan tingkap-tingkap ni sebab bau dalam rumah ni pun satu macam saja, macam bau dalam gua!" balas Yasmin.

Perkara-perkara yang perlu dilakukan mula bersenarai dalam otak Wan Harun begitu juga dalam otak isterinya. (Pasangan ini macam ada 'wavelenght' yang sama) Walaupun tugas yang mereka akan hadapi pada hari itu banyak dan pelbagai, Wan Harun berasa bahagia, dia adalah saperti ikan yang telah pulang kelubuknya! Yasmin mula merelakan dirinya berada dalam rumah itu perasaannya dipagi itu beransur tenang ........

Nak Cerita Lagi

Wan Harun keletihan, perjalanan jauh memandu kereta dan kerja keras tadi membuat dia tersandar sebentar. Mata mula mengantuk, namun digagahi diri ke bilik air membersihkan diri dan ambil wudhuk untuk bersolat. Begitu juga dengan isterinya Yasmin. Setelah solat pasangan itu melafazkan kesyukuran kerana selamat perjalanan dan masuk rumah, mereka juga berdoa panjang. Kemudian kedengaran mereka berdua membaca Ayatulkhursi berulangkali dengan suara yang agak kuat. Mereka tahu dengan membaca ayat itu, adalah cara yang paling baik untuk menghalau makhluk yang tidak dapat dilihat dengan mata. Mereka arif perihal rumah yang lama tidak didiami orang akan didiami oleh makhluk-makhluk lain. Sebelum mereka tidur mereka telah menyalakan lampu luar rumah, porch depan dan belakang, lampu dapur, lampu ruang makan dan lampu koridor laluan ke bilik-bilik tidur. Semua pintu-pintu bilik belum dibuka. Bagi mereka itu adalah satu kerja yang besar dan memerlukan masa yang sesuai.

Ada satu perkara lagi yang mereka perlu lakukan sebelum tidur. Mengikut pesanan orang tua-tua (Yasmin mengingati petua neneknya) apabila berpindah kerumah baru hendaklah meletakkan sebakul beras ( dalam bakul mengkuang) dan semangkuk air ditepi tiang seri rumah. Yasmin mengambil barang-barang yang telah disediakan itu dan meletakkannya ditepi tiang seri rumah itu. Yasmin dan Wan Harun berpegang kepada adat itu walaupun mereka tidak tahu sangat kenapa perlu berbuat demikian. Mereka juga tidak pernah bertanya kepada ahli-ahli agama untuk mengesahkan sama ada perkara itu kurafat atau tidak. Hampir pukul 3.00 pagi baru Wan Harun dan isteri tidur dan mereka sangatlah keletihan.

Sambung Cerita Lagi

Wan Harun melangkah berhati-hati menuju hujung halaman, melintasi binaan struktur besi yang diatasnya ada tanki air. Selepas itu ada sepohon pokok mempelam yang besar dan rimbun, nampaknya sedang berbuah lebat kerana bertaburan buahnya dibawah pokok itu. Lampu suluh di suluh kehadapan kiri dan kanan, beberapa langkah lagi terletak meter air. Dalam samar cahaya lampu suluh itu Wan Harun ternampak sesuatu yang menghentikan nafasnya seketika. Lampu dihalakan ke sebuah busut kira-kira dua kaki dari meter air, kelihatan suatu longgokan saperti kain batik yang mendebarkan. Di suluh lagi lebih dekat dan tepat, nampaklah olehnya seekor ular yang badannya lebih besar dari betis orang dewasa. Lantas dia bersuara, "Kalau kau bukan ular pergi dari sini!" Oleh kerana dilihatnya ular itu tidak memanggungkan kepalanya berrerti tidak akan mematuk, dia berkata lagi, " kalau kau ular pun pergilah dari sini!" Secepat kilat ular itu berlalu dari situ dalam kegelapan malam tidak jelas bentuk rupanya hanya bunyi desiran laluannya di atas daun-daun kering dan diikuti dengan bunyi terjunannya kedalam air alur berhampiran. Wan Harun menghela nafas lalu segera membuka kunci air di tepi meter. Dia segera beredar dari situ kembali ke porch belakang rumah. Hampir 10 minit telah berlalu tetapi dirasanya terlalu lama. Tanpa memberi tahu apa yang telah dialaminya sekejap tadi dia berkata, " Ok! kunci bekalan air telah dibuka nanti kita boleh bersihkan lantai." Aly dan Anna telah keluar dari kereta masing-masing memegang sebatang penyapu dan aly sedang menyapu sawang. Sampah daun-daun kering dalam porch sudahpun disapu oleh mereka. Lia dan Idah mengangkat barang-barang dan meletakkan ditempat yang telah disapu. Yasmin dan Idah menurunkan barang lain dari kereta. Itulah kebiasaan keluarga ini, anak-anak mereka tahu apa yang perlu dilakukan dalan keadaan sebegini. Masing-masing mengambil peranan sendiri tanpa perlu banyak arahan.

Wan Harun masuk semula ke dalam rumah dan membersihkan lantai kawasan ruang tamu. Beliau bekerja keras memastikan ada ruang yang bersih untuk mereka berlabuh di malam itu. Lantai yang telah di mop basah, dikeringkan dengan kipas dipasang laju. Setengah jam kemudian mereka telahpun masuk kedalam rumah menghampar sehelai permaidani yang telah dibawa bersama, membentangkan tilam-tilam span nipis. Yasmin memasangkan cadar dan meletakkan bantal-bantal untuk anak-anaknya tidur. Namum Wan Harun dan Yasmin belum lagi boleh tidur kerana masih banyak perkara yang mereka mesti lalkukan dimalam itu. Malam semakin larut.... dan anak-anak sudahpun tidur.

Sambungan Cerita

Kemudian Wan Harun memberi isyarat kepada keluarga yang masih didalam kereta supaya tetap berada disitu. Sambil memegang sebuah lampu suluh ditangan kirinya, tangan kanan memasukkan kunci kepintu kayu dengan lafaz Bismillah, dia membuka pintu tersebut lalu membaca AyatulKhursi. Dia menyuluh kedalam rumah sebelum melangkah masuk dan memberi salam, " Assalamualaikum!" tanpa menunggu jawapan dia sendiri mejawab perlahan "Waaalaikumsalam". Itu adalah adat masuk kerumah kosong yang telah lama diketahuinya. Dengan mengguna lampu suluh Wan Harun dapat mencari suis-suis lampu di dinding. Pantas dia memetik semua suis-suis lampu di ruang yang di masukkinya, kemudian dia terus ke ruang tetamu sebelah hadapan serta memetik suis-suis lampu diruang itu.

Setelah cahaya letrik menerangi ruang tersebut, diperhatikannya sekali imbas keadaan sekeliling ruang itu. Kedudukan semua perabut dan gambar-gambar yang tergantung didinding saperti yang pernah dilihatnya 15 tahun yang lalu. Cuma dua set kerusi yang fesyen zaman enampuluhan itu telah diselimut dengan kain-kain cadar besar. Beberapa saat mengamati keadaan dalam ruang tamu itu memorinya segera membuat gambaran-gambaran flashback. Namun Wan Harun tidak dapat melayan ingatan dan perasaannya segera bergegas mendapatkan keluarganya yang ditinggalkan diluar tadi.

" Ok ! sekarang boleh keluar dari kereta, tolong ayah bukakan tali pengikat kanvas, kita nak turunkan barang-barang dari bumbung kereta. Dalam rumah ok tetapi jangan masuk lagi biar ayah bersihkan debunya dahulu. Min kamu tolong tarik tali dari sebelah sana." Lampu spotlight dan lampu depan kereta dipadamkan dan enjin kereta dimatikan. Di luar cahaya lampu porch terasa sangat kesunyian dan kegelapan malam. Sambil mereka bekerja menurunkan barang-barang dari kereta, bunyi desiran daun-daun buluh semakin kuat berdesir mengikut irama tiupan angin malam. Wan Harun dan isterinya bukanlah jenis manusia yang penakut tetapa ada juga sedikit perasaan cuak didalam hati dalam keadaan yang mereka berada disaat itu. Namun mereka tidak ketarakan perasaan mereka itu kepada anak-anak itu. Anna dan Aly masih berada dalam kereta mata mereka masih mengantuk, memerhatikan apa yang sedang dibuat oleh ayah, mama, serta kakak mereka Lia dan Idah.

Wan Harun menurunkan barang-barang yang perlu dahulu saperti penyapu, penyapu sawang, mop lantai, baldi, sabun pencuci lantai, kain-kain buruk dan surat khabar lama. Kemudian dia memberitahu isterinya, "Abang nak buka kunci bekalan air, meter air ada dihujung sana" sambil menunjukkan kearah kawasan yang gelap. Dia mencapai lampu suluh dan sebilah parang.

Kami Mula Bercuti

Assalamualaikum! Hari ini barulah aku dan Pak Haji dan anak-anak yang membantu MTAQSA mula bercuti. Pelajar-pelajar kami telah pulang untuk cuti akhir tahun pada 6 disember lalu. Kemudian pada 8 disember hingga 12 disember(semalam) kami telah mengendalikan KEM TAHFIZ untuk anak-anak berumur 10 hingga 12 tahun. Bayangkanlah kepenatan yang telah kami lalui selama setahun. Jadi hari ini terasa lapang, lega dan ada sedikit perasaan sayu. Mungkin perasaan lain itu anda akan faham tetapi perasaan sayu itu kami saja yang faham. Selama 2 tahun kami bergelut menghidupkan MTAQSA dengan tujuan memberi peluang kepada anak-anak kita mempelajari Al Quran dan Agama serta akedamik suatu pembelajaran yang berqualiti. Pelbagai kepenatan dan dugaan yang telah kami lalui termasuk kerenah, guru-guru, pelajar-pelajar, ibu-bapa kepada pelajar-pelajar dan juga pekerja sampingan. Allah sahaja yang mengetahui termasuk gangguan makhluk yang musuh manusia itu sekiranya kita buat kerja di jalan Allah!Alhamdulillah setahun lagi telah berlalu dengan penuh kejayaan (sedaya yang boleh kami lakukan) di jalan NYA. Sekarang debaran kami menunggu tahun baru dengan kemasukkan pelajar-pelajar baru di harapkan lebih dar 30 orang!

Sambungan Novel

Penghujung jalan Sultanah, ada persimpangan, kenderan dipandu ke kanan menuju ke utara. Kira-kira 20 minit kemudian, 10 km dari Alur Setar, kenderaan dibelok ke kanan memasuki kawasan halaman luas sebuah rumah. Bagi Wan Harun dia berasa seolah-olah telah pulang ke kampung, ke rumahnya sendiri. Bayang rumah dan pokok keliling kelihatan berbalam-balam ditempat yang terkena simbahan cahaya lampu kereta sedangkan keadaan sekeliling gelap gulita. Di sekeliling kawasan rumah itu telah ditanam dengan banyak jenis pohon-pohon mangga dan pisang. Ada juga deretan pohon kelapa dan beberapa rumpun buluh dikawasan tepi alur berhampiran.Wan Harun memandu kenderaannya masuk ke dalam porch belakang. Lampu kereta yang cerah menyuluh pintu dan kawasan belakang rumah serta merta menampakkan keaadan rumah yang telah lama ditinggalkan, penuh dengan sampah daun-daun kering habuk di lantai dan sawang disetiap penjuru.

Wan Harun membuka pintu kereta, angin sepoi sepoi sedang bertiup, kedengaran desiran daun buluh mengikut irama tiupan angin dan disertai dengan bunyi kreeeek dari batang buluh yang bergeseran. Sebelum keluar Wan Harun berkata "Jangan keluar lagi nanti saya bukankan suis lampu dahulu. "Hati-hati Wan!" kata Yasmin sambil memerhati jam kereta menunjukkan 12.30 malam. Semua orang dalam kenderaan diam memerhatikan Wan Harun menggunakan kunci yang dibawa bersama, membuka pintu grill luar. Kemudian Wan Harun pergi ke suis utama didinding luar sebelah kawasan dalam grill itu. Setelah beberapa suis dipetiknya sekelip mata keaadaan menjadi terang benderang. "Ahh lega!" kata Yasmin. Lia membunyikan suaranya cuba mengejutkan aly yang sedang nyenyak tidur di bahagian belakan kereta.

My Novel "Rumah di tepi Bendang"

Assalamualaikum! Few days back I'vs been trying to blog but Net was not up to it. So today Alhamdulillah nak melepaskan gian. As I have promised OO that I would be writing a blook, I will enter parts of the book in the making in my blog. Chapter 1 has been completed in WORDS. So my entry here is part of Chapter 2. Here it goes...

Pada suatu hari Rabu, jam 5.00 petang kelihatan sebuah kenderaan pacuan empat roda penuh sarat dengan muatan penumpang dan barang bertolak dari Shah Alam menuju Utara. Wan Harun yang memandu kenderaan Pajero tersebut, di tempat duduk sebelahnya ialah Yasmin isteri tersayang. Ditempat duduk belakang ialah anak-anak pasangan tersebut Ida, Lia dan Anna melintuk liuk mengikut pergerakkan kenderaan tersebut. Di belakang sekali tempat barangan telah diubah suaikan menjadi tempat tidur, Aly sedang baring, ditangannya ada sebuah mainan. Diatas bumbung kereta yang telah dipasangkan rak barangan penuh dimanafaatkan terikat kemas dengan kain kanvas. Kenderaan sedang meluncur melalui Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan dengan kelajuan sederhana 100 km/j. Wan Harun memangnya seorang pemandu berhemah, jarang beliau memandu laju tetapi kali ini sememangnya beliau tidak boleh memandu laju kerana kerana muatan kenderaan yang terlalu sarat.

Setelah 3 jam dalam perjalanan mereka singgah di sebuah perhentian Plazza Tol untuk solat maghrib dan makan malam. Kemudian perjalanan mereka diteruskan dengan lancar. Malam semakin larut kelihatan semua penumpang dalam kereta sudah nyenyak dilamun mimpi. Wan Harun kusyuk memandu sesekali berzikir dan ada juga masa untuk mengelamun. Dia teringat rumah yang mereka tujui ini sudah tidak dihuni selama 15 tahun. Namun rumah ini tidaklah asing baginya sebab dimasa zaman remajanya dia selalu mengunjungi dan tinggal dirumah itu. Rumah itu adalah rumah Wa Sin iaitu bapa saudaranya yang tua sekali bernama Hussin. Neneknya juga tinggal bersama-sama Wa Sin sehingga nenek meninggal dunia 20 tahun yang lalu.Rumah itu telah ditinggalkan kosong sebab Wa Sin dan isteri telah tinggal bersama anak mereka di Kuala Lumpur Bertahun-tahun yang lalu setelah mereka uzur. Wa Sin dan telahpun meninggal dunia beberapa tahun yang lalu dan isterinya mengikutinya 2 tahun kemudian.

Kerana lamunan mengingati zaman silamnya Wan Harun tidak sedar beliau telah sampai di Plaza Tol Alor Setar Utara. "Min! bangun, dah sampai ni". Yasmin membuka matanya sambil membetulkan duduknya, dia memerhati jam di dashboard kereta menunjukan hampir pukul 12.00 tengah malam. Yasmin menoleh kebelakang, mengejukan anak-anaknya, " Bangun! bangun! kita dah sampai Alor Setar ni" katanya dengan nada ceria dalam loghat utara. Badan-badan yang bertindih tertidur dikerusi belakang mula bergerak-gerak. Kemudian Lia bersuara, " Ye!ye! dah sampai! Bangun ooi! Kita dah sampai" Beberapa minit kemudian tiga orang anak remaja itu pun duduk tegak memerhati keadaan luar laluan Jalan Sultanah yang sedang mereka lalui sunyi sepi, agak suram.

For the Love of Alor Star

Yesterday I just came back from Alor Setar. We ie my husband, son Zed, youngest daughter and I made the trip to the north on Sunday morning at 4.30 am from Shah Alam. We arrived in Sungai Petani at 11.30 feeling very hungry. We had planned to stop for lunch at a gerai ikan bakar there, unfortunately it was closed! We then proceeded to brother in law's place but he was away in KL. So Zed who was driving, drove as fast as possible to Alor Star so we could have lunch at Mama's shop in jalan Sultanah. No need to rell you how we tucked in the food! Reached my mother's house to find that she had gone out shopping for orchid plants to add to her collection! That was a very good sign indeed! For my mother to go outing means that she is as well as can be. Mother is well in her 80's, has not been in good shape as far back as some 7 years ago. We all love going back to Alor Star other than visiting my mother, we love the place for several reasons. Of course one of the reason is the abudance of delicious cheap food. We can buy all sorts of food, kueh,noodles , bubur of all sorts for rm 10 and 4 persons could not finish that. The other reason is Pekan Rabu, where I could get all that I want to stock up my larder for my special nothern cooking recipes, eg asam jawa, belacan tanjung dawai, ikan pekasam, ikan sepat ronggeng, beras pulut hitam for bubur, beras pulut putih for ketupat palas, and all the fruit preserves for my Acar buah. I also usually buy kuih baulu, kuih loyang, kuih karas, dodol, emping and minyak gamat etc.
We all love Alor Star very much that we nearly settled there for good few years back. When I retired from active business, we went back to Alor Star and stayed in a relative's house which had been abandoned for 15 years. Few people love the house but our family could settle well in the house and loved it's ambience and surrounding atmosphere which suited us very well. For two years we lived in the house, made some repairs and mantained the grounds beautifully, that when we invited friends over for a visit and for Hari Raya functions, they all liked the house and commented that we fitted into the house very well. We wanted to buy the house and settled in Alor Star but fate had it differently. The owners wanted to sell at a price 3 times the market rate, making it impossible for us to buy. We then moved back to Shah Alam and found that we really missed Shah Alam too. It has infact become the childrens' kampung as we have resided there for 30 years now! So we were happy to have moved back to Shah Alam 4 years ago and all the children who came back from overseas were happy to be back in Shah Alam. However everytime when we were in Alor Star, as we were a few days ago, when we passed the House, ( there was a big sign board 'FOR SALE' which has been there for past 4 years) I could not even turn to look at the House! Not to mention all the banana trees my husband had planted around the house and all along the canal beside the house, the leaves waving as if calling us to come back there! Well House (near the canal next to the bendang) we really loved you but you are not destined to be ours! And the sad thing is that we know very well that very few people could love you as we do because of your aura and the mysteries surrounding you!

My good friend flew away

Assalamualaikum! I have a srange feeling today, of being left alone. Come to think of it may be it has got something to do with my good friend Maz who has left for Labuan this morning. Maz has been a close friend since campus days. Then there were times when we were not so close, thus I call her a good friend! She has been a friend who keep the frienship alive through out all these years. Though at times we did not contact each other due to our own busy schedule, I know I have a friend in her. So this morning when Maz left to take up a job in Labuan, I am feeling rather lonely. Now I could not ask her to jog with me or chat over a cup of teh tarik. I hope Maz will enjoy her stint in Labuan because she is as free as a bird, she can fly away and soar to any place that she wants to go. However there are some words of advice for Maz, "Not all that glitters are Gold" and "Gold and richess do not ensure happiness" and "Beware of Men with sweet words" He, he, he! So if somebody across the channel ask for your hand think many many times before you accept. O.K?
So for now I have to find another person to take your place as my good friend eh? I wonder who will that be?

It's A Still Grey Morning

Assalamualaikum! Hello you people out there! Are you experiencing what I am experiencing right now? The weather this morning is very still and grey. There's no wind or breeze blowing and the sunlight is blocked by a very thick blanket of fog in the sky. I could not see the clouds or any patch of blue sky, I could only see a very grey sky. The atmosphere gives a rather unpleasant feeling! I fear that there is something happening. I always have a fear of calamities like the Tsunami, the volcanic eruption or something like that is going to happen when I experience this kind of atmosphere. Remember the two years ago December Tsunami? There were signs that some big calamity was going to happen. Animals have six sense and know it earlier than us human beings. When I look at the sky, I have the feeling that there is a volcanic eruption somewhere nearby. May the Almighty helps us and save us from danger and disaster!And He the AllKnowing knows when to punish his creations! May we be protected from God's wrath! May we always do the right thing that He expects of us as His faithful servants! Ameen!

Guiding Your Young Children

Assalamualaikum! Lately we have been busy interviewing applicants and their parents for admission into our school. Our school is an integrated Religious Tahfiz school complete with academic subjects and co-curriculum. It is a full boarding school (www.mtaqsa.com)
We are happy to note that many young parents now are concerned about their childrens' future. Hence they come to seek our advice even when their children are still very young. So we give them some counselling on how to prepare their young children to be chanelled into a school like ours. We consider this as part of our dakwah so that each family will at least have one Al hafiz (person who memorises and recites the Al Quran)
For your information our school accepts students who have passed their UPSR with 4 and 5 As. For those with lesser As, they have to show their other strength example, exellent PSRA results or very proficient in Al Quran reading etc.
So far we have accepted a number of exellent students for the new intake. However there are some parents who are keen to send their children to our school, but we could not accept them due to 3 reasons. Firstly, there are cases where children scored 4 or 5 As and able to read Al Quran, but upon interviewing, they showed no interest in the Al Quran. Secondly the chilren have good academic results but not much exposure with the Al Quran, as such they could not read Al Quran well.Thirdly, the children are very poor in acdemic and we consider them not able to carry the heavy load of this kind of integrated education.
So if you are a young parent and you do want your children to be educated religiously, well versed with the knowledge of the Al Quran, you must expose them young to Al Quran the religious education. You must keep telling them what you would like them to be when they grow up and why its good to be as such. The love for Al Quran and the religious practices like doing the solat must be well ingrained at an early age. You must also encourage them at a young age to pick up an ambition to be a somebody or something but you must not force them. Let them say what they want to be and allow them to change their ambition as they grow. When you see their interest and talent in certain area, you support them by giving encouragement with good words and related books and toys!
We have 9 children and all of them have achieved their ambition or along the right path walking towards their ambition. None of them has the ambitions forced upon them! As a young parent, we did give the our children some minimum religious education. However we did not realize the importance of religious education until we were given the 'Hidayah ' that our children had to be educated in the religious subjects and Al Quran in depth.
Alhamdulillah we managed to steer the course of their education starting with the 5th child Lia who is doing Medicine in Jordan,6th child Yanna who is doing religious studies and Arabic in Cairo, 7th child Aly InshaAllah will be joining Yana in Cairo to do Al Quran studies, 8th child has talent in music playing the saxaphone and has great love for animals (so you can guess what he will be), 9th child youngest daughter Husna has achieved 5As in UPSR and a Mumtaz (exellent) in PSRA recently and of course she'll be joining our school! I am just writing this to share with you my experience and to show the importance of guiding the children at a young age. May Allah grant you the wisdom of guiding your children along the right straight path! Ameen!

Of Dengue Fever And Convocation!

These days in Shah Alam, the authorities has declared WAR with the mosquitoes. Every evening the MBSA does the fumingation.The fog is so thick that you may think that we are at war! Danger! Danger!Dengue fever is on the rise. On our road, almost every other house had a case of dengue. In my house the first victim was Kin. Luckily,she had it not too bad and after a week she recovered. Then Aly became the second victim that was a week ago. After 3 days of suffering I took him to the local Pusat Kesihatan! Aly had it real bad!His blood pletlet count was 200, the next day 150 and the 5th day we went again for the blood test it went down to 76!It was then considered alarming by the doctors at the government's Pusat Kesihatan that they decided that he should be hospitalised. It was at 2 pm when we were referred to Klang hospital. We rushed to the hospital through the Emergency Entrance, however upon arrival we were asked to register and to wait for another examination. It seemed that the hospital was full and they were not sure to admit Aly until they would examine him again. The waiting made me upset and I decided to take my son home, to take him to a private clinic later. Since he had not been able to consume any food or water because he vomitted several times and he also had 'cirit birit'. I was concerned that he was dehydrated and I asked whether Doc at the private clinic could give him a drip. Doc said she could do so but on reading the low pletlet count adviced that Aly be hospitalised. She kindly made several phone calls to see if any of the hospital would be able to admit my son and that was at 8.30 pm. She found out that Hospital Sungai Buluh, Selayang and anorther were full. Then she phoned somebody at Hospital Putra Jaya said that they would be able to admit my son. Feeling a little relief we drove as fast as possible to Putra Jaya. We arrived at the hospital about 9.30 pm. Alas when we went to the emergency admission, the attendant said that no way my son could be admitted straight away. Aly had to endure another painful proceedure of drawing blood for the blood test! And all this while from morning Aly was weak, in pain and could hardly sit! The attendant informed us that they will only admit him if the blood test, show the pletlet count below 50! You can imagine our frustration! I then begged the attendant to give my son a drip. He obliged and put Aly in the emergency section temporary bed. They then gave him a 500 ml drip. By then we were tired,hungry and sleepy. Aly was sleeping when we decided to go out to find food but at nearly midnight we could not find any food to buy in Putra Jaya. As we were contemplating what to do next, my daughter who was at Aly's bedside called us to say that Ally has been discharged by the doctor! His pletlet count had risen to 80! So we happily took him home, bought some Mc Dees before arriving home 12.30 am. AND the next morning was Ude's Convocation! I was too tired that I was reluctant to go. However thinking that it was Ude's BIG DAY, I decided to go after all! Of course I was happy to be witness Ude receiving her scroll for a Degree in Interior Architecture! We are proud of her achievement and patintly waited to be photographed with YB Tan Sri who had earlier handed Ude her scroll. Wow! What a busy Week! Alhamdulillah Aly is getting better though not fully recovered yet.

It's A Cool Morning!

Hello everybody! Today I'm experiencing a very cool morning here in the Klang valley. As I am typing this, cool breeze blows into my upstairs hall cum work area. I was thinking what to do this morning when suddenly I remembered that I had not been updating my blog entry. My friend Maz had commented on this while we were chatting at my house few days ago. I was suprised that she has been following my blog. Then the other day one of my staff made the same comment and told me that he is one of the silent reader too. Thank you all of you silent readers out there, if you all had made known to me that you are following my blog then may be I would have been more 'rajin' and would have made more frequent entries. I am quite pleased today having completed a big task last night, ie I had successfully made a big pot of 'acar buah' again. This time,I had made it because I had promised a friend who had made a confession that she simply loved my acar buah which she said she had licked to the last drop. So when she announced that she will be going to Makkah, I spontaneously announced that I will make the acar buah for her to take along! After many days contemplating at last my mission is completed. Today I will send a big tub to her, Insya Allah.
Talking about going to Makkah, I had made the pilgramage with my husband nearly 20 years ago. I could recall the years easily because during that pilgrimage I was carrying Yanna in my womb and Yanna is now 19 years old! Many would ask how could I be pregnant when doing the Haj? Tabung Haji would not have allowed that! Yes! but this was years ago when people like me who had dreamed of carry a baby while doing the Haj could beat the authorities' rulings! I was he, he, clever, I got pregnant after the Tabung Haji Tests! Those days they made the tests months ahead before the Haj, he, he he. So I was six months pregnant with Yanna when doing the Haj. And mind you it wasn't easy.My worst fear was being crushed in the crowd or stampede.The best part was I had no period problem to disrupt my ibadah, then also I my doa for the baby I was carrying makbul in many aspects. Alhamdulillah all's well that ends well. May my friends who are embarking on the Haj be safe and obtain a Haj Mabrur so that when they come back they will be a better person. Ameen!

Flowers In My Gadern And The Bees In My Hive

Assalamualaikum! Alhamdulillah today I'm feeling good as my health is improving. So I feel like writing this entry to share with you something. In my gadern, there are 5 flowers of which 4 are blooming and in my hive there are 4 macho bees of which two are ready to buzz away. For sometime now I have been waiting for suitable bees to approach my gadern but up till now there's no sign of the bees yet. So I turn my attention to my next job is to look for suitable flowers for my bees. And believe me its not an easy task! Fortunately after 2 years on the prowl and looking around I recently saw a flower which looks and smells ok to me. She is of a good local variety, though the origin is not local its close enough. Our establishment and the responding side will be having a prelimenary meeting soon before the Big Negotiation begins. In the meantime we all pray that things will work out well and we will have a happy ending. As for the flowers in my gadern, I am still looking out to the horizon praying that one of these days some good specimen will come by ! He, he, he. Write to me if you think of some possiblities but have little guts to come flying by! Just be sincere and honest and of course of the acceptable variety !

My Pet Bird, Polly the Parrot

I have a beautiful pet bird, named polly the parrot. Her feathers are bright red, lined with purple,blue and touch of sea green. She is my loyal companion when I am alone at home when the children are away. I really appreciate her presence during such lonely times. Now, She has been with me for the last 3 years. The story of how I came to own her is rather amazing; One night three years ago I was feeling lonely and depressed. Some misfortunes had befallen me that I was wondering whether Allah still loves me. At that time, the bigger children were away, the younger ones were asleep and my husband was sleeping in our bedroom. I was alone watching tv not really watching any programme in particular. Then I saw a programme about a person who had trained her beautiful african grey parrot to do some clever antics. I was very impressed and told my husband that I wanted him to buy me such a pet. As my husband was sleeping he just mumbled something like "mmmm..ok ! ". However for the next 3 days he did not make any attempt to present me with a parrot. On the third day something amazing happened. Out of nowhere a beautiful parrot flew into our garden and and perched on a low branch. When we saw it we were surprised and were gawking at its beauty. My husband quickly and carefully caught it by hand and called me to take an empty bird cage in the store. while he was holding the captured bird, it's sharp beak caught hold of his thumb and ngawed it till it bled. As quickly as possible the bird was put into a small old bird's cage. We were so surprised and elated at the present sent to me by the Most Gracious and All knowing who had listen and answered my doubts! I had interpreted the incident as Allah has always loved me and I shouldn't have any doubt about that no matter what has befallen me as He loves all His servants. I then realized that Allah had given me so much that even my wish for a parrot has been granted. Alhamdulillah! I must not forget that and should always give thanks to Him. The next day my husband and I went to KL to buy Polly a big beautiful golden cage. She has been in the cage for the last three years until 2 months ago Yanna who was on holiday from cairo, managed to tame her and brought her out of the cage. She really had a way with the bird, and 'manja' the bird until Polly could sleep in her lap or in the nooks of her arm. So when Yanna left for Cairo 2 weeks ago Polly was like a crazy bird wanting to come out of her cage but she would snap our fingers if we try to touch her. So Polly nowadays will only be let out occassionally when my husband dont mind risking her sharp beak! Oh yes, Polly calls me "Aaaaak!" (Mak)with her piercing "voice" whenever she sees me or when she wants my attention. She can also call Zed with this sound mimicking others, "aa aaag Aaaat" (abang Jat)and calls my husband "aaa aaak" (bapak). Amazingly Polly would be quite when we perform our prayers the solat but she'll murmur a soft 'ameen' when we say our doa after the solat! Amazing isn't it?

Hari Raya Puasa Enam

Alhamdulillah hari ini kami dan pelajar-pelajar sekolah kami merayakan Hari Raya Puasa Enam. Maka tamatlah enam hari mereka berpuasa sunat dibulan syawal ini setelah kembali keasrama selepas pulang dari cuti berhari raya. Nampaknya pelajar-pelajar kami amatlah tabah dan suka berpuasa. Sepatutnya mereka selesai berpuasa enam padahari ahad kerana kami telah mula puasa hari selasa iaitu hari ketiga mereka belajar semula. Alkisah ada orang telah menjemput kami makan kenduri pada hari sabtu, jadi kamipun taklah berpuasa hari itu. Jadi hari inilah baru kami beraya. Pelajar-pelajar diberi makanan agak istemewa sewaktu rehat jam 10.30 pagi tadi iaitu kek, ice-cream, coklat dan bihun bersama minuman teh tarik istimewa. Pelajar-pelajar kami telah diberi tahu keistimewaan puasa enam iaitu Sesiapa yang berpuasa sebulan bulan ramadhan ditambah pula dengan berpuasa sunat 6 hari dibulan syawal akan mendapat ganjaran pahala seolah-olah telah berpuasa setahun. Oleh itu sewajarnya lah Hari Raya puasa Enam ini mereka diraikan seadanya. Segala amalan sunat seperti berpuasa sunat, bersolat tarawih, bertadarus serta majlis khatam al-Quran, bersolat jamaah subuh hari jumaat di masjid Negeri untuk sujud sajaddah, bersolat sunat yang pelbagai, adalah amalan warga sekolah kami sepanjang masa. Untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut mengenai sekolah kami sila layari www.mtaqsa.com. Terima Kasih.

Our Hari Raya

For our family, this year Hari Raya is very calm and peaceful, one of the most beautiful hari raya we ever had. We did not have to go through the hassle of packing and doing the mad rush back to kampung. Actually this is the 7th year we have spent our Hari Raya here. Finally, 7 years ago our family had matured and we have accepted the fact that our kampung now is here in shah alam. When my family was young, I had dreaded the coming of Hari Raya as well looked forward to going back to my kampung. As a young couple my husband and I both had insisted that the first day of Hari Raya be spent in each parents house. After the usual, much painful and tearful discussion (arguements??) we ended up each of us with our own mother on the first day of hari raya. On the second day of Hari Raya we would get together to visit the in laws. Now after all these years my husband and I thought that was not a very good idea. We should have taken turn to be with one of the parents and then the other. Actually we were immature and there was nobody to guide us. We were torn between the love of our own family and the new family extension we have created (we both have a large close knit family). Now its all done, my mother in law had passed away many years since and my mother is old. She understand our situation does not insist that we go back to her on the hari raya days. We can take our time to do so on other days of the year. So with our experience we will advice our children when they get married, to take turn coming back to our house one hari raya and going back to thier in laws for the next one. That is one wisdom we have acquired! May you all the young couples out there be wiser than us in handling the Hari Raya balik kampung situation!Good Luck!

Hello again and Selamat Hari Raya!

Hello everybody! Selamat Hari Raya! Mak Teh is trying hard to make this entry because I have lost touch in using this computer and the blogging ways. Actually I do miss doing the blog but many things have kept me away. To update my situation, I had spent my ramadhan and raya days in shah alam. Lia has gone back to Jordan after a week of ramadan with the family. That one week of ramadhan was the most wonderful ramadhan for our family because everybody is back home. It had been years since we were together for ramadan. This Raya is also wonderful, except for Lia we are all here celebrating the raya. Alhamdulillah, Lia has reported that she is recovering well post operation. Yana will be going back to Cairo soon. Alhamdulillah my health has improved lately. I am trying to resume my writing again which I had neglected for quite sometime. At the moment my husband and I are busy with our school (see Majallah Anis September pg 30) We are getting good respond for 2008 intake. The interview for the new intake is on. If you are interested to know more about our school log on to www.mtaqsa.com. InsyAllah, more entries will follow this. Cherio!

After a long absence !

Assalamualaikum! Hello everyone! Selamat berpuasa! After a long absence from the blogging scene, I decide to make this entry today. Its hard to start talking again after the long selince. Some of you fellow bloggers may want to know what actually had happened. To continue from the last entry ....., yes we went to Kedah to visit my mother and also to tell her we would be heading to Kota Bharu. The purpose of the Kota Bharu trip was to meet a specialist orthopedic surgeon to confirm the surgery to be done to my daughter Lia. Lia had to undergo a surgery to correct her backbone, she had something the medical people call 'scoliosis'. Anyway to cut the long story short, Lia has undergone the surgery on the 28th august at the Kota Bharu General Hospital. Alhamdulillah the surgery has been successful. Lia is recovering well and hope to fly back to Jordon soon to continue her studies in medicine. However Lia has to wear a body brace for 6 months and she has to move about with great care with minimum pyisical exertion. I would like to thank friends and relatives who have prayed and doa for Lia's well being and have helped us in many ways during the difficult times. I also would like to thank fellow blogger Onde for dropping in to visit Lia at the KB Hospital. Our special thanks and gratitude to the surgeons, Mister Ahmad Sabri and his team for performing the delicate operation and the staff at ward Dahlia KB Hospital for their care. Million thanks to all of you mentioned, not forgetting the family of encik Rahimi and Dr Hafizah for all their kind assistance and concern for Lia and also the big family of Ustazah Naemah, Ani, Cik Dah, Cik Nah and also those not mentioned here. After Lia's operation my health sufferred as well, So you can understand why I had been silent all these while. Alhamdulillah today I feel a little better.

Travelling Together

Hello guys! I was not able to blog last week because my computer was down with some virus ! Many things happened last week including my two children are back for the holidays. In few hours time, we will be heading north to visit their grandmother. We plan to be in Kedah for 3 days then we will be travelling east to Kota Bahru. There are a few things to be done and some friends to visit. I hope the weather will be good for our journey.
When the children were young, we used to travel as one family, all the eleven of us together in our Pajero and we loved that. However these days, to do that kind of travelling is quite impossible! First, it is such a rare occassion that we could all be together. Secondly we have to drive a bus if we were to travel in a group. With the children all grown and the luggage they would take along, you can imagine the size of the group! Few years back we managed to travel to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, where we did the Umrah together. The children loved the experience that they planned to meet the same way in the future when they could all get together. We did not have much problem travelling and holidaying together because from small our children had been trained doing that. As such they would always take care of each other on journeys or vacations, big sister or brother would take care of the younger ones. However it's me who would keep counting the heads so as not to lose anyone!

Forgive Everyone?

Last week my husband announced to me that he had forgiven everyone. He said he had forgiven me, my relatives, his relatives, our children, and all those people who had hurt him one way or the other. I was not surprised with that kind of announcment coming from my husband but it makes me feel bad because I could not do the same. Forgive everyone??? People who had really hurt your feelings?? ( It's like something impossible!) It is very difficult for me at the moment. Some of the incidents I may have tried to forget but could not forgive. Some other incidents I may want to forgive but you could not forget. My husband then teach me to say some prayers so that my heart will be more forgiving. Insya-Allah I hope it will work!
Then a few days later, he was so happy telling me that he had just heard this tazkirah as below,
Enam perkara yang Allah berikan kepada orang yang memaafkan kesemua kesalahan orang lain terhadapnya :
1) hati bertambah bersih
2) ketenangan fikiran
3) disembuhkan segala penyakit
4) makhbul doa
5) mendapat hidayah bercurah-curah
6) wajah yang cerah bersih ( point ini dikatakan oleh Imam Shafie)

After I heard the above explanation from my husband, I tried to persuade my heart to do the act of forgiving. First I must learn to forget the painful incidents, then maybe later I will be able to forgive. (When the incident was fresh, it chocked my breathing, bled my heart and ripped my inside) The most painful ones are those incidents which involved the close members of the family, whom once were the persons you had cared for! May Allah show me the way, and make heart be more forgiving! Ammeen!

Few More Days !

Few more days, my daughter Yanna will arrive home, InsyaAllah! Yanna comes back almost every year. She had saved the money for the tickets. Well, not all of it, I had to cotribute some. Yanna is very thrifty and also knows how to earn some pocket money. Her clasmates are international and they would ask from her Malaysian made telekung, tudung etc and her Malaysians friends (not in same school as she) love the stockings from the former Russian territories.( That's where she could earn a few RMs? ) When she comes back to Malaysia, she would buy gifts for her friends and ustazah. Her favourite gifts to her ustazah would be all colors of our malaysian made ball pens. They loved the gifts and she could afford such gifts! Yes, Yanna would be arriving on the 15th August and Lia would be arriving on her birthday i.e few days later than Yanna! ( Lia had requested for her birthday cake to be brought to the airport!) So I am waiting for few more days for the child who was always on my lap, and my 'Pendant' to come home safely. For Lia , do your exam well first, do not get diverted by the thoughts of coming home. As for Yanna pack properly your luggage so that you don't have to quarrel with the Egyptian authorities at the airport! Welcome Home!

Kenangan di Malam Jumaat

Assalamualaikum! Malam ini malam Jumaat. Terkenang pula aku pada malam Jumaat masa zaman aku kanak-kanak hingga remaja kat kampung kami. Penempatan kampung kami itu lebih di kenali dengan panggilan Pondok iaitu penempatan khas dimana penghuninya menumpukan perhatian kepada mempelajari ibadah dan melaksanaknnya dalam kehidupan mereka seharian. Rumah kami adalah rumah kayu agak luas ada 5 ruang memanjang dari anjung hingga ke dapur. Anjung tempat tetamu datang dan tempat ayah rehat dengar radio, rumah tengah tempat bilek tidur emak dan ayah, dan ruang tv, lepas itu rumah ibu, tempat kami lakukan segala aktiviti, belajar, mengaji, menjahit, bersembang juga tempat melayan tetamu yang lebih rapat,(di ruang ini juga terdapat 2 bilik tidur). Kemudian ruang dapur tempat makan, akhir sekali ruang dapur basah tempat menyediakan makanan, memasak dan cuci pinggan mangkuk.
Pada setiap malam jumaat pada masa itu, selepas solat maghrib emak akan membaca surah Yassin, begitu juga aku dan kakak. Orang lelaki pula akan pergi ke surau berjemaah selepas solat maghrib mereka membaca surah Yassin. Kemudian mereka akan marhaban selepas solat Isya. Marhaban ini sangat memeriahkan suasana Pondok ketika itu hingga terdengar ke kampung-kampung berdekatan. Selepas Marhaban mereka akan disajikan dengan makanan yang telah disediakan oleh penghuni Pondok secara bergilir-gilir.(sekumpulan 7 buah rumah akan meyediakan makanan setiap minggu) Waktu inilah kanak-kanak sangat gembira kerana dapat makanan kueh-mueh istimewa. Sepupu emak yang aku panggil Pak Uneng (muda dari aku 4 tahun)sejak dari awal lagi telah buat 'booking' dulang yang berisi kueh yang disediakan oleh ruamh kami ataupun yang disediakan dari rumah Tok Cik Dah. Ini adalah kerana dia telah sedia maklum hidangan dari kedua rumah ini adalah yang istemewa. Kami orang-orang perempuan kadangkala pergi juga ke surau untuk berjemaah dan pada malam Jumaat suasana di surau amat meriah dengan lampu-lampu 'goslin' yang dipasang mencerahkan halaman surau dan halaman rumah Tok guru. Kami kanak-kanak akan bermain-mainan di halaman dan kawasan surau sebelum dan setelah selesai solat. Kawan baik ku pada masa itu ialah Mak Tam, Mak long Nur, Pak Anjang, (semua sepupu emak) Noraini dan Miyah. Bila aku tekenang zaman itu terasalah amat indah dan juga sedih kerana tidak ada lagi suasan sebegitu sekarang ini, maka sedarlah aku zaman itu telah berlalu!

The Smell of Home

Hello guys! Sorry that my blog for today appear late. I was busy this morning with Bahasa Melayu class and Public Speaking class. The Public Speaking class? Yes, I made the students recite poetry and sing patriotic songs in front of the class to loosen up their nerves! Then I started them on delivering a Tazkirah, today's tazkirah's topic "Pentingnya Solat Lima Waktu" . They had a fun time delivering the mock tazkirah. During classes like these it's my voice that suffers because I had to raise my voice so as to make them speak loudly and clearly! Today's Public Speaking was in Bahasa Melayu. We will alternate it with English. Next year they will have to do it in Arabic as well.
Hey, What's that? I can smell something! Oh, my tea is ready! Why of course it is the smell of cempedak goreng! Hmmmm it has that lovely sweet fragrance that makes you want to eat it now! So I have to end this blog and go for my tea and 'cucoq' cempedak. Apparently it's cempedak season and Alhamdulillah our dusun produce a bumper harvest this year. Sorry,I could not post to you all the cempedak goreng. Pak Uniong ,Shida, Oan, Ude's friends, Kin's friends and Mak lang (mine and the bolg one)' you have to come over for tea,if you would like to sample the cucoq! he,he!. For Lia and Yanna,all the fruits of the season that you craved for had been packed and frozen in the freezer waiting for you! Welcome home to the smell of home!

Once I Had A Sister

Once I had a sister,
Not of the same mother,
We adopted each other'
Coz we don't share the same father,
She's two years my senior.

In school we are always together,
Best of friends we were,
And we adored each other,
Happiness and sorrow we did share,
Never did we bicker.

Schooldays were soon over,
Separate ways did we go,
We had family and career,
Not many days we did see each other,

Then came the sad news,
She suffered from cancer!
Much sufferings did she endure,
six years she did linger,
(She did all her ibadah during the six years)

There were no tears between us,
just looked at each other,
Until few days before her departure,
(I could not stand it anymore)
Tears spilled all over,
There were no words to mutter!
I received the sad news.. two days later,
It was all over!
(She was only forty-two)

Now it has been fifteen years since,
the day she departed,
In my heart she's never been away,
Her smile as bright as the day,
Her face as fresh as the morning dew,
I still remember our teen age years,
When in sadness I turned to her,
And to this day I still do!

Hey Sister, What's the Matter?

Hey sister, what's the matter?
I saw you running helter skelter,
Pause a while sister...
Take a breather ...
Does it really matter?
Arriving a little later...

You start your work with an open heart,
'Coz at work you are really smart!
Ready to use your creative juice ...
But why do you have the Monday blues?

Do you know sister,
Why we are here?
Many are blurr of the answer,
But one thing is for sure,
It's not meant to be forever,

You are placed on Earth,
To mark your worth ...
So act your part as directed,
May you get the award,
much coveted!

If only you could see...
where you want to be,
You'd stop running blindly ....
your forces would go straight in action,
your gyro will put you in the right direction!

Hey sister, what's the matter?
Are you still blur?
Stop the rat race..,
For you are just running in a maze..
It's just a craze !
Pause a little ...
your bones are brittle!

Look with wonder,
On a night so clear ...
The sky so high has no pillar
Look at the moon and look at the stars
Then ask youself,
Who is the Maker?

And then, you could see it so clear..
Your vison no more blur,
Every step you take does matter,
And you stop running helter skelter!

In youth you had made mistakes,
In life there's no retake,
However, despair not my dear..
For you are still the actor,
Each day is another picture..
So aim to do better
The trophy is still there,
For you to go after!

Suddenly you realised...
A dream has materialsed,
You have a mission so dear,
the purpose, so clear...
With a heart so sincere...
That whatever people say ...
Does not matter!

My Destination

I am making plans .....
going to a destination,
It has all the attractions...
that defy your imagination,
I am sure you'd want to follow,
if you are in the know...

You may book the ticket,
but it has no confirmation,
suddenly you realised ...
you are at the station!
Nobody takes a ride,
even by the side..
Travelling by yourself..
You are on your own !

I have some idea,
From what I did gather,
of the place where I want to go..
It's not for everyone,
'Cos it's so special...
It's only for those... I am told,
Who are... a 'Blessed soul',

There's a magnificient palace..
made of glass and crystals,
With lovely indoor garderns..
and vast garderns outside,
with flowing rivers,
and all the wonders!

The atmosphere smells..
sweet of fragrance,
in the breeze thats blows lazy,
making you delightfully...dizzy!

With the wind that moves along,
There's singing of songs,
with voices of angels,
the rythm of which is a lullaby

You'd get all your heart's desire,
or anything you admire,
the furniture's a luxury,
and such beauty..
The carperts's so thick,
with designs never seen,
the cushions are 'comfy'..
of velvet in green,

So intelligent is your place of abode,
that anything you want...
there's a mode ...
you'd just have to think,
It will come in a blink!

Rows of handsome butlers,
Rows of preety maids,
At your command they are always good,
serving sumptous food...
and drinks of sparkling wine,
the taste of which you had never dine,

Your dress are gowns of flowing silk...
and shinning brocades,
with diamonds and jewels..,
you'd look a beauty..
as you should be,

There's no nonsense,
And nothing foul...
There's no pain to suffer,
No sadness or madness,
There's only beauty,
and serenity..
And this is the place...
Where I want to be .. !

English Again?

It is Thursday again and Thursday means I have an English class to teach. Yes, today I will teach my class grammar (tenses), just the way my teacher, old Miss Lee had taught me when I was in lower secondary school. This method of teaching will ensure that you will never forget your table of tenses. The table will have coloums of present tense, present continous, past tense, past continous, future tense and future continous and past perfect. He, he, I will have fun grilling them and making sure they will never forget the correct tenses when making their sentences! To some people this may sound boring but to me it is very interesting. Learning to use the correct tenses is the foundation of good English. A lot of reading, some writing, and the frequent use of the language in daily conversations will make you at par with the English speaking people.
Ok, now it's time for me to get ready for my English class, interested? You are welcome to join me in the class. Then my students will be able to practise their English by asking you questions or answering yours! Maassalamah! Illaliqo' (Arabic for good bye)

Ke Pasar, Ke Pasar

This morning I suddenly remembered a nursery rhyme which I learned in school when I was young. It goes like this;

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,
Home again, home again jikkejy jig,
To market, to market, to buy a fat hog,
Home again, home again, jikkejy jog.

However, today I taught Bahasa Malaysia in my class, it striked me that I should Malaysianised this poetry. Let's have a go at it:

Ke pasar, ke pasar, nak beli ikan kembung,
Terkejut, terkejut, harga naik melambung,
Ke pasar, ke pasar, nak beli ikan haruan,
Jadi hairan, jadi hairan, harga naik tak keruan!

Bertanya, bertanya, apa sudah jadi?
Itulah sebab kau orang naik gaji!
Bertanya, bertanya, siapa punya kelentong?
Fikir sama, fikir sama, kami pun nak untung!

Ke pasar, ke pasar, nak beli ikan bawal,
Dok tengok, dok tengok, susahnya nak kawal,
Balik rumah, balik rumah, ada beli gobis,
Naik lemah, naik lemah, duit pun dah habis!

My Nest

Many years back ...........
With my partner, I built my nest,
On a small hill it rests....
Nothing to shout about, my nest,
Looking around ...compared to the rest,
However, it's warm and clean,
with rows of green,
that forms a screen,
So as not to be seen !
It's so enviromental friendly,
that the birds, and squirels,
make a habit to come early,
looking for food, that is free !
In my nest were many ducklings,
grown into swans,
spread their wings,
with destination, across the ocean.
Many make me happy,
some make me wonder,
And raise questions,
which I have no answer!
Somedays the nest is empty,
somedays full of 'quacker'
But it all depends
on the season and weather,
Summer or winter!
Today.........
Alone in the nest I sit,
thinking of the past and future,
And at times like these,
I really missed,
the ducklings of yonder!
filling the nest with chatter!

Shopping for groceries

Good morning guys! Today is Monday, it is my 'shopping in bulk' day for groceries. I will be going to a wholesaler 'pemborong' to get groceries at cheaper prices. Once you have experienced purchasing in bulk you would hate to buy things 'runcit' (retail). I will give you an example; if I buy the onions (bawang besar) per kg is rm 2.20 (at the pasar or kedai runcit), but if I buy bulk at the wholesaler it will only cost me rm 7.50 per sack (8 kg) i.e. about rm 0.95 per kg. This is just one example, there are many more items that nearly cost double if you buy retail. Sometimes I think that I should be a pemborong and sell the items at cheaper prices and send direct to your homes. ( you may order on line) You will be guaranteed of quality items at cheaper prices than anywhere else ! Maybe we could send to homes in the Klang valley with minimum transport charges. Eh, how about it guys? Then you don't have to worry shopping for groceries! You will save time, energy, parking fees, bad purcase, impulse buying, etc. At the end of the day you will be saving a lot of money! If you think this is a good idea, why not try register with me? Then I will be able to guage the demand for this kind of service. This enterprise may be called 'Blogger on-line groceries' or something like that. He, he this has not been preplanned ! It looks like I got an early morning inspiration. He, he, he, this is one of mak teh's bright ideas ! You will see that mak teh has a lot of bright ideas !

Setiap Sabtu

Sabtu merupakan hari yang Mak teh boleh relax sedikit. Hari ini pelajar-pelajar disajikan dengan sarapan roti, telor cincang dan baked beans. Menu yang macam ini maid boleh sediakan tanpa ganggu tidur mak teh. Maka bangun pun tak perlu terlalu awal. Mak teh bangun sarapan tersedia, selepas sarapan boleh buat apa saja, nak ngaji ke, baca buku ke, nak blogging ke. Kadang-kadang pada pagi hari sabtu mak teh and pak Haji pergi dengar tazkirah/ceramah di masjid Negeri (depends on mood, tajuk and penceramahnya)
Pukul 8.30 pergi pasar, hari ini kena siap makanan untuk minum pagi. Tadi dah masak koay teow untuk semua pelajar-pelajar dan murid-murid junior dari sekolah lain yang join kelab memanah kita. Mereka ada pertandingan memanah tadi tu dah berpeluh-peluh kat padang sekolah. Dengar khabar ada yang menang 'bulls eye' ada yang menagis tak menang, kecewa!. Kasihan ! Budak-budak macam tu lah!
Seronok juga membena sekolah istemewa ni 'pembelajaran ilmu dunia dan akhirat'yang kita tekankan. Kita ada ko-kurikulum seperti memanah, berenang, berkawad, tae kwando, bertani, dan menunggang kuda! He, he, kalau semua orang tahu keistimewaan sekolah kita ini tentu akan buat booking awal-awal untuk anak-anak mereka dimasa hadapan! Kami mendidik pelajar-pelajar ini seperti kami mendidik anak-anak kami malahan lebih baik lagi sebab dah berpengalaman (jadi minus the mistakes that we have done when bringing up our children)(Sila lihat majallah Anis September 2007)
Petang nanti ibu-bapa akan datang menjenguk anak-anak mereka, (mereka boleh buat demikian 2 minggu sekali sahaja)Jadi nampaknya kalau mak teh keluar pun nanti nak kemana-mana, kenalah pulang sebelum jam 5 petang.
Kalau ada sesiapa yang ingin datang nak menjenguk sekolah kita ni, silalah tetapi kenalah buat appointment dahulu.

Setiap Jumaat

Assalamualaikum! Apa khabar anak-anak bloggers sakalian ? Alhamdulillah hari ini mak teh rasa bahagia, tertanya-tanya juga kenapa. Bila difikirkan mungkin kerana banyak perkara rahmat Allah limpahkan kepada saya dan keluarga. Syukur, Alhamdulillah!
Hari Jumaat seperti ini walaupun sekolah kami cuti hujung minggu mak teh, Pak Haji dan anak-anak sekolah serta anak-anak sendiri yang membantu, agak sibuk juga. Pertama kami bangun awal untuk ke masjid Negri solat subuh ( berjemaah kerana subuh jumaat ada sujud sajaddah) Lepas itu mak teh balik rumah masak sarapan untuk semua orang. Setelah sarapan pelajar-pelajar akan menghafal Al-Quran hingga 9.30 pagi. Kemudian saya ke pasar, sedangkan anak-anak semua mengemas rumah dan asrama. Anak-anak di asrama akan diberi minum pagi jam 10.30. Selalunya kami sediakan tetapi hari ini, sesekali kami beli roti canai sahaja.Selepas itu kami bolehlah rehat sedikit kerana makanan tengah hari disediakan oleh katerer, mak cik Maria. (mana boleh saya buat semua, tak terbuatlah!) Minum petang dan makan malam mak teh dan pembantu akan sediakan. Begitu lah setiap hari, cuma kadang-kadang ada orang dermawan datang menghantar makanan bersedekah untuk pelajar-pelajar tahfiz ni. Kalau dermawan tu telah telefon sehari sebelum hantar makanan itu, 'save' lah kita sedikit belanja.
Alhamdulillah mak teh, Pak haji dan anak-anak seronok buat kerja yang 'orang tak suroh ni' tak tahu nak cerita tetapi terasa juga nikmatnya! Semua yang baik datang dari Allah (SWT). Syukur kita masih hidup dan ditemukan dengan hari Jumaat ini.

Shopping for Food at Supermarkets.

Today I will be going to the supermarket to shop for food. I do this once a week. Now I would like to share with you something that I have discovered about shopping at supermarkets. First thing is you have to beware of the discount items. They are usually items with near expiring dates. I discovered this when I bought 2 trays of eggs at cheap price last month at a well known supermarket. My maid told me that at least 6 eggs out of each tray were bad. So actually it was not a good buy ! You have to lookout for those items being heaped up, strategically placed to attract your attention, they may be calling out to you "Hey I'm cheap but I am going to the dump tomorrow!"
The other thing for you to beware are cheap items especially vegetables form China, they are dumping it here! With the reports in the papers that they may be laced with chemicles etc, I wonder why the authorities still allow such imports to be sold here! Now we as consumers are urged to be 'intelligent consumers'. So folks beware, it looks like it has become the rule of ancient times 'Buyers Beware'. Nobody is going to take care of you, your safety, your health, or you money BUT you yourself!

Have I Really Aged?

Hello guys! I am quite exhausted today because for the past three days had been very busy. Today suddenly the reality that I have indeed aged hits me! I am feeling soo tired and exhausted. All these while, I have managed to feel young because the rythm of my daily life has been quite the same. I have no menantu and cucu yet, the girls at the publishers and other young friends had refused to call me mak cik they call me kakak, then hubby and me had for ages used the four wheel-drive (like young people?)and we love driving long distances day or night, then we love the company of young people especially our students. Well as they say, age does not matter as long as you feel youg at heart, you are young. However quite sad to tell you that when the body aches, then your heart no longer manage to feel young! And then you would not feel like taking that overseas trips that you have been planning! Fortunately when our family was younger we had taken the children almost everywhere (locally lah!) Overseas, the whole family togethter? Only once.
So you young people out there, what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and take your children along. Believe me they will remember the trip for a lifetime! However plan well and budget for the trip first.

The Recipe 'Acar Buah Utara'

I am thinking how to present the recipe sebab tak pandai nak cerita, also I have never seen a recipe for this dish. I am a novel writer not a recipe writer.Ok, I will try, it goes like this:
Bahan untuk menumis, chili kering, bawang merah ( sedap yang siam), bawang putih, halia, minyak masak, gula, cuka (I use yang asli eg imported heinz brand, apple cider vinegar or vegetable vinegar), rempah campur dan bijan. Bahan buah-buahan, limau jeruk (important ingredient,order from pekan rabu alor setar), belimbing kering (buat sendiri), bawang putih, bawang merah, kurma, kismis, prune cina, segala buah-buah asam cina, lobak masin, buah pala halua, segala benda asam yang kering sesuka hati.
Cara membuatnya: bahan buah-buahan hendaklah di bersihkan toskan, yang besar tu potonglah, kemudian celur semua bahan buah-buahan tu, satu persatu berasingan (lihat gambar). Next, sedia bahan untuk ditumis. Chili kering, setelah dibersihkan toskan. Lepas tu semua bahan-bahan nak tumis tu hendaklah digoreng dahulu (separuh masak) sebelum diblenderkan berasingan. So mula tumis panaskan minyak, masukkan chili, bawang puti, bawang merah, halia, kacau sampai wangi, lepastu masukan gula(banyak juga), kacau sampai gula hancur (lama gak biar gula masak hingga sebati dengan bahan lain tadi) Lepastu masukkan vinegar(agak je ada rasa masam cuka) then masukkan garam (jangan banyak sebab jeruk kita ada yang masin)Kacau lama sampai mendidih.Mustahak rasa dulu kuah ni sampai sedap ikut taste sendiri. Lepas tu baru masukkan bahan buah-buahan tadi yang keras awal yang lembut akhir. Kacau sampai masak naik minyak dan nampak gulanya 'berkaca'. Akhir sekali gorengkan rempah campuran dalam kuali angkat masukkan kedalam periuk acar tadi, begitu juga bijan, goreng dan masukkan. Then rasalah, Hmmmmm sedaaaaap! Selamat Mencuba!

The Acar Buah Utara is Ready!

Hi Guys! What I have promised you for the last few days is now ready! It took me nearly the whole morning (about 2 hours) preparing the ingridients and the whole afternoon to do the cooking ( nearly 3 hours). So its satisfaction and happiness after I have comleted the dish. When I tasted the finished product, hmmmm, it's so deliciously sour, sweet and spicy. This recipe originated from Kedah. In the north, a feast for the wedding will not be complete without the Acar Buah. The person who taught me this recipe did not give any details as to the quantity of the ingredients. So if you are asking me for the recipe I can onlt tell you the ingridients and the steps of cooking. As to the proportion of each ingriedient, I 'hentam saja' as I like. You have to use logic when you estimate the proportion of each ingridient. Now I am too tired to list out the ingredients and the steps of cooking. May be I will do that tomorrow. So for now feast your eyes on the lovely looking and appetising Acar Buah! He, he, he.

My Pendant

Do you remember last week I posted the photos of my children. One of the girls is Lia. She's also known as the 'loket' or pendant in the family. You see I have 9 chilren and they are arranged in such a way that if they stringed like a necklace, Lia falls in the middle like the pendant. My first born is a girl, then I have 2 boys, the 3 girls, then 2 boys, the youngest is a girl. Lia, the fifth child, came in between the 2 sisters. Among my children she's the most ardent horse rider and it goes without saying that she love horses! Have a look at how Lia progressed.

Cooking Postponed !

Hello guys ! I am sorry to present you an anti-climax, the planned great event for today i.e the cooking of the much awaited 'Acar Buah Utara'had to be postponed! Reason being my beloved husband had dragged me to the Dusun to accompany him. You see he could not go without taking me along because his assistant, our gardener is a female (actually we have two maids and one is the cook while the other one acts as the gardener) So when my husband needs an assistant to do planting of trees he needs his assistant and she is very good at it. She is strong and very skill in the art of planting and gardening. We are considerd lucky to have the two maids. Between the two of them, they are able to tackle most of the jobs at home and in the garden plus the dusun as well.The only disadvantage is that I have to go to the dusun eventhough sometimes I prefer to stay at home doing blogging! So my son had suggested, to solve such a problematic situation,I should upgrade to mobile blogging.He, he, he too advance for me just few weeks back was gropping about blogging.
Anyway, I will try to update you tomorrow if able to do the cooking. Sorry mak lang, see you tomorrow ok?

Cooking, My Style !

Today I have to start planning to cook the famous 'Acar Buah Utara' which I have to promised to give as gifts to the entry winner in my blog. Remember I promised those entry which is number 50th, 75th and 100th will receive a bottle of my home made 'Acar Buah Utara'. I havent counted who are the winners yet, but I was thinking before I do that I have to cook the Acar Buah first!
Now I am excited about the cooking. You see I am not a good cook like Mak Lang, I have never been a good cook! Then how come I can cook and claim to be able to cook delicious dishes?(You may ask ) I will let you into my secret, actually I only started to cook seriouly less than 10 years back. However I am gifted with the imagination of the good taste for good and delicious food. Eventhough I did not do the cooking during my younger days, I know what went wrong when the food tasted lowsy. And I am very particular that the taste should come out perfect.My first maid was very much aware of that, that she had complained to my mother " Kak Cik doesn't know how to cook but she knows how to complain about my cooking!" (That was when I was young just married at age of 23 and the maid was local more like a sister).
So my cooking of this dish start with me asking the maid whether all the ingridients needed are available. I had listed the ingridients to her and she is to make sure all are availble. Then I told her that I want to cook this dish tomorrow afternoon. So now it is her duty to do the neccessay things ie make sure ingridients are are available and ready for the big Chef to cook by 2 pm tomorrow! Easy isn't it? He, he,he. (jangan marah mak lang! Esok saya cerita macam mana saya masak)

For the Love of Languages

Today is Thursday again and what does Thursday brings me? Early this morning I had scanned my brain to see my schedule for today. Yes I remember thursday means I have an English class to teach. I love teaching English especially to my Form 1 classes. You see some of them were so engrossed with my teaching that their jaw dropped and mouth openened. At that moment you know that you are a good teacher and you feel the pleasure of teaching. Its funny though, I discovered that I enjoy teching English more than Bahasa Malaysia. Its not that I like Bahasa Malaysia less. it's my 'mother tongue'. It's just that I found Bahasa Malaysia is harder to teach! Of course I love teaching the classic pantuns, the simpulan bahasa and perumpamaan and the essays. Other than that am not so good in my teaching of Bahasa. That reminds me, I should go and do a crash course with puan Adibah Amin. She is reputed to be a very good teacher of both English and Bahasa Malaysia. She has published several books on both subjects.
I have to end here, its nearly time! I am off to my English class!Cherrio and remember to always be good to your mother whoevever and whatever you are!

Meet the Queen of fruits, the Mangosteen.

Today is rather busy day for me. First I had to finish compiling photos and write up for an article in a magazine. Then I have to teach the Bahasa Class. Then I went to the market, after that I felt thirsty (today not fasting) Iwent to buy the quite famous cendol in sec 16. Then I had Lunch. As I looked outside, the sky is very dark, so naturally it reminds me of my mak long. ( Much earlier I told you about mak long who never like dreary weather it makes her miserable) Yesterday promised my dusun caretaker that we will be going to the dusun because she had informed us that the manggis fruits (mangosteen) has started to get ripe. ( I'm not sure whether we will be going in this kind of weather) Manggis gets ripe in stages, so we have to go and collect every other day. If the Durian is known as the king of fruits, the mangosteen is known as the queen of fruits. The ripe mangosteen has a beautiful 'mangosteen purple' colour. Now with the many claims of mangosteen fruits and leaves have medicinal propertieas and there are firms which are manufacturing such products, I have warned my caretaker to look out for people who may come to strip our trees off their leaves! Nowadays yuo cant stay in peace, anthing that will bring money ,bad people will come and steal! So beware!

Do You Know ?

Hello there! Good morning! I have realised that there are many things we do not know but those things are within the knowledge of some others. I would like to share this knowledge with others. My idea is to compile the things that I know through my reading, experience and information passed down to me of which you may or may not know. If the collection makes good reading material then I will publish a book to be named "101 Things You May Not Know" or in Bahasa Malaysia " 101 Perkara Yang Anda (Mungkin) Tidak Tahu" Off and on I will enter a few entries on this subject in my blog. You may comment and say whether you have already known about that or that its new to you.
I am happy to note that the number of visitors to my blog is increasing daily. However most of them are silent readers. So to encourage comments I am going to offer gifts to the comment entry in my blog number 50th, 75th and the 100th ( for this I will count from the first entry by fellow blogger,OO. I will approve all entries that are not obnoxious. You may want to know what is the nature of the gifts. It will be in the form of a bottle of homemade(by Mak Teh), acar buah utara (very deliciously appetising!) On top of that if the entry is a very good and positive one, I will add another bonus, a bottle of tempoyak (home-made A grade, product of our dusun, lovely taste like grade A cheese) Whoever wins (or the representative)will have to collect the gift or gifts at a place in Kuala Lumpur). Thank you for your interest and happy blogging with comments entries in my blog! Good Luck!He, he, he.