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!