Friday, August 31, 2012

Tanjong Tuan, Port Dickson



(the entrance to the forest reserve)


(after the guardhouse, its uphill all the way....)

(hubby taking a break at the 1st pitt stop)

(the 2nd pitt stop)

(hubby showing how huge the meranti tree trunk is)

(the entrance to the birds' sanctuary)

 
(view of the lighthouse...need to climb those steps.....phew!)

(close up of the lighthouse)

 
(me with the Meranti tree)

(the public toilet....its free)

(walking sticks by the side at the entrance....also free, but please return after use)



It was fifth Syawal that hubby and I went to Port Dickson and stayed at the PNB Ilham Beach Resort.  We did not make any bookings, so we were lucky when a deluxe room was available for us.  The room was on the ground floor, near the swimming pool.  It was quite noisy since there were children playing at the pool.  To me, it does not matter, let all children make a lot of noise, it shows that they are having fun...lots of fun..and when children laughs...it is music to my ears....

So, we had dinner at the hotel's restaurant. After dinner, we sat by the pool area and enjoyed the cool breeze with music blaring from the outdoor karaoke area. How I wish I could mute the loud so unds coming from the karaoke area....To me, it was just too loud!  So we head to our room and watched tv instead.  The room has a large king size bed (wink wink), comfortable sofas, and a large flatscreen tv.

The next morning, after breakfast, we head to Tanjong Tuan Forest Reserve and ascend to its lighthouse atop the hill.  From the guard house, the climb was quite steep...luckily there was a nice gondola for us to rest awhile.  Then we continued our ascend and reached the lighthouse ten minutes later.



We went around the lighthouse and had an awesome view of the sea beneath.  We could see the 'spinning tide' (ombak pusing) from the lighthouse.  We sat and enjoyed the view.  From the lighthouse, I wanted to descend to the beach below, but hubby said, perhaps next time, because, since it was a Friday, hubby had to go to the mosque for Friday prayers.  It was almost noon when we returned to the hotel and after checking out, we drove to Pedas via Linggi.  Hubby had his Friday prayers at the Pedas mosque.  I stayed at Lizloteng (our abode in Pedas) while waiting for hubby.  We returned to Kajang after asar.



Thursday, August 30, 2012

kerbau oh kerbau


(our kerbaus at the farm...)

(the lone kerbau..... a male searching for his mate...)

(wanna join our mud bath?? We have 'beautiful' Hyde....)

(Hellooooo......)


At our farm, we have a herd of kerbau, besides our cattle and sheep.  In Negeri Sembilan, kerbau meat are cooked, rendang style.  It is the main dish at some of the Malay wedding here in Negeri Sembilan.





Sunday, August 26, 2012

Tak Salah Kalau Perempuan Meminang Lelaki



Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Eid Mubarak 2012

 (the whole family...after Eid prayers)

 (the men in my life.....)

 (my children with their brother-in-law)

 (me with my darling hubby...muuuuaahhhhh...)

 (with all my daughters...)

(my wonderful children...)


Eid Mubarak was celebrated Sunday 19 August here in Malaysia.  After our Eid Mubarak prayers at Kajang mosque, we took the above pictures using Sofiyah's lumix digital camera (she got that for her 13th birthday).  Wahid was the official photographer....

Anyway, poor kak long....she was unwell when the photos were taken.  She was still having morning sickness, in fact, she just vomited when we took the above photographs.   (InshaAllah, I will have a grandchild in March next year).

Kak Long and her husband did not follow us to my parents' house in Seremban, since she could not travel the distance.  So, she and her husband stayed home.  

When we reached Seremban, my brother Zulfitri was trying to fix the florescent bulb, but since he was a bit on the heavy side, my son Khairulzaman volunteered. But then, he could not do it, so, my husband then tried. He too was unsuccessful.  Finally, my eldest son Badruzzaman did it.  Yeyyy!!

 (Khairulzaman tried.....)

 (then hubby tried....)

 (finally Badruzzaman.....)

 At my parent's house, the step ladder was not long enough for my sons to reach the light bulb, so my dad used the baby cot and put the step ladder onto it.  The whole family participated.....three generations....hehehe....


 

Monday, August 20, 2012

Balik Kampung...

(Saraan, all packed and ready to go...)
(Saraan with his boss (my hubby)
Saraan, who has worked with us for the last two years, returned to his village in Lombok last Tuesday evening.  Hubby and I sent him to LCCT Sepang after asar prayers.  His flight to Bali was at 8.25pm, and he had a connecting flight to Lombok the following day.

I bought four sets of 'telekung' (prayer robe for women), made in Vietnam, for all my Indonesian workers' mothers.  So, Saraan will have to pass it on to them.  My other Indonesian workers, also from Lombok, are Rizal, Bahar and Ghouslan.  Rizal and Bahar had already celebrated Eid Mubarak last year at their village.  Ghouslan's turn will be next year, InshaAllah.  All my workers are somehow related to each other.

They are all very young, still in their early twenties, and having to leave home, away from their mothers, to earn a living, I salute them.  They have framed pictures of their mothers in their rooms at our farm.  Whatever amount they earned, they will send back to their mothers.  All of them have lost their fathers.  Rizal's father passed away three months ago.

When I asked them why send so much home, they said, so that their mothers could buy back the land they mortgaged. Whatever extras, they will renovate their dilapidated house.

Saraan was so happy to be able to buy two sets of weed killer machine to bring home for his mother and uncle.  He said now his mother no longer needs to borrow the machine every time after harvesting their padi.

Well, Saraan will be away for a month.  He will return two weeks after Eid Mubarak.  He called on the eve of Eid Mubarak to wish our family Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin.







Thursday, August 9, 2012

The Throne room....



When I was working in the Production Controller (Rubber), Kumpulan Guthrie Sdn Bhd, in Siliau, Negeri Sembilan (1974-1979), I was the Confidential Stenographer and my boss was Mr D J Barry (Dermott James Barry).  Mr Sethu was the CC (Chief Clerk). Our office was next to Guthrie Rubber Processing Sdn Bhd (GRPSB), Siliau.  Its Manager was Mr D Pritchard. 

Anyway, Mr Barry, Mr Sethu and I shared the only toilet in our office, and Mr Sethu named the toilet 'the Throne Room'.  So, if anyone were looking for our Boss, and he was in the toilet, Mr Sethu would say, "He's in the throne room".

So, I will now name the toilet in my homestay, 'the Throne Room' too.....hehehe.....The 'throne' already installed, now waiting for the door which our contractor said will be installed this coming Saturday.



Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Our 30th wedding anniversary


Today is our 30th wedding anniversary, and if we were to include from the day we knew each other, that would be an additional ten years.... From being pen-pals, being a couple and now happily married.... Of course, it has not been smooth sailing, but then it would certainly be a boring journey if there are no challenges along the way...


(the view from the restaurant at sunset)

This year, our anniversary falls during the month of Ramadhan.  So, since yesterday was a public holiday in Selangor, we drove to the farm in Pedas, to check on our homestay project.  Then, after asar prayers at the farm, we decided to break fast at the Medan Ikan Bakar in Pasir Panjang, Port Dickson. The journey from the farm to Pasir Panjang was about thirty minutes.

Then, as we drove from Linggi town, we came across this dilapidated kampung house which has this unique staircase.  We fell in love with the design and decided to build one like that for our homestay.


(hubby took this picture...very amateurish...hehehee..)

Ermmm....but then, can only start building after Eid Mubarak....(our beloved contractor said).  Well...we can wait...since the back portion of the homestay is ready for accommodation.....

The reason why my hubby wants the staircase to look like that is because, he wants our 'cucus' (future grandchildren) to slide on both sides of the staircase.  Underneath the staircase there will be a tunnel for them to play hide n seek.... Hahahaha....and he said he's not ready to have 'cucus' now.....

Anyway, after we broke our fast at the medan ikan bakar (we ate grilled siakap, sambal sotong, buttered prawns, kai lan ikan masin, and kembong masak asam pedas), we had our maghrib prayers at the mosque in Pasir Panjang town.  Then, we stopped at the Telok Kemang mosque for our Eshaq and Terawih prayers.

Hubby told me if they do 20 rakaats of terawih, we do only 8 rakaats plus 3 witr, since we have to return to Kajang.  But then, at this mosque they do 10 rakaats, and half hour of tazkirah, then only 3 rakaats witr.  When the lady praying next to me told me there will be half hour of tazkirah, I excused myself and did my 3 rakaats witr.  Then I waited for hubby at the car park.  The tazkirah lasted only 5 mins.  Aiyaaaaa!! So, I waited for hubby to finish his witr with the congregation.

When hubby saw me at the car park, he told me he asked this young boy to look for me at the ladies prayer hall and to call out my name very loud.  Of course no one answered since I already left the hall.  Hehehe....... Hubby was relieved when he found me waiting at the car park.

We stopped at A&W Seremban, on our way to Lekas highway, to quench our thirst. We reached home safely just before midnight. Alhamdullilah.



Saturday, August 4, 2012

Morning Sickness - Tips to overcome



I have borne six wonderful children during my marriage of thirty years.  For each and every pregnancy, I experienced morning sickness.  My eldest daughter who is now six weeks pregnant, and having to endure morning sickness too, asked me how I managed to ‘survive’ during those periods.

This is my story….

When I became pregnant for the first time, I was so happy…who wouldn’t, right?  Anyway, I was still working as a Confidential Secretary in a huge and reputable mining organization in Kuala Lumpur.  I was with the Engineering Department (Oil and Gas).  Anyway, besides me and another five female staff, the rest are all male.  They are either engineers or draughtsmen.

Morning sickness does not attack only in the mornings…they hit you all day… You cannot eat, cannot drink, in fact, anything you consumed, even the most scrumptious, will be vomited.  That was what I experienced during the first trimester.

At work, I was lucky because I had a very understanding acting boss (my own boss, Encik Hussin Omar was overseas).  He was Encik Mohd Seth Bakar.  When Encik Seth caught me a few times not sitting at my desk, and seeing me sitting, but with my head ON my desk…he told me to go home and rest… So, hubby sent me to my parents’ house in Seremban where my mother took care of me.


The first thing my mother did was to use this old shoe string (lace), where she made seven knots equally spaced, and tied it around my neck.  Voila! I now have a shoe string necklace.  When I asked her why seven knots? She just answered that was what her mother taught her.  No chance for me to ask her mother then, because she had passed on. Al Fatihah.

So, there I was, wearing the ‘necklace’ 24/7 until I stopped having morning sickness.  I was lucky, because my morning sickness lasted only three months. Well, wearing the ‘necklace’ did help, because it managed to control my vomiting, meaning I did not vomit so frequently in a day.

But then, morning sickness is not only throwing up (vomit), sometimes you get headache too, but very mild.  Your sense of smell becomes so sensitive that a whiff of anything that comes from the kitchen, makes you vomit too. So, during my morning sickness period, I avoid entering the kitchen.  I kept all my biscuits and a jug of ‘air mati’ (warm water) in my bedroom.  In fact, I stayed in my bedroom all the time, either sleeping or just lying in bed and watching television but not seeing….Felt like a zombie too…

I was also wearing a mask covering my nose and mouth.  I did not use a surgical mask, I took my hubby’s handkerchief, fold it into a triangle and tied it at the back of my head.  Voila! Just like a bank robber in a cowboy movie! Hehehee….. So, every time I leave my bedroom, I will put on the mask.  That was during baby no.1.  From baby no.2 onwards, I use disposable surgical mask….

I cannot remember whether I was hospitalized when I had morning sickness during my first pregnancy, but I do remember being hospitalized from my second until my sixth pregnancy.  My O & G specialist, Dr S Maheswaran, delivered all my six children at Pantai Hospital.  Each time I became pregnant and had severe morning sickness, I was hospitalized  for a few days. 

When I had morning sickness, I lost a lot of weight.  My husband said I became so skinny….Of course, I lost my appetite during that period, but my desire to eat was there. I would ask hubby to buy me assam laksa, roasted chicken wings, roasted chestnut (buah berangan) etc… Then when dear hubby brought it home, I would only eat a spoonful, that also I would throw up again!! Dear hubby sure was very patient with me during my morning sickness days….. I remembered he had to drive all the way to :Petaling Street to buy buah berangan because he could not find any in Kajang those days….That also I only took a bite!  Hehehe….

Well, there were instances where hubby got to drive in the middle of the night and look for mee goring mamak because I was suddenly craving for it just when he was about to sleep….. Well, if husbands did not fulfill any of his wife’s desires (especially food), can blame the husband if the newborn baby started to drool all day as he/she gets older each day…..(Thank Allah, none of my children had that drooling problem when they were babies...)

So, to my dear daughters, when you are pregnant, observe the following:-

1) Do your solat
2) Read the Holy Quran
3) Obey your husband (Taat pada suami kamu)
4) Your husband obey his parents (Suami taat kepada kedua ibu bapanya)

After every solat, doa to Allah that you have a normal delivery, a healthy baby who will become anak yang soleh/solehah. Amiin.




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