Across the Land

A day before Christmas. It was my son's wedding reception day held a week after the bride's event in Singapore . This was a Malay wedding but did not fully follow all the Malay ceremonial rites like sitting demurely on a special dais' (bersanding) and being sprinkled with rose water. Let's first watch the much appreciated video which was produced by my youngest daughter's friend. If you have the time, you might want to scroll down to see some or all the photos in this post.

The wedding reception on the my side went off well, Alhamdulillah. It was not that tiring doing it at the house contrary to the opinion of a few others. However, I got a mild fever and flu the next day, the only one to get it. The preparation wasn't that tough but it was time consuming; the problems were more to getting the right things or getting things right rather than having to many things to do. All was needed was quick decision making and getting the right people do the work. And more important, to have the bucks ever ready! Therefore, the only cooperation I needed first was from my other half. Then, from my family including my dear mother and sisters, niece and nephew, who were up front, cleaning, tidying up, cooking, etc a week before the event. I was out of the house most of the days up to the reception day, doing all the shoppings. I did the small house decorations gradually at nights, usually when people were asleep and I hit the pillow usually after midnites, sometim...

My only son is now married to the only daughter of Mr Jumahat and Kak Ani. She cried some tears before leaving our house after the KL reception which made me feel sorry for her. I quite understand her feelings but I wasn't good with words I didn't know how to comfort her. We just hugged each other and I hopefully know how to be a good MIL to her Yana. Sigh. The marriage solemnization was held in Woodland, the home of the bride in Singapore on the night of 16th of December, 2012. We had the wedding in this month because we had to wait for Ismah to finish her major examination, SPM, on the 6th. My family were accompanied by my younger SIL's family and the children's grandmothers. At the ground floor of the apartment building before going up to the bride's apartment

I have been to Sogo 4 days in a row! I bought things which later I found I didn't need them but something else. Like, I thought the simple cotton sateen bedsheet was the one more practical than the commonly used ruffle and lacy wedding bedsheet. And that, after paying it up 2 days ago! I had to go up to the 7th floor to enquire whether I could get my money back if I return it the next day since I had brought the wrong one to the store! I couldn't wait since there were only 3 sets left and they would be gone if I came back the next day. 'Yes, you can', they said. I was so happy my long face went back to square. My family has avoided me since I knew my son put the wrong one in the car boot.  So, the bedsheet things was settled. I also had to buy one more 'bekas hantaran' which my daughter had been looking high and low in Shah Alam. It also couldn't be found in Sg Buloh stores. We found the rectangular form at Semua House but then we had problem with the r...

According to Wikipedia, " Kuih  (also  kueh ,  kue , or  kway ; from  Hokkien : 粿  koé ) are bite-sized snack or dessert foods found in the  Malay Archipelago  as well as the Southern China  provinces of  Fujian  and  Canton .  Kuih is a fairly broad term which may include items that would be called  cakes ,  cookies ,  dumplings ,  pudding ,  biscuit , or  pastries  in English and  are usually made from  rice  or  glutinous rice   Kuih are more often steamed than baked, and thus very different in texture, flavour and appearance from Western cakes or puff pastries. Many kuihs are sweet, but some are savory." Well. I have just used wiki to help me explain what 'kueh' means. Lazy kueh is translated from the Malay word 'kuih malas' which terms come from the state of Kelantan. It's named as such because it's very simple to make. The more common name for it is 'c...

Finally my kampung gets electricity! That means my mother's house will have a refrigerator which is greatly needed and we are able to switch on the lights whenever we want to. With the previous individual generator supplier, the lights were switched on at 6 pm till 11pm and then, the oil lamps would see us to the next dawn. Without constant supply, you cannot imagine how the kampung folks survived and dealt with food storage during the festival celebrations. My mother was really an expert on this. My children quite love this 'quiet' life of their mum's kampung and objected to their grandma's intention to move to the town. Wallace Bay is located on the Malaysian part of the Island of Sebatik. The other part belongs to Indonesia. It is said that, there are houses which are built on the boundary making half part of the houses stand on the soil of either one of the countries. The shore of Wallace Bay as the boat is approaching the jetty at far right. The ...

So.. The wedding is to take place after a nine month engagement period. The cards are out and a Facebook event is created. Most major things have been taken care of too. Across the causeway, heard that, they are almost done. Very efficient. It's still quiet here at the home of the bridegroom. We have to get things done NOW. No more talking, talking, I told my family. Ha ha ha. The bridegroom seems relaxed but who knows what he is thinking. I hope you are ready to say farewell to your bachelorhood. Let's take a look at him  beginning from almost 28 years ago. The pictures are taken from the album which has been neglected for such a long time which explains their blurriness. Instead of using scanners, I used my BB phone. I was a little choked when I went through the album and felt all my love for him then. How I miss the kisses, the cuddles and the hugs! When my son looked at the photos of himself, he told me his children will look cute like him. And went on to show why. ...