Heaven's Door...

“The past is never where you think you left it...” - Katherine Anne Porter

Heaven's Door

Life used to have meaning, used to be so good,
I had everything a woman wanted, or so I understood,
Cars, houses, family, money and an ambition for still more,
But now I spend my lonely thoughts just knocking,
knocking on Heaven's door.

Penang: Blissful escape...

“Traveler’s heart never settled long in one place…”

Penang - KL

The alarm woke us up at 4.45 a.m. We heated the food we bought last night in the microwave and had ice-cream for dessert. The master bath-room had no hot water so we showered in the other bathroom. Need to report this to the caretaker. After subuh we continued our sleep till 9.30 a.m. Later, we handed over the keys to the caretaker and took the Balik Pulau route to get out of Penang Island.

The journey home was smooth except for a few road blocks and speed traps. We reached Tapah R&R and took an hour nap then continued our journey after solat. We reached home before 5 p.m.

Penang: Relaxing retreat...

“We travel as seekers after answers we cannot find at home…”

Mount Pleasure, Penang

My mind was bogged up with work and heavy job-related assignments. With the on-going project needing close monitoring, a short break away from office would be therapeutic to the body and mind.

This morning we woke up for sahur at 4.30 a.m. after subuh started off to Penang. Stopped at Tapah R&R and had an hour nap. We were rudely woken up by people passing by the car. Continued our journey and reached Penang Resort Kompleks around noon. Collected the key to Mount Pleasure Condo. We were supposed to check-in after 4 p.m. but the caretaker was kind enough to allow us to check-in early. Bought some tit-bits at 7-eleven for the berbuka. The double-story apartment was at 14th floor and the scenery was nice, overlooking the long stretch of the Feringgi Beach.

We slept the whole afternoon and woke up in time for berbuka. After solat we drove around Penang town and stopped at the food court at Fort Conwallis and had sotong bakar for starters. The food stalls at one time used to be bustling with people, but now were empty and showed little business Bought some cheap CDs but unfortunate for the seller, his stall was raided just after we left. Decided to go to Nandos for dinner and later had an hour of foot reflexology. Went to Subaidah Restaurant to pack some food for the bersahur.

Too sleepy to watch CD, we retired early to bed and sleep soundly.

Family Iftar...

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter...” - E.E. Cummings

When he came home we decided to go to Sungai Buluh R&R to buy satay Samuri for the berbuka puasa. As they have just open for business, we could either wait and have a nap at the surau or come back an hour later to pick-up our order. The traffic was heavy but we were lucky to ride the Big-bike and managed to beat the massive jam.

Tonight we have organised berbuka puasa for the family. Lan brought nasi lemak bungkus for main dish, I prepared kuah lodeh and nasi empit. Noh brought fruits for dessert and Latif brought roti boom. Shah, Zin and Ros couldn't join us tonight. While the men went for Terawih, the ladies were having a good time touching base with each other.

As a parting gift, I sedekah a set of telekong for the ladies for them to use for Solat Aidil-fitri.

Majlis berbuka puasa...

“Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about...” - Marilyn Monroe

(A spread of sumptuous dishes)

These past few nights, I have been having berbuka puasa with vendors and suppliers.

Last night, Dato' Nik invited us for berbuaka at Diatas Brasserie, Legend Hotel. The night before, MCM organised the iftar at their office in Shah Alam. And tonight, the department is organising the Iftar too. Somehow I have to choose between joining the Puspanita or my staff and I decided to be with my people. We managed to gather quite a number of staff and family although we have mobilised nearly half the department for courses and consignments. For those who were unable to join, we have packed some kueh-mueh to bring home. Hubby came from work and Sara came later to join us. The committee has invited an Ustaz to deliver ceramah and also to lead us in Solat Terawih. We ordered food from Che Dan Catering. The food was in abundance and tasty.

After solat terawih, they cleaned up and packed us some food. Sara and I drove home separately. Slept quite late watching movie on Astro.

Imam Mesjid Maluri...

“You can only be young once. But you can always be immature...” - Dave Barry

I drove to UIA to fetch Sara. Sara and I will be going back to Melaka. Tonight we were having the berbuka puasa with the family. Zai came earlier to help in the kitchen. Abang and family came later in the evening together with Abu Dzar. Ever since Abu Dzar came back from Cairo, he has been appointed the Imam in Mesjid Maluri. Before iftar, we had a small kenduri and tahlil and later went to the masjid in 2 cars.

Tonight Abu Dzar led the jemaah in Solat Terawih and we felt so proud of him to be able to lead as imam at an age so young.

Cultured stones...

“Life isn't finding shelter in the storm. It's about learning to dance in the rain...” - Sherrilyn Kenyon

 

After office we drove to 1-utama and berbuka puasa in the car sharing a bar of chocolate and half a bottle of water found in the glove compartment of Sara’s car. 

After solat magrib at the surau, we shared a bowl of Asam Laksa at Laksa Shack for dinner. Tonight we decided to look for taps and bidets for the bathrooms of our Putramas apartment. Jusco Home Centre was quite complete with home furnishings and we found what we were looking for. We also have a look at cultured stones and imagine the living room will look cool with one wall plastered with these stone.

We must remember to take the measurement of the wall the next time we visit the apartment.

The Car Clinic...

“Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace...” - Robert J. Sawyer

Yeah! I’m on leave today. Hubby is on off half day and will be going to work in the afternoon. First, he sent the Kia to the workshop. The car is in need for a little repainting job and I will be using Sara’s car to go to work. Then he checked on the Big-foot. The Big-foot has not been able to start since I can't recall when. Called the mechanic to tow away the 4x4 to the workshop. Hopefully it’s nothing serious. Have left the big-foot idle for too long.

At home I prepared cream caramel to bring to Subang. At Zu's house the makan-makan was meriah and they prepared plenty of food. We solat terawih at the nearby mosque then I drove home and slept early feeling dead tired...

Leisure, relaxing retreat...

“If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison' it is certain to disagree with you sooner or later...” - Lewis Carroll

(A relaxing tranquil date...)

We slept again after subuh and woke up very late.

We were supposed to go back to Melaka for our family gathering. But yesterday I received a call from Mak to inform that the kenduri tonight has been postponed to next weekend.

Today we decided to go for urut at our spas. We drove to Sri Hartamas. We dropped hubby at 3R spa to indulge in a strong body massage by Pak Su. Sara and I went to Sri Dewi Spa for our traditional massage. I have only one session left and need to sign-up for a new package. Later, the two of us berbuka with roti canai and roti boom with rendang daging. Sara went to buka puasa at a friend's house in Sri Gombak.

Something simple...

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once…” - Albert Einstein

 

Yesterday I berbuka puasa with Ja. Today when I reached home Ja was not at home but Sara was asleep in her room. She came back earlier after her class. Cooked something simple for our juadah for the berbuka. Later we drove to Mesjid Al-Firdaus for solat terawih.

After solat terawih I watched a movie on Astro but fell asleep halfway. Slept soundly until the alarm woke us up around 4.30 a.m. for bersahur.

First day of puasa...

“The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection…” - George Orwell

This morning we woke up at 4.30 a.m. enough time to solat and had a simple meal of sup and ikan kering. After subuh we slept again till 7.30 a.m. when we have to get ready to office. The whole day was filled with meetings.

As today is the first day of puasa, dinner was home-cooked and later we went for solat terawih at the nearby masjid in the drizzling rain…

Selamat Berpuasa...

Ramadhan al-Mubarak...

“Time is priceless, but it’s Free. Once you've lost it you can never get it back...” - Audrey Niffenegger

'

bahang ramadhan kian terasa

saat syaaban menampil diri

dan tanpa sedar berlari

meninggalkan kita

merentas hari dan waktu

tanpa perlu kita menghitung

dalam kiraan panjang kehidupan

ramadhan bakal datang

menjengah diri dalam

rekahan nafsu insan

yang bergelodak sepanjang musim

dalam diam meriak kesedaran

buat mukmin yang patuh

pada yang maha khalik

ramadhan datang lagi

untuk mengulangi tuntutan hakiki

sambil berputar fikiran ini

bertanya pada diri

apakah ramadhan kali ini

sama seperti akhir kali

yang banyak di biarkan berlalu

tanpa di isi dengan iqra dan zikir

tanpa tasbih dan takbir...

syukur pada ilahi kerana ramadhan masih sempat di tempuhi...

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT KEDATANGAN BULAN RAMADHAN AL-MUBARAK DAN SELAMAT MENUNAIKAN IBADAH PUASA 1426H

Kenduri kendara...

“Fools talk, cowards are silent, wise men listen...” - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

On Saturday, we went to the apartment to inspect the progress of the renovation. Not too bad. At least we could see some improvements compared to last week. On the way to Badrul's house in Segambut for lunch, we detour to have a look at the progress of our Mandy Villa apartment. It was near completion and I guess soon we have to look for tenants.

On Sunday, we went to Lan’s house at Bukit Beruntung for kenduri tahlil and cukur jambul followed by marhaban. All of Aya’s family was there. Except for us, none of hubby's adik beradik came. We had a good home-cooked meal although the weather was too hot for comfort especially for the men who stayed outside under the tent.