Keputusan PMR 2008

Alhamdulillah, keputusan PMR anak amat meggembirakan semua. Tahniah diucapkan kepada rakan2 sebaya seperti Yasmin dan Miera (sorry, makcik ingat nama2 tu aje :-) ). Apa pun, Ting 4 nanti, jangan jadikan tahun 'honeymoon'. Mesti berusaha tanpa jemu kerana usaha itu disaran olehNya.
The results were collected from the school hall at around 1pm and she informed me about it 20mins later. Thanks a bunch to her Muallim and Muallimah of SM Islam Al Amin, Bangi for helping her through this part of her academic life. Hanya Allah dapat membalas jasa baik semua.
Atok dan Opah pun happy sampai pegang handset pun terbalik....patut tak dengar.
Not forgetting her siblings (my other daughters) who had directly or indirectly contributed to their adik's success. Learning through their experiences too, had helped in a way.
Her cousin smsed too, to congrats her and inform of her results too. Congrats Ayuni.
You still have a long way to go gal, but whatever decision is made, do make sure HE is in your mind always, Shazwani.

Laman Impiana Lagi....

Sejak kebelakangan ini, ramai pengunjung lamanoflife meng'google' majalah Laman Impiana. Memang banyak maklumat dari majalah tersebut. Edisi Jan-Feb 2009 telah dibeli semalam di Seri Putra. Belum habis membelek lagi tapi terdapat beberapa mukasurat mengenai tumbuhan herba yang boleh digunakan seperti aloe vera a.k.a lidah buaya (#9) dan roselle atau nama saintifiknya, Hibiscus sabdariffa (#10). Alhamdulillah, herba tersebut memang ada di laman kami. Memang banyak khasiat yang Allah 'sembunyi'kan dalam alam botani kita. Cuma kita saja yang kadang2 tidak mengambil tahu atau hanya bersandar kepada perubatan berasaskan bahan kimia semata.

Pagi tadi sempat menyambung semula menanam kuku jin. Pagi semalam sambung rafia untuk sokongan pada petola dgn harapan dapat hasilnya nanti!! Just wait and see. InsyaAllah.

Vertical Farming

I snapped a pic on vertical planting and posted it at flickr a few weeks back. Today, an article in Time, issue Dec 22, 2008, titled Vertical Farming tells us that 'this idea can work in a big way'... with some drawbacks of course. It's an idea that can be looked upon deeper!!

In the morning....

Taking advantage of the not-so-sunny weather, I spent about 2 hours in the laman this morning. First, the keladi needs to find a home. I cleared the grass, dig a hole and put in some black compost soil and went in the tuber. Hopefully, it'll grow.

Next, the area around the blue vase (heliconia). I want to have some plant covering the base area. The same procedure repeated. But for the plant, I had to dig them from the planter box at the gate. So off I went to the front and digged out the purple 'kuku jin' (#8). Now, they have found a new home. By the way, only one vase is 'decorated' for I don't have enough of the 'kuku jin'!!

As for the mulch, after pausing and thinking for some time, I decided to use the (??? brown thatched-like material) from the coconut and palm trees!! Yes, I'm a frugal gardener....

And in today's edition of the New Straits Times (Life and Times - Living), there's an article on thrifty gardeners, plus a column by Desmond Ho of Terra Garden on Orchids. Anyone for the contest in Desmond's column?

New Seedlings

Some new seedlings have found their way to our home. Though not yet planted, we look forward to have these additions that we brought home from Pasir Mas. The seedlings include mango, sukun, a type of keladi, purple-coloured-flower misai kucing and pokok duit (the Chinese love this plant).

A few days before, I took some white rose cuttings, green ati-ati seedlings and hydragea cuttings from an ex-neighbour's house. These too, haven't been planted. Ohh...so many plants to be planted.

Btw, one of my misai kucing has gone to Pasir Mas....

Wedding Receptions

Wedding receptions are synonymous with school holidays. No weekend passes by without a single kenduri being held. Last weekend, we attended one in Taman Tenaga (previous neighbour and the colour theme was green). Today, there's one in Bandar Baru Bangi (ex-colleague's daughter got married). Next Sunday, a neighbour's son will end his bachelorhood. Come Dec, there are already three receptions in line. Putrajaya, Kuala Kangsar and Kajang. God willing, we'll be there.

Today, we got boiled eggs as the parting/thank you gift from the bride's family. Haven't gotten one for quite sometime since family nowadays are proned to have other type of gifts to be given away eg cakes or other mementos. It's interesting too, to find out that some of our friends are also the friends of the host. It's a small world after all.

With all these weddings taking place and me being invited, it just shows one thing.. Yours truly is getting older...Hmm...

Barack Obama, 44th USA President!

I just need to post tonite before the next day arrives, just to make sure that a historic moment like this is not missed by lamanoflife. Nay, I'm not an American but nevertheless, like many others worldwide, watched McCain conceeding defeat to Obama, and followed by the latter's speech in Chicago over CNN.
The results truly is a history.

Hari Raya Open House

We went to three open houses and a detour to a fast food outlet (courtesy of Na and Ridzuan) yesterday. Started from home at around 11am and headed straight to Taman Setiawangsa,KL. The traffic on MRR2 was tolerable. Food wise, the massala mutton was nice but decided not to eat a lot for fear of 'headache'. We had our Zohor prayers at Masjid Muaz bin Jabal. One new thing that I observed was the ATM-like machine for e-derma in the mosque.

From there, we went to Kota Damansara. Satay was the main food that we ate. At around 6, we congregate at A&W, Petronas, Kota Damansara. Been quite sometime that I had the last waffle so decided to order one. Hubby ordered the same. (picture: Mak, Ayah, Mar, Ani (partly hidden) and Aby enjoying the food)

After Maghrib, our last destination was Kajang. Nasi dagang awaited us there.... Reached home at 10pm and had a good sleep last nite.

After all the stuff that went in yesterday, today hopefully all the fats will be broken down. 3 of us are fasting today.

Majalah Laman Impiana

Isu Nov-Dis 2008 sudah dibeli semasa mengambil anak di sekolah tadi.

Majalah Laman memang menjadi sebahagian daripada rujukan untuk inspirasi laman kami. Gambar2nya cantik dan mengasyikkan!! Banyak perkara yang dipelajari dari majalah ini. Nama pokok, cara menanam, pembiakan pokok (propagation), lanskap.

Tomato....#6

Here's our lovely tomatoes. Had plucked 4 so far. Not as big as the ones we bought at the market though but that's fine I guess.

We bought the seedling at MAHA and used baja organik!! The wooden 'pancang' + the yellow rafia was done by hubby taking cue from observing MARDI's techniques! Simple and proven effective.

Another seedling hasn't borne fruits yet but I'm keeping my fingers cross.

It's a nice feeling to harvest your own vegie......

Ulam-ulam

Semalam kami berulam.
Antaranya, daun mengkudu, ulam raja dan bunga misai kucing.
Dicecah dengan cili tumbuk.

Rasa teruja kerana...
tomato sedang berbuah,
jagung pula sedang menunjukkan tanda2 ndak berbuah
putik cili pun ada 2,3.

Alhamdulillah,
Ya Muhyi, Ya Muhyi, Ya Muhyi,
Allah Yang Maha Menghidupkan.

A 10-year cycle....

the stories today:

a. consumers urged to be careful in spending so that they will be in a good financial shape in the event of a recession.

b. Be frugal but don't stop spending

c. ...makanan, kewangan dan minyak....

d. isu ekonomi global turut.....

**It's time to visit my vegie patch.... :-)**

4.10.2008 - The Wedding - Part 3

A picture tells a thousand words!! The bride, bridegroom, ayah and mak after the akad nikah. Congratulations and BarakaAllah.

"Selamat Pengantin Baru"

4.10.2008 - The Wedding - Pt 2

Tiket tol selamat di genggaman, maka meluncurlah kenderaan yang dipandu di lebuhraya PLUS. Melewati sempadan negeri, Selangor dan N Sembilan, jam di kereta menunjukkan masa memihak kepada kami. Masih punya waktu untuk sampai ke Sg Buluh sebelum acara dimulakan. Takut tersekat di jalan, maka kami memilih untuk mengguna Kerinchi Link, walaupun lebih belanja tol!

Tepat 10.50pg, kami tiba di Masjid Sg Buloh. Ehh...mana rombongan pengantin ni? Betulke masjid ni? 'Telefon opah, tanya masjid mana?'. 'Betul, opah kata masjid kat Econsave!' balas anak gadis. Selesai Tahiyatul masjid dan Dhuha, masih juga rombongan belum muncul... Hp berdering. Nombor pengantin di skrin telefon. 'Kak dah sampai ke?' 'Dah lama dah. Awat lambat ni?' 'Ada tukar duit tak? Kami on the way ni.' Dari jauh kelihatan kereta pengantin.... Tekan minyak nampaknya...nasib tak terlepas lorong ke masjid.

Hai, Tuan Kadi sudah sampai. Ahli rombongan lain belum sampai.. Selang beberapa minit, yang lain pun tiba. Alhamdulillah.

Dayang Yah membawa dulang cincin sementara Dayang Akak bertugas mengambil gambar. Dayang Mak pulak bawa fail. Kami pun memasuki ruang solat masjid untuk acara yang dinanti-nanti.

Bersambung.....

Oct 4,2008 - The Wedding - Pt 1

After a few weeks of preparation, the day finally arrived!
The night before (Fri) we held a small keduri doa selamat attended by some mosque congregation, after Isyak prayers. In doing so, we prayed and hoped that the next day's event will run smoothly. We tried our best and the rest will be left to HIM.

The food (above) was cooked by us except for the pulut kuning which was prepared by a makcik of Saujana Utama. There were kari telur (Zuridah's specialty- my SIL), sayur buncis + carrot (by my bro, the man chef that nite), ayam masak merah and sambal udang (yours truly...).

The small gift on the plate was acquired by the bride. Consists of dates, got them from Shah Alam.

Not forgetting the rest of the team... Amir, my other bro prepared tea and watermelon. My daughters with other details... Mak helped to prepare door gifts, ayah as the host. Last but not least, of course, dear hubby who sweat it out to make things smooth as possible.

Thank you!!!!

Nilai 3 - part of wedding preparation

We went twice to Nilai 3 in a space of 24 hours last weekend! It's not only a haven for Raya shoppers but also for the brides and bridegrooms-to-be + the planners. I'd like to mention 2 shops that we visited.
First, the Baryali Carpet. Layers and layers of carpets were stacked from the front till the end of the shop which comprised of two shop units I think. Some were hung on the wall. Sizes vary too --plus the the range of prices-- with the low-end to the high-end. When asked of the origin of the carpets the answers were, 'Ini dari China', 'Belgium' or 'Turki'. I left the shop after my sister bought two carpets and after two bouts of sneezing!!
For the second shop...KK Home Decor. This must be the shop for English decor lovers! You have flowers, mugs, plates, drawers, vases... you just name it! And the prices were I think just right. Some items are cheaper than the other shops too. So to those planning to visit Nilai 3, a word of advice, go early or you'll have to drive around to find a parking space.
Just one more thing to add. The road to Nilai 3 is considered ok except for the fact that the white lines (painted on the road) are not visible anymore. Feel that something should be done by the authority just like what had been done on the road at Arab Malaysian Industrial area and in Taman Semarak.

Part of a Wedding Plan

Planning for a wedding is not for the faint hearted. Lots are to be done in making things go smoothly on the big day. Preparations start as early as possible making sure even the smallest details are covered.

We are involved in preparing a wedding kenduri for our sister which is to take place at our home. Hubby started searching for a caterer once the date is set. The one he contacted declined since his workers will be on leave (the date falls on the 4th of Syawal) but fortunately he suggested another caterer. Alhamdulillah, this caterer agrees! Impressive, with 3 sets of menu to choose from, 'set makan pengantin', tables and chairs (which one? plastic or the banquet chairs...with or without the chair covers? but of course the price varies), tents.... There'll try to get the best things for you. As a matter of fact, the word is if you've the money, the more lavish you can have your wedding kenduri. But isn't the word moderate the 'in' word now. Yes, my sister and ayah will need to work within the budget set and we'll confirm with the caterer next week.

Menahan lapar dan dahaga?

Berpuasa tidak hanya menahan dari lapar dan dahaga tetapi lebih dari itu. Mungkin untuk anak2 kecil, itulah yang mereka fahami, namun semakin meningkat usia seharusnya pesepsi itu berubah. Sesungguhnya puasa hanyalah untuk yang Maha Esa dan hanya Dialah yang berhak membalas segala usaha yang telah hambaNya lakukan semasa Ramadan.

Banyak kelebihan Ramadan. Antaranya solat sunat Tarawikh. Yang memeningkan kepala anak bongsu ialah mengapa pula harus solat witir. Persoalan ini sering diajukan walaupun tarawikh tidak menimbulkan masalah untuknya! Witir itu penutup solat malam, itu jawapan yang diberikan, ditambah dengan hal-hal berkaitan.

Malam ini, malam ke-10 solat Tarawikh. Antara kelebihannya ialah - Allah SWT akan mengurniakan kebaikan di dunia dan akhirat.

Salam Ramadan.

Hujung Minggu

LAWATAN KE MAHA 2008

Kami ke MAHA di Serdang hari Sabtu lepas, hari terakhir! Cuma ke beberapa gerai sahaja. Tak lepas peluang ke tapak pameran Laman Sayur. Seronok betul! Macam2 cara penanaman ditunjukkan. Kemudian ke Petunjukan Rhodeo. Too bad, my daughter didn't enjoy it. Tak suka agaknya. Anyway, a new thing at MAHA. The cowboys from Down Under. Lepas tu tengok cara membela kambing dan bebiri terkini. Pertanian adalah perniagaan, the catch word nowadays. Ramai juga peminat ternakan termasuklah suami sendiri! Sempat membeli 'Baja Tinja Lembu' dr Trengganu! 2 paket RM10, kira lelong ah tu.... Sebelum balik, kami membeli beberapa benih anak pokok seperti selasih dan pudina (anak kata daun ubat gigi).

YES! LEBUHRAYA LEKAS SUDAH DIBUKA


Dalam perjalanan balik dari MAHA, kami menggunakan LEKAS. Khabarnya dibuka pada umum pada Jumaat, 22/08/08. Tol belum ada lagi, bulan Okt kot. Apa lagi, bolehle guna.... Distance wise ie nak ke Kajang, jaraknya lebih kurang sama kalau guna PLUS, tapi masa lebih singkat rasenya. Ptg ni nak buat survey lagi sebelum ada tol. Tol PLUS, Nilai-Bangi RM2.20, Putra-Mahkota-Bangi RM1.40 (about 30km to my destination).

NB: Oct 2008: The toll rate from Pajam to Kajang Selatan is RM2.80

The Beginning of a New Life

A nice surprise awaited in the laman this morning. Two white eggs were found nicely tucked in one of the palm trees! My first instict was, these would better be the bird's eggs or else.... Took a picture of the eggs since it would be interesting for my youngest to see them. And this afternoon, it was confirmed! Saw the mama bird came visiting and hatching them. It looked like a tekukur though I'm not 100% sure. Will have my watchful eyes on the nest for the next couple of days. Thank you Allah for giving this beginning of a new life for me and family to see.

A for Ati-Ati (coleus)

So this is #4, ati-ati or coleus. It's red in colour though ati2 (also known locally as nilam, bangun-bangun) is known to be in many other colours which makes it a beautiful plant for the laman.
Been wanting to have it before and settled for this since the price offerred at the nursery in Nilai 3 was rather cheap, RM2 per polybag. So bought just one!
I found it rather easy to plant and had it propagated to a few more new plants. Will find time to propagate more. Just see the pic and you know what I mean.
Read about ati-ati that can be used as a cough deterrent.

Ati-ati is also said to have other medicinal values. However, due to the many varieties of ati-ati ie the different colours; different plants may have different medicinal values or are they the same?

B is for Bucida (Cat. #3)

I'm trying to catalogue the plant species in our laman. No formal knowledge though but will try to find out. Ok, so this will be the third (since the first was the ulam raja and second, pokok mengkudu).

Cat.3 -- Bucida (molinetti or buceras??? Anyone knows)


The pic on the left is the verigaeted species. When first planted it only had one layer but over 10 months, two more layers have grown. However, the same can't be said about the others (altogether there are 8 of this kind)! This Bucida is right at the front lawn, on your right hand side of the driveway (when driving in). How am i to make others grow into layers?



The pic on the right shows 4 Bucida plants. When planted they were already 3 layered (but haven't grown much since). Any ideas on how to make them grow faster?
Have seen this plant planted by the road side in Bandar Baru Bangi, near Billion and also at the Mahallah Ruqayyah at International Islamic Univ, Gombak.

On the Road

Have you been in this situation before? It was raining cats and dogs and I was following this overloaded lorry. Phew..

Eating Out

Bitten by a promotion bug, my daughter kept on suggesting to us to have dinner at an outlet. Apparently, they're having a promo whereby, the meal inclusive of a drink costs RM10. So off we go to their Nilai outlet last night. We ordered 5 promo meals and a drink. The dinner was fine. I had the barbequed chicken with rice and salad, plus of course the ice lemon tea. When the bill was paid (it came up to about RM60), then only I remember my previous post on 'How much can you buy with RM60'? Geez... RM60 for a meal compared to RM60 for a few days food.

What Can you Buy with RM60?

Here's the list of food items that I bought with roughly RM60 at Nilai wet market and a sundry shop in Taman Semarak this morning.
1. 1 whole chicken (RM13)
2. 3 ikan selar (RM5.50)
3. 1 packet of mee kuning
4. 2 carrots (RM1)
5. 4/5 limes
6. 5 buns
7. 5kg of rice
8. 1 bottle of juice
9. 1 small refill packet of Milo.

Well, some of the items will be gone in 2-3 days (eg the buns and mee kuning). I still need to buy carrots since my vegie plot still could not sustain our daily consumption yet...or maybe, i need some variety to add to the dish.

It needs some deeper thought I think, when I read a byline in the NST (July 13,08) on Feed The Poor. Here goes: If you think skipping that one fancy meal is a sacrifice, imagine having to send your children to a shelter home because you can't afford to feed them.

Labour of Love

I read with interest an article in the NST on Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Sultan Iskandar, the Tunku Puan Pahang, having her own vegetable plot. But what makes me smile is the fact that she uses a toy tiger to ward off wild monkeys from invading her vegies. What an idea. I've seen these toy tigers being sold but never in my mind to have it as a 'guard' to my garden. That brings back to mind the use of 'orang-orang' in the padi fields. When I was younger, I used to live in the District of Kerian, the rice bowl in North Perak. Could see this orang-orang from afar in the bendang to fright off the birds. Toy tiger, orang-orang, now what else can we use to 'guard' our plants?

Raja Segala Ulam

Antara sayur-sayuran di 'kitchen garden' saya, yang paling subur ialah ulam raja (Catalogue 1)

(cosmos caudatus). Dah banyak kali dipetik. Agak cepat juga pertumbuhannya. Mula disemai dari bijinya dan kemudian naik merimbun.... Sekarang ni dalam seminggu, 1 atau 2 kali kami sekeluarga berulamlah. Bunganya berwarna keunguan/kuning,kecil.

Mengkudu (cat. 2) atau morinda citrifolia, daun yang muda pun dicelur dan dibuat ulam. Cuma rase pahit sikit. Pokok ini kami tanam dalam pasu (itu sebab buahnya agak kecil sahaja). Tak nak ianya terlalu merimbun sangat. Seingat saya, semasa dalam pantang, daun mengkudu pernah diguna untuk membalut besi tungku!

Kedua2 pokok ni nampaknya tak diserang serangga perosak...Senang nak jaga.

Jack of All Trade?

I'm no Amy Beh to cook up a storm in the kitchen. Neither am I coming close to those celebity chefs but hey, I'm the lady of the house, meaning I'm the cook to the whole family (though the other half do take over the duty when he's in the mood...).
With the recent increase in fuel price, there goes up the price for almost everything, food included. Creativity as opposed to frugality is the in-word now as to what to cook and how to save. And oh, it's becoming a great challenge to be a housewife in this too-dependent-on-fuel era. You've to be a Jack of all trade....

Nay, I'm not going to fight using these utensils.

1. The Jack that needs to come up with something from the leftovers in the fridge. Ideas anyone?
2. The Jack that needs to combat the garden pests that are trying to destroy my edible garden. (will share on my laman later)
3. The Jack that needs to come up with a recipe that evolves around things at home without having to go shopping for just one or two items.