Bye bye 2015.......

     It's been a while since my last post. 2015 was an eventful year for me - bittersweet describes it best. I heave a sigh of relief that it's gone. Not that the challenges of the past year are over but the fact that my temper and patience remained intact through the trials and tribulations. I give myself a pat on the back :)
     Yakinlah ada hikmah disetiap dugaan yang datang. Very true! Memang ada hikmahnya. A little tardy in coming but oh so glorious when it comes!
     I've started gardening again. Also started being a full time childminder to my grandkids. Both are a test in patience. I love nurturing both. Watching them grow and bloom.
     I thin out the seedlings I don't need. I thin out folks I don't care much for.
     I space out my seedlings carefully. I do the same with certain folks.
     I don't allow weeds to intrude my garden space. I do the same to toxic folks.
     Just as I've found beneficial volunteer plants in my garden, I've found such new friends.
     Life is wonderful. Life is what one makes it out to be.
     Here's to a great 2016. InsyaaAllah  :)

Aidilfitri tiba lagi........

     I live in Kg Kemensah, a tiny kampung nestled in the foothills of Banjaran Titiwangsa. Sounds idyllic eh....We have no buses servicing our little hamlet here. There's the village shop and several makeshift shops selling the basics. Don't even think of asking for Gardenia bread okay! Like any other kampung, we too have our kedai kopi - which doubles as the community hangout place. Strategically located at the simpang empat, both the kedai kopi are always filled with folks sipping teh setahun (restaurant owners will be familiar with this term. Order air satu, duduk berjam2 tak reti order lagi!)
     Folks in my kampung are all from various parts of Peninsula Malaysia. Many traced their roots to Indonesia. They've lived here since the early 60s, having relocated from various parts of the country. For some reason, many of their children don't leave the kampung. And many marry their kampung mates.
     So we don't see many balik kampung scenarios - be it coming or going. Neither do we see parents getting excited to welcome their children/grandchildren for aidilfitri. Our children and grandchildren live with us or just a stone's throw away. We get to see them all the time. Sampai naik semput......
     Jadi aidilfitri lain sikit kat sini. We have an exodus of those yang tak ada kampung or tak balik raya or tak sambut raya sebab bukan Islam at this time. In my family's case, we get an assortment of non-Malay guests mostly. And how they love aidilfitri! Ada yang siap pakai baju Melayu bersampin bagai! And they come bearing gifts.
     We have received flowers, cakes, silver cutlery, chandeliers, clothes, premium teas and coffees, ornaments.....entah apa2 lagi!
     This is the time when our narrow streets get jampacked with all manner of vehicles - double/triple parked. Yang kadangkala membuat segelintir hamba Allah naik berang - bersalam-salaman dan bermaaf-maafan fogotten. Nak aje jentik telinga laga kepala!
     This year aidilfitri tak sama......mak takde, ada ahli keluarga yang mengada2....tapi tetap disambut all the same. Walaupun hati ini berat, badan ini lemah.......
     Salam aidilfitri untuk semua. Maaf dipinta, maaf diberi. Have a great one!
   

Sugar....oh Honey! Honey!

      I hardly take sugar unless it comes with rice, pasta, desserts, other food and drinks that I consume at eateries. I guess sipping my father's sugar free drinks (he was a borderline diabetic) got me into this habit. Also the fact that once upon a time I was allergic to so many foodstuff including chocolates. I absolutely adore desserts though. A good thing I don't live next door to a bakery or makcik kuih.
      There was a time when I had to carry sachets of sugar in my bag for when I had the shakes. A couple of friends would remember having to go out for sugar when they dropped by - because I forgot to stock up the precious stuff for my guests. Teruk betul kan!! 
      I wasn't the least concerned when we had sugar rationing - the 2kgs I bought remained unopened until I moved back to mak's.....2 years or so later.
      But there's something sweet that I MUST have almost on a daily basis......honey! How I love this stuff. I go gaga when I spot the honey jars lining the shelves at supermarkets/pharmacies/organic food stores. Like this one.........

      I need no excuse to pick up yet another pot of honey. My latest collection.....

They seem to finish in no time when my grandkids are around. Most times honey goes into my........

Sometimes this happens.......

      So I think it's time I visit a.......

 

Seems that we have lots of these in Malaysia - at Melaka, Cameron Highlands, Sabah to name a few.
      Any one game to Cuti2 Malaysia with me?? I promise to be "sweet" on you..... ;)

Back to cooking!

      I dismantled the stove and gave away both stove and gas cylinder (both of which I inherited from the previous occupant) when I moved into my flat. I had no need to cook - food was plentiful in other family members' kitchens! Since I lived all alone, everyone opened their kitchen to me. Food was, at times, even delivered to me. All I had in my little kitchen was an electric kettle and assorted crockery - enough for 4. I even gave away the fridge (which I inherited along with the stove, gas cylinder, crockery, washing machine etc). I only cooked at other people's homes.
      My kitchen was filled with seedlings - I discovered that I loved gardening and could actually make things grow! I sprouted beans and ate them raw. My food cache consisted of lots of fruits, biscuits, cookies, marshmallows for the kids, dates....in short, stuff that could happily stay good in a collander on the dining table or in jars. Also assorted coffees, brown sugar, (gratis) tea, assorted honey and himalayan salt. On the days that I wandered away from home, there'd be pastries too.
      My shopping list was really short then. The only oil I had was habbatussauda, which I took with apple cider vinegar and honey.
      Then I moved out. And now I'm back to cooking as I can't heck eating out every single day. That'll probably kill me faster than my heart attack. Nah....the truth is, it's just too much hassle to figure out what and where to eat every meal time. Also the fact that I'm not much of a fast food connoisseur. Contrary to popular belief, I do eat healthy....thanks to my maktok and mak.
      So now I'm back to cooking.....an activity I really enjoy. I only rustle up one dish meals of no specific recipe. When cooking time rolls around, I peep into the fridge and cupboards, and concoct something. At least one meal will be a smoothie of sorts - stuff thrown haphazardly into a blender and sipped happily. I'm one of those strange folks who could gulp down the ingredients for a cooked meal - ginger, garlic and all though I stop short at curry powder in my smoothies! I love adding coconut oil to my smoothies.....sedap!
      Grocery shopping was an activity I took so for granted until I ended up at Damansara Damai. I couldn't track down ingredients I could easily find at all the other places I had lived at. I literally gave a victory cry when I discovered a Jaya Grocer just 5 minutes away! Oh the thrill of having no-msg/gluten free bla bla stock! A wide range of organic foodstuff. My favourite biscuits. Peanut butter other than Lady's Choice and Econsave. Butter!
      On the upside, I get real fresh fish, fruits and vegetables from the pasar malam. And every imaginable sayur kampung and ulam - 4 times a week. For cheap. And they seem to have a never ending supply of mushrooms - a favourite with me. However, it is almost impossible to get fresh coriander here. I wonder why.....
      Today I stumbled upon fresh salmon at Econsave. And spinach for less than a ringgit a kilogram. So it was grilled salmon for dinner with blanched spinach, cauliflower, broccoli in butter, and tomato, capsicum salsa on the side....Buon appetito!

I'm officially OLD!!

      I haven't updated my blog for aeons! Oh my....how time flies when you're having mayhem! Especially when mayhem comes a-visiting when you were about to be officially proclaimed as OLD!
      The good news is:
***I now can get loads of discounts at (certain) restaurants
***youngsters give up their seats on trains
***folks let me cut queues
***most everyone is kind and courteous to me - even the mat rempits
***I get better service at pharmacies. I guess they figure that I'd get more stuff for all kinds of aches and pains!
***I can smile all I want at the cute young men. Talk to them even!
***I can don the same outfit to all functions and noone would be bothered. I bet they wouldn't even notice!
      I wonder why many shudder at the notion of getting old. It's such fun! I can say stuff and folks just laugh them off when I used to get chastised for saying the very same thing. I can talk about my aches and pains endlessly if I want to; it's a most boring conversation piece though I must admit. I can (pretend to) forget and everyone forgives an old woman for this. I can defy the doctors, family, friends....and get away with it.
      I have also come to a phase in my life where my priorities are different. I'd now rather spend time with people I really care for - the ones who make an impact on my life. They either make me reflect, laugh, feel loved, more aware etc. These folks enable me to be nicer to the rest who don't matter much. I don't read newspapers (online or hard copy) and much prefer to get news second/third hand. I stay away from folks who depress me. I keep them in my prayers though. I cook more. I eat healthy(ier). I sleep earlier most days. I walk more. I smoke less. I drink more.
      Yea....being old is good. Beats being dead any time ;)

Kita hari raya! Ye ke??

    Se-hun aja nak raya dah ni. Tapi tak rasa macam nak raya. Senyap sangat. Rumah aku, rumah jiran2 semua sunyi sepi. Radio pun tak dengar. Kuali pun takde dengar kena ketuk dengan senduk. Suara budak2 pun takde. Suara jiran aku yang non-stop membebel tu pun tak dengar juga.
    Haish.....am I in Twilight Zone????!!!!! Seramlah pulak!!!
    Plan dah dirombak. Masak-memasak di downscale-kan memandangkan chef2 ada yang sakit jantung, letih buat kuih untuk iftar ramadhan, letih jaga anak2 menakan, letih jaga laki, letih jaga anak masuk hospital dll. Ramadhan yang sangat eventful bagi kami di No 30!
    Tapi....kami akan tetap buat biskut raya. YA!! Plan tu masih mantap. Butter, tepung, bekas kuih semua dah beli. Takkan nak biar tak berusik kan.....kan.
    InsyaaAllah akan diusahakan beramai2 lepas berbuka nanti. Pasti seronok buat menyibuk  :D
    Petang nanti rasanya cukup quorum kat rumah ni. Si cilik2 semua dah balik dari rumah tok depa. Sekarang depa semua keluar pi ambil Hakim kat hospital. Nasib Hakim tak kena dengue. Alhamdulillah.
    Tadi, Ali, electrician Pakistan kami tu, dah datang tukar mentol2 lampu yang dah mati. Cerdik betul Ali ni....kat chandelier yang semua mentol kuning tu, tiba2 ada satu mentol putih. Tunggulah bila boss nampak nanti......hehehe.....mesti duit raya kena potong.
    Ani kata ada hamba Allah hadiahkan a gothic looking chandelier-like lampu kat sini. Jenuh dia fikir mana nak gantung. Last2 gantung kat garage. Harap2 orang tu tak perasanlah bila dia datang rumah nanti!
    My nephew nak makan potato salad hari raya nanti. Macam pelik kan.....tapi layan ajelah. Bukan susah nak buat pun. My sis pula teringinkan cream of mushroom soup. Beres! Kena ada garlic breadlah juga kalau macam tu kan. Imagine makan ni semua pagi raya nanti. Nampak sangat Cik Peah dah takde bersama kami - lari benor menu pagi rayanya!
    Student UPSR aku ni pulak terlebih rajin nak datang tuition sampai malam raya. Tersampuk gamaknya budak ni. Aku cakap kat dia, "Forget it! Lepas raya baru datang". Kalau dia datang juga, aku akan suruh dia belajar buat kuih.
    Abang aku sibuk menyapu keliling kawasan hari ni. Dia memang the resident gardener cum man Friday. Hari ni dia tak menyanyi pulak sambil berkemas. Tunggu mood raya masuk kot......
    Aku juga yang tak boleh pi mana2 sebab tidak dibenarkan berjalan2 sesuka hati. Takut tak sedar diri ini baru aja keluar hospital. Sakit jantung lagi. Nasib aku ni tak rajin merewang pun.
    So sekarang aku tengah duduk goyang kaki........

    SELAMAT AIDIL FITRI KEPADA SEMUA. Maaf dipinta, maaf dihulur. Semoga semua selamat, sejahtera dan bahagia berhari raya dengan tak kisahlah siapa.

Lessons from a heart attack - Part 2

    I got admitted into CCU, HKL, on Tuesday evening. Was given a bed by the window.
    Do you know that there are NO toilets for the patients in CCU? We had to do "everything" on our beds. Well, to be fair, most patients there are debilitated. I just happened to be one of the rare ones who got there still active and lucid.
    Which made it super difficult to just twiddle my thumbs while trying not to move too much - can't get the heart beating too fast you know! So I got a nurse to tutor me on what those figures on the monitor meant. From then on I monitored my own heartbeat, BP, oxygen level and breathing.

The 2nd lesson:

Your BP [blood pressure] doesn't need to hit the roof for a heart attack. Mine was a steady 120/80 and below throughout my life. With it going lower when I didn't rest/eat well. Which is pretty normal for me :)

Before I had angioplasty done, my heartbeat would rise even for mundane activities like brushing my teeth. I didn't realise that I was doing it so energetically! Had to slow down to a snail's pace.....or was it even slower?? Felt like it anyway.........

Having good breathing techniques help a lot. Thank goodness I was taught to breathe properly as a child. I guess being on the brink of death at 7 made me the recipient of many "wisdom" from the older folks around me. I was the only CCU residents sans oxygen paraphernalia - although they insisted on me breathing bottled oxygen initially. The air-conditioning coupled with oxygen-tube-in-nose caused my nose to bleed. So I got off it. Yea......although hidung sakit untuk beberapa hari.

Because I breathed "well", I passed the breaths-per-minute test with flying colours :)

Oh and when you're in this "fragile" situation, even sitting up isn't allowed. It taxes the heart it seems. So I could only sit up for meals, during sponging, and doctor's examination. Bleaaarggghhhh.........

So I practised being demure - with hands folded over stomach, sweet smile on face.......

Gives one lots of opportunity to berzikir for sure........