RAYA PUASA 2009 - CONTINUED

And so the saga continued in the Petit de Maison in the unassuming little village in "8th Mile, Mantin-Montreal"...

The second raya morning...and the family was still keeping to its "lepak" dressing mode, except of course for that "Muay Tai Contender" wannabe trying to hide his little pouch with what suspiciously looks like my pillow...IT IS MY PILLOW!!! Ish, ish, nak kena Mat Bangla nih.

Arose, sebelum mandi, bersantai dengan"satay sejuk" from the night before...

Moi, Arose (yang dah mandi dan wangi) lepak-lepak depan TV dengan ayah...(you can only see his knees).

Amira da Bon Bons, buat muka "cute" lepas kena marah sebab tak berhenti makan gula-gula dengan coklat.

Amira and Arose in "fighting mode". Ayah was doing a "Switzerland" ie. keeping himself cool and impartial. And my pillow was again a victim of someone's need to cover "ze bulge"!!!

Acik Ujang's Family, Along, Atai, Cik Nab and Angah, while waiting for us to get into "our gear", before leaving for Melaka with ayah, ibu and Amira to attend anak Mak Teh's, engagement.

Ibu ku yang sentiasa jelita di mata ku. One in a million!

My brother Adi, his wife Sue and their daughter Amira...soon there'll be four of them.

My ayah and ibu...soulmates...they will be celebrating their 46th Anniversary come this September and I pray they have many, many more.

The family...except for ayah and ibu who were going off to attend the function at Mak Teh's house in Malacca, the rest of us actually got dressed especially for this photo session. InsyaAllah this year there'll be further additions, Adi's 2nd child, my baby, Mader's wife and two kids. I guess we need more space now.

My bothers and sister.

My hubby and me.

Arose and Mader. Despite the apparent difference in coloring and the not so apparent difference in attitude, these two are siblings, same mum and dad. Tak tau kenapa, yang sorang tu bulan gerhana sikit.

Moi and Adi...ten years older than him and some people thinks he's my elder brother...Yesss!!! Awet muda uols! Tak tahaaaannnnn!!!

Moi and Arose.

Arose...what this young woman has been through in her life would make most of us break down and give-up...but she's still around, still fighting and I pray she will one day find her Prince.

Three generation of ladies of the "Batu 8 Clan of the Bear-Bears"...we are all lovable and huggable. Don't believe me? Just ask our men.

Mr Poyores Al Bangla and me hubby...don't ask me why one is grinning like a (black) cheshire cat while the other is trying to look so "official".

RAYA PUASA TAWUN LEPAS...1st DAY.

All was silent, even the birds loathed to leave their nests for it was the first day of Hari Raya Puasa. The day when Muslims all over the world celebrate after a month of fasting. And in that "petite maison" tucked away in that unassuming village in Mantin-Montreal, Negeri Sembilan...

Ya Allah, anak daro den!

Walaupun tengah tido mak masih maintain pose "vogue"! Arose, striking a pose on the same long suffering sofa...Raya morning.

Alahai, lawa anak daro den pagi Rayo.

I wonder what these two are up two...partners in crime, Arose and Amira Da Bon Bons.

Dua wakil Dewan Undangan Negeri Kelantan dari Kota Bharu dan Kuala Krai sedang hangat berdebat sampai diperhatikan Amira da Bons Bons dan Mr Poyores Al Bangla.

"Ish, ish...nasib mu baik mu abe ipar, kalau tidak dah ku sungkup dengan balang nih!"

The view from the "rear"...Ha! Ha! Ha!

Gambar lawa di pagi raya, dengan muka sembab sebab tak cukup tido, tak kuasa mak nak pakai baju kurung...jadi capai yang paling selesa, t-shirt oversize dengan skirt. Pas tu, nyammmm, nyammmm!

Nyammmm!!! Nyammmm!!! Sebab ada wakil Pantai Timur kan so menu ada sikit lain la, ada itu nasi berdagang juga, sangat la sedapnya.

Uncle and Aunty Tan...good long time friends of the family.

And as the day got older...

Rasanya kerusi ni memang ada ubat tido...sesiapa yang landing sure berdengkur. Auwwwww, it rhymes! I'm such a poet!

"Den tokonang jo kampung...induk, ayah, adek sadoeai...". Cian hubby den, rindu KB la tu, renungan sungguh jauh...jangan risau, tawun dopan kito balik yo. Kalau tak balik nanti ado anak Mok Nab yang lupo caro nak cakap loghat Kelate.

Kerahan tenaga, mencucuk satay untuk hidangan tetamu yang datang...ehhh, macam lagu Raya pulak.

The posse entrusted with the task of ensuring that the satay is well cooked. The fellow trying desperately to suck in his stomach is none other than "Mr Poyore Al Bangla", my cousin Mader. The Yuna look alike is my brother's wife, Sue and the guy with the close cropped hairstyle is my one and only brother, Adi a.k.a Didie a.k.a El-Doyots. And the guy in the black t-shirt is me hubby.

Anybody needs extra luck??? Rub my brother's tummy...ha! Ha! Ha! And the headless figure in the white baju kurung with the blue rose motifs is none other than Arose, she finally ditched the bermudas for something more...ummm...feminine(?).

The satay must be good...judging by the smile on my sister-in-laws face.

The end-product...not bad for our first attempt.

Auwwwwww...adegan romantis di belakang rumah...

Arose's friends came a visiting...Wisa and her brood.

The men having a chat.

Auwwwww...sungguh lentuk gitewwww!!! Jangan tak caya, mamat pakai baju melayu grey tu and the "awek mengancam" in the "baju kurung" are both Chinese...so the very 1Malaysia!!!

Friends and food...just the way "Raya" should be celebrated.

This is not a scene from "Misteri Nusantara" or some other paranormal documentary. It's my hubby tengah main...oppps...tak boleh sebut...

My hubby bought me a belated Birthday Cake...

After the last visitor had gome home...the family sat down for a late nite supper and some cake before dragging ourselves to bed. It was a good day.

I love this man...

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL...

The 2nd of May, 2010 finally came and went...and Mader is engaged.

The ceremony went well, I guess. I am not able to vouch for that as I was not there. I was busy snoring away in my room in Mantin-Montreal while they were in Selayang. But I was not alone. Rose was in the next room and my hubby was on the "famous red sofa" in the TV room. Why was I not in Selayang? Long story Mak Long... Part of it was that "bangla's" fault! "SENTAP" MAK! Ish, ish, kalau kecik lagi, dah lama ku tabuh bagaikan kompang itu bangla...

Part of it was actually my fault. Left the hantaran to the last minute, so I had to stay up all night to prepare it. Arose was nice enough to accompany me but she "pengsan" around 8.30 a.m. Finished everything around 9.00 a.m. on Sunday morning, dragged my sorry self to the bedroom and was asleep before my head hit the pillow. I woke up around half and hour before the "hunting"...opps...be nice Roza...the engagement party arrived home from Selayang.

But Adi went and he was my proxy as far as photos were concerned. Glamour Mak Long, hantaran from you bakal menantu, the very "the!" Quite a few people went, Ayah and Ibu, Adi, Acik Ujang, Cik Nab and their two daughters, Along and Angah, Pak Busu and Mak Busu, Mamat and Zaid, Ateh Duan and Induk Esah. Well Mak Long, it's done. The next trip will be for the "nikah" ceremony on 29th May, 2010 but till then let's check out the photos.

The Sirih Junjung which moi prepared...All the "hantarans" were in "mengkuang" containers as we wanted the "mengkuang" concept for the engagement.

The rings...the "cincin belah rotan" on the right is for the "merisik" and the ring on the left, the one with the humongous rock on top of it (it's huge though it's not that visible from this angle...blame the cameraman please), is the official "Will you marry me" ring.

The "manisan" container...All the above moi prepared...ada sesiapa nak tempah??? Ha! Ha! Ha!

The man in the black "baju batik" is ayah (trust Adi to get such a shot) ...and the shorter of the two "Sirih Junjungs" is the "balasan" from Lin, Mader's fiancee.

All the "hantarans" in purple are from Mader's fiancee.

Another look at the "hantarans" in purple.

The lady on the pouffe is my Ibu, she is unable to sit cross legged on the floor due to problems with her knees.

The ladies from Mantin-Montreal, 2nd from the left: Mak Busu, Along, Induk Esah, Angah, somebody's kid, and the lady in the lilac tudung sitting by the door is Cik Nab, Acik Ujang's wife.

The MACHO men from Mantin-Montreal, from the left: Atih Duan, Pak Busu, Acik Ujang and Ayah.

Adat-beradat...

Ayah continuing his discussions with the waiting posse from Selayang.

Ayah presenting the "wang hantaran"...Jeng! Jeng! Jeng! And the cameraman didn't get a shot of the "dulang"...Ish, nak kena babab si debab nih!

Ayah explaining the "wang hantaran"...RM5,000 in Banker's Cheque and RM2,500.00 in cold hard cash for the kenduri...hmmm...

The presentation of the "rings" for inspection.

The pakcik in the white "kopiah"..."Hmmm, ni botul omeh ko zhulian nih". Ayah..."Omeh tu bang, siap boli kat kodai omeh Sri Pinang kek Kajang tu." To Cik Nor, anak Nek Pah of Kampung Tengah, Batu 13, Kajang, thanks for the discounts!!!

After the discussions...the moment that everybody has been waiting for, the "Majlis Sarung Cincin".

"Ohhhhh...Abang Hitam ku...Kau telah mengotakan semua janji-janji manis mu kepada ku...Ohhh aku terharu sampai merah birat pipiku...(sambil kelip-kelip bulu mata palsu)"(heh! heh! heh!). I am sooooooo mean!!!

"Ekau jago anak sedaro den tu baik-baik."

"Aik? Takkan baru sebulan boli cincin ni dah tak muat?" Ha! Ha! Ha! Gelak evil tahap dewa cipan gaban tujuh puluh tujuh petala langit!

"Thank you Ibu...Muah! Muah! Muah!".

Not the end yet...wait till the next instalment...the "nikah" ceremony!!!