Mumble here..mumble there..

She made me promise to buy her some flowers coz on Monday she wanted fresh flowers on her hair when she went to school... She wanted to be extra pretty. Not wanting to break her heart, i consented her wish..knowing that i would ask halil to buy her the flower..the flower of her choice of course..

She chose a bouquet of this flower...

i'd say, she has a good taste. The flower (i have no idea of its name) did look gorgeous on her hair (though i think the flowers lasted only an hour or two on her hair as she jumped n did activities in her class.....please dont mind the size of this flower here..i just love to look at it..hence the big size picture :0)

halil went beserk when he found out the price of the flower ..hehehe Anyway, she came back home with no flower on her hair.. just a simple hair band...but she was happy.

That night, she started to cut a few stems of the flowers.. i asked her.. *why r u doing that?*..she said that she wanted to give them to her teachers.. well.. u cant say *no* to that, right? That is an indication that she loves her school as well as her teachers..i thought it was / is so sweet of her...

Today again the same thing.. i was in the kitchen when she brought many many stems of that flower..and indicated which flower she will give to which friend and which teachers tomorrow....should i be happy or should i be sad that the bouquet of flower is like..already reduced in size in terms of the flowers? Sabar jer la.... i told her though that we cant buy a bouquet of flower every week..once once in a while.. wanting to give and share flowers with her friends n teachers is a good trait.. but i dont want her friends making use of her just to get a flower etc etc..... i want them to like her for who she is...not for what she gives them..Alhamdulillah..hatice loves going to school.. however... yup there is a however.. there is one friend who drive her nuts...i have no idea why that kid acts the way she does towards my hatice..

And my son... hmmm..whatz d latest news of him? I have mentioned in Hatice's school blog that baddin ....until his sister started school very very rarely hold a pen.. A month ago, his finger and writing/drawing ability was like zero...nil..He was scrawling..not really making much sense..like this..

After a month, his drawing becomes like this...

And today he did water colour drawing... it is like this..

I know he has a longgg way to go.. i still need to improve his scissors usage bla bla bla... but for a one month effort.. i think he is doing a fairly good job with his hands..

Thank You for hopping by..Hope to see U again next time....

What if....

We were just talking.. and she began to say in turkish..

*Do u know what my fear is? i am afraid that if an earthquke happens and this building collapse..and i am alive. just imagine.. i will be stuck under the rubbles..with rats moving around my face and body(she cannot stand animals)... eeeeeeeeee..*

and she continued ..

*And can u just imagine? the Zaim kids. half of them have allergics..asthma symptoms..and they wll be in the dusts..poor kids*

*chuckles* ..very typical of her.. thinking of others as well..but then..that's our Meşe...

The last earthquake revived loads of fears within a lot of people..with the talk of more earthquakes to come... earthquakes moving towards istanbul etc etc..everyone is reminded of the big earthquake in 1999..alot..though not all live in fear..

I came to Turkey in that year but Alhamdulillah only after the earthquake...only small earthquakes were present at that time..Alhamdulillah.. even those small earthquakes..when they happened..i was busy doing something n was not aware of it.. the only one and only time i noticed it was that one night.. halil n i were asleep.. i woke up due to the loud noise.. there was a very loud sound as if a very large herd of elephants were running towards me..the bed moving..and that night the center was the *ada* (islands) in istanbul.. my kids Alhamdulillah have never known the feeling of an earthquake so far... but to most.. the 1999 earthquake was still somehow fresh in their minds..

This reminds me of n email (in turkish) i recieved today from Funda.. and here the email goes like this....

In a university, a lecturer was giving a lecture. He asked the class..

*what if at this time tomorrow, the world will end. U cannot escape it.What will u do today before u say farewell to the world tomorrow?*

Different answers came from the students...
*I will pray to God and ask for His forgiveness*
*I will say farewell to all my love ones*
*I will spend time with my family*
*I will go to my parents*
*I will play basketball with my friends like the old days for half an hour*
*I will make a barbeque party*
*I will love my sweetheart till the end*
*I will eat all my favourite food for the last time*
*I will go to sleep*
*I will go for a walk in the forest for the last time*
*I will watch the sun set and the sun rise*
*I will watch the stars*
*I will prepare all my favurite food and invite all my love ones for dinner*
*I will have a picnic*
*I will travel to the place i have always wanted to go and wait for my death there*
*I will ask for forgiveness from those i had hurt before*
*etc..etc..etc.. and the list goes on*

The lecturer wrote everything on the board..while laughing lightly he asked the students..

*Do u have to wait for the end of the world to do all these things?*

hmmm... thinking back.. he is right, isnt he? I mean..if we want to do something..why do we have to wait for the last minute to do it? If we have the chance..the opportunity... why not do the things we want to do.. NOW?

Like for myself.. if i have the chance..the opportunity.. i will be on the first flight to Malaysia with halil n the kids....to see my family..to see my homeland..

I dont have that opportunity at the moment of course..

But i have other opportunities.. other chance to do other things... why dont i grab them now, right?

we all should ..to not waste every moment we have... coz we dont need to wait for the end of the world..it can be today... it can be tomorrow for our lives to end.... even the next second...



Thank You for hopping by..Hope to see U again next time....

Bayram photos

2 siblings.. with their bayram clothing...

but not yet totally ready (referring to my dearest çiçeğim)

Hatice's hair all braided... with fresh flowers.. it took me like forever to get her hair into this shape n it took her one minute to undo this hairdo as she started to jump n run with her cousins hehehe

2 siblings all ready for Bayram

Hatice's single pose this bayram

Baddin's single pose this bayram

Hatice kissing her baba's hand while saying *iyi bayramlar*

Baddin kissing his baba's hand while saying *baba iyi bayramlar*

Hatice offering the bayram chocolates to her baba

2 siblings... with the bayram chocolates

My Family Photo

The baju kurung i was wearing belongs to my mom...she got it sewed over 12 years ago

Simah and Halil 2006
gelak..jangan tak gelak..

The Zaim family
2006

Thank You for hopping by..Hope to see U again next time....

Salam Aidilfitri 2006 - My bayram account from Day ONE to Day THREE

It is 9.20am..Monday. We r celebrating Bayram today... first day of Bayram.. Falling asleep from exhaustion last night made me call my mom in penang only a few minutes ago...to ask her when bayram will be in Malaysia.. She said...*Raya is on tuesday there*

She asked me of my bayram preparation.. i told her.." i still need to iron the Bayram clothes (baju raya).. the kids r still sleeping, halil is at the mosque n i still need to *mandi*... take a bath heheheheeh..She asked me of my raya preparation..n i said.. * i have bought the chocolates already* heheheheh ..well..u cant blame me right? this is bayram in turkey... of course i didnt mention that i baked a bit of walnut cinnamon cookies... ..in which is hatice's favourite n in which she had gobbled a few already last night...in which baddin said.. *çok guzel* (sedap)..n i dont think i will be serving the guests that cookies after all unless i make some more heheheheh crunchyyyyyyyyy...

then my mom started to tell me how ayah, bibik (my brother's indonesian maid) n my mom cooked rendang nogori yesterday outside the house (They must have used woods for the cooking)...i asked her about my fav *lontong*..then she started to cry.....*eeee (crying) anak mak tak dak kat sini..* (my child is not here)..while loudly laughing at her, i cant lie n say that i didnt shed a few tears... in private...Raya is always hard to be away from my dearest malaysian family...i am used to it..still one does miss it..

will update this entry later... n for all the three days of syawal...need to iron...:0)

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It is 11.30pm.. the kids have just fallen asleep...it was a long day.. Hatice woke up this morning..i was ironing the raya clothes in the study room..i heard her woke up.. i hid behind the door n when she was about to pass the studyroom door..i *booooh* her..heheheheh she had quite a shock hehehehehehehhe...

Baddin woke up a bit later....i dressed them up..braided hatice's hair..took some photos... (photos need to be developed first)...n we all waited for halil to come home..to have our bayram breakfast together as a family..finally at almost 10pm, he reached the house...

family breakfast is always nice... we havent done that for a longgg time....n the activities of the day was like this:

12 noon

We all were ready with our bayram clothing... all dressed up from top to toe. Halil as the head..the starting point, we lined up according to age... i was in front , followed by hatice n lastly baddin.... i kissed halil's hands while saying *iyi bayramlar*... hatice kissed halil's hands n then mine... then baddin kissed halil's hand, my hand n hatice's hand...all saying *iyi bayramlar*....and as a family, we stood in a circle while halil read the doa asking for blessings from Allah with the coming of Syawal...Hatice then took the bayram chocolates n offered to all of us...n finally, as a family,,,,,,,halil read the yassin for the souls of our love ones who had left us forever, whether in Malaysia or turkey..

12.30pm

We met selimlar at Muyessa yenge's house for a bayram visit...

1pm

We left her house. The zaim Family was scheduled for our traditional bayram lunch at baba's house at 1.30 pm.. As usual, we were late.. but this time, we had a reason, we had to buy the baklava n börek to serve the guests at baba's house for bayram today..

1.45pm

Again, the same process... baba as the starting person..everyone lined in a row according to age..n we *bayramlaşalım*... kissed each other n say *iyi bayramlar* to each other.....followed by the doa as read by baba....chocolate distribution...by merve...n not forgetting... bayram parası!! (duit raya!!)..All of us got our duit raya from baba... the kids... the moms...the dads...all...except baba of course..he was the money giver..:0)

It was also the time where gifts for the children were exchanged.. this is also some sort of a tradition i think... usually, in this family, the kids will either recieve duit raya or we exchange gifts... this year... the rest of the siblings exchanged gifts... something symbolic actually...nothing expensive.. socks... t- shirts..toys... anything..halil n i however had decided to give them duit raya instead this year...(we didint have the time to buy gifts)...so when they come to us... that is when we would be giving them the duit raya..

And then... the customary Aidilfitri Lunch... etli nohut ve pilav (chick peas (kacang kuda) cooked with meat..eaten with rice)..This is a tradition in the Zaim family for years... following anne's family tradition.. i dont think this is something general for the people in turkey..just for the Zaim family..Eline sağlık Mese!

I think u may ask me...what do people serve for the guests who come for bayram? In the old days.. it was loküm (turkish delight).. then over the years... it became sweets..n chocolates.. that is a must in every household.. Alongside that, people usually serve desserts....baklava...şekerpare..etc..etc..something sweet...i think it symbolizes the sweetness of bayram or something... but just imagine... if u visit 10 houses n u eat dessert at every house... phewwwwwwwww.....i think dentists would make loads of money after bayram.. that is why some people serve salty things as well like börek..poğaca...etc...etc.... and of course..the turkish tea...all the time....very simple... very not so tiring with regards of the preparation....the idea of bayram is to get together n chat n chat n chat...

After lunch..i think almost 4.30pm...the moms n dads had left all the kids at baba's house to visit a relative...poor meşe had to look after all the 8 naughty kids alone..for i think one hour..poor her...but we had no choice..that relative's house is not suitable for kids to enter... ...Allah Razı Olsun Meşe! ..We all then went to Lutfiye's teyze (anne's youngest sister).. WİTH THE KİDS.. including Meşe's kids... it was a total nightmare..the kids were monsters there...kids running... fighting..pillow quarrels...bla bla bla..Luckily teyze didnt really mind..she said... *u all come here rarely...it's ok*...Meşe sit house at baba's house....

We reached baba at 6pm... no guests came..then halil n i took turn to sit house ....Quests started to come... by 9.30pm..baba n us...escaped the house n we came back to our Apt to visit mahture yenge of istanbul n mahture yenge of turgutlu (presently in istanbul)..n finally...zzzzzzzzzzzzz..

Halil wants the pc...i am just waiting for it to be 12 midnight to call malaysia to wish my mom n dad...Salam aidilfitri maaf zahir dan batin.. i am confident my mom will cry hehehe..halil will also wish them *selamat hari raya* in malay...that is all he knows anyway...heheh

this entry will be updated tomorrow night..To All those in Malaysia... Salam Aidilfitri..Maaf Zahir dan Batin

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Yesterday.. i woke up early n straight headed for the kitchen to cook some salty things to bring to baba to serve the guests...i cooked kandil simidi (my first time making it n it turned out delicious..yippie..will try to add the recipe next week)..i also cooked kıymalı poğaca (hatice's fav)..

Afife Teyze and Özer Abi came to our house for the customory bayram visit.. this is a tradition with them... every bayram...teyze n her hubby will definitely go to every nephew n nieces' houses...they dont usually eat anything or drink anything.. just *sit..talk n leave*.. around 15 minutes max at each house...Of course the zaim siblings we have one advantage... Since teyze usually visit the eldest first... halil n i r at the most advantaged ones..halil being the youngest that is... this year.. halim on the way to buy the bread, say teyze n özer abi heading towards Selimlar.. Özlem phoned me...*they r coming* heheheh...Sağol Özlem... then after teyzelar left Selimler, Funda called me...*az sonra geliyorlar*..heheheof course..there were kerim n halim's house...n lastly, ours.. without these warnings... u can hbe assured.. halil n i would be greeting teyze in our pyjamas!! heheheh (we did for a year or two when we were newly married.) heheheh

We left the house around 12.30 noon...stopped to buy baklava at Emiroğlu n reached baba at around 1pm...we were at baba's house...until 10.30pm...serving the guests...waiting... we did escaped for a while (while no guests were around) to go to the 10th floor..to visit Meşe for Bayram...

One main event of the day was... while serving the guests at baba (cant remember the time).. halil told me... *deprem oldu* (WE HAD AN EARTHQUAKE) ...i didnt feel it coz i was busy n standing.. the rest did... i guess that was the reason the guests left so suddenly.. they must have felt it.. n the one heavily pregnant guest especially must have been scared...

The center of the Earthquake was in Gemlik Körfez in Bursa.. it was 5.2 or richter in scale which lasted 15 seconds.....Those in meşe's house were scared of course...being on the 10th floor of the building...they must have felt it more than us on the 6th floor..

The man in charge of the earthquake department last night had openly announced that.. several more earthquakes are to be expected....yesterdays's earthquake was just among the small earthquakes which one day will be followed by a very big earthquake...One disturbing news is that they guy also listed a few places where the next earthquake will occur.. n the earthquake is heading towards istanbul... One of the places named were Kartal and Maltepe (where hatice's school is)...n my place though in Erenkoy.. is not that far from kartal or maltepe if an earthquake strikes...

To have a big earthquake in istanbul is indeed a scary thing... istanbul is based on Apartments upon apartments...left ..right...front..back..everything include apartments...Allah Korusun...if a big earthquake is based in istanbul... u will see a devastating effect and extremely high life loss one can imagine..

Please dear friends..please pray for the safety of my family...for my çiçeğim..my şekerim... my tem..

Ya Allah...protect my family please..

Third day of Raya Entry to be updated later...

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Today is the third raya..Malaysians.. because we fast for a month... we somehow celebrate raya for a month as well... the visiting of friends n relatives (esp if u have many of them) goes on for a month..

In turkey however...3 days of celebration.. that is the length of Bayram Celebration here....

Hmmm..what did we do today? Today Mıstık (baba's domestic helper) is working today..Hence, the *nobet* (jaga rumah baba layan tetamu) offically ends today..halil n i took this opportunity for siblings visiting today...

I woke up at 7am this morning though... coz i know the visitor traffic at baba's house would be heavy today..Cooked the susamlı kandili simit n peynirlı börek...for baba...called mıstık to come n pick up the goods.. n sent him back to baba with the food...*avır cıvır..as halil said it hehehe*...there was a bit of leftover kandil simidi n poğaca from yesterday...so i added up susamlı simit today... baba mentioned about wanting börek as well..n since he loves it with white cheese..i made some as well for his guests.. there was baklava as dessert as well...they would be enough (in my estimation) to serve his guests..i was right.. :0)

True to our expectations.. the guests traffic was indeed heavy.. baba's predecessors from the university (around 30 people- they r also halil's friends n hocas from his previous workplace..)......these r the people who have a very deep respect for baba n every year they will together visit one hoca after another for bayrAM celebration n as a show of respect...Normally halil didnt join them coz usually we either were holding our *nobet* or we had houses to visit... like today.. Anyway.. mıstık was there today... there were other guests as well... baba mentioned names... cant remember now...

Do i feel guilty leaving mıstık alone to deal with the guests?..i suppose so.. a bit.. but at least i cooked the avır cıvır for them..hmmm.. why do i feel guilty still?..

Anyway.. We started our bayram visiting to halim's house.. our front door neighbour... together we went to Selim's house...only to discover that meşe had already moved to Kerim's house for her bayram visit...then meşe went to selim with kerimlar.. n together..the 5 siblings n all of their kids...moved to halim's house..bayram there over.... the next turn... our house...n finally, everyone went home... or truth to be told... the kids..esp baddin were getting impossible to deal with....the kids were hungry i think...n tired as well..after all, they were playing with ech other for hours n hours..

Fed my kids my modified version of mantı..cooked with minced meat n kabak (squash).. hehehhe the funny thing is... halil liked..n likes it...

By 6pm, we moved to the B block again... selimlar n us were planning to visit Yesimlar.. but they were not at home.. so selimlar offered to look after our kids while we were at kerimlar (their front door neighbour)..Thanks Selim n funda...Over at kerim's, halil remembered that he hadnt visited Afife Teyze... off we went to teyze..Halil is still at baba's.. we went to baba after teyze... he said he was expecting a guest.. i got the tea brewed for him... took out the plates.. filled the plates with whatever avır cıvır (food) there were... n left halil there at baba's to serve the guest..

I had no choice but to return home..baddin's coughing became worse... the running... the sweating...the dust..bla bla..all added up together... led to his coughing...gave him his zrytec....gave him his nebuliser treatment with ventolin.. now both r asleep from exhaustion......in fact, i dont feel great either.. Ever since the first bayram.. my whole body aches..my body had been deciding whether *to get sick or not to get sick*... hehheeh Alhamdulillah... it had held up the strength till mıstık is back at work...i cant imagine serving th guests today in my condition today... had a terrible stomach cramp as well......now all the three days of bayram.. *dear body... u can get sick if u want... but if u dont.. i will be totally grateful :0)*..

Tomorrow is the school day..we r not sending hatice to school tomorrow..We gave her an option whether to go or not to go to school on Friday as well.. she just told me that she misses going to school.. Friday is totally her decision... she may change her mind in the last minute n stay at home...hmm... we will see..baddin is forever happy if his sister is at home..

When Anne was still alive,the Zaim family would celebrate Raya aka bayram in Sapanca....Anne loves that house...in Sapace, there werent much happening in Bayram.. the people in the area would come visit each other... but baba's phone never stop ringing... still dont...:0)

i remembered cooking several types of cookies n brought them to Sapanca to serve the guests... n anne in those days..proudly offered the cookies to the guests... *benim gelin yaptı* (my bride cooked it) hehehehe.. kembang sikit...ntah sedap ke tidak biskut tu..kids from the village nearby would ring the door as well..n asked for the bayram sweets or chocolates ..anne or baba would put aside some money near the red phone area money to give to the kids...

One kid remembered me so well.. that for a year or two after bayram..when we were passing the tol (tem giriş)...n some village kids would try to sell us hazelnuts or something from their home garden... that kid would say... *ben seni hatırliyorum...sen mahmudiye köy dan değil mı?* (i remember u... u r from mahmudiye village arent u?.. while mentioning the *site* where the summer house is located...one way to try to sell ur products.. *relate something to ur customer* hehehe

Well..i think this is about all my first day, second day n third day of Bayram in Turkey... Every Year is basically the same thing for me.. nothing changes much...on the first n second bayram..when mıstık is off duty..meşe n us will take turn to sit house at baba's..i am doing it sincerely..not because i want to win baba's heart.. he is halil's dad..n that makes him my dad

i am also proud of my kids...Every year since they were quite small, they endured the long stay at baba's house during these *nobets*..they got bored of course esp when their cousins were not around...doing bayram rounds... but they rarely complain..i think they see it as part of their bayram routine...besides..we dont have my side of the family to visit during bayrams...

I see a lot of spelling n grammatical errors in this one entry..my three days account entry.... i have neither the mood nor the strength to correct them... so forgive me for these mistakes....i write these accounts so fast..so late at night...when my eyes r already drooping.. n my body screams for the bed..

My Bayram went smoothly...Alhamdulillah.. i didnt snap much photos this year....n i think the photos will only be developed early next week..

Hopefully, u all have had a wonderous Bayram as well..esp with ur love ones...

Simah from this one entry...ending this entry of my bayram account... no lemang...no nasik himpit..no rendang mak..no lontong....nothing of that sort... none of my Malaysian family...but Alhamdulillah... i am with my loves ones...halil... my soul mate...my beautiful hatice n my handsome baddin... together with all the Zaim family....their kids... I know i am blessed..

BAYRAMINIZ MUBAREK OLSUN!

Thank You for hopping by..Hope to see U again next time....

Ketupat

What is Raya without Ketupat? Over the years... i cant help but to connect Raya with ketupat though my mom normally prefers cooking nasik himpit n rendang n lontong.. she never cook ketupat..perhaps she doesnt know how to weave the ketupat casing....It suddenly comes to my mind.. I want to learn to weave the ketupat casing as well.. not for cooking... just for decoration..(where to find nasi pulut etc?)..From next year, i want to weave the ketupat (if i ever manage to learn) using green papers n hang it inside the house for raya...

Ketupat? what is ketupat?? Well my dear Zaim family.. ketupat looks like this:

This is the ketupat casing.. I made a research on the net n i found this...

Materials for weaving ketupat casings. The Ketupat is a savoury rice cake wrapped in woven coconut leaves. The stick which forms the spine of the leaves is removed with a paring knife so that the leaves are split in two ribbon-like pieces. The young leaves of the coconut plant are used. These young leaves are light yellow in colour with green edgings down the long outer sides of the leaves. The length of the coconut leaves is just right for ketupat weaving. The wider the leaves the bigger the ketupat casing will be. The instructions given below is for the traditional ketupat - somewhat square in shape. Another type of ketupat casing is woven in the shape of an onion - called ketupat bawang.

Pandan leaves may also be used. The pandan leaves used are of the long variety and not the type commonly used for food flavouring. However, because of the scent or flavour of the Pandan leaves, such leaves are not usually used when the ketupat is served as a complement to certain dishes as the pandan flavour might affect the taste of the accompanying dishes. Ketupat are therefore traditionally served plain without any flavour. However, some ketupat are boiled in coconut milk seasoned with some salt.

For decorative purposes, ketupat casings may be woven in multicoloured craft ribbons.
How to cook & serve ketupat.The ketupat casings are filled with uncooked rice at the top opening of the casing. It is filled two thirds or three quarters full. The more water absorbent Chinese rice is preferable to the Thai variety as the Chinese rice makes a more compact ketupat and the texture of the ketupat is also smoother. A whole bunch of filled ketupat is then put into a big pot of water and boiled for about 3 hours. The ketupat are then cooled. Serve ketupat cut across diagonally twice with the casing still intact. Remove the casing after cutting. Ketupat are traditionally served with Sayur Lodeh, Serunding, Sambal Tumis, Soto or Satay. Because of the long hours of boiling, the ketupat will keep well and may last a few days even without refrigeration.

Some Weaving Tips

Briefly stated the ketupat weave comprises three vertical and three horizontal interlocking loops. The two ends of the split coconut leaves end up together at the diagonal opposite ends of the ketupat casing: the 2 narrow ends finish together diagonally opposite the two broad ends. The opening of the ketupat (into which rice is filled) is located at the top end where the broad ends of the leaves are located.

The leaves are initially handled iand placed in the manner illustrated in figure (1) below. When making the X, the B leaf should be longer than the A leaf so that there is sufficient space to line up the vertical loops.from the centre of cross to the B end of the leaf.

The 3 vertical loops (figures 2,3,4) are to be kept close together as otherwise it may be difficult to handle the weave when you get to stage (8) where the weave has to be turned around so that the bottom is turned up to face you. A loose weave may just fall apart then. Furthermore, you may also run out of the lengths of the leaves if the weave is woven too loose.
Dexterity comes with practice. A skilled person can complete one ketupat casing in under 1 minute.

NB The illustrations below are sketched to show the weave in loose formation as otherwise the weave will not be shown clearly enough and the back portion of the ketupat casing will not be visible. When weaving the ketupat all the vertical and horizontal loops should be woven as close to one another as it is possible to allow you to manouvre the next step. Try to keep the woven casing a square and not a rectangle as shown in the illustrations. You can do this by tightening or shortening the horizontal loops. In the sketches, the elongated horizonatal loops are also exaggerated to aid visbility.

Weaving Instructions

I will tell u if i ever manage to learn how to weave the ketupat casing..wish me luck!! it looks so hardddddddddddd!!

Thank You for hopping by..Hope to see U again next time....

İftar..n Bayram is just near the corner :0)

Some may be suprised that i failed to update my blog almost daily even though i am in istanbul...what can i say? i cant explain it myself...it is just one of those days...one thing after another... bla bla bla.....in the end, there r loads of emails unanswered (pls forgive my late reply).. this blog.. hatice's blog...my recipe blog....halil's blog..all not updated...*guilty face*

We had guests for iftar last Friday. This time it was halil's friends from his previous working place..10 of halil's friends.. baba, halil n i.. with a total of 13 adults that night...

It was good.. I was calm... not stressed out like the last time we had iftar in our house..I think halil does miss his friends from the old place... just imagine.. he did his undergraduate programme from that university...continued his master there... n at the same time, he was working as a research assistant ..then came Ph.D....That over... he did his compulsory military service for a year... then continued his job at the same place...got his Yrd. Doçenlik...he worked there all in all for 9 whole years... n these people r the people he had known for at least that long..or even longer..lots of memories there.. n they r such good people... the people i myself have known eversince i got married to halil...7 years long...

I asked him...* do u miss ur old place? *... he said * i miss my friends there*... who wouldnt, right? All those years spent together..

But then i think this new place is something he needs to do... he needs this change..we have been needing financial independence... besides, his eldest brother, Selim, is there as well... in the same department..all ready to look after his lil' brother ... n they have been working together writing articles n what not....going to the university together...coming back together.. (hmmm...dont they get bored of each other?? heheh)...

And i personally think that for halil to go to the work place everyday... will benefit him more than previously... he goes to work in the morning n comes back home in the evening... being at work means that he will have to work one way or another n not just lazing down... i mean..he has got this brain.. this capability to excel in the things he does...in his field... n i see him wasting that capabilities by just being lazy... sleeping...staying at home most of the times...not anymore.. now he cant... he is working so hard these days...preparing for his lectures...he finished an article in less than 2 weeks..though in the old days..that would take him months..he is being productive mentally....i feel happy to see him working...writing articles .. ..at least his brain is not wasted..

I do pity him though... this new place is a challenge... to not be lazy...to be productive..to sleep lesser than he used to do... but hey! educators should be creative n productive, right?

I miss him a lot as well...this is a big step for us too.. for the whole family..... i rarely see him except during the evening...Like last week..i didnt see him at all.. he had iftar every night...*phew*..the solution?? we have started ourt chatting days again heheheh not much..just during early in the morning... to say hi ..or at times when he needed me to check something he wrote...bla bla bla... THANKS YAHOO MESSENGER hehehe i am chatting with my hubby!!..

Anyway, back to our iftar...we were expecting around 15 people..though only 11 turned up.. i had set 2 tables in the living room... the menu?

First course
*Pide bread(Special Ramazan Bread)
*3 types of börek
- kofteli sebzeli milfoy börek
- pouch pırasalı sosisli borek
-peynirli borek (kat kat börek)
*3 types of jams
- kıvırcık (dunno the name in english)
-plum marmalade (i made it myself)
- peach nectarin jam
*Black olive
*Dates
*Salam
*3 types of cheeses- white cheese, örgu peynir (plaited cheese), n kaşar peynir
*2 types of Zeytinyaglı Dolma
-stuffed vine leaves (yaprak)
-stuffed green pepper
*yogurtlu havuç (grated carrot in yogurt)
*Russ Salatası
*Mashed potato salad
*Zeytinyağlı Barbunya
*Patlıcan, kabaklı Zeytinyağlı kızartması (fried eggplant n zuchinni with tomato sauce in olive oil)

Second Course
*Soup - creamed carrot, potato n leek soup

Main Course
*Kurma ayam (malaysian dish)
*Pilav (YEAH!! TANE TANE!! sebutir butir..i cooked the pilav myself... see? i could do it..i only need to concentrate... didnt ask yenge coz she was undergoing an operation...getmiş olsun yenge)
*Salad (mixed salad)

Dessert
*Pasta biskuvi with kabaklı kazandibi on top..

Drinks
-TEA all throughout the iftar... (penatttttt tuang air teh..dah la cawan depa kecik..cepat abis..selalu selalu la kena tuang...disclaimer...saya bukan merungut.. ini sudah adat...melayan tetamu).
-Çamlıca (Carbonated drinks)


These things... u can imagine right how full the table was..HOWEVER...When it was towards the iftar..only baba, Sedat Murat n Halis came... i was quite panicked inside...like i said earlier.. we were expecting a maximum of 15 people... but only 3 were there!! ..We called Şenol ( a new assistant )..he was still trying to get to our house using the public transportation... he was lost... We called Suleyman ( he was with 6 other in a car)... Zia and his wife were waiting for Suleyman to come together to our house...n they waited long coz Suleyman n the others...they were stuck in the istanbul traffic...In the end, Şenol reached our house after 2 hours of circling around... Suleyman n gang took around 3 hours to reach our house!! Can u imagine? under normal circumstances, they would have reached our place within one hour (or 45 minutes in high speed)from their working place!!

Yup..this is istanbul of course.. if u r stuck in the traffic..u just dont wanna be in it.. the Zaim family also got stuck in the traffic on Saturday when we all were trying to reach the fatih area for an iftar at a family's friend house... all of us were stuck for 3 hours before we reached our destination... n on the way back..with no traffic..around 45 minutes ..or even less.. traffic is a nightmare here...

I was so relieved when Suleyman n the gang reached our house... they were 1 hour late after the iftar....being stuck in the traffic for 3 hours... u would imagine that they would enter the house n straightaway feast themselves with food, right? i was full with pride to see that they straightway asked for the toilet to take their wuduk..n they prayed the almost ending Maghrib prayer before they attacked the food on the table.. Namaz (prayer) comes first ..then food..

It was chatting...food...laughter all the way..naturally baba being the oldest..him being the hoca of these hojas (the teacher of these teachers)... his valued talk was the center of attention ..the rest talked too of course... it was nice..

What were baddin n hatice doing at that time... Baddin got so shy... i pitied him n allowed him to play with the online pc games..(he was too engrossed with the games that he peed in his pants!!) hahahahaha... Hatice? she was not home until almost 9.30pm coz she went to her friend's house for iftar..When she came back, everyone was saying how tall she has become coz i think the last time they saw her was before halil did his military service..

Anyway.. it was a nice night.. i was tired naturally.. the food took a lot of time in the preparation..but it was worth it..Suleyman even requested that we do this as part of a tradition now that halil is working somewhere else..i suppose we will accept the suggestion......Next year... Size yine bekleriz.. (we will be waiting for you all again)

And less then a week... Bayram.. Hari Raya Aidilfitri is just around the corner...We will be here in istanbul for Bayram... will update u on the Bayram Celebration in Turkey..so stay tuned...:0) I promise after the bayram, i wont be lazy in updating my blog anymore...:0)

I had written a lot of entries in this blog.. And during that time... i have made many friends here... their friendship which i value so much though we have never met.. i probably have made enemies too unknowingly....simah being simah that is...i may have made u smile... i may have made u cry... i also may have made u feel like vomitting in disgust while reading my entries...u may be shocked with some of the things i had written..

With the coming of Bayram..I sincerely ask for ur forgiveness... for all the things i have done that might have offended you....Dari hujung rambut he hujung kaki...from the tip of my hair to the tip of my toes... MAAF ZAHİR dan BATİN..TO ALL whom i know... who knows me...n all the muslims in the world...

HAYIRLI BAYRAM KUTLU OLSUN

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDİLFİTRI

HAPPY EİD MUBARAK

P.s -Adik Bongsuku Muhammad Sabri.. Terima kasih sebab bagi kat orang lagu ni..orang memang suka sangat lagu ni...ni ha dah letak dah kat blog ni... sayanggggggggg kat abi...kalau ada lagi lagu compile la bagi kat orang.. hatice suruh hang compile lagi lagu lagu disney tu.. dia nak lagu dari filem cinderella... beauty n the beast...dan sebagainya heheheh

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..nak balik ghumah nak raya...suruh mak masak rendang ngan lontong tahun ni ..abi makan utk simah :0)

Thank You for hopping by..Hope to see U again next time....

AKVEREN ŞİFAHANE

This need to volume up the liquid in my body for the last two days (COKE!!)..the excessive level of liquid loss...countless trips to the loo..the lack of appetite to eat anything..the pain in the tummy...feeling cold the whole time.. even still today..has left me physically drained...excessively not soooo myself....so why am i here?? hehehehe i am BORED from lying n entertaining the not so nice feeling i have ...

I am dreaming of drinking my iced coke...Cant..till iftar time.. oh..didnt i tell u? nowdays...i am decreasing my intake of Coca Cola... instead.. we r buying more n more of this...

Yup..COLA TÜRKA... to see the advertisement...click here

Better support the local company right? After all..if Merve(halil's niece), a Cola cola expert in the family can at times mistake Coca Cola for Cola Türka..then..i think Ülker is doing just fine in their production of Cola Türka...

Anyway..this talk of water reminds me of a shop i saw last week in Kadıköy....remember somewhere near the Kadıköy cami..we saw this one shop...the name: AKVEREN ŞİFAHANE..this is their pamplet..can u guess what kind of shop it is?
Yup! it is a shop selling only n i do mean selling only FRESH SQUEEZED FRUİT JUİCE!!
In the world where carbonated drinks is the vogue..this kind of shop is totally welcomed..i squeeze fresh fruit juice for my hatice n baddin at home..but to find a shop like this..is very very *cool* indeed!! The kids were thirsty at that time... so we went into the shop, sat inside it while waiting for the kids to finish their drinks..

The prices of the juice differ from one juice type to another...If i am not mistaken.. one plastic cup of orange juice is 1YTL..which is cheap because the orher day i went to buy the same amount of juice from Bariş Bufe in Bağdat Caddesı..i ended up paying 4YTL for that small plastic glass!!! ..carrot juice, apple juice...1YTL....I was tempted by the pomegranate (buah delima..aka nar)..that reddish colour... so i asked the guy to pack 2 glasses (put in a plastic container)..n brought it home....we had that for iftar..the taste?? hmmmm... let us just say...add in another sweet juice..ie...orange or carrot juice inside the pomegranate juice coz by itself as a juice alone....it is really bitter!!..(THOUGH VERY BENEFİCİAL)..All in all...Hatice finished 2 glasses of orange juice while baddin drank one..

A lot of people flocked the shop to drink the juices...U may ask...People? Drinking? While everybody else is fasting????..

Well..yeah... that is the truth of the fasting month in here.. to feel the spirit of the fasting month...u should know where to go...If u walk at the elite streets... normally...u will feel sad..at least i do feel sad...I cant help the feeling coz everywhere on the street... u see people openly smoking... openly eating n drinking.. n i am talking about people of all ages...young ..old...male..female...esp the young ones.....restaurants n cafes will be packed esp during weekends n lunchtime...openly eating n drinking...i cant help but to say to myself...*is this what the future will be like?*...i mean these people r the next generation we r talking about...they will steer the wheel for the generation after that...will generation next has no respect for the holy month as well? I mean..ok..*u dont want to fast...that is ur choice.*..the hisab... the calculation of deeds is between u n ur creator...but at least respect the month, right?

On the other hand... if u go to camiis...the mosques...that is when u feel...n say to urself..*ahhhhhhhh.... this is what this holy month is all about*.. my favourite is Eyub Camii..

This Cami is named after Ayub (Eyub) Al Ansaari... Remember when Rasulullah first moved from Mekah to Madinah during hijrah? He stayed at Ayub's house... The story i heard from halil was... Eyub wanted to die in war....so even though he was sick at that time, he still mounted his horse (or was it camel?) n headed to istanbul... he died here n was burried in the Eyub camii compound.....U can visit his grave still.. people still flock the grave to read an ayat or two...

Back to fasting...If u go to the mosques...sejukkkk hati... u feel calm n blessed n proud to be fasting... over there people flock the cami area..Last year for example... when halil, the kids n i went for an iftar at the eyub cami...u can see a lot..n i do mean...a lottttt of people everywhere...the cami authority even put out mats outside the camii for the people to sit on for their iftar...outside the camii area, there was also a big iftar cavdır (iftar tents) to give away food for the poor... the que was................. we didnt wait in the que of course...we bought köfte from the restaurant nearby for the kids as ı had packed sandwiches from home for halil n i...u be there is to feel the spirit...it is soooo very nice to be near a mosque..(i think Keng Bey would agree...)for the iftar...thousands of people were there...the prayed the maghrib there..n probably terawikh as well... it was some sort of a celebration...the crowd..lights... the sound of quran reading...To be there made me feel...yes.. i am proud to be a muslim...:0)

I just pray to Allah that my kids will be among those who will fast once they grow up...this year they have not started yet... halil n i agreed that hatice will start next year... while baddin will start the year after that...please pray for my kids...pray that they will be good insans... who will obey the call of their religion..No parents want their kids to stray from the right path..Ya Allah..please protect my kids...


Thank You for hopping by..Hope to see U again next time....

The Sights of Malaysian Food

It happened yesterday...I was in the kitchen cooking...n I heard this sound..somebody was vomitting in the bathroom... It couldnt have been baddin coz he was playing in the living room..Hatice was in school..so it must be Saime... Thru the bathroom door... i asked her..

Simah: *Iyi mısın?* (r u alright?)
Saime: still coughing n vomitting
Simah : *koku sana mı dokunuyor?* (is the smell bothering u?)
Saime: *galiba* (perhaps)

I laughed silently...while spraying *oust* (air freshner) all over the house..

THAT smell my friend was the smell of me cooking the sambal ikan bilis!!! hahahahahahaahaha..see i told u türks cant take our food smell much...but then it serves me right..i was trying to sakat everybody with the turkish cooking..n i was the one yg kena sakat heheheh..

there i was browsing thru several blogs.. n i saw this roti jala made by lollies...i remember the recipe in syikin's recipe blog... after *celup*ing the recipe (thanks syikin).. i had a go... i was not good in *menjala* the roti jala.. (hey! it was my first time trying cooking it ever..)...the shape was there though... made minced meat dhall as the sauce...(halil liked it)..though i wished i had made the curry sauce..but there was no chunk meat or chicken..so i had to do with dhall..n then called my mom to ask her her recipe of sambal ikan bilis..(ala mak..mana nak cari asam keping or asam jawa?? so i squeezed the orange n greyfruit instead hehehehe..iskh kurang asam...lemon sikit..:0)..tibaii)....and started cooking....the smell heheheh memang menusuk hidung.. i bet the whole apartment were cursing me heheheheheh...

The ikan bilis tuned out totally overly pedas...(so i will have to eat it bit by bit).. still not so bad... at least for my standard since i dunno how to cook Malaysian food... still i try..masak tak susah..kena practice aja la..betul tak kengkawan bloggers? by the way.. 2 days ago i cooked tane tane ..butir butir pilav! yeay!!!!..bravo to myself..

This time i dont plan to menyakat anyone...these pictures r for my own benefit...so if ur posa *kurus*..it will be no fault of mine *chuckles*....some of the food i would like to see for my own benefit..:0) If u r not a Malaysian.. enjoy the sights! if u r a Malaysian...these r the things i would ask my mom to cook the next time i see her (or she will just probably buy them from pasar malam......Enjoy!

Satay
(Teringat kat Satay Kajang)
Nasi Ayam

Laksa
(Sapa orang utara yg tak suka laksa?hmmmm)Cendol

(mamak awat depa kalau buat mesti piaw?? remembering cendol kat bus stop lama kat BM..tapi cendol kena la dengan gula merah babe!!)

Rendang Ayam
(Kalau mak masak ayam dia potong kecik sikit kot)
Daging Masak Hitam

(This is my very very Favourite One...)

Kerapu Kukus Nyonya

Kantan Gulai TempoyakSambal Udang

(kena pedas n sambal mesti sedap...)

Masak Lemak Ketam
(Nenas mesti Adaaaa..)

Rebus Asam Keladi
(semasam masam yg boleh..piawww)

Kerabu Mangga

Sambal Tempe Goreng

Kuih Muih

Wajik goreng

Thank You for hopping by..Hope to see U again next time....

The Sights of Turkish Food

Since today is my*....day*...

i thought i'd invite all my virtual friends for iftar virtually...

so these r some of the things in the turkish menu for u to munch..

(saja nak kacau orang yg dok posa hehehehe..posa tetap posa...sakat tetap sakat..)

jangan marah..sapa marah kurang posa... hehehehe

Yoğurt Çorbası

Tarhana ÇorbasıMenemen

Tepsi Böreği

Su BöreğiFasulye Piyazı

Yaprak Zeytinyağlı Dolması

Imam Bayıldı

Pide

Etli Kuru FasulyeAdana Kebap

Donerci
-this..u cannot do without in turkish food-

Şiş KebabKazandibi

Baklava

Tulumba

***********************************************************************************

Soups
börek
cold dishes
hot dishes
desserts
****************************************
Can u guess which belongs to which category?

Thank You for hopping by..Hope to see U again next time....