Penamoli

  I’m a May baby and the 24 th day of the month has always been very significant for me as always. My family has always made me feel special on this day and given me the strong root to always stand on my feet and appreciate my life. I learnt life early- self-love and appreciation; gratitude and contemplation was ingrained since I was a child and I must thank my parents, ‘maami’ and sisters for it. I am a firm believer Birthdays should be celebrated; loved and always love celebrating people around me. When it comes to my birthday, my way of celebrating as always since my twenties are for me reflecting on the lesson life has taught me (I do have diary notes written every year on this day-the eve of my born day). Since the birth of my sons, it’s even more special. I have never been ever more privileged than to celebrate my life for them by celebrating them, my little world.  This year, 2021-I felt even more special: I am turning 45 and officially hitting middle-age. Surpris...

  As I write this (21st of May, 2021), I am 10 days past my second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. While I know the pandemic is far from over, I’d be lying if I said I’m not sleeping a bit better at night. Based on the evidence from clinical trials, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),   the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 95% effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 illness in people without evidence of previous infection. Although we don’t yet know exactly how it will perform under real-world conditions, the odds are very good that even if I get sick, I will not get as sick as I might have prior to the vaccine. Better yet, I may not get sick at all. That knowledge is giving me a peace of mind that I have not had since the pandemic began. How I got my appointment so early? The most common question people were asking me was how I managed to get it so early since I’m only 44 years old and not a healthcare worker? Because adults in...

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point, he asked: ''Are you writing a story about what we've done? Is it a story about me?'' His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson: '' I am writing about you, actually, but more important  than the words is the pencil I'm using. I hope you will be like the pencil when you grown up.'' Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn't seem very special. ''But it's just like any other pencil I've ever seen!'' ''That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.'' ''First quality : you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. we call that hand, God, and He always guide us according to His will.'' ''Second quality: now and then, I have...

A painter, a poet and a critic were crossing the desert. One night, to kill the time, they decided to describe the camel that was accompanying them. The poet  took ten minutes to describe the animal’s nobility in beautiful verses. In a few rapid strokes, the painter offered his friends a drawing. Finally the critic entered the tent. He came out two hours later, by which time they were all annoyed at how long he was taking. “I tried to be quick, but I discovered flaws in the animal,” said the critic. “It doesn’t run. It’s uncomfortable. It’s ugly.” And he handed his friends a wad of pages with the title: “The perfect camel, or how God should have made the camel.”   (Arab oral tradition)

The birds are chirping. This time, my garden friends are a pair of Magpie, a pair of Robin, sometimes a Blackbird, many times some Great Tits, seldom I see some Blue Tits, a friendly tailless female squirrel that  comes everyday for a feed of nuts but if we run out of nuts, it certainly wouldn't mind a creamy nutty biscuit which will melt in your mouth-that I think it prefers more that the peanuts,  a black cat with very few white spots and green eyes that always stares at me slyly, and FINALLY, one big wily fox that pretends to walk on my wooden fence to cross and go to my neighbours yard but I know he is the crafty culprit that broke my paling fence and my clay flower pots when he actually did jump into my little garden. I saw him this morning too ( I did not add other creepy crawlies and pollinators that might amuse your children or the child in you, then I can't put a full-stop to my extremely long sentence). Even if I don't mentioned them, they are all my garden friend...

Exploring new things is fun but at the same time there are many uncertainty. It doesn't come easy and many times not too difficult too, but through many observations, maybe sometime many failures and many exciting findings. So it is my vegetable scrap project. Today my gem lettuce and celery is ready with healthy roots to be transplanted to soil. It has been 3 months now since I started exploring growing vegetable from scrap. Everyday is a new beginning to see how my scrap transforms and regrows  into lovely vegetable. When I started, it was an unprecedented time. Well, it still is but an unknown phase of that time has now become a new norm. We all one way or another has been accustomed to the new norm and bubbles of new terminologies. Some may still find it hard to adapt. Some might have found some ways to keep their insanity intact. One way or another, many of us have striven to survive from the uncountable unknowns. It is 3 months ago, on this 22nd day  of March, England of...

Eid Mubarak to all Muslim community. This poem is written in Malay language,  and dedicated to all who celebrates the joyous festival.   Senja disulami mentari, Sebak disulami senyum; Ribang di hati reda, menukil seuntai puisi...di hari raya. Alangkah nikmat erti Ramadan, Melangkah syukur -Syawal mendatang; Maaf dan insaf-susun jemari, Redha di jiwa-kuat tauhid. Biar tak menghilang ilmu yang diajar, Biar tak melupa janji yang dipikul; Kita cukup tenang memintal tali persaudaraan, Ayuh merantai kasih antara insan. Alangkah tenang -hati bahagia, Mendengar takbir nun jauh di bumi pertiwi; Hari gembira-syahdu menanti, Mencari hidup-menunggu senja. Biar jiwa berlabuh jaya, Menanam niat-menabur bakti; Biar sikap berbudi bahasa, Menyapa kesediaan-menyahut seruan. Ramadan tak menghilang... Bila Syawal mendatang; Cuma kita menghilang... Dalam kealpaan. Salah dan khilaf-mohon diampun, Lekas kita merajin senang-dibumi Indah. Ramadan tak menghilang... Bila Syawal mendatang.