Animal Crossing Lets Go To The City

Tiffany replaces Portia





Mathilda replaces Clyde





Stitches replaces Boomer





Stinky replaces Bree





Anabelle replaces Pinky





Curly replaces Mac




Poppy replaces Tom




Pinky replaces Bill





Apollo replaces Avery






Gala replaces Nan





Mac replaces Caroline





Winnie replaces Truffles






Portia replaces Ruby





Boomer replaces Elmer






Bill replaces Moose

Caroline replaces Kitty

Avery replaces Peewee

Nan replaces Kiki

Elmer

Kitty

Truffles

Tom




Ruby



Peewee




Moose




Kiki





Clyde

Bree

Whatever Happens to My Hobbies?

I started working again officially on 5 October 2009 after a long break of 2 years! I really am not interested in the job but unfortunately I have to work. Weekdays in the office is from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. However, the hour will be longer at the first week of the month.

It was an occasion to be celebrated when I got a goodie bag from the recruitment agency. Unlike me, they were obviously happy. Probably because they charged an introduction fee of £4,200 to the company ;)










I seldom play Animal Crossing now. After work, I will browse the internet and play FarmVille on Facebook. I should say that my new hobby is farming and raising animals.

I went to Zurich, which was my first business trip ever on the second week of employment. Business trip really was a business trip. There was no room for sightseeing or shopping. I went back to the hotel late in the evening and I was very tired. Lucky I wasn't hungry and there was time when I didn't finish my dinner.

Zurich was very cold (-ve celcius) but I did enjoy riding on trams to and from office. The traffic was smooth unlike KL's. Despite my busy time in Zurich, I managed to buy chocolates to bring back home. I was really upset when I couldn't find those tiny macaroons just like when I was in Zurich for the interview before. Fortunately my colleague decided to buy sandwiches at a shop near the tram station on the way to office on my last day in Zurich. It was the world renowed shop in Zurich, Sprungli and it sells Luxemburgerli, the tiny macaroons! I bought a whole lot!










I hate my job and I hate my boss. She always scold me, sometimes for things that she herself did by mistake. I am really looking forward for early resignation!

Raya Raya ~ Syawal 1430 H

Most probably we are going to celebrate Hari Raya on Sunday, 20 September 2009. My husband is very excited because this is his first raya at home after 4 years celebrating abroad. He bought a new red sampin which cost him RM500, a white kopiah and butang baju melayu. Since we didn't have the chance to make a new baju melayu for him, he is going to wear his old baju melayu which he wore on our wedding day 6 years ago. It still looks brand new! I asked for a pair of slippers because mine has worn out. I have 4 pairs of baju kurung which haven't been worn that much since we were not celebrating raya "excessively" abroad. I got a new tudung from my sister and a new telekung for sembahyang raya.

My husband and 2 of his brothers went back to his kampung to buy foodies for Hari Raya. The one that my husband really loves is N9's lemang. He claims that N9's is the best compared to other states' lemangs. I know Opah cooks good lemang too. I know Opah's rendang tok is the best rendang ever.

When I was a kid, Opah used to bake kek gula hangus (with and without raisins) ordered by neighbours for Hari Raya. The price varies according to sizes. And Opah used to sell acar buah which is also the best ever in Nescafe bottles, big and small. My mother will cook lemang, dodol and kuah kacang for nasi himpit for her to sell too. Hari Raya seems to be a big income contributor to Opah. Furthermore Opah is the best cook in my kampung.

The morning of Hari Raya will be the busiest for myself when Opah ordered me and my sister to send raya foodies to neighbours as sedekah. Sometimes we have to wait for the plates because Opah knew that several neighbours dare not return her precious plates. After that we were ordered to set food for orang masjid to come for raya at Opah's house after sembahyang. Remember, Opah is the best cook and they came to her house first!

There was an incident on one raya eve when karipap tasted "extraordinary" sweet. It was my aunt's doing when she accidentally mixed flour and caster sugar prepared for kek gula hangus. I was the one who said "eh, this karipap is sweet!" You should see Opah's face when she tasted the karipap and straight away knew that my aunt used her kek gula hangus ingredients. That night we had Maggi Mee for buka puasa since no one prepared a proper lauk when everyone was busy cooking foodies for raya.

Makan Makan Ramadhan 1430 H

Ramadhan comes again! I was back on the 4th September flying for 24 hours and finally arrived safely at home. The best thing of celebrating Ramadhan at home is the opportunity to taste local, famous delicacies during iftaar. We had planned to go to several bazaar Ramadhan to search for food that we missed a lot. Let see if I can still remember what we had since we arrived home.

• murtabak (1* ~ bad!)
• nasi lemak (5* for sambal)
• roti john (1* ~ I don't like roti john)
• roti bom (5* ~ my favourite, must be without sauce)
• kuih bongkok (similar to my grandmother's kuih but without bebola tepung pulut berinti kelapa dengan gula melaka, therefore only 2*)
• tepung pelita (3* because I don't think it was the authentic tepung pelita, it was more like takothai)
• kuih gula melaka (I prefer green)
• taufufah (4* ~ I prefer the one in pasar malam)
• putu bambu (it was similar to putu piring but "bamboo" version unlike putu bambu I had with my grandmother, thus 2*)
• tauhu sumbat with peanut sauce (2* ~ I prefer something sweet)
• pulut panggang (5*)
• tepung talam (4*)
• tomyam (tengok je)
• telur bungkus (3*)

Today we had nasi beriyani gam, kuih lapis (merah hijau?) and puteri ayu. My grandmother used to make kuih lapis with many colours: red, green, yellow, brown, white. We freshen ourselves with soya cincau and soya kurma. Yesterday my sister made us ketam bercili and we had air laici and cendol from bazaar Ramadhan and soya ros from Mydin.

NOTE: I am not complaining. My grandmother makes better kuih than anyone else's.

My sisters have been busy making biskut raya especially tart nenas and sarang semut for her beloved ones a.k.a. her sons and my husband. The sisters went to fetch another niece from school and brought back chocolate cake from her house.

The Ash Grove

THE ASH GROVE

My other childhood song which is a traditional Welsh folk song in the 19th century. I love this song very much.

The ash grove how graceful, how plainly 'tis speaking
The wind through it playing has language for me.
Whenever the light through its branches is breaking,
A host of kind faces is gazing at me.
The friends from my childhood again are before me
Each step brings a memory as freely I roam.
With soft whispers laden the leaves rustle o’er me
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home.

Down yonder green meadow where streamlets meander
When twilight is fading I pensively roam
Or in the bright noon tide in solitude wander
Amid the dark spaces of that lonely ash grove.
‘Twas there while the black bird was cheerfully singing
I first met my dear one the joy of my heart
Around us for gladness the blue bells were springing
The ash grove, the ash grove that sheltered my home.

My lips smile no more, my heart loses its lightness;
No dream of the future my spirit can cheer.
I only can brood on the past and its brightness
The dear ones I long for again gather here.
From ev'ry dark nook they press forward to meet me;
I lift up my eyes to the broad leafy dome,
And others are there, looking downward to greet me
The ash grove, the ash grove, again is my home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWmi2IxgDuk&feature=related

A Lover's Concerto

A LOVER'S CONCERTO

This is a pop song written by American songwriters in 1965. I remember singing it in the choir at school.

How gentle is the rain
That falls softly on the meadow,
Birds high up in the trees
Serenade the clouds with their melodies
Oh, see there beyond the hill,
The bright colors of the rainbow.
Some magic from above
Made this day for us just to fall in love
Now, I belong to you
From this day until forever,
Just love me tenderly
And I'll give to you every part of me.
Oh, don't ever make me cry
Through long lonely nights without us.
Be always true to me,
Keep this day in your heart eternally.
One day we shall return
To this place upon the meadow.
We'll walk out in the rain,
See the birds above singing once again
Oh, you hold me in your arms,
And say once again you love me,
And if your love is true,
Everything will be just as wonderful.
You'll hold me in your arms,
And say once again you'll love me,
And if your love is true,
Everything will be just as wonderful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGDZc9bdUZM

Scarborough Fair

My favourite subject when I was at the elementary school is Music. I was very good at theory and got straight As in every exams. Even my ambition is to become a pianist and perform on stage. However, when I moved to secondary school, they don't offer music as one of the subjects. This is one of my favourite childhood songs. It is a traditional English ballad.

SCARBOROUGH FAIR

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
(On the side of a hill in the deep forest green)
Parsely, sage, rosemary & thyme
(Tracing a sparrow on snow-crested ground)
Without no seams nor needlework
(Blankets and bedclothes a child of the mountains)
Then she'll be a true love of mine
(Sleeps unaware of the clarion call)
Tell her to find me an acre of land
(On the side of a hill, a sprinkling of leaves)
Parsely, sage, rosemary, & thyme
(Washed is the ground with so many tears)
Between the salt water and the sea strand
(A soldier cleans and polishes a gun)
Then she'll be a true love of mine
Tell her to reap it in a sickle of leather
(War bellows, blazing in scarlet battalions)
Parsely, sage, rosemary & thyme
(Generals order their soldiers to kill)
And to gather it all in a bunch of heather
(And to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten)
Then she'll be a true love of mine
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYQaD2CAi9A

happy watching!

Characters Come & Go

Kaitlin always searching for her lost kitten

Katie, the kitten, Kaitlin's daughter

Rover sometimes stop by for a coffee




Lyle, the weasel, sells insurance




Kapp'n the taxi driver

Wendell, the walrus, travelling designs salesman




K.K.Slider performs at the cafe every Saturday evening




Saharah, the camel, sells rare carpets




Crazy Redd, the fox, 'black market' salesman





Pascal, the sea otter comes by the sea




Katrina, the fortune teller

Joan, the turnip peddler

Gracie Grace, the fashion designer 'Queen of Couture'

Dr. Shrunk, the salamander, a stand-up comedian

Blanca, the mysterious cat, asks for new face