Last year, we invited Bapak's close friends and former colleagues to join us at home to celebrate his 82nd birthday.
For many reasons, and especially a very good one, we thought that it would be nice for Bapak to have his friends with him as he celebrated another birthday.
But this year, we decided to make it a quiet affair.
Although Bapak's birthday was on Wednesday April 18, we had to hold his birthday tea on Saturday (April 21) so that everyone could be there.
We decided on a pot-luck. Everyone brought over a little something. Kak Ton brought her mee rebus, Kak Olin - fried mee hoon, Azah - roast chicken, Kamal - bread&butter pudding and Lalin - birthday cake. I brought the drinks and Adel made spicy beef pasta.
I love the birthday cake Lalin baked for Bapak. She said she plagiarised my latest TWB. Check out the birthday wish on the cake!
Bapak would like to thank everyone who wished him well on his birthday!
Later, after maghrib prayers, we held a "tahlil" for our late sister, Kak Eda who passed away on March 8. Al-Fatihah.
Also baby Sharmaine Hana turned one month old on April 20.
I took some "birthday" pictures: Clockwise from left:1) The birthday cake: 2){this is for Rubiah who wanted to know how baby Sharmaine has been doing} Sharmaine; and 3) Bapak with Mak Cik, children and cucu-cicit.
sorry i couldn't be there, ena and nina.
ReplyDeletehappy birthday, pak samad!
The photos tell a lot. It must have been so much fun. Lots of people sharing love, laughter and food. I miss big gatherings like that.
ReplyDeleterocky,
ReplyDeleteit's ok, rocky, Insyallah, Bapak will celebrate another birthday next year.
Thank you.
JT,
ReplyDeleteYes, it is always a lot of fun. It is one of the things we'd be missing when we are overseas, except if you are married to someone who also comes from a big family.
Thanks for visiting, JT.
Dear Nuraina,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the photo of baby Sharmaine. She's gorgeous, lah. Agaknya, mirip mama dia! I am trying to "print screen" that pix so I could hang it on my wall. Kata orang2 tua, boleh "mengiring"! Dapat baby! Thank you so much. Looks like a lively party. The whole clan turned up. There, no need for fancy restaurants. Setiap sorang bawa sikit, jadi banyak. Yang penting semua happy. Puas hati. Terima kasih. muah muah for baby Sharmaine.
Rubiah Ariff
Rubiah,
ReplyDeletei am glad you dropped by.
Nina kirim salam. I told her that I would be posting Sharmaine's picture for someone called Rubiah. Oh yes, Nina remembers you. I took several shots of Sharmaine but she was asleep, so I waited for when she opened her eyes.
Mack (Nina's husband) was cradling her when she lazily opened her eyes.
Kelam kabut dibuat nya.
"Kak Ena, Kak Ena, Sharmaine dah buka mata ni," he hollered.
Itu pun, dia buka mata for 4 seconds. Then she fell back to sleep. I cuit dia pun dia tak nak bangun.
I am glad you've got to see the photo.
This is a comment from PRUFROCK, for Mekyam and Prufrock Fan and possibly other curious commentors. His comment came in my TWB (10) on April 22 at 5.44pm. I thought I should reproduce it here:
ReplyDeletePrufrock fan/another prufrock fan,
(Nuraina, I apologise for hijacking your blog by conducting this private aside; but I thought it fair that I cleared up on this prufrock thing.)
Mekyam and those who read English at the tertiary level will tell you that The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock, together with Ash Wednesday - that's right Hamid's, Nuraina's elder brother, Abu Rabu on this blog - Portrait of a Lady, Gerontion and several others are required reading if you offered T S Eliot as one of the poets you wanted to study for your 20th Century Poetry Paper.
Why Prufrock? Well, this middle aged, skinny and balding protagonist is fatally divided between his amorous ways and his morals! At least that's my understanding of the poem, given my limited command of the language in which it was written. But for all intents and purposes the description of Prufrock could as well be me - an old fart in the autumn of his years. And therefore the nom de plume.
If by Prufrock, you mean this chap , no I am not related to Pak Samad. I'm just a self-confessed Samadophlie; an unashamed admirer of Samad as a political strategist and a journalist.
And no, I won't be blogging for the reason that I'm slightly daft, with a 286 brain that is hardly good for single tasking, let alone thinking along layers of sophistication as has often been shown by the generation e people.
5:44 PM
Happy birthday to your dad sis. Am still away and managed to get connection in the middle of the ocean.
ReplyDeleteAdios
Kak Ena,
ReplyDeleteBapak's birthday cake soooo cooooolll. Its the coolest cake I have ever seen.
Baby Sharmaine so cute. Luqman is booking the first date. He he he.. (hey, I am his mom, I can fix him up!)
anon frm Miri: Alahai.... brother. thank you so much for the wishes. susah payah sahaja.
ReplyDeleteBila ke Kuala Lumpur lagi? Kita minum kopi/teh dan lama sikit-lah di sini.
Elviza: you are so sweet. thank you, my dear.
nanti, kita boleh set them up on their first date. Sharmaine's first birthday, Luqman will definitely be invited.
also, please tell us (yr blogger friends), what toys yang Luqman doesnt have. Or what he likes, ok?
I so looveee the cake.
ReplyDeleteNuraina,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the photo's with us. Sharmaine Hana is a real cutie.
I come from a big family and we used to have big family gatherings like this, especially during CNY. I do miss these happy get-togethers now that I'm far away from "home".
Jane Sunshine : Hi, Jane, mystery woman.
ReplyDeletedon't you just! one thing i could never do is bake a cake!
and the birthday cake was delicious. I think it was a simple butter cake but it was really good.
thanks for dropping by.
Sesat,
ReplyDeleteI know what it's like to be away from home during family birthdays or festivities. That's when you start looking through photos (in albums), reading letters etc.
when i was in Boston studying many many moons ago, i would really get homesick during hari raya and birthdays of Mak and my siblings.
there were no emails then, no cellphones. God! how did we survive?
i wrote lots of letters to my mom, and my sisters and brothers.
take care and thank you for dropping by!
You should consider yourself very-very lucky you still have a father whose birthday you could celebrate.
ReplyDeleteI must have been fun right?
KTN: I know.. I am thankful for that.
ReplyDeleteThank you, KTN for the reminder.
by the way.. Saw your pix. Zorro showed it to us all. Tell us if and when you are coming down to KL.
assalamualaikum kak ena,
ReplyDeletewah,seronoknya!
selalunya cucu-cicitlah yang buat meriah lagikan?
Uhuuu. bestnye kek dia.
ReplyDeleteAccia : Assalamualaikum. Sihat? SUami dan anak2? Hope everyone's well.
ReplyDeleteMemang begitu-lah, cucu-cicit yang meriahkan. Kalau diorang tak ada, sunyi betul rumah Bapak. Alhamdulillah Nina anak beranak duduk
dengan Bapak dan Mak Cik.
Take care, Accia and thank you for visiting.
Syed Syahrul: Memang-lah. Rasa tak nak potong cake tu.
Thank you for dropping by.
Hi Nuraina,
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely pictures!
Thank you for sharing your Dad savouring his 83rd, surrounded by immeasurable wealth (rich cake included). And that recently added jewel, sooo very precious! :-)
***
[Dear Nuraina, my clumsy salute to Prufrock below is probably best conveyed directly but I don't know how. Appreciate if you can forward. mekyam]
To Prufrock:
Your unassuming ripple to our universe,
Belie images of Prufrocks in Gen E years.
Who saunter out sans self-doubt --
Viagra-virile assured -- and any bald-spot
long since laser-transplanted out.
Rubiah Ariff...
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the photo of baby Sharmaine. She's gorgeous, lah.
=============================
Indeed she is. Like her aunt, cik ton.
Lol!! Just kidding...not about her looks, though.
Sharmine Hana looks middle-eastern and is such a beauty.
But then all my nieces & nephews are good looking.
Yup, am not ashame to admit that I am such a biased aunt.
Like my cake? See more at www.flickr.com/photos/takethecake
ReplyDelete