The Raya - Part 2

i heard in an ad, not sure was it tv or on radio...raya is about mensyukuri (gratitude), memaafi (forgiveness) dan memberi (giving). quite right, i think. there are many ways to interpret what raya means...yes, raya means victory overcoming puasa challenges, giving charities, and hopefully makes one better after 1 month of spiritual journey...


House deco


Raya to us this year is also about gathering plus decorating Abah's house. Abah had put a lot of thots on the design of this house...(including a garden, inside the house).


The house is 1 year old but it's relatively bare and not much soft furnishings. so this raya is also about that. Mak, Yati and Buna got busy with new curtains, cushion covers, table cloths, etc. Some 'imported' from Macy's, others from local shops.

Raya pic

On raya day, we took family pic. I could say it has been difficult to take family raya pic as Abah normally went to visit the relatives right after the prayers. By the time he got home, some of us, especially the little ones would not be in the baju raya anymore...but this year, Abah went straight home and we took a lot of family pic.







Food


Mak cooked nasi himpit, rendang daging, sambal bilis and ayam masak cili.


The semperit and choc cookies balang all finished on the 1st day just by us. on the 1st day of raya too, we had laksa twice; one at Mak Lang's and the other at Tok Cik's house. The laksa was superb! 2nd day lunch was Mee Kuah (also at Mak Lang's) and briyani at a friend's place at Simpang Empat. Pic below is taken at Tok Cik's house.






Simpang Empat



It was the 1st time for me to go to Simpang Empat. Usually raya visits revolved around Kg Santan, Utan Aji and Lubuk Sirih. We went to Simpang Empat to visit Azhar, a friend of ours. The drive along the roads at Simpang Empat was special. u can enjoy the long strecth of green paddy field on your right side and water canal on your left. beautiful. Pity that our camera broke down :(. Azhar's dad works at his own paddy field - and the house is very, very near to the paddy field. u can see the paddy from the kitchen door.



Distant Uncles/aunties


A few relatives came to visit Abah too, mainly his cousins. Abah's grandfathers (on both sides) had 2 wives. (i think i discovered that fact in my Form 1 Salasilah Keluarga assignment). I was told the wives and children used to live close to each other. Hence, from 4 grandmothers, Abah has many uncles/aunties and therefore many more cousins. I am embarassed that i don't know a lot of them. Meeting them briefly once a year doesn't help to remember their names. oh yes, this year i met for the 1st time, 3 of Abah's cousins.

Return journey

off to KL on friday. this time we decided to break the journey and visit some relatives/friends in our transit. We went to U. Norahim's, Yas', Auntie Mona's and Dr Shamsul's. More and more yummy food...:) I think most KLites are still at their hometown/holidaying etc. The drive along Jln Raja Laut on Saturday afternoon rarely got that smooth. Back to Kuantan on Saturday...yes, finally, internet connection!..I think we were the 2nd family to be back at our 'jalan'. Road still empty, houses dark.

well, that's all for 1 week.

Got 3 more weeks of 'raya'! :)