In between Ramadhan and Syawal

Ramadhan is nearing its end quite soon, and the heat of Syawal is definitely here :) Like the past years, we are going to celebrate Aidilfitri here in KL first. After that we will visit Opah in Abah's hometown, Sg. Siput, Perak. Believe it or not, Abah has not decided when to go back, either on the eve of the 1st Raya, or on the 2nd, or on the 3rd (I don't really prefer travelling without planning though..) but it's okay, cuz Abah's gonna drive, and we'll definitely sleep along the way, hehe.

Today we finally ended our series of shopping for Aidilfitri, in KL and Shah Alam. It has been a few years since we last shopped together in KL (usually we siblings do our own shopping cuz my parents were always too tired of following us around) and this year, I have no idea what made my parents braved the effort to buy the things for the house in that busy Jalan TAR.

Yes, it was busy indeed. Anyhow, the atmosphere of the shops were not the same as three years back. I was taken aback by the condition of the once-glorious Globe Silk Store, which has been taken over by another label called Sarah Hughes. I thought, hmm, cool name. So we went to the home furnishing level, cuz Mom wanted to buy new drapes and cushion covers. When we got there, we were surprised to see that there was no visitor (except for us!) and what was even worse, the cloths sold were the old stocks. I guess they lost the challenge to Gulati's and Jakel la. Feeling down, we descend the stairs, and went to Sogo instead. Ain and Aishah got their stuffs, and Ozal and Abah got themselves new shirts.

We headed for Bukit Antarabangsa after that, to get the cookies that Mom ordered from her cousin Auntie Rahmah. Our Auntie Rahmah has deep passion in baking, and she spends a lot to experiment on new recipes. She even dragged me to her fave supply shop to show me her fave items to bake cakes and cookies during my last visit to her place. Believe it or not, she is now probably 64 years old, and she's still standing strong in her kitchen!

Auntie Rahmah was checking which cookies that Mom ordered

These are just a portion of her cookies. There are more in her kitchen and on the other half of the dining table!

(Sorry if the pics are not so pretty. Phone's of VGA cam je..)

Shah Alam was our final destination for the day, as Ain, being the most unsatisfied one, wanted to find a 'glamorous' kurung moden for our cousin's upcoming wedding. We called it a day after she announced her hunt a success. Finally!

The great thing about Ramadhan (apart from being His most blessed month) is that Ramadhan is a month where rezeki is abundant. It is during this month where, we can see Ramadhan Bazaars are everywhere, the increase in charity to orphanages and old folks' home, invitation to fast-breaking, iftar at the mosques and surau, exchanging dishes among neighbors, the opportunity to get extra pocket money through selling Raya biscuits, scarfs, opening stalls at places where crowds gather.. and the list goes on. Amidst the political instability and the rise of the price of goods, we still manage to keep the Ramadhan spirit alive, though modesty in spending is still the priority.

But believe it or not, this is my first time of not visiting the Ramadhan Bazaar the whole month. Why? I dunno myself, but the drive just wasn't there.Perhaps getting home late was one of the reasons, compared to last year when my office was nearer. Or perhaps, I am getting used to curbing my spending on the extras! Well Sharifah, let's call that a good progress =)

To everybody who reads this post, I just wanna wish you Selamat Hari Raya, and maaf zahir dan batin. Do drive safely back to your hometowns ya :)

Ahhh.. esok kena kemas rumah lagi~ penatnya... (>_<) sendi-sendiku sakit semua.. lalala..~