End of AY2020/21 and Summer Break 2021

 Salam my lovelies,

Pardon for the long silence as we trudged on the final term of pandemic-online-schooling. Syukur alhamdulillah Girl and Bean both did exceptionally well in their GL Assessments. Girl graduated in our living and dining room. Bean scored an award for Most Improved Student of his class. The Awards Ceremonies were surprisingly interesting! We applied for access to be granted to The Grandparents so they joined us online to watch both ceremonies. Both of the children's homeroom teachers will be returning to England, alas. They will both be sorely missed.

Girl and Bean somewhat enjoyed their online Sports Day as the novelty had worn off. We will suggest that the programme be updated next year as repeating the same routines and challenges from AY2019/20 annually were not exciting nor engaging for the most part. Morion, their sports house, did not win this year but put up a good fight. Sportsmanship can be tough under pandemic-fatigue as we witnessed first hand.

International Week came and went without much pomp and gala as the overall spirit was dampened by high daily new cases and long-drawn lockdown. Girl's class was assigned Thailand, and Bean's year group was again assigned China (same as when they were in Year 1). Girl's Thai costume arrived after International Week Dress Up Day, and Bean donned his Lunar New Year red costume. There was not much decoration of study space, except reusing all our Lunar New Year deco items for Bean's China-theme. I must remind myself to order Bean's new costumes as he is outgrowing them soon.

We cooked some masa harina pancakes (the recipe is a keeper) and ordered Thai food during International Week. Bean missed his xiao long bao and la mien so much he kept reminiscing his meal at Din Tai Fung KLCC when we could last venture out.

Summer break is finally here and we are spending every single day indoors, same as most Klang Valley dwellers. Our 9.2 acre park is still shut but we enjoy the greeneries and fresh air. This is our first holiday-less indoor long break. We ordered a whole series of The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer and a few more titles for Girl, including a new release from David Edward Williams (David Walliams). Bean is working on his Horrible Histories series, still. His stamina for reading is nowhere near that of Girl's, not that I am comparing.

Personally, I am working on re-motivating myself. I have a lot to be grateful for and reaffirm myself of this fact daily. Although The Other Half and I have been fully-vaccinated, we are not taking our chances and are very aware of the fact that both children have yet to reach their respective vaccination threshold age. We are certainly taking all precautions and coping the best we can with what we have.

On the fluffier side of life, our balcony plants are thriving and they bring much joy. Both children are painting, colouring, crafting and playing online games. They usually transition into movement breaks without cue. Dances and balloon-volley indoors are so fun with them! We must include more of our stationary bike and rower considering we have been eating well could use some extra exercise.

We hope to spend the rest of this summer break in good health and happiness. All school fees have been paid and their books for Y7 and Y4 are arriving from the warehouse. Hopefully, Girl's new secondary uniform will be available as soon as the bookstore is allowed to open (on-site at School and it is not currently permitted under Phase 1). I am still in awe she is going to Y7 and knowing me, I may get all emotional come September.

Ending this post with much love and peace to everyone. Stay safe and healthy. May happiness and joy come your way daily. 

The Search

Salam my lovelies,

Before we decided on carrying out the minor renovation to upkeep The Flat, we considered flipping The Flat for a landed property closer to school.

We saw 3 units of double-storey linked houses at Taman Tun Dr Ismail and my parents-in-law even tagged along. The first was too dark, the second was too depilated and the third was facing Petron! All 3 quickly got struck off the list despite what we call "Mummy's eternal love for Taman Tun Dr Ismail". I spent years living there and I know the area well enough. Unfortunately, things do not work out this time.

Then, we saw this wonderful double storey semi-detached house at Kiara View. The garden patch on both sides of the house, double security gating, and fairly quiet neighbourhood were all charming. However, the main power grid in that area was too close for comfort. That outshined our minor complaint that the street was both cul de sac and narrow. We were hoping to escape the upcoming 5G EMF radiation in the city so we were careful in our search to avoid transmission towers and power grids.

There is a house facing the school which is still being put up for sale but the price tag is beyond our budget. I still say a prayer every now and then for the house to wait for us...and maybe I will stop when The Kids have both gone to university.

So, here we are. Selecting the main-contractor to help us maintain The Flat in good order for the next decade, inshaAllah. In any case, I am looking forward to filling The Flat with more plants.

Wish us luck!

Out In The Yard

Lovely Sunday it was, our own grand welcome to November just by being able to potter around outside. Could not have asked for more. Syukur alhamdulillah.

Gratitude: Soil & Soul

Today, I am grateful for being in touch with soil at The House and renewed soul after spending some quality time with my family.

The soil:

Kemuning blossoms filled the air with sweet fragrance.

Organic four angle beans for fresh ulam with sambal.

Eyeing these sweet and crunchy beans.

May these grow into edible goodness.

Chilli.

Lemongrass.

Ginger.

Kunyit and birds chilli (with iron supplement, ha!)

Pruned and dwarf version of previously thorny tree.

The soul:

The joyful noise they bring!

Sweet and gentle reminder that they have one another to count on.

The tender moment when Bean reached out for some grandfatherly unconditional support and love.

Syukur alhamdulillah. Little reminders that what we have been blessed with, is indeed sufficient. 

Thank You.

Botany Observation Homework

I remember doing this Science homework at Primary 5 or 6. My assignment was to put the beans in the dark (deprivation from sunlight) but water it daily. Needless to say, none of the beans sprouted. All I had for show and tell was a container full of greenish black mould, revolting much!

The Little Girl is doing this (and doing it better than I did) at Reception. She listened to the instructions to water it daily, give it some sunshine exposure daily and observe. After numbering the growth sequence correctly, she tried mixing the colour pencils for the right shade to accurately reflect the progress of the bean stalks.

Little details such as this assures me that we are on the right course for her learning experience at The Big School.

Now that the homework is done, and the bean stalks are still thriving, she waters her pet plant once daily. She even warned Bean not to pull or eat her homework. Too adorable!

Gratitude: Garden

With such beautiful blooms in the garden at The House, we would not even complain about the 38C heat with 80% humidity. He sends us hardship, but ease comes with it too, SubhanAllah. His Greatness and Perfection in Creation is truly humbling.

Have a blessed CNY and holiday, my lovelies! Safe journey home and may you feel recharged to take on the world soon, in Sha Allah!

Blooming Curry Leaf Plant

Since moving to The Apartment, my potted plants have filled the two balconies that we have to the brim. It looks a bit like a mini tropical/herbal "jungle" in the middle of the city, stark contrast to the concrete and glass everywhere.

My MIL have helped to prune some of them into discipline, added fertilisers and constantly remind me to water them as soon as we arrive "home" from The House. Honestly, since getting pregnant and slightly clumsy, I have cut down on my gardening time considerably and delegating slippery/watering/washing tasks to Z since my PIL do not approve of me taking "risks".

On weekends when it is not too noisy or dusty, we keep the balcony doors open to air The Apartment. Today, a whiff of fresh curry leaves filled The Apartment with refreshing scent, nothing like deliciously cooked curry sort though. I went to the balcony and discovered the blooms!

What a pleasant surpise indeed, as I have never seen curry leaf plant blooms before. Looks like my green thumb has not really deserted me afterall. Luckily, the blooms come during my second trimester or else I would have reacted adversely to the smell in my first trimester.

**Until the next bloom, let me know if you want any fresh curry leaves for your dishes.**

His Beautiful Creation

 

The year end monsoon arrived on time in 2009. This spray of lilac and lavender blooms filled the pergola at The House much to the joy of everyone at home. The colours remind us all of the July 2009 wedding we had celebrated.
 

Please comment on the name of this plant if you happen to know. Thanks!