Just Once More

When my granpa was was very ill early this year, my Aunt Hayati who is my granpa's adopted daughter whom he later married off to one of his sons came to take care for him. What makes the incident important enough to blog was that she's been away for the last 6 years. Everytime we called her to inform that my granpa has gotten ill, she'll say that she'll try to come. And everytime she didn't.

I don't know why, I don't know how, but she finally came over in february when it was touch and go for my grandpa. Everyone was surprised, but everyone was glad. Since granpa got sick a couple of years back, he kept asking for "Hayati, Hayati, Hayati". To comfort ourselves we kept sayaing that he's just asking for the people he loves - Hayati means my life in arabic (grandpa is an arab from the holy city of Makkah). Deep inside we know that he's asking for her. But there's nothing we can do, she in Kuantan, nobody knows her address. And nobody can force her to come.

Well she came and she stayed for a whole month. She cared for my granpa 24/7. When we offered to take over the duty, she insisted on staying in the hospital with us. When granpa was brought home, she was there to feed him with the feeding machine. It was like she was trying to make up for the years she's been away.

During this time, my mom & Mak Ti spend a lot of time having heart to heart talk. She too was having health problem, heart conditon, diabetis & seems that her kidneys are failing.

While on hospital duty, she saw my mom making smocked dresses for little girl, and since she likes it so much, mom offered to make her new-born granddaughter one. She chose a plain blue fabric & it was to be a bishop dress.

Mom got sick before completing the dress, and by the time my mom was well enough, Mak Ti had to leave for her home in Kuantan. It was like our path keep missing each other. My mom promised to send her the dress when it's ready, she asked the dress to be send to her and not her son who's residing in KL.

The dress was ready on Wednesday. Mom called her Thursday evening, her daughter answered saying she is resting/sleeping. My mom found it strange that she was sleeping during Maghrib, something she's never done before, ever! That's when Faezah told her that Mak Ti was in the hospital because of hypotension. We send her our love, and told her to get well soon.

My dad received a phone call yesterday morning. Mak Ti is in the ICU. She's having internal bleeding & nobody knows what's wrong with her. My parents and Khalati Farida took the one & only daily bus to Kuatan at 10pm last nite to be with her.

Her condition isn't good. In fact the doctor said to prepare for the worse. She all swollen and still bleeding profusely. They are planning a scope on monday if she strong enough for it. The doctor also said it's all up to her now, she has to keep on fighting. My mom keep asking her to fight, so that they can both care for their grandchildren, Amran's daughter & my sister S, yet-to-be-born baby. She nodded like she understood.

A short while ago, we were informed that Mak Ti has been put on the ventilator. She's beginning to bleed from the nose. I'm leaving now for Kuantan. Hope I'll be there in time. To tell her once again I love her and I understand now.

* I started this post this afternoon before the phone call, hoping to finish this tonight. Ater getting the phone call,I had to rush this because I want to post it before I leave. So please bear with all the gaps in the story & all the typos.

A.N.G.I.(NA,OGRAM,OPLASTY)

My mom is going for angiogram today, and possibly an angioplasty & stenting too. Praying the best outcome of this. We spoke to her last night, and she's accepted that what's got to be done has to be done.

The printed information that we printed and gave her kinda help her understand the whole proccess better. She was relieve that it is not going to involve any GA and no 'coffin-like' chambers. She still wants me to be with her in the room, we've got to see what the doctor has to say about that.

I believe she will come out of this physically & emotionally stronger, yes, she will.

ReGardening

The sorry state of garden has really been bothering us for the past few months. My mom tends to plant everything in any place she finds. Don't get me wrong, she has the most beautiful plants (my photos can vouch for that), but she can't plan her garden!

Each time she trims her plants, she's got this habit of sticking the cuttings into any available pot, if she doesn't have enough pot/soil, she'll just pop over to the nursery which is literally 2 houses away! Now our garden is a garden of mess. Last count, we have at least 65 pots of bougainvillea of unknown colors, hundreds of hanging pots of mixed plants - each contains more than 1 type of plant. And that's not including those almost decent ones.

She won't bother with heights and perspectives. When ever we complain, she'll start her tirade of "Oh, I don't know how to do it, I didn't get much education, why don't you do it?" Any reference to the many magazines / books on gardening & plants she bought, she'll pretend not to hear but she somehow miraculously has memorized the names + the latin names of most of the plants in the garden!

She's out to pleat more smocking stuffs. Zz & me has gone on a rampage. In the beginning we just sort of looked at each other, no idea where to begin. Finally decided to attack the new pergola first, any duplicate plants shall be relegated to the backyard pergola, any mixed pot too.

Managed to clear the thing and it's more spacious now. Eddie been complaining that he's unable to play football in the garden since mom went on her gardening binge, building that darn pergola. He won't have to worry about breaking any more pots. Kids will be able to run around more comfortably and have their kids picnic too (actually this is just a trick to get them out of the house and stop running in through one door and out the other - just lay a picnic carpet, give them some food & drinks, call it a picnic, believe me they'll be out of your hair)

If mom doesn't freak out, next step will be to get rid of the bougainvillea cuttings, any taker?

Bakinglust

I've been baking daily since last saturday. I've made 2 types of cupcakes, banana strawberry muffins, lava chocolate cake, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate banana muffin, cornmeal cookies & choc chip cookies.

I stink of butter but friends and families are very happily sated.

It's almost time of the month again, so I guess I'm nesting.

Busy Cooks

Took Adj over to Cooking Island to introduce her to the wonderful shop. Met the nice couple who own/run the store, Erina & Lawrence. She think the shop is a godsend for busy moms like her & thinks this is a beginning to a beautiful friendship - she especially likes the home-delivery thing. Lawrence & Erina, thanks for remembering me.