Goodbye 2011

This will be my last post for 2011. A year filled with a lot of happiness and one very big sadness.

Thank you once again for all your kind words, thoughts and encouragements. I really do appreciate all of them. Even though I haven’t had the opportunity to meet most of you, it means a lot to me to have such a wonderful group of blog readers.

I have arrived safely back in Perth leaving Malaysia with mixed feelings.

I was happy to get on the plane this morning knowing that The Other half and The Little Misses would be waiting for me with open arms full of love. But I was also feeling very sad nak tinggalkan Emak kat kampung.

Bila I keluar rumah pagi tadi nak pergi ke airport, masa salam and peluk Emak, I was wishing that Abah was still there standing next to her for me to peluk and salam as well. Sedih tak terkata . Last time we came back to Perth from Msia in October, he was there to hug and salam us with his usual sad face sebab nak berpisah dengan the girls and I. Little did I know that that would be the last time The Little Misses hugged Atuk.

Masa kat Malaysia, I felt like he was still nearby sebab kubur dia tak jauh dari rumah. And bila2 boleh nak pergi lawat kubur dia. And I could see and feel his ‘presence’ everywhere around the house in his kopiah on the sidetable, his shirts and pants that were still hanging on the ironing rack, his shoes and thongs in the shoe cabinet, his very much loved-pagoda singlets buried in the washing pile….

When I was on the plane pagi tadi, I felt like I was leaving him behind even though I know it does not matter where he’s buried, it’s the memories and the prayers that will keep him close to me and alive in my heart.

The rest of us whom he left behind have to keep on living……

And when I arrived back at home, this is the sight that greeted me….

My kebun has turned into a jungle in 10 days!

Everytime I look at the grape vines, I will get a lump in my throat. The grapes were bought by Abah when he came here last year. He wanted us to plant the grapes so we will always have something to remember him by.

The tomato plants are on their last legs. They still produce loads of fruits but they have started to brown off.

Some of the cherry tomatoes.

The basils are growing splendidly as well.

The chillies .

And I found this ‘fruit’ on the pavers underneath the shaded area. This plant grew out of the homemade compost we put on the garden bed. We thought it was a cucumber plant at first but this cucumber doesnt look like the cucumber we normally have. It looks a bit like an apple cucumber but with a darker skin. I guess we just have to wait until it ripens to cut it open to find out what it is eh .

We suddenly have an abundance of eggplants!

The garden was waiting for me and so was the kitchen but I still don’t have the ‘energy’ to cook up a storm….

Maybe I will feel differently tomorrow once I have fully rested and once The Other Half and The Little Misses start pining for my cooking .

Have a wonderful 2012 and hoping 2012 will bring a lot of happiness and joy for all of us.