1st Day of CNY
More updates but no worries as i will also wrap things up for celebrations in A-Setar ....
The boys had gotten much more familiar with the celebrations this year ....... in other words they responded & behaved much more matured with some of the rituals / customs of this festival!!
Mumy had earlier taught the boys to remember what should be the 1st thing to say in the early morning of 1st CNY upon seeing ah kung & ah ma!!
They did not disappointed mumy, both of them willingly greeted :
" Gong Xi Fa Cai "
" Shern Thee Jien Khang " / Good Health
to both their grandparents !!!
Even to the rest of the aunties & uncles they met, they automatically 'sang' in that tune of phrases!! But they still obviously don't appreciate the red packets yet. When they were too engrossed playing, they will asked those ppl who gave them angpow to give them to their mumy instead.....slaphead !!!
Our 1st day of CNY was quite boring spending it at home doing nothing basically. Until about noon, all the sisters & the bunch of nieces & nephews started to pour in !!! That's when all the hoos & hahs were heard & some fights among the boys started !!!
The usual affairs around the household would be a series of cooking & eating non-stop with people taking turns to the dining table!! Poor MIL, maid & other women in the family had to continuously replenished the food on the dining table!!
Until about 3pm, everyone finally gotten their stomachs filled up and the next thing was to move on to huby's granny's home.......again for a quick exchanged of "angpows"!! It was getting more & more hilarious to me....the entire visit from the moment we stepped into the house (which was already fully crowded with people), exchanging 'angpows' among the married women, chit-chatting for a while until we left the place, it only took less than 1/2 an hour to complete.....what a joke!! What a hurry obligation that was???
Back home, everyone started to get busy with preparation for the party at night. I think this family gathering would be an annual event at FIL's new home starting from this year. Huby mentioned that his unc.Andrew already talked about having a whole lamb roast for the next CNY, hahaha
For myself, since there's not much help that i could offer, i volunteered to made some agar-agar & get the fruits cut. The menu for the party was 'nasi kandar'.
While the adults had a good time & spacious atmosphere to catch up on life, the kids had a wonderful time indulging in fire-crackers playing !!! It was the boys' first time playing with the spark....they both got very excited yet anxious with this 1st time encounter!!
check out some happy moments of the kids below :
For me, it was worth giving a mention here when i finally had a long & fun conversation with an uncle whom i had kept some fear towards..... all these while (why???....i don't know....probably due to the teochew egoism shown on the face, blek)...... it was as if an "iceberg has finally broken up"!!! Boy.... unc.andrew was so talkative that the wife & daughter had to come over to interrupt our conversation as it was already so late and the ladies yearn to go back home. Aunty alleged that he drank a lot but uncle claimed that he was not drunk.....arghhh, i don't know who to believe, hahaha
Our 1st CNY ended very late that night !!!
Annually, the boys' "TAR KU"/eldest SIL would get new pyjamas in similar theme respectively for all the boys & girls. And this year was Ben 10.....check out their uniform below!!
" So cute.........the nephews & nieces from the eldest at 16 years old/Form 4 to the youngest at only 1 year old "
*****************************************************************
2nd Day of CNY
Our 2nd day of CNY was also filled with more cookings & eatings. There were so many mouths to feed yet on such days, not many restaurants are operating, so needless to say it was quite impossible to avoid cooking......poor thing !!!
I think the maid got a shock too.....after the whole morning working to get the breakfast done & the cleaning over with, there she needed to start preparing cooking for the next meal i.e. lunch 'pulak'.....scarry thought though !!! Can't imagine if i have to host such a big family, i would have die of depressing man ......
Anyway, after one of the meal, i heard that the family would be paying a visit to the 6th uncle who still happened to live in an estate house!!!
WHAT??? An estate house??? What's that suppose to mean???
Not only it was a big thing for the kids to experience, it was indeed an EYE OPENER for a city person like myself !!! I kept asking SIL & huby was it in a jungle or something....lots of mosquitos ahh.....need to bring mosquitos repellant or not???? geee....gotta admit how excited i was & how much i was in anticipation.....such a "jakun" i know!!!
When i finally reached there...... ooh boy......i knocked on myself & said:
"and for all these while i was complaining that my FIL's shophouse was very 'kampung'/rural"
"now after seeing the real estate house, i finally got hold of what a 'kampung' house should looks like"
It was even more 'HORROR' to discover that the house was actually partially surrounded by a huge "GRAVEYARD" !!! Oh my god, didn't that also sent some shiver down your spine ???
I was barely left with words.....quite speechless i must say!!!
Uncle bob even said there used to be python around the house........** faint **
Until today, it is really hard to believe that such a place still exists for living and that was a relative that i'm talking about here!!! Don't you think we are so lucky in comparison???
notice the graveyard at the back
I think many people would have expected to see some sort of 'shock' expressions from me....
yeah i saw my SIL laughing at me, then aunty janice mentioned to me that uncle andrew also said surely jaclyn would be surprised with this experience!!!!
in other words, everyone was so right in expecting the shocking reactions from the 'jakun' blogger here!!! hahaha.......what an encounter that was!!!
My boys in return seemed to enjoy running about the estate playing with some puppies, chickens & birds !!! Even the goat farm (kandang kambing) that was so stinky, they didn't mind minggling around !!! When they needed to wee-wee, huby tried to coax me to bring the boys to the toilet........of course without any success, he had to settle the boys instead. My SIL even teased me to try out their toilet as she said it will be an experience to me.........
which i replied with a big NO THANK YOU lor !!!
The wife aunty Mary was such a nice lady....forever so charming & cheerful with her smiles, cooked everyone with a late lunch with the curry 'kampung' chicken being the most popular dish!! No doubt the dishes were delicious despite the fact that we have to endure eating them with flies everywhere......now...... talking about hygiene & cleanliness, hahaha
6th uncle cracking the coconuts & the juices were so sweet
Overall, this experience left me with the MOST FRUITFUL memories of the 2009 CNY, which also painted some worthy treasures in my LIFE !!!!
We left AlorSetar on the 3rd day of CNY after another sumptuous meal at home!!!
That's the end of our wonderful celebrations back in huby's hometown !!!
more photos to share here
More updates but no worries as i will also wrap things up for celebrations in A-Setar ....
The boys had gotten much more familiar with the celebrations this year ....... in other words they responded & behaved much more matured with some of the rituals / customs of this festival!!
Mumy had earlier taught the boys to remember what should be the 1st thing to say in the early morning of 1st CNY upon seeing ah kung & ah ma!!
They did not disappointed mumy, both of them willingly greeted :
" Gong Xi Fa Cai "
" Shern Thee Jien Khang " / Good Health
to both their grandparents !!!
Even to the rest of the aunties & uncles they met, they automatically 'sang' in that tune of phrases!! But they still obviously don't appreciate the red packets yet. When they were too engrossed playing, they will asked those ppl who gave them angpow to give them to their mumy instead.....slaphead !!!
Our 1st day of CNY was quite boring spending it at home doing nothing basically. Until about noon, all the sisters & the bunch of nieces & nephews started to pour in !!! That's when all the hoos & hahs were heard & some fights among the boys started !!!
The usual affairs around the household would be a series of cooking & eating non-stop with people taking turns to the dining table!! Poor MIL, maid & other women in the family had to continuously replenished the food on the dining table!!
Until about 3pm, everyone finally gotten their stomachs filled up and the next thing was to move on to huby's granny's home.......again for a quick exchanged of "angpows"!! It was getting more & more hilarious to me....the entire visit from the moment we stepped into the house (which was already fully crowded with people), exchanging 'angpows' among the married women, chit-chatting for a while until we left the place, it only took less than 1/2 an hour to complete.....what a joke!! What a hurry obligation that was???
Back home, everyone started to get busy with preparation for the party at night. I think this family gathering would be an annual event at FIL's new home starting from this year. Huby mentioned that his unc.Andrew already talked about having a whole lamb roast for the next CNY, hahaha
For myself, since there's not much help that i could offer, i volunteered to made some agar-agar & get the fruits cut. The menu for the party was 'nasi kandar'.
While the adults had a good time & spacious atmosphere to catch up on life, the kids had a wonderful time indulging in fire-crackers playing !!! It was the boys' first time playing with the spark....they both got very excited yet anxious with this 1st time encounter!!
check out some happy moments of the kids below :
For me, it was worth giving a mention here when i finally had a long & fun conversation with an uncle whom i had kept some fear towards..... all these while (why???....i don't know....probably due to the teochew egoism shown on the face, blek)...... it was as if an "iceberg has finally broken up"!!! Boy.... unc.andrew was so talkative that the wife & daughter had to come over to interrupt our conversation as it was already so late and the ladies yearn to go back home. Aunty alleged that he drank a lot but uncle claimed that he was not drunk.....arghhh, i don't know who to believe, hahaha
Our 1st CNY ended very late that night !!!
Annually, the boys' "TAR KU"/eldest SIL would get new pyjamas in similar theme respectively for all the boys & girls. And this year was Ben 10.....check out their uniform below!!
" So cute.........the nephews & nieces from the eldest at 16 years old/Form 4 to the youngest at only 1 year old "*****************************************************************
2nd Day of CNY
Our 2nd day of CNY was also filled with more cookings & eatings. There were so many mouths to feed yet on such days, not many restaurants are operating, so needless to say it was quite impossible to avoid cooking......poor thing !!!
I think the maid got a shock too.....after the whole morning working to get the breakfast done & the cleaning over with, there she needed to start preparing cooking for the next meal i.e. lunch 'pulak'.....scarry thought though !!! Can't imagine if i have to host such a big family, i would have die of depressing man ......
Anyway, after one of the meal, i heard that the family would be paying a visit to the 6th uncle who still happened to live in an estate house!!!
WHAT??? An estate house??? What's that suppose to mean???
Not only it was a big thing for the kids to experience, it was indeed an EYE OPENER for a city person like myself !!! I kept asking SIL & huby was it in a jungle or something....lots of mosquitos ahh.....need to bring mosquitos repellant or not???? geee....gotta admit how excited i was & how much i was in anticipation.....such a "jakun" i know!!!
When i finally reached there...... ooh boy......i knocked on myself & said:
"and for all these while i was complaining that my FIL's shophouse was very 'kampung'/rural"
"now after seeing the real estate house, i finally got hold of what a 'kampung' house should looks like"
It was even more 'HORROR' to discover that the house was actually partially surrounded by a huge "GRAVEYARD" !!! Oh my god, didn't that also sent some shiver down your spine ???
I was barely left with words.....quite speechless i must say!!!
Uncle bob even said there used to be python around the house........** faint **
Until today, it is really hard to believe that such a place still exists for living and that was a relative that i'm talking about here!!! Don't you think we are so lucky in comparison???
notice the graveyard at the back
I think many people would have expected to see some sort of 'shock' expressions from me....
yeah i saw my SIL laughing at me, then aunty janice mentioned to me that uncle andrew also said surely jaclyn would be surprised with this experience!!!!
in other words, everyone was so right in expecting the shocking reactions from the 'jakun' blogger here!!! hahaha.......what an encounter that was!!!
My boys in return seemed to enjoy running about the estate playing with some puppies, chickens & birds !!! Even the goat farm (kandang kambing) that was so stinky, they didn't mind minggling around !!! When they needed to wee-wee, huby tried to coax me to bring the boys to the toilet........of course without any success, he had to settle the boys instead. My SIL even teased me to try out their toilet as she said it will be an experience to me.........
which i replied with a big NO THANK YOU lor !!!
The wife aunty Mary was such a nice lady....forever so charming & cheerful with her smiles, cooked everyone with a late lunch with the curry 'kampung' chicken being the most popular dish!! No doubt the dishes were delicious despite the fact that we have to endure eating them with flies everywhere......now...... talking about hygiene & cleanliness, hahaha
6th uncle cracking the coconuts & the juices were so sweet
Overall, this experience left me with the MOST FRUITFUL memories of the 2009 CNY, which also painted some worthy treasures in my LIFE !!!!
We left AlorSetar on the 3rd day of CNY after another sumptuous meal at home!!!
That's the end of our wonderful celebrations back in huby's hometown !!!
more photos to share here
18 comments:
I'm drooling over the dishes here!
Does 6th Uncle still breed the fighting roosters? The kampong chicken you had might have been one that lost its fight!! hahaha.
Andrew had bought a couple from him a year or so ago, but I wonder what his neighbours must think about all the moise they make.
So you had to lubricate Andrew with some beer to loosen him up.
these kampung place surely fun for the kids yeah...
A kampung is where city children learn. Seriously, there are many things to experience and those are what we can't get from books.
新年快乐！
Wah! A great time you had and all the yummy food made me drool. Hehehe...
Happy New Year to you.
Your hubby has such a big family and even an Estate house?? Walau..
But I guess, it's good to expose your boys to all these. So that they will not grow up like you so citygal ma. :P
hahahha, i'm sure it is a good experience and "eye open" for u to see how the estate house look like and also the lifestyle.:)
The kids with the same pyjamas picture look so cute!!! hahahha
the kids reminds me when i was young and balik kampung to my dad's hometown. we all bunked in relatives house and played firecrackers together! now its just so quiet. btw, yes i cooked all those dishes! tired man!
Wah CNY oso got BALIK KAMPUNG! Your twins r lucky to b able to experience reunion in such environment. My kampung is in the city so no kampung experience for them. BTW i like the pyjamus outfit of the kids..so cozy & nice!
Gong Xi Fa Cai & Shen Ti Ching Kang!
Yes, as parents, we r vy pleased when the kids greet the elders appropriately. My girl oso vy good at saying GXFC n xie xie when receiving APs. :)
So special to hv nasi kandar for CNY party. The new hse is a good plc for parties, with a big space for the kids to play.
Eh, u tahan so long din go to toilet at the est hse ah? Shld hv taken pics of the toilet for us to c mah. hehehe
i used to dread using toilets wen going back to grandma house last time when i was younger, but lucky now already renovated. haha!
looks like u have a blast CNY! and ur kids sure love the "kampung life" for a while there. can run here & there!
huahh..that looks fun. all those kids for your little hensems to play with.
BTW, the picnic pics are up.
http://www.allthingspurple.my/?p=199
Your CNY sounds wonderful! It reminds me a lot of my own childhood CNY :)
wow so shiok reading ur CNY experience in Kampung...hey did u learn how to cook that signature dish with the abalones, scallops & sea cucumber??
my Jo also not so appreciated the angpow, he even said "i got one already, i don't need another more"..pengsan!
Happy Chinese New Year to you and your family!
wow...all cousins wore same baju...very very nice...
sooo much nice food...yummy...
The kids having fun!! The parents sure happy gila one. I know I will.. meaning free hands hehe.
glad that you having good, ice breaking" CNY with kids having fun too. Kampung is always a good place to be - minus the grave of coz. Well, my parents house is also near the grave.. actually in front of it :D
papajoneh.com here ;)
ooh un.bob, can't believe un.andrew is breeding roosters in the city!!
apparently someone else got him loosen up with beer bf the ice-breaking!!
u r right JO, even myself learnt from this visit!!
in fact an eye opener like annie said....hahaha
yes agnes, huby's family was huge... u know those that has 2 wifes & each wife has several children .....
it's true wen & irene, sometimes spending CNY at where we live esp. city can be boring too....coz all else r the same!!
yea ginie, d chinese not free to cook ma so only can get nasi kandar lor!!
luckily i wasn't in the urge to go toilet lor...and yes, i shd have taken a look then snap pic of it even without visiting it hor...
see...even irene also dreaded to go that type of toilet...not only me, haha
yes amah, d signature dish actually quite simple...steam only, d special part was d gravy only!!
ooh yakah joneh, opposite the grave...how to live in peace man!!
thanks for dropping by kittycat/banana...such cute nick, haha!!
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