There were lots of things to do this time around in Kedah - and people to meet. So on our first day, we decided to check Papa's houses and also the tenants there. But alas! Nobody's there. It was Christmas and I guess they all went back to their hometowns too. So we decided to check the storage room at the back of the house there to look for anything of need that can be brought back to Kuantan. Only Papa's guitar stuff though.
So, we went outside and took some pictures. Papa with his yet-to-bear-fruit apple tree. Nina posed with the Durian tree. Behind Nina was the neighbour's chicken coop and duck pen. Luckily the tenants keep the houses and compund clean. Thank you people! We didn't go to my house though because the students renting the house also went back to their hometowns. Then we went to Pak Long Aa's pharmacy and bought some supplements and underground coffee. We also met Mak Ngah Fairuz's very well-behaved little girl. Comel!
That evening my ex-schoolmates were coming to Maktok's house. So we decided to treat them with Durians. Yummeh! So we stopped at the roadside and bought these durians. While selecting the durians the seller opened lots of durians for us to eat for free. Burp!!! So sedap! Alhamdulillah. Semuanya sedap-sedap. And the car smelled of durians all the way. Hihihi...
That evening they came - Ann, Khor, Zimah and Aishah together with their broods. It was like Hari Raya! We also bought some fried koay teow, fried noodle, nasi goreng and some other food. We didn't eat much but laughed a lot. I missed them!
Ann tried on a pair of pants that Mami brought home from her friend's. (I like her socks. Hahaha) The others continued to eat. They stayed until about 10 pm that night. Happily chatting and laughing together. So much fun! The children were playing outside and we had the living room to ourselves especially that Maktok and Tokwan turned in early.
Just before they left, Pak Chaq and his clans arrived and continued the durian feast. Yum! Yum! Pak Chaq lurrrrrves eating. Period! Kakak Nurul was also back from the Politeknik for the holiday. Dig in yaw!
The next day we started cleaning Maktok's house that hasn't been cleaned for some 30-odd years! Maktok is wheelchair bound and Tokwan is on crutches. It's a pity that they're not able to care for their house anymore. Kesian depa. We pulled out all the linoleums and revealed beautiful mosaics underneath them! While cleaning Ann came and gave me a beautiful pillow she made herself. I loike!
I love mosaics! They're romantic! I don't like tiles. Tiles have no artistic value. But mosaics are hard to come by nowadays. And so we brushed the mosaics back to their heydays. What a relief to see Maktok's house shining again! We also threw away loads and loads and loads of stuff. Luckily Maktok wasn't able to run out and bring back all the things inside. MashaAllah! Penuh barang-barang yang tak guna berpuluh tahun! (Hmm... where did I put all those pictures?)
Later that evening, one of Tokwan's best friends visited them. He just got back from KL with his son. He lives there now and Tokwan was very happy to see him. Luckily Mami bought some Nasi Dagang, Karipap, Fried Bee Hoon for that evening's makan-makan. So we're able to treat Cikgu Mansor too. They chatted happily and reminiscing the good old days. Glad to see Tokwan happy!
It's a good thing that we rented out our house. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gone back and stayed at Tokwan's and helped them cleaned the house.
Kesian tengok Tokwan and Maktok. Nak masak pun tak boleh. They had to go out and eat everyday. Maktok was much affected because she's great cook. Both of them are always down and the faces light up everytime we went to their house.
It's a good thing that last week Tokwan decided to uproot and come and stay with us. At least they're looked after now. They don't have to go out for food, come rain or shine. They don't have to worry about doing the laundry, Tokwan driving the car, etc.
And Pak Chaq and us don't have to worry about their well-being anymore. We'll be with them everyday. So, that'll be in March.
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