If you were a garden of flowers

I would like to be the only bee
or butterfly
that comes to greet the flowers
and enjoy the warm sunshine
and gentle breeze with you.

And if the wind blew so hard
attacking the flowers,
I would rush in
and stay among them
because I know
I would be safe
from the harm it might cause,
and you would be content
to let me feel well-protected.

Thank you
for your unconditional love.

Being Content

Dear Nana

Whenever you come back from work
and I see your big smile,
that is when I am so grateful.

Seeing your happy face,
listening to what you are happily telling me,
I can also feel your happiness.

Just know
that you have always been
the center of my joy!

Continue to be happy
and well!

Semur Kering Ayam

Nafsu makan anak-anak akan bangkit oleh bumbu-bumbu sederhana Semur Kering Ayam ini. Penambahan kentang goreng dan air jeruk limau membuat hidangan ini terasa khas yang membuat perut langsung terasa lapar begitu tercium aromanya.

Saya menggunakan ayam ras yang sudah dibuang kulitnya. Selain bumbu lebih cepat menyerap, juga tidak terlalu mengkhawatirkan akibat sampingan mengonsumsi ayam ras yang banyak diberitakan tidak begitu baik untuk kesehatan karena suntikan hormonnya.

Hidangan yang tepat di akhir minggu!


Bahan:
1 ekor ayam ras, buang kulitnya, potong-potong sesuai selera, lalu marinasi dengan:
2 sdm air jeruk nipis
2 sdt garam
(Sisihkan kira-kira 1 jam agar bumbu meresap)

2 buah kentang, bersihkan dan kupas. Potong menjadi beberapa juring, tetapi jangan terlalu tipis. Goreng matang, lalu tiriskan.
1/2 bagian bawang bombay (jika suka), iris-iris sesuai selera.

Bumbu haluskan:
3 siung bawang putih
1 sdt lada (sesuai selera)

Sedikit parutan biji pala
1 batang kayu manis, biarkan utuh
Garam sesuai selera
Kecap manis sesuai selera
1 sdm air jeruk limau (sesuai selera)

Minyak goreng untuk menumis.
2 sdm margarin
1 gelas air panas
1 sdm bawang goreng untuk tabur

Cara Membuatnya:
1. Tumis bumbu halus, pala dan kayu manis, hingga harum dengan minyak goreng dan margarin. Masukkan bawang bombay, aduk rata.

2. Masukkan potongan ayam. Aduk hingga berubah warna. Masukkan kecap manis. Aduk rata kembali. Masak hingga kecap mendidih dengan api besar.

3. Tuangi 1 gelas air mendidih. Aduk rata, tutup wajannya. Biarkan kuah mengering dan ayam matang.

4. Setelah ayam matang, matikan api, lalu tuangi air jeruk limau, aduk rata.

5. Hidangkan semur kering selagi panas setelah ditaburi bawang goreng.

"She Wears My Ring"





She wears my ring to show the world
that she belongs to me
She wears my ring to show the world
she's mine eternally
With loving care I placed it on her finger
To show my love for all the world to see

This tiny ring is a token of tender emotion
An endless pool of love
that's as deep as the ocean

She swears to wear it with eternal devotion
That's why I sing, because she wears my ring

She swears to wear it with eternal devotion
That's why I sing, because she wears my ring

This tiny ring is a token of tender emotion
An endless pool of love
that's as deep as the ocean

She swears to wear it with eternal devotion
That's why I sing, because she wears my ring
That's why I sing, because she wears my ring

(Roy Orbison)

"It's the last time I feed you"

Traditional Chinese people usually consider that the main objective of a marriage is not only the joining and enhancing the two families, but also the assurance of succession with good numerous descendants. They take the importance of the series of Chinese traditional wedding customs and rituals as more important than that of the reception itself.

Nowadays more Chinese people seem to have taken the wedding receptions more important than that of complicated and broad Chinese traditional ones.

I think I was lucky for having been born in Indonesia where wedding customs and rituals that my ancestors had brought from mainland China were made much simpler, but that my traditional parents still did several things to still preserve them. They thought that both the traditional things and the modern things should be "balanced". And they said that all traditional things our ancestors had passed on must have had something good for us to adopt. Maybe not all of them, but some are still applicable and still good for us to live by.

Actually traditional Chinese consider , the main objective of a marriage is not only the joining and enhancing the two families, but also the assurance of succession with good numerous descendants. Hence symbols play an important role in wedding ceremonies, a few important things my husband and I did on our wedding.

Chinese cannot be far from symbols, and I understand that all symbols during the wedding ceremony are obviously for the bride and the bridegroom to focus on and take as something to keep in mind during their marriage life.

One of those symbols is "parents feeding the daughter or son", which tells that from this day on the son who has been fed by his parents since he grew in the mother's womb till the day he gets married, will have to "feed" himself and his new family. As for a daughter, the parents "feed" her on the ceremony to symbolize that it is the last time they feed her, and will trust their son-in-law to feed their daughter, protect her, and maintain her wellness in the future.

my parents "feeding" me
on my Chinese traditional
wedding ceremony

I don't know how to repay my dear parents
for having brought me up and fed me
and helped me to be what I am now.

I can't thank my parents enough

You are so foviging

I remember what Mahatma Gandhi said:
"The weak can never forgive.
Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong"

I found that in you!

So many people have hurt you verbally
but many a time as well
you have forgiven them.

If your family and friends see
some weaknesses in you,
then at least they can see
a strong side in you,
that is your capability
to forgive and love others.

And we learn from you!

Every mother feels
the same way I do

A few days ago
when it was nearly midnight
and you were out there somewhere
with someone you like to be with,
I called you on the phone
asking where you were
and if you were alright.

The next day
you asked me why I had called you
instead of being in bed
"Were you worried about me?",
you asked

I replied,
"Sure, I worried about you,
about your safety
about something you may have found
that put you into trouble
out there.

I had worried about you before,
I worry about you now,
I will worry all my life.

A mother always worries about
her children
even when they are already adults
and that they have their own family.

A mother will always think
that her children's safety is
the most important.

She loves her children more than
she loves herself,
and she doesn't mind lacking sleep
while she is waiting for them
to come back home.


When a child is sick
a mother will always stay awake
at least to look forward to the signs
of his recovery
even when she knows that
he has a wife to take care of him.

Every mother feels the same way I do
and will not stop worrying about her children
till the day she dies.

Kue Maco

Kue yang legit, tapi paling sulit untuk dipertahankan bentuknya!
Sedikit saja tertindih oleh "kawannya", dia akan "penyok"......!! Kesulitan yang selalu saya alami... dan sampe sekarang kok ya belum bisa juga mengatasinya!

Ada saran?


Bahan Kulit:
250 gr tepung ketan
1 sdm tepung beras
100 gr kentang, kukus lalu umatkan
1/2 sdt garam
1/4 sdt vanili
150 gr biji wijen putih

Larutkan:
25 ml air
175 g gula pasir
beberapa lembar daun pandan

Bahan Isi:
250 g kacang hijau kupas
3 lembar daun pandan
(Bisa ditambahkan daun purut agar harum)
garam sesuai selera
1 liter air
500 ml santan kental
2 sdm minyak goreng
200 g gula pasir (sesuai selera)

Minyak goreng untuk menggoreng

Cara Membuat:
a. Kulit
1. Didihkan air, gula dan daun pandan hingga gula larut dan tercium aromanya. Angkat dari api dan diamkan beberapa saat hingga larutan ini hangat.

2. Campur kentang yang telah dilumatkan, tepung ketan, tepung beras, garam dan vanili. Aduk rata.

3. Tuangkan cairan gula yang masih hangat. Aduk hingga adonan kalis dan dapat dipulung. Sisihkan.

b.Isi:
1. Masukkan air ke dalam panci beserta daun pandan, garam dan kacang hijau kupas.
Masak hingga kacang hijau hancur dan lembut.

2. Masukkan santan , minyak goreng dan gula, masak hingga adonan dapat dipulung, dinginkan. Bentuk adonan bulat-bulat lebih besar sedikit dari kelereng, kerjakan hingga selesai.

3. Ambil beberapa adonan kulit, pipihkan, beri isi, kemudian tutup dengan membulatkannya. Lakukan hingga adonan habis.

4. Gulingkan bulatan adonan yang telah diisi pada biji-biji wijen hingga seluruh permukaan kulit tertutup biji wijen. Lakukan demikian pada sisa bulatan.

5. Panaskan minyak di wajan, lalu kecilkan apinya. Goreng bulatan-bulatan kue maco hingga kuning kecoklatan. Pada waktu menggoreng, buat gerakan memutar pada permukaan kue-kue ini agar bentuknya bulat. Angkat dan tiriskan. (Minyak untuk menggoreng harus cukup banyak sehingga kue-kue itu terendam)

What is to be feared

It's a blessing
to have someone who shows us
good examples to follow

Henny with baby Ika

When you were still young
people in our big family thought that
you would be growing to be
a loving good mother.

I think they were right.

Not only are you a loving, good mother
but also
a successful mother
to have brought up your kids
in such an excellent way.

We are so proud of you.


Thank you, Henny,
you are a good example for girls,
women and young mothers
to follow

A Visit to Nepal

Ketika camera digital belum ada... dan ketika foto sudah berusia lama.... hasilnya... tentu agak "blurred" gini nih... Deki and I, at the Ami Deba Buddha Park, Nepal

Di latar belakang adalah Stupa gaya Nepal yang nyaris mirip dengan stupa Burma. Kalau bendera-benderanya dipasang mirip dengan India dan Tibet.
Di taman AmeDeba Buddha ini banyak sekali monyet-monyet jinak berkeliaran yang dipercaya bahwa mereka adalah reinkarnasi dari nenek moyang orang yang ada di Nepal.




Anehnya, monyet-monyet ini seperti sudah diatur untuk tetap berada di sekitar stupa dan tidak berkeliaran jauh dari situ.

Udara Nepal jauh lebih bersih daripada di India yang mengelilinginya di tiga sisi, barat, timur dan selatan. Begitu juga kebersihan kotanya.
Orang-orang Nepal yang disebut Nepali, banyak yang berprofil mirip Indonesia atau peranakan Chinese Indonesia. Tidak heran, karena Nepal langsung berbatasan dengan daerah otonomi Tibet yang profilnya kebanyakan mirip Chinese.

Negara yang terletak di Himalaya ini merdeka dari Inggris pada 21 Desember 1923. Tahun 1990 sistem pemerintahannya menjadi monarki konstitysional. Beberapa tahun setelah terjadi pembunuhan keluarga kerajaan oleh salah seorang putra raja sendiri, dan kedudukan raja digantikan oleh pamannya, terjadi ketidakpuasan di masyarakat, sampai akhirnya tahun 2008 kerajaan Nepal resmi dibubarkan dan Nepal berubah menjadi negara republik federal yang sekuler, setelah 200 tahun berbentuk Kerajaan Absolut sebelum kemudian tahun 1990 berubah menjadi Kerajaan Konstitusional, dan April 2008, pemilu dimenangkan oleh Maois. Berakhir sudah sejarah kerajaan bercorak Hindu. Sekarang sebutannya adalah Republik Nepal.

with Rana Karna who guided us
(kok namanya hampir mirip "Rano Karno" ya?)

Nepal yang ibukotanya adalah Kathmandu, nyaris berbentuk segi empat, dengan panjang 650 km dan lebar 200 km, dengan luas wilayah 147.181km2. India mengelilingi Nepal di tiga sisi. Meskipun Nepal tidak berbatasan dengan Bangladesh, namun kedua negara ini dipisahkan oleh tanah selebar 24 km saja. yang dikenal dengan sebutan Leher Ayam.

Nepal juga memiliki 8 dari 10 puncak tertinggi di dunia, termasuk Gunung Everest di dekat perbatasan Tiongkok.

Agama yang berkembang di sana adalah Hindu dan Buddha, maka banyak kita temukan vihara-vihara Buddhis yang berdampingan dengan kuil-kuil Hindu.