Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Batik Indonesia

PhotoStory Friday

Hosted by Cecily and Linds


where did Batik come from?
I would answer: Indonesia
dari mana asalnya batik?
aku pasti akan jawab: Indonesia

Some other countries have claimed Batik as theirs. Well I don't learn much about the history of Batik so I could not protest this, although basically I could not agree with the claim.
beberapa negara mengklaim batik sebagai miliknya. lha aku ngga terlalu ngerti juga sejarah perbatikan, jadi ngga berani protes. meskipun sebenarnya dalam hati jelas aku ngga setuju klaim mereka

But finally, UNESCO has decided to announce hand made Batik from Indonesia as one of World Heritage. The announcement will be tomorrow (October 2 - 2009). So now I have no doubt, Batik is from Indonesia.
akhirnya, UNESCO memutuskan untuk mengumumkan Batik Indonesia sebagai salah satu warisan budaya dunia. pengumumannya akan dilakukan besok (2 Oktober 2009). jadi tidak ragu lagi, batik memang dari Indonesia

Indonesian Traditonal Batik is very unique. It took long process to coloring the fabrics, and has various patterns and colors. Hand made batik, I guess including writing-batik, the type which the pattern is manually painted by hand using batik-wax. And also stamp-batik, the type that the patterns painted using a stamp.
batik tradisional Indonesia itu istimewa. proses pembuatannya lama, warna dan polanya juga sangat bervariasi. batik hand-made itu, menurutku termasuk batik tulis dan cap. batik tulis digarap dengan menggambar secara manual menggunakan canting dan malam. sedang batik tulis menggunakan bantuan alat cap

painting batik


stamping batik


washing the wax


Indonesian handmade Batik



to show the world how proud us to have batik, the President himself has asked us Indonesian to wear batik on October 2. and there is noway I will miss it.
untuk menunjukkan rasa bangga, presiden sendiri mengajak kita semua untuk memakai batik tanggal 2 Oktober nanti. jangan sampai ketinggalan...




updated:
this is a collage of some Loenpia.net (Semarang blogger community) members proudly wearing Batik in this very special day. Picture taken from mailist Loenpia. Can you see me?

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Gift - God is Humorous



PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and Linds



I stayed awake till almost midnight, having this imaginairy conversation.
aku ngga tidur sampai hampir tengah malam, terlibat percakapan khayalan ini:

Is this a joke? (I asked)
No it is not
Why are you giving me this?
Because I have to
Why do you have to?
Because you wanted this
I never asked for this
You don't have to ask to tell Me what you want. I always know, and you know that

ini guyon?
bukan
kenapa aku diberi ini?
karena harus
kenapa harus?
karena kamu ingin
aku ngga pernah minta ini
memang. tapi kamu kan ngga perlu bilang apa yang kamu mau. Aku selalu tahu. kamu tahu itu

yeah, right. I said I have had enough. I didn't want more. But deep down inside I wanted God to laugh at me and speak: you can say you don't want more. but I do. and there is nothing you can do to prevent me from giving you more, when I want to.
I thought I have prepared my self for this since Ar-Ir was six. still I found myself not that ready though. but this good friend of mine told me, I still have nine months to get ready. well, ready or not it will come to me, and I will have to be ready.
iya. memang aku bilang sudah cukup, aku ngga mau lagi. tapi sebenarnya jauuuuuuuuuuuuuh di dalam lubuk hati yang hampir tak terjamah, aku berharap Dia tertawakan aku lalau berkata: terserah kalau kamu ngga mau lagi. Aku masih mau nambah lagi. dan kamu bisa apa kalau Aku berkehendak memberimu?
kupikir aku sudah mempersiapkan diri untuk ini sejak Ar Ir berumur enam tahun. nyatanya aku belum begitu siap. tapi temanbaikku ini bilang, aku masih punya sembilan bulan untuk menyiapkan diri. siap tidak siap memang harus siap. waktunya akan tiba.


one bag. still can not see how many babies inside. needs couple more weeks to find out. wish me luck *sigh*


I never really liked condoms anyway. and I'm glad that I don't have to deal with it for the next (at least) nine months.
pada dasarnya aku memang ngga terlalu suka kondom. jadi kupikir asik juga, aku ngga perlu berurusan dengan benda itu untuk (paling tidak) sembilan bulan ke depan

thanks. you are funny ya Allah, you really are
I'm pretty humorous if you know Me, actually

terima kasih. Kau lucu ya Allah, benar-benar lucu
Aku ini humoris sebenarnya, kalau kamu cukup mengenalKu


so I slept through the rest of the night, in God's warm embrace, peacefully...
aku pun tertidur lelap menghabiskan sisa malam, damai dalam pelukan hangatNya...

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Even an Angel Needs to Step Down the Earth Some Times

Bidadari juga kadang-kadang perlu turun ke bumi

And find out how it feels to climb up to reach the height.
Supaya tahu bagaimana rasanya memanjat untuk sampai ke atas.


PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and Sports Mama



Watchout, this time I'm gonna talk a lot, and more pictures than I usually show too.
Siap-siap, kali ini aku akan bicara banyak, dan juga lebih banyak foto daripada biasanya.

Eidil Fitri has always been my favorite annual moment. Like most of Indonesian Moslems do, I guess. It is time when children, parents, siblings, families who live apart – come together. Yes, it is time when dandelion seeds come to where it used to be.
Idul Fitri adalah salah satu momen favoritku. Kayanya semua Muslim begitu deh. Saat-saat seperti ini, anak berkumpul bersama orang tua, saudara, dan keluarga yang tinggalnya berjauhan. Yup, ini saatnya biji dandelion melihat kembali dari mana dia berasal.

This year I meet my siblings in my parent’s home, except my younger brother Bond. He is going to his wife’s parents this time. I also stayed for couple nights in my parents in laws. Dan’s brother didn’t come either, he is celebrating Eidil Fitri in Jakarta with his wife’s family this year.
Tahun ini aku bersyukur bisa berkumpul dengan saudara-saudaraku, kecuali Bond yang lebaran di keluarga istrinya. Aku juga menginap beberapa malam di tempat mertua. Adik Dan juga tidak bisa datang kali ini, lebaran di mertuanya juga di Jakarta.

after sholat Eid, yes I finally finished sewing my kids batik wears

I and my siblings always tried to make a good time together, just when we can all stay together for awhile. We have gone to the beaches these last couple years. So this time we decided something different: hiking. Not to a mount too far, only to a hill next to the village we live in. This hill is called ‘Gunung Buthak’. In Javanese it means ‘Baldy Hill’. I don’t know why it is called so. May be because in the dry season all plants in the hill dried. The hill turns to brown and you can barely find a green living plant. Like a baldy head, funny.
Aku dan saudara-saudaraku biasanya bikin acara yang menyenangkan, selagi kita bisa berkumpul. Beberapa tahun terakhir kami pergi ke pantai. Kali ini kami memutusukan untuk melakukan hal yang berbeda. Naik gunung. Bukan gunung beneran yang jauh, sebenarnya cuma bukit dekat tempat kami tinggal. Namanya Gunung Buthak. Entah kenapa dikasih nama begitu. Mungkin karena kalau musim kemarau, semua tumbuhan di bukit itu kering. Warna bukit kalau dilihat dari kejauhan jadi coklat, ngga ada ijo-ijonya. Kaya orang botak, begitu. Lucu.

This is what I am going to talk about. Some thing I have learned from this year's family time. Hiking a hill is not a journey upstairs on an elevator. You need to make your steps on the rock, find the right rock to step on. Some times you find slippery sand layer, and need to hold on a tree – or fall if you failed. You might get scratched by sharp dry grasses or branches. And some thorny wild plants might hurt you.
Ini yang ingin kubahas, sesuatu yang ku pelajari dari kegiatan lebaran kali ini. Neik gunung bukan perjalanan dengan elevbator. Kita harus berjalan mencari pijakan yang tepat. Kadang kaki kita menginjak lapisan pasir yang licin, sehingga harus segera berpegang pada pohon terdekat -- atau jatuh. Banyak rumput dan ranting kering yang tajam dan melukai. Tidak sedikit juga tumbuhan berduri.

Dan helped my brother Bot


this part is quite hard

Everyone enjoyed the climbing and all it took. Reaching the top was an achievement. We were tired but it was fun. We had a simple breakfast up there. The kids (and the adults especially) made some paper planes and flew it down the other side of the hill.
Secara umum semuanya menikmati perjalanan. Sampai di puncak itu sebuah pencapaian. Capek sih, tapi senang. Di atas kami sempat sarapan sedikit. Anak-anak (terutama yang tua sebenarnya) bikin pesawat dari kertas dan menerbangkannya ke sisi lain bukit.

our house is somewhere down there...

But Ibit couldn’t enjoy it pretty well. She felt bothered with some sands getting into her shoes. The grass, the dry branches scratched her leg. And it seemed an ant thought she had bother its sunbathe and decided to bite her. Itchy off course. Ibit grumbled along the way up, to the top of the hill. She really didn’t enjoy it. I wonder how come. She always wanted to do this before, but when the time comes she didn’t like it. I always needed to ask her to smile every time we took her picture.
Tapi Ibit kurang bisa menikmati. Dia merasa terganggu dengan pasir yang masuk ke sepatu, tergores rumput, kena duri. Tambah lagi sepertinya ada semut yang merasa terganggu lalu menggigit Ibit, gatel deh. Jadilah Ibit ngrundel sepanjang jalan sampai ke puncak. Aneh juga, padahal dia pengen banget naik gunung. Eh setelah kesampaian malah ngga suka. Kami sampai harus memaksa dia senyum setiap kali mau foto.

on the top of the hill

We went down the hill on another path. A rocky path is good for climbing, but is difficult to go down. So we went another direction with almost no rock. Only sands and dry leaves all over the ground. No it wasn’t easy if you try to walk on it. It would be easier if you just sit and slide down, and it took less time, much. Again Ibit thought it was no fun. Some stone, she said, has hurt her butt.
Kami turun lewat jalur lain. Jalan berbatu enak buat naik, tapi susah buat turun. Jadi kami ambil jalur yang batunya sedikit. Lebih banyak tanah berpasir yang tertimbun guguran daun. Malah susah kalau jalan. Lebih enak kalau jongkok lalu meluncur sambil tangannya mendayung. Cepet sampai lagi. Tapi lagi-lagi Ibit tidak bisa menikmati. Katanya pantatnya kena batu, sakit.

slide slide down...

Come on. I and Dan and my sisters told her, that’s the good thing about doing an adventure. How you can get through the difficulties and finally reach the goal: you win. You surely will get some small blisters on your skin, but soon it will be healed.
Plis deh. Aku dan Dan dan saudara-saudaraku berusaha memberi pengertian ke Ibit, itulah hal menyenangkan tentang sebuah petualangan. Melalui berbagai kesulitan hingga mencapai tujuan itu sebuah kemenangan. Pastilah akan ada lecet-lecet sedikit, tapi sebentar juga sembuh.

Have I told you how Ibit has been so very special? My angel. She was able to read when she was four. She is a perfectionist. She sings. She plays piano. She writes stories. She draws comics. She blogs. I just realized that all these time we let her have fun only with her brain while her body didn’t do enough. She even spends her resses time in school reading in the library. A little hard out bond activity we did has become too hard for her… Funny. I remember she was going to bring a book going hiking, good thing she put it back when I told to.
Aku pernah cerita kan, Ibit itu istimewa? Bidadariku. Sudah bisa membaca waktu umurnya baru 4 tahun. Sang perfeksionis. Menyanyi. Main piano. Menulis cerpen. Menggambar komik. Ngeblog. Aku baru sadar bahwa selama ini kami membiarkan Ibit bersenang-senang dengan otaknya saja, sedangkan badannya kurang. Bahkan kalau jam istirahat di sekolah, dia ke perpustakaan baca buku. Gerak badan sedikit begini menjadi terlalu berat buatnya. Lucu, waktu mau berangkat naik gunung dia nyangking buku. Untung dia mau nurut waktu kusuruh ninggal aja bukunya.

It’s a note for me and Dan, to make a balance to what Ibit ‘eat’. Now we are planning to give her more activities like this, so she can enjoy life more than just reading books and get stuck inside her room. I surely hope it will work.
Sebuah catatan untuk aku dan Dan, untuk lebih menyeimbangkan apa yang 'asupan' Ibit. Sekarang kami merencanakan untuk lebih banyak mengajak Ibit beraktivitas fisik, supaya dia bisa lebih menikmati hidup lebih dari sekedar baca buku dan mengurung diri di kamar.

I should have known, too much of something is never good.
Harusnya aku tahu, semua yang serba terlalu itu ngga baik.



Thursday, September 17, 2009

2009-1999= .........

20 September



then: the wedding day
dulu: hari pernikahan




now: the family
kini: keluarga



and oh.....
this year, 20 september is the day of Eidil Fitr
how would I call this, a double happiness?

so,


HAPPY EID MUBARAK, everyone!


PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and Izzy 'N Emmy


Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Seujung kuku

Like a tip of a nail

Yups, Ar sekarang sudah bisa potong kuku sendiri. Hilang satu beban dalam hidup ini.
Yups, Ar now can cut his own nails. A weight in life is unburdened.



Benarkah?
Memotong kuku hanyalah satu beban kecil menjadi ibu. Jika kuanggap saat ini satu beban telah hilang, maka seiring tumbuhnya malaikat-malaikat kecilku, beban-beban yang lebih besar tengah menantiku.
Really?
Cutting my kids' nails is just one small load of being a mother, only a tip of a nail. If I assume this as one weight is gone, so as my little angels grow, heavier weights are awaiting.

Aku percaya, semua kewajiban yang ada di pundak kita, akan terasa ringan jika kita selalu mengerjakannya dengan ikhlas. Dan menyelesaikannya menjadi lebih membahagiakan, insya Allah membuat semakin ringan menunaikan kewajiban lainnya…
I believe, all obligations on our shoulders will feel lighter if we always do it with sincerity. And finishing them will make us happier, and insya Allah, make the other duties even lighter ...

Pertanyaannya, bisa tidak? :D
The question is, can I? :D

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Review Ramadhan dan Sup Buah Ibit

Ramadhan Review and Fruit Soup

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Ramadhan sudah separuh jalan. Bener-bener ngga terasa, cepet banget. Rasanya belum dapat apa-apa. Apalagi kalau bicara tilawah. Kok rasanya semangatku menurun dibanding tahun lalu ya? Payah.

Ramadhan has gone half way. Feels so fast. Feels like I have done nothing. More over about reading Qur'an. I don't read as much as I did last Ramadhan. What a bad girl.

Alhamdulillah, anak-anak justru semangat. Puasa tiap hari, meskipun Ar dan Ir sempat libur puasa karena agak demam. Ar Ir baru belajar puasa, jadi puasanya setengah hari. Kalau siang makan, sementara di antara waktu makan itu lah mereka belajar menahan diri. Tapi menurutku itu tetap berat untuk anak-anak seusia mereka. Hal terberat adalah bangun jam 03.30 untuk makan sahur. Mungkin mereka tidak terlalu lapar. Tapi saat ini Semarang lagi panas, dan mereka tidak mengubah aktivitas harian mereka. Tetap bermain seperti biasa. Jadi pasti berat buat mereka melawan haus. Mereka juga masih sering tergoda untuk nyaut cemilan.

Alhamdulillah, the kids are enthusiastic. They do fasting everyday. Ar and Ir didn't couple days, because they got flu. Ar and Ir is in the period of learning to fast, so they do a half-fasting. They still have lunch, but in times between meal time they have to control themselves not to eat or drink anything. I think it's a hard thing for kids their ages. The hardest thing is to wake up at 03.30 to have sahur (the early meal before starting fasting). They may not be too hungry. But Semarang is so hot nowadays., and they don't change their daily activities. They keep playing as usual. So it must be hard to stand the thirst. Another hard thing is to avoid snacks during fasting...

Ibit sudah mulai puasa sehari penuh. Dua hari pertama perutnya masih belum terbiasa dan sempat sakit. Tapi setelah itu dia bisa nyaman dan menyesuaikan diri. Sholat taraweh di masjid juga belum absen. Ar-Ir juga mengikuti sholat taraweh sampai selesai. Memang sih, saat ceramah mereka masih memiliih keluar masjid dan main sama teman-temannya. Biar aja. kalau dilarang takutnya mereka malah ogah sholat sekalian. Wong yang tua aja suka ngantuk juga dengerinnya...

Ibit do a full-fast. First couple days she hasn't get used to and feel uncomfortable with her stomache. But after that she was okay. Sholat taraweh every night in the mosque. Ar Ir do the whole sholats. They still choose to get out the mosque and play in the mosque yard during the sermon. I let them do. I don't want to push them to stay in the mosque with a possibility they feel bored and then refuse to go to mosque again. Even I some times sleepy listening to the sermon...




Selama minggu kedua Ramadhan, Ibit jualan sup buah untuk buka puasa di depan portal blok. Hari pertama kedua masih aku dampingi, tapi setelah itu dia sudah oke melayani pembeli sendiri. Hari pertama sepi dan membosankan, mungkin karena belum banyak yang tahu. Tapi hari-hari berikutnya lumayan rame. Ibit nampaknya menikmati kegiatan ini. Kalau dihitung-hitung sih jualannya ga terlalu membawa untung, tapi menurutku ada hal yang lebih penting dari itu, Ibit belajar berwira usaha.

During week 2 Ramadhan, ibit sells fruit soup for iftar in front of our block. First day was boring frustating, no buyers. May be because no body knows, yet. But the next days were quite busy. Ibit seems to enjoy this activity. May be it doesn't bring too much profit, but I believe it brings more important benefit -- Ibit learns about entrepreneurship.

I hope we all get the benefits or Ramadhan.