The Weekend That Was

That startled-looking cutiepie up there is our grandnephew-cum-adopted son Aliff Aiman, facing a camera for the first time. Check out those graceful, long slim fingers; they look perfect for the piano.

It was one of those busy weekends. For some reasons, there were so many things happening between Friday and Sunday that that I hardly had time to even check my e-mails, let alone blog.

Friday night saw Pak Abu and I parked in front of the TV, like millions of others around the world I'm sure, to watch the opening of the Beijing Olympics. And what a show it was!

Only superlatives come to mind to describe the four-hour extravaganza. The creative artistry displayed with such aplomb is a hard act to follow. London is going to have a difficult time topping this spectacular showcase when their turn comes to host the Games in four years' time.

Saturday morning was spent in the kitchen, making preparations for Aliff Aiman's first birthday. Aliff is the youngest child of our niece Samsinar and her husband Jamal and we kind of 'adopted' him when he was born.

Some 30 family members (more than half of them children) crowded into our little pad that afternoon to celebrate Aliff's big day. Pak Abu gave specific instruction to keep all the windows closed; we are, after all, on the 10th floor and there are no grills on the windows.

Aliff lives with his parents and siblings in Kelana Jaya. He is a cute little fellow, very placid and not given to much excitement. I got him a teddy bear as a birthday present, which he promptly tossed aside in favour of my table runner. if you noticed, my coffee table is devoid of cover, it had been ruthlessly keronyok-ed (crumpled) and stained.

When the time came for him to blow the solitary candle on his birthday cake, he stood there watching the flickering flame in absolute wonder. No amount of coaxing would make him blow the candle, so his sister had to do it for him.

That night we had a taste of Arabia when we attended the wedding of our friend Syed Zayed and his bride Sharifah Thaheera at Hotel Singgahsana in PJ. The groom wore a cream-coloured robe with gold trimmings and a kaffiyeh (headgear) while the bride looked stunning in a heavily brocaded and sequinned dark robe, with a sheer white waist-length veil.

Zayed's numerous relatives from Oman and Dubai were also present. Speeches were in both Arabic and English and entertainment, true to Zayed's Middle East ancestry, was provided by a men-only singing and dancing group. Agile young men (teenagers actually) hopped, skipped, jumped and pranced to upbeat Arabian music, to the delight of an appreciative crowd.

My sister Zaridah (Idah), who recently moved from Kuala Terengganu to KL, invited us over for tea Sunday. Hanizah (Izah) and Zanariah (Ana) and their respective families were there too. So were nieces Rina and Rita, the married daughters of my sister Zahana (Ani) who lives in Dungun.

It was our first get-together since Mak's death 2 months ago. I am glad to note everyone seems to be glowing with good health, Alhamdulillah. While Izah and Ana were their usual svelte selves and Idah slightly rounder (only just, Idah..hehehe), yours truly have given up hope of ever returning to a 32-inch waist.

Newly-wed Rita, whose wedding we attended in Dungun 2 months back, had piled on the pounds, resulting in everyone pestering the poor girl about a bun in the oven. Not yet! came the bashful answer. Well, Pak Abu and I can certainly do with yet another grandnephew or niece, considering we are still sorely lacking in the menantu (son/daughter-in-law) and cucu(grandchild) departments........