Love Birds Tweet

Silence sits among storm, won’t sit in a temple. She’s been far away happy, leaving two love birds tweeting noisily.

β€”

Some people don’t want happy ending for everyone but themselves and won’t stop communicating their hostility in any other way even when they know they have won the game. Oh! Perhaps they never know what victory is, they misunderstand it with justification.

Salaam…

is it the note, the clef or the heart shape or the space the illustrator wants to emphasise? many will (mis)interpret based on their own experience or even assumption, exactly like a literature which is interpreted differently and the literary person smiles wide as she knows the more interpretations are awarded to a poem, the more successful the poet is β€” 😘😎

Ode to Day

Dear, day.
Do you know that I never stop waiting for you?
When my watch ticks a second,
My heart drips a note,
My pulse vibrates softly,
I know I am closer to you.

Dear, day.
Do you know that every part of you blesses me?
When morning breaks,
Noon flares,
Dusk fades to night,
I know the next you is waiting
For me.

Day oh day
Many I can’t understand,
Much I can’t decipher,
Little I can see,
Very few I can give
Yet I still hope
To meet you again.

Dear, day.
How I am blessed with family,
Gifted with friends,
Sufficed with this self,
You are still the one
Sung by this heart.
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
All have been today
And never faded away.

I am blessed, day
With another you
In the best way.

And for you
I am grateful.

β€”

as dark as serene night
as shadowy as calm dusk
as bright as each and every morning
she is well protected under the shade of glorious sunflowers πŸ’
dear sunflower πŸ’•
and the white drops of details
when all glass vases are prioritised for orchid roots, fondue pot be today’s best choice πŸ’
all must be got rid of in order for the flower arrangement to get a spacious and β€œclean” background β€” there is always thing to prioritise; if it is not you, don’t feel bad β€” it’s just like that everyday so just be blessed with becoming either 0 or 1 in this binary world πŸ’•

Love Diaries in A Library

This life is a library
Keeping all collections,
Reference to public,
Exclusive to a lover,
One lover.
The
Belovedβ€”

Read,
Beloved
Any scrolls
In this library.

Read,
Lover
The diaries
In the secret dungeon.

Read,
Beloved
With naked eyes, or
With any glasses on the shelves.

Read,
Lover
Through letters and numbers,
Shapes and colours.

Read,
Beloved
This library is open
As long as you are awake.

Read,
Lover
Before you sleep
When I’ll be reading you through.

β€”

my earlier diaries are true stories through naked eyes; the later are colours, shapes, numbers, words in various styles and figures of speech needing some tricks and tips to sense layers of meanings and information β€” we are all writers, librarians and readers πŸ’

About the photo

Free Will

Free will? What is that? This breath is what you blow in to me to love you.

β€”

Realising more and more that her life is free of free will; she needs causes and reasons to do anything she does even for her brain to think about what things to think ofβ€” there is a bond invisible and invincible.

She surrenders to the bond. πŸ’

Happy weekend.

Salaam.

two new buds not coming out of free will πŸ₯° there are reasons, there are causes

Corner

In a bright corner she’s seen. The sun sends her light reflecting bright life.

β€”

this is more than enough to put me in a good mood after a long trip; she delivers a stem of buds after moved to a corner where sun greets her directly β€” thank you!

Taste

How many tastes can she experience in joy? 5 or 7?

β€”

Realising that the best taste is not any of those 5 or 7; the best taste is only 1: to love. 😊

Days of love be like…

well done beef
sate kambing (lamb skewer)
ayam geprek (smashed chicken)
nasi rames (combined dish riced)
gado-gado (vegetables in peanut sauce)
lumpia sayur (vegetable spring rolls)
pisang goreng (fried banana)
the baked and cherry
the baked and blueberry
mango πŸ’ and pumpkin seeds

Friday

Friday, this bright light blinks to the eyes not stopping staring at the heart.

β€”

Masjid Istiqlal β€” after more than 10 years
shollu β€˜alannabiy πŸ’
waiting for a friend who said β€œlet’s meet up in Istiqlal Mosque, Thursday night welcoming Friday would be a good night to pray for beautiful 2023” πŸ’

Dancing Dolls

Dolls dance following the rhythm of the carver’s breath. Standing ovationβ€”

β€”

dancing dolls, how attractive you are! i enjoy watching your unmoved movements then applaud as that’s what you are made for 🎎

Lazed

Is it lazed or slowed? The day seems long without you around the pink sky.

β€”

indomie is the best in lazy day 😍

doesn’t look amazing but tastes like soul! πŸ₯°

Welcome

β€”

Welcomed by a home with greenery to be cooked, she builds a sweet mood.
fridge gave me a surprise to make lunch – thanks for the left over of vegetables and beef 😁

Home Missed

There’s home that’s missed lingering around the heart. Let it in with joy.

β€”

slightly boring, yes β€” back home is the happiest πŸ’ i miss the kitchen, the orchids, the bikes, the books, the canvas, the paper and all that I can do in that tiny space
oooh and time to bring my luggage to its repair center 😘

Reflector

Reflection kills her night.
The tower dramatically sways,
Dancing with the street light,
Gleaming with the moonbeam.

She grabs a cloth
To wipe her mirror.

Oye, her little heart.
You need a janitor.

β€”

one Petronas tower reflected perfectly through a skyscraper’s glass in a dim evening πŸͺž dramatic yet poetic and romantic 😎

Old Friends

There is memory shared around a round table at a starry night.

β€”

so blessed to meet friends β€” they said β€œChinese food for dinner ok lah, Rijk, no pork lah no pork!” ok lah, everyone…. 😘 thank you! πŸ™πŸΌ

Two Towers

Towers will mostly collapse of weak foundation…. Or the strongest quake

β€”

Petronas Twin Towers from taxi πŸ‘πŸ½
solanum on the reception table πŸ’
no one can make me feel not good if I don’t allow myself to – it’s a commitment as strong as tower with solid foundation, not only a lip service. KL, see you soon πŸ”₯

Nothing Is Left

She travels light.

She brings a few packed
And you, in a locket
Kept safe with a chain
Worn around the neck
Reminding the traveler
That nothing is left.

β€”

dear river, this is my empty jar with which i keep your water before it flows back with you to the vast ocean – nothing is wasted, nothing is left πŸ’

A Home (ranting)

A bird builds a nest in what its mother describes a home. Protectionβ€”

β€”

No one is truly detached from one’s root and that is a foundation that should not be shaken. Foundation is the last and foremost protecting part of a building. When others try to shake adult mature’s foundation principles, they are sooner or later surely destroying a construction that has been built carefully and systematically through parenting, education and culture especially in early age.

Still want to change your friends to be like what you want them to be? It is either killing them inside or killing you inside. Worse is both don’t realise that the other is dying or dead inside; even think there is a good change considered β€œa success to educate (wrong) friends”. Ah….! Illusion.

Solution? Eh? How would you treat a beautiful gift given to you? Don’t try changing others’ foundation principles. Instead accompany them grow to their best version as they are.

And for those not even appreciating their own or others’ roots: congratulations, you are doomed. Oops! I mean it takes longer time for you to reach true goals. 😁

Salaam.

πŸ’

fly, achene. find a home where you rest your dreams.

Ceremony

There’s fire kindled, prayer sung, fragrance bellowed in ceremony.

β€”

Life is humble as a simple smile at the same time sacred as a ceremony, enjoy it with bare heart (RC Gorman’s Ceremony)

(Day)Dreamers

A white lamb on the lap of a dreamer daydreams of her dreaming sweet.

β€”

don’t judge your dream, accept it πŸ’— you can do it by calming down

Deep Sea

White foam on turquoise sweeps back to dark blue deeper to where secrets are.

β€”

dive more deeply to this deep sea and let yourself be greeted by the calmness and warmth of your own honesty and acceptance β€” there is something that doesn’t demand you to be anyone else but you πŸ’—

Angels (sharing)

The wings are flapping sprinkling blessings through the air. Breathe them. Be blissful.

β€”

In Arabic angel is called malaaikatun or malaaikah or simply malaaikat (Ψ§Ω„Ω’Ω…ΩŽΩ„Ω°Ω“Ψ¦ΩΩƒΩŽΨ©Ω) literally meaning β€œpower that governs”. In Islamic tradition the β€œpower that governs” are grouped based on what type of assigned power they govern that are many and one of them is β€œpower to govern protection”.

I always believe I am fully protected through the existence of the angels surrounding me although I am not interested to discuss about their form; people say angels have wings, others say they are made from light, some say malaaikah are systemic laws to run the universe, and so on and so forth. It doesn’t matter to me. That they exist and follow the assigned β€œpower to govern” is enough for me.

Only when we listen, we will hear. We will hear the songs of the angels, the songs of universe, the songs of the heart, the songs of the soul. I prefer my angels to sing jazzy songs in this end of long weekend. 😁

Listening to heart…. πŸ’—

Salaam.

β€˜ve met feathers almost everywhere walking recently; i took it as a sign that protection is everywhere and decided to always wear this silver pendant this year as an appreciation of the protection β€” thank you for the protection

Heaven & Earth

Does heaven and earth exist other than in a lover’s smile? Yes. Dream.

β€”

although not there, I still seek heaven and earth in you through my dream πŸ₯° happy new year to the other time zones until every spot on earth is covered by Jan 1, 2023

3 1st on Jan 1st

There is always first.
A tree greeting breeze and sky
Comes from minute seed.

β€”

1st breakfast to make
1st movie to (re)watch in 2023 – an energizing movie! always love Sandra Bullock
1st chore while 1st movie rewatch after 1st breakfast completed β€” more 1st things on Jan 1st of 1st long weekend in 2023 β€” i’m gonna love 2023 much πŸ’—

Year by Year (Life Long Resolution)

Thank you, 2022 for every single second spent together. You are a stronger part of what I’ve been building with love. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

And thanks to all years passing, too. I’ll miss you. πŸ’

β€”

Life is wonderful that she is eager about it and is willing to expand and to keep up with what she is becoming. She is the pilot, she is the plane. She is the destination, she is the direction. She is the standard, she is the conformance. She is the alignment, she is the aligned. She is enough.

It is not others’ responsibility that she feels good or not good. The feel existing is because she allows it to be. And the vice versa.

β€”

2023, be my excellent canvas of feel-good-no-matter-what. Clarity, sufficiency, integrity as in good life, beautiful love, genuine laughter πŸ’—

Alfatihah.

πŸ’

3 buceng (tumpeng) kuwat mini for today’s end of year blessing πŸ’
this type of buceng/tumpeng is made of sticky rice and grated coconut cooked in palm sugar; it is a buceng served in Javanese traditional ceremony for health and strength in physical, mental and spiritual β€” made it mini so i could enjoy it for today’s portion of breakfast, lunch and dinner πŸ’

About tumpeng or buceng (in Bahasa Indonesia)

clarity, sufficiency, integrity as in good life, beautiful love, genuine laughter
DC said β€œhey, 7! stop the call, firework is ready!” DC and I worked in the same office and stayed in the same rented house strictly for ladies, belonging to a rich Maduranese family in Greater Jakarta – the family always threw New Year celebration with some of us in the huge garden between their mansion and the rented house – we both were always excited because we never liked going out with some other ladies to celebrate it outside πŸ₯° oh my! it was me in the year 2002 welcoming 2003, calling my mother in new year’s eve from my Nokia πŸ˜€
waking up on Jan 1, 2003 morning in DC’s bedroom (hers was #4) that was full with stuffed animals β€” we probably only slept for 1 hour before she woke us up β€œladies, wake up! pose before you even bath and brush your teeth, i will go develop the pictures today as new year’s gift for you all” and it is a true gift in 2023 for me πŸ˜‚ thanks, DC! love from where i am πŸ’

Pho Bo

β€˜m preparing and tasting homemade Vietnamese pho bo! This beef noodle never fails my day. Thanks to anyone who invented and perfect this recipe. This is main course in this New Year’s Eve. 😊

Count down continues!

β€”

boom!
doo doo doo
doo doo doo
boil pho noodle, this time it is real pho noodle, last time i used pad thai noodle
simmer the purified beef and the herbs together. simmer. once again sim….mer…. for about 5 hours 😎
char the ginger
char the onion
this time simpler than my 1st pho
boil it in high heat to separate the beef from its impurities – oh beef inferno πŸ˜‚
beef bone marrow and rib

St Elmo’s Fire

Water! Water!
St Elmo’s fire!
Water!

No.
No water for St Elmo’s fire.
A good omen.

Amen! Amen!
St Elmo’s fire!
Amen!

β€”

New year again! Thanks so much for reaching this point like a plane (an inch to) landing smoothly. Seat belt still on! Airplane mode still on! Yet the pilot is smiling widely with fire in her heart brighter and brighter, no red anymore, now almost blue to white!

Count down! πŸ’—

love theme from St Elmo’s Fire movie πŸ’

😊

About another St Elmo’s fire

Karma Pala

Ing karma pala tan ana kang isa mlayu. Kudu ngunduh.

Nandure siji, thukule satus. Panene pitungatus.

Tan kena kinira, mung Gusti kang pirsa. Janma mung krida.

Anteping kalbu, tekating jiwa. Slamet
Ing kabeh mangsa.

Rahayu.

(geguritan Jawa)

β€”

cute seeds whose name i know not – hope 2023 will bring me harvest seasons with excellent crops; what? new year? again…. 😎πŸ₯°

Counting Blessings

There’s always blessing counted through breathing. Close eyes, the air prays for you.

β€”

this is enough for the whole day! no rice today 😊
1st plate for breakfast πŸ’ urap Jawa in cassava leaves, long bean, kecipir (square bean), carrot and sprout + raw long bean and damn kencur (fragrant ginger leaves)
that raw leaves are leaves of kencur (fragrant ginger), fragrant and refreshing 😊 the yellow leaf was not wastedπŸ˜€
tempe and tofu, side dish that rocks! πŸ˜‡

Days Hum with A Smile

Days hum with a smile,
Swiping hours of hunger
Leaving only joy.

β€”

opening the freezer, i found a bag of oxtail; bought 1kg even before the trip β€” ok, the best choice was making oxtail soup! 😎
1st serving – i love delicious oxtail soup! πŸ’•
2nd one, there were 3 more β€” thanks god i don’t have cholesterol issue so it was a 2-day oxtail soup every meal with smiles and hums πŸ˜€