Hi Natty

How are you today?  Yes Honey, I listened to your latest podcast.  It's cool over here right now, and I'm feeling so relaxed and drowsy.  I just peeled some mangoes, I would love to start eating them but I have to wait another 45 minutes.  I managed to get a little bit of yard work in.  There's always so much to do in the yard, and there's so much to do online as well.  2 gardens to tend to.  Today I finally got around to whacking off those creepers on my front fence, only to reveal a second maze of creepers underneath which I will need a saw to cut through.  Lily and Bro seem to be settling in, and the snarls, hisses and growls from the other two seem to have lessened.  There's less tension in my home, only to be replaced with a somewhat formal atmosphere.  The kittens did not immediately take to eating raw chicken breast.  They are village kittens and are conditioned to eating rice, so I had to mix in some rice with the chopped chicken breast.  And I need tho make the chunks smaller for baby mouths.  I want to phase out the rice though.  Now I have 4 cats indoors, and raw chicken meat generates very little feces.  All the less labor for me.  **yawn**  I'm so comfortable right now.

Meow

Hi Natty!  Oh, you have more photos from the WSJ mag.  Quality business attire, nonetheless.  You look absolutely sparkling, my love.  I never thought that a tube top would be office wear though. 

I got a couple of new kittens today.  I found them huddled up together at my mother's house this morning.  They don't smell feral, I think somebody must have dumped them there.  They have ear mites and some fleas, so I took care of that and gave them a bath.  A brother and sister, both very much attached to each other.  So I brought them inside since I'm such a sucker for cats and as you would guess, Floofy and Lookie didn't like it one bit.  The female, the grey and white one, has the same markings as one of Floofy's kittens that died 4 years ago from pneumonia.  So I named her Lily 2.  I haven't thought of a name for her brother yet, just Lily's brother.  Of course the first thing Floofy did to Lily is punch her on the left eye.  It swelled up a little, but I think she's going to be OK inshaAllah.  So now there is high tension in my house, but the kittens seem to be comfortable.

Qur'an 20200429

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

46.  Say, "I do admonish you on one point: that you do stand up before Allah, in pairs or alone, and reflect.  Your companion is not possessed: he is no less than a warner to you, in face of a terrible penalty."

47.  Say, "No reward do I ask of you: it is in your interest.  My reward is only due from Allah, and God is Witness to all things."

48.  Say, "Verily my Lord does cast the Truth.  God that has full knowledge of what is hidden."

49.  Say, "The Truth has arrived, and falsehood neither creates anything new, nor restores anything."

50.  Say, "If I am astray, I only stray to the loss of my own soul.  But if I receive guidance, it is because of the inspiration of my Lord to me.  It is God Who hears all things, and is near."

Sheba  34:46-50

Too lazy to make dough

Hi Natty!  How's life up there in the mountains?  I hope you are healthy, and enjoying yourself.  It's nearly summer, I supposed you are enjoying the warmth of the sun more.  Have some of mine!  It's actually cooler today than it has been: I was able to enjoy a nice nap in the afternoon on the floor, instead of settling for a short meditation on the chair.  I like sleeping on the floor.  It's one of the beneficial pleasures I acquired from being broke all these years, is that sleeping on the floor works wonders on your back.  I was never all that greedy, and this "nickel and dime" life has made me value things in terms of labor instead of cash.  I was too lazy to make dough today, so I bought a loaf of bread.  One kilo of flour is RM2.20 which makes 12 dough balls (one or two dough balls for a filling meal), while a loaf of bread is RM3.20.  Besides the price of a buck, I didn't have to put in the time and labor to make dough.  That's probably just today, though.  Sigh.  I'll go back to making dough again after this loaf of bread is gone probably.  There's the labor of having to go out and buy bread to take account of.

Please make sure you rake up those dry leaves and do composting or controlled burning!  Help prevent forest fires!

Qur'an 20200428

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

34.  Never did We send a Warner to a population but the wealthy ones among them said, "We believe not in that with which you have been sent."

35.  They said,"We have more in wealth and in sons, and we cannot be punished."

36.  Say, "Verily my Lord enlarges and restricts the provision to whom God pleases, but most men understand not."

37.  It is not your wealth nor your sons that will bring you nearer to Us in degree, but only those who believe and work righteousness.  These are the ones for whom there is a multiplied reward for their deeds, while secure they are in dwellings on high.

38.  Those who strive against Our Signs, to frustrate them, will be given over into Punishment.

39.  Say, "Verily my Lord enlarges and restricts the sustenance to such of God's servants as God pleases, and nothing do you spend in the least but God replaces it, for God is the Best of those who grant sustenance."

40.  One Day God will gather them all together, and say to the angels, "Was it you that these men used to worship?"

Sheba 34:34-40

The chain

Hi Natty!  Wow, the Wall Street Journal huh?  You're going places no or few models have been before.  Congratulations.  You are looking lovely, of course.  As for the chain, I will try to help Wall Street as far as Allah allows me.  I have no wish to see the American people suffer: there are many good people there.  Wall Street would do well to help bring me and my Natty together in marriage soon.  I certainly can't marry anyone being as dirt poor as I am now.  And I certainly won't do anything that is in conflict of interest with my mission to please Allah with music.  InshaAllah.

Now I'm going to play a round of Krush, Kill and Destroy while I wait for sunset.

Qur'an 20200427

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

27.  Say, "Show me those who you have joined with God as partners... by no means!  No, God is Allah, the Exalted in Power, the Wise."

28.  We have not sent you but as a universalist to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them, but most men understand not.

29.  They say,"When is this promise, if you are telling the truth?"

30.  Say, "The appointment to you is for a Day, which you cannot put back for an hour, nor put forward."

31.  The unbelievers say, "We shall neither believe in this scripture nor in that before it."  Could you but see when the wrongdoers will be made to stand before their Lord, throwing back the word on one another!  Those who had been despised will say to the arrogant ones, "Had it not been for you, we should certainly have been believers!"

Sheba 34:27-31

It's beef jerky time!

Hi Natty!  How are you?  I hope you are feeling great and are healthy.  It's a busy day for me!  Rush rush rush from one task to another, and trying to take short breaks in between.  I have my dinner on the stove top, I hope the cats won't get at it.  I'm also cooking beef jerky, which takes a couple of days to complete.  I may have to keep the pot in my bedroom overnight.  Floofy is the clever one: she can open lids and covers.  When I hear a clatter in the kitchen, that's the clatter of dread.

I love you!  Gotta go!

Qur'an 20200426

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

22.  Say, "Call upon others whom you fancy besides Allah.  They have no power, not the weight of an atom, in the heavens or on earth.  No share have they therein, nor is any of them a helper to Allah."

23.  No intercession can avail in God's Presence, except for those whom God has granted permission.  So far that, when terror is removed from their hearts will they say, "What is it that your Lord commanded?"  They will say, "That which is true and just, and God is the Most High, Most Great."

24.  Say, "Who gives you sustenance, from the heavens and on earth?"  Say, "It is Allah, and certain it is that either we or you are on right guidance, or in manifest error!"

25.  Say, "You shall not be questioned as to our sins, nor shall we be questioned as to what you do."

26.  Say, "Our Lord will gather us together, and will in the end decide the matter between us in truth and justice, and God is the One to decide, the One Who Knows all."

Sheba  34:22-26

More shopping

Hi Natty!  How's it going over there?  You must be in paradise: I wish I were with you.  But wherever you go, there you are, huh?  Eat some strawberries for me!  The big, sweet, juicy ones!  I'm sitting here waiting for sunset again, and writing this my letter to you.  I went grocery shopping today.  I didn't really need to go, but my mother needed some stuff.  So I got more cat food: can't have too much of this cat food, because I can eat it too if I want.  I also got some bleach!  Popular item these days.  Then I drove to the frozen goods store downtown to pick up some beef, burgers, and ketchup.  Chili is on the menu today.  I got some raw red beans the other day.  I could have used the canned baked beans, but chili from the raw beans is the best I think.  I let them slow cook for most of the day yesterday, and they look like they were ready to be made into chili today.  If you make chili from raw beans, let them soak over night, then slow cook them until they break.  Don't throw out the water!  That's where most of the flavor is!  I have to cook without tasting anything but I'm used to that.  I used to cook like that when I was at the restaurant. I think I'll take a short nap.

Waiting

Hi Natty!  How's it going?  I hope you are having a fabulous time in your mountain getaway.  I'm sitting here waiting for sunset so I can break fast.  When they call the prayer, I'll chug down some colored sugar water then pray first before I eat my dinner.  Dinner today is pita bread and hummus with a couple of eggs sunny side up.  Hey, my eggs turned out all right today!  I'm getting a system down.  I've been eating a lot of eggs since the movement control order began, it's just more convenient to buy eggs to go with all the rice I have right now.  You've had hummus before, right?  I usually cook them in circle molds in a pan, so it has a crispy skin.  Today I couldn't be bothered with the mold, so I just shaped it like a pancake.  The food is waiting for me and getting cold, and sunset is half an hour away.  I'll cook my pita bread fresh though, that shouldn't take too long inshaAllah.  Now I'm just waiting for the Jap kids to put up their video before I post this blog.

Happy Earth Day!

Hi Natty!  Happy Earth Day!  Oh, I remember those snapshots.  That was when you did your epic trek along the West Coast.  At first I thought it was USA, now it looks like Canada.  What I recall most is that you looked so tired at the end of it, I felt so bad!  Happy Earth Day.  I'm glad you are here to remind me.  What did I do today?  I cut the grass!  Oh, don't worry about the grass.  There's plenty more where that came from.

The fasting month of Ramadan begins tomorrow.  It is a mandatory task for all Muslims to fast during the month of Ramadan, just like it is a mandatory task for all Muslims to pray 5 times a day.  We go without food, drink, sexual activity and vulgar language from dawn to sunset.  A female on her period is exempt from fasting, but she must make up the days she missed before the next Ramadan.  A lot of people dread the fasting month, but I quite enjoy the month.  I guess if you were a glutton, drug addict or chain smoker, you would dread the fasting month.  For the rest of us it's business as usual, other than our eating times change.  I will be eating at 4 am and after the sunset prayer.  I don't what time I will be posting my letter to you each day during Ramadan.  Last year it was before sunset, but nowadays I have to regard the Jap kids and their TikTok video, which I have to watch before posting.