Unlikely Companions

This poem is dedicated to Hajera's new niece, Ameerah in hopes that she'll be an awesome cook ;) _ The cupboards were full the last time I checked. I accidentally put cinnamon next to brown sugar on the shelf and they mingled with white sugar. funny how both sugars get along, even with oatmeal who's laughter bellows and shakes- the little jars are intimidated. Sel and baking soda shook hands long ago when they decided they'd go together in recipes. Sometimes they don't. There's Molasses chatting with mother Tetley, looking after her little teabags. And flour sneezes while cocoa sighs at how quick his energy is depleted. Old yeast is no longer quick to rise. Baking powder's lid's sealed tight or the air'll get in and leave her flat. Peanut butter dominates his level, "King of the cupboard" with a fork abandoned in his belly. But his sweetheart, jam's been taken prisoner in the fridge. They meet solely when spread thinly over toast-chaperone and die dramatic lovers' deaths. The secret world of foreign spices lies just beyond their grasp on the other side of the kitchen, in another cupboard. And poor little forlorn cinnamon awaits the day when the girl will remember which cupboard to place him in so he can reunite with his beloved nutmeg, cardamom, cumin and black seed.

A Remarkable Gift

Stop getting your hopes up, because this isn't Asmaa. As a matter of fact, this is Nusaybah, her younger sister, who just graduated from grade 8 on Friday. You probably just switched the computer off now. Well sorry nobody likes me. As you might have guessed, which you probably haven't, this is Asmaa's graduation gift from her to me: to write a post on her blog. Wow, how typical. I asked her, what kind of gift is this? She replied that it's very valuable to her. She said that it's also a marketing technique to get more people to write on her blog, I'm guessing because people aren’t interested anymore. Sniff. Great, so she's using me to get her friends to post on her blog. Why don't you guys just POST for goodness sake, oh my god! Okay, I'm probably boring everyone, but sorry I don't have Asmaa's special skills to attract lifeless people. You know what, I'm sorry for all the rude things I have said to anyone, because I'm not really like this in real life. No seriously, I'm a very happy person in reality. Very emotional, that is, much more than Asmaa, the heartless beast. I didn't mean that Asmaa, I know you hate when I say that. The graduation was great, Asmaa...the best part is when you hugged me and said "you better enjoy this, because this is the only hug you'll ever be getting" How nice. I'm surprised you have friends. But don't worry, I enjoyed it anyways. Oh well, that's over. But all this is actually pretty nice for Asmaa, she even made a chocolate cake and then told me it was a grad present. PSHHT. I'm not going to believe that, she probably made and THEN thought she might as well say that it was a present. Okay, what the heck am I doing, being optimistic and pessimistic at the same time. I cried so badly at the graduation, and I wasn't the only one, okay! It was just such a depressing moment, and I couldn't express how I felt except with tears. But the saddest thing is, my sister and my mother weren't there to cheer me on as I stepped onto the stage, and throughout the whole ceremony. I'll deal with it. But for now, I'll leave you alone. Thanks Asmaa, for letting me post on your blog, but I think it will create the opposite of what you intended.

Where's my co-co-cola?

Yup, so I'm holding down the fort. And while doing so, I just thought I would share this video with all of you. I think it's rather brilliant in its own twisted kind of way. Kind of made me want to eat bologna to see if random playdo thingies would pop up and try to operate on me. Kind of.

"Asmaa, can you help me pack?"

Friday was my sister's (Mars) last day teaching at her school because she's travelling to Egypt in a few hours...here are some of the notes she got from her students :) My sister really liked this one. When she got it, she kept gushing and making this dumb face and saying "awww, this is so sweet." Another student's redition of himself and the teacher playing soccer. Except that the teacher has no hair/looks like a man. But that's okay. "Sr. Mariam" is taller than the tree in this drawing! Hehe. And some kids were really creative. On the bottom of this one there's a little happy face made out of playdo. This is a card from a bunch of grade one kids. If I could draw your attention to the bottom left corner of the picture, you'll see that a brilliant young child wrote to her: "you nice." She laughed about that for a while. She's leaving in a few short hours with my mom. She's not actually planning on coming back in the near future and my mom will be away for two months. SubhanAllah, I've always thought that I was independent. But I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it. And Mariam, she's sort of my evil twin. Well, we're not really twins (though we've been mistaken for twins on many occasions). And she's not really evil. But together, we were a dangerous combination. And my mom...she's my lifeline, she's everything. I'm sad.

Important.

This is Sticky tack. This is a Coffee Crisp. These are the remnants of a popsicle. These are all three objects on the same plane. Just thought I should let you know. Bye.

be in this world as a traveller

I am a traveller. In the Qur'an, Islam is described as being al-'aqaba, or "the path that is steep." For many Muslims, this path hasn't felt steep at all. We've just been getting by, following our desires and being under very little pressure. But that's about to change, if it hasn't already. The path will become steep for us if we are really striving for Allah's pleasure and for Jannah. What do you have to lose when you are a traveller? All of these difficulties - they have just made you a bit dusty. Get up from where you've stopped to rest, shake the dust off of your clothes and continue.

'teach me how not to lose hope'

Assalaamu alaikum, To my friends and random blog readers - it has been frustrating facing the 'terrorism' allegations propping up against Torontonians. It has been difficult for many to avoid reacting in a violent rage against what they see as an injustice. I don't know what to think - the only thing I'm certain of is that this is a trial from Allah (swt). How will we react to this trial we are facing? Will our words and actions help to make or break the future of Muslims in Canada? And the Muslims are not making it better - there are the "Islam means peace" apologetics who have no backbone, there are those Muslims who jump to condemn those who were arrested without knowing them or the evidence against them, and of course, there are those "modernist" Muslims who blame Wahabism for every problem in the world that arises. The frustration is building. It's impossible for me to know if these men are innocent or guilty, although I'm completely sure there is something behind these stunts that CSIS and the police are pulling. They have been carefully building this construct, the results of which make every Muslim seem to be a suspect. Did anyone see when they broadcast the hotline for people to call in if they see any "suspicious" activities? Who defines what suspicious activities are? For all we know, just being in hijab or having a beard and walking down the street or taking the subway is now deemed to be a suspicious activity. For the brothers who have become entangled in this, I pray that Allah (swt) instills patience and determination in your hearts. And I call them my brothers because that's what they are. If they are being wrongfully accused, I pray that they are released to join their families. If they are indeed guilty, I pray that the punishment they receive is just and that they come to realize the gravity of their actions. And for all of us who have been hurt and confused by this, remember the story of Yusuf and his father, Ya'qoub. When Yusuf's brothers threw him into the well and his father was devestated to the point of blindness. And yet he said fa sabrun jameel: (for me) the most perfect, beautiful and sincere patience is most fitting. A man faced with losing such a son and yet staying firm and putting complete trust in Allah - it's amazing. Umar ibn Abdul-Azîz said: "Allah never bestows a blessing on His slave then takes it away and compensates him by giving him patience, but that with which he has been compensated is better than that which has been taken away from him." I am still contemplating the situation and the next steps that need to be taken. I ask all the Muslims not to be afraid, nor hide, nor apologize for something you didn't do - but remain vigilant and stand up for truth and justice. May Allah (swt) protect us - there is no protection remotely equal to His.

*~Cookies~*

Since Squeeky hasn't updated her blog for a while, I am dedicating this post to her. Rafia, you're awesome...hehehe Assalaamu alaikum :) I tried to make cookies today because I saw that there were chocolate chips in the cupboard and figured they wouldn't last for very long. I took advantage of the situation by using them in my little concoction here. I used the recipe on the back of the package but it said 1 cup of butter. And like, that's too much, so I made it half a cup. Here's the batter when I poured the chocolate chips in (awwww!): While I was pouring the chocolate chips in the batter, I came upon this motherload chunk of amalgamated chocolate chips, which was pretty cool: It was all fun and games until I put the cookies in the oven. At which point they had a secret meeting were they decided to form a union in protest of being mere cookies, and become a cake (which really was unfortunate): To remedy this, I tried to break them apart with a spatula: And it worked...for the most part. But having a forcefully-broken-into-a-square cookie instead of a plain ol' round one just isn't the same :( But no worries, *InshaAllah* next time they will turn out to be better. I will crush their union into smithereens! *ahem* Wassalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu :D (Happy *early* birthday, Rafia)