HOUSE OF SYAFI, SAFIYA & SAFWAN

View from outer space

2011-04-02T11:24:00.003+08:00

2nd April 2011

I was experimenting with my wife's new iPhone (my present to the lovely Mrs for our 8th wedding anniversary, ahem!) and tried out the application known as MobileMe. It's basically an application that allows owners to search for their iPhone using GPS tracking system.

I was amazed when I see the satellite image shown on my computer. This is the first time that I see our home in a satellite view! All this while, I could only access an outdated version with the land still covered in trees with no home in sight. Thanks to the updated technology, now we know how our home looks like when zoomed in from outer space! Hehehe...

Mini sunflower

2011-01-28T13:37:00.002+08:00

24th January 2011

I have mentioned before that during our trip to Australia last October, my wife and I bought some packed seeds, which include herbs and flowers. One of them is called "Dwarf Sensation" which is actually a dwarf version of sunflowers.

We are very amazed at seeing a mini sunflower plant growing healthily at our own home. Sunflowers itself is uncommon in Brunei, and to have even a mini version of it is equally satisfying. My children love to look at the plant every morning when they wake up and in the afternoon before night falls.

So far, my wife only planted 4 for trial and error and we'll definitely plant some more during our spare time soon.

More planting

2011-01-16T20:19:00.001+08:00

16th January 2011

With the kindness and favour portrayed by our neighbour in giving us free stones for decorating our yard, my wife and I did some more planting today. We have more saplings of soursop and mangoes that needed to be transferred out of its pots and as such we took opportunity of the cloudy weather to do some hard work.

In addition to that, we also needed to "rescue" a turmeric plant (courtesy of my parents-in-law) that was always overlooked by our garden mowers. We cleared up the plant area and put some stones circling it. My wife harvested some and used it for cooking a delicious lunch for us. You can't get any fresher than that!

These mango saplings were planted directly from seeds. It only took about 2-3 months for it to grow that tall. However, my mother-in-law says that cloned saplings (pokok kahwin) are better since they bear fruits faster and do not normally grow extra tall which makes picking fruits easier. Nevertheless, we are still hoping that we can taste the Australian mangoes in a few years time. We'll just have to wait and see.

Bruneians start the new year with the welcoming of a princess

2011-01-07T08:48:00.000+08:00

7th January 2010

~ Photo courtesy of [infofoto] ~

We humbly present our congratulatory message to His Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah (the Crown Prince) and Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah on the birth of a princess

Her Royal Highness Pengiran Anak Muneerah Madhul Bolkiah
born on Sunday, 2nd January 2011.

We would also like to express sincere congratulations to the family of uncle Pg Hj Salleh Ab Rahaman on this occasion.

New year gardening spirit

2011-01-02T12:12:00.002+08:00

2nd January 2011

Yesterday was a wonderful morning and the whole family was in the mood for a bit of hard work under the sun. Our project of decorating the yard is still an ongoing progress as expected ~ taking into consideration the large area to be covered.

Our new year day project was decorating the front yard by planting along the edge of the concrete pathway and enhancing the palm trees. It was also a lucky day for us that our contractor neighbour agreed to give a lot of large to medium sized rocks for free. We delightfully arranged them circling each tree.

By noon, after much sweating (and sun burn), we were done.

Welcome 2011

2011-01-01T00:01:00.000+08:00

1st January 2011
(1.1.11)

Especially to family, friends and blog followers / readers
Let's all make this year better than the years before, filled with love, warmth and care towards each other. Together, we can make this world a better place!

Fixing the flag pole

2010-12-23T22:44:00.000+08:00

23rd December 2010

A couple of weeks back, the flag that I had put up fell to the ground. It was first noticed by my brother-in-law who was at home at that time to help prepare for my daughter's birthday party. Apparently, the rope fell off from the tip of the pole and the only way to fix it is by calling in some help.

Soursop planting

2010-12-15T06:34:00.005+08:00

19th December 2010

I've been doing some more planting lately. I learnt from my mistake about 2 years ago and made sure that from now on, I'll plant the right way. Before putting in the plants, I dug some holes and put in some fertiliser (chicken poo, to be exact). After a week or so, the soil has become more fertile and it will be easy for the small saplings to thrive and grow.

My son however is not fond of the smell and stopped after just one sapling. My daughter, on the other hand, loves to get her hands dirty... just like daddy and mummy, I suppose.

Hope the soursop saplings yield lots of fruits in the future!

Fruits of success

2010-11-03T14:25:00.004+08:00

3rd November 2010

Gardening creates a sort of addiction to it. Apart from decorative plants and flowers, my wife and I has developed an interest in growing fruits and vegetables. Some tease us saying that there's no need for us to go down that road since we can easily get our supply from the wholesale market right next door.

However, we see this as a way to be close to nature itself, and it's a way to teach our children not to depend too much on the buying power of money when there's another way available as an alternative.

From our recent trip to Brisbane, I came across a nursery which sells saplings. We decided to buy two small pots of strawberries and brought it back to Brunei. We have had three ripe ones so far, and they taste good.

We have also planted chilli, tomatoes, papaya, soursop, kalamansi (limau kasturi) and a few others. The tomatoes are grown from seeds and it doesn't take a long time to grow. Yesterday, we noticed two small tomatoes has popped up and hopefully there will be lots more.

We are also lucky that our maid is interested in gardening as well. In her spare time, she will look after the plants and recently she has planted rows of tomatoes, papaya and chilli.

To ensure that our plants are healthy and free from pests, I spray pesticides once in a while. It proves to be a good work out for me too since the tank is really heavy!

Soon, we will start planting some other types of vegetables. My wife and I have collected seeds from Australia as well as Brunei (imported from Malaysia) and on our list are cucumber, zuchhini, salad, bittergourd, lady fingers (okra), choy sim as well as herbs such as basil, parsley and mint.

Let's hope for more success! Hehehe...

33 and counting

2010-11-01T09:21:00.000+08:00

Celebrating 33 years of...

ME!

Hehehe... Yes, I'm 33 years old today
Alhamdulillah!

Bring the rain

2010-10-31T15:32:00.001+08:00

31st October 2010

It was raining heavily last night. The news today even report that a few places were hit by flash floods. However, we never thought that the bad weather would have effect on us as well.

The story began when my wife was about to take her shower. She then heard a dripping sound and she began checking for loose taps but to no avail. She looked closer and noticed that the sink counter was wet. She looked up - and to her horror, the dripping sound actually comes from the ceiling!

She immediately called me; I was just about to finish up dinner with the kids downstairs. I ran upstairs and was surprised by what I saw. We began to wonder, is there a hole in the roof? Then my wife went into the study room and saw the water was dripping there as well.

Okay, we thought. Two holes in the roof is unlikely... there must be another reason.

While we were trying to figure out the house plan - trying to check out the plumbing connections, etc. - my maid informed that there was also water dripping downstairs outside the kitchen area.

Then it struck me. Above that is our first floor balcony. I immediately opened the door and was alarmed after seeing a mini pool. Apparently the drain hole was covered by debris (it's amazing how a thin piece of plastic can almost halt the water flow). After clearing it up, I realise something else; the drain hole is the same as the ones installed at our concrete gutter. Our logical conclusion: the gutter is blocked and the heavy rain worsens the problem even more.

To check on the problem, I called my contractor this morning and he sent his "roof man" to the rescue. Our theory was right, the drain pipe was covered with debris. It took the single worker almost 2 hours to finish up cleaning and thankfully the gutter is now good as new.

Check out the before & after picture below. Notice the drain hole?

We learned a lesson. Have the gutter checked, at least twice a year. I'll put that in my reminder, definitely!

Our new garden

2010-08-30T13:22:00.001+08:00

30th August 2010

We have been struck with good luck. A close friend of mine, Zahreen, told me that his father decided to give away a couple of old flower stands. I straight away took the offer and hired a pick up truck to transport the flower stands all the way from Berakas.

It took us about a week to beautify them. We painted it black and gold and slowly added flower pots, mostly courtesy of my mother-in-law. I have also recently bought some hanging pots and the end result is really beautiful.

In addition, we have also bought and planted some fruit saplings. What's left now is to find suitable places to plant them permanently.

Lesson well learned

2010-08-28T13:11:00.000+08:00

28th August 2010

Sometimes it makes you wonder ~ does practice really make perfect?

Today, something strange and sudden happened. Never in a million years would I have thought that I would have such an experience.

Everyday (I repeat: everyday) when arriving home, I would park my car in reverse. In order to do that, I have to drive towards the pond adjacent to our home and then reverse the car. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry this morning when I arrived home at around 11 am and out of the blue, I find my car stopping a bit awkward.

Apparently I overdid it ~ I drove a bit further than the concrete driveway! My wife noticed as well as she was outside the home waiting for me to arrive. We were a bit shocked but thankfully everything is alright. I had to call in a towing service to assist with the car, and $50 flew away just like that!

I really learned my lesson!

Ramadan Ya Ramadan

2010-08-11T20:00:00.000+08:00

1 Ramadan 1431 AH

Wishing all Muslims a blessed month full of Ibadah
Let's take this opportunity to be better in everything that we do especially our prayers (solat), speech and behaviour

From all of us at
syafisafiya.blogspot.com
syafisafiya-house.blogspot.com

Dirgahayu Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik

2010-07-15T07:06:00.001+08:00

15th July 2010

The long awaited yearly celebration is here...

Happy Birthday to His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah
The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei
who turns 64 today

Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik

A challenging task

2010-06-29T10:53:00.003+08:00

28th June 2010

Nope, I am not talking about our new baby boy. He is definitely an easy-going baby with minimal tantrum episodes - he only cries when he is sleepy, hungry or uncomfortable. His picture is put here because he also witnessed the task that I'm going to tell you about.

So what do I mean by a challenging task? It's this...

About a week ago, my elder children were playing with balls. They were tossing them down from above the stairs, and one green ball landed right inside our huge chandelier - way up high!

Finally just a day before Syafi's birthday, I decided that the ball must go. Equipped with a tall ladder on top of four tables (with the assistance of our maids holding the ladder), I managed to push the ball up so as not to be so entangled in between the small metal parts within the chandelier. Then, from above, I put some sticky tape on a long pole and managed to pull out the ball.

It was definitely not easy, coupled by the fact that standing at such an altitude made me prone to danger. Thankfully, my sweat was worth it in the end.

This is definitely a down side of having a chandelier hanging from a high ceiling - but hey, these things doesn't happen everyday, right?

Happy birthday son!

2010-06-26T08:12:00.000+08:00

26th June 2010

A big hug for our son, Syafi, who turns 6 today. Time really flies since it seems like it was not long ago that my wife and I were blessed with the birth of our first child. At 6 years old, Syafi is a good, bright, friendly and creative boy.

Happy birthday son!

Love always from daddy, mummy, Safiya & Safwan

One year anniversary

2010-06-25T08:54:00.001+08:00

25th June 2010

Today, it's officially one year after we moved in. It has been a fun and memorable year, but we are still far from over in decorating our home. We do believe that it's a never-ending process, and making a perfect home does not happen overnight. However, we will definitely enjoy every moment doing that!

On our checklist for years to come
(just to name a few):

- Perimeter fencing
- TV sets in the bedrooms
- Carpets for our formal living area
- Display cabinet(s) in the living / dining room
- Guard post and outdoor storage room
- Swimming pool and leisure area

That's a long way to go!

Killer plant

2010-06-09T08:58:00.002+08:00

9th June 2010

We received an email about a dangerous plant that can cause fatality. It actually looks very familiar and is common to be seen anywhere in Brunei. I'll definitely be cautious the next time we go shopping for plants. Just thought of sharing this with all of you. Thanks to my sister, Liza, for sharing the information. Here's the extract of the email:

"Dear all, Please read below. The message is true. I almost lost my daughter who put a piece of the leaf of this plant in her mouth and her tongue swelled to the point of suffocation. This is one plant but there are others with the same characteristics of coloring. Those are also poisonous and we should get rid of them. Please watch out for our children. As we all leave our children home in the hands of the helpers, we should give them a safe environment where they can play".

This plant that we have in our homes and offices is extremely dangerous!

It is a deadly poison, mainly for the children. It can kill a kid in less than a minute and an adult in 15 minutes. It should be uprooted from gardens and taken out of offices. If touched, one should never touch ones eyes; it can cause partial or permanent blindness. Please alert your buddies.

Gardening in action

2010-06-06T22:31:00.000+08:00

6th June 2010

My wife took some pictures of me whilst I was busy gardening outside. I didn't know about it though. I was actually originally accompanied by her and our lovely kids, but they stopped earlier since we had to get ready for a wedding invitation. A great workout and a good way of spending time with the family too!

Culprit identified

2010-05-30T20:19:00.000+08:00

30th May 2010

As I have mentioned in one of my previous posts, the road leading to our home is not in a good shape. It gets worse every time it rains. After a couple of times patching the puddles with free gravel (courtesy of our neighbour), the road simply wouldn't be fixed, especially the area exactly in front of the house. I became more puzzled when the road continues to be muddy even though it has not rained.

Curious, my neighbour and I decided to figure out the problem. After a scrutiny, it turned out that the actual culprit is a broken water pipe underneath the ground. Since it was already dusk when we found out about it, the plumbers decided to check it out the next day.

Thankfully, the problem has been fixed. An advantage which came out from this, my good neighbour now has his new water meter fixed. Currently, our road is better but certainly asphalt would be much more nicer.

Permanent water pipes underway

2010-05-05T21:04:00.001+08:00

5th May 2010

After almost a year moving in, there are finally signs of having permanent water pipes installed. It may sound like such a long time, but we are actually quite lucky since one of my neighbours had been living on our street for years and only now that the relevant authorities take action. This whole time, we had been relying on temporary water lines with the help of black rubber pipes (as you can see in one of the pictures below).

The main water meter has been put up close to the entrance of our street and pipes have been laid down underground. The only downside is that our dirt/gravel road has now worsened after the digging works. To add more to the deterioration, our neighbour at the end of the street owns a lorry that passes by daily. Thankfully, perhaps acknowledging their contribution towards the damage, the lorry driver had agreed to find some unwanted gravel stones to patch up the road.

I hope that the works will be completed soon. At the same time, I also hope that our application for asphalt will be approved in the near future.

Marking the territory

2010-05-01T14:47:00.001+08:00

1st May 2010

Hahaha... The title might sound selfish but I do believe that my actions are justified. The pond adjacent to our land has long attracted strangers to try their luck with fishing. Frankly, we are not annoyed by that, it's just that some people do not respect things that does not belong to them. Once I saw a passer-by kicking the plants that took me time and money to plant. Some others ignorantly hang out ('lepak') on our land and put their belongings under our water tank. Most recently, somebody drove their car across my sisters' land and parked behind our house.

I don't know about you but these things make me uncomfortable. Safety is also an issue especially during times when nobody is home, or when my wife and I are at work and the kids are alone with the maids.

Of course my long-term plan is to build a proper perimeter fencing and hopefully all the problems would go away. However, that will have to be delayed due to the cost. My wife and I have discussed and decided that when we build it, it has to be of good quality and long-lasting. We are hoping that our plan can be realised by the end of this year or perhaps early next year.

As for now, this is what I did...

At the entrance of my sisters' land, I put up some wooden poles. I'm planning to add some more all around the land with barb wires attached.

Along the border separating their land from ours, I planted some saplings. Long term goal; they will grow bigger and form a hedge.

7th anniversary

2010-03-28T13:35:00.001+08:00

28th March 2010

A special message especially for my beloved wife

Happy 7th wedding anniversary

Thank you for all these wonderful years
and looking forward to spend the rest of our lives together
with our three beautiful children

Lots of love

And now there's three

2010-03-16T13:34:00.000+08:00

16th March 2010

Alhamdulillah...

We are proud to announce the birth of our third bundle of joy

A baby boy born yesterday, 15th March 2010 at 4.08 a.m. via normal delivery, weighing at 3.56 kg

Thank you to all our family members and friends for your support and prayers

And special heartfelt appreciation to Dr.Azlina, midwife Connie and all staff and nurses at JPMC and Sengkurong government clinic in ensuring the health of my wife and the baby throughout the pregnancy

Fulfill your tastebuds with Brunei traditional delicacies

2010-02-27T12:11:00.001+08:00

27th February 2010

Introducing my mother-in-law or as my children call her, Nini Green's blog. It's especially made to offer interested customers with a variety of Brunei traditional Malay kuihs for purchase. Please feel free to drop by the [website]. Orders can be placed via phone.

Thank you and we look forward to serving you

Maulidur Rasul 1431H

2010-02-26T08:27:00.000+08:00

26th February 2010
12th Rabiul Awal 1430H

Especially to all Muslims, let's celebrate together the birthday of our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW.

Allahumma Salli 'Ala Sayyidina Muhammad

Brunei's 26th National Day

2010-02-23T06:41:00.000+08:00

23rd February 2010

A huge congratulatory message to the people of Brunei in conjunction with Brunei's 26th National Day celebration today. We should be thankful for the peace and harmony that we enjoy day by day!

This year's theme is

"Negaraku Brunei Darussalam"
(My country, Brunei Darussalam)

Proud to be Bruneians
www.syafisafiya.blogspot.com
www.syafisafiya-house.blogspot.com

An unwanted visitor

2010-02-19T21:40:00.000+08:00

19th February 2010

I remember reading from a good friend's [blog] about how unwanted visitors sometimes drop by. We now have that experience too. As today was Friday and it was my wife's alone time at home (with myself working and the kids at school), she took the opportunity to clean up around the home.

To her surprise, she found a strange thing lying on the floor of our main living room. Believe it or not, it was a dead frog! Having lizards or ants is usual, but a frog? My wife was thankful though that it was already dead, because if it was hopping around, it would have created a chaos... hehehe...

Well, there's a first time for everything. We couldn't figure out how and when it got in, but at least we finally found the culprit behind the sudden trigger of our home security alarm during midnight recently, perhaps!

Our first blog award

2010-02-18T19:52:00.000+08:00

18th February 2010

We received a notification via email informing that our blog is featured on a [website] and has received an award. It's glad to know that our humble blog has caught some attention. Thank you to garden planters.com for the honour.

Addicted to gardening

2010-02-17T14:32:00.004+08:00

17th February 2010

Ever since our planters were filled, I noticed a gradual change in myself as well as my wife. Apparently gardening can be addictive because once you start, the interest and passion grows even more. After finishing one area, the mind will automatically shift attention towards another area. We even find ourselves thinking during Sunday or public holiday mornings of going to the plants market to hunt for new plants to buy.

On the positive side, this interest means that our time is put to a better use (rather than laying down lazily in front of the television), and it also helps us burn some calories from all that sweating and hard work. Even my heavily pregnant wife still finds the strength to help me out with the gardening works although her involvement is quite limited due to health and safety reasons.

Already, we have planned for some more gardening works due this weekend or probably during the public holidays next week. Go green!

The kids also love to get their hands dirty. Pictures taken when we were planting around our new flag pole.

The base of the flag pole as it is now

I finally planted at the two voids near our two twin columns

Plants of my wife's choice, decorating our front foyer

An overall view of our home from the front

And this picture is especially dedicated to my sister in law who gave us this orchid plant when we first moved in. She initially complained when it almost died during the days when we left the watering to our maid. Now that we have developed "green hands", the orchids bloom beautifully.

Our new flag pole

2010-02-12T14:04:00.002+08:00

12th February 2010

Finally, we are now proud to have a permanent flag pole installed. It was quite an investment since it costed me more than a thousand Brunei dollars, but it's definitely worth the wait. The supplier took around four days to finally put up the stainless steel structure. The first day, they cemented the base and after three days of hardening under the sun, a huge truck came by and unloaded the pole with a crane. The installation itself took only around 15 minutes.

Once I arrived home from work yesterday afternoon, I didn't waste anymore time and had a small flag hoisting "ceremony" with the help of my two adorable children. We waited for that gush of wind to see the flag move, but luck was not on our side.

Fortunately, today was windy and my wife managed to snap two photos of the hoisted flag. It was a pretty sight!

The base on the first day

On the fourth day... flag pole installed on the hardened concrete base

The flag pole viewed from the front road and another angle from the side of our home

Pictures that my wife took at noon today

7 months has passed

2010-01-25T08:14:00.000+08:00

25th January 2010

Time goes by fast when you have a good time. It's almost unbelievable that we have been living in our new home for 7 months as at today. I still feel that 25th June 2009 was only a few weeks ago. Looking forward to more fun, happiness and great memories...

Blooming in the rain

2010-01-15T12:06:00.000+08:00

15th January 2010

Brunei has been experiencing heavy rainfall lately, and some areas are affected by flash floods. Thankfully, it's not as bad as last year since the authorities has been urged to take precautionary steps before the worst strikes.

We are also thankful that our home is safe from any signs of flood. Frankly, it's quite worrying having a river right at the back of our home, and added by the pond adjacent to our land. So far so good as the water flow seems to be working fine.

Even better, after a short moment of planting some plants around the house, some were blooming despite the wet weather. Quite a pretty sight during these gloomy days.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T06:14:00.000+08:00

Goodbye 2009, and Welcome 2010!

We wish all a more memorable, happy and exciting year
and may all our wishes come true!

Convenient concrete driveway

2009-12-30T20:55:00.001+08:00

25th December 2009

Quite often during the afternoons lately, my children love to cycle around our home. It really shows that all that extra expenditure in having our driveway cemented is worth every single cent. It's also very convenient for our cars as well as guests' to be manouvered around, especially so since Brunei receives a high rainfall rate throughout the year and driving around in muddy soil is definitely not something anyone is looking forward to.

One advice for those planning on building a home, have the driveway included in the price quotation from your chosen contractor and get discounts if possible.

Solar garden lights

2009-12-21T15:40:00.000+08:00

21st December 2009

As promised, here is a picture of our solar garden lights when it lights up at night. The brightness really depends on how much sunlight there was during each day, but we are quite satisfied with the result. After all, no hassle of connecting electrical wiring is needed for these pretty lights to function.

Hijrah breakfast

2009-12-18T21:44:00.002+08:00

18th December 2009

Firstly, Happy Muslim New Year (1431 Hijrah) to all Muslims all around the world. May all our good deeds in the past year be rewarded by Allah and lets all try and make full use of this new year for our benefits both in this world and the Hereafter.

To mark the arrival of this blessed day, we have invited jemaah Masjid Pulaie for an early breakfast straightly after the dawn sermon (Kuliyyah Subuh). Although some of them were unable to come since they were fasting, around 20 guests showed up to fulfill our invitation.

My wife and I together with the help of my sister woke up early this morning to prepare our breakfast buffet menu; crunchy chicken in pita breads, wet noodles, kelupis with beef curry and my wife's speciality, teh tarik. It was actually the first time we invite guests over very early in the morning and it was definitely a good and memorable experience.

We also invited our neighbours the same day.

Planter box serving its purpose

2009-12-08T18:48:00.003+08:00

8th December 2009

It's been more than 5 months now after we started moving in. All this while, my wife and I have always been glancing at our empty and abandoned planter boxes, two at the front and one at the back. Of course it was clever of our architect to have it readily constructed, but seeing it barren is definitely not something anyone would wish for.

Finally, with the help of my good friend, Sateria, from Sat & Iza Landscaping we are now proud owners of functional planter boxes. We are satisfied with what we have for now, and future plans include adding small plants to cover the soil and perhaps use some pebbles too.

In addition to the plants, we have also installed some solar-powered garden lights that we bought from Australia last year. Another advantage of having filled planter boxes. I'll post more pictures of the lights soon since the instructions needs us to charge the batteries for at least 4 nights before it can function its best.

At the same time, I also instructed the workers to move the palm trees that I have planted a year ago on the adjoining land. Hehehe... apparently after more than a year, the trees seem to not have grown that much. I guess I have been unfair leaving the trees to survive on their own without much care and attention. Now that the trees are closer to the house, we'll definitely monitor their growth more often and hopefully the trees will strive and grow better.

In the afternoons, my wife and the kids also love to do some gardening works. My in-laws were very kind to give us some potted plants (for free!) and we are slowly developing a "greener" home.

Happy Birthday Mummy SyafiSafiya

2009-11-29T08:21:00.000+08:00

29th November 2009

Happy 28th birthday to my lovely wife. Thank you for the happiness that you bring into our lives and we are so lucky to have someone special like you.

Lots of love from
Your hubby, Syafi & Safiya

Eid Mubarak

2009-11-28T12:42:00.001+08:00

28th November 2009

Happy Aidil Adha to all our Muslim blog readers.

Sincerely from us at
House of SyafiSafiya
2009

A 3-in-1 birthday celebration

2009-11-27T23:31:00.000+08:00

27th November 2009

Tonight we had a small dinner to mark the celebration of 3 birthdays this month; mine, my wife and my sister. Before dinner, we performed a mass prayer and takbir recitation in conjunction with Aidil Adha. Thanks to all my family members who came.

A clear view at last

2009-11-27T12:24:00.000+08:00

26th November 2009

We recently had some workers clear up the surroundings of our home. It's been a while since the last lawn-mowing work and the grass has definitely grown tall especially on the land on the left side of our house.

Thankfully, all of it is now gone and we now have a clean view. It was definitely a lot of hard work since the workers took two days to finish their job.

The car is back

2009-11-15T14:19:00.001+08:00

15th November 2009

Early last month (October 1st to be exact), I had a very unfortunate day. When I had just started my daily journey to work early in the morning, I lost control of the car and hit a fire hydrant that was erected on the side of the road. Frankly, I didn't know what had happened since it's the same route that I take everyday and ironically, the mishap happened about 1 1/2 kilometres away from my house.

Luckily, no one was injured and the only thing that the incident left behind is a bad memory. As for the car, the front bumper was crushed and had to be replaced. Both air bags were deployed too. Thankfully, the car insurance comes to the rescue and helps a lot with the repair expenses.

After more than a month in the workshop, the car is finally ready. There is a slight change in the bumper with new blue-coloured fog-lights and a black front grill instead of a white one that used to be installed. The car also had a new whole body paint job and the result is really nice.

Happy Birthday Daddy SyafiSafiya

2009-11-01T12:03:00.000+08:00

1st November 2009

A big birthday shout out to our one-of-a-kind, loving, cheerful and caring DADDY. We love you very much! Happy Birthday daddy! Hugs and kisses from Syafi, Safiya and mummy...

Posted by Syafi & Safiya

# More pics at the other blog #

Our informal living room with a new look

2009-10-26T21:46:00.000+08:00

26th October 2009

It's now officially four months since we moved in. Apparently the process of settling in still goes on with lots of furnishings still yet to be bought. After Safiya's birthday party, we cleared the informal living room from all the banquet tables.

Having the opportunity, my wife and I decided to rearrange the furniture and gave the area a different look. With this new arrangement, we think that the room has more function and is definitely more practical. If you compare these pictures from how the room used to look like (please refer previous posts), you can see the difference.

Now the whole family as well as our guests will enjoy the comfortable sofas while watching television. I think we'll keep this arrangement for now.

Another successful event

2009-10-26T01:42:00.000+08:00

25th October 2009

Last night, we had another successful event; my daughter Safiya's birthday celebration. Lots more pictures in the other [blog].

A big thanks to everyone who came, gave their support and made Safiya's dream come true.

Taking time beautifying our home

2009-10-23T11:55:00.000+08:00

23rd October 2009

I've been meaning to post some pictures for quite some time but couldn't find the time.. at least not until now. Here are pictures taken during the last fasting month when we decided to plant some royal palm trees in the front yard as well as the side of the house (with the help of some gardeners, of course!), and a couple of pictures of the LED lights decorating our home in preparation for Raya.

Our princess's birthday

2009-10-15T23:03:00.000+08:00

15th October 2009

A very special birthday wish goes out to my daughter, Safiya, as she turns 3 today. Lots of love from daddy, mummy and Syafi.

More pictures on the other [blog].

Gembo paying a visit

2009-10-12T12:48:00.000+08:00

11th October 2009

Last night we had the pleasure of welcoming a colleague, relative as well as a fellow blogger, Gembo, to our home. Thankfully the celebrated month of Syawal or Hari Raya goes on for a month. As such it was still not too late for guests to come, and at the same time do a house-touring. Gembo has been very helpful in giving me tips and advice during our one and a half year struggle of building our dream home, and you can read about his experience building his own too on his [blog].

When two girls with the same name meet.. Iman & Iman

Welcoming more guests during Hari Raya

2009-10-05T14:40:00.000+08:00

4th October 2009

From noon until late last night, we held another open house for our friends and families, mainly colleagues of ours. We also invited my son's school friends and their pictures can be seen on the other [blog]. The chef for yesterday is my mother-in-law and the theme was a Malay traditional menu. It consisted of white rice, "nasi kabuli" (rice with beef), beef bone stew, daging salai rebus kunyit, ayam masak merah (sweet sour chicken), sambal hati, and two local vegetables; batang pisang and sayur buah tarap. Too bad we were so busy that we forgot to take pictures of the scrumptious menu!

In addition to that, my wife also made baked pasta, one with minced beef and another with ratatouille especially for my vegetarian colleague. We also had sweet corn, egg mayo sandwiches and a variety of local seasonal fruits.

A special thanks to our chef of the day and our heartiest appreciation to all the guests who came. We wish all Selamat Hari Raya.

My wife's officemates

With her friends from university days...

My colleagues from Shell

A good friend of my father-in-law

Cousins...

Our blogger friend, Ciliqueen

Another colleagues of mine (standing up). She brought along her sisters and coincidentally, her brother-in-law is Dr. Syafiq, the doctor who was in charge of my late mother's treatments during her battle with cancer. What a small world!

Unplanned bed & breakfast

2009-09-28T11:32:00.001+08:00

28th September 2009

Last night we welcomed a guest from abroad. Saeed M. Al-Mubarak is working with Saudi's oil company, Aramco, and is a distinguished lecturer with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). Unfortunately his flight schedule did not go as planned and Saeed had to find alternative ways in order to reach Brunei.

In the end, he had to fly through Singapore and arrived at almost midnight last night. Not willing to drive straight to Belait district (about an hour drive) due to the heavy wind and rain, I decided to welcome our guest to our home instead. My wife and I had earlier on prepared for his arrival and we are really delighted that our guest is very kind to accept our invitation.

We took some pictures during breakfast today. We prepared chicken rice, cereals and bread as well as hot drinks for our distinguished guest. To Saeed, thank you and we hope that you have enjoyed your brief stay with us.

Doa Selamat cum our second openhouse

2009-09-27T00:23:00.000+08:00

26th September 2009

Last night, we organised our second openhouse for close family members. It was firstly meant for holding a small Doa Selamat (thanksgiving) ceremony for my youngest sister, Ain who will be departing to the United Kingdom tonight to take up her Masters degree.

We started reciting the prayers just before 7 pm followed by a buffet dinner. This time, on the menu was kelupis with beef curry sauce, fried vermicelli as well as beef and chicken satay. All were home-cooked by my mother-in-law and my wife and we happily received approximately 70 guests including children.

To my sister, make us proud. We know you can achieve success in your studies and we'll always pray for your safety. Good luck sis!

Our very first Hari Raya celebration

2009-09-25T14:02:00.000+08:00

26th September 2009

This year marks our first Hari Raya celebration at this new home. It's a great experience and we are grateful that everything went well. As for the decorations, we keep it simple in order to avoid overspending. To mark this special event though, we had a dedicated display table especially for the Hari Raya cards from some of Brunei royal family members to share with others.

During the first two days of Raya, we spent a lot of time visiting family members to convey greetings and as such the house was closed to visitors. My wife and I started working on the third day of Raya and as such receiving guests was delayed a few more days.

Our first "openhouse" was on Thursday night as a special request from a few of my close friends. On the menu was rice with crispy fried chicken and cabbage, corn soup as well as my wife's delicious wet noodles. To all those who came (you know who you are!), thank you and we really enjoyed your company.

To all family and friends, we wish you Selamat Hari Raya!

Eid Mubarak 2009

2009-09-21T23:00:00.000+08:00

The guest bedroom

2009-08-04T10:26:00.000+08:00

4th August 2009

Last Sunday, my father and step-mom had their first sleep over. My wife and I made a little preparation in the morning before they arrive to make sure that our respected "guests" have a delightful and pleasant stay. My wife took some pictures of the room, celebrating another achievement of having our own home. Being a host so far is definitely something that we love to do, and more sleep overs is expected next week.

Enjoy these pictures:

Zikir & Doa Selamat (Thanksgiving)

2009-07-30T20:16:00.000+08:00

30th July 2009

Alright, this update is definitely way overdue. Last 19th July, we organised a Zikir and Thanksgiving ceremony in conjunction with our moving in the new home. Approximately 350 guests came and we are very thankful that the weather was nice and sunny, despite heavy rains the days before.

However, everyone was in shock when a sudden gush of wind blew, lifting one of the tents set up at the side of the house. Luckily, the guests were quick and got hold of the tent before it flew up and probably damage some cars parked nearby.

Apart from that, everything went smoothly. On this note, a special thanks to my parents-in-law who sponsored 'daging salai' (smoked beef stew), rice and 'sayur umbut' as part of the main menu. Thanks as well to my family, and lastly a special appreciation to my sisters [Liza] and [Ain] for the great pictures.

The zikir team invited from the Pulaie Mosque. Zikir is the Islamic way of praising and remembering God and Prophet Muhammad which is put beautifully in a variety of melodies.

Hi-tea buffet exclusive for the Zikir team

Male guests

Female guests

My sister also took some pictures in the house. Hehehe... one benefit of having a sister who loves photography. Thanks sis!

The play room... supposed to be messy!

Our little princess's bedroom

My prince's bedroom. The baby in this picture is my nephew, Syahmi.

Our study room. After the ceremony was over we realised that Syafi and his cousin Adam were playing computer games the whole time.

His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei turns 63

2009-07-14T19:21:00.001+08:00

15th July 2009

"Sembah Tahniah & Ucap Selamat Hari Puja Usia"
Sempena Hari Keputeraan

Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan
Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddien Waddaulah

Presenting our versatile kitchen

2009-07-10T20:14:00.000+08:00

10th July 2009

I have promised someone to publish pictures of our kitchen(s) on this blog for some time now. Thank you for the patience, and here it is...

The design for our dry kitchen was produced after much deliberation and thoughtful thinking. I still remember myself sketching on scrap paper and then emailing the result to my wife who was at that time still studying in Brisbane. Oh yes, that was quite a while ago and the reason why it took a long time to be constructed is because it was hard to find a carpenter who can follow the design.

You see, the cabinets comprises of an L-shaped counter with hanging wall cabinets, plus two separate counters in the shape of a crescent (or U-shape to be exact) and a circular one that fits into the first one. Another detail; these two are movable. Even a famous kitchen custom designer declined our request. We were frustrated until Mr. Lu was introduced to us. He is also the one responsible for our bedrooms and study room built-in cabinets.

We are really grateful now that our dream kitchen has become a reality and safe to say, an original one too! Since the two counters are movable, we can change the settings any way we wish, and here are 4 options to show you.

Option 1 - The crescent is adjoined with the fixed cabinet with the round counter forming extra space at the other end. This is our everyday setting.

Option 2 - The round counter is merged with the crescent to act as a serving preparation area while guests sit at the bar stools for a rather informal setting. I can imagine my wife preparing any of her delicious menu while the kids and I sit, watch and wait. Hehehe...

Option 3 - The round counter used as an island, while the crescent one forms a serving "bar".

Option 4 - Both merged as one to function as a serving area. This way, we can arrange our foods in a buffet style and guests can sit for an enjoyable meal in the adjoining dining room.

Not only was Mr. Lu able to follow the design, his price quotation also included granite counter top, a panel for my wife's oven and a tv panel as well. The drawers used are complete with absorbers (so that they don't bang when shut) and corner shelves ordered from Germany. We are very satisfied with the end result.

We also requested for a custom-built dining table with high-back long chairs (like those in restaurants). It's still in the making, and I'll definitely publish pictures of it once it's ready. Temporarily, we use a foldable long table.

The wet kitchen on the other hand is smaller, but enough for day-to-day cooking. Thankfully we bought a large and deep basin for all those dish-washing and another basin dedicated for the in-sink erator. The built-in cabinets are also part of Mr. Lu's touch. The cabinets here are handle-less.

By the way, I was asked about the difference between a dry and wet kitchen. Suffice to say, the wet kitchen is where the "rough" cooking takes place; frying and strong-smelling cooking which are quite common in Malay cuisine. The dry kitchen is for mild cooking (such as preparation for baking) so that the whole house doesn't end up smelling like food.

A tall pull-out drawer for convenient storage space.

For extra working space, we bought this IKEA foldable table. It also acts as a table for our maid when enjoying her meals.

There you have it... Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

First guests from abroad

2009-07-09T20:34:00.000+08:00

9th July 2009

Last night, the House of Syafi Safiya received our first guests from abroad; Australia, Malacca and Singapore to be exact. My stepmother's relatives were in Brunei for a short visit and we were delighted when she called me to inform their intention to drop by for dinner.

Apparently before arriving, they went to the Pasar Gadong night market to satisfy their crave since it was their last night in the country. To our amazement, they came with a large quantity of food (imagine coming back from the Ramadan bazaar during the fasting month) and all the food filled up two long tables!

According to them, all the food sold in the market are unbelievably cheap. I guess the thought of buying rice complete with chicken and sambal for only a dollar or a rice set with five large prawns for two dollars never crossed their minds. They tried to compare the price, and estimated that the same food would have been sold at least for $2 to $5 each back in Singapore. So people... be grateful with what we have now... Hehehe...

Here are pictures from last night. We really had a wonderful time...

We have finally moved in

2009-07-01T11:54:00.000+08:00

28th June 2009

Wow... talk about busy... I couldn't really find a spare time to update the blog. Yes, we have moved in, finally, after my parents-in-law arrived back in Brunei after their 10-day trip to West Malaysia (and thankfully they are all well and healthy).

On 25th May which is a Thursday night, we started our historical journey from my in-laws place during dusk (Maghrib) and were greeted by already waiting family members at the new house. Once stepping in, we were brought straight to the master bedroom for a special prayer recitation by my wife's cousin who is a former Imam.

Then, we performed a group Maghrib prayer in the prayer room and recited some prayers. While waiting for Isya' prayer time, we had dinner thanks to my mother-in-law's cooking expertise. After performing the Isya' prayer (and some house-touring of course), our guests bid farewell and then began our first night at our own home.

But, we were not alone. My two sisters and their families as well as my nephew decided to sleep over to accompany us and the house was dedinitely filled with cheer and laughter with their presence.

The following night, we hosted my son's birthday as planned, and we had an enjoyable dinner. We are very grateful that the moment we had been waiting for all this time had come.

Here are some pictures of the new home, courtesy of my sister's camera. Most of these pictures were taken during Syafi's [birthday celebration].

First update from the new home

2009-06-14T11:17:00.000+08:00

14th June 2009

Oppsss... Don't get me wrong. We haven't moved in yet. The initial plan was to do that this week, but we decided to wait until my parent-in-laws return back from their trip to Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu and Kelantan). Another 10 days wait surely wouldn't hurt, and of course we also want to make this historical transition the right way.

Thankfully though, we are in the final process of touching up and cleaning. Hehehe... Now we realise that it's such a big house that it takes up a whole lot of time cleaning! My wife took a week off from last Monday but apparently that wasn't enough. But no worries, we'd definitely finish everything within these 10 days so that we could move in finally, in time for Syafi's birthday celebration on the 26th.

Anyway, here are some more pictures took recently. Enjoy!

Syafi officiating the jacuzzi bath tub.

The stainless steel railings at the first floor balcony already installed.

Recent landfilling works at the back of the house. Hopefully during their next visit, my family will have more peace of mind driving around the home.

Large chandelier revealed... We definitely made the right choice...

And finally... a personal request from my sister-in-law. Jay, this is the master bed that we told you about. Hehehe...

Let there be light!

2009-05-27T10:35:00.000+08:00

27th May 2009

After an agonising wait, finally electricity was connected to our new home last Monday. It was a dream come true for us to be able to look at it at night, and test out all the chandeliers and lights. My wife and I even took a slow walk around the house to see the effects, and we are both pleased with our choices. The warm lights especially creates a cosy feeling... we now cannot wait to move in!

Unfortunately, our camera has been sent for repairs. So, for now we hope you enjoy these pictures taken using our N95 Nokia phone.

In case you didn't notice, we also now have a custom-built main door frame.. thanks to the craftmanship of our hired carpenters.

It's cleaning up time!

Occupation Permit finally approved

2009-05-12T09:18:00.000+08:00

12th May 2009

Finally, after a long wait, I was delighted to receive a call yesterday confirming that my application for the Occupation Permit (OP) from the government has been officially approved. Actually, I did receive the good news last week through the phone, but I was still not at ease until I receive an official letter regarding the approval. Hehehe... Typical, it has to be in writing!

The next step is applying for the electricity supply connection, and fortunately they managed to squeeze in my interview at the Electricity Department within this week. I really hope that all goes well.

~ Patience does pay off ~

As a side note, a big thanks to the whole family (including my father) who came by to visit our home last Sunday afternoon. It was our largest group of visitors so far; if I'm not mistaken there were 15 adults and 5 children 'on board' all at the same time (excluding us, of course)! Thanks guys, you are all the best!

More pictures to admire...

2009-04-30T11:13:00.001+08:00

30th April 2009

No, we haven't moved in. But to pass the waiting time, we have taken more pictures in admiring our new home. Hope you enjoy looking at these...!

Hehehe... Testing out the new grating.. The blacksmiths assured me that even heavy trucks can drive over it without causing damage... hopefully!

Now below are pictures of the master walk-in closet, taken from different angles...

To enter the walk-in closet from the bedroom, we enter this corridor through my favourite custom-built door...

And this is the master bathroom door...

The children's cabinets are quite the same as the master's, and what's left now is to start filling them up with clothes!

Syafi's dressing mirror

Hehehe... Safiya eager to hang her clothes in her own wardrobe

And finally, presenting the latest look of our main entrance foyer!

Another setback

2009-04-28T12:38:00.000+08:00

28th April 2009

It's true when people say that buiding a house requires lots of patience. After our application for an occupation permit from the government was turned down once, it recently happened again. This time, their reason was that we have not created proper drains in front as well as on the side of our land.

For that, we had to incur additional costs since it was not included in the construction contract. Thankfully, my contractor was quick in mending the situation and this time let's hope that there will not be anymore setbacks! Our furniture companies now keeps on calling us now and then asking when we want our stuff to be sent to the site... ironic isn't it?

Anyway, whilst waiting for the permit, my wife and I decided to add some more highlights to our fixtures, specifically the installation and spray painting of our sliding door frames. I had even got one door custom-built by our carpenter.

Below is the custom-built door that I requested, separating the master bedroom with the master bathroom and walk-in closet area.

This one below is the door separating the master walk-in closet from the study room.

And prsenting the finished spray-painted doors and door frames separating the formal living area and the dining room. My wife and I really like the hint of gold paint which goes well with the chandeliers and fans.

31st March declared "Adat Istiadat" Day

2009-04-01T09:33:00.000+08:00

Excerpt from the [Borneo Bulletin] at brudirect.com:

His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince, yesterday declared March 31 as "Hari Adat Istiadat" or Customs and Traditions day.

The Crown Prince, who is also the Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, announced this during the launching of the Adat Istiadat Diraja Brunei (Brunei Royal Customs and Traditions) book at the International Convention Centre.

Minor fixtures for a complete home

2009-04-01T09:00:00.000+08:00

1st April 2009

Apparently we are already in the month of April and we have not moved in. Currently we are still waiting for the occupation permit (OP) and electricity supply from the relevant government departments. I hope that we can obtain that soon, since everyone in the family is looking forward to enjoy a nice barbeque on the first floor balcony (especially my siblings!).

Anyway, built-in cabinets are 95% done with some mirror sliding doors still left out. Considering that only one worker is responsible for the whole 5 bedrooms, the work is done at quite a fast pace. The contractor had also informed me that the materials for the dry kitchen are ready and the installation will be underway soon.

Now, we have also added some minor fixtures; the water tanks, water filter and curtain rails. Laminated timber flooring is now completely installed, so technically we can start cleaning up and move in! I just wish that we have the electricity supply and we're good to go...

Wooden frame for our internal sliding doors fabricated from scratch

Curtain rails installed in the prayer room

Our water tanks and water filter. What's left to buy is the water pump.

Tempered glass doors installed in the master bathroom

Safiya's built-in cabinet complete with mirror sliding doors

And a special thanks to my sister and hubby for their recent visit to the house. Hang on sis, we'll have the barbeque soon!

Finally... the long wait paid off!

2009-03-22T08:33:00.000+08:00

21st March 2009

Last night I received delighting news through the phone. At last, the sub-contractor informed about their plan to install the double staircase railings today. In the afternoon after picking my wife from work, we anxiously went to the house together with the kids.

We are truly happy to be greeted by such a satisfying view... a peace of mind knowing that we no longer have to keep on nagging about when the end result would be revealed. Overall, we are happy with our design choice, elegant but simple and not too much, perfectly still giving an airy feeling of the area.

Enjoy the pictures below, taken by my wife as she was experimenting her techniques using our humble Canon Ixus camera.

Pretty sight, isn't it?

Our youngest visitor to the house

2009-03-20T10:13:00.000+08:00

20th March 2009

Recently, my sister came by for a visit and she brought along her 7 month old baby... my chubby niece, Nazrah. She was excited to see her cousins running around and probably couldn't wait until she can walk and run with them too!

With regards to the house, unfortunately the stair case railings have not been installed yet. I kept on calling the sub-contractor now and then and the answer is still the same: they need time to do all the curves and bends. My wife and I are getting more impatient as time passes, because apart from the installation of the walk-in cabinets (which is progressing quite well), the railings is the only fixture overdue!

It is now a month past the construction due date, and moving in seems to be still far ahead. Even when the railings are finally installed, we still have to wait for a permit from the government and also for electricity supply to be connected to our house.

On the bright side, now the workers quarters has been cleared up, and we can finally have an interrupted view of the left side of the house, viewed perfectly from the adjoining Pasar Borong (pictures below). Drain covers are also being installed and we are happy that they agreed to install metal grills for our gas compartment for free.

Flooring in the master walk-in closet already installed.

My wife is delighted to see this shoe rack that I designed.

A simple pattern

The TV room is looking good too!

Hehehe... Funny that the kids like to climb up and down the cabinets every time they come for a visit. Doors please!

The drain cover... still needs some paint touch-up

2009-03-05T14:32:00.000+08:00

5th March 2009

On our quick visit yesterday to the house, some workers were busy installing aluminium glass doors for the shower areas in all the bathrooms. The company responsible is the same as that who supplied our window frames, as such there is a striking resemblence as to quality, colour and design. The master bathroom though will have thick glass doors and hopefully the installation will take place soon.

With regard to staircases railings, we were told to wait for another week before we can see the result. I guess all those curves makes it very difficult for the workers. Let's just hope that the end product will turn out to be fantastic.

Syafi's shower... I'm sure he'll be excited once we bring the kids over!

The shower doors in the playroom is the only one square-shaped

Safiya's shower

Hope our guests will like the black-and-white bathroom

Green theme colour in the spare bedroom

At the same time, glass panels are also put into the sliding doors which will separate the main living room, dining room, dry kitchen and prayer room.

The race against time

2009-03-01T21:36:00.000+08:00

1st March 2009

Presenting the latest look of our house... finally with a set of main entrance doors! Work has been progressing quite well. Almost all electrical items have been installed, as well as plumbing works. The built-in cabinets is progressing fast too, and soon the worker will start installing that in the dry kitchen. We really can't wait to start cleaning up (even though this is normally done by the contractor) and moving in...

Enough said, enjoy these pictures...

Shower head installed in the master bathroom... Quite an investment needed in order to have my dream shower, straight from the ceiling!

Our IKEA wash basin finally put in its place.. We bought a rotating mixer tap on purpose to ease bathing a baby in the future... No need for the normal plastic bath basin anymore!

Shower taps in the play room

A close up shot of the shower head brought back from Brisbane

Syafi and Safiya will enjoy their showers as both their rooms have this huge shower head I bought here in Brunei

Wet kitchen sinks and mixer already installed

After the long wait... finally the in-sink erator has been installed... also brought in from Brisbane

We also instructed one of the workers to install some mirrors in most of the bathrooms

Laminated timber flooring laid out in a fast pace

With the main doors already fixed, we finally had the chandeliers installed in the formal living room

A close up view... It took two months to arrive because it was a customised order

Matching chandeliers in the adjoining dining room... I like the reflection of the floor tiles on the fan

On a final note, our best regards especially to Gembo and family... we are very sorry to hear about the meningitis infection and we pray that you get well soon.

Happy National Day

2009-02-23T11:21:00.000+08:00

23rd February 2009

Wishing all viewers happiness in conjunction with Brunei's Silver Jubilee National Day (25 years) today. May Brunei continues to be blessed with peace and harmony for centuries to come.

Regards from us at
syafisafiya-house.blogspot.com

Staircase railings come into shape

2009-02-18T19:22:00.000+08:00

18th February 2009

A short visit to the house today shows good progress. Finally we can see images of the staircases railings. The built-in cabinet in some bedrooms have taken shape, and what's left are the drawers and sliding cabinet doors. As for the wet kitchen, the workers have put up a concrete counter top and the sink has been fixed nicely.

One setback; the worker has put a layer of undercoat paint on the main door, unaware that my plan is to have it varnished. I guess he assumed that it's to be painted white, just like all the internal doors. Thankfully, my contractor has agreed to rectify the problem and the undercoat will be scraped off (somehow). We'll see how it goes.

Here are recent pictures of the new developments:

Preliminary works in installing the hand rails

Syafi's built-in cabinet

And this is in Safiya's bedroom

Compressors for the air-conditioners already installed.

The wet kitchen with a new look

Oh no... the house is not complete yet!

2009-02-17T10:49:00.000+08:00

17th February 2009

Talk about a sad moment... My wife had recently underwent a surgical operation after being diagnosed with 'anembryonic pregnancy', confirmed twice. Yes, it is sad to know that our third bundle of joy is not coming as expected, and we'll have to wait for a few months before trying again. You can read more about this at our [other blog].

With regards to the house, it's now clear to me that the house cannot be completed on time. We are still waiting for the stair cases railing to be installed (they promised this will start this week), and built-in cabinets in the bedrooms are still being fixed. After that, there's still cabinetry works yet to be done in the dry kitchen, study room as well as the home theatre.

With regards to plumbing works, almost all pipes has been installed. Amongst all rooms, I personally like the master bathroom and the powder room. Our selection of toilet bowls, wash basins together with the wall and floor tiles make a dramatic impression, just the way my wife and I imagined. Most importantly, the end result really makes all those extra expenses worth it!

Syafi and Safiya were really enjoying our recent visit, and both pretended to have showers in their own bathrooms. Hehehe... I guess I'll have more peace of mind once the glass and aluminium shower doors are installed.

For now, enjoy these pictures and let's all hope that I'll be able to post pictures of the wrought iron railings soon, as well as the ... opppsss!! the front door!

Safiya looks smaller than the Hercules toilet bowl in the master bathroom

Mirror lights installed, waiting for the mirror...

Safiya 'testing out' the master bathroom shower

Smiling Syafi pretending to flush his own toilet.

Safiya in her bathroom

The powder room. The wash basin on the counter top is my wife's choice.

Built-in cabinets on the way!

And presenting our masterpiece... black and gold spiral staircase!

The monsoon season showing its early effect

2009-02-07T21:08:00.000+08:00

7th February 2009

As has been reported all over the news, Brunei is currently experiencing a record-breaking rainfall rate, bringing with it natural disasters affecting some unfortunate people.... including ourselves! A few days back when I visited the site, I was surprised to see some patches of wet ceiling at the garage and wet kitchen. It was frustrating and my contractor was informed immediately afterwards.

Even the contractor was not pleased with the news. After investigation, it was found out that the water leaked in through the installed pipe holes for the air-conditioners which are placed on the first floor balcony. It never happened before during normal rainy days, but I guess the unusual monsoon period proved to be damaging.

Fortunately, the air-conditioner company acknowledged the problem and the matter is now solved when they sealed off the pipes with some white plaster, as can be clearly seen in the picture below. Problem gone, thankfully!

On the positive side, it was actually 'convenient' that the leak shows itself at this stage, making repair works easy to carry out. I just couldn't imagine if it had happened after we have moved in...!

Oh, and below are pictures of our two water fountain bases at the main entrance already installed. What's left now is the bowl and some minor piping works.

Moving closer to the deadline

2009-01-27T19:59:00.000+08:00

27 January 2009

The deadline draws closer. Thankfully, most works has been completed. This past week, the workers were busy finishing up the construction of countertops in all eight restrooms, and what's left now is the final plumbing works and installation of toilet bowls and wash basins. Electrical works has to come to a halt for the moment, since our electricians are still enjoying their Chinese New Year holidays until early February. Similarly is the installation of our staircases handrails, as well as installation of the built-in cabinets. Now that we come to think of it, all the workers will definitely be very busy after their long holidays!

In the meantime, our architect has kindly helped us in the application for the occupation permit ('OP') which may take a month or more, and hopefully the process will not take too long as we are already eager to see the house finally finished! Even my wife and our son Syafi are excited, and started cleaning the main foyer floor during one of our visits recently.

For now, enjoy these pictures...

Syafi helping mummy sweeping the main foyer floor

Chandeliers and fan installed in the informal living room

The master bathroom with a new look. The kids will have to wait a while longer before enjoying their bubble baths in the jacuzzi.

Master bedroom with air-conditioner and fan already installed. What's left is the laminated timber flooring.

Doors and bathroom accessories delivered

2009-01-15T13:18:00.001+08:00

15th January 2009

After a few days, some more tiling works is completed. Almost all rooms inside the house has been covered with tiles and currently the workers are finishing up the verandah at the main entrance and probably the front car porch afterwards.

Our toilet bowls and sinks from Cotto has been delivered on site, as well as the internal doors. From our recent visits, it is obvious that all the workers are working very hard to finish up the project, since the house is contracted to be complete in February.

Oh well, enjoy these pictures!

Space for the internal up-lights

The first floor balcony partially tiled

The balcony viewed from one of the bedrooms

Finishing up in the master bathroom

The fabricated safety gate at the spiral staircase installed

Our IKEA pendant lights installed at the study room

Clothes hanging area at the back of the house

Starting New Year with a fever

2009-01-09T22:34:00.000+08:00

9th January 2009

First of all, I hope it's not too late for this... We would like to wish everyone Happy New Year 2009! Time really does fly, doesn't it? Well... it's not really a great start for myself, because the whole family had the fever, cough and cold. The whole house seems to be affected, including my in-laws and even the maid and gardeners! And of course this would explain why there has been a long delay since my last update. Thankfully, the fever is now gone, except for a little cough and cold for my wife, Syafi and Safiya. Hope everyone will get well soon.

Anyway, there has definitely been lots of progress with our house construction. Almost all tiling works is done and even the outdoor concrete driveway is ready. Currently some workers are finalising the front area, the road access as well as the outer drainage is almost complete, just as we are required to provide to the government for public use.

With regards to electrical works, we have finally bought the large chandelier which has been installed on top of the double staircases. We decided to go for a moderate size so as not to disrupt the view through the main foyer window. Oh, did I mention that our windows have been installed? Hehehe... With a little peace of mind now that rain water no longer wets the indoors, we are confident enough to let the aircon company to start install our air-conditioners. Still, with doors yet to be installed (hopefully within these few days), our precious chandeliers for the main living room and dining room will have to wait at the shop! Hehehe...

Enough writing, please enjoy these pics.. Especially for Sateria Pahlawan and wife, I know both of you have been waiting for an update! So here goes...

A new look... Windows!

Windows from inside the house. Notice the effect with and without the glass.

Tiling works at the dry kitchen

It took two workers four days to complete the staircases

A closer look

Tiling works at the main foyer

Informal living room all done

The first floor foyer... the only area with tiles since all rooms will be covered with laminated timber floors

The large chandelier.. It took the workers half a day to hang the masterpiece and then arrange the crystals one by one. Oh, and we decided at the last minute to have the dome painted with golden paint. It really goes well with the chandelier... hehehe...

Small lighting fixture at the spiral staircase

Air-conditioners at the prayer room (on the right) and informal living room (on the left)

Hehehe... My contractor, Mr Thomas, showing his worker the boundaries of the public access and drainage. You don't get to see the boss sweating out like this everyday!

Progress over the long holiday

2008-12-27T21:04:00.001+08:00

27th December 2008

It has been a long holiday since Thursday, and like all my officemates at Brunei Shell, we'll only be back to work next Tuesday. Nevertheless, it has been very busy for my wife and I, getting fixtures for the completion stage of our new home. Here are the progress so far:

Firstly, tiling works continues. The workers were sent to a different building site during my recent long vacation in Brisbane, and came back to work their craftsmanship on Christmas. Some tile designs were quite intricate work, especially in the dining room. Thankfully, the Vietnamese workers are talented and managed to follow our imagination. Good thing we took the task of preparing the design on the computer and printed them out earlier. This really helps, especially with the language constraint between us and the workers!

Simple tile design in the formal living room, but the many curved wall still makes tiling works a little challenging! And look at the dollop of cement on each tile...! The workers were complaining that the 80 X 80 cm tiles were heavy.. hehehe...

The dining room is done. Believe it or not, it took three workers almost two days to finish this room alone. They say... lots of cutting!

Dry kitchen tiles, partly done by today afternoon.

Ohh, and we also finalised our choice of laminated timber flooring, which will be installed in the master bedroom and closet, the kids' bedrooms, play room, library, home theatre room and the guest bedroom. Since the areas cover more than 2000 square feet, we were able to get discounted price lesser than the contracted price.

Another progress is the construction of our driveway. It takes the workers roughly around three to four days for the initial preparation; levelling the ground, constructing side beams and barriers, laying down the metal frames and finally today, cementing began. For now, we'll leave it as it is, and we'll probably enhance the appearance some time in the future.

Amazingly, it seems that lots of works are being done all at once. Yesterday, workers had started pulling off the protective covers of the window frames, now revealing the beautiful white frames. We were told that the windows will be installed starting Monday, and we can't wait to see the result. It's quite unfortunate that our initial choice of Belgium imported golden glass was not available, but we managed to find a similar alternative, with the help of our architect. We'll have to wait and see...

And some minor detailing works...

It's now no longer scary to walk past the spiral staircase that the railing is completely installed. Even Syafi was happy.

Believe it or not, the whole house is painted by this worker alone, Addin. I'm really amazed! Now, almost all walls has been painted, inside and out, and the staircases area is next.

Good progress after 3 days

2008-12-22T20:31:00.000+08:00

22 December 2008

After a few days, some progress has been achieved mainly finishing up the manhole at the back of the house. Apart from that, more areas has been painted, especially in the dry kitchen, prayer room and informal living room. The scaffolding at the front car port has been removed, revealing the spacious area even more. The main foyer is still filled up, and the workers suggested that they only remove it after installing the large chandelier. This is still an issue for my wife and I since the windows and doors haven't been installed!

As at yesterday, we have also finalised the design of the staircases railings. We exceeded the price covered in the contract, and have to add on around $2100 more. The installer explains to us that our design choice costs more per metre since we requested for golden decorative flowers and leaves on the wrought iron railings. So, a word of advice, go for a simpler design to get a lower price!

Anyway, enjoy these pictures for now:

Syafi extremely happy seeing the house for the first time after arriving in Brunei. He really likes his bedroom!

My in-laws visited the house last Friday.

The front car port all clear of scaffolding works. Can't wait to see the windows installed.

This picture was taken earlier on Friday at Payung Emas company. Now, the jacuzzi bath tub has been delivered to the site (below).

The feature wall in the master bedroom has been painted with my wife's paint choice.

Digging works at the back of the house.

Colourful, comforting and beautiful

2008-12-19T09:50:00.000+08:00

19 December 2008

Finally, after three agonising weeks of wondering how our house looks like, my wife and I finally visited the site yesterday afternoon after work. The plan was to drop by straight after arrival at the airport last Wednesday, but the flight was delayed and by the time we landed, it was already after sunset.

Anyway, so far there are lots of progress with the construction works.. and what better way to say it than show you the latest pics! So, here goes...

The front car port. I'm glad that my wife likes my choice of ceiling lights.

The ceiling works at the main foyer. I can't wait to see our choice of large chandelier that will be the focal point of the area.

One of the air curtains, hidden in the ceiling. It will later be decorated with cornice at the sides.

Formal living room... Cornice done and painted. Perhaps you can see the space for our air-conditioners at the far side of the room.

As we were admiring the ceiling works, I was surprised to see that the spiral staircase at the dry kitchen leading to the first floor had been installed! I tried it out straight away!

And now, let's direct you to the first floor...

The library... Ceiling and wall has been painted.

Almost all bedrooms has been painted. Most rooms has its own feature walls, highlighted by a different shade of paint. It's quite colourful, especially the kids' bedrooms!
From the top: the green spare bedroom, pink for Safiya, brown for Syafi and yellow-orange for the playroom.

This is our master suite. I guess they are out of paint.. but at least the ceiling is done!

And finally, picture taken in the home theatre, through to the main bedroom (on the right), master bathroom and the walk-in-closet at the end.

Another new development is the balcony which is almost finished, except for the floor tiles that is yet to be finalised. We're hoping to be able to pick our choice of tile by this week so that the workers can start laying them down. This time, I think I'll let my wife decide, since most of the house tiles are my choices since my family was still in Brisbane that time. I used to take pictures of the tiles from the shop, sent them via email to my wife and she would recommend her choices based solely on those pics... hard work, right? Hehehe...

One delightful surprise... Apparently one very good friend of mine, Sateria Pahlawan, paid a visit to the house while I was away in Brisbane. Interestingly, my wife thinks that Sateria must have come prepared; he brought the right pen to write on our wall tiles without leaving any marks behind. I mean... who has a marker pen handy at all times? Hehehe... Anyway, thanks mate for the kind words!

In all, my wife and I are happy with the progress so far. More pictures coming soon!

2008-12-08T18:06:00.001+08:00

8 December 2008

Today, Brunei celebrates Hari Raya Aidil Adha. Australia, on the other hand, will be celebrating it tomorrow. Nevertheless, whether today or tomorrow, we do wish the best to all family members and friends in Brunei, Australia, Malaysia, United Kingdom and to all Muslims all over the world.

Where have I been?

2008-12-04T18:33:00.000+08:00

4 December 2008

Some of you may notice that it has been days since I updated the blog. The reason is mainly because I am currently in Brisbane helping out my wife and children pack up before going back to Brunei for good mid-December. Hehehe.. of course at the same time we also spend quality time going on vacations to some of Australia's interesting places to visit. Updates on this can be seen in our other [blog].

Putting that aside, here are pictures that I took before my trip to Brisbane last week. Basically, the workers were finishing up the balcony on the first floor, as well as more progress in ceiling works.

We now have a balcony! Thank you Mr. Lai for the design...

More ceiling works. Picture shows the cornice at the master walk-in closet being painted.

My wife designed this curved ceiling for the informal living. Glad to see it in real!

A mini dome at the prayer room

Ceiling at the master bedroom

Anyway, here in Brisbane, the search for fixtures and fittings for the house doesn't end. When shopping at IKEA a few days back, I finally found a wash basin (sink) for the children's playroom at the perfect size, just as I like it. The price is about $40 cheaper than a bigger one that I can find in Brunei, so my wife and I decided to make the purchase.

Alright then, that's it, and more updates will be posted as soon as we're back home in Brunei! Until then, enjoy this final month of the year, and hope everyone will have a great start in 2009!

Sincerely from us at
House of Syafi & Safiya

In the midst of the gloomy moments...

2008-11-20T17:12:00.000+08:00

2oth November 2008

It has been quite a while since my last update. My family has been in sadness ever since my wife's grandfather was admitted to hospital and was affirmed to be having a lung infection and pneumonia. After a week, he finally succumbed and passed away peacefully last Tuesday. It is fortunate that my parents-in-law decided to fly back home last week on Thursday after receiving the bad news. On the sad side though, my poor kids are now feeling abandoned and homesick, especially Syafi who according to my wife has always been begging to fly back to Brunei, and even school does not seem to interest him anymore. It must be lonely for my wife and kids in the three bedrooms house. I really hope that Syafi will be brave for a little while longer until my trip to Brisbane next week.

Anyway, despite the sadness, the house looks better with the new developments, mainly the ceiling works. Lighting fixtures have been installed in some parts of the rooms as well as the balcony on the first floor. Now, we're in the process of finalising the internal paint colours.

Enough said, enjoy these pictures:

(Top and above) Ceiling works in the formal living room

Dining room

Wet kitchen

Pictures showing the installed downlights in one of the bedrooms

Some of the outer wall lights that will light up our balcony on the first floor

Cement and Ceiling work in progress

2008-11-10T20:50:00.000+08:00

10th November 2008

The pictures below were taken this afternoon when I visited the house. So far, there are still a lot of work to be done for the ceiling but the cement work inside the house is almost complete accept for the major cement work outside the house i.e. the balcony at the back and the side of the house and also the manhole and driveway.

From the right side of the house

The playroom at the 1st floor

The floor at the main reception was smoothen and cemented

From the dry kitchen

The top landing area of the double stair case

From the top view

The ceiling at the playroom's bathroom

Safiya's bathroom

The kid's bathroom at the back of the house

The ceiling in the study area

The Master suite walk in closet

From the Informal Living

Additional gypsum board had been delivered to the site

Cement work on Sunday...

2008-11-09T19:42:00.000+08:00

9th November 2008

This afternoon, I went to the site to deliver the uplight casing to the workers. As I was sitting in the house around 3pm, I noticed that the environment around this area was so calm and quiet. The workers also commented to me that the surrounding area in this vicinity was indeed very peaceful as the main road is quite a distance away from house.

The house taken from one of the main road from the Sengkurong Clinic

The workers completed the decorative beam for one of the planter

They also cemented the top part of the beam for the air curtain

Two of the workers levelling the floor at the reception foyer before it is cemented

Initial stage in cemented the main entrance

Mr. Misbah working on the decorative beam for the planter at the left side of the house

The steel pipe for the water pump electric wire

Disable access at the back of the house. My wife insist of having this..just in case...

From another angle

One of the planter at the bask of the house

One of the workers preparing to cement the top part of the beam in the Formal Living for the air curtain

Mr. Addin smoothen the wall before painting the for interior wall

One of the uplight hole had been cemented

Air Con vs Air Curtain vs Ceiling Cornice...

2008-11-08T19:44:00.001+08:00

8th November 2008

Just before noon, I went to the Land Transport department for my new car registration number. And then I managed to meet with Mr. Lai to get some advice regarding the choice of wall paint for the interior wall and also to get follow ups regarding the window, balcony design, wall cabinets, air con versus the ceiling cornice, air curtain and electrical application. After the meeting, I went to Gadong to look for some air curtain at Little Bean but I didn't buy any. Then I rushed to the post office at the old airport to get my birthday present from Brisbane.

Before rushing back to the site, I dropped by at TAIB bank at Kiulap and browsed to one of the electrical shop near the bank where I managed to get some air curtain at a very decent price as I bought at least 3 of the 4 feet long air curtain for the Formal Living and Informal living entrance. I also managed to get 7 pieces of the ceiling speaker at this shop plus a free Mistral exhaust fan for the maid's bathroom.

While at the site, I had an appointment with the air con man Mr. Baru, to discuss the air con position with the ceiling man Mr. Luis.

The whole overview of the house

Mr. Baru from Bee Seng Mitsubishi air con marking the air con position at the wall for Mr. Luis. The final decision for the air con position in the Master Living Hall was to fabricate a box frame for both of the aircons in this room. The decision to hack the wall and re-work the copper piping was a bit riskier as it could result in leaks in the future. The other air con position in the Informal Living, Dining Hall and dry kithchen, the decision was to put the cornices around these air con without fabricating the box frame. While the other air con position in the guest bedroom and prayer room are save as the size of the air cons are a bit smaller than the other 5 air cons at the ground floors.

Mr. Luis watching deligently as Mr. Baru measured the size of the aircon on the wall while the ceiling worker was busy installing the ceiling frame in the Formal Living

Soon later the air curtain installation workers were at the site to deliver the air curtains and to try out the space in the box frame. The air curtain could not be installed at the moment as some further work has yet to be done by Mr. Misbah for putting some cement above the ceiling and wall painting in this area before the air curtain frame could be fixed in this area.

The cornices in Safiya's bedroom had been installed

From another angle

The cornices in the playroom

The entrance to the playroom

The ceiling frame in the Formal Living Hall

The workers cementing the drain at the back of the house

Mr. Kukuh, one of the electrician hacking the wall outside for the electrical cable

Mr. Ah Chong, the other electrcian trying out the exhaust fan in the maid's bathroom with perfect fit

Removing the uplight PVC cover for Misbah to cement it in place in the floor

Special Birthday Present from Brisbane...

2008-11-08T19:37:00.000+08:00

8th November 2008

This afternoon I went to the post office at the old airport to collect the small packet that was sent to me from Brisbane. As I opened the packet, I was surprised to receive a voice recordable postcard with Syafi's voice wishing me happy birthday!

Thank You very much to Mummy Syafi & Safiya for the present. This is one of the best present for Daddy's birthday this year.

Ambuyat for lunch at Beverly Hills of Kuala Belait...

2008-11-07T21:48:00.001+08:00

7th November 2008 (Miscellaneous Post)

Five days ago, my colleague Mdm Hajah Hamidah invited a hand full us at the office for an "Ambuyat" lunch at her house. The house was situated at one of the most exclusive area in the Belait district, Pandan 7 as it was once known as the Beverly Hills of Kuala Belait due to the elegance and beautiful design and huge houses built in these area. I still remember years ago when this area was under development and some of the houses were under construction, we would cruise in this area for hours to look for inspiration and idea for the house design.

The P.I family's mansion...stunning view...

An impressive high ceiling deco with a balcony from the Master bedroom looking down in the living room

The living room from another angle

The menu for lunch. Everything that we could ask for were well served on the dining table from chicken curry to "pucuk ubi" or tapioca shoot eaten with sambal, varieties of seafood, etc and most importantly "Ambuyat"

The gents were sitting on a separate table from the ladies in the dining room

Thank you to Mdm Hajah Hamidah and husband (P.I) for your hospitality and for the delicious lunch.