Terengganu, East-coast of Malaysia badly hit by flood

Dear all,

Last Saturday, 29th November my area has been hit by flood pretty bad. The following day it subsided and was OK. Due to very bad weather and moreover it is now monsoon season, it rains off and on non-stop, so it floods again. That Saturday my house was not affected since it is on higher ground and I managed to see all the commotions just opposite my house. You can even see rescued boat in one of the pics attached. I was shocked to see the flood water immediately opposite my house and the water level were up to waist length. I managed to snaps some photos to attach here. It is not over yet, sad to say since I believe all the big drains were over float, (I believe part of the reasons is because many irresponsible people here like to throw their rubbish even in the big drains, all these people should be taught not only where to throw their rubbish but I think they should even be taught how to use public toilets properly and to think of others, shame on them! I thought they should be more alert on these subjects since they considered themselves good Muslim. First and foremost, I like the world to note that a true and good Muslim do not go around killing people and a true and good Muslim would not throw their rubbish in big drains and they should be clean inside out in every way and in every aspect of life!!!).

Yesterday was quite a bad day for me, the flood hit my area and covered my porch and my cat shelter was about 6 inches deep. Fortunately for me, it did not enter my house. I have 3 big cages, 2 medium cages and 1 small cage in the shelter, so all my rescued cats were on the top of these cages. In fact, some climbed up to the wooden panels above my blinds. Last night, it subsided and so I did a lot of cleaning and mopping at the shelter and at my porch and the corridor to the shelter. I will post more stories with more photo snaps very soon since now I am so involved and absorbed with the cleaning up process. In fact, now it is gloomy again, the weather is so unpredictable, it rains for sometimes and then it stops, and rains again and this has been going on since late November. Please pray for me that if it flood, it won't be so bad and it does not enter my house and all my cats be out or danger and safe, since it is still raining off and on!

"Rain, rain go away, come again another day!"

Signboard/Banner of Lil's Corner

Latest Development:

So I am daring enough to put a Signboard/Banner up the roof of my front porch to introduce my little business after I have registered for a company. As mentioned in my earlier post, the price of cat food has gone up and has increased tremendously and for that reason, I have the idea of promoting it to my community/areas and become a dealer in order to get a good discount to feed all my cats including some rescued cats. Now I have altogether 33 in number, 7 growing up kittens and the rest are all adult cats, mine are all spayed/neutered in Kuala Lumpur before I shifted here. Sad to say, there are now 7 adult cats and 7 growing up kittens due to be spayed and neutered - these rescued cats & kittens are rescued in Marang within my household compound. Again those irresponsible people simply took a short cut and easy way out by throwing their unwanted pets to me and I must say here that I will never ever forgive all these idiots, mind my language! I do not intend to take in more, in fact, recently I have managed to get a good home for a rescued kitten. I hope to get more good people to take some of these abandoned rescued cats/kittens which I have rescued. So now I have to separate the two young male rescued cats from all female rescued cats to avoid breeding and multiplication.

I still have to start my little business in order to survive. I've designed and printed my own Name card and passed around. I have no choice but to stick to "Royal Canin" since all my cats prefer it. Maybe one day I might even try to promote "IAMS" and other brand as well. So far I have four customers buying Royal Canin from me, but they are only buying in loose form of 1 kg since they do not own many cats. News will travel and spread around in a matter of time, I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope for more customers to come soon. Therefore, I will take the opportunity to introduce some of my rescued cats to all of these customers just in case if they or their friends like to bring home with them and continue taking good care of these rescued cats/growing up kittens to help me ease my burden.

Second item inserted on the banner is "Instant Roti Canai", it is a kind of bread familiar in this side of the world. Normally in "Angullia Beach House Resort" most of the "Mat Salleh" Europeans and people from the West like to order them for breakfast and sometimes even at odd hours. At the moment, I only receive orders from the Beach House Resort for the supply of Instant Roti Canai as and when needed. There at the Beach House, they will keep some supplies in the main kitchen and the remaining at their Beach Cafe'. I must remind you that the Beach House has a nice Beach Cafe' which is situated near the sea overlooking the beautiful and inviting blue ocean of the South-china sea. Here, you can find nice sandy beaches with palm trees swaying along gently with the wind in harmony and accompanied by the beautiful sounds of the waves making nature's music.

These Instant Roti Canai are made using wheat flour, ghee, a pinch of saffron powder for colouring and a pinch of salt. It is then turned into a dough by adding some water. The next step is to take just a small portion of the dough slightly bigger the size of a golf ball and start rolling it onto the rolling board, add a tablespoon of ghee which is already melted and mixed with cooking oil on the top of it and let it rest for a while. After about 20 minutes or so, when it is settled and ready for the pulling process, it is pulled into either a round shape or square, I normally make it into the square shape. Then one by one I will heat it up into a frying pan hardly a few minutes and then when they are cooled off, I will start packing, seal them and then keep them in the freezer. There are four pieces in one packet which cost RM 3.00 per packet. For orders of 100 pieces and more it will cost RM 2.80 per packet. It is good eaten with Dal curry, but some people prefer it to be served with chicken or beef curry.

The third item displayed on the banner is "Tuition in English Language". Unfortunately for the students here in the east-coast, most of them are very weak in this language both spoken and written because most of the subjects in school are taught in the local language. Moreover, here in the east-coast, majority of the people are Malay not like in big town or cities where there many different races like the Chinese, Indian, etc are found. So, it is an advantage for me to take the opportunity to teach this language mostly to young students during weekend. So far, I have about a dozen of them and planning to have more students in the near future. I teach them based on good English Guide Books, teaching them from the very basic. I stress mostly on grammar, pronunciation, reading, spelling and building up vocabulary. I have to train them to make simple conversation among themselves. Since they are quite weak in the language, they are normally very shy, but with patience and persistence, I think I managed to push them into trying to make them speak English starting with very simple sentences. So far, they all enjoy and eager to learn. Next week I will try to take some snap shots of them to display here in my blog.

Besides all these, I have just bought myself a canopy and placed it right in front of my house. I intend to sell breakfast cuisine with a special kind of drink. I plan to promote "Nasi Lemak", "Fried Roti Canai with Dal Curry" followed by very famous special drink, the "Tea-tarik" in the morning hours for at least two to three hours from 7.30 a.m. I think this is good because I do not have to spend most of the time indulging myself at the stall. By doing this it will be another introduction promoting my Instant Roti Canai. At least after spending just for 2 - 3 hrs I will be free to concentrate on other things, like feeding the cats at the shelter etc., doing my normal daily house chores and then when all is done I can even switch on my PC for my daily visit. Now we are having the monsoon season here in Terengganu, so off and on it will be raining and sometimes even windy. I will only be doing this small business seriously by next year after the monsoon is over and when all schools re-open after a long holiday. So in the meantime, when I feel like making the breakfast cuisine, I will telephone all my students and the people nearby. Preparation will only be done based on the to avoid wastage of food. I will get their orders first and then I can estimate roughly what to be done. By the way, it' is 'a 100% Home-made quality food", therefore, it is definitely clean and taste good just like serving my own family.

Last Saturday I have started making/promoting my "Nasi Lemak" to all my students. They all like it and will pass words around. Surprisingly, just a moment ago (Monday 17th Nov 08) one of my students dropped by asking me for three packets of "Nasi Lemak" because she had tasted it last Saturday and like it. Look like tonight I have to prepare the "Sambal Tumis" the thick and rich "sambal paste" with "Ikan Bilis" and then I will cook the "Nasi Lemak" (Rice with coconut milk, pandan leave, a little ginger, a stalk of lemon grass and a pinch of salt) early tomorrow morning. I do enjoy doing all these because I like cooking. I would not be doing it everyday, so I think it is good to organize myself with a weekly planner. Let's see how it goes!

Photo snaps on top:

1. Picture of the blue canopy to start my Nasi Lemak's & Roti Canai's stall.

2. Pic. of the supplies of the top quality cat food "RoyalCanin"of 15 kg per bag pile up for storage.

3. Two delivery men from Kuala Lumpur posing in front of Royal Canin's delivery van.

4. Pic. of the Signboard/banner of Lil's Corner being displayed at top roof of my front porch.

5. Pic. of the Signboard/banner of Lil's Corner being displayed at the top roof of my front porch. (different angle).

Therapy Home - photos of some of my cats & my rescued cats

Hi! Greetings from Marang, Terengganu, (East-Coast) of Malaysia.

Just call me Lily and now I'm now living in a holiday resort known as Marang in Terengganu, East-Coast of Malaysia. It is only 20 minutes walk to the beautiful blue ocean of the South-China-Sea and very close to a famous resort, known as "Angullia Beach House Resort" owned by my brother-in-law, Sulleiman Angullia and is managed by his second son, Esa Angullia @ Chota with some other family members. My sister, Fuziah Hanim is a Chef there and she can cook international dishes. This resort is facing the two beautiful exotic islands, "Pulau Kapas" and "Pulau Raja". It used to be my favorite holiday spot and playground during those days when I was living and working in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city.

For more information regarding this resort, do feel free to surf at http://www.angulliaresort.com/

I love to associate with nature, listening to birds singing when the morning breaks, love the sea very much (I remember in those days when I was here on holidays, I used to say that I would like to take the sea home!). I hate the superficial of hustle & bustle, busy rat-race city life. I am an animal lover and I brought with me here to stay 28 cats, and most of them are rescued cats. I cannot bear to leave them at SPCA because if nobody takes them within a certain period of time, they will be put to sleep by mercy death it seems! In Islam, we were taught not to take life in our own hands.

It is so sad to learn that most owners who are not responsible do not spay-neuter their pets and when their pets give birth out of control and multiplying, they throw their unwanted kittens or puppies away just anywhere they please. Can you imagine, I even found unwanted kittens at the commuter stations, in the drains, at the roadsides and even at the garbage bins. Some people are really so cruel towards animals and they just treat these animals, not like living beings!

All mine are neutered and I booster them yearly. I feed them with one of the best cat foods "Royal Canin" even though I am not on a payroll now, I strive to find ways and means in order to let them have a good life. They are so innocent and like children to me. I built them a very spacious shelter behind so that I can monitor and watch them closely with their daily activities through my kitchen windows. Sometimes it is so funny and seeing them playing. I make sure the dwelling place/shelter is always clean and with a pleasant smell. Mind you, it is really hard work! I spend almost 2 to 3 hours daily just for the cats, feeding them, emptying their litters, cleaning and mopping the shelter floors (using Dettol and Ajax fabuloso, the floor wash) to get the pleasant smell. The water bowls are always changed and believe it or not, I give them filtered water.

So, to pamper myself and to have a good life, I created myself a "Therapy Home" with all my personal touch decorations and displays accompanied with good fragrances/aroma to feel good. I usually play soft music to create a relaxing and soothing atmosphere. At the front porch outside, I created a small garden corner to sit especially at night with candle lights and the display of color lightings in order to enjoy the natural air and breezes. I called it "Lil's Corner" and intend to entertain guests/friends and relatives. Twice a week I teach an English lesson to a few local students. I make good fresh Instant/Roti Canai (my mum's recipe - and I called it "Roti Ibu" for sweet remembrance of her) with delicious "Dal Curry" and surprisingly making a small income! Even though I live in a small town like Marang, Terengganu, far away from all the latest happenings that I used to enjoy in a big city, I have not much to complain, as I am now equipped with my new toy with sufficient high-tech of the modern world. So long as I have my personal computer which enables me to access internationally through the windows of the world, it is enough to make my day! I hope to see most of my friends here soon!

Latest News -A reach-out call:
A few months ago, I have adopted three kittens and they are all now looking strong, healthy and with full of energy and very playful. Recently I have taken in and rescued two female young cats. The recent two kittens died leaving one more behind.

I wish I could educate and make those owners who treat their pets like pests what they are doing are wrong. All they need to do is just to get their pets spayed/neutered and only this will save their problems from getting more unwanted kittens or puppies.

Now I am trying to find good homes for some of my rescued cats because I do have to be fair to myself too, as it is now getting so unbecoming with this situation! I started helping these unfortunate animals since August 2003. All owners should be more responsible for taking good care of their pets and not just simply abandoning their unwanted kittens as they please. As I've mentioned earlier to solve the problem they ought to neuter their pets so that they do not have any more unwanted kittens to throw everywhere!!!

I am still trying to find good homes for some of my rescued cats, I mean, really good homes, owners who really love these animals and will continue taking good care of them in order to ease my burden. At the same time, these poor animals need full attention and love. I really cannot give these to so many at the same time. When I first took in all these unfortunate animals, my intention was to rescue them and keep them safe, neuter them and treat them from dangerous diseases and then find them good homes. They have been treated and free from sickness and in good conditions, except the remaining four kittens and 2 young female cats, since I am now in Terengganu, not Kuala Lumpur. Here there is no vet except that I have to make do with "Pejabat Haiwan". All those cats brought over from Kuala Lumpur have been neutered and are very healthy. They are all tame cats and becoming very loving as I've trained them to be good and loving household pets.

Those interested, please do contact me at my e-mail address: lilyarbee@gmail.com or post me a comment.

Thanking you for taking your time to know and share this issue with me.

Below is a very interesting video showing how to train cats using human toilet,

So please just click it to watch

I have just found a very cool and educational site of a wonderful and noble lady who is very talented and creative with her graphics works. Since she loves cats and dogs so much, she created an amazing and fun website which I love very much and I have just received feedback from her the permission to add her website to share with all viewers. So I have inserted the URL of her website for you guys to visit. You can find her wonderful work of graphics plus lots of cool stuffs, also reaching-out calls to remind people around the world to neuter/spay their pets in order to stop the suffering of animals and many more about abandoned and sheltered homes animals, especially cats and dogs. In fact, many are being put to sleep and many more homeless healthy /unhealthy strayed and sheltered cats and dogs are waiting their turn to be killed by means of mercy death, since the shelter homes cannot cope with the over-populated unfortunate unwanted innocent loving and cute cats/kittens/dogs and puppies.

Please, please stop the animal sufferings!!!! We all can start doing it by spaying our pets.

Feel free to visit this fine lady with her many graphics talents by just clicking below url:

http://diabellalovescats.com/

Lily Arbee

From Terengganu with love,
At the Beach with my big cat, my bodyguard.
Well! Lily if it makes you happy, dream on ... why not??