Traveling With A Cat On A Road Trip

When hubby and I made the tough decision to bring Haru back from the cat boarder's house just a day before our trip to Ipoh to celebrate CNY, I was already mentally and physically prepared for it.  I had already done a lot of reading on bringing a cat in tow for a road trip.  I read up since the lockdowns were lifted and I knew that one day I would have to bring Haru back to Ipoh with me. 

In fact, during one of our trips back to Ipoh last year, I bought chain link fencing and fixed it to the door of Haru's room, which is a room outside our bedroom. The area where Haru will be roaming was already cat-proofed.  

For the trip, I only had to bring Haru's spare litter box, clean litter + a bit of existing litter from her KL litter box (for the familiarity of scent), her food, chemical-free wet wipes, disposable waterproof papers, disposable gloves, and her carrier. 

But I forgot to bring her litter spade to scoop her pee & poop!!!!  Because it was an eleventh-hour decision to bring Haru back due to a failed boarding, I wasn't 100% thorough with her checklist of things. So I had to improvise with a tiny disposable takeaway spoon and disposable gloves each time I cleaned her litter! That was disgusting ok, having to scoop her big chunk of pee with my hands. As we were out of the house most of the time for reunion lunches and dinners, I didn't have the time to buy a litter spade or search for my dad's gardening spade for it. 

Now I know I will not forget to bring the litter spade with me the next time we travel with Haru again!

To ensure that Haru would not throw up in the car, I fed Haru at least two hours before our journeys, and I woke up at 4.45 a.m. to feed my baby as our journey started at 7-ish in the morning. I also had to coax her to pee and poo before the car ride but this was unsuccessful.  When Haru was in Ipoh, she was having anxiety as she was in a new environment with so many new faces, especially my two squealing and overzealous twin nephew and niece who badly wanted to touch Haru.  She was hiding under the bed most of the time. Whenever Haru is anxious, she wouldn't pee or poo, just like how she was when she was at the cat boarder's house for two days. She didn't pee or poo nor eat or drink for two whole frigging days. This crushed my heart as I was observing Haru almost 24/7 from the CCTV on my phone.

Cute Haru sticking her head out of her carrier in our car. She did pretty well on her road trips. 

Sherilyn's 19th Birthday

On 16 February 2024, Sherilyn turned 19, marking another milestone in her journey of growth. Our celebration this year held special significance as we gathered in Ipoh on the first day of Chinese New Year on 10 February 2024, to commemorate her birthday in advance. This is the second time that Sherilyn celebrated her birthday in Ipoh with my parents and brothers. If Chinese New Year happens to fall in February, we would be able to have a double celebration in Ipoh when my brothers return to Ipoh.

Sherilyn's birth on the 8th day of Chinese New Year in 2005 remains etched in my memory with vivid clarity. On the eve of Pai Ti Kung day, Sherilyn made her grand entrance into the world at noon, leaving an indelible mark on our hearts.  Her spirited nature became apparent from the start, as evidenced by her feisty behavior even during those early breastfeeding sessions.  

I recall the thunderous sounds of fireworks at midnight on 17 February 2005 as the Hokkiens celebrated and prayed to the Jade Emperor.  That midnight, the infant, not even a day old yet, bit off a small part of my teat as she was trying to suckle milk. I was shocked to see blood in her mouth and then the double shock when I realized that it was a tiny part of my teat in her tiny mouth 😬. I will never forget the pain I endured that night and the subsequent times that she latched onto a badly wounded teat. 😂 I am so proud of myself that I survived those days.

A yummy cake from JJ Swiss Roll.

Fast forward to Sherilyn's 19th birthday celebration, and we found ourselves indulging in not one but two joyous occasions. The pre-birthday and Chinese New Year festivities in Ipoh, surrounded by family members, including my brother's family from Singapore, set the stage for a memorable celebration. 

With my fam bam.

Sherilyn received a birthday and CNY ang pow from my parents.

Pandan and chocolate flavor this time as the popular cempedak flavor was sold out.  The pandan and chocolate flavor was superb too, with a strong pandan aroma.

On the eve of her birthday, Sherilyn treated herself to a decadent sirloin steak infused with sage butter, a gourmet delight that reflected her refined palate and culinary skills.  With meticulous care, she pan-fried the steak to perfection, accompanied by creamy mashed. She wolfed down the entire piece of steak herself and shared just one small bite with me as I requested to try it.

Lip-smackingly delish steak and mash, both meticulously prepped by Sherilyn for herself - her present to herself, bought using her ang pow money.

Now, as Sherilyn embarks on her 19th year, I am filled with gratitude for the privilege of being her mother and witnessing her growth every step of the way. Though the years may pass, Sherilyn's vibrant and unwavering spirit, thirst for competitiveness, and boundless energy remain unchanged.

Monday, 19 February 2024 ~ Haru's Annual Vaccination and Homemade Siew Yoke

Sherilyn doesn't have to go to college today, so I jumped at the opportunity to get her to accompany me to bring Haru to the vet's clinic.  Haru's due for her annual vaccination and bi-yearly deworming pill. As I'm the one driving, I need someone to carry Haru in the car.

Inside her usual tote bag, snugged under Sherilyn's armpit.

Haru behaved really well, wasn't trembling as bad as the previous time, and only hissed briefly at the vet. She didn't cry when jabbed on her thigh.

Back home, Sherilyn spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen, whipping up a big pot of Korean pork and kimchi stew and making Siew Yoke (roast pork) for the first time.

Super delish Siew Yoke with crackling crispy skin.  

I'd give Sherilyn a 100% rating for her Siew Yoke. Excellent job for someone making it for the first time. She randomly googled for a recipe and tweaked the recipe with whatever spices she could find in the larder.

CNY 2024 - Chor 4 and 5

Tuesday, 13 February 2024 (Chor 4)

Hubby made an impromptu whim to go to Ikea at My Town early today - to get a new shelf for Cass and a workstation for me.  We had our brunch at the Ikea cafeteria as it was my choice.  I've not eaten at the Ikea cafeteria for ages (easily more than 7 years) and I missed the Swedish meatballs and grilled salmon. 

The quality of the meatballs has somewhat degraded. In fact, everything that we ordered tasted meh. I knew that hubby would surely be having a second round of lunch after shopping at Ikea.

Long queues at the cafeteria

The most expensive dish was the roast beef ribs at RM46.90.

After we left My Town, hubby took us to a famous seafood noodle shop in Cheras for a late lunch. While we waited for the noodles to arrive, he walked across to another coffee shop to get takeaway roast duck. 

The seafood noodles tasted way better than the Ikea food 😆

Wednesday, 14 February 2024 (Chor 5)

The Ikea workstation that hubby bought for me was delivered to our condo at 8.30 a.m. the next day.  The logistics guys were supposed to deliver between 12.30 to 4 p.m., but they called early in the morning to ask if they could deliver it to us at 8.30 a.m. 

From 8.30 a.m. till evening, hubby, Sherilyn, and I worked non-stop disassembling my old workstation, assembling the new workstation, vacuuming,  moving all the things from the old workstation to the new workstation, and cleaning up.   I also threw a LOT of stuff that I'd been keeping for years as my new workstation has no cabinets and I had to discard most of the stuff from my old cabinets.

We assigned Sherilyn (the future architect) to assemble the workstation, which was no mean feat, and she successfully set up the workstation on her own. I don't think I will ever be able to do that as the workstation is a huge 52.1kg three-tiered desk. Assembling furniture has never been my jam. I'm lucky that my three girls are pretty good at it, just like their dad.

My new Fredde workstation from Ikea. I wanted white color but it was sold out, thus had to settle with black.

Chinese New Year 2024

The last time we celebrated CNY in Ipoh was in February 2020, the year Covid gripped the world and changed things forever. Exactly four years later, we were back again to have a wonderful reunion with my family.  

This CNY is a little extra memorable as we brought Haru along with us. After a failed boarding for Haru, we had no choice but to lug her along with us to Ipoh. And I have no regrets about it. I managed to desensitize Haru's phobia of car rides and I'm still working on desensitizing her fear of meeting new people.  With Haru in Ipoh with us, I needn't have to worry about her having a harrowing time (hunger strike with no peeing and pooping) at the catsitter's place.

Haru was kept inside my bedroom most of the time. I placed her carrier and bed on the floor but this fella decided to sleep in between us on our bed at night despite me kicking her out of our bed umpteen times till I gave up out of exhaustion.

Chor 2 brunch of Dim Sum at Kok Thai Restaurant with my family before we headed to the Yaps' family house for 'Hoi Neen Fan'

Ang Pow gifting session.

We had an early birthday celebration for Sherilyn and bought a cake from JJ Swiss Roll.  Sherilyn was born on the eighth day of Chinese New Year 19 years ago.

The pandan chocolate cake from JJ Swiss Roll was super delish and not overly sweet or cloying.

Mr DIY Replacement Fan Blade

My Panasonic stand fan gave out rattling sounds a few days ago. Initially, I thought that Maria didn't screw the fan blade securely after cleaning it. So I tightened it but after a few minutes, I got a shock when a piece of the middle section of the fan blade dropped out.  Seconds later, another broken piece flew out!  

A tiny bit of my heart dropped too.  Any breakage of appliances or items in the house means money is about to fly out! We just bought a new washing machine less than two months ago. The ceiling fan in my bedroom needs to be replaced too.

I quickly Whatsapped the customer service staff of Tan Boon Meng electrical shop to ask if they carry the replacement fan blade but I was too early and the person in charge wasn't in the office yet. 

Later, I told hubby and he asked me to look for a replacement fan blade at Mr DIY.  Fortunately, there's stock for the 16-inch fan blade and after paying for it, I prayed that it would fit my Panasonic fan.

Back home, I quickly asked Maria to try putting the new fan blade in.  Maria spent 5 minutes trying to screw the blade in but it just wouldn't move any deeper. Just as I was about to bring the fan blade back to Mr DIY to get a refund, I tried one last time and pushed the blade deeper, and voila, it clicked!  💪🎉

The replacement fan blade from Mr DIY only costs about RM7 (can't really recall the actual price). The quality of the Mr DIY fan blade feels almost the same as the Panasonic one. It's made of plastic, which feels kind of fragile - the type that once you dropped it, it would crack.  So I advised Maria to be very careful when cleaning the fan, i.e. do not drop it on the floor or screw it too tightly, or it would break again.

Broken fan blade.

16" replacement fan blade from Mr DIY that costs less than RM10.  So glad that I don't have to get a new stand fan, as this would set us back at least RM250.