Yesterday was a public holiday, and it threw me off. I thought it was a Saturday because we played golf when in fact, it was a Thursday. It did feel like a Saturday but a fake one though.
Today I will be going into the office to work on a publication design. Yes, I finally have real work to do, and it’s a welcome change from just cooking and cleaning.
And tomorrow being the real Saturday, golf is in the plans. I think I am playing too much golf until I have lost track of the days.
Today the CMCO ends after two weeks. But guess what? It has been extended for another two weeks. Are we all surprised?
Hardly I’d say as Covid-positive cases are on the up and up. So routine remains the same until 9 November.
The giant staghorn fern at the front garden is back to its beautiful glory. This second fern is the one that the pesky woodpecker made a hole when it tried to make a second home. The fronds have grown well, and I managed to take a picture of the semi-covered damage before it was closed out.
Unfortunately, the first staghorn, a more precious species, could not be revived. Even after removing it from the tree to a better environment for intensive care, the fern did not make it. The hole made by the woodpecker was too deep, and the overall structure of the staghorn damaged beyond rescue.
We have not seen or heard the woodpecker for months now. I hope it stays away so that our revived staghorn can continue to thrive.
With the completion of DIY project number five, I wondered when my recent DIY set purchases would arrive. They are a Japanese restaurant, a fruit shop, and a tea shop. I didn’t have to wait long as the packages arrived on Monday morning.
I was giddy with excitement when all three packages arrived at the same time. Yay! I bought them during the 10/10 sale from my favorite online shopping site. Although the boxes were all crushed slightly, the items inside the boxes were intact. Thank goodness.
So I have started working on the Japanese restaurant first and keeping the two smaller sets for later. The best part of this project, all the packages are labeled accordingly, making life so much easier. And despite the instructions being in Chinese, it’s not a problem as I have Google Translate!
I was thrilled upon opening the box to discover a music box inside! Oh yay, I didn’t even realize the purchase came with this. The last time I bought a music box intended for project number five, it did not fit at all. The measurements were off. So I fixed the music box to project number four instead, which worked out well.
Stay tuned to see the progress of my latest project number six, the Japanese restaurant.
I finally completed DIY project number five. Phew. Towards the end of the project, it was mostly frustration I felt. The instructions were vague, making the chandelier was challenging, and then I discovered there was another chair to make! That makes it nine chairs altogether.
Project number five is a container cafe, and it has so many chairs. And I found assembling the chairs a bit funny, gluing paper to the chair seat and backrest. I bypassed this step and painted the chairs instead. Then again, making chairs from scratch isn’t the easiest either from experience dealing with the chairs in DIY project number four.
Overall, there’s so much paper, not just small pieces but big pieces to work with for surfaces of all sizes, come to think of it. After a while, it was ridiculous. Why so much paper? Argh.
And when I thought I was on the last stretch to finish the set, the wiring for the lights gave me problems! Sigh. One of the chandeliers could not light up, and I cannot figure it out. So I gave up fixing it. I am glad I persevered and completed the set. It will now be on display with the other completed projects on the dining table.
Last week, the CMCO phase was enforced, and there was confusion as far as activities are concerns. Initially, I thought it would be a blanket ruling, and no golf allowed because the situation now is very different from the first CMCO period. The sudden steep spike in Covid-19 positive cases in the country is worrying so much so, the authorities decided to reinstate the CMCO to curb the contagion.
Well, golf is allowed but back to the single-buggy single-player ruling. However, if hubby and I play at the same time, both of us can share a buggy because we are from one household.
Contrary to this option, we can choose to use the golf trolley or carry our bags if we play at the Hills course of our club. So far, I have had a mixture of the single buggy, shared buggy, and golf trolley games the past week. I anticipate the same again for this week’s games.
Hopefully, positive cases will decrease and the CMCO lifted by the end of the second week. We can only hope. Until then, golf rules for social distancing remains as is.
I have been working on DIY project number five for almost three weeks now. And boy, does it have its challenges, unlike the previous projects. One would think that with the instructions in English, it would be a breeze.
Contrary to feeling good, I’m stressed instead. There were signs of problems at the outset, but I chose to ignore them. However, as I progressed along, the issues became more glaring.
There were missing pieces and incorrect sizes of paper in ratio to the corresponding wood. Luckily, I managed to figure out the solutions to overcome them.
The most glaring problem was the lack of an inventory checklist. I had to rely on the pictorial guide in the manual, which wasn’t very clear to figure out things. Most of the packages are labeled ‘A’ – making it hard to find the pieces. When the instructions called for an item from package ‘A’ to paste to paper, I cannot find the said item. It was very exasperating.
The instruction manual is another issue. Printed in A4 and 14 points (sometimes 18 points) font-size does not necessarily mean they are clear! The instructions are vague, and I found myself at a loss sometimes.
Sigh. I come across as not enjoying working on this set. Well, I have to finish it regardless.
Just when we think the pandemic situation in the country is under control, things have taken a turn for the worse! Cases are on the rise, and the government has just announced that the CMCO (Conditional Movement Control Order) will take effect for three states by tomorrow until 27 October. Oh, dear.
Schools are closed, parks and places of worship will also be closed during this period. All sports activities, social, cultural, and wedding receptions are also not allowed. I guess this means no golf for the next two weeks!
Sigh. We were anticipating this measure to be taken when there was a sudden spike in Covid-19 positive cases recently. When will this ever end? We are back to square one on our fight with the virus.
Two weeks have gone by so fast, and M2 has completed her self-isolation. We are most pleased to say that she has a clean bill of health.
As such, she will leave the quarantine quarters and check into the dorms officially. And she has two days to organize herself before classes begin on Wednesday. Yay.
We ran out of bird seeds and haven’t had the opportunity to swing by the pet shop to replenish. So the birds are not happy.
In the last two days, our daily visitors had nothing to eat and were disappointed. And curious at the same time, because they can see us but not their food. So much so, they even daringly came into the house as if to inquire about the sudden drop in service!
I sat at my carving spot and managed to take a picture without alarming them. It would be utter chaos if they were spooked and attempted to fly off. Luckily the curtains were drawn, and two sauntered off soon after without any incident.
We have to buy the bird seeds soon.
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