Archive | May, 2023

Bunker Horrors

30 May

Golf is one funny and challenging game. When you think you are playing well, it goes downhill. Then there are all sorts so woes from the tee to the green. There will be the usual chipping yips, putting issues, and sand bunker shots.

Last week’s game was an eye-opener. The replacement driver turned out better than expected, which was nice. But it was the bunker horrors that put a dent in the overall game. I have not played sand bunker situations for a long time already. Generally, I avoid them and tend to do well managing myself out there.

But last week, it was a different script. I went into eight bunkers, hitting five in a row on the front nine and raking up nine shots to get out. What had just happened? It was as if a magnet was pulling my balls into the bunkers! It wasn’t aggravating anymore but plain ridiculous, and I could only laugh about it. How else to deal with the misery?

One thing for sure, I had left my Cleveland Smart Sole Sand Wedge out of my bag, thinking I hardly use it for my games. And it was usually the case, hardly used. But after that episode, the club was back in my golf bag!

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A Pleasant Discovery

29 May

Last week, I used an alternative driver because my driver was loose at the joint and needed repair. And it was a pleasant discovery with the XXIO Prime SP-900 driver. Although it is longer than my lady driver, being a men’s club, I handled it well.

The best part was the distance that I was able to achieve. Effortlessly, I could hit 10 to 30 meters longer than my regular club! Wow! I never knew an unexpected change in equipment would yield such results.

Perhaps I should consider having this club in the bag instead of my usual XXIO MP-900 lady driver because, with the extra distance, subsequent shots are easier with more club choices to use. Hmm, what a pleasant discovery.

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Downward Slide, Part 2

26 May

After several days of rest, I hit the golf course yesterday. It has been too hot to stay home and be a sloth. The heat and humidity bites at the skin, making it very uncomfortable.

But it was an afternoon game, and I was expecting the worse. Luckily, there was enough wind to cool down the body. Anyway, it was the company and camaraderie that I wanted to have instead of staring at the computer and having designer’s block.

Sometimes it is not the game but the people and friendship. So there wasn’t too much walking and golf, but rather, laughter and chatter.

Separately, I discovered a possible problem with my game. My driver has a gap at the joint between the head and the shaft. My goodness! It is a miracle the club head is still intact upon contact for the past several games.

A loose driver head!

Could this be the reason for my recent downward slide? Most of my tee-offs have been short lately, thus, making the subsequent shots harder. I did notice this gap some time ago but took no heed of it. However, with my recent slide, I questioned everything, and this came to light.

So I used a different driver for yesterday’s game while the problem club was being fixed and recalibrated. Hopefully, after the adjustment, I can tee off well again with my regular driver and subsequently play better golf. Keeping my fingers crossed on this. But until then, more rest to manage the plantar fasciitis on the foot.

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Free Rice

23 May

There’s no free lunch in this world, but there is free rice! For the past several months, I have been playing this game on Lazada, my local online shopping site, and the game gives out a kilo of free rice upon completing the harvest. Isn’t it wonderful?

The game is called ‘Free Rice’ and is easy to play. Just water the crops daily to harvest 15 bags of rice. That’s it! Nothing fancy, no challenges to test your skills, or anything tough to tackle.

I just completed the task again this morning, and my second bag of rice is on the way, shipped free of charge! Whee.

A kilo of free rice!

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Downward Slide

22 May

Lately, I have been on a downward slide in my golf game. It is disheartening. It is not like I don’t know how to play the game. I suspect it is the state of the mind. Sometimes some things are unexplainable, and this is one of those times.

Perhaps playing so much is not good but detrimental instead. I have picked up a new injury along the way. This time, it is plantar fasciitis of my right foot. And the pain level differs each time; obviously, it hurts more when I walk too much.

And when it hurts, it affects the concentration and state of mind. It becomes a domino effect, and I start a downward freefall. Everything falls apart, from the tee-off, and fairway shots with any club, to the short game and putting. It is demoralizing and aggravating at the same time. Sigh.

Barely a month ago, I was playing good golf. But now, I cannot hold myself up to complete a decent round of 18 holes. I need to manage my pain and control my state of mind to stay focused. Otherwise, I should consider taking a break from golf to rest and reset.

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DIY Project #29

19 May

After procrastinating for days, I finally mustered enough energy to start DIY project number 29. The unbearable heat is taking its toll on me to be a sloth and do nothing. It is not healthy.

Project number 29

So project number 29 is from the same series as project number 27. It is a slightly bigger set than number 28, which was minuscule. Although there are even larger sets to work on, I’m avoiding them now. My Ikea display cabinet, sadly, has no more space to display the big units. Oh well, time to buy another display cabinet!

Luckily, number 29 came with dust covers, just like number 28, so I can display it anywhere upon completion. I only hope my pace will not stutter due to the heat. Onwards with crafting my miniatures!

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A Beautiful Pineapple

16 May

A week ago, the latest pineapple was almost ready for harvesting. It needed a few more days to go, but hubby was worried that the garden squirrels would get to it. So he quickly harvested the fruit. However, we had to let it sit in the kitchen to fully ripen before eating it.

The trick to ensure the fruit ripens well is to hang it upside down and let gravity do the job to aid the process. So far, it is going very well. As each day passed, I could smell the fragrance of the pineapple whenever I walked past the cabinet where we hung the pineapple. Mmm, so wonderful!

See the string?

In a day or two, we should be able to savor the aromatic pineapple harvested from our garden. Lovely.

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Fixing the Mess, Part 2

15 May

The soldering iron hand tool looked intimidating when I had to fix the wiring mess of DIY project number 28. Everything is so tiny and close together on the switch compared to the big soldering iron tool. It may not work, and I may burn something accidentally.

Heat shrink tubes are the best to resolve wiring issues

So I had to improvise. Instead of heating the soldering wire to join the wire to the switch, I used a heat shrink tube as the connector to hold things in place. And guess what? It worked. Phew.

I also added a makeshift holder (recycling the leftover template cutouts) to keep the wires on the underside of the tiny house in place and much neater. DIY project number 28 is now truly completed and sits in the big Ikea display cabinet with the rest of my other miniature sets.

Fixing the Mess

12 May

I am feeling like a sloth lately because of the hot weather. Two weeks ago, I completed DIY project number 28, and since then, the mood is not there to start the next one. Although number 28 is a done deal, the wiring mess is eating at me. So I have decided to fix it before I begin project number 29.

The switch is so tiny, and the wires so delicate that the connections fell apart! I was aghast; my fingers were more clumsy than deft! How do I fix the mess when all parts involved are so minuscule?

Tiny and skinny maketh a mess

I had to borrow a soldering iron hand tool to do the job. Let’s hope this works. Otherwise, all the effort to put the lights in place for this beautiful tiny house will come to naught without a switch. Keep the sloth away, and get the job done!

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Do We Look Like Rabbits?

9 May

Our neighbor has two dogs – a friendly Golden Retriever and an aggressive German Shepherd. We missed interacting and petting the friendly one when the aggressive one joined their family. There is no more opportunity to stretch the hands safely for a quick scratch or tickle.

The German Shepherd is an annoying one. Sure, he’s a guard dog, but we are neighbors, not intruders. Whenever we were in the garden, he would bark incessantly at us. It borders on annoyance and fear at the same time. He has snarled and shown his teeth at me several times. Because of its aggressive nature, I have stopped doing my woodwork outside on the garden terrace.

Lately, he is at it again, barking his head off unnecessarily, a test of our patience for such an unpeaceful situation. One morning, the annoying dog was barking at hubby so aggressively when hubby was watering the plants. It was too much!

Hubby went over to complain to the owner about the dog’s unbecoming behavior. The owner defended his dog, saying it meant no harm, and was merely barking at the rabbit (the pet from the neighbor flanking their house) whenever the rabbit was out.

Wait a minute! It was barking at hubby! Me (at times)! Us (all the time)! Not the rabbit!!! Do we look like rabbits? Hrmph.

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