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DIY Project #13 or 12A, Part 3

28 May

DIY project number 13, otherwise known as 12A, to avoid superstition, is finally a wrap! Yay. This project took a long time, almost three months. Typically I would take about five weeks to finish a DIY miniature but not this one. Jinxed from the beginning, I encountered a lot of hiccups and distractions to stay focused.

But I’m glad I managed to complete the set during this lockdown. With no golf and hardly any work to do at the office, heck, we don’t even physically go to the office anymore; I had all the time in the world to work on it.

Carl’s Fruit Shop became The GrocerGie

I customized a lot on this set, changing it from what it’s supposed to be, and it has turned out very different. I like it very much as it is now my little masterpiece personalized right down to the name!

Lots of tiny details!
A lovely finish in the end!

The next day, without sitting on my laurels, I started on DIY project number 14 or 12B, as 14 is also a superstitious number. Let’s hope the timeline to work on this one will be better.

The next project!

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Doing Something, Part 2

25 May

Our doing something during this lockdown is the daily baking and cooking; throw in the daily efforts on the DIY project and chipping in the garden is not sufficient to pass the time. And we don’t sweat enough but end up eating more instead because of all the food efforts.

We decided to work on the garden again, focusing on the area at the side of the house. The plan is to convert a tiny plot to become a vegetable patch.

But before we could sit down to work out the idea, we jumped ahead and made another area into a pineapple patch!

Our pineapple patch!

Hubby relocated all the pineapples to one plot instead of being in pots and scattered around the garden. I think they look good being there. Furthermore, the plot is easier to protect from the squirrels. Remember that one time, the rascal of the squirrel ate our pineapple right in front of our eyes?

We look forward to the day the pineapples are ready to be harvested for our consumption.

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Mother’s Day 2021

17 May

It has been an eventful 2021 amidst the pandemic for festivals and occasions with so many restrictions and lockdowns. I will remember Mother’s Day 2021 for the wrong reasons.

It was a botched celebration last weekend. The sumptuous seafood dinner ordered from a Facebook promotion never arrived for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, the MCO strict restrictions to cross districts. No delivery riders were willing to send the food over because of police roadblocks. Secondly, it was raining heavily and the timing to deliver. All went awry.

Then the flowers that were ordered online by the girls arrived two days after the auspicious day! Hahaha. With two fails, I think I will remember the occasion far better than all previous celebrations.

A lovely bouquet and a loving note

Well, the next day, we got a full refund for the botched dinner delivery. Plus, I had lovely flowers to look at the past few mornings! At least something positive from the occasion. Thank you, nonetheless, for the effort and love.

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Doing Something

14 May

We decided to take the days by the horn and keep busy. Doing something is better than doing nothing. Hubby would bake while I worked on my DIY project are the given.

We even started chipping in the garden, trying out the various wedges that we have. And we experimented with new menus for our meals.

The no-cheese pizza was simply delicious last night and the pancakes this morning were so satisfying. Now, if we can keep up the variety and activities, we shouldn’t worry about the remaining MCO days ahead.

Keeping busy with activities and food!

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Here We Go Again, Part 2

7 May

As anticipated, MCO 3.0 was enforced for six districts in the state, starting from 6 May until 17 May. Here we go again, homebound but two days shy of the usual two weeks.

A day before the official start, I didn’t go to the office and was bored to tears. Time went by so slowly. Oh dear, will I be able to handle this round of staying at home? We will find out.

The next day, I kept busy with house chores. And when there was a window of opportunity, I got down to working on DIY project number 13 or 12A. I must say there was good progress and I’m pleased. Hubby also got down to baking. If we keep these activities up to pass our time, we should be okay.

Piecing everything together!
A quarter was gone before the cake even left the cutting board!

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Here We Go Again

4 May

On Sunday, after our weekend golf game, we heard rumors of an impending lockdown again. MCO 3.0. Oh dear, here we go again! Well, this enforcement is unavoidable given that there has been a steep surge in cases.

The country has breached the three thousand mark for several days already, and the healthcare system is, again, stressed to the max. So something needs to be done for the healthcare system to cope with the situation.

If MCO 3.0 comes into effect for the usual two-week duration, playing golf is out of the question because it is a non-essential activity. Likewise, going to work is out of the question, as our business is a non-essential service. I certainly would have plenty of time being home to finish up DIY project number 13, or rather, 12A.

We wait for the announcement.

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I Think It’s Jinxed, Part 2

3 May

I figured out why progress has stalled for DIY project number 13 or 12A – it’s my time management. I have been going to the office daily as well as playing a little bit more golf. As a result, there’s hardly any time to sit down to work on the project.

However, it is also procrastination to get going because of the stage where I am. I’m supposed to put stems for all the fruits and vegetables from the itty bitty beads. And it’s not easy, so I have been putting it off.

Look at the itty bitty pieces! Twirling the paper to make a long stem, then cutting it to make tiny stems. Crazy.

I keep telling myself it is not the superstitious jinx of the project number but simply my time management. As of now, I have set a new target for myself to get the job done. The other DIY sets have collected too much dust already.

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Little People for Little Projects

16 Apr

As I have slowed down working on my DIY miniature sets, I have also stopped buying them, although there are several appealing sets that I have been eyeing. A pause on more purchases is the logical thing to do. What is the point of getting more when there’s not much progress?

However, there is no pause in the itch to buy things from the online shopping site. So I ended up buying little people for my miniatures! I have made three purchases already, and all the little people are of various sizes. It’s hard to get the right-sized people, even though measurements are provided, to fit all my completed different miniature sets sitting in the IKEA display cabinet.

If I am persistent on this, I guess I have to keep buying the little people until I get it right!

The little people range from an inch, 1.5 inches to 2.25 inches tall.

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I Think It’s Jinxed

13 Apr

Whether I like it or not, subliminally, I think DIY project number 13 or 12A is a jinx. I have not sat down at my little workstation to work on it for almost two weeks. Then again, I have been busy with house chores, office work, and of course, golf games.

Four more DIY sets are waiting in the queue, and it’s a long wait. Thank goodness I have stopped buying more DIY sets from my favorite online shopping site. I have to be more disciplined and forget the superstitious number attachment. Otherwise, I may hold off finishing the set, horror of all horrors to even think this, and jump straight to DIY project number 12B. It will be a first for me to abandon a project midway.

Let’s hope it won’t go this path. Jinx, begone!

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DIY Project #13 or 12A, Part 2

5 Apr

The progress for the latest DIY project has been at a snail’s pace. Could it be due to the superstitious stigma of the number 13? I should refer to it as 12A; then there won’t be all these clouds of doubts or distraction.

But I have to admit, the pieces of this set are very tedious and minute. And I find myself feeling intimidated having to make all those minuscule fruits and vegetables. Sigh. So I have been procrastinating, hence the slow progress. The Chinese instruction manual does not help. Luckily, I managed to download an English PDF version of the manual to cross-check.

Every day, I try to get a piece done up, even if it is at a snail’s pace. Something better than nothing, right? Also, this set is very different from all the others that I have completed.

There are more hands-on steps required, as in painting up pieces of furniture and accessories. Things like the display racks and cabinets need either a paint job or sanded down for a worn look. Vegetable stalks, as well as their display wraps, also require painting! So much work.

The eye-boggling step for the display wraps involves untwirling the paper rope to spread it open before painting! Unbelievable and a real test of patience. With so much effort put in, I’d like to customize the set to my liking by changing and omitting things. We’ll see how it goes as I progress along.

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