It just hit me that it is December already! Oh, my goodness. 2022 is coming to an end soon. With less than a month left, there is still much to do to fill up the days with memories.
December is a constant battle with the weather when it comes to doing the laundry. Will the sun peek out for a bit? Will it rain non-stop? The laundry does not have that sun-soaked smell during this time of the year.
December is also a month to get my Christmas shopping going! And so far, I’m on track. Yay. And yes, the home Christmas decorations are out, and it’s just the finishing touches here and there.
Being the last month of the year, December is also a time to wrap up things that started at the beginning of the year. Specifically, my DIY miniature, sitting at my station, collecting dust. I have not crafted so many this year, and it would be nice to finish up this last one.
December is a time for reflection on the year that passed. I am thankful for the good times and have stored away the good memories. I hope the remainder of the month will give me several more last hurrahs to cherish.
Besides my golf game struggle, my DIY miniature crafting has also struggled over the past few months. I have not sat down at my little workstation for so long, and my last project has stalled to the moon and never came back! Hahaha.
It would be nice to finish it up and not leave the set incomplete and collecting dust. I have gone so far with crafting miniatures for the past three years already. And this being DIY project #25, it would be great to wrap it up before the year ends.
Sometimes weather plays a role in determining the outcome of a holiday outing is a success or not. It drizzled yesterday morning, but we were unfazed by it. I was clever enough to pack an umbrella, and it came in handy!
Tempting displays caught our eye!
We had another pastry breakfast to start our day. Luckily, the rain was light, and I did not need to open the umbrella. But when I had to, it was cold. Brr. I had to wear my gloves.
Pastries and sandwich for breakfast
We passed St Paul’s Cathedral and headed towards the Millennium Bridge to check out Tate Museum. The timing was perfect as we spent two hours indoors, staying warm and out of the drizzling conditions.
St. Paul’s Cathedral Uber Boat anyone?
There were many interesting art pieces on display. However, two works caught our eye, not so much for their visual impact but for the lack of it instead. What qualifies these two non-visuals as art, displayed at Tate Modern? The concept? The process? They were blank canvases, for goodness sake! It baffled us to no end.
This is art? Or is this art?Two embossed circles and dots make this art?
After Tate, we headed to Starbucks for a quick bite and cold coffee to refuel our energy. We passed Amazon Fresh and trodded on toward the Shard for a picture opportunity and discovered the Borough Market in that area. What a pleasant discovery!
Our hotel room is small but sufficient. The beds are comfortable, and that first night, tiredness kicked in after a simple souvlaki dinner. We were all knocked out!
Greek beer and souvlaki for dinner
Refreshed after a good night’s sleep, we were ready to explore the next day. It was eight degrees Celsius when we stepped out of the building. In moments like this, the face masks were handy to keep our nose and cheeks warm!
The day started with a pastry and coffee breakfast. The cinnamon pretzel choice was the biggest we have seen. As big as the face, the pretzel alone could feed us all! We sat outside on the walkway of the pastry shop, and that was nice. The fat pigeon was watching us the whole time!
We took the Tube to the Bank of England to exchange some old currency notes, no longer accepted as legal tender, for new ones. It would be wise to do this unless you want to keep them as souvenirs.
But the line was very long, and the Security Officer suggested we do this at the Post Office around the corner if our amount was not in abundance. It was good advice, for we got this done in less than ten minutes instead of waiting an hour and a half.
After settling this, we headed to King’s Cross to see the iconic Platform 9 3/4. And what a crowd there was for the famous Harry Potter scene! We decided to skip the queue and still managed to snap a decent picture from the side.
The platform and queue, and the gift shop
It was a sunny day, so we kept our activities outdoors. The next stop was Coal Drops Yard before meeting an old friend for lunch. So good to see him after all these years!
We parted ways after the pleasant meal, and we continued with our adventure. At our friend’s suggestion, we thought getting on a Hop On Hop Off open-topped double-decker bus was excellent to take in all the sights. But it was already 2.00pm, and there may not be enough time. The sun sets around 4.30pm!
We decided to go indoors instead and headed over to The British Museum. We spent time in the museum until the closing hour, oohing and aahing over relics and artifacts. But if given a choice, I’d rather ooh and aah over paintings than headless and armless stone figurines and stone relics missing noses and head gears, you know?
Last week, I had this brilliant idea to DIY a bird feeder instead of buying one from the pet store. I had this sudden urge to train the freeloaders that come daily for their bird seeds to eat from a feeder. With my being in and out most time these days, it’s hard to feed them at the expected time.
There are days when the birds would come into the garden porch, looking in through the glass door for me, and expect me to serve them! Well, sometimes I do so but not always.
I googled up ideas and found the easiest contraption, using recycled things that I found in the kitchen. And voila! I have a bird feeder that I thought was brilliant. But the birds do not think so.
Several days have gone by, and they are still wary of the thing, thinking it’s some weird new garden ornament. But I have stopped feeding the birds to train them on this new arrangement, and the feeder remains in the garden under rain and shine. However, being the rainy season, when it rains, the bird feeder gets drenched by rainwater. Sigh.
The only animal not cautious of it is the garden squirrel! I have spotted it a few times, running toward the feeder and having a quick bite. Well, when choices are limited, hunger precedes caution.
After several days of rain, one part of the feeder came out, but I did not fix it. My bad, for the next thing I knew, the wet seeds started sprouting! Hahahaha. My goodness. This DIY bird feeder does not quite work during the rainy season, so I have to go back to the drawing board on it.
With no more lockdowns or strict SOPs enforced these days, the economy has opened up, and we are eating out a little more than ever. And sometimes, when there are choices, cooking takes a backseat.
However, when faced with so many choices, we are at a loss to decide what to eat. So at times, in this situation, we would opt for the occasional fast food, McDonald’s.
Our recent McDonald’s meal does not live up to be fast food. On the contrary, it was pretty slow with a long queue regardless of the time. And we had to wait further before the meals were ready to be picked up.
The bottom line, fast food these days is not fast at all. Also, fast food is not cheap either! So if you think having this is a quick and affordable choice, you ought to think again; it is neither.
I am enjoying the break from golf after getting my latest tattoo. It is advisable to allow the tattoo to heal, considering where it is on my arm. So best to avoid exerting repetitive motions, as in playing golf, the better and faster the recovery.
Actually, for a change, it is nice not having to wake up twice or thrice a week for the game. Sometimes the obsession with the game is too much. So much so that whatever injuries we pick up along the way will never heal.
Before getting the tattoo inked, I was experiencing pain in my right arm, a new injury I picked up when I was golfing so often. My game suffered along the way, unfortunately, and my arm never had any opportunity to rest. But now, with the tattoo excuse, it is a blessing in disguise, and my arm is getting the much-needed rest.
I will rest for another week before picking up my golf clubs again. The skin above my Snoopy tattoo is peeling this week, signs of the skin healing and regenerating itself. By the end of next week, the skin above the tattoo would have healed, and the injured arm would have recovered. I should be back in action!
Wednesday was an eventful day because I was finally getting my tattoo. Although I anticipated pain after my last experience with Dinky, I didn’t feel any during this inking session.
It was only after the session that I felt a tad painful, but the sensation lasted for just two hours. I must laud the tattoo artist, for she was very gentle and good, putting me at ease. The health and hygiene measures were very impeccable to feel assured and safe.
I’m very impressed with the work. I guess there’s no explanation required on my choice this time nor introduction, except perhaps only to say, “Dinky, meet Snoopy!”
The time has come for me to get my tattoo finally! After waiting almost a month for my appointment, tomorrow is the big day. Woohoo!
The procedure is rather stringent, although we are now in an endemic stage. The tattoo parlor requires me to take a Covid antigen test before the session. I will be doing this at home with a doctor looking on via Zoom, and they are covering the cost of the doctor, which is nice.
This extra step of having a doctor ensures that the test process is proper and the result is mine, not someone else’s. This particular parlor imposes this added requirement (of a doctor’s presence), unlike other parlors that only require one to test on your own before the tattoo session. Oh well.
So what am I getting this third time? Hah! I will reveal it later, not now. Be patient. I’m ready for the test shortly but psyching my mind for the pain tomorrow. I have to remember, no pain, no gain, or in this case, no pain, no tattoo!
My Facebook memory popped up this morning to remind me that my Dinky Dinosaur tattoo is five years old today! My goodness. Sometimes I even forget I have it. Hahaha. When it is out of sight, it will be out of mind.
On top of Dinky, I sometimes forget that there is another one at the back! This one is definitely out of sight. Well, it looks like it’s time to get another one. Yes, I am seriously thinking about it. Stay tuned.
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