The papaya tree towering next to the frangipani in our garden has been fruiting in abundance! Whee. Maybe the rainy season has contributed to the spurt and growth. This means we will have papayas again after a dry spell.
In the early stages, we put up nets to protect the fruits from the garden squirrels, and it worked when there were fewer fruits. However, as there have been more fruits, the netting protection could not cover the whole lot. So, hubby resorted to covering only the bigger fruits.
Two days ago, one rascal managed to eat a fruit on the tree. Ugh. So, hubby placed a trap on the ground to snag it, using the half-eaten papaya as bait.
This morning, the rascal was nabbed! Yay. We will relocate it to another area. Hopefully, it will stay away and won’t return to help itself to the abundance of fruits available.
I look forward to having papayas again from the garden.
We play pickleball once a week now. I find myself looking forward to it more than my regular golf games. Uh oh, does this mean I have lost my passion for golf?
There are various reasons for this new sentiment. It is the end of the year, and we are facing the rainy monsoon season! Golf is not enjoyable when the round is interrupted by rain and thunder. Then we have to wait out the rain. By then, the body has turned cold, and the momentum and mood are lost. Ugh.
It is even more unenjoyable when the siren does not go off, and collectively, everyone wants to continue playing in wet conditions. Ugh. I find wearing my raincoat to play very uncomfortable, but needed to stay dry. Then there are other challenges – wet gloves, slippery grips, heavy shots, and soggy fairways. The list can be endless! Ugh.
As pickleball is an indoor activity, covered and not subjected to crappy weather, it is a better option than golf, especially during this time of the year. And the best part is I can play with my left hand without aggravating my tennis elbow! Yay.
So, if I play less golf, it’s okay because I have an alternative activity to sweat instead of being a couch potato at home and perpetually glued to my iPad Mini.
Two weeks ago, hubby and I decided to try a new game, pickleball! And boy, what a fun game! A combination of three racket sports—badminton, tennis, and ping-pong—I find the sport low-impact and great for a good sweat.
So far, we have played twice in a covered but open-air sports complex. It’s a good thing the group plays doubles on a rotational basis instead of singles, and everyone works up a sweat in less than half the duration compared to a round of golf.
I chose to play using my left hand to avoid aggravating my tennis elbow. And it’s okay! I’m surprised at my agility. The only thing I have yet to master is serving the ball. Other than this, playing with the left hand has been enjoyable.
I’m glad we picked up this new sport to vary our sports activity, as golf has been very exasperating with no improvements but more injuries. So, pickleball, anyone?
Last Thursday was a public holiday, and I got derailed. We opted not to play golf and went out instead. It felt like the weekend, so much so that Friday felt weird. I was thrown off balance and was not in the mood to write. My mind was blank because of the weekday public holiday. I was too much in a lull to think about writing.
Then the weekend came, and we played a round of golf on Sunday. It was not a good round. The elbow hurt. Boo hoo hoo. What am I going to do? The mind has slackened, the pain has not subsided, and the body is protesting. Sniffles.
It is always wonderful to be back home after a holiday. Japan was enjoyable, but home is where the heart is. On the last day at the airport, while waiting for the check-in counters to open, I overheard a tour group leader telling her entourage they would need three days to recover from the trip.
Three days?! Wow. If this is true for an hour’s time difference, no wonder I take longer to get over my jet lag when I return home from countries with time zones that are more than an hour. However, I don’t recall needing such length to recover when I returned from Bangkok, Hanoi, or Jakarta this year. Hmm. Recovering from golf trips and non-golf trips could be different.
We departed from Narita International Airport on Friday at 10.30 pm with good memories and touched down at KLIA the next day at 5.00 am. Whether I liked it or not, the next few days were a blur, and I felt like a sloth. So yes, I did take three days to recover. Dang! The lady was correct.
Homeward bound!
How fast the holiday went by! Japan was fascinating, fun, and enjoyable. We lucked out with substantial savings for our flight tickets and a good travel deal when we signed up for the Omakase package to Japan, where we didn’t have to follow a fixed itinerary but customized to our preferences.
We had a comfortable MPV and a driver to drive us around to see what we wanted to see, stop to buy things if something caught our eye, and eat whatever we fancied. There were places we spent longer than intended, but our driver patiently waited for us. Such is the beauty of customizing a travel package.
The weather was excellent, contributing to our enjoyment for the first few days. Rain was predicted only for the last two days, but it never happened. Eventually, it did rain when we were already on the aircraft, ready for departure!
Now that the family holiday and recovery are over, it is back to routine, and I’m happy to be home until my next trip!
I’m officially taking a break from golf. Typically, on Tuesday, I’d have a round of golf. But with the tennis elbow injury persisting, it’s best to rest.
The last game on Sunday was not a good outing. There was no distance upon tee-off for fear of aggravating the elbow, and it was a domino effect for subsequent shots, taking more strokes than necessary. Sigh, it wasn’t the best, but I didn’t let it get to me. I told myself I merely wanted the exercise.
Separately, the monsoon season has started, and it rains almost daily. Remember the game last Thursday that was a washout? So, a little less golf to get a timely two-week rest might be the right thing to do. Why two-weeks? Ahh, find out on Friday! Stay tuned.
My plans for a round of golf yesterday didn’t quite work out because Mother Nature had other ideas. It was an afternoon game, not my usual morning tee-off, and the outing was a complete washout.
We had three flights – only the 12.30 pm flight managed 15 holes, while my flight did 12 as we were two slots behind them. I’m unsure how many holes the third flight completed because they started on the back nine.
It was quite a sight to see all the fairways inundated with water! That’s how heavy the rain came down, as there was insufficient time for the excess water to drain. Some holes even had their tee boxes immersed in water as well. There’s no way we could have resumed.
The buggy ride back to the club was not the most pleasant as we had to deal with pelting rain from the sides and driving through big puddles of water. Despite the situation, everyone was happy with an early happy hour! Hehehe.
Drinks and titbits were on the table, and eventually, dinner. The chatter and camaraderie were most enjoyable. Sometimes, we don’t need to complete a round of golf to enjoy the company of friends.
The stubborn me is still playing golf with a tennis elbow that hurts to heaven! Holy moly, I need to be disciplined and rest. In the last two games, I resorted to various methods to suppress the nagging discomfort with pain relief spray or cream, elbow strap, and pain killer. Did they help? Yes and no. Sigh.
Not only does the elbow feel the pain, but the returned score is a smack in the face for confidence and ability. One can’t have it all good all the time, right? Playing good golf is never a sure thing. There will be highs and lows. There’s no need to elaborate on the highs, but lows are injuries besides putting woes, chipping yips, and endless other reasons.
I have lined up two more games to play before I give my elbow a good two weeks of rest. Hopefully, this will work. It’s no fun playing golf in pain and acquiring more injuries to hamper the activity that I enjoy most.
Golf is a dangerous sport! I picked up a new injury last week. After years of playing with minor injuries here and there on the body, my latest injury is on my right elbow, a new spot. It hurts, ouch.
I have to say I’ve never had tennis elbow issues all these years, but on the left wrist mostly. And I would wear a wrist brace to protect my wrist. The wrist is no longer an issue, thank goodness.
I suspect I picked up the tennis elbow problem from the tournament on Monday two weeks ago. I must have taken too much of a divot. Ouch, again. What else can I do but rest?
But the rest period is not long enough for a full recovery as I’m resting for a few days only when it should be weeks. So, I have to rethink my golf outings if I want a full recovery. Boo hoo hoo.
I’m wondering whether I should give up Homescapes. Every week, I catch up with the end of the game, and it irks me that I have to wait until Friday for the new levels to open up.
If I play the game daily, starting over the weekend, I will hit a roadblock by Tuesday. Then, I have to wait until Friday for the new levels. It has become cumbersome. Should I continue with the game or not? Sigh.
Maybe I’m too dependent on my iPad Mini, which is very unhealthy, Homescapes aside. On days when I’m not golfing, I spend hours and hours on it. So bad! It could be a small step, giving up Homescapes to be less device-dependent. We shall see.
Level 15701 has opened but after completing 50 levels, the wait starts again.
Angieneering 
Remarks