It looks like hubby is not the only person who bakes in our home. M1 is quite a baker too. I supposed this came from her lockdown periods when she was still in the US. With nothing much to do, baking was an outlet to keep busy.
But our other baker bakes adorable stuff. She baked these cute little bear cookies not too long ago. Pretty to look at, delicious to eat too. I hope she will continue to indulge in this whenever she has the time.
It is flattering when your child takes after your interest. The past two years, I tried to get M2 (when she was back for her Summer holidays) to build miniatures with me during our lockdown, but she had no interest whatsoever.
Then when M1 came home this year – and under home quarantine, I gave her a set to do to pass her time. And she thoroughly enjoyed it!
Soon after her quarantine was over, I gave her another set of mine to work on, and I must say, she was very into building miniatures too and finished it in no time. Before I knew it, I bought her another set, and voila! She was churning them out to rival my early efforts’ pace. She has just completed her fourth set.
I’m happy that there is a new fan of DIY miniatures other than me at home.
Suddenly it’s October already! My goodness, where did the time go? M2 has settled back nicely into college mode, while M1 has settled nicely into being home with us. As for me, I decided to return to the stalled DIY miniature project number 17.
It has been super slow with this one, and I don’t know why. But I decided I should get this completed now that we are into October. I have stalled long enough on it. So I’m setting a deadline to wrap it up.
However, since I have started playing golf again and will be out several days a week, I think two weeks is fair to finish the project instead of one week.
DIY project number 20 was quite an enjoyable set to craft. Although I stopped working on it for several days because I was busy with M2 and her leaving, I got back to it immediately when I did not have to worry anymore about her arrival and settling down.
The tail-end of the set was basically to dress it up with the hanging vines and fruits, as I had gotten most of the pieces in place already. It is a rather cute set, I would say.
And with its completion, it now sits in the IKEA display cabinet along with the others. I was contemplating starting a new set when I realized project #17 is still incomplete! Oh no, I have forgotten about it, having sidetracked on it with three other projects. I suppose I should finish it before even thinking of starting another new set.
After such a long hiatus from golf, 20 weeks, to be exact, we are playing our first golf game this morning! Knowing that M2 has arrived safely and self-isolating as required, we don’t have to worry.
Also, as we have passed the 14-days wait period from the second dose, our status has changed to Fully Vaccinated. With this status change, we can go about doing more activities, like playing golf!
Will we play well?
Do we have the stamina?
Will we dunk balls in the water or duff our shots? We will find out!
It was the beginning of Summer when M2 came home, and it was great. With the lockdown imposed, we felt safe in our bubble at home. Then M1 returned from the US not too long ago, and we were complete.
But just when we are comfortable with both girls being home after being empty nesters for some time, the situation has changed again. The Summer holiday has ended for M2, and she has to return to college. Within a short time, we gain one and lose one.
M2’s Summer vacation is officially over, and yesterday, she flew back to Ireland. I’m tracking her journey at flightaware.com as she is still flying when this post is published. I only hope she will be on time to arrive, unlike when M1 returned.
During this pandemic, every country has its safety measures for international travelers. Although Ireland’s SOP is very different from the one imposed in our country, M2 must self-isolate even though fully vaccinated upon arrival. Rules are rules, and they should be abided by to stay safe.
Here’s wishing her all the best for the Fall semester ahead, and stay safe!
Whenever M1 returns from the US, we get a lot of new toys and gadgets! Her return this time is no different, and there are several new fun things again. One of which is my new 32-inch Raspberry Red putter called the Peanut Putter.
A whimsical yet ambidextrous and very easy-to-use putter, I think this will be good for me to reestablish my putting dexterity. Having laid off golf for four months already, I think I have lost some putting ability. Sure we have the chipping net in the garden, but that’s for chipping and pitching. Putting is a different game altogether. And even though we have the putting mat, it is not the same.
So if and when the time is right for us to go back to playing golf, my Scotty Cameron putter will have to make way for my Peanut Putter to debut. I hope the occasion will come sooner than later.
After six and a half years and two degrees later, our M1 is finally coming home. We are, of course, thrilled with her decision. There was quite a fair bit of anxiety for her trying to book her flight home because of the pandemic.
She had two previous bookings canceled by the airlines because of limited flights and transiting countries having strict regulations to deal with the pandemic. What was supposed to be an 18-hour one-stopover journey became a two-stopover and much more than that. Way much more.
The two-stopover flight with Air Canada did not go as planned! The delayed first leg of the journey caused her to miss her connecting flight to Narita Airport for the second leg. Dear, oh dear. And she could not wait for the next available flight out with the same airline as the Covid-19 test would become invalid after 72 hours from testing. Throw in the immigration restrictions of no more than 24 hours for transit.
It’s so stressful to add to the anxiety dealing with new issues like flight timing, and immigration, on top of health.
Thankfully, she found an alternative airline for the same day, but the journey is longer. Oh well, an extended flight is better than being unable to return at all. With cases on the uptrend again, there isn’t much choice. I will be tracking her path on flightaware.com as always. We have to wait another day until she arrives.
Amid this pandemic and trying lockdown, there is good news to share. M1, our firstborn, passed her Masters Thesis Defense yesterday (our time), which is equivalent to the day before for her in the US. It is indeed a blessing to be proud parents again, and we are most thankful this arduous journey is now complete.
This time around, the achievement is more meaningful because she had to endure the lockdowns and work around the disruptions because of the pandemic. And she prevailed. Words pale to describe the relief and joy for all of us. Well done, for lack of a better word; we couldn’t be more proud of your accomplishment.
It’s a week already that M2 has returned and under quarantine. Staying in a modern and comfy room in the city, with three meals each day, I’d say so far, so good, although all she does is eat, sleep, talk to us, and not much else! At least when we talk, we are in the same time zone unlike, when she was still in Ireland on a seven-hour time difference with us.
Soon another week will go by quickly, and she will be truly home. Yay! We plan to have a celebratory garden barbeque for the occasion. Time, hurry on faster, please? I can’t wait!
Angieneering 
Remarks