New Visitors

20 Oct

It was a pleasant surprise when I heard the sound of birds chirping yesterday morning and this morning too. Yes! They are back. The little bird house and the tray of bird seeds finally lured them to our garden.

But to our horror, it isn’t just birds that came. Although it’s at a different part of the garden, hubby discovered a monitor lizard! Gulp. The four-legged fella was roaming on the less frequented side of the garden a couple of days ago. It quickly slipped through the grill and into the drain when it spotted hubby approaching. Yikes. 

Looks like the tortoises cannot come out to the garden to roam freely for a while until we do something about this intruder.
 

Two little birds…

  

and then, there were four!

 

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Full Steam Ahead

18 Oct

Today will be the first day that I will play a full 18-holes of golf. After a 57-day lay off, I think I am ready now. I started out with the driving range, working on my swing again, then a nine- and seven- holes outing. The 7-holes was due to darkness, hence we could not complete the remaining holes.

The wonder gel has worked wonders for the knee so that’s one less problem to worry. The wrist? It’s good too but the thumb, I still have to be careful because the pain does not seem to go away. But then again, at the gym last night, I did 500 reps of everything. Everything that involves the hands, core and legs, and I held up. Thank goodness. Just a little sore here and there but generally okay.

So let’s see how I fare with this full steam ahead step.

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Feeling Restless

17 Oct

For several weekends I have been feeling very restless. It became more pronounced when I had to sit out from golf. And days that we don’t go out and do something, I become an unhealthy couch potato.

There were times I channeled my energy to art. So I painted and carved. But I don’t enjoy it when I am interrupted (mostly by official pet number one’s insistent barking for attention) or be at it for long periods of time. It’s very hard to find a balance. 

The stain glass activity on the whiskey bottles have stopped because I find it very time consuming and tedious. And it hurts my back if I bend over too long. As for the balsa wood carving, it’s very messy because with the ceiling fan on, the light wood chips fly everywhere!

I am torn on what to do next. Should I carve the remaining balsa wood, paint on canvas instead of whiskey bottles or try my hands at something new?

So much creative energy, so little activities…

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Wonder Gel

14 Oct

I was worried that the pain in my left knee would be a setback for me to go back to being active again. I have to do something about it if I am not opting for an MRI scan and undergoing a new therapy session.

It’s coincidental to note that I stumbled upon a sponsored ad for an osteoarthritis gel that specifically treats the problem I am facing. So I went to the pharmacy to inquire about it. But the pharmacist recommended another brand which was just as good. For a slight price difference, the Atroxene gel is twice the volume of Flexiseq but equally good, if not better as it has better active ingredients.

So I have been applying the gel for the pass three days and the results are pretty amazing! Put it this way, it seems to be a wonder gel for I have not felt any pain at the knee. While it may feel like an instant cure, I should still be careful not to aggravate the knee.

Would this be a permanent solution or a temporary remedy? Only time can tell.

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It’s a Wrap!

13 Oct

Yesterday was the last PT3 exam paper for M2 and we went out for a nice dinner to celebrate. For the past two months, we saw a new side of her that we never knew existed. Amazing trait for a 15-year old I must say.

Every day, yes, every single day for the last two months, she would sit at the dining table, with books piled up high, and prepared for this exam. And the last two weekends, we stayed around to give her support wherever possible. If anything else, physical presence for comfort and positive vibes to feel good.

There was no need to tell her to study nor was there any need to worry that she won’t do it. She was just so into it, so determined and motivated. 

In fact, the last two nights, she stayed up until 2.00am in a last gasp effort to refresh her memory on topics she covered earlier. Unlike M1 who would wake up at 5.00am to study in the bathroom so that the bedroom remains dark for her sleeping sister and it feels safer (I don’t know know why) than in the living room, M2 prefers to be a night owl to do her studying. Although I disagree with M2’s method because it deprives rest and sleep, I did not want to dismiss her efforts and am thoroughly amazed at her dedication. I was never like that in high school nor college.

The desire to succeed is far greater in her than me. At this point, it doesn’t matter what the outcome of the exam would be, I am just very proud of her. I just hope there won’t be disappointment when the results come out two months later. 

She had lamented once the what if scenario that all her efforts would be wasted if the results are not up to expectations. To this, we told her it is always the effort (journey) and not the result (destination) that matters and one must never feel that the effort is wasted. Along the way, one learns, grows up, sees things in a different light and ultimately, be a better person.

So M2, stand proud and be proud for what you have done the past two months. We are definitely proud of you. Totally deserving of the dinner celebration!

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Mixed Feelings

11 Oct

It was encouraging when I went to the driving range last Thursday night. So over the weekend, I decided to take a step further and played nine holes. It felt good!

There were definitely some distance issues but like I said, this problem can be fixed. Overall, I was pleased. However, a new problem crept up. I cringe thinking about it. It’s my knee this time. Thank goodness we took the buggy instead of walking the whole nine holes.

There was pain, sometimes excruciating when walking on uneven terrain and this does not look good. And to confirm my fear, last night during gym, I just couldn’t do certain routines involving the legs. Sigh…

Speaking of gym, the hands and upper body worked fine. I was back to using my usual four pounder dumb bells. And was even doing some upper body routines on the weight system. But the knee…

I am having a follow-up therapy this morning and will be discussing this new development with my doctor. Sigh…

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A New Home

10 Oct

I’ve been wanting to buy a new home for the birds ever since the old one was disposed of. And over the weekend, the opportunity presented itself when we had to drive pass the shop that sells all kinds of bird houses and garden furniture.

There were many choices but we opted for something not too big and this time, a white abode instead of brown.

Let’s hope the birds will appreciate our choice and come by soon! We’ve even put out a tray of bird seeds to ensure they do.

  

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I Am Pleased

7 Oct

I went to the driving range last night. After close to a seven-week lay off (45 days to be exact) from swinging a golf club proper, I am back at it. Chipping in the garden does not count because it is not a full swing like being at the range. 

My wrist injury has recovered well with therapy and rest during this time. At the last visit for the weekly therapy, my doctor had finally approved for me to take this next step.

It was good but I had trouble with my five iron. And I seemed to have lost some distance. But I think a couple more visits to the range should get these issues fixed so I am not worried. The woods and driver impacted decent and the short irons well. It was encouraging. 

I felt it was unnecessary to push myself to do 100 balls, so I hit only 50 balls. After the session, there was some slight pain but not excruciating which my doctor highlighted to me was to be expected. Once I got home and iced the hand, it was okay.

Looks like the road to recovery is looking good! I am pleased.

  

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The Other Senior Citizen Pets

6 Oct

I confess… Rooney is not the only senior citizen pet that we have. In fact, there are two others, one which is much older than him and another, about the same age as him.

Unofficial pet number one is actually our green terrapin turtle. We have had Todd for the longest time. In fact, he is much older than M1 and M1 is 19 this year. And being a senior citizen, Todd also has his fair share of issues. Unlike Roo, his issues are health related. 

Several years ago when hubby and I were leaving for London on a business trip, Todd had floating issues and the girls, along with Grandma had to take him to the vet for a week for his daily jab. Fast forward to now, it looks like this problem has recurred.

Poor thing. When we put him in the community pond to chill with all the fishes in there, he just floats and cannot submerge. We will have to monitor his well being.

Then we have another senior citizen. Our regal Arowana. If memory serves me well, Miao-Miao came along before we adopted Roo. Miao-Miao? Another time for the story behind the name. He is one pretty fish. Thankfully, Miao-Miao does not have any issues also, only an occasional diet preference. Definitely nothing compared to the Roo.

Maybe these two are harder to interact with because of their need to be in the water, hence Rooney became official pet number one. Nonetheless, we love them all.

Sigh… Pets. What would our lives be without them?

   
    
 

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Blessing in Disguise

4 Oct

I thought Monday being a replacement holiday was a blessing in disguise because I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning on Sunday to watch the Ryder Cup until almost the end. The singles battles were thrilling and was of epic proportions especially certain match ups. Sleep and the comfort of my bed could not match them!

And when one stays up until 5.30am, it sure would be tough to wake up three hours later to get ready to go to the office. Thankfully it didn’t have to be like that. Never have I been so caught up with live showing of any sports and following it so closely, not even the recent Olympics because of the time difference; sometimes it’s a putt off. But not so with this year’s Ryder Cup and the 13-hours time difference.

It was worth it! Well done Team USA.

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