During the 11.11 online shopping promotion, I did not disappoint myself. Joining in the fray for online shopping, I bought five new miniature sets to add to my stash! But I have to admit, out of the five, two sets are mine while three are for M1, who has taken to crafting miniatures.
I guess my stash will never deplete if I keep buying at every sale opportunity. Well, it helps the economy, and crafting miniatures keep me busy. It’s a win-win situation.
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.
After the short getaway, it’s back to the daily routine. And this includes getting back to crafting miniatures. I have rested long enough, and the stash is piling up.
After some thought, I have decided to work on a mini-set, which generally is a feel-good piece to do. And this shouldn’t take too many days. Tops, I would say two weeks, inclusive of some off days and golf days.
A mini set is perfect because I am running out of display places. The Ikea display cabinet is chock-full of DIY miniatures of all sizes, and any larger ones would not fit. But I can squeeze in the tiny mini ones.
Perhaps my next purchase should be another Ikea display cabinet to house all my miniatures. Hmm, it’s a good thought.
By the way, I am bypassing carving the second Gnome Trio. The mood to carve is not quite happening. So back to crafting miniatures to keep busy is best.
After almost two years (since March 2020) of staying put, we finally had the chance to travel again. Over the weekend, we drove up North to visit hubby’s parents. It was July last year that I last saw them when there was a window for interstate travel during the pandemic.
The past two years, the furthest I have left the house was to the city center to run some office errands. Moreover, it was only when interstate travel was allowed, and even then, it was not frequent. So this trip to visit the folks was such a welcome.
I must say, they are fine, and we had a good but short getaway. I managed to catch up on my sleep and rest. We did not play golf, which was just as well because it rained every day. So instead, we spent quality time together. Although it was a short getaway, it was a good one.
It is nice to take a few days off from crafting miniatures. My little workstation never looked more organized and clean! But rest on my laurels I must not, for there are other things to do.
So I am back to carving the second Gnome Trio. This piece has been left unattended for far too long. And if I intend to gift it to the person I have in mind, I better sharpen all my carving tools and get back to the grind on this.
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.
True to my estimates, I completed DIY project number 21 before the weekend! It was a delightful end to this simple and uncomplicated set to do. The time taken was not too long, and there were even days when I did not work on it at all because I was out playing golf.
The only thing I changed, or should I say, added, were the two Little People to complete the cuteness of this set. Now it sits in the Ikea display cabinet with the other completed ones. For now, I am on a break from crafting miniatures and contemplating the next one to do.
Perhaps I really should get back to completing the second Gnome Trio carving, which has been left unattended for some time already. Hmm.
The vegetable patch in the garden is slowly showing some yield. It is one okra at a time! The last time I checked, there was one almost ready for harvest and another coming soon.
Then two days later, we harvested that first okra. At almost five and a half-inch, it is a good size. As the plant is healthy and fruiting often now, we should see a constant yield.
It doesn’t matter whether it is one at a time – as long as we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor, that is, by far, the most important thing.
I decided to work on the micro-miniature-in-a-box for my 21st DIY project. After the experience with project number 17, which resulted in me deviating to several other projects, a small and easy miniature is logical to maintain my interest in crafting these little things.
And so far, it is going well. Although I stopped a couple of days for golf and even went out for meals and shopping, the pace is not lost. I should be able to complete the set before the weekend is here! Yay.
The year seems to have breezed by so quickly. Despite months of being in lockdown and going through the daily motion repetitively, the time has gone by so fast. I guess it is when we occupy ourselves doing things that we enjoy that time goes by faster.
The lockdown phases have passed, and every sector of the economy in the country is now open. My golfing days have increased as well, so this means less time on crafting my miniatures. It’s okay as I am running out of space to display the completed sets.
Let’s hope the remaining two months of 2021 will give us some happy memories to reminisce in years to come; otherwise, we may have to lump it with 2020 as another year to forget and wish it never happened.
Angieneering 
Remarks