DIY Project #14 or 12B, Part 3

11 Jun

I breezed through DIY project number 14 or 12B effortlessly. I guess when I put all my energy and focus into it, the job gets done faster. Despite it being a complicated set, it was challenging yet enjoyable, and I finished it in 13 days. Quite a feat, I’d say.

Welcome to my Bookstore!
Lovely angles of the Bookstore

But soon after the completion, I decided to take a break from building miniatures. And instead, I channeled my creativity back to carving! It felt good.

Not whales because I ran out of the specific wood size, nor Citizens of Gigglesville but Gnomes, albeit a different approach. I found a forgotten piece of wood and decided to carve three Gnomes in one go.

A trio of Gnomes!

It has been very exhilarating to carve again. My progress so far is pretty good, and as I anticipate the MCO will extend for another 14 days until the end of the month, I can get this display piece completed in no time. Awesome.

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Anxiety Purchase

8 Jun

My stash of DIY projects has been reduced down to three when I started DIY project number 14 or 12B. At the pace that I am at for the latest one, I can complete it today, in record time, instead of taking another week because the three lights turned out far easier to work on than I anticipated.

And as I plan to combine project numbers 15 and 16 to become one set, my stash of three will suddenly deplete even faster. If this plan materializes, I will be down to one last project to do. Oh no.

So I had no choice but to buy some more to have a sense of security. In a spate of two days, I purchased three new sets from my regular online shopping site. You could say it was an anxiety purchase to feel secure. Two out of the three sets have arrived.

The third package should arrive soon. I can’t wait.

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DIY Project #14 or 12B, Part 2

7 Jun

I threw myself into working on DIY project number 14 or 12B with a dedication unseen before. Maybe this time around, with the recent loss of a friend and the MCO cabin fever of staying indoors for so long, is getting to me.

Nonetheless, I am pleased with the pace that I am at for this set. I reckon I can finish it in another week’s time, a record of sorts for a complicated set, taking only three weeks; a far cry from the last project that took almost three months.

Books galore and a lamp post challenge

But I now face the most challenging part for any DIY miniatures – working on the sofa chair and three lights. Typically, it is the fabric, lighting, or wire works that pose a challenge. I hope these challenges don’t derail the completion.

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A Terrible Loss

4 Jun

This fight against the pandemic becomes more urgent and personal when it hits you to the core because it’s someone you know and not a number on the daily statistic.

Yesterday I lost a friend to Covid-19. Rest in peace, my friend. I have no words to say.

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DIY Project #14 or 12B

1 Jun

Soon after completing DIY project number 13 or 12A, I jumped right into working on project number 14. As I am not keen on the numbers 14 (and 13), being superstitious, this set has another number, 12B, like the recently completed set.

The project started well. It’s a bookstore, and there are many books to make. But several days into it, I hit a snag! Uh oh.

I glued the books down on the orange shelf wrongly. And now it looks weird, but I guess nobody would know if I didn’t say anything, right?

I have to be more careful from here on.

Books, lots of book and pictures for this set!

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Total Lockdown

31 May

Just when we thought we were managing well, Covid-positive cases exploded out of control. We are now facing a total lockdown again come tomorrow for two weeks. So all that discipline staying home since the beginning of May has come to nought.

We now have another week of staying home instead of until 7 June with this total lockdown imposed. The new lockdown comes into effect from 1 June until 14 June.

What can we say or do except to be good and stay at home?

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DIY Project #13 or 12A, Part 3

28 May

DIY project number 13, otherwise known as 12A, to avoid superstition, is finally a wrap! Yay. This project took a long time, almost three months. Typically I would take about five weeks to finish a DIY miniature but not this one. Jinxed from the beginning, I encountered a lot of hiccups and distractions to stay focused.

But I’m glad I managed to complete the set during this lockdown. With no golf and hardly any work to do at the office, heck, we don’t even physically go to the office anymore; I had all the time in the world to work on it.

Carl’s Fruit Shop became The GrocerGie

I customized a lot on this set, changing it from what it’s supposed to be, and it has turned out very different. I like it very much as it is now my little masterpiece personalized right down to the name!

Lots of tiny details!
A lovely finish in the end!

The next day, without sitting on my laurels, I started on DIY project number 14 or 12B, as 14 is also a superstitious number. Let’s hope the timeline to work on this one will be better.

The next project!

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Doing Something, Part 2

25 May

Our doing something during this lockdown is the daily baking and cooking; throw in the daily efforts on the DIY project and chipping in the garden is not sufficient to pass the time. And we don’t sweat enough but end up eating more instead because of all the food efforts.

We decided to work on the garden again, focusing on the area at the side of the house. The plan is to convert a tiny plot to become a vegetable patch.

But before we could sit down to work out the idea, we jumped ahead and made another area into a pineapple patch!

Our pineapple patch!

Hubby relocated all the pineapples to one plot instead of being in pots and scattered around the garden. I think they look good being there. Furthermore, the plot is easier to protect from the squirrels. Remember that one time, the rascal of the squirrel ate our pineapple right in front of our eyes?

We look forward to the day the pineapples are ready to be harvested for our consumption.

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Breaking 90, Part 2

24 May

My recent improvement in golf is due to the YouTube golf instructor that I have been following for the past 11 months. There is an abundance of golf instructors out there on YouTube. It’s just a matter of preference and style, and whatever suits your ability.

Initially, I followed Shawn Clement but, later, found his methods do not quite suit my ability. So I surfed and discovered two other instructors, Danny Maude and Chris Ryan. However, it was a toss-up, and I ended up with Chris over Danny. And I’m glad I stuck with him.

My short game improved, my drives are further than ever, and my ball striking is getting better. Pretty amazing what one can find on YouTube for self-improvement and self-enrichment!

But with the current MCO in place, all that improvement has been wiped out, having to stay at home and no golf ever since my last game on 4 May. The only consolation is I can still do chipping in the garden for up to a 20-feet distance.

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Challenge Deferred

21 May

Earlier in April, I talked about the Iron Challenge in my golf club and was excited about the tournament. For a couple of games, I even resorted to using only my irons to practice and kept the driver, wood, and utility clubs out of the bag. It was going well, and the mind frame was ready until the recent lockdown.

This morning, I looked at my calendar and realized the tournament would have been tomorrow if it wasn’t for the lockdown. Somehow, I overlooked removing the event from my calendar. And how unfortunate that it has been postponed again for the second time.

I hope when the pandemic situation becomes more manageable and the lockdown lifted, we can go back to playing golf. And hopefully, the Iron Challenge tournament will be reinstated. Is this wishful thinking as cases are soaring beyond control?

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