Tag Archives: Covid-19

Thrilled by a Kitchen Utensil

25 May

It takes a pandemic to change the behavior of people and how the world functions. We have been under the MCO and now CMCO since 18 March, and during this time, things happen to us. I’m sure we’re not alone on this behavioral change.

We discover ourselves in the midst of the semi-lockdown situation, perfecting our patience and unearthing amazing skills in the kitchen. Whilst my cooking has improved, hubby discovered baking. Who would’ve known?

On top of these, I find myself thrilled by online purchases of kitchen appliances and utensils! Something unheard of pre-MCO life. The first thrill was when the stand mixer arrived some time back. This time, it’s an eight inch baking pan which arrived middle of last week. Yes, an eight inch baking pan!

The thrill of my life!

The pan was specifically purchased for one purpose only and that is to bake apple pies. And since I didn’t go to the office the day it arrived, I efficiently whipped up my apple filling before the water could even dry off the pan after a quick wash upon unwrapping.

Then I waited patiently for hubby to return from the office to prepare the dough. That night immediately after dinner, we got down to baking the apple pie.

Again it was a test of patience – an hour for the dough in the fridge to settle, then another hour to complete the rest of the process and baking.

As soon as the pie came out of the oven and cooled, the three of us polished off three quarters of the apple pie without any guilt. So good, burp.

A successful effort this time!

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The Accidental Baker

22 May

I am bowled over that hubby dearest has taken to baking so effortlessly, like fish to water. I simply do not know where he gets his energy from.

Even after a round of golf, he can still bake whereas I would just keep things slow to a manageable pace. For me, it’s to cool down my body in this furnace of a weather and not sweat any further than what I have already shed at the golf course. But he just goes on.

Last Sunday, after walking 15 holes with me, we got home and two hours later, he whipped up a superb herb whole wheat loaf. And as if that’s not enough, he baked a sponge cake thereafter!

Sponge cake had coconut shreds topping

If you thought I helped in anyway, hardly… I just ate when they were fresh from the oven. Of course this encouraged the accidental baker in hubby.

And as he’s constantly at it, I have to exercise constantly too to balance my intake. The weekend golf games are scheduled already and I am pretty sure the accidental baker will bake after the games.

Weekday efforts: cupcakes, banana bread and mini scones

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A Totally New Gnome, Part 2

19 May

The latest ginormous Gnome is a ginormous challenge. The balance was off and so much effort has gone into it already. Obviously I did not want to waste the piece and decided to reshape things to save it.

It’s coming along

Days when I have the chance to carve, I’d be focused instead of planning on what to cook for hubby and M2. And this worked out.

Originally, I shaved off too much of the shoes and it wasn’t stable on its feet literally. Hence some patch work was needed to increase the footprint and this decision turned out well.

The cap was problematic from the beginning and I stressed over this. So I filed it, vigorously if I may add to shape the overall to look like what it is now. As best as I tried, it is still lop-sided. This fella certainly wears his cap differently from the rest.

I’m at the tail-end working on ginormous Gnome. Despite all the imperfections, I’m rather pleased with the result. The homestretch to complete now is just sanding to fine tune the lines and putty work on the holes before the gesso and paint process.

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Golfing with Conditions, Part 2

18 May

It’s the second weekend in a row that we’ve gone to play golf. By now, golfing with conditions is not that bad, it’s for our safety after all. And it has become second nature to put on a mask whenever we are out and be mindful of social distancing.

There was improvement with this second outing as the legs held up without aches. I was more worn out by the humid weather than the walk itself and was sweating buckets. I came home almost two pounds lighter.

For two days in a row, I walked 15 holes each day and yes, I was carrying my golf bag with ten clubs. Hubby took the buggy and played 18 at the Lakes course on Saturday and walked 15 with me (and two other friends) at the Hills course on Sunday. Compared to the weekend before with nine and 14 holes over two days at the Hills course (not counting the Thursday game), this time there’s an additional seven holes in total for me.

Very good exercise is all I can say and definitely looking forward to the weekend again.

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Golfing with Conditions

15 May

So last week, we went back to playing golf. With the new CMCO now enforced, the Club has conditions to abide by to ensure safety for all.

Wearing a mask and having our temperature taken upon arrival at the Club are now compulsory practices. Golfers have to keep their social distance from each other, so no groups and after game drinks. This is the new normal until June and we’ll have to get used to these practices.

My first golf game after such a lengthy break was quite an experience. OMG, it was so darn taxing on the legs!

The Club has put in place two different guidelines for the CMCO phase: a no buggy rule at the Hills course and a single player per buggy rule at the Lakes course. I played three times, carrying my golf bag, at the Hills course.

I don’t use a trolley for my golf bag and it’s not so much the weight of the bag but the distance to cover on foot. Being confined to the house during the MCO period, the amount of walking I do at home is nothing compared to covering the length of nine holes at the golf course.

My legs felt like jelly and ached beyond belief after my first game last Thursday (it was a public holiday) because I walked so much suddenly. I was wishing them, my legs that is, to fall off my body to reduce the agony. Obviously it didn’t work and I ended up walking weird the next day to manage the nagging pain.

But before the pain could totally subside, the die-hard golfer in me played again over the weekend. Twice mind you as I walked nine holes on Saturday and 14 holes on Sunday! The nine holes was manageable but the 14-holes was quite a killer outing.

Thankfully I had the whole week to recover before the coming weekend games. Phew.

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A New Extension

11 May

Well guess what? Our Movement Control Order (MCO) has been extended but with some modification from what it has been previously. This extension is until 9 June.

A week before Phase Four of the MCO ended, the government recalibrated the situation of the pandemic for the country with a Conditional MCO (CMCO). Basically this meant certain restrictions were relaxed but certain practices were still necessary especially social distancing, donning a mask and sanitizing.

The economy was opened albeit with conditions and we actually went back to the office last week, readjusting how to function with compliance to the conditions laid out. It’s weird to be back in the office after so long.

Other sectors opened too, like golf! We can go back to playing golf. Yay… but with conditions. Everything’s with conditions from now on and we have to get used to it.

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Being Thankful

27 Apr

2020 will forever be etched in stone as the year everyone looked forward to but now wants to forget – for the first half of the year that is. The Covid-19 pandemic has swept across the globe and has caused lives to be upended, events cancelled, routines disrupted and birthday celebrations postponed. Some people even want to reset the year, get a refund for the months lost and such.

For me, I can’t decide what I want but for sure, it’s the first time in my life I’m celebrating a quiet birthday at home, not outside or away. With the MCO in place, there’s no restaurant to go to nor a destination to visit for a getaway celebration.

It’s okay because…

I’m thankful for being healthy;
I’m thankful for my loved ones who are keeping safe;
I’m thankful for my friends who are keeping me sane;
I’m thankful for my hobbies and discoveries that are keeping me occupied, and
I’m thankful for technology for us to stay connected to be closer while staying apart.

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300 Jacks

21 Apr

Towards the end of last week, I started doing jumping jacks. With all this baking and cooking at home, and having stopped the 16/8 diet, I have to do something to counter the intake. Hence, the jumping jack exercise.

Dalgona coffee

We didn’t have a mixer and ten thousand whisks later to yield a sinful glass of Dalgona coffee

Butter cookie

Hubby baked butter cookies. So sweet and buttery, how to resist?

I think it’s an ideal form of exercise without having to go out of the way to exercise. Honestly to even exercise, I feel lethargic just thinking about it! So I find other means to exercise like going up and down the stairs more often, walking more around the house and keeping busy with chores.

Fish & Chips

Team effort for a golden beer batter dinner! So good.

Dhal curry

I even made dhal curry from scratch!

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Fresh from the oven, hubby’s new hobby, baking.

Besides I find setting up to properly exercise not conducive when there are days I actually have some design work to do in between the daily cooking and cleaning. So doing jumping jacks has worked out well.

Each time I’d do a set of 50 and they don’t actually take up a lot of time. Spread out the routine and I find myself doing 300 jumping jacks each day!

I do feel good and less guilty. Why didn’t I think of this earlier?

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MCO Extended, Phase 3

17 Apr

It looks like this Movement Control Order (MCO) is never gonna end as the Covid-19 cases keep growing. There are still idiots who are not abiding the law to stay home. So after the second phase concluded on 14 April, it was extended!

Even my Gnomes are showing the way to do it – stay home!

We are now into our third phase which started on Wednesday, 15 April and will conclude by 28 April. For the record, we have been confined, restricted, staying home and distancing ourselves since 18 March. That’s a whole month already. Dang!

Will we be the same once the MCO is lifted and we are allowed to be out? I think no. Life from then on will never be the same again.

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Baking is The New Normal

14 Apr

After the ‘success’ of the accidental bread last week, hubby urged me to bake another loaf. So I did, just to kill time. And discovered what went wrong with the first loaf.

I got the units wrong! Silly me. The measurement was correct but the unit was wrong. The teeny weeny print on the measuring cup was ‘ML’ which I couldn’t see and I simply assumed it was gram. Signs of being a dinosaur… sigh.

Thinking I had it right, I measured 350ML of flour and not 350G as required by the recipe. No wonder the mixture was watery with the flour ratio way off to the milk. Don’t forget, this was my first attempt at baking a bread after so long. To even attempt something like this, common sense to what was required was not present. Luckily we were able to save the dough with the additional flour thrown in.

So having learnt the mistake, I was more careful with measuring for the second attempt. But patience’s not on my side. I find I don’t have the patience especially when it comes to allowing the dough to sit and rise. I couldn’t wait for the yeast to do its thing.

Unlike baking a cake (from a box that is) where I just throw everything together and pop it in the oven without wasting time, bread making needs more precision and patience.

The second attempt. Ugly but edible

The second attempt turned out a little less stellar than the first loaf but still edible. And since then, it’s hubby who has been baking every other day to pass time. It’s as if baking is the new normal as we continue adhering to the MCO as laid out by the government.

He’s baked several loaves already as well as a batch of bagels. We have so much bread to eat now.

Bread, bread and more bread plus bagels!

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