I thought I was at the tail end of my illness, but nope, it has persisted. I have been feeling so sapped, it’s very tiring, physically and mentally. There has been no will to write or do anything, hence a delayed post this week. This darn virus is so persistent!
But today–after my third visit to the doctor–there’s a breakthrough! I’m feeling slightly better, and what better way to move forward than to begin DIY project number 33! Yay.
Mother’s Day is always a family affair, celebrating the three mothers in the family on Sunday – Mom, myself, and my sister-in-law. A sumptuous lunch and fun jabber to catch up with everyone.
This year, I received a lovely gift. It’s been almost two years since I last worked on building miniatures, and this gift is the perfect one to kickstart this activity again.
Project number 32 was the last miniature I worked on from October 2023, but sadly, I never completed it. I had golf, travel, and games on the iPad Mini, keeping me busy. At this point, I’m not sure if I can complete the set because it’s too tiny.
Anyway, maybe it’s long overdue to spend time building miniatures again. And of late, my golf sucks, and I find no joy in playing, so the timing is just nice to go back to doing things that gave me so much joy.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic dwindled and became a thing of the past, our home activities have reduced to nil as going out and outdoor activities resumed full swing. Working on my DIY miniatures has decreased as I went back to playing golf more frequently. Likewise, hubby has stopped baking. I decided to keep the kitchen stand mixer in storage because there’s no use for it – no more baking by hubby.
Two days ago, M1 had the urge to bake. And out came the kitchen stand mixer after so long. I came home from golf to find these lovely melon buns sitting on the counter to cool. Not only were they gorgeous to look at, but they tasted good. Yum!
Should the mixer remain available or back in storage after this? We have to see the urge. I should be thankful for the unexpected baked goods and not ask too much.
We have two days left of 2023 before we bid the year goodbye. It has been another eventful year for me. As we count down to the New Year, I reflect upon the past 12 months, and here are some highlights of the good times and not-so-good moments.
The biggest highlight would be the two weddings in the family! My only sibling’s twins got hitched within three months of each other. It was a very happy occasion for the family.
Before the weddings, I started 2023 with a bang, getting myself hospitalized for kidney stones. I thought I pulled a back muscle from gardening, but it was more than that. I can laugh about it now!
After that scare, my diet changed to one that is low-oxalate. It took a while to adjust, but I have gotten used to it now. It is always best to stay healthy than to have a recurrence.
The year also saw me having a constant battle with putting. I suffered putting yips every so often with the many rounds of golf I played this year. The musical chair with my Peanut Putter, Scotty Cameron Squareback, and TaylorMade Spider Mini putter choices was a regular practice. Towards the end of the year, I had to retire my Peanut Putter because the grip was disintegrating. Boo hoo hoo. For now, the Mini is in the bag.
There were no family holidays this year as both girls are working, but I’m okay with this. Instead, hubby and I made several golfing trips with friends, locally and abroad. As a result of the constant golfing, my craft work suffered. I slowed down building miniatures, and the latest DIY project, number #32, is incomplete and collecting dust at my workstation. Sigh. Perhaps I can revive it at the beginning of the new year. We shall see.
2023 was not all fun and happy or frustrating. There have been scary moments that I wish not to be repeated. We experienced two spine-chilling episodes with friends after golf, but quick thinking and action saved them. However, no amount of action could save the loss of others due to other issues. Unexpected and untimely, this is the cycle of life, and we have to accept it. I avoid elaborating much on these occasions because I feel it’s best to remember these people in happier times than upon their deaths. Peace be upon their souls.
What will the new year bring for me? It would be materialistic to wish for this and that. I will be practical and say better health more than anything else. With each year passing, the body cannot take the strain regardless of what I do. This dinosaur is getting old!
Well, 2023 has been happy and sad all rolled into one, to sum it up in one sentence. Goodbye 2023, thanks for the memories, and a toast to the year, now stored away as I await the New Year with an open mind.
DIY project number 31 is coming along slowly. Besides building, there are pieces of furniture and accessories that require painting to complete the composition. Otherwise, the set will look different from the picture on the box unless I want a total change. Unfortunately, as much as I enjoy building my miniatures, I find customizing tedious.
Whenever a set requires a paint job for the loose items, I use my acrylic colors. Sometimes, the DIY sets do provide little pods of colors to use. So, I use those because they are of the right colors instead of having to mix the shades myself.
Recently, I discovered a new trick to shortcut this step. Instead of painting, which requires several layers, I use a color marker! And since I have two brown shades, typical for pieces of furniture, it has been okay. The pieces look just as natural. However, I need to replenish my markers soon because they are drying up fast!
Now that I have completed DIY project number 30, it is starting to collect dust (!) because I left it on the dining table. I am in a bind. Do I begin the next one or not? There is no space in the Ikea display cabinet to fit in another set this size. And I don’t have any spare dust covers to protect the completed kit from dust.
Perhaps I should pause my crafting because, just about every other day, I am at the golf course. So any crafting momentum would be slow and not smooth at all.
If I start and crafting is going slow, incomplete pieces will only collect dust at my workstation. It doesn’t have to be a predicament to craft or not, but it is. Sigh.
Public holidays are always a welcome occasion! We had a public holiday in the middle of the week. A break in momentum from golf, work, and routine, so hubby and I took in a movie which was a welcomed change.
So far, it is the only break for July; the next public holiday is at the end of August. Perhaps another movie during that time? Hmm.
DIY project number 30 is such a joy to build. Firstly, everything is so big compared to the past few that I have completed. Those were tiny miniatures, and project number 30 is hardly one!
Although there were occasions I stopped working on the project, the pace has been quite good. The main structure is up, and all the furniture pieces are complete. I believe I can wrap it up within a week or so! Whee.
I wanted to build something special for DIY project number 30, a significant milestone. Several weeks ago, my favorite online shopping website had its 6/6 sales, and something caught my eye!
As it is, I have eight boxes of miniature piling up in my stash, yet I wanted to purchase another. Hoarder. And so, with a click on the mouse, I bought my latest miniature set to be my DIY project number 30. It didn’t take long to arrive; I’m a happy camper.
I started DIY project number 30 last week. Thirty! That’s how many I have done since the pandemic broke three years ago. The first year, I crafted so many; the second year, lesser; and this third year, I have slowed down so much. Oh well, there is a valid reason for this decline.
During the first year, when we had all those lockdowns and MCO (Movement Control Order), I was speed-building miniatures to pass the time at home. In the second year, when the restrictions were lesser, I was back to playing golf, going out, and traveling, and my hobbies – carving and building miniatures, took a backseat. Hence, not that much craft work to show.
With everything opened and the economy in full swing again this year, I find myself busier than ever and going out more. Staying home is only to avoid the heatwave outside. So spending time on my hobbies is much less this year. Nonetheless, however less it has been, I have arrived at number 30 for my miniatures. What a milestone!
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