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.
We decided to take the days by the horn and keep busy. Doing something is better than doing nothing. Hubby would bake while I worked on my DIY project are the given.
We even started chipping in the garden, trying out the various wedges that we have. And we experimented with new menus for our meals.
The no-cheese pizza was simply delicious last night and the pancakes this morning were so satisfying. Now, if we can keep up the variety and activities, we shouldn’t worry about the remaining MCO days ahead.
I feel this round of MCO is taking its toll on us. It is only Day Five, and we are restless. Although hubby did bake, and I did work on my DIY project, it is not enough. At times, we feel as if we are doing nothing.
Thank goodness for my Apple Watch and the Activity monthly challenge. Without this, I would have been an assured couch potato. The Activity challenge keeps me on my toes to exercise and stay fit.
The days better hurry to go by quickly, for we can’t wait to go back to interacting with people, playing golf, and having more productive days.
As anticipated, MCO 3.0 was enforced for six districts in the state, starting from 6 May until 17 May. Here we go again, homebound but two days shy of the usual two weeks.
A day before the official start, I didn’t go to the office and was bored to tears. Time went by so slowly. Oh dear, will I be able to handle this round of staying at home? We will find out.
The next day, I kept busy with house chores. And when there was a window of opportunity, I got down to working on DIY project number 13 or 12A. I must say there was good progress and I’m pleased. Hubby also got down to baking. If we keep these activities up to pass our time, we should be okay.
Piecing everything together!A quarter was gone before the cake even left the cutting board!
On Sunday, after our weekend golf game, we heard rumors of an impending lockdown again. MCO 3.0. Oh dear, here we go again! Well, this enforcement is unavoidable given that there has been a steep surge in cases.
The country has breached the three thousand mark for several days already, and the healthcare system is, again, stressed to the max. So something needs to be done for the healthcare system to cope with the situation.
If MCO 3.0 comes into effect for the usual two-week duration, playing golf is out of the question because it is a non-essential activity. Likewise, going to work is out of the question, as our business is a non-essential service. I certainly would have plenty of time being home to finish up DIY project number 13, or rather, 12A.
I figured out why progress has stalled for DIY project number 13 or 12A – it’s my time management. I have been going to the office daily as well as playing a little bit more golf. As a result, there’s hardly any time to sit down to work on the project.
However, it is also procrastination to get going because of the stage where I am. I’m supposed to put stems for all the fruits and vegetables from the itty bitty beads. And it’s not easy, so I have been putting it off.
Look at the itty bitty pieces! Twirling the paper to make a long stem, then cutting it to make tiny stems. Crazy.
I keep telling myself it is not the superstitious jinx of the project number but simply my time management. As of now, I have set a new target for myself to get the job done. The other DIY sets have collected too much dust already.
As I have slowed down working on my DIY miniature sets, I have also stopped buying them, although there are several appealing sets that I have been eyeing. A pause on more purchases is the logical thing to do. What is the point of getting more when there’s not much progress?
However, there is no pause in the itch to buy things from the online shopping site. So I ended up buying little people for my miniatures! I have made three purchases already, and all the little people are of various sizes. It’s hard to get the right-sized people, even though measurements are provided, to fit all my completed different miniature sets sitting in the IKEA display cabinet.
If I am persistent on this, I guess I have to keep buying the little people until I get it right!
The little people range from an inch, 1.5 inches to 2.25 inches tall.
Whether I like it or not, subliminally, I think DIY project number 13 or 12A is a jinx. I have not sat down at my little workstation to work on it for almost two weeks. Then again, I have been busy with house chores, office work, and of course, golf games.
Four more DIY sets are waiting in the queue, and it’s a long wait. Thank goodness I have stopped buying more DIY sets from my favorite online shopping site. I have to be more disciplined and forget the superstitious number attachment. Otherwise, I may hold off finishing the set, horror of all horrors to even think this, and jump straight to DIY project number 12B. It will be a first for me to abandon a project midway.
The progress for the latest DIY project has been at a snail’s pace. Could it be due to the superstitious stigma of the number 13? I should refer to it as 12A; then there won’t be all these clouds of doubts or distraction.
But I have to admit, the pieces of this set are very tedious and minute. And I find myself feeling intimidated having to make all those minuscule fruits and vegetables. Sigh. So I have been procrastinating, hence the slow progress. The Chinese instruction manual does not help. Luckily, I managed to download an English PDF version of the manual to cross-check.
Every day, I try to get a piece done up, even if it is at a snail’s pace. Something better than nothing, right? Also, this set is very different from all the others that I have completed.
There are more hands-on steps required, as in painting up pieces of furniture and accessories. Things like the display racks and cabinets need either a paint job or sanded down for a worn look. Vegetable stalks, as well as their display wraps, also require painting! So much work.
The eye-boggling step for the display wraps involves untwirling the paper rope to spread it open before painting! Unbelievable and a real test of patience. With so much effort put in, I’d like to customize the set to my liking by changing and omitting things. We’ll see how it goes as I progress along.
The past year during our various MCO (Movement Control Order) to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, hubby learned to bake while I cooked. Initially, I baked using ingredients from ready cake-mix boxes, but baking did not interest me. So I stopped and, instead, focused on cooking to expand the menu for our meals.
But hubby enjoyed this activity and baked stuff from scratch. Admirable considering the kitchen was never his place to be, more in the garden. And we had a variety of baked goods. From scones, cakes, and all sorts of bread, I have never eaten so much of these things daily prior.
Hubby’s lovely herb bread……and perfectly shaped cranberry scones
Once in a blue moon, I itch to bake, and I only do one thing – apple pies. And mind you, I do just the filling; hubby prepares the dough. I don’t know why I find this fun. But my approach to this is more by feel than by measured steps. Nothing is ever accurate because I always read the instructions halfway, never pass what is needed. So the amount required is sometimes missed out!
And you can imagine what comes out when I bake! When hubby bakes, the result is predictable and almost to perfection. Occasionally, a slight burn on the scone surfaces or the bread did not rise. But we know what to expect. When I bake, well, you don’t know what to expect. Thank goodness, I don’t bake so often, if not at all!
My recent attempt was the perfect example. I was craving apple pies, but hubby was not too keen. So he suggested I use ready-made puff pastry skin. Knowing I will mess up the dough part of the pie, I agreed.
The apple pie recipe that I scribbled on a paper was missing from the kitchen counter! Oh dear, so I had to google it up again. When I found something similar to what I had in mind, I just read half of it and jumped right in. Very brave because I used only the ingredients that we have, skipping those that we don’t. The only thing I measured was the amount of sugar. The rest was just thrown in by looks and feel.
And I had to improvise because, with puff pastry, I was making puffs now instead of apple pies. Hubby was appalled at the situation because nothing was standardized! Besides the pie-looking puffs, there was also a real puff, a dim sum, a wrap, and a blob. It was spectacular!
My spectacular apple puffs of all shapes!
He could not understand why I can craft laboriously on DIY miniature houses and cafes with their minuscule detailed accessories, but not the apple pies, or in this case, apple puffs. Hmm, unexplainable.
Horrid as they look, they turned out good, I must say. The filling was just right in taste, while the puff pastry was perfectly flaky and buttery. Will I bake again? Well, there’s another pack of the puff pastry in the freezer, and I just might. Whether the taste will be the same or what they will look like remains, we will only know when that day comes.
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