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.
Usually, on the golf course, we encounter all sorts of creatures. Never in my life would I think I would see otters, though, at a golf course other than at the zoo.
On Tuesday, during my weekly weekday golf game, we saw a family of otters scurrying across the fairway right in front of us!
Six of them in the pack were running from Hole 11 at the Lakes course onwards to Hole 8 when we just teed off. Then, as we drove the buggy along the cart path, they jumped into the pond nearby only to surface and romp across to the adjacent Hole 7. What a delightful encounter!
DIY project number 17 is finally a wrap! Dang, this project is by far the longest one that I have taken. There were so many hiccups along the way in so many forms. Time management and the appeal of the tasks in hand were the two main reasons that stalled the progress, as in housework, cooking, golf, clay work, and mini plants to make.
Along the way, I did not like what I had to do, so I changed the layout, color scheme, and pieces to put the whole set together. In the end, I must say I like what I have done, so this made up for the duration I took.
Well, now that it is a wrap, I can finally move on to the next project!
I am still not used to waking up at 5.30 am to play golf. It is always a catch 22 situation. Should we be the first flight to tee off to enjoy the morning cool weather? Or should we tee off a little later and deal with the heat towards the last few holes?
Sometimes the weather makes a big difference in performance. But then again, when there is lovely weather, the game is just not clicking in every area, like my recent game. My golf mojo is erratic.
The cloudy sky and cool weather were perfect golf weather, but the game was not as envisioned. Drives were errant; irons shots were sloppy, chips and putts were not happening. Why, why?
There were a lot of unnecessary mistakes and costly strokes. Sigh. So demoralizing after that second game that was so good. I seem to be consistently inconsistent more than anything else. Sigh again.
I play another game today, and let’s hope for a better outcome.
Suddenly it’s October already! My goodness, where did the time go? M2 has settled back nicely into college mode, while M1 has settled nicely into being home with us. As for me, I decided to return to the stalled DIY miniature project number 17.
It has been super slow with this one, and I don’t know why. But I decided I should get this completed now that we are into October. I have stalled long enough on it. So I’m setting a deadline to wrap it up.
However, since I have started playing golf again and will be out several days a week, I think two weeks is fair to finish the project instead of one week.
Waking up at 5.30 am for golf is no fun. I have forgotten what it’s like to function with so little sleep. During the lockdown, I slept and woke at my own pace, and certainly not like this. Despite the lack of sleep, there was a big difference in performance when I played my second golf game over the weekend. It was a 13 strokes difference, to be exact, from last Tuesday’s first game after 20 weeks!
The tee-off and irons were so much better, as with distance. But I stuck to the five-wood instead of my favorite three-wood for the time being because I still can’t get the hang of it. And I couldn’t putt on the front nine and three-putted on five holes! Terrible.
When we crossed over, the back nine yielded better putting ability. Imagine if I had done this earlier; the 13 strokes difference could have been even more!
Well, I believe things can only improve from here on. It should be enjoyable again playing golf with the mojo back and better sleep time management. And with the lockdown restrictions reduced on outdoor activities, I foresee us golfing twice or thrice a week in no time.
So Tuesday was our first golf game after a 20-weeks breather. Did we play well? It depends on how the categorizing to determine what is well and what is not.
First and foremost, the tee-off. It was good and not too good. At the first tee box, I launched the ball straight, and the second shot was decent to the apron of the green. Then the chip-in was very good because this was the type of shot I practiced a lot during the lockdown.
The Peanut Putter debuted, and the two feet par putt was a good opening performance. Then the momentum for the rest of the game was up and down. I was adjusting my swing constantly to get it right. The long irons and the three wood were harder to handle compared to the short irons and putter. The putter was stroke-saving to make one or two putts most of the time. It was only when the green was slopy, the line reading was off.
All in all, I lost only two balls–one went into the pond, and the other wayward upon tee-off–and I lost some distance because of erratic shots. Whatever problems I encountered for this first game can be resolved when I play more from now onwards. It’s a decent return.
I play my next golf game this weekend, and we’ll see how I fare next.
After such a long hiatus from golf, 20 weeks, to be exact, we are playing our first golf game this morning! Knowing that M2 has arrived safely and self-isolating as required, we don’t have to worry.
Also, as we have passed the 14-days wait period from the second dose, our status has changed to Fully Vaccinated. With this status change, we can go about doing more activities, like playing golf!
Will we play well?
Do we have the stamina?
Will we dunk balls in the water or duff our shots? We will find out!
Now that I am officially fully vaccinated, after waiting for two weeks from the second dose, I am contemplating several changes in my lifestyle. First and foremost, should I go back to playing golf? Or should I wait it out a little longer?
When one’s status is Fully Vaccinated, you are allowed more activities to return to normalcy. Almost all sectors in the state where I stay are now open, so that’s good. Then again, I shouldn’t be too hasty to go out, dine in at a restaurant, or be out from the comforts of home. After all, I am equally comfortable being home doing what I have been doing all this while.
I will take things easy and perhaps attempt to play one game. I only hope I have not lost my ability to swing my golf clubs well. We shall see – stay tuned on this.
Remarks