Tag Archives: Malaysia

New Project Awaits

24 Aug

When I completed the second DIY project, the 3-story bungalow, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I was very motivated by my patience and skills, so much so, I purchased another set to work on! The latest set, also another cafe arrived last week.

My latest DIY to work on

This latest online-purchased set appealed to me because it had minimal fabrics. And its footprint is not very big to clutter the display space when completed.

The parts to another cafe

However, excited as I am, I am not starting on it just yet as I am still working on the 2-story set. Progress has been slow because of the sofa and pillows, and that unexpected bedside table problem. Luckily I managed to resolve that, and I hope to finish this set soonest possible so that I can start on the new one in queue.

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Taking Over

18 Aug

I have taken over M2’s two-story DIY set because she has given up working on it. She has lost interest and has no patience at all. For me, I just cannot bear the thought of it staying unfinished, and collecting dust. So I find myself working on it everyday.

The ground floor is almost complete except for the living room’s sofa and pillows. However, much effort is needed for the first floor that has yet to be put together.

Every night, as I walk past the dining table and seeing the two completed projects, I’d play with the lights to admire the structures. The lighted pieces spur me on to stay focused so that this third set can join the other two to be displayed. But it has been slow.

There are more pillows in this set to work on, and it takes time for the glue to set. I’m not complaining though as I have gotten it down to a pat to do the pillows properly.

I’m sure there will be further progress this week. With Thursday being a public holiday, and I am not playing golf for once, I can focus on this.

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Another Proud Moment

14 Aug
My beautiful home

The two-story bungalow is finally complete! Yay. Towards the end of the project, I was sidetracked with my busy golf schedule, cooking, and my unfortunate mishap. But all’s good now.

The set has been very challenging from the start. From wiring, wall alignments to dealing with fabrics, it was a test of patience and skills. But I suppose I can be forgiven if the set has not been perfect because after all, this was my first DIY project.

Gaps in the wall and windows but not obvious at a glance
Messy wiring & difficult sofas

The wiring was stressful compared to the cafe because firstly, it’s a much bigger set, and secondly, there are more light points. The biggest challenge, however, was dealing with fabrics. The pillows! Ugh. The last few pillows delayed the completion of the set. I sat myself down and got this over and done with when I couldn’t do other things much because of my recent fall.

Citizens of Gigglesville testing the sofas before the pillows were added

It was another proud and exciting moment when I switched on the lights. I could feel a sense of accomplishment. So now, this piece is being displayed on the dining table, together with the cafe.

Looks gorgeous when lighted up!

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A Proud Moment, Part 2

31 Jul

The completed DIY cafe now sits at the dining table and I find myself switching on the lights now and then to admire the handiwork. There’s a sense of satisfaction and joy when I do this.

Until now, I still find myself in awe of the tiny pieces that I had managed to put together. I’m glad M2 helped wherever she could since I don’t think I could have handled gluing the teeny-weeny props deftly on my own.

Plants that were so hard to make and glue up

The decor and overall ambiance of the compact cafe are very busy and packed with so many things. There’s always something to discover or a new angle to admire. When I look at the unfinished bungalow to compare especially the first floor, it looks very empty because things are so spread out. Well, I shouldn’t compare because both sets are different altogether.

Once the swimming pool is up and the lights are functioning, I am sure my DIY bungalow will be equally impressive too.

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First Road Trip Post-MCO, Part 2

20 Jul

The weekend’s post-MCO road trip was nice. The drive up North was pleasant and didn’t take too long. As always, going away is about food. Our first stop was in Ipoh for lunch; we had Chicken Rice and bean sprouts.

The must-eat choice when in Ipoh

After lunch, it was smooth sailing all the way and we arrived by mid-afternoon. The folks are fine and doing good. But weather-wise, it rained a lot so we couldn’t go out. Anyway, with social distancing still in practice, we didn’t want to and was contented just to laze at home.

Before we knew it, it was dinner time! We decided to have Thai food at the restaurant that we visited the last time and discovered the restaurant has changed its name! Despite the change, the food quality was still good.

Previously it was called Khun de Thai

Saturday was our customary golf day. We make it a point, every trip to play at Darulaman Golf Club, which is a short drive away. And I am pleased that this round, I played so much better than all previous games.

After the game, we got boba teas!

The weekend quickly passed with another sumptuous dinner on Saturday night with the parents and an Aunty before we left on Sunday morning. On the way home, we opted for noodles instead of the usual crab porridge at Nibong Tebal and I must say, they were good choices.

The dinner spread for six
Lunch at Nibong Tebal

The journey home was peppered with rain now and then, but not too heavy until it made the drive tiring. It was a good weekend away.

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First Road Trip Post-MCO

17 Jul

We are going on a road trip! Yay. After staying put for four months during this pandemic, it is okay to travel across the state borders now. So hubby has decided it’s time to visit his parents. Moreover, M2 has been back for so long now, it will be good for her to see the grandparents.

We are taking the drive leisurely without any hurry. And no road trip is complete without a stop or two to savor delicious food along the way! We left home at 9.30 this morning and will most likely do lunch somewhere along the way. Hopefully, the traffic won’t be a crawl and we should arrive by mid-afternoon.

And as always, we will be playing a round of golf. Looking forward to the short break away.

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To Walk or Not to Walk

13 Jul

To walk or not to walk 18-holes for a round of golf, that is the question. I thought most in our golf group may not be willing to do so now that the buggy ruling, post-RMCO has been relaxed for twin-sharing but I was wrong.

The Tuesday and Thursday games, played at the Lakes course were on the buggy, twin-share basis, and we had lovely weather which made both outings enjoyable. But the weekend was a different story.

Saturday was again at the Lakes course on the buggy at a snail’s pace because the golf course was packed and the flight in front of us was just terribly slow. We gave up after 15 holes. The wait was unbearable, not just at every hole; it was every shot.

On Sunday, our group’s super-fit elderly asked me (a few days prior) if I would like to join him to walk 18-holes, carrying our bags while our other two flight mates opted for the buggy. He is 78 years old! Amazing… I guess I’m not the only one wanting to do this.

The amazing 78-year-old with his bag and a bucket of sand

We were the first flight out and I certainly enjoyed the company and exercise to keep up my stamina and strength. Moreover, I wanted to do this (walk 18-holes) because I have gained a little weight last week. With restrictions having eased at this recovery stage of the pandemic, and we find ourselves eating out a little more, and it has shown.

So the question to walk or not to walk shouldn’t be raised now that I have another golfer willing to accompany me and I have a reason to do so.

 

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Diversion

10 Jul

There has been no further progress with the DIY 3-story and 2-story houses. Work has stalled because both M2 and I have been very discouraged and aggravated when we have to deal with gluing fabric on wood.

So, we have channeled our energy to focus on hubby’s DIY set instead. It’s not a house like ours, but more of a cafe with lots of plants. And progress on this set has been so much more encouraging because we don’t have to deal with fabrics. None of the parts to assemble the 2-story cafe had any fabrics for us to work with.

Tiny… tiny… tiny!!!

The difference between this cafe and the other two houses is the choice of material. There are lots of paper to fold and glue for the props and these are tinier than the props of the other two houses! Skills to deftly handle them is a must. But the tiniest prop is not paper-based. The coffee grinder had very delicate parts to it and I managed to glue them together.

Smallest coffee grinder EVER!

It has been a good diversion and I guess once the cafe is completed, I will revert to my 3-story bungalow.

Left section of ground level

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Sleep vs Sun

12 Jun

Morning golf is always a challenge, especially when I have to wake up at 5.30 am. It gets tough when the night before was a restless one, and it’s usually the case. I don’t know why. Pre-game anxiety?

It’s always a debate on sleep versus the sun for me. An early tee-off means less sleep and a late tee-off, more sun (and heat) to deal with. Sometimes there’s also rain to contend with regardless of tee-off time, but rain is not the main thing.

Our regular weekend group generally prefers early morning golf. But these days, it is not easy to book an early tee-off at our golf club because of reduced slots. With the CMCO in place, tee-off times are ten minutes apart instead of seven minutes, and this has reduced the playing slots available.

The early slots are gone very quickly if we’re not fast enough to book ahead. Pre-MCO days, we usually tee-off at 7.15 am, but these days, we’d be lucky if we can even get the 7.25 am slot.

This past weekend, we played at the Lakes course on Saturday on a single-player single-buggy basis following the CMCO guidelines. Not the earliest tee-off (8.45 am for me, and 8.55 am for hubby), I thought I’d have the sun and heat to deal with. Luckily it was cloudy and cool, and I had a good game.

The next day, it was a different story. The flight registration for my tee-off at 8.25 am was muddled up, and I was not updated, so this flustered me. Then I misplaced a flight mate’s membership card. Not a good start. Sigh. Thankfully hubby found it before my flight headed to the tee box.

And my woes didn’t end there. The sun was out full force, and I lost focus as the heat got to me. At Hole 13, Par 3 with several houses flanking the hole, I pulled my ball into the backyard of one of the homes, something I’ve never done before! Yikes.

Then I dropped my Maruman Conductor utility club cover somewhere along the walk on the fourth nine on the Hills course. Sadly, I can deem it lost unless someone found the cover and kindly returned it. Boo hoo hoo. On the last hole, I launched my ball into the ditch in front that wasn’t even in play. The putting was terrible, the short game was off, and my flight mate even hit my ball wrongly. You could say I didn’t have a good round.

If anything good that came out of this terrible round of golf, it was the determination to walk the 18-holes carrying my bag with my 11 clubs. And I did it. For this and this only, I felt very accomplished.

Looking back, I’d rather forsake a little beauty sleep for an early tee-off, so I don’t have to deal with the heat and have unnecessary mishaps.

As the country entered its recovery phase on 10 June (CMCO is now Recovery MCO or RMCO), tee-off times have been revised and are no longer ten minutes apart. I hope the coming weekend’s 7.47 am tee-off on both mornings will result in better rounds of golf for me.

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This One Takes the Cake

9 Jun

Hubby’s baking skills have improved. He’s gone on to bake cakes besides bread, cookies and scones as well. He’s done carrot cake a couple of times already. Don’t forget there’s also the team effort apple pie and apple bread bomb.

The scones’ texture and taste were just right

I have to admit, I have gained a pound recently despite the vigorous weekend golf games. Maybe this is insufficient and I need to step up my exercise regime even more if I am constantly savoring all the baked temptations.

The latest effort is a sponge cake with a twist. M2 requested a Victoria Sponge and hubby obliged. But he didn’t want a whole Victoria Sponge cake because he felt that the jam filling would be too sweet.

So he improvised and instead of having a one-flavor cake, he did a half-and-half whereby one half had mixed berries for the Victoria part and the other half had Gula Melaka with coconut shreds. The second flavor was more suited to our tastebuds because the Gula Melaka was drizzled sparingly while the coconut shreds had hints of saltiness to counter the sweetness. Yum.

The half and half sponge cake

Such ingenuity as everyone was able to enjoy their preferred sponge cake without any guilt.

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