I finally completed DIY project number five. Phew. Towards the end of the project, it was mostly frustration I felt. The instructions were vague, making the chandelier was challenging, and then I discovered there was another chair to make! That makes it nine chairs altogether.
Had to be creative to make the chandelier parts stickWeighing down the lights for the glue to setChairs, chairs, and more chairs!
Project number five is a container cafe, and it has so many chairs. And I found assembling the chairs a bit funny, gluing paper to the chair seat and backrest. I bypassed this step and painted the chairs instead. Then again, making chairs from scratch isn’t the easiest either from experience dealing with the chairs in DIY project number four.
These are not the easiest to make
Overall, there’s so much paper, not just small pieces but big pieces to work with for surfaces of all sizes, come to think of it. After a while, it was ridiculous. Why so much paper? Argh.
Such a tiny cafe and one chandelier is not working. Hrmph.
And when I thought I was on the last stretch to finish the set, the wiring for the lights gave me problems! Sigh. One of the chandeliers could not light up, and I cannot figure it out. So I gave up fixing it. I am glad I persevered and completed the set. It will now be on display with the other completed projects on the dining table.
Last week, the CMCO phase was enforced, and there was confusion as far as activities are concerns. Initially, I thought it would be a blanket ruling, and no golf allowed because the situation now is very different from the first CMCO period. The sudden steep spike in Covid-19 positive cases in the country is worrying so much so, the authorities decided to reinstate the CMCO to curb the contagion.
Well, golf is allowed but back to the single-buggy single-player ruling. However, if hubby and I play at the same time, both of us can share a buggy because we are from one household.
Contrary to this option, we can choose to use the golf trolley or carry our bags if we play at the Hills course of our club. So far, I have had a mixture of the single buggy, shared buggy, and golf trolley games the past week. I anticipate the same again for this week’s games.
Hopefully, positive cases will decrease and the CMCO lifted by the end of the second week. We can only hope. Until then, golf rules for social distancing remains as is.
I have been working on DIY project number five for almost three weeks now. And boy, does it have its challenges, unlike the previous projects. One would think that with the instructions in English, it would be a breeze.
Contrary to feeling good, I’m stressed instead. There were signs of problems at the outset, but I chose to ignore them. However, as I progressed along, the issues became more glaring.
There were missing pieces and incorrect sizes of paper in ratio to the corresponding wood. Luckily, I managed to figure out the solutions to overcome them.
Ice cream stick to the rescue again!
The most glaring problem was the lack of an inventory checklist. I had to rely on the pictorial guide in the manual, which wasn’t very clear to figure out things. Most of the packages are labeled ‘A’ – making it hard to find the pieces. When the instructions called for an item from package ‘A’ to paste to paper, I cannot find the said item. It was very exasperating.
Every pack is labeled ’A’!
The instruction manual is another issue. Printed in A4 and 14 points (sometimes 18 points) font-size does not necessarily mean they are clear! The instructions are vague, and I found myself at a loss sometimes.
Sigh. I come across as not enjoying working on this set. Well, I have to finish it regardless.
Just when we think the pandemic situation in the country is under control, things have taken a turn for the worse! Cases are on the rise, and the government has just announced that the CMCO (Conditional Movement Control Order) will take effect for three states by tomorrow until 27 October. Oh, dear.
Schools are closed, parks and places of worship will also be closed during this period. All sports activities, social, cultural, and wedding receptions are also not allowed. I guess this means no golf for the next two weeks!
Sigh. We were anticipating this measure to be taken when there was a sudden spike in Covid-19 positive cases recently. When will this ever end? We are back to square one on our fight with the virus.
Two weeks have gone by so fast, and M2 has completed her self-isolation. We are most pleased to say that she has a clean bill of health.
As such, she will leave the quarantine quarters and check into the dorms officially. And she has two days to organize herself before classes begin on Wednesday. Yay.
We ran out of bird seeds and haven’t had the opportunity to swing by the pet shop to replenish. So the birds are not happy.
In the last two days, our daily visitors had nothing to eat and were disappointed. And curious at the same time, because they can see us but not their food. So much so, they even daringly came into the house as if to inquire about the sudden drop in service!
Hello! Anybody home? We’re hungry
I sat at my carving spot and managed to take a picture without alarming them. It would be utter chaos if they were spooked and attempted to fly off. Luckily the curtains were drawn, and two sauntered off soon after without any incident.
It’s been a while since I last used my mini drill. Last week, I decided to use it and inadvertently caused a mini double accident.
The DIY cafe was at the tail-end of completion. I had to drill a little hole for the wire from the table to go underneath to connect to the rest of the wires at the other end. But things did not go as planned.
I switched on the drill and tripped the power in the house. Oops. Initially, I thought it was the adapter plug but on further tests, it’s the drill. Sigh. I’ll deal with this another time.
Immediate attention was on the hole to drill. So I had to poke a hole manually with my carving tools. Luckily, the base wood isn’t that hard. I just had to be patient but persistent.
The hole for the wire that caused the accident
I tilted the cafe at an awkward angle to get a comfortable position. And accidentally tilted a wee bit too much, the whole cafe fell off the table! I was horrified.
Clothes pegs are useful gadgets to use!
Thankfully the damages weren’t too bad. Only the back roof truss broke, the bar stool top came off and a flower fell out of place.
With a little creativity, the roof truss was glued and held back in place, while the other two were glued back without issues. As it was last bit of this project, I finished it without further challenges.
M2 flew off yesterday evening. My heart was heavy, and there were tears, mostly mine when I hugged her ever so tightly. The time has come to let her go, now that her college is ready to welcome back returning students.
We arrived at the airport early and waited for a bit before the check-in counters opened. Most of the passengers were young adults, students like M2, returning to their respective universities.
The airport was not a bustling hive of activity like the pre-pandemic days. The place looked gloomy. The ever-popular KFC and McDonald’s were shuttered since 18 March, the start of the nation lockdown phases. So unfortunate.
My brave girl returning to college by herself
M2 arrived in Doha early this morning and in transit for the next flight. We managed to talk to her just only. She’s in good spirits despite feeling tired from a lack of sleep and having to wear a face mask and face shield provided by Qatar Airways throughout the journey.
We will be more at ease once we hear from her again the next time from Dublin.
It has been six months that M2 came back from Ireland at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic mayhem. And it was a good six months with her around; the house is not so big and empty.
But sadly, all good things must come to an end. Time has flown by so fast, and it is time for her to return to Ireland for her studies.
While we are worried about her journey, there are many precautions and SOPs taken by the airlines and airports to ensure a safe journey for every traveler. So we should be comforted by these new norm practices.
I will, as always, track her flight on flightaware.com and being unable to sleep through the night until I know she has arrived safely on campus. A mother’s worry is constant regardless of how old a child is.
Angieneering 
Remarks