Tag Archives: quarantine

A Short Getaway

15 Nov

After almost two years (since March 2020) of staying put, we finally had the chance to travel again. Over the weekend, we drove up North to visit hubby’s parents. It was July last year that I last saw them when there was a window for interstate travel during the pandemic.

Gudetama is car sick from the long journey!

The past two years, the furthest I have left the house was to the city center to run some office errands. Moreover, it was only when interstate travel was allowed, and even then, it was not frequent. So this trip to visit the folks was such a welcome.

I must say, they are fine, and we had a good but short getaway. I managed to catch up on my sleep and rest. We did not play golf, which was just as well because it rained every day. So instead, we spent quality time together. Although it was a short getaway, it was a good one.

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Back to the Grind

12 Nov

It is nice to take a few days off from crafting miniatures. My little workstation never looked more organized and clean! But rest on my laurels I must not, for there are other things to do.

I have to finish this!

So I am back to carving the second Gnome Trio. This piece has been left unattended for far too long. And if I intend to gift it to the person I have in mind, I better sharpen all my carving tools and get back to the grind on this.

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A New Fan

9 Nov

It is flattering when your child takes after your interest. The past two years, I tried to get M2 (when she was back for her Summer holidays) to build miniatures with me during our lockdown, but she had no interest whatsoever.

Then when M1 came home this year – and under home quarantine, I gave her a set to do to pass her time. And she thoroughly enjoyed it!

Soon after her quarantine was over, I gave her another set of mine to work on, and I must say, she was very into building miniatures too and finished it in no time. Before I knew it, I bought her another set, and voila! She was churning them out to rival my early efforts’ pace. She has just completed her fourth set.

Miniatures done by M1! So cute.

I’m happy that there is a new fan of DIY miniatures other than me at home.

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DIY Project #21, Part 3

8 Nov

True to my estimates, I completed DIY project number 21 before the weekend! It was a delightful end to this simple and uncomplicated set to do. The time taken was not too long, and there were even days when I did not work on it at all because I was out playing golf.

The only thing I changed, or should I say, added, were the two Little People to complete the cuteness of this set. Now it sits in the Ikea display cabinet with the other completed ones. For now, I am on a break from crafting miniatures and contemplating the next one to do.

Perhaps I really should get back to completing the second Gnome Trio carving, which has been left unattended for some time already. Hmm.

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The Slow Garden Yield

5 Nov

The vegetable patch in the garden is slowly showing some yield. It is one okra at a time! The last time I checked, there was one almost ready for harvest and another coming soon.

Our second okra and the third coming soon!

Then two days later, we harvested that first okra. At almost five and a half-inch, it is a good size. As the plant is healthy and fruiting often now, we should see a constant yield.

It doesn’t matter whether it is one at a time – as long as we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor, that is, by far, the most important thing.

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DIY Project #21, Part 2

2 Nov

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.

Slowly but surely, it’s coming along!

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What?! It’s November Already

1 Nov

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.

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A Delightful Encounter

27 Oct

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!

I maxed out the zoom-in feature on my iPhone XR to capture this!

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!

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DIY Project #21

26 Oct

Now that I finally finished DIY project number 17, I am planning the next one, the 21st project. When I put aside number 17, I had moved on with three other projects. Hence, the latest one to do is number 21. And I also purchased two more sets! When will I ever stop buying them, I wonder?

The latest purchases

It is a toss-up now between these two and the other sets that I have in my never-dwindling stash. Hmm. Should I work on a regular-sized miniature, the latest purchases, or even, the tiniest of the lot, a miniature in a tin box? Decisions, decisions.

The other choices

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Returning to DIY Project #17, Part 3

25 Oct

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.

The original version
My version with the Little Guy enjoying the setup

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!

DIY project #17

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