DIY project number 23 has stalled big time. Right after the Lunar New Year, I was so busy with my golf routine that crafting miniatures was relegated to become a thing of the past – a pandemic lockdown activity to kill time. My initial apprehension at my pace and fear of it stalling came true. Sigh.
I have to admit, I did not set a deadline, nor am I committed to completing the project. Hence, the stall. Occasionally, I find myself felting instead as this activity takes less time. Am I losing interest in crafting miniatures?
Bearing in mind, I still have eight sets waiting for me and a dozen more on my wishlist on the online shopping site that I intend to buy! I need to find the time, stay focused and prioritize my crafting time.
Whenever it rains, the garden suffers. It will flood because the water is too much for the drainage to handle. Some plants survive, but some suffer too, like the pineapple.
Occasionally we suffer too when the frogs come out! They will croak throughout the night, causing sleeplessness as their choir ensemble is too loud. Sigh.
The phenomenal putting streak has ended. When the going is good, it’s too good to be true for it to last. When I thought my Scotty Cameron putter was stable and doing wonders for my confidence and game, it let me down last week.
I had just recovered from my food poisoning and opted to play the prearranged game. But I think, psychologically, my mental strength was not quite sharp. I was more tuned to my tummy than my putting. Call it a distraction or an excuse – the putting performance was erratic and inconsistent. There were flashes of one-putt brilliance, but it wasn’t enough.
For the record, there were five holes that I three-putted! I am appalled at my sudden unbelievable inability to putt, achieving this horrendous statistic after such a good run with Scotty. To add salt to the wound, I also had one four-putt at the Par 5. The putting warrior in me was so bruised and battered.
After the game, when I got home, I removed Scotty immediately from the bag, and the Peanut Putter went into the bag. Let’s hope the putting fortune will turn around for the better for future games.
Sometimes when we join golf tournaments, it is not just the will to want to play well but to gain competition experience to be a better player. How to manage our emotions on the golf course, have good course management, know our ability and hit shots sensibly, yet at the same time, play without fear. To win a club-organized tournament is icing on the cake and a booster to our confidence.
But being social golfers, our competitive drive is not quite at that level to win tournaments. So we aim for the next thing, which is to win the lucky draw during the prize presentation after the game.
Last Sunday, after returning from Forest City a day earlier, I participated in the Greensome tournament organized by my golf club. My partner and I started well but faded midway. It was a case of could-have and what-if. Our combined handicap was 15, and we returned with a three-over for our net score, far below other pairs that played better and scored well under their combined handicaps. Oh well, it was a good experience.
But all is not lost as there’s the lucky draw after the prize presentation! There is still hope to win something. And win we did, woohoo! Lady luck has been kind to me, this being my second time in three months winning something at the lucky draw during competitions. The first time was iron covers; this time, a golf travel bag.
And now that borders are opening for most countries and traveling abroad is picking up, the travel bag will come in handy, not that I don’t have one already, for a golfing trip abroad. But my recent experience at Forest City Golf Resort has superseded any travel ideas abroad for golf. Then again, we’ll keep our options open. Thailand?
When we went to Forest City Golf Resort, we thought we had the perfect getaway from it all. Little did we know, we would bump into two golfing friends who were also there for golf. It’s a small world!
The first encounter was a brief one in the pro shop when the friend was heading out as we were walking in. A quick chat was all we had. The second encounter was equally brief, but we made plans to meet up for dinner as the friend had just checked in.
On Friday afternoon after our morning tee-off, M1 and I decided to visit Legoland, located not too far from the resort. Hubby opted out since he had work to do. So the arrangement worked out well.
Both of us spent the hot and humid afternoon wandering through the attractions at Legoland. The Day Pass ticket was not cheap. But we were upgraded to an Annual Pass as the theme park is trying to retain or attract visitors. So would we visit again with the Annual Pass? Perhaps.
No crowd, no queue, it was ideal
The plus side of a semi-post-pandemic situation is no crowds in a theme park. There was no queue at all the rides, not many wailing kids to contend with, and no icky arms close to us because everyone had to maintain the one-meter social distancing. It was perfect save for the humid weather.
The mini wonders at Legoland Sealife at Legoland
After completing the outdoor attractions and rides, we moved indoors to Sealife aquarium. I think we enjoyed the air-conditioning more than the attractions! The rain came down when we came out from Sealife. It was a short drizzle, and the umbrella came in handy as we headed to the car.
That evening, we had dinner with our friends in the next township from Forest City, followed by a bottle of lovely French wine in the hotel lobby. It was a good getaway for us to rejuvenate and reset to face our daily routine.
Forest City Golf Resort is a lovely golf resort. But I have to say there aren’t many choices within the resort as far as dining is concerned. Nonetheless, food is not the main highlight of this trip, as there is much to share of the two golf courses – the Legacy Course and Classic Course.
Each course has its characteristics, appeal, and challenge. Being there for the first time, we were unaware of the layout at times, as we did not have a caddy to guide us. But since buggies are allowed on the course, this predicament was not a big issue. We had all the time in the world, and at times, a short drive up to see the layout was necessary before hitting our shots.
Both courses had very pristine fairways, even the roughs along the way. The ball floats nicely on top, and it is not difficult to get out from the rough. The tee boxes were a joy as they were even and had carpet-like quality grass. As for the greens, it wasn’t as fast as touted. But all in all, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
There is hardly a blade of grass out of place on the fairways. The only thing messing up the perfect condition was an unexpected bird poop I spotted on our second day. It was indeed jarring to the overall greenery of the golf course. Even the wasteland features were immaculate.
The eye-sore bird poop on the fairway!
The only thing we did not enjoy was the annoying crows. They were very aggressive, following us throughout each game and coming in packs to hoover in our buggy, looking for food, which we did not have. I suspect they have honed their senses to zero in for grub. After all, the resort is four years old, and the crows have been around since its inception. I was glad for the sanitizer provided by the resort, and I used it on the buggy each time after shooing the crows away.
The golf course is as good, if not better, as some of the golf courses in Thailand without the price tag and long journeys that include flying and taxi rides. For us, it’s only a four-hour drive with allowance to detour for a meal and time to spare to settle down before the allotted afternoon tee-off slot on the first day.
We will make another trip down south again soon, very soon.
It is nice when we can have a getaway after staying put for so long. When M1 had to clear her work-leave days, we jumped at the opportunity. But the trip had to include golf for us.
So here we are, at Forest City Golf Resort in Johor, for our golfing fun and her, a relaxing escape from work stress to enjoy the other activities.
The lobby area of Forest City Golf Resort
The drive down south was pleasant, and we arrived at the resort ahead of schedule yesterday. The golf course was not busy at all, and being buggy-on-course, we thoroughly enjoyed this.
The fairways were in superb condition, likewise the greens. Even the tee boxes were excellent, level all the time, unlike our club where we find the ground not even to stand when we tee up.
There is something else other than the garden squirrels in our garden. The fruits on the papaya tree, while still on the tree, were eaten, and we were mildly irked by this discovery. So, we decided to do something about it. As there are quite a few fruits on the tree, we had to protect them.
Hubby said it could be a civet cat as the bite and claw marks on the recently eaten papaya were too big to be that of a squirrel. Further evidence is some orange-colored poop left on the retaining wall. How dare this uninvited intruder? Hrmph.
And so, I used some leftover wire mesh and covered the fruits from being a buffet offering. I think I did a good job.
I love cheese, and I used to eat it a lot. But sadly, in recent years, my body cannot handle the cheese intake. The dairy is too much for my tummy because of my Endometriosis issue. Sometimes it is not just uncomfortable bloating – there are accompanying aches of varying degrees.
So I stopped eating cheese to protect myself from the unnecessary pain, avoid pizzas especially, burgers with melting cheese slices, fries with gooey cheese – you get the idea? Last year, this changed.
When M1 returned from the US, she introduced lactose intolerance supplements to me, something we were unaware of before. And what a lifesaver this supplement has been for me!
When I feel like having cheese for my meals or even a big cup of boba milk tea, I will pop the supplement first before consuming the food or drink, and it helps. There is no bloating or discomfort. My life has changed for the better when it comes to having dairy.
Recently, we bought some good cheese to eat. Creamy, rich, and bursting with flavors, the cheeses are just heavenly. Thanks to the lactose intolerance supplements – I eat happily without pain or discomfort.
There is an area of our garden adjacent to our neighbor, left unattended for some time, being of sight, hence, out of mind. So at the beginning of the year, I told hubby it a needs a makeover. But we have been busy, and the area was still left unattended.
Finally, there was an opportunity last week. And within a day, the area was cleared and spruced up. We kept it to a minimum to be Zen-like. It’s a nice refreshing change. Too bad this look only works for this area and not the other parts of our garden.
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