Tag Archives: Rainy season

Abundance

26 Nov
The towering papaya tree in our garden

The papaya tree towering next to the frangipani in our garden has been fruiting in abundance! Whee. Maybe the rainy season has contributed to the spurt and growth. This means we will have papayas again after a dry spell.

In the early stages, we put up nets to protect the fruits from the garden squirrels, and it worked when there were fewer fruits. However, as there have been more fruits, the netting protection could not cover the whole lot. So, hubby resorted to covering only the bigger fruits.

Two days ago, one rascal managed to eat a fruit on the tree. Ugh. So, hubby placed a trap on the ground to snag it, using the half-eaten papaya as bait.

This morning, the rascal was nabbed! Yay. We will relocate it to another area. Hopefully, it will stay away and won’t return to help itself to the abundance of fruits available.

I look forward to having papayas again from the garden.

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Pickleball Anyone, Part 2

19 Nov

We play pickleball once a week now. I find myself looking forward to it more than my regular golf games. Uh oh, does this mean I have lost my passion for golf?

There are various reasons for this new sentiment. It is the end of the year, and we are facing the rainy monsoon season! Golf is not enjoyable when the round is interrupted by rain and thunder. Then we have to wait out the rain. By then, the body has turned cold, and the momentum and mood are lost. Ugh.

It is even more unenjoyable when the siren does not go off, and collectively, everyone wants to continue playing in wet conditions. Ugh. I find wearing my raincoat to play very uncomfortable, but needed to stay dry. Then there are other challenges – wet gloves, slippery grips, heavy shots, and soggy fairways. The list can be endless! Ugh.

As pickleball is an indoor activity, covered and not subjected to crappy weather, it is a better option than golf, especially during this time of the year. And the best part is I can play with my left hand without aggravating my tennis elbow! Yay.

So, if I play less golf, it’s okay because I have an alternative activity to sweat instead of being a couch potato at home and perpetually glued to my iPad Mini.

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Timely Rest

8 Oct

I’m officially taking a break from golf. Typically, on Tuesday, I’d have a round of golf. But with the tennis elbow injury persisting, it’s best to rest.

The last game on Sunday was not a good outing. There was no distance upon tee-off for fear of aggravating the elbow, and it was a domino effect for subsequent shots, taking more strokes than necessary. Sigh, it wasn’t the best, but I didn’t let it get to me. I told myself I merely wanted the exercise.

Separately, the monsoon season has started, and it rains almost daily. Remember the game last Thursday that was a washout? So, a little less golf to get a timely two-week rest might be the right thing to do. Why two-weeks? Ahh, find out on Friday! Stay tuned.

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Afternoon Washout!

4 Oct

My plans for a round of golf yesterday didn’t quite work out because Mother Nature had other ideas. It was an afternoon game, not my usual morning tee-off, and the outing was a complete washout.

We had three flights – only the 12.30 pm flight managed 15 holes, while my flight did 12 as we were two slots behind them. I’m unsure how many holes the third flight completed because they started on the back nine.

It was quite a sight to see all the fairways inundated with water! That’s how heavy the rain came down, as there was insufficient time for the excess water to drain. Some holes even had their tee boxes immersed in water as well. There’s no way we could have resumed.

The buggy ride back to the club was not the most pleasant as we had to deal with pelting rain from the sides and driving through big puddles of water. Despite the situation, everyone was happy with an early happy hour! Hehehe.

Drinks and titbits were on the table, and eventually, dinner. The chatter and camaraderie were most enjoyable. Sometimes, we don’t need to complete a round of golf to enjoy the company of friends.

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The Wrath of Mother Nature

16 Jul

We have been having some inconsistent weather lately. Last week, when we returned from the East Coast, we came back to strong winds and pelting rain.

Luckily, we were home already when the weather changed for the worse. It was scary as the tall trees in the area were swaying spinelessly with noisy leaves rustling, and the rain was pounding the windows. Our garden bamboo blinds were flapping like crazy. It was alarming, but we could not do anything.

The next day, we discovered the wrath of Mother Nature when we surveyed the garden. Besides leaves and branches everywhere, creating a mess, our second papaya tree was uprooted. This unfortunate mishap happened despite the tree being protected by a wall and in a narrow garden space.

There goes our second papaya tree!
Salvaging the papayas from the tree

We had no choice but to cut down the tree. And there were so many young papayas on the tree. Oh well. It looks like I can make pickled papaya or give them away. As for the space, we will leave it empty for now, and it’s been hot like a furnace.

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Annual Club Championship Vibes

7 Jun

The Annual Club Championship at my golf club is tomorrow! I hope I won’t get butterflies in my tummy for the first tee-off. Last year, I missed out because my niece’s wedding ceremony was on the same day. And me, being the only aunty from her dad’s side, the wedding was far more significant than an annual championship golf tournament.

Well, this year, there are no weddings or other important occasions – I will be playing the two-day event despite an increase in the tournament fee. Besides not wishing for butterflies, I hope the weather and course conditions will be good.

It rains every evening, the thunder rumbles louder than usual, and you can feel the electric charge in the air. In the mornings, it is very humid, and the heat is intense, not comfortable on a golf course. Good weather should be cloudy with some breeze; good conditions mean the fairways are not soft and the greens firm.

Whatever the situation, managing the mental and physical, besides the game and approach, is essential for a good outing. I will not analyze too much but bask in the Annual Championship vibes. Wish me luck!

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Vicious Cycle

14 May

The weather of late has been super wonky. It’s humid, raining, or hot like a furnace, and the pattern repeats. It’s a vicious cycle, I tell you. It’s tough, especially when we want to play golf.

An early morning or afternoon tee-off cannot escape the conditions. Most days, it would rain in the afternoon so heavily that the fairways were soggy the next day. And golfing on soft fairways is not fun.

Then there are days that it is so humid and hot that my brain feels fried! I cannot wear my hat. Instead, I use my umbrella, but I end up being so tan – it’s not fun either! It’s a vicious cycle.

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Slow Recovery

30 Jan

After all that medical calamity last week, I’m facing a slow recovery to get back on my feet. But I should not wallow at home in my misery. Instead, I decided to play some golf and get some sun. A little bit of Vitamin D might do me wonders. And wonder I certainly did.

I could not tee off because my rhythm was off. After nine holes, I managed to score a pathetic seven Stableford points! Never have I been so out of synch in my game. When an illness takes so long to overcome, all the muscle memory is gone, and the body is too weak to play decent.

I wondered if I made the right decision to return to golf so soon. Oh well, with another nine holes to go, I might as well plow on. After all, I had good company this morning.

Suddenly, things clicked, and before I knew it, I went from scoring zeroes to birdie, bogey, and birdie! Wow. What just happened? The birdies were on Hole 1, a Par 4, and Hole 3, a Par 5! Woohoo. I have never had two birdies in a game before. And it sure felt nice this morning!

The tonsillitis is gone, but there’s still some throat irritation, causing tiredness. It is a slow recovery indeed. With the weather getting hotter these days–gone are the continuous rainy days–I better be mindful more than ever to stay hydrated to take care of myself regardless of activities. Staying healthy is a number one priority for me these days.

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First Game of the Year

9 Jan

After a two-week break from golf to recover from the nasty cough, I played my first game of the year this morning. The cough is at the tail-end, and I might as well go ahead and play to get some exercise. So, how did I fare?

It was more of an outing to catch up with friends and get some sun, but the sun was not even out! The morning was gloomy, peppered with light rain now and then. And when the sun did peak out, it was darn hot! Sigh.

A two-week break causes a lot of muscle memory loss. I could not swing my clubs well because my rhythm was way off. The tee-off was erratic, the long game was short, and the short game was off the mark. And the putting, I won’t elaborate further. Oh well, I expected this outcome. I take heart that although the rhythm was out, I did not lose a single ball, a small positive consolation.

Maybe once I’m back to playing more regularly, my golf mojo will return to normal. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for this to happen sooner rather than later. I play my next game on Thursday, and we will find out the performance then.

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Merry Christmas 2023

26 Dec

Merry Christmas, everyone! It has been a low-key festive time for us because of the wet rainy season. When it rains constantly, the mood is not there to do anything! Luckily, we did most of our Christmas shopping online, capitalizing on the 11.11 and 12.12 online sales blitz, and there was no need to go to the mall at all.

As usual, the family had our Christmas dinner on the Eve, and it was a good spread of choices. I baked a pork tenderloin and called it a ‘Pork Log’ because of its sheer size to feed 16 people!

The Pork Log process. I cut off a portion to fit the Pyrex!

Initially, I was fickle-minded about what to make, as recipe ideas kept popping up on my Facebook news feed. The final dish was my third choice after two earlier attempts at something different.

Here’s wishing everyone a wonderful time, and let there be peace. Merry Christmas once again!

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