May & June

So, we're no longer in semi-lockdown. We were "released" sometime in June. Dining in, retail, school, library, museum, etc were allowed in phases. Safe distancing and wearing of masks are still mandatory. There are also many restrictions pertaining to this and that and honestly, it's quite hard to keep track. Anyway, Covid-19 continues to be present in Singapore. The number of infections is in 3 digits, mostly from migrant workers living in dormitories. You would think that the number should be zero by now after all the effort by the government. But we're not there yet. Outside the dorms, the number of infections are low but again, not zero.

Singapore held a general election in July. No need to guess which party won. Yup, the People's Action Party which has ruled Singapore since forever. My son voted for the first time. My daughter couldn't because she's too young (by a few months). Voting went smoothly for us. At the polling station, we had to sanitize our hands and wear disposable gloves. Later we learnt that at some polling stations, the queues were long and the gloves became optional. Also polling hours were extended by 2 hours. 

What else happened? Oh yes, I was bitten by an Aedes mosquito and contracted dengue fever. It happened around early June, just as Singapore was leaving semi-lockdown. I was sick for 10 days. I had fever, rashes, pain and had to get my blood tested 5 times to check if I needed to be hospitalised. The doctor said there's no medicine for dengue fever. Only time and I suppose my own body's defense could heal it. I think I was lucky I never needed to be hospitalised. This year alone, 16 people have died from dengue fever. 2020 is also set to record the highest number of dengue infections in Singapore history. The infection took quite a bit of energy out of me. It took about a week before I completely bounced back. Sadly, I did not lose any weight during the 10 days of illness. In fact, I may have gained some. A short while after my recovery, a team of people from the Ministry of Aedes Mosquitoes (MAM) came to my home and asked if I wanted to have their team put oil drops to kill the mosquitoes. I saw that my neighbour had it done so I said ok. All four of us had to leave our flat and sit outside on the stairs, with masks on. Hubs and my son were both asleep and we had to drag them out. The sound made by the machine applying the oil drops was very noisy. The men using the machines were dressed in black and their masks were also black. So all in all, quite frightening. After that, we had to stay outside for a few minutes because I dunno, maybe the fumes could kill us. Later the men in black reappeared because they were fogging the whole block and so we had to run back into our flat to avoid being poisoned by the fogging. Anyway, we are all still alive so I guess the fumes only kill mosquitoes.

The dengue fever kinda put a stop to my knitting. The group photo shows what I knitted from April to May. The one legged doll above which I never managed to finish may also have contributed to my lack of interest in knitting. I discovered I really, really, really hate seaming in knitting. 

I sewed one blouse for my daughter to wear to work. Except she works from home so maybe she'll wear it when she needs to zoom. The pattern I used is Fancy Tiger Crafts Sailor Top. I made one for myself here and sadly my shoulders are wider now (not fatter) so I don't wear it anymore.

I'm afraid I haven't been vigilant about my weight the past few months. I used being stuck at home as an excuse to snack like crazy. Honestly, food was the best part of the day. It shouldn't be but it was/is. So I've gained a few kilos. Remember the Cleo skirt with side zipper I made that was too loose? It fits me like a glove now.

Here's a pair of pants I made in June using pre-Covid-19 measurements. It's super tight around the tummy area. I've kindly included a photo where you can see my BAH-BAH (meaty flesh). Hubs asked me if I made the pants for Halloween. I didn't. I wanted to make a muslin and Spotlight was selling this fabric very cheaply and that's why I bought it. When I cut into the fabric, it left lots of black dusk all over my table. Very disgusting. Maybe that's the reason for the cheap price.

Finally, for my birthday in June, hubs bought me a ping pong table. I was honestly quite irritated by the gift because it's clearly a gift for himself. Fortunately the 2 tables are foldable. Still, they take up room and currently when unused, they are placed leaning against the cabinets where I keep my beads. So every time I need my beads, I have to move the tables. We play ping pong at least once a week. The kids also became interested and started learning to play. 

Well, that about sums up my May and June. How's it going where you live? Mask, no mask? Weight gain? Anyone?