Surreal Trip to the Supermarket

Hola!  I am working on more material to post here soon, promise!  I have what I need, I've just been taking advantage of whatever bits of "good weather" (for Wisconsin this time of year) we have to be outdoors continuing massive yard clean-up.  I admit, I've also been busy.

I cut the front lawn on Monday for the first time - it felt wonderful!  The sky was blue, it was in the mid-50's and sunny, windy but not overwhelming, and the freshly mowed lawn smelled so good - better than any perfume I've ever smelled!  I took my good natured time cutting it, back and forth, back and forth, LOL.  I was out there for more than 2 hours but I have to say the lawn looks great for the winter we had and not having had a chance to give it a good weed and feed yet for spring.

The three hostas I planted out front last year that I thought had probably died over the winter because I saw nothing of any signs of life, whereas my three very large hostas in the backyard (admittedly get more sunlight) have already shot up a good five to seven inches above the earth, lo and behold, when I looked closely yesterday I saw little tiny nubs just barely poking up out of the earth for all three!  They survived, hooray!  They're going to come up at their own good nature's time, hooray!  The lavender - honestly I can't tell if its dead.  It's not black, it's a silvery color; but it doesn't look alive, either.  How do I tell?

Now for the surreal.  Today, I walked to my local supermarket after not having been there for probably 10 days.  I put my mask over my ears and tucked it underneath my chin, then put my beret on (as it's cold out today), so all I would have to do when I got to the store was pull the mask over my face.  I passed only one person on the street on the half mile walk to the supermarket. 

There did not seem to be a lot of people inside the store, even though I got there later than I usually do; today I didn't get there until probably 9:45 a.m. when I normally get there before 9:00 a.m.  Everybody I saw, except for one lady, was wearing a mask.  I felt part of them, and totally sympathetic, but also somehow alienated at the same time.  Does that make sense?  It was just - strange feeling, and we looked strange.  All that showed on people was their eyes, when we as humans are used to picking up silent cues from facial expressions - how is one's mouth held?  One's chin?  None of it felt real, somehow, and yet there I was, also masked, pushing my cart up and down the normally crowded aisles.  I didn't even bother looking down the paper towel/toilet paper aisle, LOL!  The supermarket is now paying its workers the equivalent of "hazard" pay - and about time!  They are putting their lives on the line daily working where they of necessity have contact with the public.  They were all masked and gloved, again - very surreal. The corporation that owns the supermarket chain is advertising for new hires.  Plenty of jobs available where you have to constantly either interact or be exposed to the public and put your life on the line daily.  The fleeting thought came and went that I had somehow landed in a movie about aliens or the end of the world.

The mask irritates my face even though it fits well.  I hate wearing it!  I'm sure it's more psychological than physical discomfort.  My nose runs all year round due to various allergies that meds do NOT help, and I can't wipe my nose or blow it when I've got the mask on - and taking it down to blow my nose in the middle of the supermarket during a pandemic - not a good idea.  Today I felt the urge to cough, too and I thought oh great, people are going to be TERRIFIED if I do that - so somehow I managed to keep myself from coughing.  Thank goodness!  I pictured terrified shoppers abandoning their carts and running for the exit. 

All the honey ham of the brand of lunch meat that I like was GONE - TOTALLY cleared out.  I have never seen that before.  It is thin sliced and I eat a sandwich every morning with lots of yellow mustard slathered on two slices of 12 whole grain bread (it's really delish, from Lewis family bakers out of Chicago).  The yellow mustard actually has worked to stop the sciatica attacks I was having, that's why I started having my "breakfast sandwich" more than a year ago.  I add a slice of Swiss cheese and devour it as I drink my one cup of coffee for the day while reading the early-morning news online.   There was lots of smoked ham left (which I don't like, and evidently, nobody else does, either), and one package of brown sugar ham of the same brand left, which I added to my cart.  Oh my!  Yes, I know Smithfield closed down a pork processing plant in Iowa, for goodness sake - automatic panic evidently set in amongst consumers.  We'll never be able to eat our favorite honey ham again, yikes!  Oh pul-leeze!

I know this will eventually pass.  This is a true exercise in patience, and I have never been a very patient person.  I suspect that is a fault from which many of us American go-getters suffer.  This is called, as my mom used to say, learning my lesson the hard way.  Meanwhile, I am grateful for being able to go out and do my gardening and yard work on my own little slice of nature here in the middle of the city that a lot of people probably can't find on a map easily -- a hinterland somewhere between Chicago and Minneapolis, LOL!  A lot of people don't have that opportunity to be able to "escape" into their own front and back yards to work their fingers into the earth, to dream, to kick back and just relax on the rare warm day this time of year. Surreal.

Making a Face Mask for Protection

Hola everyone!

Ever since the CDC recommendation came out about people wearing face masks in public, there have been loads of videos, articles on and written instructions created about how you can make your own.  I didn't even consider trying to buy one or more online. 

Youtube is the place for me to go because I watch someone actually doing it.  I learn better by watching somebody make something than reading instructions.  And so, after watching several and deciding that hand-sewing was my best option (not the no-sew bandana mask), I decided today was the day.  Of course, the part that took the longest was the hand sewing.  Thank goodness for my thimble, which enabled me to push my needle through multiple layers of material without hurting my fingers!

This is the video I used (the actual directions start at 4:22):

 I cut out my material per directions, a 7.5" x 7.5" square and a 9.0" x 7.5" rectangle and placed them good sides together as shown in the video: 

I then cut my iron on hemming tape to 7.5" for the top and bottom hems, placed the tape between the two pieces of material and ironed the pieces together (dry heat only) per directions on the package.  Then I turned the pieces right sides out and ironed down the top and bottom hems:

I then pressed in a teeny little fold along each of the raw edges of the unfinished sides, as shown in the video.  I will probably be making another mask or two for myself and I will cut the rectangle longer than 9.0" when I do them - it will make the side pockets (where the elastic is threaded in) much easier to work on for my not so nimble fingers and hands!

I then hand-stitched along the edge of the first side pocket:

and then hand-stitched the edge of the other side pocket.  I used a nifty little threader tool I fished out of my ancient (from the 1960s, woo woo!) sewing box and threaded a 10" length of 3/8ths inch elastic that I'd cut in half length-wise to make sure they would easily slide through the pockets.  I'm glad I did this, the 3/8ths width would have been too large to easily pull/thread through the side pockets.  That's why I will cut my rectangle larger next mask, to allowing for more generous sized pockets through which the elastic is threaded. 

Below are "outer" and "inner" photos of my completed mask (after I knotted each elastic piece as shown in the video and turned the knot into the pocket so it won't be rubbing anywhere behind my ear or on my face:

It worked!  I didn't think it would fit, frankly - I thought it looked small.  But when I tried it on it fit well and gave full coverage underneath my chin (as recommended by CDC), the top sit comfortably across the bridge of my nose and just on the ridges of my cheekbones underneath my eyes (as recommended by CDC), resting snugly on the sides of my cheeks with no gaps (as recommended by CDC).  For my half-hour or less forays in the supermarket, it will be fine, I'll take it along with me and slip it on just before I enter the store.  Thank goodness though I don't have to wear one inside my house or out in the gardens!

The finished product on yours truly (yes, I AM smiling and boy oh boy, I've got to do something about those skimpy little bangs, geez):

Hola!

Ta da!