Ready for more masks

I got up before the first alarm went off. I had a list of things that needed to be done and I added one more. I took my first supplement, then washed my hands and sanitized the masks I made yesterday and put them in baggies.
Then I asked Chris to bring in a box of guild books from the garage. Amanda had sent me a link to a googledocs spreadsheet. I checked the books against the spreadsheet and accounted for all but one. Also, there were patterns but they were not listed on the spreadsheet. I was afraid to add them in case I messed up what was already there. I sent pics of my hair from the front and side to Stacey. Then I read e-mail.
At 10:30 I washed up and got dressed. I got text that the lady was heading to our meeting spot. I put on my coat and got in the car. I drove to Aldi's and looked for her car, just then realizing that I did not know a Navigator from any other SUV. But we did meet, and exchanged masks for money. I went into Aldi's to see what they carry. No hair elastics and no shoestrings. I did see a man wearing a flag mask with a horse on it. I wondered if it was one I had made.
When I got back, I went by the post office, but there was no mail. When I got home, I made and ate breakfast. Then I sat outside in the sun and read my book. It was nice, but I had to cut it short. I got ready and went to the $ store where I looked at shoelaces but bought one package of hair elastic. Then I went to the church. I printed out reports from last week, then entered this week's data and printed more reports. Finally I shredded a bunch of old envelopes. From there, I went to Bertha's. We had a nice visit and she gave me more tomato wire. Sometime after 4, I left to go to the bank. I deposited the money and asked for more blue zippered bags to replace the ones that were damaged in the robbery.
When I got home, I texted Stacey and called William. He had his train mask, but didn't realize it had a nose piece in it. Anyway, we ended the conversation and I saw Stacey had texted back. I went over there to see her, and we went walking. We included the back of the neighborhood where the peony was showing buds.
When we got back, she went home for supper. I made salad for supper and put two hardboiled eggs on top. I also ate a small jar of marinated artichoke hearts. I watched one episode of Royal Pains, then worked on the masks. When Chris was ready, we watched two episodes of Supergirl. Then he went to bed, and I put my phone where I can reach it in the morning if I can't get out of bed. I posted to my blog and turned off the router before I went to bed.

Why is the wire always gone?

Chris got up early and actually went to work for a while. I stayed in bed until after 8. I got up to brush and swish. I worked on four male masks until it was time to pin on the ties. I needed more shoestrings and only had one pair. So I finished one mask. Then it was time to take the next supplement. I also turned on my laptop and checked e-mail, looking for an interview to listen to. But Chris came home while I was looking.
I made more green mix. I spent a lot of time going through past photos looking for ones of me with short hair. I ate breakfast while reading e-mail, then read a book outside. It wasn't sunny but there was daylight. I went in when I got cold. I sat at my sewing machine and made three women's masks with elastic. Beverly called to check on me and said she has a source for elastic if I run out.
I went to the post office and mailed masks to three people. I also picked up a package and some mail. When I got back, Chris asked me how hard it was to add a nose piece to his mask and I said not hard at all if you don't care how it looks. I satin-stitched a piece of wire to the inside of Chris' mask in a minute or two. And that was all the wire that was left.
Chris and I went to Publix for the groceries we didn't get yesterday. They did not have the hair elastics I have been using, nor did we find shoe laces for ties. So we stopped at Wal-Greens. I got some laces, but no hair elastics. Then we stopped at the dollar store. Again, laces but no elastics. We went home. I checked the mailbox and found a letter for a previous resident. I marked it 'not at this address' and put it in the mail slot.
I checked my messages. Jennifer the choir director sent me a CoViD rendition of The Sound of Music. It was well done. I finished the male masks using the shoestrings as ties. Then I texted the lady to tell her that her order was ready. We made plans to meet tomorrow.
I ate the rest of the heartloaf for supper. I also made a salad. There wasn't time to watch Royal Pains, so I just read some e-mail, then made my usual nightly drink. We watched two episodes of Supergirl. Chris went to bed and I stayed up as usual.
* Not a good day for paper products. Also, all the other aisles were marked with arrows showing which direction shoppers should go. But I don't see an arrow in this aisle. *

A very rainy day

We stayed in bed through the first alarm. Chris was giving me a coconut oil massage when the second one went off. Later he took a shower. I waited until the oil on my feet soaked in before I took mine, not wanting to slip and fall.
I got dressed and brushed and swished. I pulled up the link to our Easter service, which was recorded a week ago. But for some reason it started in the middle, like it was a live broadcast. I finished the recording and then was available to shop with Chris. He told me to check the grocery list, so I did, adding hair elastics and shoestrings for masks. Then I finished parsing out supplements for the week, at which point I noticed I had forgotten to take the supper ones yesterday.
I gathered the plastic bags for recycling and we went to Publix. Of course they were closed for Easter, and I think we get surprised by this every year. So we decided to go back tomorrow, and we went home. I read e-mail, checking my blog for past years to see what we did. Two years ago we went to Kroger, and last year Chris came home with groceries and didn't say where he got them. I re-threaded my machine, then asked Chris if he wanted to go to Kroger. He did, so we did, but they closed at 2pm, 2 minutes before we got there. Then we tried Target, but they were closed too. Then we went to Fresh Market. They were open till 4 so we did some shopping, but didn't find almost half of what was on our list.
When we got home, he unpacked the bags and I washed the items. I read more e-mail, and composed a response to something on my Facebook page. I listened to an interview on candida imbalance while sewing mask pieces together and getting a head start on the order of 7.
It rained. I remembered Stacey saying she needed thread, so I went to Stacey's house with a cone of thread, a thread stand, and two kinds of wire. I sat at her kitchen table and we had a nice girlfriend-type chat. She showed me the many facemasks she had made from the scraps I gave her. She also offered to cut my hair if I gave her three pics of the kind of cut I want.
When I got home at 7, I had heart meatloaf for supper. I tried it with black pepper, then cayenne pepper, then pickled garlic, vinegar, olive oil. The pickled garlic overwhelmed it. For dessert, I ate a square of dark chocolate with 5 halves of dried jujube. They were an excellent combination.
I watched one episode of Royal Pains and ate a can of vegetable soup. Then I prepared my nightly drink while Chris finished up his game. We sat down to watch Supergirl and Chris folded laundry while I sipped. After the second episode, we dressed the bed with bamboo sheets and he went to bed. I stayed up to blog and do last-minute things.
* This is my brother-in-law *

Maskmaker, maskmaker

I am not sure when I woke up, but we stayed in bed late. I was the first to get up, and it was almost 8:30. I noticed the Air Doctor had a red light on, signifying that the filter needed to be changed. I got the spare charcoal filter from the garage. I looked up the manual online. I swept out the sensor chamber and the reusable pre-filter. I washed that, but Chris said to change the filter anyway. So I put the new one in and reset the filter light. I washed the dishes in the sink. I listened to tapping audios and checked e-mail.
I sterilized the masks that Kurt ordered and packaged them in 4 addressed envelopes, ready for the mail on Monday. I ate breakfast outside and soaked up some sun. I tried to listen to a podcast, but it quit every 10 minutes. I put the frozen meat cupcakes in a ziplock bag so I could wash the dish. I washed both dishes that came from Stacey.
I got in a text vs messaging war. Several people were communicating at the same time. When it quieted down, I went back to sewing. I finished two masks, maybe three, then set them aside. It was still sunny and tomorrow is going to be stormy, so I went walking. I took the 30 minute walk into the woods and back. When I got back, I cut out mask pieces for the next order. I talked to Faye. She was still at home. I looked through all our twist ties, hoping for some plastic coated ones to use as nose pieces. But the pickings were slim. Faye called back later to tell me she got the masks I sent.
I ate pieces of heart meatloaf for supper. I checked more e-mail. I went over to Stacey's house with her pans from yesterday. Then we went walking around the circle, talking about our recent experiences. Then she went home as did I. I moved the poinsettia under the porch roof to keep it out of the storm. I made my vitamin drink while Chris finished his game. Then we sat together and watched two episodes of Supergirl. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to see the pics Faye sent of family wearing the masks I sent.
* I made Dad an instrument mask, but I guess he liked PEACE better. *

A heart-y dish

I got up early to use the bathroom, and could not go back to sleep. Chris got up early, as in before his alarm went off. I gave him a reason to come back to bed. But eventually his alarm did go off, and he went to work – at the diningroom table. I tried to sleep but couldn't, so I got up, too, and started my day early.
I brushed and swished. I listened to an interview while trying a new kind of mask. I watched a video – it was made with H600, which doesn't ravel so she did not turn it inside out. I tried to adapt the pattern to fabric which has to be made inside out and then turned.
MaryAnn called and we had a nice chat. She clued me in to the concept of sexual harassment in the workplace: husband working from home, flirting with his wife. Ha! I worked on the mask some more, lost the mask, then found it and finished it and tried it on. Not impressed with the results for the amount of work it took.
I listened to a noon call for daily tappings. It was not as interesting as I had hoped. But they;ll go on every day until sometime in May. I was glad when it was over because I wanted to go out and sit in the sun. I made breakfast and took it with me. I discovered that contrary to looks, it was quite chilly. So I put on a coat and ate breakfast in the sun. Chris said the weather was going to be bad on Sunday.
I listened to another interview, but it bothered Chris so I stopped it and turned to the chapters of Lizzy Albright . I worked on pleated facemasks until long after the audios ended. I thought I would finish in time to get them to the post office before it closed, but then I realized I was one short and had to make a 9th,. That put me over time.
I texted with Faye. Her ICU is still not overflowing into the OR. Chris called his parents and we talked to them for a bit. They said the number of Covid patients in Virginia is peaking and expected to decline.
I went to the post office and came back with a couple pieces of junk mail. Then I went for a walk. I cut it a bit short, rustled up a seam ripper and went over to Stacey's house. Her husband had made a meatloaf and meat cupcakes out of the heart. It smelled divine! She helped me carry it all home. Chris declined to have any because it was Good Friday, a day when Catholics eat fish. I ate enough for both of us.
I watched the Good Friday service online, waiting for Stacey to text, wanting to go for a walk. But she didn't. I watched one episode of Royal Pains. Suddenly I started to feel sick. I mixed up my usual magnesium and vitamin C. I put C on a cotton ball too, and stuck it in one nostril. I also swished with salt water because my teeth hurt. Then I sipped my drink while we watched two episodes of Supergirl. I got really tired, so when it was over, I typed up my blog, stuck a couple of Vitamin C patches on me and went to bed.
* The crunchy bits are the best! *

Who would break into a church?

I got up at 8. I started a new batch of sprouts, because the previous ones aren't growing and they smell bad. I checked e-mail and meditated. I worked on face masks. I got a call that the church office and safe were broken into (but they didn't take the food pantry stuff or the toilet paper). I started a loaf of bread for Chris. I took protein and hydrogen supplements, then finished three pleated masks. I wondered what kind to make next.
I pulled some dull fabrics for Stacey. I made and ate breakfast. I read outside for a short while. I talked to Kurt, then pulled more fabrics. I put the three masks into two envelops and went to post office to mail. Postage was not as bad as I thought. I took more fabric pics and mailed them to Kurt. I cut out a pattern for a new kind of mask, but then couldn't remember how to sew it. Jeanne called to say she canceled her check, assuming it got stolen.
I ate a packet of tuna, and made a salad for supper. Then I took some fabric over to Stacey's house. We went walking. We finished just before 7. I ate seed crackers and checked e-mail until my tapping buddy skyped me. We talked for over an hour. We agreed to take a break during the lockdown because we have differing views on the coronavirus.
Chris and I watched two episodes of Supergirl. I checked my messages and saw that Gabby's friend want to order masks. We texted back and forth, finalizing an order for 7 masks. Then I wrote my blog post and got ready for bed.
* This is me wearing a pleated mask. The pleats take a long time. There must be a faster way. *

Varieties of masks for the family

I got up before 7:30, quite certain I had missed the alarm. I took supplements. I put a new set of bamboo sheets in the washer along with the bags I planned to use as filters. I brushed and swished, and made coffee. I did exercises – all the usual Coffee morning activities including tapping and meditation. Then I vacuumed, cleaned, and mopped floors.
I took a shower, then sat outside and read. I made and ate breakfast. In response to Kurt's comments, I printed a different mask pattern. But then I thought it was too big. I made two more masks, trying out alternate ways of construction. I zigzagged wire into the noses. I sanitized 8 of them and put them in a ziplock bag, then ran to the post office to mail them before it closed. The postal employees did not have masks so I gave them each one.
When I got home, I watched a face mask video by a health practitioner. She tried 4 different homemade masks and fit-tested them at the hospital. She identified one mask that passed the test, albeit with a piece of medical tape. It was made with Halyard H600, which is used for instrument covers. I printed the pattern so I could try it in fabric.
I discovered that Stacey had texted me about walking. I put a heart in a bag and took it over to Stacey's house. Her husband was eager to accept it. He asked when I wanted it, then took it away. She and I went walking around the neighborhood. We only finished when we thought the rain was about to hit. And it did. Soon after I got inside, the rain fell hard. I heated the last of the heart in a pot. I ate the last half of sweet potato, and then ate the heart with rice. I called Faye. She said her OR is expecting 5 people from ICU with Covid and that there is an article on the guy in her church that is soon to get off a respirator. Then I looked at things of Faye's facebook page.
I finished a tapping audio, then made my vitamin drink. Chris and I watched two episodes of Supergirl. Chris went to bed and I listened to a report on the source of the coronavirus. Then I took my last supplement and got ready for bed.
* This is a new pattern that I haven't seen before. *