facemasks

I have been sent about three articles/requests for face masks from around the country.  Here, use this or that pattern, we will be grateful.  I looked locally.  I am on the volunteer list with TX/RX Labs in Houston to sew medical supplies for the hospitals in Houston.  

I have not gotten those kits yet.  The patterns and templates are being finalized.  Once they are done, it will be how many washable procedure masks with disposable inner filter, replacement n95 respirator, replacement Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR), and substitute Tyvek suits can crowd sourced sewers produce.  I have the skills

So why am I making facemasks still?  Because my family needs them.  We still have to go to the grocery store.  Bear had pneumoia this fall.  Blue is small.  Tall Short Person coughs.  All the time.  To keep us safe, I am making these.

These are not up to the same standard as a surgical mask.  They will filter out about 50% of the corona virus.  They keep the distance the virus can be projected smaller.  And they allow me to practice.

I actually have fabric that would put the rate of filter as the same as a surgical mask but they are very difficult to breathe through.  Cambridge University researches said tea towels would do that.  But tea towels were originally flour sacks and had to keep the flour in.  Their weave is very tight.  I have gone to what is recommended.  Which is a woven fabric on the outside and a jersey on the inside.  

I like the ones that are a little large so I can talk and still have my face covered.  This what is what I am doing right now.  I try to take time to stretch and write but I am not so good at that.  I have computer work to do but it is hard to concentrate.  There is a lot of food in the house so I feel like I am eating too much.  Or is that other people are wanting to have the company at meals?  I do not know the right answer.

I never thought I would ever do sewing like was done during the World Wars.  But I have the skills.  And if bread is needed, ask.

using what we have been given

One of the boyos works as a chef.  With the restaurants closing due government mandates, he is not working.  But Chef where he works has been sending food home with everyone who works there.  That boyo treated the shop to grilled prawns and crab salad for lunch this week.  Pretty wonderful.  Yes, it was about not wasting food but that does not mean it was not enjoyed.

I saved all the shells.

Because I took all those wonderful scraps and put them in a pot of water.  I boiled until I had a broth.  I am going to try to make a seafood congee but the recipe called for dried scallops to make the broth.  This was my work around.  Now, I will have to see how it really works!  I may end up feeding every one peanut butter and jelly if this does not work!

Yes, not wasting and making the pieces for other pieces.  Staying at home has not changed my life.  I go for walks.  I am home.  Just not leaving the house for coaching.

But, if you live near me, and you are like the boyo who works in a restaurant and is job is no longer due to this virus, I will bake you bread.  Just let me know!

travels

In the past week, I went to Washington to be with my Dad and came back.  I will say that life is interesting.  Traveling in the times of corona virus is actually fairly easy, just because there are so many less people.  Flights were a third of normal so you could have six feet from another person.  Being not in my own space though was hard.

My Dad had a doctor's appointment that would be a precursor to surgery.  He is completely capable of doing this type of thing himself but having another set of ears there was a good thing.  We did all of his appointments by phone.  He is at risk due to age.  And the reasons for surgery.  But there is not clear path to fix what is broken.  A large part of that is his age.  We will know more in the future.

It was very interesting to go shopping with my Dad in Washington, north of Seattle.  I am used to be slightly prepared at all times for hurricanes.  It means that you do not have work as hard if there is a hurricane in the forecast.  We have also gotten a few Memorial Day storms in the past years that might as well be hurricanes for the amount of damage they have caused.  Just always a little bit prepared.  Not in Washington.  I just kept thinking about how much food would go to waste.

I did go for a walk at Greenlake.  I used to walk there all the time.  Sunday.  Sunshine.  It was busy.  Like a normal Sunday when the sun is out.  Not social distancing.  What I find interesting about social distancing that is I really enjoy solitude.  I am not anti-social but I enjoy solitude.  At times like these, having my own room with a key would be lovely.  

Has social distancing changed my life?  A bit.  Coaching has been cancelled because of more then 10 people in one place.  That is a good portion of my income currently.  I think there is the possiblity of change in the future.  We will have to see.

I will probably be doing this trip again in April or May, depending on quarantines.  I feel like I should look up how to make a face mask.  Or crochet one!

sharpening

I am still learning sharpening.  There is always a new tool to learn what to do with.  I am just glad that when I am being the most frustrated, I normally get told now that someone with more experience did not do any better.  

Axes are something I have just added to my repetoire.  The surge of throwing axes as a support has meant more axes need care.  I do not do all the care yet but I do sharpen them.  My Beloved actually joined a league.  Koda Bear wants to but is not old enough so he practices in the backyard and scorekeeps on Sundays.  I just laugh.  I usually drive over with them and walk home.  It is part of why my life keeps getting busier.  I am not going to turn my nose up at business!

One of the next things I am going to learn to sharpen are clipper blades.  I actually need to do that out of town but I will schedule that after the next trip to my Dad's.  Small steps.

busy

Life feels crazy busy currently.  I know it is all about family.  The Tall Short Person has more volunteering and her class schedule is very different then last semester.  I am calling and visiting my Dad more often.  I am also helping the boyos out more with the business.

This is pretty normal for this time of year for me.  It seems to be a time of year where there is a lot of change.  Where I would like a chance to slow down and reenergize after the holidays.  But that is not how life goes.  I am really just trying to figure out how to get through each day.  Blue seems to be a common companion.

Making bread.  Spinning.  Sewing.  Crocheting.  Those are the things that are keeping me most balanced.  They are not different then I have shown before but Ijust keep going.  It is finding balance when I have all the other things.  And words are still very sparse.  I have more contact with people who really want to talk more then I care to.  I am very pro-solitude.