Masks!

Masks are the topic of my life right now. They are my job. I make them to sell, to donate, and to trade. I am shocked how many of these things I've sold. I've had to come up with a new routine for my day to make it work, but it truly is my job.

I'm working on a dozen for the Peninsula Cancer Institute and for Nelson (I got his camo fabric finally!). I still have folks stop by and leave a donation (or not) for masks I've made for them. And the ones on eBay are selling faster than I can make them.

The bottom line is that if someone needs a mask and I can provide it, then that's what I'll do.

Please wear your masks people.

Quarantine life isn't so bad when you have something to do. 

Sewing a lot

I'm loving the sewing. It's a shitty reason to have to sew, but I'm happy to make the masks for people. I'm doing them for free, for donations, and some are being sold on eBay. Overall, it's not a money making proposition. That's not the point.

Today, I sewed fairly nonstop except for when I was making cookies, then sausage balls, and then dinner. Oh yeah, there was a nap in there too. I didn't sleep much last night, so got up and did some sewing in the middle of the night. Mr. McQuillen is going to pick up 30 masks tomorrow. He's getting them for his workmates. Later in the week, I'll send another 25+ to Tracey. Tomorrow, I'll finish up Adam and Sandy's masks and start on (probably finishing) masks for Allison's mother-in-law's parents and her brother.

A gal on Twitter with whom I was interacting asked me to make her a couple like "Annie is wearing." Took me a minute, but there is a picture of Annie D on the blog wearing one like this. These will go out in the morning.

A couple doxie masks for eBay.

And a few Hershey chocolate ones to sell. 

Jenny asked for a few for her parents, so I grabbed an assortment. She approved :) 

Allison did the background of this photo for me to use on eBay. I don't mind that my neck looks a mess. It's who I am, right? I am selling the rainbow ones on eBay.

I'm open to making masks for anyone, regardless of whether they can pay or not. I want the world to heal and for the people in it to be safe. 

I didn't do my full walk today, but I did get outside a couple times. I got a little more than half my step goal down, so that's on the agenda for tomorrow for sure. If it rains, I'll fire up Amazon and exercise inside. 

Another day in quarantine, another day in life. 

Cussing time

This whole pandemic thing is a flubbed up mess. It's not martial law yet, but it's a wee bit close. It's not a Nazi world, but it's uncomfortably close with some of the suggestions coming out of mouths of bloviating fools.

#BoomerRemover is a popular hashtag. There are those who are saying it's okay for us "seniors" to die and leave the world to the younger folks. The youngs vs. the olds. What an odd concept. But it's out there and it's just strange to think that people are okay with people x age or older dying off because of a virus.

Cards to be given to people who have proven not to have coronavirus? What about the rest of us? I'm thinking we get arm bands. Yeah, that'll work. Have we heard of this before or something like it?

The sensationalism can be quelled if people would simply adhere to the CDC guidelines and stop spreading this frickin virus. It's not that hard. Limit contact with people. Stay the heck home. Wear masks and gloves when you go out and know how to use them and what their limitations are.

It would be wonderful to not have to order groceries, to visit my kids, to not make any more masks, to go to wherever, to, you know, get back to some semblance of normalcy.

I hate that people are being affected in every aspect of their being by isolation and a total disruption in life as they knew it. As we all knew it. Anxiety, stress, depression. Increased use of drugs and alcohol. Insomnia. Worry. Feelings both controlled and uncontrolled. I'm watching LivePD and they have to stop and check to see if people are in compliance in stores.

Enough grousing. I'm just done with it all today and tomorrow, I'll be back in chipper mode once more.

Masks - and life quarantine style

I'm making masks galore. I have a list of people who want them and also am making up to 100 for Tracey. I want to mail at least 20 to her this week. I will have all done and mailed or picked up this week. I may end up taking orders. I am not setting a price, though; I don't think it's fair to make money off of people who are looking for something like a mask. I am accepting donations and I keep them separate from my working cash so they can pay for elastic, etc. Okay, having said that, here are the latest:

Annie got one of the batch that Allison got. 

Susan and Art stopped by for a no-contact pick up of their masks. 

Tracey gave me a thumbs' up on fit, etc. She's getting the bulk of what I'm amking.

Here are a few I made today. 

The little one is for Alicia's son, Ivan. It was so fun making a smaller one.

And today's adventure - with a Smurf mask. (Ooops, forgot to brush my hair again!)

I took my car to American Pride last night and dropped it off. I wore a glove to drop off the key. Easy, right? I went to pick it up today and it was a process. I wore a mask and gloves, and was carrying my container of wipes with me.  I barely touched the door to open it, didn't lean on the counter inside, noticed the guy behind the counter was also wearing a mask, and didn't touch anything other than paper and my debit card (which I already had out of my pocket). When I left, I pushed the door open with a gloved finger, wiped off the outside door handle, wiped everything in the front seat that could have been touched (whether it was or not), wiped off my debit card and key fob, and finally took off the gloves and started the car. I went to turn on the AC and realized that needed to be wiped off too. Another wipe. Then I wiped down the wipe container and myself again. Holy cow. So many things to do that used to be mindless movement.

I sewed a lot today. I walked my mile and almost 1/2. I took a nap. I frickin fried chicken tenders. I don't do that! 

I hope to get a bunch of sewing done tomorrow too. It feels right to be doing something, anything to help. 

Another day in the ApperGett household

I woke up early and took the dog out. I thought about getting up, but didn't. Therefore, I slept till almost 11ish. That should make for a restful day, si? No. Makes for a cranky day. The good news is that I got my ass up and walked my mile plus. That should make for a perkier day, si? Not sure. I had myself a creative lunch - Spam on a hot dog roll with cheese and ketchup.

Okay, not that kind of Spam, but you get the idea. Now I'm going to suck down some water and sew some more masks. I've made two today already. More later. 

New undertaking and yet another shortage

Tracey asked me yesterday if I'd be interested in making masks for her clinic. It took me a little bit because I really haven't been into making masks. I'm not sure why I didn't want to, but now I do and I told her yes. She sent me a pattern and I cut one out and gave it a shot.

(Patterns: https://sarahmaker.com/how-to-sew-a-surgical-face-mask-for-hospitals-free-pattern/ and
https://turbanproject.com/patterns and [added 4/8] https://refashionista.net/2020/04/08/face-mask-to-match-your-refashioned-dress-without-a-pattern/)

Picked out and cut some fabrics:

First one made. I did a little fine tuning and made a few to send to Tracey as prototypes. (Failed to brush my hair before taking this picture.):

Today, sent her a test batch of 6:

Now for the amazing thing: There is no elastic to be found. I thought I had a roll of 1/4" elastic, but after a thorough search, I don't. I have a small amount of 1/4", but not enough to make a bunch of masks. I can put ties on them, but I'm obsessed with elastic. I did a long internet search and ordered some that won't be here till the middle of next week. I contacted everyone I know locally who sews to see if they have any. I put a thing on Craigslist (more on that later) and on Freecycle (which is closed to non-Coronavirus postings). I also asked on Facebook. Freecycle paid off and I have 13+ yards that we picked up - it was in a bag on a porch. No contact pickup. As soon as Richard got in the car, I wiped the bag down and he wiped himself and the car down. When we got home, I emptied the elastic out of the bag to air out on the front porch. I'll wipe it down before I bring it in. The bag went into the trash and hands were washed.

Sidebar: No contact anything isn't really no contact. Drive-thru at the pharmacy requires a button to be pushed, a container to be taken out of the pneumatic tube and then put back in, and then the meds themselves in the bag. Hand wiped after pushing button, gloves if possible to hold container and if not, more wiping. Wiping of the meds and the bag. It never stops. 

This virus is just a pain in the ass, people.

Craigslist got me a response from someone who wanted to go to a store and buy elastic for me in exchange for masks. I told them not to go to a store and put themselves in harm's way. I'll make them some masks anyway.

A couple of people offered suggestions for finding elastic and alternative things to use instead. Plus, a couple of people have requested masks as a result of seeing them online.

I'm not sure how big I want this to get, but I do want to get Tracey's done first and foremost.

Who knew that elastic would be impossible to find?

I have officially gained 2 pounds from eating crap. Thank goodness that I'm walking every day.


Disclaimer I put together to give to people who get a mask from me:

Disclaimer: This mask should NOT be used as a replacement for conventional and approved Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). It has not been industry tested nor has it been industry approved. Homemade masks are not substitutes for regular PPE and should not be relied on to protect you from contracting the coronavirus/COVID-19. The decision to use this device is solely your own. Social distancing is key. 

Gas - corona style

Posted this on FB early this afternoon:

Donna Gettings Apperson

6 hrs · 

Getting gas quarantine style. Get your debit card out and have it at the ready. Put on the one glove you have in the car. Get a wipe ready for when you get back in the car. Touch the keypad with the gloved hand. Scan the key fob for your discount with the ungloved hand. Answer a lot of questions on the keypad with the gloved hand. Open the gas cap on the car and put the damned gas in the damned car with the damned gloved hand. Put the nozzle back and repeat process for closing gas cap. Tell the damned machine you don't need a frickin receipt with the frickin gloved hand.

Oh, you're not done yet.

Open the car door with either damned hand at this point. Sit. Drop the frickin key frickin fob in your lap. Take off the glove the way they taught you when you worked at the hospital 40 frickin years ago. Put it in the present trash bag. Get the preset wipe and first wipe hands. Wipe them a lot. Wipe the outside door handle. Wipe the inside door handle. Wipe the steering wheel. Wipe the key fob. Wipe the shifter knob. Wipe the damned dog while you're at it cause she's in the car watching you trying to figure out what else you need to wipe. Oh yeah, wipe the debit card.

Don't put the wipe in the trash till it's dry. Wipe anything that's not moving and some things that are.

What I'm saying is that there are a lot of steps to getting gas that didn't use to be there. A lot of fuckin steps. I hope I don't need gas again.

P.S. I wasn't even close to another person, but the ones I could see were also wearing gloves. Good going, gas needers.

Groceries, quarantine style

Everything will be okay, but it's a little frustrating to order groceries. I never in my life thought I'd have groceries delivered, and here I am, doing just that.

Food Lion is not fully synced with InstaCart and that makes it hard to make changes. I wanted to cancel the order this morning and see no way on the site or the app to do it, so I called. At first, my wait time was 57 minutes, then 33, then 26 (about 20 minutes later), and then it went back up to 50+ minutes. It was at that point that I said fuck it, and decided if I have duplicate items, so be it.

Publix is better tied in with the system. I did an order with them, but it won't be here till Monday. Again, it'll be okay.

My doctor advised me via email to not go out, so even though I'm tempted to go get my stuff myself safely, I'm not going to.

The house is getting a tiny bit smaller, but not much. I'm more concerned about Allison not going out than I am with the situation here. I am also a bit concerned by Tom, but I can't get any information out of him. Ronnie and Stephen are going out way too much, but that's up to them. We're all doing this our own way.

Symptoms and how to spend the time.

Posted this on FB:

How we do it here in Croaker Adjacent:

Baking.
Bird and squirrel watching.
Walking with the dog.
Turning off the news.
Watching old westerns on demand on StarzEncore.
Cooking from scratch.
Keeping up with kids via text and Facetime.
Shopping online - okay, trying to curb that one.
Grocery delivery by Instacart.
Not opening boxes that are delivered for 24 hours.
Trying to read (not as successful as before the isolation chit)
Playing online games.
Exercising with Amazon Prime videos.
Sewing.
Painting rocks.
Listening to music. Today is Hoyt Axton day. Tomorrow is Ray Charles day.
Social media for a hoot and a holler.
Winnie's doing yoga and puzzles and some of the above too.
Richard's is doing what he does. He's still working, but it's a safe situation.

The other night, I was having some gastrointestinal symptoms, well actually all day 2 days ago. The first thing I thought was bad grapes. Then later, I was convinced that it was the first sign of covid-19. I emailed my doctor and he suggested to continue self-isolation and quarantine practices and that diarrhea is generally a part of a larger melange of symptoms. I'm sure it was the grapes as there's no further effect. 

I am washing fabric for Anna's baby quilt today. I should be able to get started on it soon. Until then, I have denim strips to sew and Wyatt Earp to watch. I realized I could watch all the westerns on StarzEncore on demand. That's a lot of watching for me!

Banana bread has been made and taste tested. Yumtastic. Richard left to go to Ronnie's to pick up chicken and pie crusts. There will be quiche in our future. I had broccoli delivered yesterday and still have a ton of cheese and eggs. Plus, they can be frozen for later. 

I get very frustrated, more than I should, every time Trump comes on television, so I'm leaving it off for the most part unless it's a western or something planned. He's not an effective leader and does not instill one iota of confidence in me. He appears to be more concerned with business than people. I know there's a line that needs to be kept in check, but it's people that count. Argh. 

And that's self-isolation for today. 

Sewing - quarantine style

UPDATE 04/12/2020 ScrapStitching.com is on hiatus for the moment. Please stop by my Corona blog for information on mask making and current sewing events. 

There's a virus among us that's disrupting the heck out of our lives. If you are self-isolating, and you probably should be, now's a good time to do some sewing.

I'm finishing up UFOs, making Halloween bags, and may make face masks for myself and others (for free!).

The Turban Project has a pattern online and tutorial for a face mask. I know I have a ton of fabric and elastic galore. While you're at it, maybe make a turban or three to donate.

The above is from their web site. 

If you run out of toilet paper or paper towels or other paper products, think of what our elders used - whatever they had. Just don't flush fabric toilet paper if you use it. If you use fabric for your paper towel needs, those can be washed and reused. 

If you sew, I know you have plenty of stuff that you could work on. So get to it! We're all in this together, right? 

Prison body - coronavirus quarantine style

I was listening to Bennington on Sirius yesterday and they were talking about how some people are taking the opportunity to work on their prison body while confined. It hit me as something worth considering. Why not use this time to lift weights and do some extra walking? It certainly is a time that

is the norm. This quarantine is putting us all in a big old pickle. So why not put it to good use? For today, this is the goal.

Eggs - none to be found in my stores. I asked my neighbor (who goes out often) to keep an eye out. I spent a good hour looking for and finding powdered eggs online in case this lasts a while and people keep hoarding. I was texting with Ronnie and mentioned eggs and he said they had 36. As we talked, he mentioned that Kroger had some earlier that day. I asked him to keep an eye out and give me a call if they bought extra. Stephen went out and checked the store and I got a text that said "come and get them." I drove to Richmond and got my eggs, took a walk, and visited for a little bit (at a distance), and headed home. I got a text from my neighbor and they had eggs for me too. So now, I have 5 dozen eggs and powdered eggs on the way. Argh. How does one plan in situations like this? You don't. You simply do what you gotta do and then bake if you have extra eggs, right? That might have to be goal 2 - bake chit.

I've doubled my efforts at staying home. I have dirt to plant things in, seeds to be the things I plant, and oodles of raking to do. I'll do some sewing today as well. My to-do list has the downstairs bathroom on it. Groan. Okay, I'll do it.

P.S. The new hoarded item is dog food. I have 2 bags on the way. Sigh. 

Day 1 of isolating at home again

I went out yesterday. I needed to pick up prescriptions. Okay, I could have done that via the drive-through, but was curious what was going on inside the grocery store. Plus, I needed an onion. I put on gloves and went in. First thing, no onions except a few scraggly looking red ones. I got 2. There were a few bags of salad of several types, so I picked up a couple of those. No bananas, potatoes, regular onions, and barely any of their presliced items. This was Harris Teeter in Lightfoot, by the way.

I didn't look at the meat aisle or the egg/cheese refrigerators. I should have as I now know that eggs are scarce. I walked down a few aisles and, as expected, paper products were gone, water was bought out, and there was, get this, one carton of regular milk. It was skim milk, but it's milk.

The freezer section was stocked relatively well, but soap and wipes and all things hygiene were picked over or gone. I did not go down the pet aisle, but again, maybe I should have as I hear today dog food is being hoarded. I had ordered Abbey's food online as she was out and it was her time.

This shit is just so very strange. As Trevor Noah says, "Is this how we're going to die?" It's freaky. It's hard not to panic when the world is panicking around me.

On another note, though I'm cooking well, I'm eating shit way too much. I am my mother's daughter. Food I have. Pantry, frig, freezer, and garage freezer are all full. And yet, I have a niggling thought in the back of my mind that it's not enough.

I'm not smoking, but boy, do I want to. I won't, but the urge is real. And if we're all going to die, why bother staying quit? See the stupid rationalization/logic that runs through my head?

I have more pot than should be allowed and will keep cooking and baking.

We had groceries delivered last night. As I put them away, I realized it was mostly junk food. 12 cartons of ice cream. No eggs. Richard and Winnie are on an egg hunt today. I sent him out with a cold bag and she went out just to see the world.

That's coronavirus for today. I'm going to sew in a minute. I need to melt down first. 

Day 3ish

It's closing in on the end of the day and I'm getting twitchy. San Francisco has set 24-hour curfews. Holy crap. WTF is happening around here? We're told that if we get sick, it'll be like a cold unless we have other issues that might make it worse. But we're acting like this is a death laden plague. I am ordering groceries on line as a trial run in case we do have curfew.

I'm having some holy shit moments. It's like that commercial where the AA woman is enjoying her sandwich and says she's experiencing some things.

The news can't help but spread a little fear. I'll be glad when we're on the other side of this.

My MO for now is to walk when I can, do some yard work, keep thinking about and working on the garden, cook thoughtfully, and to keep busy as I can (sewing, painting, etc.). 

Self quarantine day 2ish

Today, I'm baking. We're keeping an eye on the news. I'm checking stock to see what meals we have and we're fine. I can see that if we truly quarantine, we're going to run out of some things, but we're in good shape with other items. I went through baking supplies today and made cookies - took time, using up old pantry foods, and making a yummy snack to nibble on for the three of us. I took some next door and it was suggested I not come all the way in as Pat may have been exposed to others who may have been exposed. Doing our best to squash that curve, you know.

I'm not as concerned about me. I have sewing, gardening, cleaning, napping, dog stuff, television, Netflix, Amazon, Pogo, walking, the internet, books, etc., etc., etc. to keep me busy.  Really, that's not much different from my daily life.

What worries me now is when we start getting sick. So many people I know are convinced we will get sick and it will be a matter of degrees. I'm inclined to agree with that. There are so many other people who are living as if nothing is happening (again, we can't see, feel, or hear this crisis), and that concerns me.

This evening, it will be sewing and television. I'm good with that. 

Getting me some of that Corona

Okay, maybe I won't get some Corona as I'm not a big beer person, but it sounded good.

Snow/ice storms and hurricanes - we're used to prepping for those. We make sure we've got food and water, that our clothes are clean as we can't run the washer with the generator, and we've done this a lot. But this virus thing is different. There is nothing to see or feel. The threat is invisible. We can't see that snow falling or the wind blowing the trees at unnatural angles. We don't feel anything when we go out. It's just weird.

What is pretty cool is the sense of humor that is emerging from people I didn't expect it from. We truly are in this together and laughing is important. Google "coronavirus meme" and enjoy. There are some clever folks out there.

Today, though, I went out and bought rocks. If I'm going to be stuck at home, I'm going to have rocks to paint. Other than handing the guy my money, there was no interaction with anyone except the rocks and they don't count. The point is that in order to combat impending cabin fever, I'm trying to make sure I do have activities. I have enough yard work that needs to be done for 10 people. I highly recommend tapping into any hobbies you might have.

Watching LivePD, they're reminding everyone that first responders don't have a choice; they have to be around people. It's a sign of the times that they're telling us to go to the CDC or the Red Cross sites and get facts. In general, it's a nice diversion, though.

The local news has informed us that one person in our county has now died from the virus. They're not offering much in the way of details yet. Close to home for sure.

The unknown, the inability to see this and feel it, the lack of an end time, all adds up to frustration and wondering WTF to do next. And it's worldwide. That's just freaking amazing.

Matt Colvin and Katie Williams, both being skewered on Twitter. He hoarded sanitizer, etc., to sell online at a profit. She is boasting about doing what she wants (going out to restaurants). This is America today.

Colvin in NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/technology/coronavirus-purell-wipes-amazon-sellers.html
Katie Williams on Twitter: @realkatiejow