Medical masks - for dummies

Trying my hand at sewing medical masks

1st attempt - not too bad

Different pattern 

I'm not much of a seamstress... having never really done any real sewing. But I do machine quilt a bit. So I thought I'd try to make a few medical masks for me and my daughter.  DH has one that they gave him at the doctor's - and I do have one that a friend made me - but I thought 'how hard can it be?'  

First pattern I found was pretty easy... that's the top one here. This second pattern came out neater, but I had to rip out seams 3 times - probably won't do that one again. And I didn't have any elastic, so used my grand daughter's pony tail holders (which are not flat and don't sew too easily) for behind the ears.

Anyway, now my daughter will have 2 and I will have 2. The first one has a pouch in it where I cut up a new hyper-allergenic charcoal filter vacuum cleaner bag and inserted it in the pouch for extra protection. The second one only has 3 layers of fabric. 

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The serviceman is supposed to be here tomorrow to repair our washing machine. He had to order a new transmission. It's been a week without being able to wash clothes... but since we can't go anywhere, it wasn't too much of a hardship.  

Also we are trying curb side delivery tomorrow for the first time. Ordered over a week ago, but all slots were filled until the 9th. Think we will try delivery service next time.

I also heard some talk about letting people go back to work soon???

I can't believe this. Even if they have to be 'supposedly' well... seems a bit dangerous when we haven't even reached the peak.

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On a lava beach on Oahu last August

What a difference a few months make...

Going back there in my mind now

listening to the sound of the waves crashing

and

breathing in all that fresh air

(Forever grateful for that moment)

Hugs and Prayers to all of you,

Rian

a trivial epiphany... and more

Ghost says hi!

I realized something this past weekend that isn't terribly epiphanic (is that a word?). One of the things that has come out of this 'shelter at home' order is that there is no rush to do anything.  I do like that as I've never been good at rushing.  Some people seem to thrive on it (people who work in Emergency clinics for example). 

When I was young, one of my uncles used to call me "Pokey" because I did things so slow (was always the last to get up from the table as I ate slowly, etc.) I still do. I hate rushing - for any reason.

But in life sometimes it is necessary. When I worked at Veterinary Hospitals (as an Animal Medical Tech - long story as to why I got my BS in Animal Science but never tried to get into Veterinary school - maybe another time.) - anyway, when I worked in these Animal Hospitals, I loved the work - but many of my colleagues chose to work the Emergency Clinics (not me - too fast moving - not my thing). 

So now when I go through my list of things to do for the day (and yes, I do make a daily list), if I didn't get to do one or two - it's like 'OK, just move it to tomorrow - no sweat'. We're certainly not going anywhere...

This may all seem a bit trivial... but to me it was like an epiphany.
Any epiphanies for you lately?

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A friend sent me this pic....  could be my daughter's house (if you add a horse or 2) - but for us, you'd have to exchange the dog and chickens for raccoons and possums.

Do you know what these are?  Japanese hot cakes! I saw them on Pinterest and had to try them.

my attempt at making them

I used a round thing I had for either pancakes or eggs... 

somewhat close to  original

They tasted good - not that different from regular pancakes just a bit fluffier.  I also didn't have any buttermilk so had to add some lemon juice to regular milk to make the buttermilk - so they had a slightly lemony flavor. We liked it and may add a little additional lemon the next time. If you'd like the recipe and don't have access to Pinterest, let me know and I will post it.

Hope you are all staying home and staying well! I love having you virtually visit...  and please take care... these are strange and somewhat dangerous times.

Hugs,
Rian

Fluff... an outside feral cat

One of our outside ferals (doesn't he have the sweetest face?)

This is him again...  He is a long-haired black and white that was brought here by his mom along with his 2 siblings (another black and white and a long haired black) when they were about 6 weeks old. The other two show up in the yard on occasion, but this one (we call Fluff) stays close by most of the time. He is an extremely happy go lucky young cat that flies around the back yard jumping at bugs and rolling on his back.

He is always happy to see either of his siblings, but gets really excited when his long haired black sibling shows up. They cavort around the yard like two kittens and make us laugh. And we really need to laugh right now!

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fox in the hen house

Finished my first little fox (for this round). Can you see him there in the middle?  The Cheeky Chickens don't seem too disturbed. Will start under-glazing them all next week...

It is cold outside this morning (43 F). I really wish it would warm up and the sun would come out. 

Oh, and I have a new supply of books to read! My friend who downloads books to her kindle downloaded a new batch of mysteries for me (I have her 'old' kindle). 

And another good friend (who buys from Amazon) dropped off a bag of books this week. And... I downloaded one from kindle and ordered one from Barnes and Noble (which arrived yesterday).  So... besides writing the sequel to my Time After Time, I'm catching up on my reading! 

Hope you all have a safe 'Stay at Home' Saturday! I love sharing these little bits and pieces of our life with you... and reading about yours. We are really all one big family... and we will get through this together! Stay well!

Hugs,
Rian

a puzzle and a pad...

Well, I planned to post every 2 days... but Hootin' Annie's Scavenger Hunt was unexpected (but fun!). So now I don't know if I should just skip today and post tomorrow. However, I have a few things on my mind and things don't 'stay' on my mind for long these days. They just drift off onto never never land only to return at some inopportune time. So... I'm going to post today as planned.

Completed cat breed puzzle

DH (and I) finally completed the cat breed puzzle! He did most of it, but I helped with a piece here and there.

What I needed to vent about here is unimportant in the grand scheme of things (the Pandemic), but aggravating/irritating (never knew when and how to use these two) just the same. Those of you that follow my blog know that since January, 2020 - our dryer and our dishwasher both died. Yesterday our washing machine joined in their passing. DH and I keep looking at each other and wondering what will go next. (Hopefully not us... and I know that's not funny, but a real possibility these days).  

Anyway, the serviceman who comes out (and is beginning to know us well) was very nice. DH was at his radiation so he wasn't home. I welcomed him in - standing 6 feet away and wearing my home-made mask. He was very understanding and said that he wasn't sick (that he knew of) and was very concerned that he might bring something in to his customers so for us to be sure and spray and wipe down any area he worked in after he left.  We did.

I locked Ghost up while the serviceman was here as she doesn't do well with strangers. I'm going to have to make it up to her later - maybe with a good brushing or a play with the laser bug. I did take this picture of her yesterday (guess I'm a little bored to be taking pictures of my cat's paws). But I never noticed how pink her pad were... kind of pretty with her grey fur.

Ghost's pink pads

They're even pinker than the picture shows.... 

OK, that's it for today. Please stay home and stay safe... and thanks so much for visiting!

Hugs,
Rian

Anni's Scavenger Hunt Contest

Here are my 10 objects for 

Scavenger Hunt!

(from Hootin' Annie's Blog)

necklace with red

stuffed animal

printed with letter L

Yellow flowers

Art with human

glass cat

blue rectangle 

Buckle

Can with 'nutrition'

unusual ??

Do these work?

Hugs,
Rian

Give me a garden...

A very long time ago I used to write poems... mostly haiku... of some sort. Anyway, I came across this picture the other day and it reminded me of one of my poems. Sharing it with you just for the peace of it...

"Give me a garden

and a cat

Beauty and 

quiet contemplation

Add a favorite book

and a cup of tea

These are the 

wonders of the world

... to me"

Hugs,
Rian

Staying calm and enjoying nature...

Our backyard March 2020

Our backyard is a bit overgrown. We used to use it a lot when the kids were here... but now we basically have given it over to wildlife... which is actually very entertaining.

And our Bay leaf tree in the back is doing beautifully. I need to pick and dry some bay leaves soon.

Bay leaf tree

And the Spearmint in the front looks wonderful too. I love the smell of mint... and DH uses it in his sweet tea.

Mint

We don't have flowers, but we do have a lot of greenery... so I thought I'd share some with you. I had to make the pictures very large to actually see the leaves well... hope that works OK on your computers. Let me know if it doesn't.

Today is Saturday and day 12 on our 'shelter at home'. I haven't gone anywhere outside the house except to walk around the neighborhood. DH goes off to his radiation every morning and grandson went out on a grocery run for us yesterday. He was gloved and masked. Still can't find Lysol or Clorox disinfecting wipes, but otherwise, we're fine. 

I tried my best to handle the groceries carefully, either wiping them down, spraying, or washing in the sink.  One can only do so much.

Made another chicken (that's 9 new additions - the flock is growing!). I also started on a crochet project and am thinking about making a few little clay foxes... (maybe). 

Oh, and  I saw or heard that if you're making face masks, that vacuum cleaner bags were good. I checked my bags and the ones I have are 'odor fighting hypo-allergenic charcoal filter bags' for sensitivities to odors and dust. Would these make good face masks? Would it be safe to breathe through charcoal filter bags? I only have a few, but thought I'd give it a try if this was a safe alternative. Anyone know?

Closing this with this poster I found on Pinterest. Isn't this the most calming space? 

Love this!

Hugs,
Rian