Living through 2020 has been ~ awful. For everyone. For those who have lost dear ones to COVID, I am ever so sorry. For those who have suffered illness or cared about loved ones who have, I hope you are all healing. For all who have lost jobs, businesses you poured your heart and soul into, your homes - may you have the strength to carry on. For those struggling to keep life "normal" for your children - you are doing better than you think. For those feeling alone and lost, you really aren't, though I know it is hard to see things any other way in this moment. May you all hang onto the hope, no, the truth - that we WILL come through this. We WILL get past this. We have a long way to go, I know. Yet, even the lamest of history lessons show that America and humanity across the globe have survived unbelievable horrors. That fact doesn't make this one okay. But, it does demonstrate our ability to adapt. To survive. To move past awful times despite the struggle and misery, with grace. And we will.
For my part, Rose and B stay on me like great big fluffy geese, cuddling their chick under their soft smooth feathers. But, like any good Mother Goose, one step in the wrong direction and they peck the pee dunkle shit out of the little adventurer. I am a good chick. I stay home. I've been out only for doctors visits, to vote, and to go on day hikes. There have been a few visits with the kiddos - outside, socially distanced. I wrote earlier of the porch refurbish. Over the past weeks I jueged up the house on the inside!!! I cleaned the oven. Granted, a self cleaning version. Lord knows I have REALLY cleaned plenty in my own doings and as Dr. Parker's maid!!! FYI ~ Easy Off ain't easy and the teensiest drop will burn the crap out of your skin. Still, the self cleaning option requires effort to ensure you don't stink up the house or set off the smoke alarm. Then there's the wipe down and cleaning the door! I washed curtains. In my confined state, indoor workouts and puttering afforded unabated views of my interior walls. They were definitely unsat! Intolerable! I had repaired and repainted a crack in the dining area a couple of years ago, but like a lost cat, it returned - with kittens in EVERY room! I suppose after twenty years the house has settled. The destruction of Ents, carried away in great, heavy loads along the street to our front over the past few months couldn't have helped. Some internet research was required. Hmmmm... "If cracks in sheetrock are repaired using spackle they will return." Well, that's for certain! According to an internet repair man with a melodic lisp, in order to remove cracks from your life forever, one must repair them with joint compound and paper tape, applied in thin layers over three days. I can do that. Right? Right! B was tasked with sourcing needed items during his curb-side grocery pickup. For some reason he looked rather stressed. His look of general horror did not improve over the coming days as all pictures came down, holes and various bunged up places were repaired. Daily applications of tape and joint compound were applied as directed. Ladders, paint cans, dust littered the entire house. Mr. Repair Man's advice worked a treat. Except, the "no sanding" deet was bunk. Sanding was, in fact, required. Now? My walls are fab. No lines, no cracks, no errors!! Hee hee! Maybe I'll crank up a new career in home repair. I think I'm pretty good at it. Time will tell! Clean up from all of that took a bit. Pictures were rehung, some after improving their frames. Mr. Photog was most worried about that! I don't know why. All his photos would be shoved in a corner, dusty and forgotten with scratches and bent edges were it not for me! And as one thing leads to another, windows were washed and closets got a good clean out. So, yeah. That's done. B is looking calmer. Good thing I'm not one to require new furniture, or even rearrange it, every few months like my Aunt Glo always did. He would be beside himself! We happily own the same furniture we acquired when we married 32 years ago. Change and restrictions strike us all rather differently, don't they?
I have continued making. With no shade to those who feel otherwise, this graphic exemplifies my mixed emotions about sharing them:
Still, keeping my hands busy and mind engaged in the stitching process has been helpful and I have posted some of my projects here and on IG. I have found the most comfort in making for others though I have some tentative garment plans. With exceedingly mixed emotions, thus far, I have made more than 115 masks. I hate that there is such a need, but I am glad that I can do something to help family and strangers stay safe in this crazy time. My contribution is far fewer than many sewists I know. The idea for two quilts has been rattling around in my brain for awhile. As yet, one is nothing more than a box of pre-cut strips. The other was inspired years ago by this pic titled ~ Sashiko by volunteers, 2012, Textile Museum of Canada:
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