On May 25, 2020 my Facebook news feed showed me the murder of a black man. Murdered by a white police officer while a crowd of people watched, including three other police officers. I watched. I watched again. I watched again. I could see he lost bladder control, I could hear his cries for mercy and his cries for his mama. I could see his body go limp. I could see a police officer, unmoved, in position, with a knee on his neck while the life drained out of him. I was shaken, I was sickened, I was upset. And I watched it again.
George Floyd, I am sorry for your arrest and brutal death. I am sorry this happened to you. You paid the ultimate price, but this happened to me too. In a different way, this happened to me. I will never be the same. I will never be silent when I see injustice. I will examine my privilege. I will speak up against evil. I will walk with a loving heart and a peaceful spirit. But I will fight for justice and I will listen and I will learn. I am changed.
The best time to weed the garden is after it rains. So that is what I did today. With over cast skies and lots of optimism I headed to the flower garden to “clean it up a little.” Well that was an under statment. The garden is not very big but it sure holds a lot of creeping charlie and weeds and unwanted grass.
Too busy weedin’ to do any seedin’. Veggie garden will have to wait.
Had to stop before I finished because my hands are sore and my back is starting to talk to me. Gardening is the kind of thing you have to do more or less. The more you do it, the less you feel it; the aches and pains that is. Pretty sure by the end of the summer my back will hold out, but my patience may not.
My Vintage/Covid Hobby – Beaded orns like the ones I made with Grandma Dorothy in the 1970’s
Now that I am home most of the time, I have yearned to try new hobbies to keep my mind and spirit fresh and lively. Except the things I want to try really aren’t new at all. I’ve been dabbling in hobbies from my past.
Sometime in the 1970’s, my siblings and I stayed overnight at our Grandparent’s house. There were four of us and I’m sure they were motivated to keep up busy. One time, I remember making Christmas ornaments by sticking beads and sequins into styrofoam balls. I haven’t seen any of those ornaments in years; I wonder if my mom still has them.
As it turns out, you can purchase vintage ornament kits from Mary Maxim Online Catalog. I purchased a few and later ordered a few more. These are fun to make and can be done during a movie or two. https://www.marymaxim.com/
Another funsie was pulling out my vintage muffin tin to sort my beads. Folks, I got this as wedding shower gift in 1981. The ‘patina’ is genuine and now it is producing ornaments instead of muffins or dinner rolls.
Making the ornaments is relaxing and fun. You look at the color photo provided and the hand-drawn diagram for placing the ribbons, pins, beads, and sequins. I use a drop of glue on each pin to make sure it stays put.
If you have time, patience and a little extra cash, I recommend this hobby for your time at home. If you are a boomer like me, it will be nostalgic entertainment. If you are a millenial it will be old-fashioned fun.
I have been truly uninspired over this last several weeks of theC19 Quarantine. Trying to deal with Work From Home while coaching a team of 10 who are also doing Work From Home for the first time has taken all of my energy. I had to drop out of otherwise fun activities like Toastmasters and book groups at work. Being at home makes it easy to put in 11 hours without a break. I am tired.
Just this week I started stepping away from my desk and taking an official break during the day. I am walking outside with my dogs over the lunch hour and sitting in my recliner for a 15 minute coffee break. It feels good. But during those moments, I miss the office. I miss the hubbub, the noise,the smiling faces. I love being home and I am very productive, but I just miss the connections with people and my old work habits.
I miss the ease of face to face discussions without having to type or Zoom. I am grateful for those options, but it just takes more planning and effort than a simple conversation with someone inside my 6 foot bubble.
When I’m not working, I’m still at home and there’s just so much TV watching and house clearning one can do. I have become quite crafty during the quarantine. I decided to chronicle the things I have made and how it felt to be making them.
Making the masks seemed fun at first. I couldn’t go shopping, so I dug through my old craft supplies and found some vintage fabric I saved from around 1987. To that I added the elastic hair ties leftover from raising my daughters. I found a pattern on my Chiropractor’s website and started cutting out masks. I cut out thirteen , thinking that would cover my family members that were close enough to pick them up.
I am not a sewer, so I had to relearn to thread the machine and wind the bobbin. The masks are easy to sew and I soon was churing out a mask in 20 minutes. I felt proud to get them made and it was kind of fun.
But then I had to start wearing the mask out in public. It was hot and fogged up my glasses. More than that, when I wear my mask I am reminded that this is a real situation and not just an inconvenience. I do not want to get the Coronavirus. I do not want others to get it. I want to do my part to limit the spread. I don’t feel overly anxious, but I have my moments when my thoughts go to, “What if…”. Then I try to remember I can do what I can and need to let tomorrow worry about itself.
