Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Cracking Up?

OK... It's officially happened. We've cracked up.

We were sitting at the kitchen table after having our quinoa salad lunch (with lots of beans and veggies) talking about the virus and news and this and that.

I can't remember what the exact topic was at the time or what word triggered it. However... though it does embarrass me to write about this, but I can't write about this without mentioning this. Anyway...

In the middle of it all, uuuummmm.... a little flatuent escaped in a tiny, delicate toot.

I hoped Art didn't notice it.

But he did.

He looked at me, grinned and then started laughing uncontrollably. That got me laughing. Suddenly we were laughing so hard we could hardly catch our breath. Tears were streaming down both our cheeks. I hope the neighbors weren't listening.

We kept trying to stop our laughter, but couldn't.

Finally, we got under control. Then we looked at each other and started laughing again.

Good grief!

I think all this isolation is finally cracking us up.

Monday, March 30, 2020

Better Than Nothing Face Mask?

Hawaii's COVID-19 confirmed cases as of Friday is this:

Yes, yes, I've heard how you should only use a mask if you are caring for someone who is ill with the COVID-19 virus or if you yourself are sick. However, my cousin in Japan says everybody in Japan must wear a mask. In fact many countries are requiring everyone to wear a mask. Granted, most people there are probably wearing the appropriate one-time use types. Maybe.

I'm not saying we should hoard masks here because our front-line workers NEED them more. And to all our doctors (my friends), nurses (my nephew and friends) and hospital workers, I want to send you my heartfelt thanks for your dedication and courage.

Most hospital personnel in this country are running dangerously low on masks and other equipment. (I won’t go into why. You know why.) I saw in the news that nurses in Texas have come up with a way to prolong the use of their masks. They are covering their N-95s with a cloth mask they are sewing themselves.

I found one website that talks about DIY face masks.

This website talks about some research they discovered.  https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/diy-homemade-mask-protect-virus-coronavirus/

I got this from Reuters about Thailand:
“The droplet from coughing and sneezing is around five microns and we have tested already that cloth masks can protect against droplets bigger than one micron,” Panpimon said, adding that the masks needed to be washed daily."
I did see some warning that a cloth mask could be more harmful because of the moisture that gets collected on it. Then again... another cautions that you just have to make sure you wash it after every use.  So what to do? What to do?

I have time now since I'm in self-isolation.

I decided to make some with a few of my tea towels. Here's the pattern I used.




Face Mask Sewing Pattern

I printed the pattern first and then modified it a little. I wanted more chin coverage.

I just thought it would be good to have some extra coverage under the chin.


I got my materials. I can't believe I actually had some elastic. I do save things in case I might need them at some future, far off date. Yay!


Instead of putting the elastic behind the ears, Art wanted it around his head. He thought it would be easier to wear with his glasses.

I added the lining to create an insert in case he wanted to put something inside for further protection. Coffee filters, HEPA filters, etc. I don't know and don't know if it's actually necessary.

I saw another website that showed how you could add some wire at the nose so it can be more form fitting.

Hmmm....

I'm going to check out Art's tool shed.

I know it’s all unproven conjecture whether it is truly helpful, but I have time and I have a few tea towels.






Then I decided to make one for me with the ear loops. You're supposed to put the elastic loops inside the casing to hide it, but I took it out because I made it too tight. I don't care if it's not as pretty.

After loosening it, I tried it again but it kept drifting down my nose.

They also recommend making the masks with pretty material, BUT I can't go out to buy pretty material can I?


POSTSCRIPT 1: There are so many different styles of masks to choose from so then I tried this one. It called for an elastic band. I followed the directions, but it was too loose around the neck. If I tightened the bottom elastic, it would have made it too difficult to put over the head.

(I couldn't find a thinner elastic in my sewing case.)

I decided to use ribbons which I could tie instead which worked somewhat better. Somewhat.


POSTSCRIPT 2: Then my daughter sent me a video and pattern from St. Luke's Hospital. St. Luke's is asking people to make and send these masks to them because they don't have enough supplies.


This is the link to their website and mask pattern.
https://www.unitypoint.org/cedarrapids/sewing-surgical-masks.aspx

So I decided to try making their version too. No, I don't have enough material to make any for them and I promised the kids I wouldn't go out for a good long while to buy supplies.

POSTSCRIPT 3: And here it is.

I guess medical people know best. This is, by far the best fit of all three designs that I tried.


There is also the option to make a flap for the inner lining. St. Luke's said they had their own nonporous sheet to insert into that space.

The hospital also uses double sided tape to seal around the edges. I inserted some wire I had for the nose instead.


POSTSCRIPT 4:
I got the following video from Marcia's blog Birds, Blooms, Books, etc:

He really explains COVID-19 well. He did this video on March 23rd and what he predicted is coming true. It's scary.

Friday, March 27, 2020

Meals on Wheels During Time of COVID-19

Before Art left for his Meals on Wheels route last week I made a mask for him.




However, he said that because the recommendation was for only those who are sick to use masks, he felt he might scare his 'clients' if he appeared with one.



When he got to his station to pick up his meals, there was someone checking everyone's temperature before they entered the building. He then got a sticker for his t-shirt to show he'd been checked.

Other than the temperature check there were no other precautions. (Notice that he's holding a hand sanitizer that he brought from home.)

Later that evening he got an email from Meals on Wheels that all volunteers should wear gloves and masks when they did their routes though they wouldn't be able to provide them.

And I'm thinking... OK... We have disposable gloves (very old painting gloves we found in the tool shed) but masks? One time use masks? Does anyone have enough of those to spare?

So what am I doing with my spare time? Yup. I'm going to make more masks for washing and wearing. I'm still doing research first though on whether it's a good idea.

POSTSCRIPT 1: Looks like everybody is having to come up with solutions to the problem of keeping everyone safe. For Meals on Wheels, Art got the notice a couple of days ago that delivery of meals by volunteers will be temporarily suspended not just for the safety of clients but the volunteers themselves. Instead, I imagine the paid staff will probably be taking all the routes which is pretty darn amazing. That’s a whole lot of deliveries to do.

Still, I’m glad because it was making me nervous to have Art out there trying to keep social distancing.

POSTSCRIPT 2: A wonderful teacher friend sent this video to me and I just had to share it. It's Zach Timson doing a Broadway version of the Corona crisis.



Thursday, March 26, 2020

They Didn't Hear You Don't Need Masks

My good friend, Nancy sent these funny forwarded photos to me that I just had to share with you. During these scary times, it's good to laugh a little.


In case you can't tell, that fellow in back is wearing a bra. See how it fits so well? Maybe it works better than the N-95?


Couldn't that guy get a white pair of panties? Then it might not be so obvious.
And the kitty? I guess they didn't get the word that your pets can't contract the virus.


Can you imagine going to the bank like this?


I wonder what country this is. Where did they get those bottles?


It's got to be so hot wrapped in plastic. Gee... Underwear actually seems to fit your face. Well, if you can't find masks, what can you do?


Isn't this a waste of one time use face masks? Or... maybe she would throw away the top one each time she used it.


OK... That's GOT to be embarrassing to be sticking all those pads on your face. Why not just use an extra absorbent? Laugh all you like, but those giant bottles would definitely keep virus droplets off you.


Doesn't this guy look like some Star Wars bounty hunter? You can laugh about covering the dog, but think about it. If the virus lands on the dog and you pet him, it will be on you. Hmmm... I'm noticing that she's holding a poop bag so she must have left that part of the dog uncovered.

OK... that's all folks.

Keep smiling. We will persevere.

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Soft Soap vs. Foaming Soap

We've been diluting soft soap to make foaming soap for quite a while now.

However, with COVID-19 constantly lurking about everywhere it occured to me that maybe, just maybe it would be better to go back to soft soap since it's not diluted.



I found this on the Web MD. website about The Power of Hand-Washing to Prevent Coronavirus.
"If you’re in control of the soap you’re using, you may want to pick a liquid or gel over foaming pump soap. A 2017 study that compared liquid and foam soaps from the same brand found that washing with foam didn’t significantly reduce bacteria on the hands of people who were in the study, while washing with a liquid soap did. 
The study was small and the first of its kind. Generally, scientists like to see research results repeated before they are accepted as fact. Study participants only washed for 6 seconds. Sadly, that’s about the average time most of us spend washing our hands -- but it’s less than the 20 seconds the CDC recommends. 
Still, study researchers think their results make sense. Because foam washes off more quickly than gel soap, users are more likely to splash and dash after a dollop of foam.“People tend to wash their hands for a shorter duration with the foam soap,” says Ozlem Equils, MD, president of an educational nonprofit called MiOra."
I mentioned this to Art since he's been pretty proud of the fact that he was the one who discovered how to dilute his soft soap to make foaming soap, thus saving some money.

Art insisted that since he puts the soap FOAM on his hand before wetting it, he does rub the soap on his hands for the 20 seconds required.


I tested out washing my hands with the foam without wetting my hands first and yes, I see what he means. The foam does stay on my hands allowing me to rub my hands for a longer period of time.

Soooo... OK... I suppose I can still use the foam, but I'm still thinking about it.

This was yesterday.


And just about all (or maybe it was all) of the cases in Hawaii were people who came back from traveling out of state.

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Bloody Eye?

I was working on my computer last week when Art walked in to tell me something. I turned around and he jumped back in shock. He said my eye was bleeding and took a photo of it.


Good gosh!

That was a shock! I've never had this happen before.

So what's the first thing I do?

Thank goodness for the Internet!


For further information I found this on the American Academy of Ophthalmology website:
Subconjunctival hemorrhage is when one or more blood spots appear on the white of your eye. The eye’s conjunctiva contains a lot of tiny blood vessels that can break. If they break, blood leaks between the conjunctiva and sclera. This bleeding is the bright red spot that you see on the white of your eye.
Now knowing that it was harmless, I called our optometrist, Dr. Tanaka the following morning who told me to come in anyway because there could be other factors in play. He checked me out and said it's exactly what I had learned online. He advised me to use Refresh artificial tears and a cold pack. He also said it should fade in about a week.

Dr. Tanaka also asked if I'd carried any heavy weights lately. Well... as a matter of fact, I did use weights at Zumba that day for the first time in a couple of months because of my bad shoulder. He said it was a possible cause.

I used the cold pack and Refresh and wondered if it did any good.

I then checked my eye and this is what I saw.

It spread out a bit and frankly didn’t appear improved at all.

Granted it had only been about 6 hours. I wondered what it would look like in a week.

POSTSCRIPT 1:
My eye is completely back to normal now. Yay!


POSTSCRIPT 2:
My daughter sent this to me yesterday. I just had to share it with you.
Uuuummmm... don't tell her, but we are going to Foodland during the early Senior hours this morning. We need to pick up a few groceries, I'm afraid. Thank goodness my eye is back to normal or it could have freaked people out.



Monday, March 23, 2020

Coping With COVID-19

I just wanted to share some stories about the current crisis. Because of this COVID-19, I've had to move quite a few previously scheduled posts into April. I sure hope I don't have to move them into May. Fingers crossed.

Here's what I've been seeing and hearing lately.

When we were on our way to pick up prescription medication last week, this is what I saw at a bus stop.

Photo is not good because it was taken through our car window.

Even though they say cloth masks won't help, this young fellow's head was covered completely. He was wearing glasses too.

I guess going on a public bus these days requires a bit more precaution.



My daughter in Illinois (which is on lockdown) told me how a mother in her little village had a young child celebrating his birthday, but was unable to have the party that had been planned.


Therefore she wondered if everyone could put a sign outside their door for her son to see when she walked with him around the village. So yes, of course! Our granddaughter quickly put up a sign for their neighbor.


We've been warned that one of the most virus laden things we have is our cellphone. It is supposed to be safe to wipe down your phones with Clorox disinfecting wipes.


And lastly... What a surprise! Our neighbor brought over a bouquet of anthuriums. Apparently, their friend is a florist who is unable to sell his flowers. He therefore told them to share the flowers with friends and neighbors.

It's beautiful. Sad in a way, but beautiful.

POSTSCRIPT 1:
We were at 37 confirmed COVID-10 cases yesterday. We just got 11 more. We're now at 48.

POSTSCRIPT 2:
Nope, it’s 56 now.

POSTSCRIPT 3:  
My son just sent this to me. I’m so afraid for my children and grandchildren. I doubt I’ll have this problem in Hawaii since there are a lot more Asians in our populations and we know better, but on the mainland.... I’m frightened. As I said before most people on the mainland cannot tell the difference between the different Asian races.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/us/coronavirus-asian-americans-attacks.html

POSTSCRIPT 4:
It’s now 77!


Friday, March 20, 2020

Fomenting Racism with a Virus Name

I was reading online that there had been instances of racism against Asian Americans because Trump had called the COVID-19/Corona Virus the Chinese Virus.  (Most Americans, I believe can't tell the difference between the different Asian populations.) Well... I figured it was just another one of his careless tweets.

Then Art showed me this article from NBC news. Here's the link.

Photo of Trump remarks shows 'corona' crossed out and replaced with 'Chinese' virus



It's frightening to think that instead of calling it either the Corona Virus or COVID-19, he deliberately chose to change it to the Chinese Virus. Why? I'm thinking he was trying to divert attention from his mishandling of this crisis. Whatever the case, he is once again thoughtlessly causing more racism in this country.

It's sad.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Got Scolded By My Kids

Tuesday was a busy day for us. There were 10 cases of COVID-19 reported in the islands. We needed to go out and get a special treat for my uncle who was celebrating his 100th birthday. A planned surprise party had to be postponed because of the pandemic, but Art just couldn't let the day go by unacknowledged by us.

We tried going to Sam's Club for some special mochi (rice dessert) for uncle, but the line snaking around the parking lot to enter the store deterred us. So we went to Don Quijote supermarket instead.

When we got home to pick mom up, a massive thunderstorm with high winds swept down on us. What to do, what to do. We couldn't take mom to wish her brother-in-law a happy birthday in this kind of storm so we had her write a card for him.

It was very gratifying to see how happy uncle was to see us and the treats. He's always had a special fondness for Art and I loved seeing his face light up like sunshine that was evading us that day.

The rain subsided so we decided to do a FINAL grocery run to the commissary before the pandemic was too rampant in our state.

Both my kids and their families in Illinois and Maryland are all home in self isolation. It's really fortunate that they have jobs which allow them to work from home. It's got to be difficult with the kids running around, but they're managing.

As we headed for the commissary we got these group text messages from the kids:

Me: Parking at the commissary is crazy and it's raining!

Tiffany: Then go home! Stay away from crowds. Do you really not have enough food at home?

Keola: Yes, please stay inside. Try to not go anywhere where there are other people. This is why you've been storing away food. It's time to start eating those Pop Tarts. (Actually I've given those hurricane supplies from last year away.)

Tiffany: And spam. (Ummmm... OK, I have those.)

Keola: Umm... Is this message not being communicated in Hawaii?

Ed (My son-in-law): Yes... Please stay home. Use your hurricane supplies.

Keola: We're sheltering in place with 2 kids!!!

Tiffany: That can't be too hard. (Laughing emoji)

Keola: But seriously, Mom and Dad, please stay home.

Tiffany: Ditto to what Keola said!!!


Then I sent this photo to them. I could almost hear them sigh in exasperation.


Keola: You went in. (And he sent this gif.)

Tiffany: I hope you cleaned your hands, and didn't touch your face.

And so it was. We have promised that aside from getting some medications today where I won't have to be near too many people, we won't be going out anymore.

Uh oh... just got the news that we now have 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases but they were all tourists or locals who traveled out of state.  So far, no community spread, but it’s just a matter of time.

POSTSCRIPT 1:  Mayor Caldwell has just declared that all Oahu restaurants, nightclubs and bars are to close for 15 days effective Friday except for take out and deliveries. Recommendations by Governor Ige is to limit gatherings to no more than 10. He’s also asked tourists to postpone their trips to Hawaii for 30 days.

POSTSCRIPT 2:  We just got 6 more cases. We’re now at 22!

POSTSCRIPT3: Good grief! In a matter of hours the count went to 26!

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Partisan Fears of COVID-19

I had other posts scheduled to go up this week, but with COVID-19 in Hawaii and self-isolated at home the topic is certainly at the top of my mind.

Tai-chi has been cancelled for the rest of the month. No Zumba for the next two weeks. So well... here I am, on my computer.


Art saw something in the paper which surprised me. Most Republicans still approve of how the president has handled this pandemic.

Wow...

What startled me was the number of Republicans still going out and not avoiding gatherings compared to Democrats. Then again I do have a few family members and friends who are Republicans and they ARE being very careful to self isolate as well so perhaps this was just the poll as of the 13th.

Things have changed dramatically and it appears that the president is now taking it more seriously. Finally.


Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Holding Your Breath For COVID-19

When Art told me that his classmate had shared some COVID-19 information that would help you test for the disease as well as help prevent it, I was, of course quite interested. Everyone is interested in some kind of helpful test since testing in this country is sadly lacking.

When I went to my Zumba class I discovered that more friends had heard of this. Hmmmm...

This is what was sent to them:

"I got this from a friend of mine who’s brother is at the Stanford hospital board. This is their feedback for now on Corona virus:
The new Coronavirus may not show sign of infection for many days.How can one know if he/she is infected?By the time they have fever and/or cough and go to the hospital, the lung is  usually 50% Fibrosis and it's too late. Taiwan experts provide a simple self-check that we can do every morning. Take a deep breath and hold your breath for more than 10 seconds. Ifyou complete it successfully without coughing, without discomfort, stiffness or tightness, etc., it proves there is no Fibrosis in the lungs, basically indicates no infection.In critical time, please self-check every morning in an environment with clean air. 
Serious excellent advice by Japanese doctors treating COVID-19 cases:Everyone should ensure your mouth & throat are moist, never dry.Take a few sips of water every 15 minutes at least. Why?
Even if the virus gets into your mouth, drinking water or other liquids will washthem down through your throat and into the stomach.Once there, your stomach acid will kill all the virus. If you don't drink enough water more regularly, the virus can enter your windpipe and into the lungs. That's very dangerous.Please send and share this with family and friends.Take care everyone and may the world recover from this Coronavirus soon.”
Hmmm... holding your breath?

I thought I'd check out Snopes to see if it was true. It's always good to check out information you get off of Facebook or whatever. There's so much misinformation out there.

Looking further I found this.


 And then I found that it's been debunked by Stanford too!

All I can say is, I sure as heck hope our government starts getting their act together. It's not like they weren't warned.

POSTSCRIPT: Hawaii is now limiting activities of more than 50 people. We don’t have Zumba this week because of spring break and I doubt it will start up in a week. Tai chi is cancelled until next month. We’ll have to see. We now have 10 cases. Nine cases were brought in by traveling locals or tourists. We had our 1st community transmission yesterday confirmed.

Monday, March 16, 2020

COVID-19 Preparation

We have had a Viking cruise to Scandinavia planned since early last year for this May. We were really looking forward to going with friends of ours.

Then COVID-19 happened. As cases mounted in China, spread to Japan and to South Korea. I was alarmed, but it wasn't in Europe. And then it was in Italy.

Towards the end of February... I was starting to freak out.

When we got the email on March 2nd that Viking would give us vouchers to travel on another day I wanted to grab it immediately. However, everyone else felt we should wait and see. Well, it's now obviously clear that this is not the time to go abroad so we have started the process to postpone the trip which has me breathing a sigh of relief.


We were walking around Sam's Club in late February and I saw this.

Art felt I was overreacting but I told him it was really a good price. When I pointed out all the empty boxes, he let me have my way.



I was actually there to get some soft soap because we were running low.

I picked up two of these two packs.

OK. I agree I went a little overboard here. Art tut tutted, rolled his eyes and said I was caving in to the panic. He said it would take us 10 years to use up that much soap.

I insisted we'd be washing our hands a lot more often.

Oh... and I did pick up one pack of toilet paper. We were running out. Honest!

And then...


We went to Costco for our usual shopping trip last week to pick up some almond milk and saw this. There was a horrendous line to get into the store. Once we got in, we were surprised to see a line stretching out from the front to the back of the store where the toilet paper was being passed out. No, we didn’t need any so didn’t stand in that line. Thank goodness! Luckily we also missed having to stand in the long check out line.

Our line wasn't too long, but when I looked around I noticed that everyone had spam in their carts. Gee... We pretty much never eat spam. And yet... everybody else had two of those 8 can spam packs.

Should I? What if?

The smiling woman behind me said, "Go quick. It's back there. Another lady in the other line said, "It's in that aisle over there."

Ack!

So I rushed off.

By the time I got back Art was at the counter, but the sweet lady behind us had insisted he take hers and I could give her whatever I brought. I did make it just in time and we laughed about it.

So in this time of crisis with everybody maybe going a bit bonkers, we all know we're in this together and can help each other.

I've already promised a friend that I'd bring over chicken soup if she gets sick. Then again, we're in each other's company so much that if she gets it, I'd probably get it too.

Fingers crossed that we ALL come out of this safely.

Friday, March 13, 2020

Have You Ever Heard of a 4D Puzzle?

I am not a puzzle person. My granddaughter on the other hand loves to do puzzles of every kind. When we visited in February, our daughter, Tiffany suggested we all do a puzzle together.


4D Puzzle?

Tif said something about it being a two layered puzzle.

What?

Ah well, I decided to just sit back and watch them start.

892 puzzle pieces?  And they're so tiny...


Eventually, curiosity got to me and I joined in to complete the first layer. Sigh... I thought we were done.



However, the following night Tif said we were going to do the second layer.

What? There was another package of tiny puzzle pieces?

The second layer was placed right on top of the first.


We really needed the picture to figure out how to do this.


Once we finished the 2nd layer, would you believe we weren't done? Good grief! You had to put plastic houses, forts, etc. on top of the 2nd layer!


It took two days to finish, but finish we did. I'm glad Art and I left before they took it apart. I was all for gluing it together so it could never be taken apart.

Do you like doing puzzles? Have you ever done a layered puzzle?

And what is 4D anyway?

Thursday, March 12, 2020

Newman's Own Salad Dressing

We were at the supermarket in Illinois when I noticed a huge assortment of Paul Newman's salad dressings.


When I looked at them more closely I saw that each dressing had drawings of Newman in different costumes. Honey Balsamic has him dressed as a beekeeper. Ranch dressing has him as a cowboy. Sesame ginger is samurai Paul. Caesar has him as well...Caesar. Poppyseed is Monet? Not sure about Lime Vinaigrette. Could that be Napoleon? Family Recipe Italian looks like a Venetian gondolier.


I stood in the aisle looking at all the dressings for quite a while. My daughter must have wondered what I was thinking of. But, no... I'm sure she knew I was considering this as a blog post.

And she was right.