Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Quarantine Chronicles - Corona Style - Week 7

Welcome to another edition of Quarantine Chronicles!!  This post is my response to our current global health crisis.  It's my record of the Lockdown Life.  It's May, already!  Can you believe we've been at this whole Stay-at-Home order thing for SEVEN weeks???  I don't think I had any idea self-isolation would go on this long.  I seriously want my life back!  Knowing that I couldn't cope with a daily post...


Corona-cation.  Week Seven.

This series began on as Thursday, March 19th.  It's hard to believe that a month has gone by.  And yet another is hot on its heels!  Thanks for staying with me to see how the time has unfolded.

On Day FORTY-THREE, Thursday, April 30th...

It's my favorite day of the week!  ZoomBEE met this morning:



Making face masks has become "a thing" with many of my quilty friends.  According to BEST LIFE yesterday, the CDC hasn't address how long Americans will need to be donning face masks before going out in public.  Experts venture that it is going to be quite some time before we can safely leave our homes without protective face coverings.

Carra Natterson, MD, explained, "We should all get used to masks for now because we don't have a great system in place to figure out who is currently infected and who is immune."

The article went on to comments from Jacob DeLaRosa, MD, who felt that we'll be wearing masks "for the foreseeable future" - or until we achieve herd immunity, which occurs when the majority of the population has become immune to a virus through vaccination or contracting and recovering from said illness.

In other news, LIVE SCIENCE published favorable information concerning Remdesivir as a "new standard of care" according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases.  The drug significantly reduces the time it takes for COVID-19 patients to recover, as compared with a placebo treatment.  These are the findings of a large, international study.  "... it is a very important proof of concept," Fauci said. "What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus." 

Day FORTY-FOUR, Friday, May 1st...

ZoomKNIT this morning.  Early/On time/Late???  This week, I was fairly close to being on time.  Our meeting was plagued with technical difficulties.  Fortunately, I took pictures right when I joined in.  Six members were in attendance...

I remembered to take a picture of my screen before logging in:



Both Tracy...


... And Cindy were knitting away:


Linda must have overslept, as she was still having breakfast when I joined the meeting:



Once she finished eating, Linda showed us her nearly complete knit lapghan:



Stacy was feeling stressed this morning:


She tried to knit, but had trouble concentrating:


Beth had the pieces of her sweater out...


... And was working on the sleeves:


She showed us the completed yoke to see what we thought about her idea for the cuffs of the sleeves:


With all of the "on again - off again" service this morning, Stacy was FINALLY able to tell us her concerns about going back to work next week, in the first wave of North Carolina's reopening economy:



This afternoon, I started something new:



As afternoon continued into the evening, my work was part of Friday Night Sew-In with my friend Kathy @ Kathy's Quiltng Blog, who asked, "Are you busy Friday night?" and I was SEW thrilled to be asked (last week) that I responded with the following comment:


Thanks for the invite, Kathy! I don't normally join, but my monthly (LIVE) Friday Night Sew-In has been canceled for the second month in a row and I miss that time with friends. Want a sewing buddy? I'm your girl!! :o))

Once again, I forgot to link-up with Wendy @ Sugarlane Designs for FNSI.  Whoops! Sorry, Kathy!  I still had fun working on a couple of projects.  That might not have happened without your invitation to the Friday Night Sew-In.



I also released a new Design Floor Friday post this evening.  I was working on finishing up Light/Bright BLUE:




Day FORTY-FIVE, Saturday, May 2nd...

This morning, I linked-up with Angela and the RSC Quilters for ScrapHappy Saturday.  The afternoon was filled with several hours of computer work.

Day FORTY-SIX, Sunday, May 3rd...

I released my Q.3 challenge post today.  You can read all about this week's prompt HERE.  This is peek at what you will see:




Day FORTY-SEVEN, Monday, May 4th...

Today, Bonnie Hunter released the sixth step of UNITY: The Quiltville Sew-in-Place QAL and I'm no closer to beginning my version of her quilt than I was 6 weeks ago!  :o((




My goal is to come up with an abbreviated version of the Sew-in-Place UNITY QAL.  The resulting quilt will be something that (vaguely) resembles this segment of Bonnie's quilt:



I bet you'll be surprised when I tell you I've finally begun!  I've still got another few projects that require my attention before beginning on this one.  (Plus, those pesky squirrels keep showing up in my sewing room to distract me!)

Somehow I missed this article on Friday.  The Hill reported on data from the World Health Organization, that Thursday, April 30th, the U.S. experienced its largest one-day death toll just as some states began to open up their economies.  The new record shattered the previous record by 438 lives with 2,909 people passing away that day.

I understand how difficult the coronavirus is making "business as usual", however, as of Saturday the U.S. has more than 1.2 million confirmed cases and 66,000 deaths from it, according to the most current data from Johns Hopkins University.  The virus is SO highly contagious!  It scares me to think about being out in public, again.  Are YOU ready?

Day FORTY-EIGHT, Tuesday, May 5th...


Yesterday, I published a new edition of Mini Monday,    Here is a preview, in case you missed the post:



Today's news, from an unknown source - as revealed by my DH - the popular clothing store, J. Crew, is going out of business.  Closer to home, Northgate Mall in Durham, NC will be closing.  No leases for rental space within the mall building will be renewed.  Stores housed in outside buildings will be allowed to remain open.  Hmm...  What will become of the DMV located just inside one of the mall entrances?

Day FORTY-NINE, Wednesday, May 6th...

Day One of the Creating a Quilted Legacy Blog Hop.  Go visit!  You can find the links in yesterday's Tidy Up Tuesday post.  My day is Friday and I have a surprise for YOU!!!  That surprise will include a better look at THIS little quilt:




SEW...


There you have it.  Another week of staying at home.  All.  The.  TIME!!  While visiting Saturday's blog by Rebecca @ The Cheeky Cognoscenti, she referenced a class she took with Lisa Calle.  That sent me off to find more information.  In a recent post on her blog, Lisa said the following of the coronavirus, etc...

I feel like I am on a crazy rollercoaster of emotions and I can’t get off the ride.

I'm familiar with her sentiment.  I have often used words to that effect.  My statement usually sounds more like this:

I want to world to stop spinning for just a little while.  I would like to step off and relax for a bit.

The "lockdown" from this global pandemic has given me the time I've been craving for years.  I am truly sorry, if you and your family are struggling.  In my house, I'm choosing to consider the time at home a precious gift.

Until next time...
That's it for Week SEVEN!


7 comments:

  1. We just have to accept the lockdown for as long as it takes. I have been isolating since March 9, a week before my state imposed its lockdown. Its taken a long time but my days are more settled into a routine and my anxiety has abated. Creativewise I just go with whatever craft my heart wants to pursue on a given day. Congrats on starting the Unity quilt. It just looked way too busy for me to attempt. I need to stick with simpler stuff right now.

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  2. I am finding that I enjoy being home with no deadlines, no meetings, no rehearsals, no responsibilities. I do find the lack of structure a bit disorienting and sticking with a task is difficult. I have noticed that the house gets dirtier faster when we are home all the time. The upside is no one comes to see the mess!

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  3. That’s quite the chronicle. Do I spdetect a little sense of humor in there? Design Floor Friday, for instance? And zoom knitting, how delicious! I can see you’re doing everything you need to do to try to keep your chin up. I’m scared, too, way down deep inside, hidden away. It pops up every so often in the guise of an anxiety attack wanting to happen, and I just keep pushing it back down. Being a sew-ist helps A LOT, keeping me dutifully distracted. Be safe and stay well!

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  4. I'm with you about not being ready to go out! Too soon, too soon. Meanwhile, I'm glad you can Zoom with your crafty friends. I'm sure you are great support for each other :)

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  5. 7 Weeks! Crazy. I have day's when I am ok and other days..... just can't concentrate. I know we are so lucky - both in my house are employed, kids are doing well with virtual school and I am lucky we all get along. I am enjoying knowing I am not running the kids everywhere...and can enjoy home time. The only time I have gone out was to Grandma's or groceries... until I had to help with pools. It is alarming to me how many people in my area do not wear masks... or don't wear them correctly. Sigh.... I would be extremely content to just stay at home and be.

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  6. It has been a crazy 7 weeks. My Guy went back to work this week, I go back on Monday. Thankfully our company is mandating face coverings if you are outside your office/lab and all meetings should continue to be virtual. At least you've made good use of your at home time. Working from home took more time than going to work. It's just harder to end the day I think.

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  7. I do like having free time at home, too. I haven't had to look at my date book for weeks now, which has been nice.

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