Daily Check-In

[mecurtin]

This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time on Monday) to midnight (8pm Tuesday Eastern Time).

Poll #23680 Daily poll

This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 71

How are you doing?

I am OK
61 (85.9%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now
9 (12.7%)

I could use some help
1 (1.4%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single
31 (43.7%)

One other person
19 (26.8%)

More than one other person
21 (29.6%)

Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.

Comments

[teaotter]

My stress levels are incredibly high today. It was my first trip to the local grocery store since they instituted social distancing (only letting a few people in at a time, waiting line dots painted six feet apart). I'm glad they're taking steps, but it's such a fundamental change that I've felt off-kilter ever since.

[starwatcher]

.
Well my stomach upset yesterday was apparently the acid reflux after-effects. Today my tummy and my temp are back to normal, I've been making a point to drink more water, and I was able to get out with my weed-whacker this afternoon. Cleared out a new place for feeding the birds. (Yes, the tune from Mary Poppins goes through my head -- but I put out a bucket, rather than a bag, and I costs a lot more than tuppence. *g*)
.

[elayna]

They hadn't started that here when I went to the grocery store last Friday. Sensible, but yeah... weird. Just the signs that people are taking the steps they need to is unnerving to me.

[velvetglovefic]

My husband B's employer cut his salary by 30% (!!!!!) today while also firing all his support staff. So he now has everyone's work to do for significantly less money. He already took a huge pay cut to secure this garbage job. Now he's scrambling for a better situation, and I've had to cancel every single recurring pleasure in my life. Most of those pleasures had gone virtual already, but I still can't afford them.

I make zero money. I work 8-16 hours a day but I haven't published in about five years because I have no idea how to proceed out of the self-pub realm I failed in and am ill-equipped to navigate. In the past, I was infuriated when a supposed friend suggested my writing need only be "therapeutic" for me, but her insult is basically the reality I'm working with. Anyway, I'm working really hard, but I'm not helping our financial situation in the least. And who wants to buy books now? It's either everyone or no one and I certainly can't tell.

Alternating tears and shark-like ruthlessness for B and I today. But we still lost a shit-ton of money and have no recourse.

[elayna]

We've had really nice weather the last few days. It's been nice to be able to go outside and see beautiful spring plants. I'm sure the birds very much appreciated you!

[egret]

This sounds so stressful. Sorry you are dealing with this.

[velvetglovefic]

Thanks for that :) It pretty much sucks.

[egret]

Today was deceptively busy. Colleagues were emailing me asking for phone calls literally from the moment I woke up. Then I taught my class in Zoom and ate dinner. Feel physically well but drained today and going to bed early. Currently changing planners back to my week view so I can list daily tasks and hopefully keep track better. Trying to think about a grocery list/meal plan so I can shop smarter next time I venture to the grocery store.

[velvetglovefic]

It sounds like you're handling things really well, and I hope you feel good about that.

[feng_shui_house]

I've just been a cut up today- cutting up cotton fabric for face masks. Once I get them done, I have found a directory with contact info so I should be able to link up to someone that wants them.

I've got 49 cut out, with 5 of them spoken for... Is that weird I'm now thinking of 'bespoke face masks'...

[feng_shui_house]

*HUGS* I wish I had useful advice. All I have is sympathy.

[serafina20]

I talked to some of my second grade students on the phone today. It made me both happy and sad. The reality that I might not see them this year, or ever again as I'm looking for a new job, hit me.

[velvetglovefic]

Thank you :) The sympathy is greatly appreciated!

[velvetglovefic]

I got really excited about being able to make masks until I went into my fabric stash and found basically all wool and silk. I have some small amount of cotton, but it's very inappropriate voile. I've got a couple more storage boxes to go through, and I'm *think* there's some substantial cotton around here somewhere...but I'm also trying to accept that this might not be a way I can help.

Good for you actually getting it done! If you don't find a resource that wants them, there's a FB group organizing it too.

[wickedwords]

Talked to my brother today, which was great. His family was to have been in las vegas for a wedding, but instead, they are all working and studying from home. His wife had pneumonia, but is on antibiotics and getting better. It's wonderful news.

[feng_shui_house]

I have got 2 places to look- one is a directory, where I can sort by area, and the other is a fill out the form and we'll try to find a place for you. So if one doesn't work, another one will!

I think I've been collecting quilting cottons since 1976-- that was the year of the US Bicentennial and for some reason, quilting was one of the 'old time' crafts that came back. Actually at first you couldn't GET any cotton fabrics- everything in the stores was polyester.

So once it started to be available, I kept the mind-set that THIS IS RARE, if you SEE it and can afford it, BUY IT. A fabric store near me used to have sales every week... so... Um... I have GOT A LOT of cotton fabric. I don't know if they'll mind that none of it is solid colors and some of it is really wild 'conversational'-- but hey, maybe wearing a face mask with red lobsters on it will make someone smile.

[egret]

Thanks! Maybe I will start considering "just coping" an actual accomplishment LOL

[mecurtin]

omg, how very sucky that all is. All I can offer is kittens.

[mecurtin]

Oh, excellent! Any respiratory condition is super distressing right now.

[melannen]

We have a bunch of broadcloth prints/quilting fabric of uncertain history of the "probably mostly cotton?" variety, and I haven't managed to find anything that gives a good rundown of whether poly-cotton blends that behave like cotton are okay (or even why they're asking for cotton, I'd think a washable silk would be at least as good.)

I mean, it's all cotton-ish? Cotton-ish enough to pass a basic burn test? But I don't know that there's any fabric in this house that I could guarantee is 100% cotton, unless it's printed on the selvages and we saved the right bit of selvage. So we haven't made any masks yet.

Except old clothes, but I'd worry that using worn fabric wouldn't be tightly-woven enough anymore.

[melannen]

Our local hospital is actively requesting cheerful prints!

[feng_shui_house]

Excellent! Do you have contact info for them? ( I'm assuming the hospital is somewhere within the US. I don't think any overseas mail would arrive in time to do anyone any good.)

[feng_shui_house]

The difference is that cotton is 'breathable' you can wear it in a face mask longer without it becoming damp/uncomfortable/difficult to breathe through. Also there was other stuff, technical, that explained why cotton was preferred, but I lost the link.

I read that you can boil cotton fabrics for 5 minutes to shrink them if you want a tighter weave. I didn't have that kind of energy, considering I was starting with my quilting cotton scrap bag with lots of pieces just big enough for one mask, so I just washed everything in the machine set for hot water twice. THIS was a mistake-- unhemmed fabric frayed everywhere, so I had to expend time sorting out that mess before I could get started.

But if you go the boiling route, be VERY careful. Easy to have the fabric slop around when you take it out, and burn you.

I was told that you can tell if it's pure cotton by folding down a bit and making a crease- if the crease holds, it's pure cotton. Much faster than the burn test, and it seemed to work- the one piece of polyester fabric in my scrap stash had come from a tablecloth and it did not crease at all even in the disaster of the fray mess.

[lastrega]

I was doing ok, then I found out my daughter is sick, and she's 2000km away. She assures me she's fine and it's just a cold/flu thing, but I can't help worrying. They've had so many cases where she lives.

[starwatcher]

.
<g> They actually wait in the bushes/trees for me to come out in the morning, then the twittering increases about 400% as they all spread the good news that breakfast is served. There are even a few mourning doves that -- I guess -- recognize me; they don't fly away as I approach with more seed until I get within 5 feet of them.

When they start pecking on my front door if I'm late, I'll know I'm in big trouble. 😉