Week 116 of distancing (seems that way anyway) in my house. Quarantine has given me time to get things done. I have managed to clean my sewing room, all of my cupboards are neat and I have large boxes of things I no longer need. One big problem is I have nowhere to put all of these things I no longer need. I need another room for the "No Longer Needed Items". When this is all over second-hand shops are going to be inundated. There is no place to donate anything. Maybe we add an addition to the house?
PRE QUARANTINE
POST QUARANTINE
Then again, that seems pretty extreme. So for now, it's Spring, who needs a garage anyway?
For those of you following what I am up to. All of my family received their puzzles on a Thursday evening. We had a Zoom meeting and decided there were no rules. Everyone could just go at it. We all began at 6 pm in our quarantined homes. This was a 1,000-piece puzzle. I was shocked when at 11:30 pm I got a text from my daughter along with a picture of the completed puzzle. That was like 6 hours! This means I spent $100 for five-and-a-half hours of entertainment for these people! I had planned on this being a leisurely contest. But no, these ingrates finished it within hours. This past Sunday my son's family sent a picture of their puzzled completed. Dennis and I are still struggling to get it done. Both my son-in-law and my grandson are dyslexic and have ADHD. So they can focus, and I mean focus. These people have superpowers! Dennis and I, on the other hand, are just regular people who take over a week to put a 1,000-piece cat puzzle. What punishment?
I have a granddaughter who is an ICU nurse. She is dealing with Covid-19 patients each shift. She is in a small hospital in a small town. Last week she had a 55-year-old male patient with Covid on her shift who was not doing well. . She contacted the wife to let her know that she would call her either way regarding her husband's status before she left her shift. It came to the point where my granddaughter knew her patient wasn't going to make it. His wife had also tested positive. The hospital allowed the wife to come back to the hospital and be with her husband as he passed (such a blessing). My granddaughter stayed in the room with them. When he died the wife fell apart and told my granddaughter how difficult this was being able to see her children or grandchildren and put her arms around them to tell them he had died. My granddaughter explained that she too had been exposed, therefore, she would be their replacement. And so, she wrapped her arms around the woman and just held her. Yes, she was wearing the proper PPE. She also made arrangements to stop by the woman's house that evening to make sure she was doing ok and just let her talk.
I have always been proud of my granddaughter but this act of kindness was such an example of the empathy medical workers have for their patients. To me, she is a shining example of heroism. I thank her and all of the medical people who are in such chaos right now.
I have been making masks like crazy and, of course, I have run out of elastic. I had to start making bias ties. I did not have a bias maker so I went on YouTube to find a solution. Of course, I found one. I think this method is amazing! I used the TQM Bias Ruler to cut my bias strips (you can find them at tqmproducts.com as well as a video of how to use the ruler) and then used the following method to make the folds.
Bias Tape - Sale & Heroes
About 3 minutes in it shows how to use a pin on your ironing board to make the tape. Pretty amazing. I have been using this method all week.
There is little that hasn't already been said about our situation. Stay safe and keep on sewing.
Rita
Recipe of the week
I have to admit I have been baking more than usual and dropping my goodies off to my family. I figure if I can't see them I can at least feed them.
This was my mother-in-law, Isabelle, recipe. I love it because it takes so few ingredients to make and if I double it I can freeze the second pan. Every time I make them I see her sweet face. I miss her so much.
Peanut Butter Bars
1/2 C shortening. 1/2 tsp soda
1/2 C sugar 1 C flour
1/2 C brown sugar 1 C oatmeal
1/3 C. peanut butter 1/2 C chocolate Chips
Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips and spread in a 9x12 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. The dough will be soft and barely brown at the edges. Spread the chocolate chips on top immediately after removing them from the oven. Let chips meld and spread over the dough.
Frosting
1/2 C powdered sugar enough milk to make the mixture smooth
1/4 C peanut butter
In a small saucepan, heat sugar and peanut butter adding just enough milk to make it smooth as it is heating. Spread the mixture over the bars. Crunchy peanut butter works well in this recipe too.
Heroes show us courage, honor, integrity, and strength.
Now more than ever, we need heroes.
This was one of your best postings. They are always so heartfelt. I enjoyed reading the piece about the puzzles to my husband. Thank you for the recipe and the inspirational saying. Without these valleys, we wouldn't appreciate the view from the peaks! And isn't amazing how we can do something without all the special tools sometimes?