“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.”
Johannes A. Gaertner ART HISTORY PROFESSOR, THEOLOGIAN, POET
Category: Life
Kindness
One Thing
Rory, over at A Guy Called Bloke saw a quote that I posted and shared the lovely quote below with me. I loved it so much I wanted to be sure to share it with you!
“I think a man only needs one thing in life. He just needs someone to love. If you can’t give him that, then give him something to hope for. And if you can’t give him that, just give him something to do.”
Scott Michael Campbell – James Liddle
You’re Not In Charge
Hello, my WordPress community. 🙂 I know you haven’t heard much of me lately and I apologize for that. In the crazy reality of today’s world, I hope that all of you are well and are staying safe.
I am well. I took a few days off work and just spent some quiet time at home, sleeping late, sewing masks, taking naps and catching up on my TV shows.
Being an introvert, spending time alone, at home, is not as hard on me as it would be on some people. I use this quiet time to recharge. I think that the current state of the world has had me stressed. (no big surprise there, right?) So quiet and rest is just what I’ve needed.
A few of you have reached out wondering about me. I don’t mean to worry anyone. I so appreciate your thoughtfulness! ❤ I am mostly doing alright. I think that like a lot of people, are in disbelief about the state of the world. All we can do, is all we can do, right?
I think that the best advice I would give anyone struggling to come to terms with the pandemic, is to simply tell them to find their purpose. With purpose, you will always move forward, not sit dwelling on the what ifs. It’s not easy to smile and be optimistic on some days, I get that. Just Do What You Can. Leave the rest to your higher power. You’re not in charge, remember?
Be well and stay safe my friends.
Thank you for joining me on this journey. ❤ Penny
Make Our Blessings Count
“We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.”
Neal Maxwell RELIGIOUS LEADER
Count Our Blessings
“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”
Eric Hoffer PHILOSOPHER
Blessings
“Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from.”
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross PSYCHIATRIST, AUTHOR
A Hundred Reasons to Cry
Just 3 Things
Making Face Masks
Do you want to make your own homemade face masks? Below are instructions of how I make them. These are NOT medical grade face masks. But if you need a face mask, as many places are requiring them these will work great. There are lots of different masks out there and lots of different ways to make them. This works for me.
Supplies you’ll need: Fabric, 1/4″ elastic, scissors, straight pins and a sewing machine. The fabric, ideally, should be a cotton or cotton blend. T-shirt fabric works well. Sheets, pillow cases or denim also work. The denim, although it works, if it’s too heavy, your sewing machine is going to have a hard time handling it. The light blue ones above are a fairly heavy denim and I was only able to get 2 pleats instead of 3 because of the thickness.
For one mask, you’ll need 2 pieces of 6″ X 9″ fabric and 2 pieces of 7″elastic.
With RIGHT sides together, pin the elastic between the layers at each corner. Be careful not to twist the elastic.
Sew around the outer edge of the 2 pieces, leaving about a 2″ opening along one of the long sides. I used about a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Using the 2″ opening, turn the fabric right side out. Now your elastic will be on the outside of the piece.
Next fold and pin 3 pleats on each end of the fabric. I just eyeball this. Some people use precise measurements, but accuracy is not essential here. I also pin closed the 2″ area that I used to turn the fabric. *An important note: be sure that the pleats on both sides of the mask face the same direction. I use the pin I put in the opening to remind me. I have them all face down toward it.
Carefully sew around the perimeter of the piece, being careful not to sew over the pins. On the pleats, if the fabric is heavy, go slow to be easy on your needle and sewing machine. I sew around the perimeter twice for extra security. This is up to you.
I then press the pleats flat. But as you can see from the picture above, it’s really not a necessary step.
And there you go! You just completed a face mask. After you do a few of these, the process will go faster.
A few notes and tips: I will often use a lighter weight fabric with a heavier one to make it easier to sew. You end up with a mask that has 2 different sides. I had a hard time finding 1/4″ elastic for a while so I just cut the pieces length-wise to make them more narrow.
I don’t charge for the masks that I make. Some people do, but there are so many people unemployed, this is a source of income for them. There is a huge need for these. They go out as fast as I can make them. Consider your mail carrier, or grocery store clerk, delivery drivers, lawn workers. Also think about the homeless shelters, assisted living communities, senior centers. Every little bit helps.
If I left anything out in my instructions above, or if you have any questions just let me know.
Have fun!
Copyright 2020 Penny Wilson
Thank you for joining me on this journey. ❤ Penny
