The New Normal?

We're still hanging in there, DH working from his home office, and me tending horses Monday through Friday in the mornings.  The wood boiler still needs stoking daily, chickens still need care morning and evening.

Still under the Stay Home order too, which has made Sundays a little strange as church is closed.  We have been doing church at home on Sunday mornings, using the live streamed services of sister churches in our synod.  I dug out the hymnals from when my kids were in parochial school (and had a hymn a week as memory work); and for Palm Sunday service we sang along with gusto.  It felt so good to sing those familiar festive hymns.

The plan is to stream Holy Week services too; on Thursday evening and Friday afternoon, as well as on Easter Sunday.  I've been giving DH a bit of ribbing over Easter breakfast, as he is a member of the church council and the councilmen cook and serve breakfast at church on Easter morning. I told him that even though church won't be open for breakfast that day, my kitchen certainly is, and it's stocked with ham, eggs, and bread (for toast), so there's no reason he shouldn't make breakfast for me that day. LOL.  We'll see. . .

Meanwhile, it's unclear if people will be required to wear masks when out in public (I've heard conflicting reports on this issue and can't find anything official in writing). . .   Just in case, I decided to go ahead and make myself a couple of fabric masks.  I'd actually been thinking about such a thing for over a year, mainly for when I'm working in dusty conditions such as putting hay up in the loft.  My lungs aren't what they used to be.

And if I'm going to wear a mask, it's going to be one with my personality in mind.  So I went stash diving through my fabric and came out with two horse themed prints.

yep, looks like me

 Each mask has different fabric for each side, to make them easy to recognize which side is which if they get temporarily taken off.  The one with the large horse print, I lined with flannel for softness.  And just in case flannel proves too hot in the warmer months I used a plain piece of cotton for the inside of the second mask.

pinned together

mask 1 sewn together, in need of pleats

mask 2 pleats pinned and ready to sew

two finished masks;

slightly different styling

ready to wear

Working away on a few other crafty projects, one of which will be part of K3's birthday present at the end of the month.  She's been hinting for a doll blanket made by Grandma, and I've got the sewing machine out currently.  No pictures to show yet, it's still in the concept and pulling fabric from the stash phase.  Artistic me wants to go with pieced blocks, yet practical get-it-done me is leaning toward squares of different fabrics sewn in rows.

How are things going with you?  Feeling crafty in your at home time?  Or just like the world has gone off it's axis? 

I confess, there are days when I feel very out of sorts, and others that are not much different as long as I don't read any news or turn on the TV.  My biggest anxiety inducer lately is when I think about paying bills with 20% less income; even though DH is still working, his employer is holding back 20% of his pay until this coming fall or winter.  Not much can be done about that. We'll have to figure this out as we go along.