35 weeks

Today marks 8 months of quarantine. School was initially canceled for Miss B on Friday, March 13th, and for me that marked the beginning of this interlude. Here we are at our second Friday the 13th of 2020, and pandemic-wise at least, things are worse today than the conditions that sent us all into lockdown back in the spring. And with no end in sight. Even with a coming change in presidential administration, I do not see a way that things are going to get measurably better in containing the spread for a long time to come.

Things haven’t changed much for us: we are all managing school or work from home. DP and I have been going to the gym during off-hours, although I suspect that may change again soon, and I go to the grocery store and the farmers’ market. Other than going out for walks or drives, and the occasional small outdoor social gathering, we have been hunkered down at home. Luckily Miss B and I are homebodies, and DP has adjusted reasonably well, so we're coping.

I joked a while back that my coping mechanism for this situation appears to be acquiring all the skills that were required by a nineteenth-century pioneer woman, and it has continued to be true - doing productive work with my hands is the best method of alleviating anxiety that I have found. I started an online sewing class a couple of months ago to focus on improving my machine-sewing skills and overcome my fear of things like zippers and buttonholes. Here’s what I’ve produced so far for class projects - an apron:

And a tote bag:

I've also been applying my newfound skills to a few projects of my own - a doorstop....

...curtains for the front door, upcycled from a set of inherited vintage linen napkins and fabric from my stash...

...and a new table runner for the season:

I've also continued making masks, although I've switched from the early machine-sewn models shown at the top to sewing these by hand. Here's a recent example, custom-made to order for Miss B, complete with an embroidered mascot based on her current favorite fandom:

Hope you're finding ways of staying on an even keel as well.