Having fun under lock down...

Sewing section of a Wal-Mart location in the U.S. The white box at the far left of the bottom picture is the last remaining sewing machine. Seems it's taken a pandemic to get Americans interested in sewing again.

Masks are a hot item on Etsy

Trollbabe wrote:

Sewing section of a Wal-Mart location in the U.S. The white box at the far left of the bottom picture is the last remaining sewing machine.  Seems it's taken a pandemic to get Americans interested in sewing again.

No kid! Suddenly everyone at work is hand-making masks. All complaining about not being able to find fabric they like. LOL.

LOL, Kojiyumi, it took me a year of spare time just to sort out, organize and properly store my late mother's fabric collection. Anyone who can't find the fabric they like needs to learn how to use paint, fabric markers or good old embroidery thread.

I have a friend with a similar fabric collection. Not much of a sew-er myself, though I've done some simple stuff with leather and furs. I can darn a sock and set a button back on a pair of pants or shirt, though! LOL. I don't think I'll ever reach Royal Dansk tin levels, tho.

Yep, Mom saved a lot of stuff in cookie tins.

Hmm. My grandmother did as well. im sensing a pattern.

Trollbabe wrote:

Yep, Mom saved a lot of stuff in cookie tins.

So did mine. A separate one for buttons. None of them labelled and they're all identical but she knows exactly which one is which

Nibblet wrote:

Trollbabe wrote:

Yep, Mom saved a lot of stuff in cookie tins.

So did mine. A separate one for buttons. None of them labeled and they're all identical but she knows exactly which one is which

Trollbabe wrote:

Anyone who can't find the fabric they like needs to learn how to use paint, fabric markers or good old embroidery thread.

That also reminds me, I have a friend with a surger and an embroidery machine. Maybe when this whole debacle settles a bit, I'll ask her to show me how they work. I've looked at the prices of embroidery machines for the sake of making patches, but yeesh...

Also on the question of tins (though my mom also had the most amazing gold/bronze textured tin from Swiss Colony that was... ancient and vanished after she passed... I blame my sister...) https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/qv3jax/seriously-why-does-everyones-mum-use-that-same-cookie-tin-for-sewing-stuff

lmao, exactly those tins too. I don't think I've ever seen one with cookies in it

I'm okay with that, tho. I hate those cookies. But I love Swiss Colony's old world cookies. Though newer tins of those I always ended up inheriting for crayons when I was a kit . XD

Mama left behind a plastic shoebox full of Altoid Mints boxes. These are pocket-sized hinged metal tins that are perfect for sewing notions.

Before curbside recycling, I used to feel too guilty to toss cookie tins. I also confess to binging on cookies just to empty a tin.

Ooh, altoid tins! I use those for SD cards and thumb drives and spare keyboard keys. Mechanical keyboards are sometimes prone to having keys just... go airborne when you get way too into hammering them during a gaming session.

Got all the things I needed from grocery store switched sheets on my bed too. The flannel is out and cotton sheets

For those of you who are confined to home, I think it would be great if everybody devoted part of their free time to thinking, really hard, of solutions to problems in the world and in our communities.

That's a great idea Trollbabe!
Unfortunately, there are always going to be those who can't see past their own lives to look at the bigger picture. For those people, that will be hard

Nibblet, I agree. There will always be negative people, and all of us live under our own limitations.

There are several ways to overcome this. One is to regard the time away from work as a retreat. When people go on retreats, they disconnect themselves from the distractions of the workplace and the outside world. No TV, no computers, and no telephone connections except in emergencies.

They spend quiet time in prayer or meditation. They may also focus upon improving their health and becoming more aware of their daily habits. In a couples retreat, they may focus on building their relationship. But they can also use the time to find a solution to a less personal problem, such as a research project or an invention.

Another is to read. I spent a few hours this week sorting through housewares and books. (I realize sadly that I will not live long enough to read my hundreds of hard-copy books.) It's inspiring to read biographies of people you view as successes. I find that these stories show you how people overcame impossible odds and solved the world's problems.

It's important not to see people or groups of people as problems. We can't solve our problems without first accepting our different opinions and values. As an example, I once read of a Jewish man and a Muslim man who became business partners in a wholesale business that provides both kosher and halal meat.

I wish I could time away from work because we're essential but they have nothing for me to do at the moment, but at the same time I feel guilty because so many are out of work.

Still, a lot of what I'm doing could be done from home rather than make our lives exceptionally difficult by staying in the office. Social distancing in a cube farm is a special level of chaos.

This has to be the best way to spend staying at home. Making best friends with your porch pigeons.

https://www.instagram.com/jasperdoest/

Trollbabe wrote:

Nibblet, I agree.  There will always be negative people, and all of us live under our own limitations.

There are several ways to overcome this.  One is to regard the time away from work as a retreat.  When people go on retreats, they disconnect themselves from the distractions of the workplace and the outside world.  No TV, no computers, and no telephone connections except in emergencies.

They spend quiet time in prayer or meditation.  They may also focus upon improving their health and becoming more aware of their daily habits.  In a couples retreat, they may focus on building their relationship.  But they can also use the time to find a solution to a less personal problem, such as a research project or an invention.

Another is to read.  I spent a few hours this week sorting through housewares and books. (I realize sadly that I will not live long enough to read my hundreds of hard-copy books.)  It's inspiring to read biographies of people you view as successes.  I find that these stories show you how people overcame impossible odds and solved the world's problems.

It's important not to see people or groups of people as problems.  We can't solve our problems without first accepting our different opinions and values.  As an example, I once read of a Jewish man and a Muslim man who became business partners in a wholesale business that provides both kosher and halal meat.

LA, im guessing? We have this joint institution here known as the "Mid-Eastern Restaurant" or "Mediterranean" if Spanish, Greek or Italian also starts cooking at the place. We have such a place not too far from me, and down the street from it is "Crazy Falafel".

There's also Folding to be done...

https://foldingathome.org/covid19/

Kojiyumi wrote:

There's also Folding to be done...

https://foldingathome.org/covid19/

I've been doing it here for a while now, too
https://fold.it/

Sorandril wrote:

Trollbabe wrote:

 As an example, I once read of a Jewish man and a Muslim man who became business partners in a wholesale business that provides both kosher and halal meat.

LA, im guessing?

It was New York, but I don't have a link to the story. Halal meat should be available in many large cities. Trivia: While people tend to think of Mideastern immigrants when they picture a Muslim community, the majority of the world's Muslims are of Asian descent.

In this week's family drama, I mean news, my sister decided to visit from out of state. Against my advice, she arrived this week. I'll be working, and she's staying at my brother's house, so it doesn't effect me much. Hubby needs rest and has been out of the hospital for only a few days, so we decided against my place.

"This is a war zone," I told her when she was on her way. I listed a dozen household and medical products that are in short supply.

So far she has been wearing a mask and practicing social distancing, but she seems surprised that there is nowhere to hang out.

We spent a few hours yesterday at a nice local laundromat, since we both had wash to do. Aside from a few grocery stores, the laundromat is the only place for miles with indoor public seating. The management is selling earloop masks, $39 for a box of fifty.

She wanted to get lunch, and I recommended a few places, but I explained that they were takeout only. The last time Hubby and I went to a burger place, we had to eat in our car.

Restaurant patios are usually roped off. She called one restaurant and asked if they had outdoor seating. They explained that they could get cited by the police if they allowed patrons to sit outside on the property.

Today we are going to meet at a public park. All facilities are closed but walking trails are open.

I live in California, we have the melting pot of everything here. Our ballots have something like 9 or 10 different languages. Food choices are varied as well. Governor Newsome is getting ready to open up our economy in the next few weeks. So far so good.

Im not sure about it... way too soon considering this virus.