Notes from the Isolation Ward, Postscript

The Fashion Statement Du Jour

Like Cat Stevens sang, “It’s a wild world . . . just remember there’s a lot of bad and beware.”

Now that we can go out, do we want to? And should we wear a mask? The experts are equivocating on that, but one thing they agree on – non-medical masks should be reserved for all the workers who so desperately need them. What are the rest of us to do? Wear cloth masks, of course.

I thought, I can make some of those. I can sew. I have piles of fabric scraps left over from a myriad of past projects. I have a stash of elastics of all widths and strengths.

The CDC has instructions for making cloth face masks. They are quite simple and easy to follow. All you need (aside from a sewing machine) are some fabric scraps and elastic. I took a few liberties with their instructions (my husband says, never try to tell a Hanna what to do) and whipped up 4 in an hour or so. And they’re reusuable — wash them in soapy water once you’re back home. Wash your hands, too.

All dressed up, but wait, is there any place to go?

Some people think that, just because you are wearing a mask, they can invade your 6-foot space and cozy up to you. So, using my basic freehand machine embroidery skills, I added a certain message, telling people – politely, of course; I am Canadian – to “Back Off!”

 

I know, being Canadian, I should have written “2 meters,” not 6 feet. But here’s the thing: the coronavirus doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the unit of measurement you use. Leagues, nautical miles, fathoms, parsecs, whatever; all coronavirus wants is your body to turn into a factory so it can churn out gazillions and gazillions of tiny baby coronaviruses.

And they’re not even cute!

Now that I’m all dressed up, it’s time to hit the grocery store. See ya’.

Keep safe.

#COVID-19 #NovelCoronavirus #SelfIsolation #Quarantine #FaceMasks #GoodNeighbours #Pandemic #KeepingSanitized #SocialDistancing #MargaretGHanna