Well, it's been years since I wrote on this blog - work, home, family, life - not in that order! - took me away. I'm still living in Maine, still quilting, retired from the Library life and loving it, and now find myself in the middle of a pandemic. Not how I thought retirement would go but it's what we've got. I'm finding it easier to shelter in place than some as I've been practicing for a couple of years now, hiding in my basement studio, sewing and quilting and creating lovely things for people to buy at a regular schedule of artisan craft shows. This year, not so much - I've already had one show cancelled this year and several others are in limbo. Who knows what the future brings? I don't pretend to know beyond some wishes, like us all.

I was musing the other day that as wide-spread as the deaths have been that someone I know had not been infected. Well, word came yesterday that the husband of a cousin I was close to in my younger years has passed away after being diagnosed with COVID-19. He was not someone I kept in touch with as his wife (my cousin) had succumbed to breast cancer in the late 80s or early 90s. So, as of yesterday, we have been touched personally by this insidious disease. It makes me even more determined to wear my mask when I must be out and about and more determined to get masks into the hands of those who need them. I have been stocking my town's little free library where people can grab one any time of the day or night. I have been mailing them to family and friends. And I have been sending them to an organization at Belmont Park racetrack in New York that tends to the social and health needs of the backstretch community there. The grooms, hot walkers and exercise riders are the ones who work most closely with the horses on a daily basis and because there is no racing at Belmont (and most other tracks) right now, they have no way to augment their limited incomes to allow for even basic necessities. This is one small way I can make a difference to someone, anyone. And I don't expect anything in return. I see folks on Facebook Marketplace selling the same masks I make and I scratch my head. I see these masks as an investment in MY good health and the good health of those I care for.

So, wear your masks, social distance, stay home and stay healthy. Wash your hands, disinfect your high-touch areas and keep us all healthy. We'll get through this. Life may not ever be like before but it will be.