Well, the mask demand has definitely peaked. I can go 2 days without restocking at the town office. I broke down and BOUGHT (!) fabric for the ones I was making for the folks at Belmont park as I was out of horse-themed fabrics. (So much for the Saratoga quilt I had planned to make "sometime".) Fortunately I live less than 10 miles from a great source of quilt-shop quality fabrics at a reduced price so it wasn't hard to find more fabric. The hardest part was holding my tongue and not berating all of the people I encountered who were not social distancing or wearing a face covering. I know from a Facebook encounter last month that there is, even here in Maine, a segment of the population that thinks this is all a hoax, that they are immune and that wearing a face covering infringes on their rights. I get it - but again I plead for those people who CAN but choose not to comply, to please think of others. Imagine if you went out and about without a face covering, came in contact with someone who had the virus and before you could show symptoms - if you ever did - you infected your 80 something grandmother or your father who had heart disease. How awful would you feel?

So I posted about making masks. I've been steadily supplying free masks to the citizens of Sidney for the past month. I leave them in the town's little free library, which is located outside our town office. Any where from 10-20 per day have been taken - usually they are all gone when I go to restock in the morning. Some people on Facebook have offered to pay me but I make these available for free. I have had several people who happened to be there for masks when I restocked give me money which I did accept as I have been spending money to purchase elastic and cellophane envelopes for packaging. And I was fortunate to have relatives and a friend also send me money. But I'm not in it for the money. I'm in it to protect myself, my loved ones, and my friends and neighbors. It was so gratifying to find this note in the Library box last week when I went to restock:

This is from the town clerk and her staff who are keeping our town running while having to reinvent the wheel to do so. Every operation has changed with social distancing.

I also have been sending masks to the Race Track Chaplaincy of New York at Belmont Park. Those who know me know that I am a fan of the Thoroughbred race horse. The RTCNY takes care of the spiritual and social and other needs of the backstretch workers - the people who groom, hot walk, exercise the horses. With racing not happening at NY tracks, these people have limited resources as they are not earning any extra money from horses winning races. As of today, I have sent them 11 dozen masks. Here's a photo of a happily masked family:

My thanks to them for caring for the horses I care about!

Back to why I do this: I'm in it to protect myself, my loved ones, and my friends and neighbors. So when I see people putting me and my neighbors and my friends at risk by not wearing a mask or social distancing or insisting that not being allowed to eat in a restaurant is infringing on their rights, I have to say "What about MY rights to not get this insidious disease?" Your behavior is taking away my right to health and safety. Leave the politics out of it, please. No presidents or governors or other issues. Don't confuse the issue with politics or your agenda. Please, think about someone other than just yourself. I have friends who are immune compromised, I am in that age group that is at risk. And I'm certain you have people you care about who are in the same situations - please, think about them. I am not unsympathetic to the small business people who are hanging on by a thread - I am one of you, with now 3 shows cancelled so far. But is the risk really worth the reward?

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.

Curmudge - Goodbye Karl - Ithaca in all 4 Seasons

Okay, it’s 5:30 Sunday afternoon and I’ve just taken the 3rd call of the day from the “No on 1” campaign. If they don’t stop bugging me. I’m going to vote “Yes!”

Just back (yesterday) from an emergency trip back to Ithaca. The emergency was the hospitalization and subsequent recovery of a dear friend who loves there. While I knew before I left that it was no longer a dire need for me to be there, I went anyway so that I could attend the memorial service for my second boss, Karl Jaentsch. Karl owned an independent VW garage outside Ithaca and I worked for him for about 5 years as a service advisor, scheduler, parts runner and general office manager. He appreciated my organizational abilities and my desire to do things the right way. While I worked for him, I took and passed the test to become a certified New York State Motor Vehicle Inspector, one of the few women at the time who held such a position. Karl taught me so much about the world outside of Ithaca. And he was the best mechanic. I have been searching for 25 years and haven’t found one as honest and trustworthy.

I have to thank my dear friend referenced above for providing me the opportunity to see my homeland in all four seasons this year...the snows of early January, the promise of Spring, the lush green paradise of summer and the golden glow of autumn. I’ve seen them all! The view from Route 81 just south of Syracuse yesterday was spectacular!

What I don’t understand...this week.

While I believe in second chances in some cases, I cannot in any way support the Philadelphia Eagles’ decision to hire Michael Vick. The man bankrolled a major dog fighting ring and I have my doubts about his change of heart. I hope I’m wrong. Any dogs who lost their lives as a result of his actions will never get a second chance, so I hope Mr. Vick appreciates what he has.

From the Garden

I spent a couple of hours this morning puttering in the garden beds, doling out TLC to the flowers and veggies that have been neglected of late. We dug out the stump of the Mugo Pine I lopped into oblivion a couple of weeks ago. (It deserved it!) Then I dead-headed and pruned my way around the front yard. It’s been a stellar year for the Hostas and the Daylillies. Most years my Daylillies have come and gone by the beginning of August but the cloudy, wet weather delayed and prolonged their bloom this year and that is just fine with me! I also whacked back the Spring pansy pots and will transplant them into the window box that formerly held the lettuce, which has bolted and is now compost. The pumpkin seems to have succumbed to the wet leaving the Hubbard Squash to fend for itself in the back. The tomatoes were sprawling way beyond the support I had provided so I tied them to the shed. I harvested 4 SunGolds the day we returned from New York and there are several more about ready.

So far, the deer seem to have only eaten the tops off the raspberries, an annual rite of summer. We had a brood of turkeys march through on Saturday, but they don’t disturb much other than the peace, which is how I knew they were out there! The skunks are doing a number on the SO’s precious lawn, another expected but disturbing rite of summer.

I find the older I get the more selective I must be about the weather when I attempt a gardening project. Gone are the days when I can work in high heat or humidity..I just wilt like last night’s salad! And I can’t devote an entire day to any one project. Oh, that I could! Then, perhaps, my raspberries would be weed-free and well contained. My asparagus and rhubarb would be well-fertilized with Rainbow Valley Farm compost. That bed by the telephone pole by the road would be long renovated and the Hostas and Daylillies currently residing there would have found homes elsewhere. And the bed in the back would also be weed-free and well mulched. But I figure no matter how much I do in the yard, there will always be things added to the end of the list. We are dealing with living things here!

Rochester, ElderMares, Malls, and Massachusetts

I just returned this week from a trip to upstate New York. (Yes, ANOTHER one. I’m ready for my “Frequent Driver” miles rewards from the Mass. Pike!) This was a trip to attend the wedding of the SO’s niece in Rochester. While there, we took in the Saturday races at Finger Lakes. My last trip to this track was many moons ago when I was barely a teenager and the track was fairly new. Things have changed since then...slots, simulcasting, many more claiming races. But my love of watching the horses has not changed. For me, racing is still about the horse. Do I bet? Sometimes. (Do I win? Seldom.) I was struck again this time, like my April trip to Tampa Bay Downs, how many people attend races just for the betting aspect. And it was very evident that New York needs to revamp their system to increase purses. Payouts were abysmal, fields were short.

One of the bittersweet high points of the day was seeing one of my ElderMares (mares 10+ years who are still racing) win the 3rd race. Congratulations to Ava Marisa! I hope your connections realize you have earned your retirement soon. One of my other ElderMares, Prospectforme, was a scratch in the same race. I only hope it was because she has finally found her forever home as she has been listed on the Trainer’s Listings from the Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Center. This wonderful organization has been the model for retirement programs at tracks around the country. I am an irregular supporter of theirs, simply by virtue of geography. Having grown up with Finger Lakes as the closest track to Ithaca, I consider them “local”, even though I no longer live in Ithaca.

My other entertainment for the weekend, while the SO was golfing, was shopping. Sounds silly, I know, and I am usually not much of a recreational shopper here at home, but put me in the vicinity of a great mall and stand back! Rochester is blessed with 2 such centers of commerce and consumption. I spent time at Greece Ridge Mall and while I did not spend much money, I was impressed. A few observations:
Larger city mall stores have more space but seemingly the same amount of merchandise, making the shopping experience less frustrating. You can actually SEE the merchandise!
How many athletic shoe stores does anyone need?
Marshall’s and TJMaxx really are the same store, yes?
Memo to Mallwalkers--a circuit around the mall does not benefit you if you then buy all the crap food at the food court.

Our drive to Rochester was accomplished in one 10-hour marathon stretch. Our return was very pleasantly broken up by an overnight stay in North central Massachusetts with my college roommate at their weekend house. Old cape-style house by a pond and mill stream, old trees and just very comfortable. Thanks for the hospitality and a big hello to Petey, the best watchdog in the state!