Day 51 - Chair Hog

If you’re a cruiser, you most likely know what a chair hog is.  For those who don’t, a chair hog is one of those people on a ship who scope out a lounge chair in the morning. Not only do they find the best one, they proceed to put things on the chair to hold it until later in the day. Sometimes they even pick out three or even five chairs to hold. You’ll see a flip flop going onto one chair and the matching flip flop onto another chair. A beach bag will go onto another lounge chair, a book on another, and a hat on another. And then the person disappears for hours and hours. I spend a lot of time at the pool when we’re on a ship so I get first-hand views of their work. I’m definitely not a fan of chair hogs.

But I am going to become a chair hog. At home, that is. With my new lounge chair in my backyard, I will be leaving my stuff and coming and going as I please. Now if I could just train someone to come around to take my drink order...

Day 50 - A New Evening Treat

We’ve survived the longest month ever, March. We’ve survived the second longest month ever, April. Now we’re onto May. Woo hoo! Warmer weather, flowers and trees a bloomin', birds chirping, and ice cream cones at night.

Ice cream cones? Yup. If you remember, in April I spiced things up by making these mystery treat bags for us to share every evening. Well, now we’re doing ice cream evenings.

Pre-pandemic if we wanted an ice cream cone we’d drive a couple blocks down to Burger King for their dollar vanilla cones. Once the stay at home orders began our ice cream cone trips ended. Since we never ever keep ice cream in our freezer we figured we’d just have to give it up.

Not so fast.

For the first time ever we have three different ice creams in our freezer and ice cream cones in our cabinet. (Thank you grocery pick up!) Instead of choosing a random treat bag during those between dinner and bedtime munchies cravings we will have an ice cream cone.

A fun way to spice up our evenings. (Yeah, we're kinda boring people.)

Day 49 - A Tree Transformation

As today was a stormy day and I had plenty of catching up to do on the fabric headache quilt, I wasn't much interested in going outside to take a picture of a tree. But you-know-who loves his tree and loves that the color isn't quite yet green and wanted a picture of it. So today's picture, taken through my sewing room window, is for my husband the tree man.

At least it looks better than it did 41 days ago.

How to Sew Face Mask Ear Savers - Tutorial Tuesday

If you are getting annoyed by the elastic on your face mask bugging your ears, I might have a solution for you. Today's Tutorial Tuesday uses one piece of fabric and a couple buttons to help relieve the ear irritation.

For this project you will need:

• 5" x 8" piece of fabric
• 2 buttons measuring 3/4" or larger
• Iron
• Sewing machine
• Hand needle
• Matching thread
• Rotary cutter
• Cutting ruler
• Cutting mat
• Scissors

Just like all my mask measurements, since we all have different head and face sizes be sure to check the size and fit out before making a ton of them!

Disclosure: Deb's Days is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you new sewing and crafting content.

Looking for a different mask? I have several other tutorials to choose from:

Looking for other travel accessories ideas? Check out these projects!

Otherwise you watch the how-to tutorial for the face mask ear savers right here:

Need a mask? Check out my face mask tutorials here. If you are planning on using an ear saver with them, be sure to add and additional inch or two of elastic to these patterns or the mask might wind up being tighter than you'd like.

As usual, stay safe out there!

Day 47 - Back Into Hiding

It only took one day's short adventure to make the decision.

I sent Ed into the medical clinic by himself (with the mask he put on all by himself - hooray!) and sat in the car and waited for him. As I waited, I watched. Watched an extraordinary number of people go in and out the doors with no face coverings. With no attempted observance of any kind of social distancing.

After the appointment we headed to the home improvement store to pick up some weed spray. We used the garden entrance so we could breathe fresh air through our masks instead of stale store air. Waiting in the long garden checkout line, I again watched. And again saw numerous people ignoring social distancing recommendations. Masks? Very few. I told Ed I was on the verge of wanting to trip people to prove a point. If you are close enough to me that I can stick my foot out and you’d fall, then you’re too dang close. Of course, I didn’t trip anyone but I came away so very frustrated by people and their behaviors. Added to the drivers on the road today who obviously needed a safe/ anti-aggressive driving class, the decision was an easy one.

I’m not yet ready to join the world and am quite content to go right back into hiding. I’ll wait until people learn to care about the safety and well being of others before venturing out again. I think it could be a while.

Looks like I won’t be driving enough to
take advantage of cheap gas prices.

Day 46 - One Handed Masked Man

If you've been a reader of my blog for a while you know my husband has cerebral palsy. He's not wheelchair bound, but he does have physical limitations. If you were to watch him walk and interact you might think he was someone who had a stroke, with the right side of his body pretty much immobile.

His limitations have impacted our lives and we are pretty much glued at the hip. He doesn't drive and so every time he wants/needs to go somewhere - when he went to work, the doctor's office, the store - I have to drive him. He can't tie his own shoes or the ties he wore to work every single day. He has trouble using a can opener, putting on a belt, and can't cut his own steak. As he's gotten older he's had difficulty in processing what he's reading and hearing and gets easily frustrated so I need to be always available for him. Especially now.

And especially when it comes to wearing a face mask. We've avoided going into any public place so far, but tomorrow he has a put-off-too-long/rescheduled-too-many-times test at the medical center. Since it would make absolutely no sense for me to wait for him in the waiting room with all those germs swirling around, I'll have to send him in by himself.

Unfortunately this test will require him to get undressed, dressed into scrubs, and then back into his regular clothes. And the mask is still a sticking point. He's unable to get a mask on and off by himself with his one good hand. You know from all my tutorials that I've made mask after mask after mask. But none of those have worked for him. There really aren't such things as one-handed masks for older folks who have mobility and spatial issues, ya know? Well, my creativity is about drained out of my brain but we finally have one that works.

I followed my Pleated Face Mask Tutorial.

And added the wire from my Nose Wire Face Mask Tutorial.

Sort of used the tie portion of my Face Mask with Ties Tutorial.

Used elastic from my No Pleat Face Mask Tutorial behind the head instead of around the ears.

Throw all those nutty pieces together and we now have a face mask a one hand man can put on and take off independently. Woo hoo!

If you care for someone with a disability you know how important it is to find those things that can happen without you around. It's a good feeling for both of you. And one less worry for me tomorrow.

He was oh-so-happy to model his new mask...
the one he put on all by himself!

Day 45 - A Saturday Afternoon Mystery

As I was setting things up for another spontaneous backyard BBQ picnic I came across some type of seed pod or bloom or ???

Any ideas?

Day 44 - Peek a Boo Hearts

Since we don’t have any flowers growing outside, last month I took a photo of the neighbor's tulips through the fence. Yesterday I took a photo of their tree in bloom over the fence. Now today their Bleeding Heart decided to play peek a boo with me by popping through the fence.

Lucky me getting to see something pretty without having to do any of the work.

Day 43 - Ping Pong Ball Storm

On the first day of this month I discussed how the month of March was the longest ever. The uncertainty and the speed of which our lives were upended was exhausting. How, adding insult to injury, we had a 6.5 earthquake on that last day of March. Strong enough to require us to seek shelter under our doorways. April just had to be a better month, right?

Well, where things stand on this last day of April isn’t much different than where things stood on the last day of March. Still self-isolating, staying at home and away from others, and just like all of you, trying to make the best of it.  While there was no earthquake today (knock on wood!) we did get a warning about another potentially hazardous situation.

See that blue dot over Boise? That’s where we live. See the storm? It’s headed straight to us. We didn't hide under the doorways this time, but with a ping pong ball storm (guess it’s different than golf ball?) I did hide my car completely under the carport. 

Thankfully the damaging hail was nothing more than heavy downpours for us, and while we had strong winds, here at our house we avoided damage from the 60 mph winds. Now I can instead share a photo I took pre-storm of the neighbor's blooming tree instead of having to document some post-storm damage for the insurance company like some other Boise residents are having to do today.

Whew. So grateful to have dodged a bullet ping pong ball today.

Day 42 - Shoulda Been Panama

Spend three weeks on a cruise ship in February followed by one week in Arizona.
Return home the last day of February.
Spend the first week of March teaching a cruising class and the second week getting in some doctor appointments.
Head back out the third week of March for several more weeks of cruising.

As we know, the last one of those things didn't happen. If it had, we would be in Panama today. Hot, sticky, Panama. Checking the temperature there right now, we'd be at 87 degrees with 75% humidity. Feels like 97 degrees the Internet is telling me. But I'm not there.

I'm here in Idaho on a day that's 20 degrees above normal and the hottest day we've had in 227 days. Not since September of 2019 has the temperature reached 87 degrees. Thankfully while we're at the same temperature as Panama, our 20% humidity makes it feels like plain old 87 and not that steamy 97!

It's a good thing it doesn't feel like 97 because if it did, I wouldn't have been able to spend the day outside getting a good dose of Vitamin D. I also would have missed a good view of the sun halo.

It's not Panama but it'll have to do for my excitement of the day.

How to Sew Quick and Easy Cloth Napkins - Tutorial Tuesday

It's Tutorial Tuesday and I have a new project for you. If you are having a hard time finding paper products in the store, you might find this project comes in handy when you're needing napkins. Today we're making reversible fabric napkins. They go together super fast and last for years.

Looking for more sewing and crafting projects? 
Click here to see all my tutorials!

For four napkins you will need 1 yard of each fabric.

For each napkin you will need:

• Main fabric 
• Reverse fabric
• Pins or Clover Wonder Clips
• Iron
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread
• Rotary cutter
• Cutting ruler
• Cutting mat

Disclosure: Deb's Days is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you new sewing and crafting content.

Now available in my Etsy shop as a digital download

with the written directions and link to the tutorial video. 

Looking for something else? Check out some of my other kitchen sewing and crafting projects!

You can find the quick and easy directions for the homemade reversible cloth fabric napkins right here:

Day 40 - Deb's Burger Barn

The last time I referred to the quote from Pulp Fiction we were eating at Burger Queen in Ketchikan, Alaska. Which quote? This is a tasty burger. While Ed used those words today during our BBQ picnic in the backyard, I chose different ones. 

Welcome to Deb's Big A** Burger Barn.

While pretty darn tasty, it needs more work to taste like the burgers in Ketchikan. I’ve got plenty of time this summer to make it happen.

Day 39 - Pillowcase Turned Table Skirt

One of my favorite places to buy fabric is the thrift store. Not in their craft section, but in their bedding section. Sometimes I'll buy some bed sheets but the best score is when I find homemade pillowcases. They are usually made with some kind of bright fabric. These pillowcases are usually made with over a yard of fabric each so the fabric cost of my thrift store purchase usually winds up being about $1 a yard. Had I gone to a fabric store the same fabric would have cost me $5-$10 a yard.

So when I got tired of our table today I decided to do something about it. Yes, we've been using this as our end table in the living room.

Call me too cheap to buy anything new.

I cut up a couple of those cheap-o thrift store pillowcases for a skirt for the table. Not too bad for under $3. Not sure I love it, but at least I like it.

Oops, probably should have ironed it.

Day 38 - Fabric Headaches

I’ve prided myself on my plentiful fabric stash. On my ability to find any fabric I want, for any project I’m working on, within my fabric shelves.

Yeah, not so fast.

While my shelves are full, they aren’t nearly as varied as I need for this new quilt I’m making. (Note to self: don’t start a huge new project during a pandemic. If you don’t have the fabric you want, you can’t go and buy any more.)

I’ve been through all my fabrics and this is as close as I can get. (Another note to self: if you work too long during one day, take a break from your project. Your frustration just might give you a headache.)

Day 37 - Picnic Ants

We have this old wooden TV tray we bought at a yard sale years ago. When we picked it up, my dear old hubby decided it would be his outside TV tray. Holds his drink under the carport in the summer and holds his containers of ice melt near the door during the winter.

But this spring it has been our picnic table. With our spontaneous backyard BBQ picnics I've really tried to convince him to bring out a bigger table. Maybe the card table? Nope. The banquet table? Nope. He brings out that dang wooden TV tray and we have to share the space on it. (Guess he wants me really, really close while we eat in the backyard?) So far we've been huddled over the same tray for BBQ hot dogs, hamburgers, and for one of our pizza picnics. I'm tired of the tiny table and I'm even more tired of the look of the tray.

Have I really been eating off this? YUCK.

So like almost every issue arising in the house, fabric becomes the answer. I just so happened to have this picnic fabric I've been waiting forever to use. I added an elastic edge so it's removable. When winter arrives the ants will go bye bye and the ice melt will take their place.

Now that's a surface I can eat off of.

Lunchtime!

Day 36 - Old Food? Be Gone

I can officially say I've been through every single cabinet in my kitchen. The cabinets have been scrubbed inside and out. Even the things in the cabinets are looking pretty darn good. 

As we don't have a dishwasher (other than the one named Ed) things in there weren't as sparkly as they should have been. But they are now. I've washed by hand every single dish, bowl, plate, cup, piece of silverware, pot, pan, and everything in between. 

As I was going through the food storage area, I started finding not everything there was as sparkly as it should be, either. Because they were long expired.

The vegetable oil expired in 2017. Good bye. We weren't using you anyway.

Orange Jello expiring in 2016. I guess we don't use you, either.

Hard to see, but our stew seasoning mix expired in 2014. Oops.

Even harder to see, but our chili seasoning mix expired in 2012. Double oops.

Old food, be gone!

Day 35 - Behind the Shed

Today I took Ed behind the shed and I:
A. gave him a kiss.
B. beat the crap out of him.
C. hosed him down.
D. cut his hair.

The correct answer is D. (Although after being cooped up so long with him I probably would have enjoyed going all Fight Club on him.)

Since we both wear our hair very short, we usually get haircuts every month. Like everyone else now, we can’t get out to get it cut. Unfortunately for us we were already a month behind before COVID-19 closed everything down. February was skipped as we were cruising that month. Then when we were ready to get our cuts in March our place had already closed. While I did give Ed a cut last month, he was already itching for another.

Since the weather is a bit better, it was an outdoor haircut. Behind the shed, in the sun, in the gravel. The clippers buzzed and he came away with a decent haircut. I even got brave enough to shave my head, too.  While not perfect, it’ll work. Not like I have anyone to impress.

Doing our cuts back-to-back and having our clumps of hair next to each other gave me a chance to prove I’m not the gray haired one in the family. Mr. Old Man is clearly more salt than pepper these days.

Young versus old behind the shed.

Make an Easy No-Sew T-Shirt Face Mask - Tutorial Tuesday

I have one more face mask project for you today. This time it's another highly requested one - a no sew version. We're using an old t-shirt to make this one with absolutely no sewing. It even has a filter pocket in it.

Looking for more sewing and crafting projects? 

Click here to see all my tutorials!

For this project you will need an old t-shirt and scissors. If you have a safety pin around, we'll be using it as well. 

Disclosure: Deb's Days is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you new sewing and crafting content.

You can find the super easy step-by-step how-to tutorial for the no sew t-shirt face mask right here:

Check out my other face mask tutorials:

Looking for other travel accessories ideas? Check out these projects!

As usual, stay safe out there!

How to Sew a Cloth Face Mask with a Filter Pocket and Ties - Tutorial Tuesday

For today's Tutorial Tuesday I have one more mask pattern for you to try. You've been asking for one with a filter pocket and no elastic and I've now got ya covered.

Looking for more sewing and crafting projects? 

Click here to see all my tutorials!

For this project you will need:

• One piece of fabric measuring 8" x 16"
• Two pieces of fabric each measuring 2" x 36" or double fold bias tape
• Clover Wonder Clips or pins
• Iron
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread
• Rotary cutter
• Cutting ruler
• Cutting mat

Disclosure: Deb's Days is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you new sewing and crafting content.

You can find the step-by-step how-to tutorial for the cloth face mask with the ties and filter pocket right here:

Check out my other face mask tutorials:

And don't forget - wash your hands, keep those hands away from your face, and stay safe out there!

Day 33 - Flower Envy

With today being a work outside and grocery pick up day I had plenty of opportunities for a picture. I could have taken a picture of the two ladybugs that came and visited us. Or one of the sunflowers I thinned. Or the weeds I sprayed. The clothes drying on the line. The Canadian Geese flying over or the birds that are trying to build a nest in the carport roof. Or even a picture of our backyard BBQ hot dog picnic. Maybe even one of the whites and pinks seen on the spring trees as I drove to and from the grocery pick up.

Then there were the photo opportunities at the grocery pick up spot. We watched dozens of people filtering in and out of the store. Some masked, some gloved, some a combination of the two, and some with no protection at all. Sitting outside Walmart, especially during these times, has plenty of interesting things (and people) to take pictures of.

But I took none of those pictures. I went with the flower envy one.

We spent many years with multiple, large flower gardens. Over 100 roses in just one of the gardens!

July 2011

Nowadays we keep gardening to a minimum. A very, very, bare minimum. The only flowers I can see my from house require me to look into the neighbor's yard. Through the fence.

Just call me Peeping Deb.

So jealous.