second verse, same as the first

lockdown life is pretty much the same as it was a week ago.  two weeks ago.  three weeks ago.  four - well, you get the gist.

i'm still making masks.  actually, this time i put together a bunch of kits at the request of the bean's girl scout troop.  they'd decided to make masks to be donated to a local animal hospital as their community service project, and were hoping to do them in some sort of animal print.  i didn't have any on hand (i really don't have much woven cotton fabric on hand left anymore), but i decided to shop around to see if i could find some sort of animal printed bedsheets.  as long as they're 100% cotton, i figured they'd work.  and since i needed enough material to make at least 50 masks, a sheet set was perfect with lots of usable fabric from the flat and fitted sheets plus the pillowcases.

i figured the best way to handle it was to cut out the pieces, sew down the center seams for each layer, cut the elastics and then make a video tutorial to show the girls how to assemble the masks.  my hands were pretty tired when i finally finished cutting.

the bean helped me make the video, holding my phone so that just my hands were visible while i narrated in the background.  i really hate how i look and sound on video, so it was a good thing i didn't really need to be visible.  here's the finished product:

and i put all of the pieces in gallon sized ziploc bags to be handed out to each girl who'd signed up to sew the masks.

i've already heard from a couple of people who said that the video was really helpful and made the process super easy, so i'm glad i did it.  even with the troop leader title stripped away, i was still happy that i was able to help the girls out in some small way.

in other news, the knitting and crocheting continues.  except that i keep running out of yarn - this newbie is terrible at counting stitches and rows and so i have two projects that are unfinished.  joann's is taking forever to process curbside pickup orders, and while the online companies are still shipping out that's also running slower than normal.  i've got another kit started - this one for a beginner level cardigan using yarn made from recycled denim.  i stupidly left my knitting bag on the table in the back yard one day and went to run a quick errand, and when i got home i found a tangled mess of yarn, a half-chewed up knitting needle and one very guilty-looking dog under the table.

it's a good thing he's so cute.  yarg.  it took me a solid hour to get the yarn untangled and rolled into a ball, but i'm glad i managed to finish it.  i was extra glad that i'd busted out the package of stitch stoppers from my last knitting order, because putting that little thing on the end of my needle holding my work in progress saved it from unraveling at the hands of teddy.

speaking of teddy, i got a little payback when i got to the end of the first part of my crochet pattern for "the child" and realized i'd totally screwed it up.  i was a little bummed, but i turned it into a hilarious photo prop for teddy.  it looks like a cross between a beanie and a yarmulke, and he looked super happy to try it on.  not.

and lastly, here's the newest update on the house.  there's been a lot of progress in the last week or so - cabinetry and paint make a huge difference.  this is the new kitchen as you enter from the back yard:

in the laundry room - the washer goes on one side and the dryer on the other so that they face each other.  i cannot wait for this part to be done so i can stop having to go to the laundromat.

the guest room is coming along, too.

the living room is beginning to take shape with the fireplace, cabinets and shelves in place.

and my office is my favorite part.  i even got the okay from the hub to pick a pink shade for my walls!  if you know him at all, you'll understand how big of a deal this is.  and look at all that storage space!  ooooh, i can't wait to move in.

the powder room doesn't look like much yet, although all it needs aside from flooring is the vanity/sink, mirror and toilet.  so pretty much every component needed for a powder room.  heh.

and this is the old lady's former bedroom, which also served as my office for the last year and a half.  we're going to move the elliptical in and add mirrored doors for the closet and put a tv in there, and it'll become our home gym.

that's all i got for you today.  i know the blog hasn't been super active lately, but what can i say?  i can only post so many dog and workout pictures, and while our days are never boring there's not really a ton of exciting stuff to share.  i'll try to be better about posting though, i promise.

at least, i'm really gonna try.