As the pandemic Coronavirus is beginning to make itself known in Arkansas, Mom and I are deciding to hunker down and diminish our exposure. I am still going to work (for now), but Mom is definitely at increased risk, so she is staying home and I am taking care of necessary outings. That means home, work and the grocery only as needed. No more iced teas from Sonic, no more eating out or extracurricular activities until further notice. We have told all of our rehab clients to cancel their appointments if they feel ill, are coughing or running a fever. As I work a lot with the elderly, and we share office space in a rural health clinic, my risk for exposure is high enough, thank you very much. I am not panicked, mind you; just taking appropriate cautionary actions.

I originally had a hike planned with friends yesterday, but with 100% chance of rain yesterday (we got 4”!), our back up plan was to gather at my house for board games and snacks. After learning that our number of cases was growing, I called it off. I gotta protect my Mama! So we have both been keeping busy, mostly with yarn. She has been crocheting lap blankets for the local nursing home, and started a ripple blanket yesterday .

I have been wanting to cast on Navelli by Caitlin Hunter for quite some time. I wound my yarn, knitted my swatch, then realized that I did not have a US size 3 circular long enough to cast on with. I looked at Knit Picks, which fortunately is having a needle sale.
I took a break, though, to work on a paper project. I spied this project for a Paper Star Lantern. The pattern is a free download. I will have to use the Exacto knife to cut all of the stars, so it will take awhile to cut them all. There is a download for a rusty metal texture, but I have all kinds of scrapbook paper, so thinking of using some of that. Another option that occurred to me was to glue different colored tissue paper on the inside, then all the stars would be colored! What am I gonna do? Not sure yet…you’ll have to stay tuned to find out!
In the meantime, wash your hands, cover your cough, and avoid unnecessary peopling.
Stay healthy, and make life DIY!