Are You Still Wearing Your Mask? You SHOULD Be!

I love the Google Doodle for today reminding all of us that masks are still important. And they most certainly are. Even though vaccination against Covid is progressing nicely, there are still people who refuse to be vaccinated, or who can't get a vaccine, or who simply don't want one. There are people who object on religious grounds, people who object because of a lack of faith in the science or in the government, and people who are just stupid. The world is populated with all types of people, and not all will get vaccinated - EVER. 

I don't see us giving up masks anytime soon. I'm also 
getting so used to wearing one, it's not really a big 
deal to me to wear one or not. Realistically, we'll 
be wearing masks for a long time, so we might as 
well become accustomed to it. 

Where taking temperatures doesn't work very effectively, masks have been proven to help control the spread of the virus from person to person. I require masks from everyone entering my store and my staff is always masked when working with a customer. I think it's common sense. I shop businesses who also enforce a mask mandate. If I'm in a business where they sluff off on masks, they also sluff off on my business - I can buy my goods elsewhere.  

It's important to wear your masks correctly. I'd say 
15% of the customers in my store are actually 
wearing their masks correctly, and some people I 
have to remind constantly to pull their mask over 
their nose. 

Yesterday a customer mentioned to me that she doesn't think we'll ever be free of Covid. My response was that it may become more like the flu - something that is around all the time, but that people can get a vaccination from every year so that they will be more protected. Admittedly, I don't get a flu shot - long history there. But I would get a Covid shot (hopefully a single-dose vaccination). I'm quite sure that the various drug companies are working out plans for long-term world-wide vaccination options, they would be silly to not think ahead. 

There are some people who legitimately can't wear a mask 
easily - autistic and severely asthmatic come to mine 
immediately, along with some sufferers of PTSD. It's 
hard for them to work around the "must wear a mask" 
restrictions that so many of our stores have now. The last 
medically limited person I had in the store who couldn't 
wear a mask wore a face shield instead and also limited 
her time in-store to a minimal amount. 

Meanwhile, I'll continue being a "fashionista" and wear my masks. I love them - they are colorful, funny, and fun. I have my Minions mask in my car so that's worn at the grocery store and other shopping stops. I have my Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth mask in my apron pocket at work, so I can't be caught unaware if I'm not close to my desk and my pile of masks. And my preference at work is my "Original Six Ice Hockey Teams" mask that my customer Mikaela made for me. All different, all fun, and always worn. I'm quite used to masks by now, so no. I'm not putting them aside yet. 

Have a wonderful Tuesday. As always please be kind, stay safe and as I said above, wear your mask. It's for safety, courtesy, and common sense. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Masks - A Fashion Statement of Diversity

The new shoes work well. Of course, the swelling gets worse as the day goes on, but that's gravity affecting the foot, and not much can be done about forces of nature. It's been eight weeks now since I missed that bottom step and crunched my foot underneath me, between my body and a concrete floor. It was a stupid and unexpected thing to happen and I suspect I'll be feeling in on and off for months, if not years to come. Still, I'm almost recovered and very thankful - things could have been much worse.

Masks are as individual as the person wearing them. Although
some people use the disposable ones, most have their own cloth
ones now and those display personality. 

I saw an interview on TV yesterday with a restaurant owner whose four restaurants had reopened inside dining, tried it for a few days, and then closed the dining rooms once again. I found his comments interesting. Of course, everyone wore masks and practiced social distancing, but when customers were eating, the masks were set aside. The staff wore their masks, but became increasingly uncomfortable being around people without masks for extended periods of time. The owner decided to continue his take-out and curb side programs, and to halt the inside dining until infection rates had decreased even more, to protect his staff.

Masks can be plain or decorative or have a statement. What's
fun about them is that they are all different. So many are
hand-made or home-made, that individual tastes
are the only criteria. 

I can't fault him on this. We require masks at the shop, and we're all establishing collections of masks to choose from. I have a lot of disposable masks available for customers who aren't wearing one, so we're set. Would I feel comfortable with just my plexiglass screens between me and my customers? I'm not sure I would. I don't feel that we have a handle on this virus yet. Small places and rural places are almost disease-free, but urban places still have quite a long way to come.

Ian Holm was a Shakespearean actor, but the role that
pushed him into popular hearts was that of Bilbo in
The Lord of the Rings films. 

On a different note, we all said a collective "Farewell" to a beloved actor yesterday. Ian Holm, Bilbo in "Lord of the Rings" and old Bilbo in "The Hobbit", passed over the silver sea yesterday. He lived a good life, and a full one, and enriched our lives through his talent. I can't think of Bilbo without seeing his visage.

On that note, I'm out of here. It's Saturday, so I won't be back until Monday. Have an excellent weekend.

Life is Returning to Normal - Step by Step

Next Wednesday, the 10th of June, indoor dining and various other businesses, including gyms, are allowed to re-open. I, unfortunately, won't be there. At least, not until I get the go-ahead from my podiatrist on Friday. Then, hopefully, I'll be able to return to my YMCA and use the outdoor Olympic-sized pool. After being away from exercise since mid-March, and away from much of any exercise since I broke my foot on May 1st, I'll be lucky to get a single lap in without difficulty. But to get into the water again ... I'm really focused on it. So if I can finally return to the gym in less than two weeks, I'll have to fine tune once again and do my best to think fast on my feet to post my daily blog. 

Our outdoor pool usually opens Memorial Day weekend and stays open
through Labor Day and sometimes a few weeks longer. It's Olympic
sized for length, so sixteen laps will give me a mile instead of the 36 laps
I need to do in the indoor pool. Of course, I haven't been able to swim
for quite a while, so I'm nowhere near being able to do my mile any more. 

The shop is hanging in there. Business is down, but I had expected that, and it's not horrible, just not at pre-Covid levels. Still, it's getting me out of the house every day, and I suppose that's a good thing. We treated ourselves to take-out from our favorite Chinese restaurant last night. Walking into their little restaurant was quite the change. It used to have a small waiting area for take-out and a larger seating area for dine-in. When I picked up my phone-in meals yesterday, a large plexiglass panel cut all of that off, leaving a table where I could sign my credit card statement and where my bagged meal could be placed. Still, it was nice to see everyone again. I've missed them. 

I love China Restaurant's Kung Pao Chicken combo plate. I always
get enough food for 2-3 meals and they're a neighborhood
business which also makes me happy. It gets home nice and
hot and is oh, so good! 

I ordered several colorful masks a couple of weeks ago and they arrived yesterday. I think they'll be fun to wear - a change from my tie-dyed mask that Chickie made for me. Chickie is also making me one or two Minion masks - I purchased a yard of Minion fabric on-line and after washing, gave it to her for sewing. I can't wait until I have my Minion masks to add to my collection. Since I think masks will be with us for a long time to come, it's nice to have pretty and fun ones to wear. 

So, on that "fashion" note, I'm out of here. Time for breakfast and then on to work. Have an excellent day and a good weekend, I'll be back on Monday.