We are "all" going through a very traumatic time being that we are having a very serious pandemic.
At first many people went through denial, if more people studied the past I believe there would have not been as much denial.
But then gradually things have been changing, sadly too much suffering an loss of life have happened and still happening.
As people are finally coming to terms that we all have to do our part we should see some improvement but there are still those that will never do their part.
Enough said about this...
It is taking time for those of us that understand the seriousness to get our footing with all of this. I know that it has taken me many adjustments.
I see some similar situations of the studies that Charles and I have done but this pandemic compared to the 1918 pandemic, then the great depression and world war 2.
During world war 2 food was rationed and they had to use stamps to be able to purchase items. It did not matter if you had the money, if you did not have enough stamps you could not purchase the items. However many times if they had money and the stamps there were shortages and when going to purchase food there may have been none there. This is the similarity that we see today. Our stores are trying to rebound but there are still shortages and the scary part is that some of the shortages are items we on the homefront need such as disinfectants.
The pandemic of 1918, we did not completely understand until now how people had to stay to themselves and how they had to bury their dead immediately without funerals. They could not get around each other and everyone was basically on their own.
In the larger cities they had hospital tents and they learned along the way to put patients outside for sunlight and air to breath better. I cannot help but to think about this now and how the air must be in all the hospitals today.
I have never been so thankful that Charles and I started researching the past and the homefront.
I have been making masks for Charles and for others that have been asking Charles for masks. The ones that are out there like Charles is, working to get product to the grocery stores.
It is taking too long for the stubborn ones to put on a mask. We need them all in masks. I know people are doing their best to make masks because the fabric section in stores that carry fabric is being cleaned out of cotton material, elastic and thread.
I have never been so thankful for my fabric, elastic and thread stash.
I want to mention that I am putting "non woven" interfacing inside the masks to use as a filter between the cotton. I use several layers. I also put a nose wire to help shape a good fit over the gaps to the side of the nose.
Here on the home front, people are finding there is a shortage or complete outage of disinfectant and hand sanitizers.
This could become a real issue soon if other types of sickness should break out. Long ago people used many different things to disinfect that we do not have today. Some of these things were most likely not very safe.
We need to keep our homes and laundry clean and when we do have to go out we need to remove our clothing as soon as we come home (preferably outside the home) and immediately bathe. We need to wash that clothing or have a container to put the laundry in (preferably outside) until washing.
If there is no bleach or alcohol or other disinfectants then there is soap and water.
I have never been so thankful for my soap stash....
This is when "soap" such as a castile soap or lye soap is very good but any soap is something that can be used.
To clean the floors, kneel down with a rag or stand with a mop but wet a cloth or mop with soap and rub the floor and let it be very soapy.
Keep plenty of rinse water and change it often..
Make sure to get all the soap off until it is squeeky clean... My mother would talk about squeeky clean, I am guessing that is how she grew up knowing when something was clean, even when they washed their hair.
Once you know you have rinsed a section clean move on to another section..
It is best to scrub with soap and then go over it with a disinfectant or alcohol but these days many people do not have this. So soap it is... you can go over it with vinegar after if you have any of that.
Another item if you have it is tea tree oil or oregano or other essential oils that have disinfecting properties. But here I am using soap and giving a good scrub and rinse.
We do still have alcohol and disinfectant because we try to live prepared for sickness. I am using it very carefully and only when needed in case things get worse.
When cleaning with soap and water again, rinse until you get that squeeky clean...
I am staying very busy with keeping house, cooking, making masks and gardening. I have heard how people are becoming bored. I just cannot imagine how people can be bored.
Not when we should be doing our part by looking ahead of how bad things could get. This is not a negative statement. It is a positive statement. If we think ahead that things could get much worse then we can be more prepared...
More prepared means sewing masks for the whole family to where everyone has several masks to be washed often.
More prepared means to at least try growing some food. If it is still cold in your area then be studying and planning on how to grow food with the least amount of resources.
I have never been so thankful for our seed stash....
It means use any space you can find...
Our yard used to be grass and trees... But we understood the need to figure out how to grow food even living in the city... now it is more important than every before..
We had to start somewhere, so we did and we keep trying and we get better at it each year..
This is our boat, this is our 4 wheeler, this is our vacation, this is our new car, this is our large house. In other words we do not have any of those things, our money goes to stay out of debt, to grow food we can fit into our space, to save for the small and large bumps in the road.
We still are not completely safe because there are storms but we can still try to do all we can do.
We try to make it enjoyable since it is where our money is spent. When we get a new car it is a used car. Our boat is sitting on a bank with a fishing pole and bait. Our Vacation is a staycation.
I am never bored, I do handwork when I have times that I rest...
I mend and repair items that are worn such as the french knot in this apron...
It is a good time to learn new skills. This is our Granddog Riley, AKA Roo Roo. He was in need of grooming.
Soon we most likely will see some very unkept people hair and doggies since hair salons and pet groomers are closed.
Our daughter decided since Riley was not going to be able to go to the groomer due to the coronavirus it was time to figure out how to clip him..
With the help of my son-in-law helping my daughter, Roo Roo is looking much better...
People will need to start watching some of the many youtube videos how to cut your own hair.
Now seems to be the time to figure these things out. .
It is time to get our footing and start embracing our family to stop the tension and work through this difficult time to make it not so difficult.
It is time to stop fretting about the things we cannot do anymore and embrace the things we can do.
I read about young mothers frantic over diaper shortages.
Last July when our Great Granddaughter was born I went out and shopped and gave our Granddaughter cloth diapers and the items that we used when my children were babies.
I never bought disposable diapers for my babies because it was life before disposable diapers. I strongly feel all parents of babies need cloth diapers.
There are very important baby items that parents, grand parents and great grandparents can give new mothers and that is buy them items they can use in an emergency such as cloth diapers, rubber pants, diaper pail that holds cloth diapers, clothes line rope and clothespins.
The old fashioned diapers wash easily and dry easily. There is no worry if you cannot get disposable diapers, just use the cloth diapers..
This is just like the toilet paper outage, just use cloth wipes and wash them.
There are many ways to fold a full flat diaper. It all depends on the age and size of the baby, newborn or toddler.
I looked and found a video on how to fold these so you can watch a young mother today fold the old type of cloth diapers which are still sold today.
When my babies were young, diaper pins were used. Today there is a wonderful clip thing that is used on these type of diapers. Knowing what I know from the past and living today, I would never spend my money on disposable diapers.
In the past we always kept our toilets clean and when a baby had a poopy diaper we simple took the diaper to the toilet...
And swished the poopy and urine out of the diaper. Hold tight at one end and flush the toilet so the water washes over the diaper. Make sure to not let go of the diaper so it does not get flushed.
Squeeze out....
And toss into a diaper pail. You can soak it in some soapy water before washing..
I have this strong desire for young people to understand that there is another way to do things and to not become too dependent on the expensive easy way when it comes to raising a family.
We should all learn skills from long ago so we are not at a loss when there is such a situation as we have today.
Instead on focusing on when this is going to be over, we should focus on what can we do so we are better prepared. Right now I am considering what if there is a second wave after this first wave or even a third wave as it was in the 1918 pandemic.. The worse thing we can do is to just ignore this. What could I change if this were to happen? I would hope that I would have canned more food by then and if it did not happen then we will be better stocked for winter.
Right now I am working on a buy one, freeze one or buy one and can one. Cutting back portions and rationing what we have stored now.
I am studying recipes how to cook without certain items.
Pay attention to what is going on and think ahead as to what to do to live prepared. It most likely means making better choices to afford to do the things necessary.
Don't be caught off guard when there is smooth sailing. This way, if we have done the things we needed to do to protect our family, there is no need to panic buy or panic hoard.
Keep a pantry, slowly get it built up and keep items rotated. Have the necessary items to hold out during tough times.
Let this pandemic be a lesson to not become so dependent on things of today. Look into the past to see what our generations before us before we became so disposable.
If we have not been handling things well, it is time for us to do better and get our footing.
I went back to dressing the table, I want my home back to as normal as possible. It puts me in a better mental state of calm.
I hope you all stay safe. Remember that when you do get out to shop for groceries, or for those that work to change your clothing and bathe right away when returning home.
Grandma Donna
Here is the link to how to fold the old fashioned cloth diaper. Also Dana, that does this video has a wonderful channel all about finances and how to get out of debt and stay out of debt.
