Yesterday I decided I would use all of the die cuts I’d made when practicing with my new DIY die cutting plate.  I cut a lot of smaller shapes, and had just seen Lindsay the Frugal Crafter make paper/vinyl/cardboard earrings, and thought I should give them a whirl.  I sat down in the afternoon and at 1AM, Rich asked when I would be finished..  I made ten pairs of earrings, and the reason they took so long to make, was twofold.  First, I’m indecisive, so couldn’t figure out what beads to use to create a look I was going for, and two, I’m not very strong, so wrapping the wire around the pliers was a little bit taxing.  Even trying to open the O-rings put me in a quandary.  I just couldn’t figure out why it was so tricky for me to open them, when I finally realized some of them didn’t have an opening….That’s when I decided I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed (if you know what I mean.)

If I had to guess, I’d say it took me at least thirty minutes to make a pair of earrings that Lindsay can make in five.  I’m not comparing myself to her because she’s been making jewelry for several years, but still, I didn’t think it should take me that long to make them.  In the end, though, I’m happy with the earrings, and hope all of you enjoy the video that will go live in a few days..I can’t say when, because I may reshoot the video as I couldn’t remember the names of the tools I used or some of the jewelry making pieces and think it’s important that you understand what I’m using..

Today I went to my rheumatologist’s office in Pittsburgh.  This was the first visit to a doctor since Coronavirus has become such a national obsession, and the front desk asked me several questions before they let me be seated.  They wanted to know if I had any of the following symptoms….and gave me a list.  Two of the symptoms are muscle pains and joint pain.  I have to say, since this is an office for arthritis, wouldn’t you expect every person to answer yes to those questions…I’m just saying…When they asked if I’d been out of the country in the last month and I said, “Yes,” they were really thrown for a loop.  Apparently no one they’ve questioned so far has answered yes, so they had to figure out what they needed to do to proceed.  They asked what country I’d been to, and then they couldn’t find St. Maarten in their list.  So they left that portion blank.  I think I would have noted where I’ve been in case someone else in their back offices would want to know.  My appointment was fine, and my work there was done.

On our way home, I wanted to stop at Aldi’s and get a cake they sell that’s made with 7-Up, and tastes like lemons.  It’s really good with a bunch of strawberries on top, and since I already had the strawberries, I was in serious need of something to use them with.  Aldi’s was crazy busy, with people buying (seemingly) three things….hand sanitizer (naturally,) toilet paper and bottled water.  They were out of all three.  I can understand why the hand sanitizer racks are empty, but what’s with toilet paper and water?  Since Coronavirus isn’t in our water system, shouldn’t we be able to drink the water that comes out of our faucets?  And toilet paper……I’m the first person to stock up on toilet paper, but my reasons are different from other peoples.  As a kid, my mother would forget to buy toilet paper (and back then you only could buy four packs.)  So we would use tissues, and I hated when we’d be running through the house, looking for tissues, as someone needed toilet paper, and there was none to be found.  It really resonated with me, and I have to always have at least twenty rolls in the house….and usually a lot more than that.   What reasons will others have to hoard toilet paper for this virus?  It would be different if diarrhea was associated with the virus, but it’s not…Do people normally not keep enough toilet paper on hand that if they were quarantined for two weeks, they wouldn’t have toilet paper?  So if that’s the case, there are a lot of people who don’t carry a sufficient supply of toilet paper since all of the shelves are bare.

I went to the Dollar Tree, and they were also out of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, but had the gallon bottles of water.  So maybe people want to have water, but want it to be individually sized, so they don’t have to touch a bottle that someone else in their home has also touched.   And if that’s the case, then are they buying everything they eat and drink in single portion sizes?  These are the things that keep me awake at night….

We got home and I put up the video on how to make your own cutting plates for your die cutting machine and then watched as the dogs destroyed the Dollar Tree stuffed animals I’d just given them.  They find a certain satisfaction in playing tug of war with stuffed animals until they tear the toy in half, and it’s guts are strewn across my living room floor. If I could just teach them how to clean up that mess once they are finished…but it’s not looking like that’s going to happen any time soon…darn it.

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