Category: Blitherings

Adaptation

Technology is taking over so much of our lives during this whole Covid-19 pandemic. Some of it is great, some is not so great. We won’t get into political meddling and hacking here, which really is fake news anyway! Instead, let’s look at how technology is at least keeping us all from living in isolation and ignorance, like troglodytes in a cave.

First off, let’s look at teleconferencing and meetings and phone calls. Being retired at just the right time, I don’t have to deal with converting classroom materials into online resources for free, that is, being expected to write curriculum on my own time. Many teachers I know are doing this, and the truth is, the amount of time they put in would cost a district far more than they would want to pay – that is, in the K-12 arena. While I am a proponent of in-class and in-person teaching, this virus precludes it from being realistic. Sadly, not everyone and every place has good internet connections, and not everyone can afford a computer or tablet, much less parents who can help. It’s just not realistic. But in the private realm, the TV-like qualities let us see family and friends face-to-face and enjoy their company. It helps, but does not replace in-person contact.

Besides phone calls and virtual medicine, I am entering into the new age with signing up for a virtual classroom this fall to continue the pastels class which was interrupted by the lockdown across the state of California. I have no idea how well it will go. The instructor struggled with the overhead projector, so I hope she is getting good training for the class. I know I would need it as I really don’t like that kind of stuff, particularly if I am expected to learn it on my own without pay. This was a hallmark of my school – you should be happy to donate your money and time to our students! (Yes, I was actually told that, but as an hourly employee, I expect to get paid – salaried would be a different story!) Back to the classroom. Other people I know have done this, and the results vary from person, teacher, etc. I’ll give it a shot.

Next, if you cannot teleconference, or don’t want to, you can meet in person. Social distancing does work, and it also helps to relieve the sense of isolation that builds with not having valuable time with people you like face-to-face. 3D is very important when it comes to people, I think! I like being around people. So, I am taking a chance and meeting up later this morning for a portrait drawing class in a park, on picnic tables, wearing a mask, bringing my alcohol spray and wipes, and settling down 6 feet apart. The weather is fine this morning, a bit misty, but is should burn off by the time class begins. I don’t think the risk is greater than going to the market.  How people behave will determine if I go again.

However, not all education cannot be held outdoors or online! Where I live, outdoors is more do-able, but in the heat of the Arizona desert or in the blizzards of Frostbite Falls, MN, not so easily done. As we move along in this new world, we will find new ways of doing things. It is challenging and creative, as well as annoying and dispiriting. Human contact is important, and some of us need more and some need less. As a retired person, my world is now severely limited and human contact is usually going to the market. It is creating a level of mild depression, and that is not something that is easily dealt with at times.

This is why I am taking the risk of an outdoor drawing class – an activity with others, others with a shared interest. Before the pandemic, I had rejoined my photo club and weavers guild, started pastels and pencil portrait classes, and so on. Then, a screeching halt. A few months of isolation is okay, but months and months begins to wear you down. We all need to decide how to adapt to our new times. We take classes, connect outdoors with those we love, exercise, whatever – but in the end, I really believe we all need face-to-face human contact. At least I have that opportunity and access to good technology (and an IT guy for a spouse to help), and a willingness to try new things. And a willingness to risk it with sensible precautions.

Painting in July

I have done a fair amount of painting this last month, some of which has pleased me, and, of course, some which is not what I intended. In between has been some sewing and photography.

The paintings in this gallery were done mostly in July and are in both watercolor and gouache. I have been doing water studies for the most part – some still, inland water – some oceans and shore. For years the subject intimidated me, but now it is getting a lot easier. From water on the ground I have also moved to water in the air – fog, rain.

Now I plan to pull out the pastels and try these same subjects in a very different and unwet medium.

Children of the Thalidomide Epidemic

This is a documentary about the children of mothers who were prescribed Thalidomide from the 1950s to the 1960s. Today, Thalidomide-based drugs are used to treat leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) and multiple myeloma. It is also still manufactured today and used, quite unregulated, today in various parts of South America and Asia, where usage leads to birth defects.

This opens up to questions of medical ethics. Today, with the coronavirus, vaccinations against it are being explored, but will they be safe? That is a tough question for medical ethicists. Today, because of herd immunity, we don’t see the diseases killing our friends or family or children as they did up to the 1940s. As a result, we see those who do not believe in the validity of vaccinations. Scares such as Thalidomide give cause for worry – when drugs are pushed without adequate research.

Thalidomide leaves visible damage. DES (diethylstilbestrol) left generational genetic damage and increased risk for cancer. The Salk polio vaccine saved millions from infantile paralysis. The list of good and bad drugs and vaccines is too long to mention. Will a coronavirus vaccine be safe, cause birth defects, or lead to generational mutations? Here, we need to think individually and collectively, as well as to think about future generations. Cost vs. benefit. There are times when society shifts to the beauty of the dollar and the $600.00 epi-pen as more important than the good that can be done. For-profit medical care at what cost? Here, again, a question for the medical ethicist. Money helps to fund research, but money for the pure point of money?

Today’s pandemic is bringing out the best and worst in people. I hope that the good guys will prevail.

Isolation, Boredom, and Depression in the Time of Covid-19

Jolly title, don’t you think? But, it is stuff we all need to think about.

Once more, here in California we are back to shelter-in-place, places being mandated to be closed, and keeping contacts to a minimum. It’s no hoax, this coronavirus, and we have no desire to tempt fate, or virus gods, but by the same token, where do you draw a line? If the virus doesn’t kill you, isolation, boredom, and depression is probably killing some and may kill others.

It is important to acknowledge the negative effects all these have on others and yourself. From there, devising and working at strategies to counter all these is vital for survival and, hopefully, returning to a sense of thriving. A failure to acknowledge these negative effects, avoiding them, does no one any good as it is a perpetration of a  massive lie and denial of reality.  Facing these awful things gives us truths, and from there, actions to change the effects of these realities.

Life is not returning to normal, no matter what we are being told, or would like to believe. It may never return to the previous status quo – how can it? Our federal government is not doing much to help. There are daily lies and threats. That is depressing. It is also frightening. Fearful of our futures and fates, what can we do? It breeds a sense of helplessness, and that leads to all sorts of trouble.

It’s not like there is any fixed goal, such as vanquishing a tangible enemy, but rather an insidious, invisible foe. While we do not have children and aren’t out of work, I cannot but wonder how families are coping with home schooling and working at the same time, how people are coping with a lack of food, money or places to live. The US has few safety nets for people, and our culture of the rugged individual against the world is uncharitable. Self-reliance is important, but mutual aid is equally important, especially in troubled times. Now, we are isolated to stay healthy, and what few communities we may have are being taken away from us.

I admit it: this isolation and lack of social contact is taking its toll on me. I am depressed. I am bored. I am beginning to stay at home far too much; some health issues are preventing outings for now, and a number of my friends are ensconced in their own health and family issues. Texting is not a conversation or connection. A phone call is a rarity these days – it seems no one makes phone calls and has conversations like they used to do. Seeing a close friend or family member isn’t happening, and if it does happen, you wonder about the consequences. These daily intimacies, so taken for granted, have been removed from our normal lives. Finding fulfillment is difficult at this point.

This, to me, is what it must have been like to live in the uncertain times of WW2, or as a family who had members overseas fighting one of America’s stupid wars. Anxiety about loved ones. Fear about the future. A lack of accessibility to material goods. Not seeing the ones you love as they die alone in nursing homes. Wondering if you will end up in the hospital without access to medical care. These deprivations are not the norm for most of us. Doing without is the new norm, and while certain physical deprivations can be handled, the fear and isolation of normal human interactions preys upon the mind and spirit in sneaky ways. This is where self-reliance and introspection are necessary; making decisions to do something or not do something is an investment in yourself and others.

Writing about the effects of isolation, boredom, and depression helps me clarify what is going on in my murky emotions. Thinking about these and giving them names takes away their nameless horror. From there, yes, I can work on changing the nature of my daily life. I will get out of the house more, make a phone call to those who enjoy talking with me and ignore those who don’t seem to care, or let go of those who do not have the ability, such as a friend who is critically ill right now, and whose company I dearly miss. Valuing what I have and taking action is far better than wallowing in the fog of not thinking about the truth of what is my reality.

Yep, very self-centered. Understanding the inner world is vital for acting in the external world. Aimless actions and mindless reactions do little for me. I don’t feel my way around life, but try to find my place and the place of others within the context of my own reality. Then, perhaps, I can be of some help to others rather than a depressing blob of hopelessness.

The Leather Queen & No. 5

Where to begin? The best laid plans of mice and women can tumble away into oblivion. What once was planned is now unplanned. Chaos moves in and takes the reins. So be it.

Let us begin with yesterday. It started well enough. The Factory Dress is complete with only the need for a bit of top stitching along the front and a dab of fray check on a spot. That never happened because I set it aside for a quieter moment when I had the No. 5 open to sew a muslin (toile) for a shirt I am planning for Josh. I laid out the pattern and cut out the necessary pieces so the muslin could be basted together. But first, to be a good sewing machine owner, I determined I should oil my trusty and unrusty No. 5.

I popped open the machine to access the metal parts beneath the machine itself. And pop it did. The stretchy drive band I use on it snapped. Pure hell as these stretchy bands need to be melted together with a steady flame, a steady hand, and a lot of patience.

Let’s take a time out. I will not repeat what I said.

Okay. Moving on, the melting of and mending of the drive band for the No. 5 did not take place. Attempted and failed. Thus, I oiled the lovely girl and pondered my options whilst doing so. I finally decided to try, for the second or third time, to install the traditional leather drive band, of which I have several. Historically I have tried and failed each time. To succeed at last required thought. To YouTube for what to do in order for a successful installation. This was my fortunate and happy find – lengthy, wordy, informative.

From there, it was planning and thinking. I needed to cut the leather drive band to the correct length. I needed to make a hole it the other end. Should be easy enough, but past experience showed me that the leather is hard to cut with a pair of ordinary scissors. The hole is hell to make as the rounded band rolls to and fro, escaping as you make the hole. I don’t have a drill I can use without adult supervision. And, accessing the grooved wheel is a bitch to get to. I had to plot. The under carriage of the No. 5 is a tight fit, and I am no longer my svelte and agile younger self.

The under carriage of The Free No. 5 – here the leather drive band is installed. Behind it you can see the drawers that were in the way.

In the end, it was so simple to reach the wheel I was stunned. I pulled out all the drawers on the side of The Free No. 5 to access the drive wheel. Before doing that, I was reaching inside from the knee space. Moving the machine away from the wall helped a bit, but not a lot. Removing the drawers for easy access was amazing. Click on the pictures to read the little captions below each one.

Drive band wheel hidden behind the drawers.
No drawers! If you look at 3:00, you will see the little cut out in the wheel to allow the easy movement of the drive band through the system, from one side to the other.

Next, inserting the drive band to wind it around the wheel to get the correct length. There is a slot in the wheel to help you guide the band around, but I didn’t do that at first. I didn’t think about it, just thought, hmm, interesting. Of course, if the manual mentions it, I don’t know as I didn’t look. Moving on, the drive band got stuck quite tightly where it shouldn’t. I had to pull and tug on it while turning the wheel. In between, I cleaned up the dust behind the machine. At least I had stretched out the drive band as recommended in the above video.

Three choices of drive band – two stretchy ones of different diameters, and one traditional leather drive band, complete with staple for attaching to the other end.

Finally loose, stretched in the machine and across my shoulders as suggested in the video, I reinserted it for the 5th time, using that nifty little groove to guide it from top to bottom and back to the top. I measured, and cut. Then, make the hole needed to join one end of the drive band with the other. A jig of wood and tape to keep the band steady, a hammer, a fine nail. All ready to reinsert, top to bottom to top, and then splice.  Again, click on the pictures below to read the nifty little captions below each one.

Tools to nail hole in drive band, with pliers and cutter to make a smooth end.
The jig is up and ready to go! The drive band was taped in place, the nail held steady in my dainty fingers, and slow tapa-tapas of the sledge hammer to nail the drive band to the jig.

My adventure was done. The belt was installed. My dirty floor was a bit cleaner. The splice was beautiful as I had a great pair of pliers to make a smooth cut as well as to press the wire flat into the drive band. All came together as if it were meant to be. It only took about three hours of my day, but I have emerged victorious and well educated on installing a leather drive band on a 110-year-old sewing machine.

Leather queen indeed.

An electric-powered sewing machine would have been easier, but not as much fun.