I found my stash of face masks in the garage. I was surprised to find that they are N95 masks. Healthcare workers need those way more than we do. A family friend is a nurse and she wants them, so I’ll send them to her today.
I figured I wouldn’t be able to buy any sort of face mask on Amazon, but I checked anyway. I was mostly right: some blue surgical masks are available, but wouldn’t ship until mid-late May. I searched for instructions to make my own mask, but they all involve sewing. Not my forte.
Then I saw on Ann Althouse’s blog this video for making a mask out of a handkerchief and two hair ties, no sewing.
I ordered some cotton handkerchiefs from Amazon and borrowed two hair ties from my daughter. My head is way bigger than the person’s in the video, so I had to fold mine a lot wider than she did. But it worked, even if it does look dorky on me. Safe >> dorky.
I’ll wear mine whenever I need to go out into crowds, such as the store, for as long as this lasts. I have six handkerchiefs, which ought to last me through the week fine. Each time I need to wear one I’ll put it in the laundry when I’m done.
By the way, if you like my T-shirt, you can get one from United State of Indiana here. Proceeds go to two Indiana charities.
I was reading Fred Wilson’s blog the other day in which he pointed out that lots of Etsy sellers are making and selling face masks. I went there and searched for “face mask” and glory be, there were plenty of options.
