Face Masks

Madison, Wisconsin is a great halfway point between my house in Northfield and my friend’s house in Indiana, and it meets our destination criteria of a body of water, gardens and thrift and/or antique stores so we have enjoyed several trips there.

Olbrich Gardens…showing off many beautiful planters.

We traditionally take our annual trip in the spring (ever since 1989), with an occasional trip halfway through the year if we can fit it into our schedules. We have met in many different locations around the country but Madison is convenient destination for us.

Along the trail on a beautiful fall day.

This year we planned a trip in May, but because of the pandemic we delayed it, until finally we decided to go… six months later. It was a tough decision, as are a lot of decisions around COVID these days. We decided on Madison because it’s easy to get to. We were careful where we went and we wore our masks.

When we meet in Madison, we always include a trip to Olbrich Botanical Gardens. The gardens are a must see. Spring, summer or fall, Olbrich Gardens is always a special place to wander the trails and enjoy nature’s beauty.

The purple aster among the white birch is appealing to the eyes.

We had fun walking around the gardens with our masks…but not our facemasks. The first day together we found sparkly, purple eye masks, new and unopened, at a thrift store, so we each bought one to add a whimsical touch to our time together.

We decided Olbrich Gardens was the place to don our masks and find a photo op. So, when we arrived at the gardens off came our facemasks and on went our sparkly eye masks.

This framed print was hanging in an antique store and we liked the caption. It went with our whimsical mind-set.

Olbrich Gardens had a lot to offer at the end of October. There were still lovely flower arrangements and colorful trees to enjoy in their fall glory.

This tree was labeled Full Moon Maple. Love that name…love the color.

Bright sunshine shone down on us and its warmth embraced us. We took great delight strolling around in it.

I didn’t record the name of this unique berry bush. Yes, these are real, natural berries.

At one point during our afternoon a message popped up on my phone alerting me to a photo memory. I looked and it showed photos from a Fall trip my friend and I had taken last year (2019) to Madison. The photos were from Olbrich Gardens and the date was exactly one year ago TO THE DAY. That was crazy! It felt like a confirmation. We reminisced, and recalled in 2019 it snowed the night before we visited the gardens so the ground and paths were covered with the white stuff. Not so this year.

Olbrich Gardens is a place to revisit again and again. Our trip turned out well. Although we shortened it, it was good to be together, in-person, to catch up with our lives. Someday we will not have to worry about COVID, but until then, a lot of decisions are heavy and difficult.

It appears face masks will be part of the new normal as the Covid-19 pandemic has changed our lives forever. Face masks are already required in some stores and requested in many others. It is a safety measure to protect all of us from spreading the virus. We are all in this together.

I eked out two masks on my old sewing machine, which has seen better days.

Masks that tie around the head…they have nose wire and a pocket for a filter.

At the time elastic was hard to come by so I used old t-shirts for the ties, which was suggested and was a good alternative. The masks turned out OK and have served us well.

There are many folks in our town making masks. There is a person in charge of the operation. She sends emails with updates and has created a station at a convenient location downtown Northfield for mask making supplies. She raised funds, ordered supplies including blue filter fabric, elastic (which is available again) and other items. Most, if not all of the fabric, has been donated. Mask-makers go to the station to pick up what they need.

Cutting fabric into 7×9 inch and 5×7 inch pieces.

Since I feel I cannot sew nice masks with my machine I decided to help by cutting fabric. The 100% cotton fabric needs to be washed, ironed and cut into different shapes (depending on style of mask and whether it is for an adult or child.)

Beautiful masks my friend makes with elastic…they have a filter already sewn into mask, and a nose wire.

I was talking with a friend the other day and we were lamenting about wearing masks because you cannot tell the expression on other’s faces when they have their masks on. When you cannot see smiles you miss a lot…so we thought it would be great to have masks with see-through space so you could see more of a person’s expression.

The very next morning on the news I read about see-through masks…made especially for those who need to lip-read.

Hmmm…Our good idea – already conceived, and created – by another. I think of the saying…”Necessity is the mother of invention.”

I saw this masked bunny in a window display shortly after Easter…

I have no doubt face masks will become a fashion statement. Soon.

Tag: Face Masks

Olbrich Gardens Revisited