For me, it’s pretty simple. If  you’re going somewhere where you can’t always keep at least six feet distance from others, you wear a mask.  If you do, thank you for wearing a mask.

When I’ll Thank You For Wearing a Mask

Thaddeus and I bike on a local bike path that brings us to the canal towpath.  I’ve described the area a lot here.

The local bike path is about a mile long (the stretch we ride). It is about 3 feet wide and bordered by mostly grass. The towpath is about equally wide. But it is bordered by threes, ditches and a canal.

People who are concerned about themselves and others could possibly keep six feet of distance from bikers on the walking/running/bike path.  But most don’t move off the path to socially distance themselves.  Most also don’t wear face masks.  There really is no way of separating yourself from other walkers/runners/bikers on the towpath.

If you wear a mask whilst using either of these paths, I thank you. Thank your for helping the entire community stay safe. And for being an example for others to follow.

If You Don’t

For those of you who don’t, I consider you to be self-absorbed, selfish shitbags.

Out biking the last few days and it’s shocking how many people are selfish shitbags. And by the way:

• A thin piece of fabric, like the neck of your shirt, isn’t a mask
• Wearing it around your neck, or just on your mouth doesn’t protect us…we’re still subject to your suspended fluid droplets
• Putting it on when you get within 6 feet of others doesn’t prevent your last breath from infecting the air around you
• Saying you’re not sick doesn’t mean you’re not infected
• Not being worried about getting sick doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wear a mask…it’s there to protect us more than you
• Being uncomfortable wearing a mask (because you’re claustrophobic, or running, or it fogs up your glasses) is not a valid reason for not wearing a mask

Somehow it became unacceptable for people to blow their cigarette smoke in your air-space because second-hand smoke was both not pleasant and not healthy for those who had to breathe it.

So how is it that it’s okay to spread possibly infected breathing?

My Masks

Many of you know, I started making masks a while ago. The first two I made by sewing up a pattern someone found in the New York Times which I liked very much.

It conforms well to the face, but it requires tying at both the bottom and the top. While it eliminated the need for elastic (which I didn’t have), it wasn’t very practical for putting on and off quickly. Like, if I was running lots of errands.

So, found a simple YouTube mask and tried using thicker rubber bands for the ear-loops.

This one is lightweight, and easy to put on and off. It was perfect for bicycling, so I made a few and sent them to friends and family.

Then a friend sent me a great YouTube pattern for a three-layer cotton fabric mask that only requires that you tie it on top.

So, I made a couple dozen of these and offered them to people in my neighborhood. I ended up giving away about a dozen of them and have quite a few left.

Finally (and I’m sure you’re bored to tears with this by now), I had a problem with my simple light-weight masks that I was using for biking. The rubber bands kept breaking. So I found a few alternatives for elastic and made a few more of these:

Suffice it to say, I have plenty of choices in masks when I go out.

Current Knitting

It’s very close to being finished! The Close To You Shawl has come a long way.

The pattern as written is almost finished, and I’m debating on whether I want to make it larger. I’m up to 143 stitches and the pattern calls for 10 more rows before a picot bind-off. I’m not sure if I’ll keep it to the pattern as written, or make it bigger. But either way, I’m thrilled with how this yarn works up with this pattern.