Something to Make You Smile

Good morning … ☀️ Good afternoon … 🌎 Good evening … 🌙 wherever you are in the world. The magnolias are blooming!

After my morning dose of bad news, I sat here wondering how well everyone out there is coping. I try not to read too much news (I do not watch the local or national news at all), but it is difficult to avoid the stories. Unfortunately, the bad almost always seems to overshadow the positive news stories of the day.

So … I thought I would attempt to spread some good cheer and share only some of the good things I discovered this on April Fool’s morning.

1: Harry Potter at Home

If you’re a fan of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter (how can you not be?), this newly launched website is a boon to all the stay-at-home parents and their kids. For the first time, I’ve been listening to the audiobooks while I walk my dog or sit sewing masks. Being a fan of the movies, I am really enjoying listening to the entire story as originally written by Rowling herself. I don’t have any children, but I’ll be spending some time on this website myself. I am a kid at heart, right?

2: Some Good News

John Krasinski just launched a YouTube show to spread uplifting stories and inspiration. It’s something we all desperately need, so I hope you’ll check it out.

3: Pet Fostering

The Today Show shared a story about homebound folks fostering shelter animals. If you have the means, please consider helping out. If you are alone, what better way not to be alone? I mean, we all like animals better than people, right? Well, most people anyway. Okay. Okay. I like animals better than people in general.

Here’s a picture of me with my little Rocket who I adopted last year from a local shelter. Notice how terrified he looks. I can only imagine it’s because of all the makeup on my face (notice the fake eyelashes?). Thought I’d share this picture because I personally think it’s hilarious. I never (and I mean never) wear makeup. That day, I did a little TV spot for a local show. I didn’t really know what I looked like until I came home and couldn’t wait to wash my face. Rocket was rather relieved as well.

4: Crocs

Hmm. Never thought I’d be sharing an uplifting story about Crocs. Personally, I’ve never owned a pair of Crocs or a pair of Jellies. Remember those from the 80s? They were made of PVC and came in every color under the sun. Come on. You remember.

Back to the inspirational part of the story. I see a number of companies stepping up and doing the right thing during this time of crisis. Crocs is one of those companies as they are offering free shoes to the frontline healthcare workers. If you are one of those in need, I hope they can help you out.

5: Mask Making

As you know, I’ve been sewing masks these past few days/weeks. I’m a slow one-woman assembly line. It takes time cutting and ironing; pinning and sewing; pulling out the stitches because I screwed up …

After watching several video tutorials, I gleaned my favorite features from each one as everyone has a different method. Here’s a picture of a couple I made the other day which include pockets in the back for filter insertion. Since then, I’ve refined that design as well. They are not fancy as some others, but I think they’ll get the job done.

It’s frustrating being so slow, but I’m heartened with the knowledge that people across the country and around the globe are stitching millions of masks a day, including one popular designer … Christian Siriano.

Is he personally sewing masks? Ummm … probably not. But who knows? He is contributing. And that is what’s important.

6: Reduction in Pollution

Clean (or at least cleaner) water are being observed in certain parts of the world, like Venice, Italy. The photo below is from an article posted by Elle: 38 Positive News Stories You May Have Missed During The Coronavirus Outbreak

NURPHOTO + GETTY IMAGES

Californians are enjoying blue skies over Los Angeles as seen in this photo by transportation reporter Laura Nelson. Clean skies are typical after rain (but it never rains in California!) for a day, but this kind of blue and for this long … never. Hey! There’s a mountain range back there.

Los Angeles (photograph by Laura Nelson)

That’s all I have time to share today. I hope I was able to lift your spirits just a bit. It’s back to sewing. Tomorrow, I’ll post more of Pantydynamics. I know you can’t wait to find out what happens next. <insert perky laughter>