Month: August 2020

Making Face-masks and Choosing Fabric

Posted on by Miranda

One of my lovely readers, and a very special lady she is, asked me about making masks this morning. I’ve made a fair few now and I have a bit of knowledge about making and wearing them. I thought I’d share part of the email I sent back to her here on my blog too. It’s knowledge and I love to share knowledge. I will say, I’m no expert, and others might have different opinions but this is what I’ve learned after a brutal summer making and wearing face-masks.

This is probably the easiest (once you’ve measured) and lightest mask I’ve made. I can actually breathe in it, despite the heat. I still sweat like I’m a waterfall, but it’s easy to breathe in. Click this for link.

This is another one I use for pleated masks. Click this for link.

I like the pleated masks most and have found that an 8 by 8 inch square will fit most people, but may be a little big on those with smaller faces. I like to have most of my lower face covered so it’s the size I prefer the most. Adjust the size of the elastic to make it fit better.


A few things I’ve learned about cloth and patterns: 

  1. You can trace the patterns off of your screen, most of the time. There will be a box in most PDF patterns that says to adjust the size of the PDF file to match your screen to make sure it’s 1 inch square or something along those lines. I’ve made several patterns that way. Our printer is out of ink and the new cartridges have skyrocketed in cost so nope on new ink. To clarify, when you open a PDF file you can make it bigger or smaller to make it easier to read. There’s usually a magnifying glass with a plus or minus sign on it. You click those until that square matches the measurements you need. 
  2. We don’t have guidelines for what masks can be made from. I have some that are definitely better for winter and some that are more appropriate for summer. Simon’s favorite is this cloth I found online. 
    “Unique hand block pattern from Jaipur. A pinky red. 100% summer weight cotton. 110cm wide.

    Traditional hand block and dye techniques are used to make this wonderful rural cloth. Part of the Rajasthan Express collection, developed and exclusive to Merchant & Mills. This fabric is hand dyed. For the first wash, place the fabric in the washing machine drum at 30 or 40 degrees with a handful of table salt. This will fix the dye to prevent it running.”
  3. I am mainly using muslin for the back, although it is diaper muslin, and is better than most other muslin I’ve seen. 
  4. Some patterns instruct you to use one single piece of fabric for the front and back. I use two different pieces because I just prefer to use a piece of muslin as the backing. 
  5. Avoid cheap elastic if you can. Some of it will melt when you place an iron anywhere near it. I’ve bought some from local shops that have ruined entire masks because the black elastic melted without me realizing it until I pulled the iron away from the mask. 
  6. I’m not sure silk would be good to use without putting cotton as a backing and maybe even a third piece in the middle. I think it would also be hard to breathe in, especially during warm weather. I’m sure they’d be pretty but I’m not sure it’s ideal for masks. 

Something I hadn’t thought about, but did once I made my first mask, was that some patterns will be better for warm weather while some will be better for cold weather. The ones that you make from more than one pattern piece will be great in the winter. Summer? Not so much. It’s like wearing a quilt on your face.

Some of the heavier cotton fabric is also hard to wear during hot weather. Face masks are meant to prevent the spread of Covid 19 and should be made with that in mind, but if you’re passing out from being overheated, you’re not doing anybody any good.

Whatever you choose to use, and however you choose to make your face-masks is ultimately up to you. There are hundreds of tutorials online, I prefer to use YouTube, but there may be other platforms. I’ve linked to the ones I’ve used and can say I have experience with. I’m not promoting them for any other reason than that.

Please comment if you have questions or need further clarification. When I can get time I’ll answer them. I hope this helps somehow and

I Put Up a Picture of My Grandfather…

Posted on by Miranda

It’s the only “real” picture we’ve put up. There are paintings I’ve done, things I’ve painted that Simon adores, but it’s the picture of my grandfather that I find myself looking at.

He was the story-teller in my family, the one that brought the past to life for his grandchildren. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized Uncle Dan Christian wasn’t alive in my papaw’s lifetime. That’s what my sister and I called him, that’s what he stayed with once the other grandchildren came along. Papaw told us stories about Dan and Mose (Moses) Christian, about his father, his own lifetime growing up in West Virginia during the Great Depression, and later about his time in Korea.

He was the one that brought the world to life with words and taught me that a good story will keep everyone entertained. He also taught me how to be a good person and that being a good person didn’t mean sitting in a church pew every Sunday, although it wouldn’t hurt you if you did.

Now, I look up at a picture of a man that made mistakes in his life, but learned from them, and miss him dearly. All I have left of him are my memories and pictures. It’s the memories that comfort me on the days when I want nothing more than to sit down at a table with him and eat pinto beans and cornbread. Even if he frowned at the way I ate them: cornbread broken up into a bowl with the beans, and maybe some spinach mixed in, liberally covered in ketchup.

And it’s his picture that reminds me of where I came from, who I came from, and why I can’t give up and wallow in depression or anxiety. Because I can wallow in both like I invented it. He’s the one that taught me that stories can make you smile, make you laugh, or make you cry. I miss the man that everyone called John L., but he lives in my heart and always will. And maybe, he’ll live in my stories one day, too. I’m just not sure I can capture all that he was with a few words. I’ll see what I can do.

I’ve Forgotten My Positive Attitude Lately

Posted on by Miranda

It’s hard to be positive all the time. It really is.

I’ve been very ill for far too long and it’s taking a toll on everything. Luckily, I didn’t need a doctor to tell me the one thing I needed to do the most…stop eating dairy. I’ve experimented with it before and when it felt like I had snakes in my intestines that had been soaked in gasoline and set on fire to go with their squirming, I tried the one thing I should have tried first.

No cheese, no butter, no milk that isn’t lactose free, nothing. It’s showing in more ways than one. I’m not losing weight because I’m constantly being ill now, I’m losing weight because I overloaded on cheese and bread all the time. That’s a good thing, right?

I baked yesterday, no dairy anywhere, and ended up with a rather strange but totally edible apple and pecan pie sort of thing and a pork pie that was better than I thought it would be. Some cheese or sour cream on the pork pie would have been nice, but I’m coming to value not being ill over my cravings for cheese.

I am a writer. That means I’m sedentary more often than not. I do get up and walk around outside of the apartment, but I don’t go out into the world often at all anymore. It’s not just Covid I have to worry about, it’s getting pneumonia or the flu again. My poor little lungs can’t take anymore abuse.

And yes, today, my thoughts are still whirling around, but I feel calm.

I’ll be adding to my book today, poking at what I’ve already written, and maybe rearranging or adding to it. That’s what I do.

I can sit down and write a novel in two weeks, less if I push myself. A novel being 50,000 words according to Nanowrimo.

I like to sit and ponder over them though. When I first started writing, I was pushing myself to get out what I could, to establish myself, and all I saw were publishers and people with far more money than me taking the top spots. Some of that was down to book stuffing and other gimmicks, sure, but most of it was down to how much money you give to various advertisers.

I was working to support my loved ones, and trying to invest what I could into my own brand, but that wasn’t much. I finally decided this year that I’d write at least four books this year for myself and that would be it. Four.

If it took me all year to write them, that’s fine. If it took me longer, that was fine too. I also decided to work less. Not because I was rich but because it’s taking a toll on my health. I’m still not rich in money, but in health? I’m getting better. Things are improving. I think.

I forgot that idea about writing only four books and spending less time working for a while. Covid started, I was sick, and panic set in, though I did it quietly. That’s what I do when I’m emotionally drained, I go quiet.

I was overwhelmed, not sure of what direction to head in, and floundering. Yep, that was me, a big ole giant flounder just floating around, watching the world go by. It took me a few months to realize what a mess I’d knotted myself into, but I finally did. That’s when I started to look out at the world again.

Maybe it’s not so scary out there?

Well, it is.

Covid isn’t the only thing that can turn you into a hermit in this world, but I know how to deal with most of those things. And the things I can’t control? Well, I can’t control them, can I?

This time, I decided to come out of that quiet with a little more strength and with my positive attitude back on top. It’s not all hopeless and I can deal with life a little better now. I can get back to living again and focusing on the good things there are in life.

Let’s see what I can write today, shall we?

You can see a huge but ugly apple, or you can see one apple that can make an entire pie. It’s all perspective.

Back to the real world and Covid-19

Posted on by Miranda

I have no idea what’s just happened with this posting stuff. We’re going to call this another attempt at getting ahead in blogging. Of learning what it’s about. It’s been a long time since I actually sat down and tried to write in a journal or create an archive of things that have happened in my life. 

Yesterday, my mother said I needed to be writing everything down in a journal because Covid 19 will be the 1918-1919 flu of our time. She’s right about that in many respects and I may write it all down at some point. Who knew fiction would turn into fact and we’d all be scrambling to live our lives in a time when something we can’t see could kill us?

That’s not supposed to be happening in our lifetimes. Sure, flu can kill, but it’s only the weak and elderly, right? Small children and the sick? Not anymore. Maybe never again. Covid 19 is revealing its secrets as time passes and we’re learning about the horrible effects it will have, long after we’ve shed the last virus cell from our bodies. Have you heard of MIS-C?

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a terrifying result of having been infected with Covid 19 and as its name suggests can be found in children and adolescents. It is life-threatening if left untreated. Then there’s the news that the disease is causing heart and lung damage, damage to the cardiovascular system, which on a sidenote makes me wonder about past flu viruses and the impact they have on the cardiovascular system.

I have Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), a disease that means my blood doesn’t flow very well, especially to my hands and feet. Since the first time my toes turned purple and stayed that way, leaving me in utter agony for quite a long time, I’ve learned that it’s not just a disease that latches on to the elderly to make their lives even harder. People in their 20s and 30s get it, and when I looked back in my medical records, I was surprised to find it was actually diagnosed in my 30s. I’m no scientist, but I do wonder because now people are developing Covid toes and other circulatory problems.

We obliterated so many diseases in the last few generations, we’ve created vaccines that have saved lives, and yet, here we are. I believe that’s mainly because people wanted to ignore the fact that we live in a world where we’re surrounded by nature, even in ventilated, climate-controlled environments. We removed ourselves from nature, but nature didn’t remove itself from us.

I write romance novels and horror novels, but that isn’t all of who I am. I also write research papers that I never publish, mainly because I don’t think anyone would be interested so I don’t make them spiffy and awesome, I just write what I need to know to satisfy my curiosity. I also search out news about viruses and emerging illnesses.

I am a student of history, it’s what I majored in during my university days, and the one thing that fascinated me most, even more than my adoration of geology and plate tectonics, was the rise and fall of plagues. It was the enemy we couldn’t fight, the enemy we could not see. I learned that no matter what battles we take part in amongst ourselves, who we declare our enemy, there is a “great leveler” and it is not violence or the threat of violence, it is nature.

Which brings me to the second person that told me I need to blog. She’s a good friend, one I absolutely adore, and she wants the best for me. I asked her what I should write about. Anything. That’s not very helpful, I thought with amusement.

The one thing that is on all our minds right now is Covid. When will it go away? When will life get back to normal? Should a romance writer be writing about such a depressing topic? Maybe I should, when that topic creates problems, fears for us all, until we can’t escape the truth of it.

I don’t want to write about my writing process, it’s strange and everyone else writes about it. I don’t want to tell other people how to write either. If someone asks me about publishing, editing, anything else, I can tell them, but I don’t want to assume I’m an authority on anything. I know what I know and that is all I know, right?

Life doesn’t always give us happy endings. And no, I don’t mean those kind of happy endings. I mean the kind we can live. Sometimes, life is brutal, it’s hard, and then it gets worse. And many people are in that situation right now. Knowing you aren’t alone isn’t very helpful, but it can be helpful when you talk about it, try to find solutions to the problems together, and are able to say…I’m drowning. Sometimes, just knowing someone heard you makes a difference and I’m here to say…I hear you.

This is me, right now, trying to find a new path in a world that doesn’t make sense anymore. This post may not make a lot of sense to anyone, but it does to me. It’s as chaotic as my thoughts are at the moment. It’s a real expression of something that you cannot see and for now it’s what I need to say. So, have a good day and yes, Mom, if you read this, I put so in a sentence. She hates when I do that. But, we’re back to reality and Covid 19, so (ha, I did it again), here I am. This is me, right now, living in the time of Covid 19.

During the pandemic, you may do things like sit in a hammock and take pictures of your toes. Live the dream…

How To Write A Blog That Gets Page Views

Posted on by Miranda

That’s been a question I’ve typed into search engines a million times. Some other questions include:
1. What are the most popular blogs?

This one comes with lots of head scratching. Like the title question, it leaves a lot to be desired. You end up with thousands of pages on how to create a blog on a variety of blogging services, which ones are best, and which ones you should give money to. If you’re like me, that’s not what you want to know.

You also don’t want to know which celebrities have the most popular blogs, mainly because they’re all on Tik Tok or Instagram anyway, and you may not care about that particular celebrity. I’m not looking for any of that.

When I’m online, I’m either researching something for a project or looking for recipes. If it’s not either of those, you might find me researching my ancestors or reading about some obscure topic that nobody cares about. Which leads me to another question I’ve searched for.

2. What do people want to read about?

That’s a tough one because we don’t all have the same interests. We don’t all have the same passions. I don’t have one single passion that guides me through life so the results I get, which generally revolve around answers that are addressed to question one tend to infuriate me.

I have titled this post what I have because the question remains unanswered, mainly. I have no idea how to write a blog post that gets page views but I do know that the post should be engaging. But that’s a given and heads the top of every article I’ve read.

You see, I’m not a fussy woman, in most things. What to write about, however, stumps me. I could write about the art of writing, but the stories I write are from my imagination. I’m not writing about SEO tools or SEO analysis, I couldn’t tell you what any of that means or if it’s even relevant in post-Covid 19 world. Do people care about search engine optimization now? I kind of think a world left to do nothing but surf the internet probably does care about SEO now, but at the same time, it’s not my passion.

I also don’t want to join the ranks of thousands of others talking about how they’ve made 6-figures this year by doing this one single thing. Or sell tutorials of how to write the steamiest sex scenes you could ever conjure in your steamy, adventure-starved brain as you clothes the door on the real world of politics and, well, reality. Oh, and I haven’t made six figures this year, so that’s a non-starter anyway.

So, how do you write a blog that gets a lot of page views? Might I suggest things from what I’ve learned people are doing now that social-isolation is a global thing.

A. Anything to do with ancestry. It’s becoming popular to get your DNA taken and analyzed for ancestry registration. While people are trying to ignore their boss’s 10th email of the day or trying not to hear their kids having their 150th argument of the day, they’re looking up who they are, where they come from, and the people that came together to make them who they are. I have read quite a lot of blogs about my ancestors and perhaps you’d have an interesting ancestor or two?

B. Anything to do with pets. People have questions, so many questions! Especially about chickens, which I find odd, because I grew up with chickens, with a garden, turkeys, pigs, goats, and everything else.

C. Sewing and crocheting, although most of these seems to be moving to YouTube. I’m camera shy, so you’re not likely to find me hosting a video, unless I don’t actually appear in it. Maybe my hands?

D. Sports. Your team, your passion, your own experience, or lack of. People love it.

E. Politics. But this I mention only for the truly brave. It’s not an area I want to go into, because I’m just tired of arguing, avoid confrontation when I can, and have become a super-hermit. What’s a super-hermit? Someone like me that just wants to be left alone, for the most part, haha. I don’t want to discuss politics with people, but others do. Maybe create a blog where you can argue with people, if that’s your thing?

F. Vacation destinations, places you’re knowledgeable about, all sorts of things that have to do with travel. I’m from West Virginia and the one thing people all over the world know is a song by John Denver. There’s even versions of said song in different languages, and I’ve heard them all. Once people get finished singing those versus at me, they want to know about the area I come from. A lot don’t even know West Virginia exists. They think it’s part of Virginia, and some still insist on saying I’m from Virginia when I’m not. I’ve learned to go with it, though. Anyway, yeah, you’d be surprised what people want to know. Especially writers looking for knowledge about areas they can’t travel to right now. You’d be doing those writers a service!

G. Anything that isn’t in the top results when you ask any of the questions above. I think a lot of the times some of the results we get when we search a question is because people are trying to sell selling ideas. I look up top SEO results and get results on how to optimize SEO. Not what those results are, which tells me that simply writing about SEO is the top result. And if everyone is doing it, how are you going to get your result seen? It’ll be a tag, that’s for sure.

Overall, I think the top way to write a blog post that gets page views is to write about something you know, write it well, and then post it. This post, for example, will probably get very few page reads even with tags, because it’s not about Search Engine Optimization, about how to earn a 6-figure income from home or from writing, and it’s not about writing the same content that everyone else is. It is the start, I hope, to me exploring what I can write that might be of interest to others. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.