(Somewhat) Random 5 for September 28 – Breath, masks, skin, depression, people

Gallery

Posted on by

It ain’t me! – When I wear disposable masks, my trapped breath is awful. Did I always have this? Yikes! No one ever snuck mouthwash on my desk when I worked. Yes, it is that bad. I kicked up my mouth cleaning rituals. Still no change. Then I bought a cloth one. What a difference. The bad smell was gone. It must have been the disposables. Maybe I had a bad box. My cloth one is also pretty but I like the idea of disposables (even though it’s bad for the environment). I don’t wash the cloths every time I use them because it’s for less than a half hour. Most of the time it’s less than 10 minutes. I don’t toss the disposables after ten minutes but I’m more regular about changing them out but you can’t beat pretty.

Speaking of the environment – People are pigs and that’s an insult to the pigs. Today just inside the door at Starbucks there was a discarded disposable mask on the floor. Seriously people? There was a trash bin within two foot. You are supposed to keep them on until you are OUT of the building. No one wants to touch a mask that was next to your smelly mouth for who knows how long!

There is the dandruff – My cloth one is shades of blue. The inside is a very pretty shade of dark royal blue. I noticed what looks like dandruff on it after I wear it. My skin must be revolting.

All alone am I – With the cooler weather, there will be more isolation. I’m a wuss so I don’t like bundling up to sit on a park bench with friends in the cold and by cold I mean anything under 65 degrees. We’ve had some health issues going on in the family and no matter how optimistic it is, it contributes to a spiraling down. I can’t believe that last year was the “good old days.” Since we don’t know what the future brings, these may be the “good old days” for next year! Makes me want to throw the blankets over my head!

Having said that – I had the opportunity to see some relatives I rarely see. We were all properly distanced but it was so nice to be able to catch up. With the virus, there isn’t a lot that is new but it’s interesting to see how others who work or have kids are handling these times. Best of all we did it over some really great pizza!

So how was your week?

Mask made by HeyAnja! 

 

 

62 thoughts on “(Somewhat) Random 5 for September 28 – Breath, masks, skin, depression, people”

  1. I usually wear the bandana mask but when I went to the eye doctor I wore two neoprene masks … they are two different sizes so it just looks like I have one on. But … the neoprene had some type of effect on my face, which got red and itchy. I do get reactions from latex so I Googled to see if they have the same components but they don’t. Perhaps I should have washed it first, but it was in a sealed package (as in crimped all the way around with no openings). After wearing it the first time, I washed it and will try putting a paper mask underneath next to my skin. Sigh.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  2. My sil told me about a product that is fantastic for bad breath. It’s called Smart Mouth. You can get it at Walmart, Amazon, etc. I use the cloth mask and love it. I have two so I have one to wear when the other is drip drying after being washed. My husband uses disposable. He usually has a spare or two, and they have been known to fall out of his pocket. Hopefully that was the case in your Starbucks. Or maybe someone thought it went into the garbage and they didn’t notice it missed ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ My favorite experience was when we came home once, and my husband realized his mask was missing. The next day we found it halfway up our mountain walk. Hope people didn’t see it and think we were litterbugs.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  3. I went cloth all the way (having made several to ‘coordinate’ with whatever I’m wearing). My DIL who is a nurse and says they are beginning to treat people with they’re calling ‘mask acne.’ It’s funny because the masks makes only my left check flaky but have not heard problems associated with breath. A more pressing problem for me is fogged up glasses which drives me crazy when I’m walking the dogs. Talk about a pain. Good luck with your quite pretty mask.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  4. I admit to being a bit of a germaphobe long before this pandemic broke out. My belief is that masks are here to stay so I’ve been slowly building up a wardrobe of reusable masks for suitable colour and mood coordination 🙂 The disposable ones are just too ‘fibre-y’ for me (not to mention environmentally bad) and make my face itch like crazy – not a good thing when trying to avoid touching your face or mask.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • Everything makes my face itch. As soon as you tell me I can’t do something, everything happens. I like my new fabric one better than the disposables that give me bad breathe (or maybe they just smell inside). My first fabric ones I didn’t like. So much depends on the fabric. I’m a germaphobe too so I’m glad that after this is over I can finally refuse to shake hands and kiss strangers. Talk about stupid customs.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply ↓

  8. We went to fabric masks pretty quickly, but the little bit of time we did use disposables, we really didn’t like them at all. Glad you got to spend a little time with your relatives and catch up! And extra glad you got to have good pizza at the same time 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  9. I love the blue mask. As you said, “You can’t beat pretty.” So, I’m not the only one who figures that wearing a mask for half an hour is less than a single use. And who washes clothes every day?

    I choose to think that the mask on the floor was an extra that fell out of someone’s pocket.

    I had a pretty good week. Our smoke is gone. We had too much rain for a while, but now we have some blue skies, and we can go out for walks.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

    • Glad the smoke settled. I saw pictures and it looked bad. It was so early in the morning that having it drop out of pocket or purse seems logical. Not that early morning people are more considerate than the folks that come later.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply ↓

      • One can only hope there was a rush to the car and hands we’re doubly full so bending over to retrieve mask who’s suicide leap may not have been noted ….until the next stop.
        But unless it was an expensive mask, more likely discarded. Sad how many wail about the environment, yet leave a trail of tired-of unwanted discards string out behind them.
        A kid? Could it have been a rushed, irritable kid? Parents must have a pretty difficult time these days – their hands were already full without the masks

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply ↓

  10. Hi, Kate – I love your cloth mask. Very pretty. I have several masks (both cloth and disposable) but none as pretty as that. (Mask-envy)!
    I’m sorry to hear that there are some health concerns in your family. I agree that we need to treat all days as precious. Sending warm thoughts your way.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  12. I only wear cloth masks (that I’ve made) and wash them probably once a week or so. Since I have around six of them (and I certainly don’t go out every day), I figure that’s plenty. At first, I was only using leftover pieces of cloth so I didn’t have much color choice but now I have a few pieces that better match the blues, grays and purples of my wardrobe. After all, a worldwide pandemic is no excuse for not being color-coordinated 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  13. Mask, mask go away
    Halloween is your day!
    There must be some mistake, I know…
    I hope this does not last, ’til snow.
    Please excuse my little rhyme, but I think I took am experiencing a lack of O2 to the brain and I think however, that pretty masks help. It makes looking at others so much more palatable. Always trying to make a fashion statement.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  16. I had a good week ~> not being around hordes of people is good for my mental health.

    Gov. Desantis (in his infinite LACK of wisdom) lifted restrictions on restaurants so they can now operate at FULL capacity. We won’t be eating out any time soon.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • We are at 50% capacity. When I’ve done take out I have noticed that they are not full even to that capacity. Around here people are still very cautious so it’s not a matter of reduced capacity but customer confidence. Good luck.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  18. I haven’t actually used a disposal one yet, though I have a handful still in their wrappers that I picked up somehow. Thanks for the warning. We bought our cloth ones on Etsy too, though from a different vendor. A NYT article I read about cleaning them regularly got my attention. I’m paraphrasing here, but it said something along the lines of “Just put it in the washing machine. You need to wash it just as you do with your underwear.” That certainly got my attention.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  19. I get furious with littering, too.Sometimes I find it within feet of the trashcans at the park. How lazy do you have to be, people?! (Sometimes it’s the crows or raccoons dragging out whole piles, but mostly it’s cans or bottles.) This is why we can’t have nice things–like planet earth.

    If I have gloves I’ll pick it up. Sometimes I see a woman who lives by the park collecting it with a mechanical “grabber.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  21. Hi Kate, Good info on disposable versus cloth masks. I wore disposable ones 12 hours a day when I was working in the dental field. Egad, breath is important. I would change the mask with every patient, so hopefully this helped. The “insult to the pigs” is a huge belly laugh! We have just returned from camping. Bliss to be away from it all. Like you say, these may be the good old days. One day at a time.🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  22. I prefer the cloth masks too, for yes,they are pretty! 😉 My sister has made sooo many to give to clinics, etc.
    Yes, an insult to pigs for sure! What makes people so lazy like that! Its like leaving the cart at your car instead of pushing it back where it belongs.
    It is so nice to be with family and friends , YES! We need that interaction, glad you were able too!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  23. I laughed at your disposable mask story because one day we ate fried clam strips in the car and stopped at Lowes on the way home. I got out, put my disposable on, and within five minutes thought I was going to pass out. 🙂 I also chuckled at your 65 degrees which is by all means short sleeve weather up here. 🙂 My week was busy with at home projects and today I’m going to dig up plants with two other Master Gardeners to over winter for hopefully our 2021 plant sale. Digging with a mask on for a couple of hours is a real thrill don’t you know. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

    • If you are distanced and it’s outside, do you need a mask? I walked inside the local mall a few times and it took me a while to get used to doing it with a mask. When I get out, I take it off and breathe deeply for a few minutes. I feel like my oxygen level is low but it’s probably all in my head.

      Like

      Reply ↓

Don't be shy, I'd love to hear what you're thinking!