Home, Studio, and Sewing - Efforts in Time Management

As I predicted last week, not a lot of sewing got done. But the big audit is over and hopefully I will be able to work fewer hours for the next little while.  By that I mean only working 8 hrs.

While I didn't get a whole lot of sewing done, I did do some organizing, as well as planning and prep work done.  Which in and of itself is an accomplishment for me lately. Between the renovations, work, and life, I very often feel overwhelmed.

So I am trying to break things down into bite size pieces. I have gone back to my 30-30-30 strategy. 30 minutes on the house. 30 minutes in the studio, and 30 minutes sewing. I've only been back to doing it for 2 days but I feel like progress is being made.

In the house category; I managed to fold several loads of laundry, and sort and match half a laundry basket full of socks.  Now that may not sound like a lot but I've managed to get it down from a whole basket of socks. A couple of months ago it was 2 whole baskets of socks.  I've been throwing socks away. Kim's new book shelves have cleared up some space as well.  We no longer have a mountain of books on the floor of our room.

In the studio category: I've cleaned up behind the long arm machine, well at least 1/2 way.  I've cleared the door to the front deck. Then I did some scrap management.  I have a basket that I was dropping scraps in as I was trimming. But then it was covered up so I started dropping them in a little box. I gathered them up and started cutting them into useful pieces.

I got this idea from Karen Brown at Just Get It Done Quilts. She has a video series on Scrap Management. She suggests that once a month (or once a week) you cut your scraps into useful pieces. She says to start with the end in mind. That being said, I have a scrap quilt I want to make. It's a basket weave pattern and I fell in love with it when I saw it on a wall at Sew Blessed Quilts in Hahira, GA.  This quilt takes 3 inch squares and 3x8 inch strips. But not all of my scraps would yield themselves to these dimensions.  So I set out with some standard sizes in mind. 2 1/2 inch strips/blocks & 5 inch strips/blocks. 

As I was cutting, I realized that I had some 2 inch strips, so those were set aside. Then I had some 4 inch by WOF strips that I had cut for a border and changed my mind. I saved those. I had some strips of fabric that were less than 2 inches but more than 1 1/2 inches so I classified those as strings. I also have some 2 1/2 x 8 1/2 inch strips and some 2 1/2 x WOF strips that I put aside. All in all I had a few different piles.  I decided to put them in sandwich bags to keep them clean and neat. To differentiate the sizes, I placed a Post-it note with the size and shape on it in each bag. 

As I was cutting, I started setting the bags in a little shipping box. I realized that it was the perfect size for the sandwich bags.  But it wasn't all that pretty. Since I didn't plan on stuffing the scraps into a box and shoving it in a closet, I decided to clean it up a little. I cut the flaps off and covered it with wrapping paper.  Now I would be able to leave it out on a shelf where it is easy to access and it wouldn't be ugly. The little sandwich bags fit in there so neatly, just like a file. It will be easy to keep up with the organization. I love my little scrap file.

I personally believe that in order to keep up any organization plan, it has to be easy to use and easy to access. I think the old saying "A place for everything and everything in it's place" is a great idea. But it falls short. If "the place" is difficult to access "the thing" will never get put in it's place. Basically defeating the organization plan.

In the sewing category - I cut a bunch of 2-1/2 inch strips for the sashing of the Batik quilt. Then I realized that I actually had two different colors of white. They weren't close enough to use together. I found some more of one of the colors and cut 2-1/2 inch strips before realizing I wouldn't have enough of that color either.  I put all of those strips into sandwich bags and in the scrap file.

I finally used my Missouri Star Quilter's cash.  I had 3 different sets of charm packs that I only had 2 packs of.  To make a throw I need 4 packs.  So I decided to buy enough of coordinating colors to be able to make throws.  I bought 2 each of a blue, purple, ad white.  I also bought 3 natural charm packs to go with a freebie I once got. And I bought 2 ivory charm packs to replace the ones I used on my last quilt top. I am ready to sew 3 more throws as soon as I figure what pattern I want to use.

I did decide to do a four patch quilt of half square triangles. Just all the triangles going in one direction like sails.  I got the diagonal sewing lines drawn on them this week.  So I am ready to start sewing the 1/2 square triangles after work this week. 

Killian cleared a path to my yardage storage. I was hoping I had more of the white fabric that I had started cutting sashing strips out of.  I did not find any. I did find a couple of yards of white fabric that should give me enough sashing strips.  So I will be pressing and cutting sashing this week as well.

Speaking of pressing, my iron died.  I plugged it in so I could press the scraps before cutting them and it didn't heat up.  Kim sent Perigrine a text telling her to pick up a iron for me.  She did an excellent job of selecting an new iron.  It is the Black and Decker - One Step Steam Iron. It has excellent steam power. I could press several layers at once. I am so happy with the purchase.   It also has a stainless steel sole plate.

So I've done some work on the house, I did some organizing/cleaning in the studio and I have planned and prepped for more quilting. It has been a good week.  Long and tiring but good.

How was your week? What are some of your organization tips? How do you manage your time?

Stash Management

So I didn't get another quilt top done this week.  But I did start another one.  It took me a while to decide what I wanted to work on. I thought about doing a slice and flip quilt but I don't have a large enough surface right now to do the slicing so that was put back on the shelf. Then I decided to do the Keyhole pattern from Missouri Star Quilt Company (MSQC). 

I thought I had two jelly rolls of batiks in primary colors. I was wrong.  What I had was three rolls of 20 - 2 1/2 in strips of assorted batiks. I had bought them on Ebay a long time ago. Like 15 years ago. They have been stashed away waiting to be used. This is why it is important to inventory you stash.  You just don't know what you have and what you need.  Karen Brown suggests doing it a couple of times a year.

The strips I had weren't going to work for my vision of the Key Hole quilt.  But I had seen another quilt on Pinterest that used strips and looked to be fast and easy. It was just blocks made out of strips, sashed in white with corner stones from the same prints in the blocks. I thought I would go ahead and use these strips for it.

I pressed my strips and set about putting together strip sets. Now the intelligent thing to do would have been to pull up the pinterest article and read it before starting. Of course I did not. I just started sewing the strips into sets of four.  I didn't even make the sets the same.  I had 10 different prints so I was very random in the pairing of the prints.  I made sure to put darker values together with the brighter values.  Later when I did pull up the article to show my daughter what I was working on, I saw that the block were made of only three strips.  They were also rather uniform in appearance. Oh well I persevered with the four strips and my random composition. I ended up with 67 - 8 1/2 inch blocks and over 100 corner stones. I've decided to go with an off white sashing from fabric that I already have.   

I am going to run into the same problem with this top as I have with the cobblestones and windmills quilt.  No place to lay it out.  I've decided that I am going sweep off my front deck (or back) then lay down couple of flannel backed table cloths.  I am going to get these quilts laid out and put together. 

Once that is done, I will have made 7 quilt tops this year.  That is not very many but all of them will have come from my stash. Hopefully I will be able to find backing fabric for them in the stash as well.  If I can't, I will buy some. But in the end, I will have least put a minor dent in my stash. 

I still haven't finished inventorying all of my stash.  The yardage is still in bins, the bins are in the closet of a room that currently isn't easily accessible.  But as my husband and son start finishing the family room, things will start being less chaotic.  They have another book shelf to build and we have a bunch of painting to do. I am hoping to be able to access that room next week or the week after.

I am also hoping that I will get my cutting surface back.  Kim has set up his office in the family room on my little stone table.  The table is a nice desk size surface of pink granite. It was a steal at $40.  We have found it to be really handy.  Anyways I am hoping to be able to cut some borders out this week. Not sure how much I will do sewing/quilting wise.  I expect to put in some long hours at work since our big audit is this week. I just want to have the area ready if I can scrape together 20-30 minutes.

 I am going to see how many quilts I can do from my stash this year.  Backings are probably going to be my biggest hurdle. Well that is it for this week.  How about challenging yourself to make a quilt with only fabric from your stash?

Minimizing Problems

As I predicted last week, I finished another throw size quilt top.  Interestingly enough I developed a few tricks to help me along the way. Tricks that helped minimize potential problems. Plus I had a realization that I was neglecting my machine. Here is what I dealt with this week.

Problem #1 - As you well know, I am currently without a design wall.  Which means laying things out on my full size bed. Which works okay for throw size quilts but not at all for anything larger.  Another problem that arises is the fact that my husband and I also sleep in this bed. Since I work full time, most of my sewing is done in the evening, including laying out the quilt.  I can't leave the blocks on the bed while sewing because I never finish in one evening. 

Solutions:

• Before laying the quilt out, put a sheet, flannel backed table cloth or something similar on the bed.  Lay out the blocks and get things they way you want them.  Then you can roll up the quilt and unroll it as needed.  This would be handy if you need to stop working on the lay out and call it a night. You could sew from this if you don't mind walking back and forth to get your blocks. 

• Take a picture with your smart phone. Take one in color and one in black and white.  The black and white one will help even out the values when laying out your blocks. The color one is for reference if your blocks get moved around before you get them sewn.

• Gather up blocks by rows and clip them together. I found these little clips from Harbor Freight are very useful in all sorts of crafting but I really like them for holding rows of blocks together. I even use the different colors in order to help keep the rows straight.

• Use pins as directional markers.  On this quilt, I sewed a print square to a plain square and then laid 2-block units out in a 6 x 14 grid. I knew that I wasn't going to sew 14 rows together so as I took up each row, I flipped the bottom row onto the next one up. When I got all the blocks for those 2 rows clipped together I put a pin in the side that would be the seam.  That way I could take them to the machine and still know which side to sew on.

How do you lay out your quilts? Do you take a picture? Do you use the black and white camera technique?

Problem #2 - keeping the blocks in the right order as I sew them. I have a tendency to twist things around and /or flip them over. Then there are the little helpers I have that move things around as well. 

Solutions:

• Colored clips - Again I try to use the clips in a certain order such as blue, yellow, green, then red.  I actually try to do the same pattern every time. That helps keep the rows straight.

• Stacking blocks in order - As I picked up the rows I picked them up from left to right.  I would take the first block and set it on top of the second block. That meant the top block in the stack was the the first block in the row. 

• Pin marking - I knew that the solid squares should be in the lower left and upper right of each block. But since the print squares didn't match, I could actually end up with the prints in the wrong area. So I as I was getting ready to sew the blocks, I folded back the used a pin to mark which square would be in the lower left square. 

• Chain piecing in order - I would chain piece each block in the stack, cut them apart and press open maintaining the order. The pin marking in the lower left corner allowed me to keep the stack of blocks facing in the right direction.

How do you keep your blocks straight? What tools do you use? 

Problem #3 - Lint build up. There are all sorts of guidelines out there for how often to change needles (every 8 hours of sewing, every new project, etc) or replacing rotary blades (again every new project, when the cuts aren't clean, etc)  But how often should you clean your machine?  As I was busy sewing this week I noticed little bits of lint on my sewing ledge. I was using pre-cuts and the edges were pinked. As I was sewing, little threads from the pinked edges were catching on my sewing ledge. (It is made of masking tape therefore sticky). I got to thinking, when was the last time I cleaned the bobbin area.  After breaking a needle trying to start a new project, I took a hint from my machine and opened up the bobbin area.

 This was what I found. All sorts of fuzz all over the the bobbin area.  It was on the mechanism. It was underneath the mechanism. It was everywhere. See how furry everything looks.

Then I took the bobbin case out. It was even worse. Lint was not only built up but compacted.  That means the shuttle is not spinning as smoothly as it should.

Lastly take a look at the feed dogs. The lint between them was like felt.  That meant the feed dogs were not pulling as well as they should have been.

Solutions: Take time to clean. I use a lot of cotton fabric and it sheds lint.  Lots of lint.

• First I grabbed a soft fluffy paint brush and started collecting as much of the loose lint as I could.  
• Then I moved to the cleaning brush that came with my machine.  It used the pointy end to clean out crevices and in the small areas. 
•  Then I switched back to the soft paint brush to pick up the loose lint.  
• After that I went to a smaller and stiffer paint brush to get hard to reach areas. In the end I had a ball of lint about the size of a cherry pit.   
• Then I took the time to oil the moving joints of the machine.  Just one drop of oil in each moving point.  As I was doing this I was turning the wheel by hand to get the oil worked into the right places.  
• After oiling I ran the machine without the needled or bobbin to continue to work the oil into place. 

This morning, as I sat down to sew, the machine sounded so much smoother. I had forgotten how nicely it can purr when it is taken care of.   I am sure that as I start my next project, I will be much happier with how my machine performs.  If we want our equipment to last and preform correctly we need to take care of it.

When was the last time you cleaned your machine? What do you use to clean it?

Going with the Flow

It's been over two weeks and they have been busy ones. I don't know about anyone else but my house is in complete disarray.  Projects that we've talked about for ages are actually getting done.  My husband, who is having to work from home, is feeling all sorts of urgency to get things done. So my plans are changing daily. Plus we spent one weekend with family in Alabama.  It was a really great trip and I really enjoyed the break.

When last I posted, I was working on UFOs.  I did work on one.  The Church Ladies Aprons in the blue colorway is assembled and waiting for a back. That makes two quilts needing borders and backs and two quilts needing backs.  But right now I can't get to my bins of yardage fabric.  I am trying to use what I have first so I want to go through the bins and see if I have something to use for backs. If not they may have to be set aside until I can get some fabric ordered. Heaven know that right now fabric is not readily available. While in Alabama, I got to see all of the work that Tatianna got done on the quilt we are tag teaming.  I asked her if she wanted me to take it back but she is determined to sew all the little black squares on first.

Because of the construction zone that is my living space, I don't have room to to cut out the borders for the two quilts needing borders.  In, fact I am rather limited in what I can do. I don't have a surface I can cut on, so no borders or backs can be made, even if I could get to my bins of yardage. I don't have any surface either vertical or horizontal that I can lay a large quilt out on. So that means I can't finish working on the Cobble Stones and Windmills quilt.  If I still had a key to the church meeting house, I'd be tempted to take it there and lay it out in the cultural hall.  In fact once church starts meeting again, I may ask to be allowed to do just that.

So what am I to do.  I need to sew for my mental well being. Well I have lots of pre-cuts. So this week I grabbed some charm packs and started sewing.  I expect that by this weekend I will have yet another UFO waiting for a back.  But at least I am still sewing.

Sometimes we just have to find a way to create despite all the chaos around us.  When fate throws us a curve, we need to change and adjust. So I will continue to go with the flow for now.  I will get myself a timer and get back to my 30-30-30 to get things cleaned up and organized so the clutter doesn't drag me down.  There is always more than enough to do and never enough time so I am just going to chip away where I can, sew when I can, and find my bliss where I am.

How about you?

Depression, Sewing and Plan Changes

Well these past two weeks have flown on by.  I'm not sure just where they went or what I've gotten done.  I start out with the best of intentions and just can't seem to follow through.  I'm dealing with some depression and I am not sure what is causing it.  It could be any number of things.  I am sure part of it is that I am tired and stressed.  Work has been very stressful and I probably need to adjust my attitude there.  Currently we are down two techs due to COVID-19. Not that they are sick but the company is taking intense precautions. Plus I am trying really hard to stay healthy. I really don't want to catch this virus.

But one thing that does seem to lift my spirits is sewing. So why on earth don't I do it more.  Because I am tired. Because I am a bit lazy. Because my house is a mess.  Because I am depressed and therefore very apathetic to everything.

Two weeks ago I re-evaluated my UFO list.  I had hoped by writing them down, I could plan them out. I don't seem to have done a very good job of that.  Lately it seems that when I get home my little gems are here and I need to spend time with them.  I love that time. But by the time they leave, my energy is gone. So very little got done on my UFO list.

Let's take a look at it again.

1. Star quilt - Just needs a label. - DONE
2. Irish Chain quilt  - need to add borders to make it more bed friendly
3. Arianna's HS quilt - being tag teamed between me and Tatianna
4. Mom's Quilt - need to get some black fabric and some muslin as well as darn some holes
5. Betty's quilt - repair the block with the hole and find some backing
6. Star 9-patch quilt - need to add something to make it bigger
7. Aurora's quilt - needs borders, backing and quilted
8. Scrappy Joy quilt - needs borders, backing and quilted
9. Cobble Stones and Windmill quilt - Blocks need laid out and assembled
10. Church Ladies Aprons quilt - blocks need laid out and assembled - Changed

I think I need to do a little rearranging. 

First we'll take off the Star Quilt.  I finally got the label on it. It was last night but it is done all except for taking the picture for my quilt album.

Next we need to divide the Church Ladies Aprons into two quilts.  I decided they would make better throws than a bed size quilt.  I chose to do one in the red color way using half of the yellow and the other one in the blue color way using the other half of the yellow.  I managed to get both quilts laid out. I even managed to get the red one sewn into a top. It was very cathartic for me.  I look forward to getting the second one together this week. So those two need to move up in the list.

1. Church Ladies Aprons quilt (red)- needs back and quilted.
2. Church Ladies Aprons quilt (blue) - top needs assembled
3. Aurora's quilt - needs borders, backing and quilted - decided on border fabric
4. Scrappy Joy quilt - needs borders, backing and quilted
5. Irish Chain quilt  - need to add borders to make it more bed friendly
6. Cobble Stones and Windmill quilt - Blocks need laid out and assembled
7. Arianna's HS quilt - being tag teamed between me and Tatianna
8. Mom's Quilt - need to get some black fabric and some muslin as well as darn some holes
9. Betty's quilt - repair the block with the hole and find some backing
10. Star 9-patch quilt - need to add something to make it bigger. 

This is probably a better representation of how I am going to work on the list.  I hope to get 4 tops ready by Memorial Day weekend. I also want to review the Quilt path videos before putting the quilts on Millie.

I may not have gotten much done on the UFOs but I did get the zipper mended on two lunch bags. I put two buttons back on one of my blouses. And I even cleaned up a little in the studio.  So not too bad. Progress is progress. Plans some times need to change to fit our moods.

Hope your two weeks went well.  How are you UFOs coming along?

UFO Inventory

As I was cleaning up a little (a very little) in my studio, I cam across a list of 17 UFOs that I wrote a couple of years ago.  Now I realize that 17 UFOs is quite a few but the truth is most of those were only planned.

Here's the list and the descriptions of where I am at with them

1. Aliyah's quilt - Done
2. Christmas Lemonade Quilt - Done
3. Star quilt - Just needs a label
4. Irish Chain quilt  - need to add borders to make it more bed friendly
5. Arianna's HS quilt - being tag teamed between me and Tatianna
6. Grand Aventure Quilt - not even started yet
7. Flower quilt - not even started yet
8. Tiger Lily Quilt - not even started yet
9. Mom's Quilt - need to get some black fabric and some muslin as well as darn some holes
10. Betty's quilt - repair the block with the hole and find some backing
11. Minnions quilt - not even started yet
12. Harry Potter quilt - not even started yet
13. Pineapple quilts - not even started yet
14. Stack and Flip quilts - not even started yet
15. Dr. Seuss Quilt - kit that i haven't started yet
16. Brownie Irish Chain quilt - not even started
17. Star 9-patch quilt - need to add something

By now you all know that I like Karen Brown's website and videos.  One of the Videos is all about revisiting your UFOs.  Do you still want to finish them? Do you even like the fabric? Do you like the pattern? What is keeping this project in your pile of projects?

I decided to revisit my UFO list. First I took off all of the projects that I have finished. Then I took off all of the projects I haven't started. My reasoning behind this is that they are more dream projects than unfinished projects. That takes it down to 6 projects from the 2 year old list.

1. Star quilt - Just needs a label
2. Irish Chain quilt  - need to add borders to make it more bed friendly
3. Arianna's HS quilt - being tag teamed between me and Tatianna
4. Mom's Quilt - need to get some black fabric and some muslin as well as darn some holes
5. Betty's quilt - repair the block with the hole and find some backing
6. Star 9-patch quilt - need to add something

Now I need to add the unfinished projects I have started since I made that list.

1. Star quilt - Just needs a label
2. Irish Chain quilt  - need to add borders to make it more bed friendly
3. Arianna's HS quilt - being tag teamed between me and Tatianna
4. Mom's Quilt - need to get some black fabric and some muslin as well as darn some holes
5. Betty's quilt - repair the block with the hole and find some backing
6. Star 9-patch quilt - need to add something to make it bigger
7. Aurora's quilt - needs borders, backing and quilted
8. Scrappy Joy quilt - needs borders, backing and quilted
9. Cobble Stones and Windmill quilt - Blocks need laid out and assembled
10. Church Ladies Aprons quilt - blocks need laid out and assembled

That brings the total up to 10 projects. Now I need to prioritize the projects.  I think the order I want to go with is the projects that are closest to being done first. But I have to also take into consideration my enthusiasm for getting them done. I am also going to set a date for completion on a couple of them. As sort of goal setting.

1. Star Quilt has to be first since it just needs a label. - by 4/25.
2. Aurora's quilt - She is wanting her TV quilt to be done and it's hanging on the long arm - by 5/2
3. Scrappy Joy - Also hanging on the long arm - by 5/16
4. Cobble Stones and Windmills - lay out some time this week, it's out and readily available
5. Church ladies apron - lay out sometime the next week, it's out and readily available
6. Irish chain - pretty close to being done just need to make the flying geese borders
7. Star nine patch quilt - not sure what I want to do with this yet.
8. Arianna's HS quilt -  I lost interest in this quilt about 11 years ago. Mostly because Arianna wasn't into helping with it.  Tatianna has tackled it and she will be bringing it back to me to finish up, or when she is sick of it. I think the plan will be to work on it just a little at a time.
9. Mom's quilt - want to finish it but not sure I am good enough.  This quilt was hand pieced by my great grandmother for my mother's 7th birthday. Mom turned 7 in 1934.  It needs borders and a backing.
10. Betty's quilt - she gave the top to me to practice long arming on.  One of the squares has a hole in it. I need to decide if I am going to replace that square or just applique over it.

That is my current inventory of UFOS.  Of course it's not like I am going to get them all done before I start something new.  I already have a bunch I want to do. Remember there were 9 projects that I took off the list because they weren't started. Since then I have added so many more that I want to do. I guess I better decide what I have to get done before I can start on a new one.

How many projects do you have? How do you plan to get them done? Will you start more projects before you do?

Pandemic Life

It's hard to believe that it's been 3 weeks since I last posted.  Our world seems to have turned upside down with worry and/or fear.  Covid-19 has changed our lives.  Social distancing is a must to stay healthy. Sheltering in Place orders are in force in most states.  Only businesses that are critical infrastructure are in operation.  This is something I have never experienced before in my 57 years of life.  It seems a little bit unreal.

Because I work in the food industry, my job is safe.  I get to go to work.  My husband's employer is also critical infrastructure but he is able to work from home.  My son Killian works in automobile service industry so he too is considered critical industry.  Our life is pretty much the same except that Kim is home and working from home.  It's been a bit of a strain on Perigrine, who is also at home.  Kim being, bored to death, is undertaking home improvement projects.  Which keeps interfering with Perigrine's cleaning and organizing project. 

At work there is a bit of stress.  Any sign of cough, sore throat, fever, or difficulty breathing will get you sent home for 2 weeks.  A needed precaution but this is allergy season and some of the symptoms overlap.  Plus you are required to use your vacation time and if you don't have enough you are required to borrow against what you will earn.  So it's understand able that no one wants to give any impression of being sick.

Because we have had people come to work sick or after they've been exposed, there are new procedures in place.  Mask are now required at work.  Supervisors must question their direct reports daily as to their health.  And all employees are required to have their temperature taken prior to entering the building to work.  All of this is being done to help ensure we are all safe and remain healthy.

I've had to put in many long hours the past couple of weeks and I find myself very tired.  I am trying to take plenty of vitamins to help my immune system and have found that by taking iron both morning and night I do feel better.  I am concerned about contracting Covid-19 as I do have asthma and diabetes, plus my blood type is A+. I am doing all I can to protect myself. I am trusting in the Lord if it's his will that I get sick then so be it. But I refuse to stop living my life and cower in fear. 

Despite working long hours, I have managed to get some things done.  I've gotten all of the four patches for my Church Ladies Apron quilt sewn and squared up.  I've also finished squaring up my 16 patch/4-patch quilt.  I finally came up with a name for that quilt.  I call it Cobble Stones and Wind Mills.  I am really happy with how it is coming together.

This past week, however, I have been sewing masks.  At work, they handed out black bandannas for us to wear as face coverings.  After about 15 minutes of wearing it, I was determined to make myself a couple of masks.  A coworker asked for a cute one as well. All in all this week I've made 18 masks  for coworkers and family.  The only problem I am running into is that I'm running out of elastic.  I may have to resort to making tied versions of the mask. I am hoping the demand slows down so that I can get back to my quilting projects.

With Shelter in Place orders being extended to middle of May, I am not hopeful that there is going to be an end of this craziness anytime soon.  Those who are at home and unable to work are going to be hurting soon. Those who are able to work from home are going to get disheartened. I get to leave for work everyday and I am struggling a little bit with depression.  I am concerned for those who suffer from depression and are not able to leave. I know that I am lucky, We have food and the necessities of life. We are coping fairly well all things considered. But there are others who don't have good health, or plenty of food or a safe home life.  they are the one I am most concerned with. We all need to pray for those who are struggling.

How are you Holding up?