Making chutney...

This chutney is made with fresh red peppadew peppers.  

It required 5 cups fresh, chopped with the seeds removed. Unbeknownst to me, the seeds in these peppers are extraordinary hot. Many hours later, my fingers are still on fire. Tried lemon juice, it did not work. Discovered in the last half an hour, one should rub vegetable oil on,  then wash the affected area witn soap and water, as soon as possible.  Another trick,  place corn starch in a bowl with water and soak ones hands in this solution,  it helps as well.

Flowers in the garden, white.

Pink one's. 

Geranium almost five feet tall, next to the veggie garden wall.

Veggies growing in the garden.

Enjoy the sunset.

Keeping busy, with a lockdown.

Lots of time,  with limited supplies.  Amazing how the human brain adapts and come up with creative solutions to make and repurpose everyday items. 

Reverse engineering a disposable face masks for travel and making them with scraps of fabric, elastic from our hostess. Face Masks to buy is a hot commodity and is sold out here. 

The one below is the first attempt.  The nose bendy part,  came from the top of a bag of coffee. It is the piece of plastic coated metal at the top of the bag.

The piece removed from the bag, it will work for what we need it for.

With a borrowed ruler,  it turned out the mask template is a square.  Using the bag interfacing which was bought with the apron panels,  the scraps of poly cotton fabric was reinforced to add a bit more body and to create extra layers of protection.  Interfacing for bags has been used for masks, it came in very handy!

Two squares with interfacing is glued together,  to create one square for each mask.

At the top and bottom it was edged with blanket stitch.

At the top the edge is just turned over, no bias tape added, so this step was required.  Then the pleats was added.

Once they where folded and tacked in place,  the bottom bias tape was sewn in place.

The top was folded over, then the side bias tape was added.

The elastic was added and the metal nose piece was stitched in place. A bit crude,  but it will be functional and will do the job travel,  as required by the airlines. The new normal, to help keep us all protected and safe.

Keep calm and safe. 

Aprons for an emergency.

With the new normal, the world needs so many of these essential items and quilters have stepped up to put their resources to good use. Inventing essential items with what they have on hand, even when supplies run low or out.

Found these pre printed aprons just before the lockdown was announced.  With time on hand, hubby is dealing with the it,  in his own way. 

The kitchen has been taken over,  he is baking bread, growing yeast from grapes and cooking up a storm.

 He is waking up very early and doing experiments in the kitchen,  albeit with limited utensils and a few ingredients. 

The stove is gas and the oven only have one setting, warm, no temperature given. One just have to wait for the cooked smell to permeate the room,  that is how one know it is done.

They are very bright,  will do for extra protection.  Have been sewing these by hand. The first one has been gifted already and is in use. Three still to finish. Amazing what we can do without a sewing machine,  just a pair of scissors,  thread and a needle.

The ties are prepped, ready for slip stitching. The aprons still needs the edges to be turned over one more time.

An idea of where the ties will go.

Seating outside, under the African sun. Keep safe,  pray for everyone in the world we live in!