Tuesday Tidbit: SPARKLE, LACE, & A CONFESSION

Since masks don’t seem to be going away any time soon and most masks fog my glasses—which means I either can’t see or I can’t see—I decided to hunt for a better mask design. There are so many different designs and many that claim to be no-fog.

I have seen ads for these plastic frame-cup sort of things that have holes in them and then a mask goes over them to keep the mask from getting sucked into the mouth and nose. I thought it sounded great, because I don’t like it when I suck the mask fabric into my mouth. I feel as though I’m suffocating. I wanted to try something like that, but didn’t want to spend the money on it and find out I didn’t like it.

So, when I went searching on YouTube for a no-fog mask design—I found several—I came across one that also had a frame-cup-thingy that could be easily made and for cheap—out of craft foam.

I made one and several masks from the downloadable patterns. I made the lilac one first as a prototype as I was changing the pattern from not being reversible to reversible. I also decided against the eyelets and having the elastic go through both the mask and foam frame. That way I could more easily throw the mask into the washer. I discovered I needed an extension for the elastic without the eyelets. I also chose to tie the elastic rather than put on the clip thing.

I added the pink lace later and altered the pattern for future mask variations. Then I made one of a different color lace. The inside is white with pale pink butterflies. I made another one that was blue flowers on one side and pink flowers on the other.

I found this adorable white cat fabric to make this style of mask for my hubby. I chose black with white musical things for the reverse side.

I have seen people with some really fun masks. One that I knew I must have—or rather make—was a sparkly one. I love sparkles, so I found the fabric and made myself one. And now for the mask of my dreams!

I LOVE it! It almost makes me eager for masks to be worn the rest of my life. NOT! But it will be more tolerable now.

Here are the links to the YouTube videos so if you want to make this mask, you can watch the videos. The first video has the foam liner put together with a heavy-duty glue. There was no way I wanted that glue near my face to be breathing it in. This person then came out with a liner version sewing the liner. That’s the one I chose.

~New Mask With Foam Liner by Epbot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-R0P-vl7so
~Foam Liner WithOUT Glue by Epbot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqNseMra_y0

Conclusion: Though the foam liner kept the mask from sucking against my mouth, I didn’t like it because it felt hot against my face, so I won’t be using it. I do like the style of the mask as it has depth to keep it away from my mouth unless I breathe heavily. It comes high enough up on my nose and down around my chin to cover everything it needs to and feels comfortable. If I put my glasses on top of the mask on my nose and breathe normal, my glasses mostly don’t fog. So, overall, I would call this a win.

Confession Time: I don’t believe masks are effective against this virus, but as long as stores and the government require them, I will wear them in public. I will wear them not only because they are required but out of consideration for those who feel masks do work. So, if I have to wear a mask, I’m going to have pretty ones!

Praying you all stay healthy!

 

NEWLYWED GAMES

A "little white lie" grows into a very big problem. Meghann Livingston invents a husband to soothe her dying mother. But when her mom miraculously recovers and comes to visit, Meghann is hard-pressed to explain her "husband's" absence! Before Meghann can come clean, her handsome, elusive boss, Bruce Halloway, inadvertently steps into her romantic charade...and to Meghann's shock and horror, insists upon playing along. The masquerade's success depends upon them playing their newlywed games extremely well. When they do, both Meghann and Bruce—even as they struggle to overcome the consequences of their deceptions—find themselves falling in love...for real!

 

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3). The Quilting Circle Book 4, The Dèbutante's Secret, will release August of 2021. Some of her other recent titles include; "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, Courting Her Amish Heart, The Widow’s Plight, Courting Her Secret Heart , “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , and Courting Her Prodigal Heart . 2019 titles include The Daughter's Predicament and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-six years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

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Tuesday Tidbits: COMMONPLACE BOOKS

Chopin, Kate, 1850-1904 / Public domain

Contains extracts of works by other authors, personal compositions, notes on current European monarchs, and famous last words of celebrated personages (pages 1-159); and the diary of her 1870 wedding trip from May 24 to September 4 through various eastern United States cities, Germany, and Switzerland (pages 160-203).

Title: Commonplace Book of Kate Chopin, 1867-1870

“We think and improve our judgments by committing our thoughts to paper.” President John Adams (father of President John Quincy Adams)

What is a Commonplace book? I heard this term over a year ago and was fascinated by the concept.
 

Beinecke Flickr Laboratory / Public domain

Anonymous manuscript containing poems 

by various authors, in various hands. 

Includes Shakespeare's second sonnet. Mid 17^th century

 A commonplace book is a personal depository for knowledge, whether it be quotes, poetry, information, ideas, passages from books, sketches, drawings, tables, recipes, proverbs, facts, formulas, and anything else a person wishes to have at the ready for the future. It’s like an archive of information for personal use. It can be a place where you keep information about your house like the furnace (the make, when last repaired or cleaned, who repaired, were you pleased, etc.) or your septic system or chimney, or roof or anything and everything about your house so you have one common place to find everything house related.
 
Commonplace books were popular during the Renaissance and the 19th century in modern Europe. Reading and writing went hand in hand. They read to better themselves and to find truths. They did this by writing out passages from the books they read.

“The ancients followed the same course as ourselves when commencing their meditations, laid up a great store of instances and particulars, and digested them under topics and titles in their commonplace books.” Sir Francis Bacon, 1620

Beinecke Flickr Laboratory / Public domain

Commonplace book 1620s

 Who has kept a commonplace book?
~Mark Twain — American author
~Elizabeth Cady Stanton — Suffragist
~Julius Caesar — Roman General
~Lewis Carroll — English Author
~Thomas Jefferson — U.S. President
~Napoleon — Emperor of France
~Montaigne — Inventor of the Essay
~Bill Gates — Microsoft Tycoon
~Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau shared a commonplace book about poetry.
~Robert Burns — Author of Auld Lang Syne
 
Robert Burns’s introduction in his commonplace book.

Robert Burns. 1783. / Public domain

Robert Burns's Commonplace Book 1783-1785. Introduction. 

I took a stab at transcribing this page. I never would have been able to attempt it if not for my post in February titled 27th Letter of the Alphabet where I highlighted some of the letters we used to have and no long use.
 
“Escaminu(?) N. 30th Aug 1797(?)
Observations, hints, songs, scraps of poetry v__(?) by Robert Burns, a man who had little art in money making, and still less in keeping it; but was, however, a man of some sense, a great deal of honesty, and unbounded good-will to every creature, rational or irrational. As he was but little indebted to scholastic education and bred at a plough-tail, his performances must be strongly tinctured with his unpolished, rustic way of life; but as I believe, they are really his own, it may be some entertainment to a curious observer of human-nature to see how a plough-man thinks and feels, under the pressure of love, ambition, anxiety, grief with the like cares and passions, which, however diversified by the modes, and manners of life operate pretty much alike I believe, in all the species.”

I don’t promise this translation is 100% accurate, but I think I got close. Some of the words were a real challenge to decipher.

I love this line, "...a man who had little art in money making, and still less in keeping it..." It tells so much about him, including his honesty.

Why have a commonplace book?
—So you can learn to think better.
—Writing down the jumbled thoughts in your brain helps to make sense of them.
—To spark creativity. What inspires has direct results on your creativity. The brain can connect vastly different things when they are in close proximity to each other. Say you wrote down a recipe that you have never been able to get to turn out right and on the next page you have a proposed floor plan for rearranging furniture in a room. Maybe the recipe gives you a new way to think of combining pieces in the room to work better together. Or by rearranging the floor plan, you realize that you need to combine the recipe ingredients in a different order for a better outcome. Without having those things in close proximity to each other those connections wouldn’t have been made. Success with the recipe that had always evaded you, and the room would never be quite right. Our brain is an amazing organ.
—So that you don’t have to memorize and recall from memory all those tidbits that sparked inside you.
 

Beinecke Flickr Laboratory / Public domain

(Manuscript in several hands including leaves

 from a common-place book, genealogical 

notes and nostrums) ca1620

How is this different from a “journal”?
A journal or diary is more of an account of the happenings of the day.
 
I believe there is some overlap between a commonplace book and a journal. A journal might mention a particular book the person read and a feeling about it. In a commonplace book, the creator would likely not only name the book and feelings but have quotes from the book that were of particular interest to them.
 
Each commonplace book is unique to its creator. There is no right or wrong way to keep one. Each commonplace book compiler organizes their collection in their own unique way. Some use a regular purchased notebook. Some use a journal they have made from various papers. Some use index cards. Some modern commonplace book keepers us Evernote or some other kind of virtual repository. What works for the individual is the right method.
 
I’m going to start a commonplace book very soon. My first one will be my learning experience. I have sort of done commonplace book type things throughout my life, but the quotes I wrote down were scattered about, so I could say that it was more of an UNcommon NONbook method of writing down and then losing them. Not very effective.
 
I recently copied down a C.S. Lewis quote I liked that I will be putting in my commonplace book when I get it started.
"Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when we look back everything is different." C.S. Lewis

Do you have a commonplace book? If so, can you share something from it?

Now All 3 QUILTING CIRCLE Books are Available in Audio, as well as Kindle and paperback!

Book 1: THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT

A single mother steps out of the shadows of abuse and into the sunshine. But will a secret clouding her past cost her the man she loves?

LISTEN to chapter 1 here: https://youtu.be/qaUG-sN6Y_k

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Widows-Plight-Audiobook/B088HJLH4J?qid=1607878778&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=2EJ4RS5E9G3AJ55XJ6T1

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#TheWidowsPlight

 

Book 2: THE DAUGHTER’S PREDICAMENT (Placed 2nd in the Selah Awards)

As Isabelle’s romance prospects are turning in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams. Can a patient love win her heart? Or will a forced marriage be the end of her romantic dreams?

LISTEN to chapter 1 here: https://youtu.be/fMWDBA4NFeo

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Daughters-Predicament-Audiobook/B08GD3DNRH?qid=1607878923&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=BFNBV5BDHHTPP1576QH8

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#TheDaughtersPredicament

Book 3: THE DAMSEL'S INTENT 

Can Nicole learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher? Nicole Waterby heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband, not realizing women don’t wear trousers or carry a gun. She has a lot to learn. 

LISTEN to chapter 1 here: https://youtu.be/fqqq60WVZGk

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Damsels-Intent-Audiobook/B08PVXT28F?qid=1607878644&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=PTVMYSYX8MMHZ9P1W2DR

FREE Preview: https://a.co/7xbqxVk

FREE on Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.com/Damsels-Intent-Quilting-Circle-Book-ebook/dp/B089DTXDCN/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=The+Damsel%27s+Intent&qid=1590863747&s=books&sr=1-2

#TheDamselsIntent #HistoricalRomance #FreeKU #KU #ChristianRomance

 

Book 4: THE DÉBUTANTE’S SECRET releases August 2021

When a fancy French lady steps off the train and into Deputy Montana’s arms, his simple life might not be enough anymore.

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3). The Quilting Circle Book 4, The Dèbutante's Secret, will release August of 2021. Some of her other recent titles include; "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, Courting Her Amish Heart, The Widow’s Plight, Courting Her Secret Heart , “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , and Courting Her Prodigal Heart . 2019 titles include The Daughter's Predicament and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-six years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

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