My Summer Vacation: New Mask

This morning a suggestion for a mask popped up on my feed when I was checking the blog. (I try to reread it the next day to catch any spelling or grammatical errors that I was too tired to catch the night before.) These masks have a pocket to insert a PM2.5 filter. The mask itself is made of cloth and is washable; the filter is not washable but they say it is good for 7 uses, i.e., a week. The 2.5 in the name of the filter refers to the particle size it filters, 2.5 micormeters. Aerosolized particles carrying the SARS-CoV-2 virus range from 0.2 to 10 micrometers so some of the smaller particles can still pass through the filter. Nevertheless, I ordered a mask so that The Potential Most Favorite Roommate can use it as a template; but found out he has already been experimenting with making masks with a pocket in them. I also ordered extra filters so he can make masks for the household that will hold a filter. Since homemade masks by themselves filter only 20% to 50% of the particles and their ability diminishes around 20% after 4 wash & dry cycles, having a replaceable filter within the homemade mask seems like a good idea. If I have to wear a mask, I want it to be able to do something helpful.

I am keeping up with my early morning wake up to get used to getting up in time to do my sunrise walk on Friday morning.

Forty-two minutes before sunrise.

I got up seventeen minutes before sunrise.

On my way back from putting the mail out I checked on the plants. One of Mom's Desert Roses is blooming well and there are half-grown fruit on the guava and mango trees. The pomelo still has a bunch of fruit; I will have to pick some and start delivering them to Abdul at Kokua Market again. And I think a couple of the papayas will be ready for Jenny by this weekend.

Desert rose.

Guavas.

Mangos.

I need to pick more pakalana. Friday is Lei Day but because of COVID-19 the annual Lei Day festivities and lei competition have been cancelled. Instead, they are asking people to make lei and hang them on their door or mailbox. I shall hang nā lei pakalana on our door.

Amazon delivered 2 packages to us today; one for DT and one for me. I didn't know what mine was; it turns out it was the dirt disposal bags I ordered for the iRoomba 7+. I was expecting a package twice as large since I had also ordered the replacement rollers, filter, & brushes but they did not arrive.

The Roommate Who Likes to Wash Dishes cooked tonight. It was his signature dish: Shrimp & Asparagus Stir Fry. Early on I shared with him some wisdom from Uncle Bruce, who was a notoriously bad cook but had to take his turn at cooking dinner once a week in a cooperative household. Uncle Bruce perfected 4 recipes that he cooked in the same rotation so you only ate that meal once a month so you never got tired of it! (His housemates also agreed not to use any of his 4 recipes.) The only meal I can remember was one we called Chicken Krakatoa; it was a Chicken Marengo recipe that Uncle Bruce doubled so it filled the crock pot so full that as it cooked and expanded it began to overflow the crockpot, hence, Krakatoa!

Shrimp & Asparagus Stir Fry.

The Roommate Who Likes to Wash Dishes sent me a photo of S'mores & Keala this morning. They had been chasing each other around the house and around his feet as he was working-from-home; then it got quiet. He looked around and found this. Then later this evening Keala waited around for her feeder to open up again while S'mores watched at a distance. After dinner Luna came in from the cat run with a leaf to play with.

Keala catches a nap on top of S'mores.

Last week Keala napped on one of the towers.

Keala waits for feeder to open up.

S'mores watches Keala.

Luna and the leaf she caught.

There were 2 new COVID-19 cases reported today, bringing the total up to 609 known cases. Although 1 additional person has required hospitalization, there were no new deaths; per the LG we have the lowest mortality rate in the US, 1.1 per 100,000 population. There are now 505 people who have been released from isolation (83%). About 2.1% of the population has now been tested; hopefully, increased testing will begin soon to give us a better idea of how things are going.