Southern Sonoma Country Life

Memorial Day 2020 — A Moment of Remembrance

Photos Via Pinterest

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."

– Joseph Campbell

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

– Mark Twain

"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom."

– Bob Dylan

 "Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility."

– Eleanor Roosevelt

"Ceremonies are important. But our gratitude has to be more than visits to the troops, and once-a-year Memorial Day ceremonies. We honor the dead best by treating the living well."

— Jennifer M. Granholm

“Heroism doesn’t always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history.”

— Mary Roach

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How To Wear (& Make) a Mask —Style, Design & Additional Safety Measures — Southern Sonoma County Smart

“Masked, I advance.”

René Descartes - 1596 - 1650 important scientific thinker and an original metaphysician

Staffers in the West Wing have finally been directed to wear face masks to work in the White House, except when at their own desks, according to government and news reports, this week.

In contrast, we're already a good couple of months into the mask making and wearing here in Sonoma County and most surely ahead of the curve when it comes to most of our local folk being on board with face covering as one of a series of key measures we need to be taking continually to protect ourselves, our families, our communities, our frontline workers to whom we owe our safety and sanity, as well as to maintain the relatively civilized ability to move around our restricted zones as freely as we do. 

Stay vigilant. And be aware that wearing a face covering is only part of what we all need to be doing to prevent infection spreading. 

I asked friends and neighbors via Facebook to post me photos of their masks and mask-making efforts in order to share a little of the local look and cottage-industry as we head into the summer months without losing track of how to behave.

Renée B is a 38-year Healthcare veteran in Diagnostic Imaging. "I recognized the need early on for our community to have and wear their own masks in public places well before the county health order was put in place," shares Renée. "I started out making them for my family, in-laws, NC relatives and friends. I also made them for a first grade teacher on Next Door who was searching for masks for herself and spouse and for the owners of Perry’s Deli in Fairfax who are friends and needed the masks to stay open. The fabric I use is recycled from clothes, old jeans and whatever I can find in my sewing remnants. I try to use bright, fun colors and patterns and have also used a few old sports tees for sports fans."

To date, Renée has made around 100 masks and refuses to accept any payment. "In making them I find a sense of calm and purpose that juxtapositions how stressful working with Covid patients can be at my hospital. It’s been a great creative outlet for me as mask making and wearing has quickly become a fashion statement and an avenue for self expression during this uncertain time."

Here's Renée:

And her masks:

Margo G shared: "I have been making masks for Hospice of Petaluma. Our guidelines were to make them to cover the disposable paper masks, and to be able to withstand daily washing. I chose batik fabric, from Quilted Angel's beautiful selection (curbside pick-up). I figured if I'm going to stare at fabric for hours while I sew, I might as well enjoy looking at something nice!"

Here's Margo:

The Maskateers of Petaluma, led by retired SRJC administrator, KC G, whose band of volunteer seamsters including my neighbor Jerrie P, have sewed well over 1,000 fabric masks over the past few weeks. These masks have been donated to staff and residents of the Committee on the Shelterless amongst numerous other local non-profits. Dozens more have donated beautiful fabrics to the cause.

Here's Lotte G  in a mask made by one of her colleagues. Reversible. Organic cotton with a batting barrier. "It’s pretty and it’s comfortable as masks go anyway," says Lotte. 

Kellee Y is a tastemaker whose fun approach to fashion always makes me smile. I love this sporty, coordinated look for keeping spirits up and in shape for masked neighborhood cycle rides!

Lesley M sports a mask made by Jane S, whose style and design sense has translated into unique, one-of-a-kind face coverings for friends, family & local non-profits.

Cat P wonders if this was the right choice for a visit to the bank?!

Clever Nadine C has come up with a design that you can wear without fogging up your glasses or sunglasses. 

And this one she made for a friend in LA who raises butterflies in her home.

Tireless Toni B has been making masks since March and is up to 1,000 (or very close) "She's donated most, custom made quite a few and sold to whomever insisted on paying, but at the core: she's a giver!" says Elise D.

Francesca S Writes: "Kudos to Barb B and her mom Toni B! Since the very beginning of this, they are THE amazing dynamic mask-sewing duo!"

Artist Roberta A (above) has turned mask-making into a small business. Click here for Roberta's beautiful work, including a limited edition, hand painted silk range for the true fashionistas out there. 

Former SoCo resident, illustrator and textile designer Nicky O has a long-established Bandanna line and I'm enjoying my recent delivery of her latest design of an off-white and South-Western red, cotton, made-in-America design. Click here for Nicky's line. 

Stylist and author Jennifer R and her darling hubby rock the bandana look! 

All across the country, Americans from fashion industry elite to elementary age kids and little old ladies sitting at antique sewing machines, their arthritic fingers as rusty as the needles being oiled back into rapid working order, are churning out meticulously crafted, homemade cloth masks in full-on war-time-mode in order to provide basic face coverings for friends, family, neighbors, nursing home patients and staff and the desperate medical workers who are woefully without adequate protective resources during this crippling first-round of the Coronavirus pandemic.

CDC guidance say it's OK for healthcare workers to use homemade masks and even bandanas as “a last resort.” Though it doesn't take an infectious disease specialist to figure out these homemade masks should be going to “people more peripherally involved,” and not to those directly treating COVID-19 patients, who are the rightful recipients of any N95 masks that people have stashed away or become available. Healthcare workers however, are wearing homemade masks over the N95 and surgical masks to make the medical grade masks last longer.

But it's important to be aware that no matter how smart we may feel we're being, when out and about with our bandanas and masks in place, the wearing of which, is no excuse not to adhere to all of the safety rules required of the times. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security just because we've got the hang of the face covering thing. 

The World Health Organization, however, strongly warns that the wearing of a mask alone is not recommended as a form of protection and/or prevention of spreading the virus: "Individuals without respiratory symptoms should: - avoid agglomerations and frequency of closed crowded spaces; - maintain distance of at least 1 meter from any individual with 2019-nCoV respiratory symptoms (e.g., coughing, sneezing); - perform hand hygiene frequently, using alcohol-based hand rub if hands are not visibly soiled or soap and water when hands are visibly soiled; - if coughing or sneezing cover nose and mouth with flexed elbow or paper tissue, dispose of tissue immediately after use and perform hand hygiene; - refrain from touching mouth and nose; - a medical mask is not required, as no evidence is available on its usefulness to protect non-sick persons.

Best practices should be followed on how to wear, remove, and dispose of masks and face coverings and on hand hygiene action after removal (see below advice from CDC regarding appropriate mask management).

Individuals with respiratory symptoms should: - wear a medical mask and seek medical care if experiencing fever, cough and difficulty breathing, as soon as possible or in accordance with to local protocols; - follow the below advice regarding appropriate mask management.

 

How to Wear a Cloth Face Covering (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Guidelines)

Cloth face coverings should—

• fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
• be secured with ties or ear loops
• include multiple layers of fabric
• allow for breathing without restriction
• be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape

CDC on Homemade Cloth Face Coverings

CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.

CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.  Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.

Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.

The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators.  Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.

Should cloth face coverings be washed or otherwise cleaned regularly? How regularly?

Yes. They should be routinely washed depending on the frequency of use.

How does one safely sterilize/clean a cloth face covering?

A washing machine should suffice in properly washing a face covering.

How does one safely remove a used cloth face covering?

Individuals should be careful not to touch their eyes, nose, and mouth when removing their face covering and wash hands immediately after removing.

Sewn Cloth Face Covering

Materials

• Two 10”x6” rectangles of cotton fabric
• Two 6” pieces of elastic (or rubber bands, string, cloth strips, or hair ties)
• Needle and thread (or bobby pin)
• Scissors
• Sewing machine

• Tutorial

  1. Cut out two 10-by-6-inch rectangles of cotton fabric. Use tightly woven cotton, such as quilting fabric or cotton sheets. T-shirt fabric will work in a pinch. Stack the two rectangles; you will sew the mask as if it was a single piece of fabric.

  

  2. Fold over the long sides ¼ inch and hem. Then fold the double layer of fabric over ½ inch along the short sides and stitch down.

  

  3. Run a 6-inch length of 1/8-inch wide elastic through the wider hem on each side of the mask. These will be the ear loops. Use a large needle or a bobby pin to thread it through. Tie the ends tight.
  Don’t have elastic? Use hair ties or elastic head bands. If you only have string, you can make the ties longer and tie the mask behind your head.

  

  4. Gently pull on the elastic so that the knots are tucked inside the hem. Gather the sides of the mask on the elastic and adjust so the mask fits your face. Then securely stitch the elastic in place to keep it from slipping.

  
   

  Quick Cut T-shirt Face Covering (no sew method)

  Materials

  • T-shirt
  • Scissors

  Tutorial

  

  

  
   

  Bandana Face Covering (no sew method)

  Materials

  • Bandana (or square cotton cloth approximately 20”x20”)
  • Rubber bands (or hair ties)
  • Scissors (if you are cutting your own cloth)

  Tutorial

  

  

  
  

  

  

2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards Names Big Green Country by Frances Rivetti as Gold Medal Winner for West Pacific Best Regional Fiction

Still pinching myself following recent exciting news on a big, first award for my debut novel Big Green Country. The 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards is a highly respected annual literary award competition open exclusively to independent authors, small publishing houses and university presses around the English speaking world.

Big Green Country, a contemporary novel set in coastal Sonoma County, Russian River and into the Emerald Triangle counties of Humboldt and Mendocino was judged Best Regional Fiction in the West Pacific.

I'll share more on this news later, but for now, thank you to everyone who has read and all of those who have taken time to write a brief review for my latest work. A book is not worth its salt without readers. The hardest part of writing a book is finishing it. The next hardest, putting into print, the hardest of all is the marketing and promoting. So every time a reader shares my work with another, word spreads and my books take wings. Please do continue to tell friends and family and fellow readers about Big Green Country. 

I'm delivering signed books locally in my hometown, via PayPal store orders on the homepage of Southern Sonoma Country Life and will mail to addresses in the U.S.  It is available on Kindle and all the major online booksellers, including my favorite, Bookshop (click here) and through local bookstores. Big Green Country is available in the UK. 

I'm back at my desk starting on the next one, slowly, but surely! 

This is my second IPPY. Fog Valley Winter — Pioneer Heritage, Backroad Rambles and Vintage Recipes won a Silver Medal in 2018. in the Holiday Book category. I was thrilled to attend the awards ceremony at the iconic Copacabana Club in NY. No award ceremony this year for obvious reasons but I will plan a party for the Big Green Country Gold when it is safe to gather. I hope you will join me in a toast! 

Click here for full list of award winners of this year's Independent Publishers Book Awards (Ippys).

Victory Day 75th Anniversary In Words & Images — Lest We Forget

photos via Pinterest

“At eleven o’clock this morning came to an end the cruelest and most terrible War that has ever scourged mankind. I hope we may say that thus, this fateful morning, came to an end all wars.”

David Lloyd George

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

Winston Churchill

“The world must know what happened, and never forget.”

General Eisenhower 

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

Albert Einstein

"Humility must be the measure of a man whose success was bought with the blood of his subordinates, and paid for with the lives of his friends."

General Dwight Eisenhower 

“I believe it is peace in our time.” 

Neville Chamberlain 

 

A Special Tea For Mom — Help Petaluma People Services Center & Petaluma Sunrise Rotary Provide A Memorable Virtual Tea for Senior Moms this Mother's Day

Click here for the Petaluma People Service's website. Click on the link "A Special Tea for Mom."

Lockdown in Our Sonoma Country Kitchens — A Return to Home Cooking

"Appetite, a universal wolf."

Shakespeare

Snagging a bag of flour in the weekly shop is like hitting the jackpot during lockdown. It's not hard to guess which pantry staples will continue to be in short supply on our local supermarket shelves, though supplies of dried goods, beans, grains and pasta have begun to reappear now that we're not seeing shopping carts nearly as filled to the brim as they were at the start of the shelter in place orders. 

Flour, however, remains an elusive score on the pandemic-era shopping list. And anyone who has a bag or two is baking up a storm the likes the western world hasn't seen since the grandparents of today were kids. 

What is it with this sudden rush to whip up a batch of homemade oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies each afternoon? Favorite cake recipes from our childhoods have made a massive comeback — and there's a weekly banana bread bonanza on every block in town! 

Not to mention the bread. Boules, bagels, sourdough, soda bread, baps, rye, brioche and baguette. Not to mention the focaccia. And our social media feeds stream a veritable visual feast of the photographic evidence that we've all gone nuts for baking.

There is an indisputable truth in that home baked goods satisfy and sooth all of the senses, calming those who are in charge of the daily baked offering, filling our homes with the aroma of comfort and bite by bite, bringing us to table in the knowledge that if there's one thing we still have some control over during this crazy, unsettling, even terrifying times, it's the ability to satisfy the time-old stress-relieving sugar and carb crave that unites us all. 

And that's not all we're cooking. Which is a good thing seeing as sugar consumption increases serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates mood, appetite, memory and social behavior should be kept to moderation. As sugar boosts our serotonin, we feel happier, albeit temporarily and that's why our brains crave this happy chemical over and over. Still, it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway. We all know that it is vitally important and now more than ever, to keep our diets balanced. 

I reached out on my Facebook feed to ask friends and family to share what they've been cooking. What struck me is how adventurous we've become. We're so accustomed to eating and savoring international flavors, we've expanded our standard at-home fare to include a lot more exotic dishes and daring culinary treats. 

During this age of Covid-19, foodies are going to town on their home countertops, sharing recipes and inspiring on social media. Others are simply making the most of having the time to plan, shop strategically and cook from scratch. Meals that take longer to prepare are back on the agenda. Other times, it is the simple omelet with garden greens that brings us a little ray of much welcomed joy in our day. 

We are eyeing the overhanging lemon tree on our daily walks, planting summer veggies, pickling and prepping for canning season, in many cases, for the first time in our lives. When we stick to a weekly shop or stretch it even longer, it's amazing what we're able to put together from our fridges.   

Wild nettle & leek risotto - Frances R

 

"No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers."

Laurie Colwin

British pub-style pickled onions — Frances R 

 

"By economy and good management, by a sparing use of ready money and by paying scarcely anybody, people can manage, for a time at least, to make a great show with very little means."

Vanity Fair, Thackeray

 

Kimchi —Herlina H

Greek Night — Elaine S

Pork chops in a spice rub with risotto and Swiss Chard - Susan L

Janis L C — Sourdough Boule

Becky M — Sicilian Focaccia with arugula

 

Janis C L — Soufflés

Tamara A — Grilled octopus salad (Anna's Seafood) with McEvoy olive oil

Butternut squash soup and grilled cheese sandwich — Linda S

Nonna's Italian Frittata made from a friend's Swiss Chard — Elaine S 

Hot sautéed shrimp salad — Linda St. A

Lemon chicken orzo soup — Lesley M

Yorkshire pudding with mushrooms — Timothy C

Kitchen sink cookies — Lesley M

Liver, bacon and onion on a bed of mash with crispy Brussel sprouts — Francesca R

Vegetarian Molokhia with sumac, onion, olive oil and lemon juice — Hanna A

Pickled asparagus — Kathy S

Hubby's Vietnamese "Nem" rolls — Janis L C

Huevos diablos! — Lotte H G

Yorkshire Pud — Lesley M

Anzac Cookies — Lesley M

Lasagna — Alicia P

Sausage rolls — Colin P

Pickled Veggies — Claire Z S

Still not sure? Meloni C

Ahi tuna about to be quickly seared, in a s’mores holder — Val R

Southern Italian cabbage green savory pie — Timo R

Perfect Baguette — C Smith

Open faced Danish sandwiches with what was in the fridge and freezer — Pia H

Italian green bean, egg, tomato, red onion and potato salad — Nonna Pina

 

Green String Farm Shop 

And a word for those in our communities who don't have the means to stock their fridge and pantry to feed their families fresh, wholesome food, we must continue to support our county, state and country's efforts to keep the food banks, school meal programs and non-profits such as Sonoma County Meal flowing. Here in Sonoma County and neighboring west Marin, much of the best farm produce of the coastal west is being funneled into these programs to feed those in need while avoiding waste of what would, in normal times, supply the region's top restaurants. Chefs, in turn, have redeployed during lockdown into cooking for these vital lifeline programs. 

I think we all agree we can't take our food supply for granted. Support local whenever possible. And now that our favorite eateries are taking the first steps to reopening with curbside pick-up, we can begin to imagine eating out again in whatever perimeters the new normal requires. Until then, in the words of Harriet Van Horne: "Cooking is like love, it should be entered into with abandon, or not at all."