Help is On The Way

Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba. is donating 500,000 coronavirus testing kits and one million protective face masks to the United States. The Chinese billionaire already has pledged 2 million protective masks to European countries.

Read the article in the link below.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/14/21179624/alibaba-co-founder-jack-ma-coronavirus-test-kits-masks-us

The Washington Post has a daily free newsletter on coronavirus. I signed up for it and it's very good. I cannot find a link devoted to the newsletter alone but it appears on today's Washington Post article. Look closely and sign up. It's got all the information most of us need.

Look for a black box with the words Sign Up and a circle with a red envelope indicating email and the wording below:
Get our Coronavirus Updates newsletter

Receive the most important developments in your inbox every day. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.

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I put my outerwear out in the sun to disinfect after I went food shopping yesterday. I put my phone outside too. It's raining today and will be again tomorrow; I'm so glad I went out when I did. There were lots of empty shelves but I got everything on my list. There was no bread and absolutely no canned goods and not much cereal. I keep trying to sign up for InstaCart for home food delivery but I can't make it do what I want so far. The things I want don't seem to come up on the list. Will keep trying and keep you informed.

I am a homebody at heart and I love being at home anyway so my life seems much the same. Friends are checking in with me and that's comforting in case I need them. Be well and hang in there. xo

The Metropolitan Opera is streaming operas FREE during coronavirus closure. Read more here.

Free Digital Concerts - Berlin Symphony. Read more here.

I just found a really darling video of an Australian shepherd giving advice on how to protect yourself from this virus. Follow @my_aussie_gal showing you how. You will have to click on the arrow to start the video. She is the smartest dog ever.

Nine, Ten, A Big Fat Hen

A Big Fat Hen

to brighten your day

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Best Carriage House Ever!

Best Carriage House Ever!

Photo from Real Estate Listing via GSMLS

The main house in Madison, NJ is amazing too.

Still Life Saturday

Still life with raspberries and cherries
Eloise Harriet Stannard (English 1829-1915)
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Still life at my kitchen sink.
Posted on Instagram here.
*Baby pilea plant.
*Antique opera glasses for looking out my kitchen window in style.
*Antique porcelain funnel.
*Old one-cup porcelain coffee filter.
*Happy Easter rabbit dish picked up at a resale shop.

Happy Saturday and have a great weekend. xo

We Are All Scared

Charlie Mackesy on Instagram -- follow him if you don't already. His illustrations are wonderful and he has just done a book that looks fabulous 

https://www.charliemackesy.com/ 

Charlie’s first book -- The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse is now available to buy. I love this illustration and find it very comforting, don't you. xo

Handmade Buttonholes

These are the most beautiful buttonholes I have ever seen and are definitely a lost art. They are too lovely to even cover up with a button. The twine is gorgeous! via

My Old Clothes Line with Webster

As I mentioned in this old post, I lost all the trees to the right of my garage/barn after Superstorm Sandy but I still have the white pine on the left. Webster the Wonder Dog used to love watching me hang out the wash. All I need is a new post and I could have a clothes line again. I still manage quite well with drying things outside on wooden clothes racks and my balcony railing so all is not lost. In the winter, the clothes racks are perfect in my furnace room for all but large top sheets which I dry on my balcony. I love sleeping on sheets that have been dried outside and I can honestly report that sunshine leaves an aroma on them like no other. When I enter my bedroom after putting on clean linens, the whole room smells like sunshine. The items dried inside have no aroma at all because I use a detergent with no scent.

The sun can kill the Corona Virus bacteria that can live on fabric for 6-12 hours. Normal laundry detergent should kill it on items in the washing machine. Winter clothes that can't be washed can be put out in the sun to kill the virus. Continue to wash your hands often and be smart about being out in public. xo

PS: I just found an easy recipe for DIY: Homemade Hand Sanitizer

Cutest Little Chick w/ Flower Hat

This darling photo caught my eye this morning after getting up way too early thanks to daylight savings time. I am now ready to go back to bed but dare not. Isn't this little yellow chick darling? xo

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