Finally Doing It

I've been thinking about it for a month or so now. Wondering if I had to actually go buy or order what I needed. So on my way to my morning shower, passing my sewing box, I decided to check. Were they there? In the colors I needed? Were they even still usable?

I bought them somewhere between 20 and 30 years ago. Never thought to pin down the timeline, but it was back when I was still flying somewhat regularly, aka some round trip almost every year. Sure, not much for some of you, perhaps, but what I could afford. There were trips to Arizona, first to visit my parents when they were still snowbirding down here,  for enough years for me to fall in love with not battling ice and snow for six months a year any more, as well as the other charms of the landscape. I continued for a rare visit to friends who'd moved here, but my later flying was often for major vacations.  Those were primarily with my granddaughter and my youngest son, to places like Washington State and Alaska.

I didn't want to lose my modest luggage on the baggage carousel. Mom used to tie yarn to hers, but that became very common. I wanted something very different, something unique to me, something even embarrassing to somebody who might otherwise think my whatever would be just the thing to walk away with. I wound up also marking my camera bags the same way, something bright and permanent and indelibly mine.

Bugs! Silly, roughly hand drawn, spotted beetles. Like ladybugs in outline, but all colors. The limit of my artistic talents. What did I use? Fabric paints.

Having little use for them, the bottles were still pretty full, so I didn't throw them out. They still sat in my sewing box, all these years later, even through those summers when we were back north and the house got however hot it did with no electricity to run AC.

After digging them out, I found 5 bottles. I opened the one - blue - that I wanted to use first, picked up an old sock I'd never wear again, and tried it. After a half inch of clear liquid, it came out reliable blue and in a line, not blobs. Perfect!

Why did I want these? To make my own protest face masks, of course. I'd gotten a bunch of plain black ones, much cheaper than anything else, but wished I had some with messages on. I planned all sorts of messages, silly, profound, perplexing. Today I wanted the blue paint.

The first two letters are drying. Since it has a curve, I can't do the other two until I can flip it over to get the right side laying flat without smearing the left. It will say "VOTE". In blue. Thus, "VOTE BLUE."  Subtle enough to be worn in the club which frowns on politics, obvious enough for those who think about it.

I think the next one will be another black  mask, along the same lines, saying "LIVES MATTER." Letting you extrapolate.

After that, I may just go nuts. Perhaps the purple paint saying "When I grow old" and I'll definitely be wearing purple. No red hats though. Don't need hat hair. Snark may work, something addressing why I wear my mask, why aren't they? Or too selfish to share my germs. Maybe just colors of curliques. Who knows? Maybe the guys will have ideas for something they want on theirs.