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NIH Record - National Institutes of Health

More Visual Memoirs

How I Spent My Quarantine

Three photos show Shropshire's garden at three different stages

“The pandemic has given some people cabin fever,” said Keisha Shropshire, public health analyst at the Office of Disease Prevention. “For me, it has brought out my inner green thumb. Watching green (plants) grow is as beautiful as you think it is.”

Six face masks

“Thanks to my mother-in-law loaning me her old sewing machine, and to an amazing fabric store in town, I’ve taken up sewing as a new hobby,” said Wilma Peterman Cross, deputy director of the Office of Disease Prevention. “In addition to bags, I’ve made many face coverings for family and friends. It has turned out to be the perfect way to escape all of the craziness that 2020 has offered. I have ripped many mis-stitched seams, installed zippers backwards, and cut my pattern the wrong way countless times. Despite all of that, I couldn’t be happier.”

A bag with cat prints

Peterman Cross' sewn bags

A black bag featuring cartoon cats

A cat bag

A purse with a pattern

A purse

A zipper bag

A zipper bag

Since the coronavirus pandemic has made telework mandatory for many, the Record has been curious to learn what NIH’ers have been up to. Find more evidence of the industrious nature of NIH’ers using their pandemic downtime well.

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