Just Been Busy

 Wow!  It’s been a while since I’ve posted to my blog! 

Work has been fairly busy the past few weeks and then with my Uncle Ross going into the hospital and then into rehab for his hernia repair and with trying to play catch up, I haven’t had much time to chat. 

March was a very busy month starting off with my Uncle Ross going into the hospital on my Dad’s 87th birthday.  Ross is a year older than Dad.  We have been visiting Ross on a weekly basis as has my Dad and Candis in between trying to find rehab/assisted care that takes MediCal patients.  What a mess but is now figured out (for now). 

One other hobby that I have is baking Artisan breads and my Dad loves them!  For his birthday, I made 2 different breads, one a whole grain, sesame seed bread and a cheddar-olive loaf.  I had planned to do it by bread machine but I found that I got more satisfaction by doing by it hand.  I had a chance to take out my aggressions on my bread while kneading it. What aggressions, you ask?  My husband just retired from the VA Hospital the week before.  Need I say more?  LOL!  I then made a home-style pumpernickel bread for DH and he loved that!  Me, I prefer a good Jewish Rye, myself!  

 

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Kathy decided to make some Cambodian treats for him, sesame seed balls filled with red bean paste, oh soooooo yummmmmmmy!  What a feast that was.  Kathy is becoming quite a Korean/Cambodian chef in her own right! 

 

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The rest of March is a blur for me.  I found that I was hiding in my sewing room more with the door closed so I could have a little me time between stay-at-home Doug and work.  I also am spending more time at Curves just to get out of the house alone!  I love Doug dearly, but too much together time!  He likes to go out and do things and wants me to come with him, and pouts when I don’t want to go.  Just hate it when he does that to me.  I have also found that I prefer grocery shopping without him around as he is just like a little kid, buying this and that that we don’t really need.  I cannot concentrate when he’s with me.  Don’t you love it when they are with you and even though you’re shopping, they act like you need to hurry up and get it done, even though they don’t say anything?  Or I will be saying something to him, turn my head for a second, and he’s already gone somewhere else? 

I have finished some projects, or actually tops.  I belong to a guild and Susan, who is in charge of the guild’s stash, always has a bunch of great Create bags ready.  They are filled with all types of scraps and whatever you use from stash goes back to the guild. I give her the tops and the backing and then they finish the quilting and binding.

Here are a few things that I have managed to make, even with retired Doug at home………. all the time………….

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Saturday, I mentioned that we were going to the Lindsay “Best of the Valley” quilt show.  We never quite made it there due to a comedy of errors that happened.  We had planned to go and visit Ross in Reedley on the way down, go to the cemetery for my Mom and grandparents, the quilt show and then hit the mall in Tulare on the way back.  Everything was ready, including a fully charged cell phone and camera.

We stopped at CVS in Reedley to pick up some magazines for Ross and a couple of other things.  We got to the rehab center, go in and show Ross what we got him. By the way, he looks really good and is trying his best with physical therapy.  Well, I have a purse that has a zipper in the back and it was open.  I saw something fall on the floor, picked it up believing that it was mine and put in my purse.  We left after visiting and were on our way out.  I checked my cell phone and Dad had called asking us to pick up some toothpicks for Ross.  Ok, we were only 5 minutes from the CVS and rehab either way.  No big deal.  Doug took them in to Ross and we were on our way again.

We get out on the road heading toward 99 (12 miles to the highway the way we go; it’s in the middle of nowhere).  I decided to clean my purse out and I pull out a cell phone.  It wasn’t mine!  I must’ve picked Ross’ up by accident in his room and since they look identical didn’t notice it.  Except it had his name and address taped to the back and I didn’t see that.  So, we turn around and go back to the rehab and returned the phone to him.

We had started off at 8 am and it was already warm and by now it was 10 or so and getting close to 80 degrees out.  Now, Lindsay is another place in the middle of nowhere and it gets fairly warm there.  I was getting tired and didn’t relish the thought of heading back in the heat and decided to call it a day. 

What a weekend!

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Other than that, not much has happened that is really exciting.

Thanks for dropping by. 

Quilts Galore!

Hello Everyone

It’s so pretty here in the valley with all of the trees starting to blossom.  There’s a huge cherry tree just down the street from us and as I was driving home I saw it in all its glory!  Just gorgeous!  Just made my day seeing it in full bloom, and knowing that spring is around the corner.

The last few weeks have been really busy for me.  Remember, I mentioned that I had 4 quilts to finish by the end of the month?  Well, two down and 2 to go!  My monster quilt is done and delivered as of yesterday and Liberty and her hubby, Dan, love it.  Instead of quilting it, I tied it down with buttons and it came out nicely.  This is the quilt that had been in my closet for 3 years and that Liberty wanted to learn to sew a quilt. Liberty has a tendency to flit around like a butterfly from one project to another and hardly finishes anything.  I had no idea beforehand.  It took 2 years just trying to get her to come and sew on it.  It’s like trying to nail down Jell-o.  Just ain’t gonna happen.  Anyway, she left me the top and didn’t want to finish it.  Doug decided for me that it had to be done on Feb 23 (Dan‘s birthday) and that it had to be quilted.  I set him straight on that.  First of all, he had nothing to do with the quilt being made or how it was to be finished and you don’t put me on a mandatory deadline.  Between the two of us, we finished it by sewing on buttons.  My machine did most of it and where I couldn’t get in, he sewed them on by hand.  I did a quick rollover binding and that was it.  I’m just happy to see it out of my house and that they like it.  (Excuse my floor, I have been down with a cold and hadn’t cleaned yet.)

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The second quilt was made from stash from my quilting guild.  Whatever you take from stash goes back to the guild as a charity quilt.  This one turned out really cute and I didn’t want to give it up and still don’t, but it will make a nice lap quilt.  It is a panel with houses and I used buttons to tie it down with. 

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Now, for the third quilt. This is for Megan, a friend of my daughter, and I need to get it laid out and sandwiched and quilted by the end of the week.  It’s not really big, about a double bed size, I believe.  That’s the plan for today.  No pictures just yet, but after I have it laid out and ready to quilt, I will post a picture.

The fourth quilt is a top for a mystery that we started in January.  Almost done, pictures later today, hopefully.

A few days ago, I received an email from our guild stating that a member had left her stash to the guild and that she asked that it not be sold but given away.  Since it was given to the guild, the Keeper of the Stash, chose first and left the rest for everyone to go through.   She set up appointments with whoever wanted some and my appointment was yesterday.  There was a lot to choose from and I brought home some nice fabric for the great price of FREE.  The member had left 10 bags full of fabric, furniture, accessories, books, you name it!  All the furniture was gone before I got there but there was a lot of fabric left.  It was so much fun! 

Doug will be retiring at the end of next week and since I work from home, this is going to be an adjustment for both us.  Since I work in healthcare field typing confidential patient reports in the afternoon and evenings, it’s going to be a lot of fun.  Doug likes to sit and watch TV and I’m used to having the house quiet with no noise so I can concentrate.  Wish me luck and send prayers that this works out.

Well, time to go and start sewing.  Chat later.

HOW TO FRUSTRATE YOUR HACKER

Hi Everyone 

I have spent the last 3 weeks fighting with this issue and studying up on it and have a few hard learned lessons to share. 

Here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba3yUNUvC20. The music is really sappy, but a lot of good info and shows you step-by-step. I would watch the ones under it too as they helped me a lot and they have explanations on what to do and why. You can even trace the hacker and find out where he is. Still learning how to get rid of them.

You should connect to the internet for this to your email account and use the On Screen Keyboard. Directions below.

The instructions are: 
1. Ctr Alt Delete to bring up task manager
2. Go to View and columns
3. Click PID, the screen will come back with a list
4. Click view all processes
5. Then go to Start, Accessories, Run
6. Type in cmd.
7. Screen will come up with your user name
8. Type in NETSTAT (doesn’t matter if lower case or not)
9. After NETSTAT, hit space, then type -ANO, then enter
10. If you see ESTABLISHED, then you have a hacker.
11. Go to the far right of the screen and it will give you a number. It will change every time you do this.
12. Use that number and compare it to the screen on task manager. It will be right after the image name called PID. From there you can see what the process is and if they are active or not. Select that row and press END PROCESS. This will shut them down temporarily and you will be free of him for a short time. Some of these might be programs that you have installed and if you want, you can uninstall them.  Some of them might be your own security and antivirus programs that you use to protect your computer. Might be time to change programs.
13. Go to View and click Refresh and your hacker will be gone.
14. Repeat the same process from 5-10 and the hacker will be gone too from your DOS screen.

If you find that the hacker has gone too deep in your files and is slowing your computer down and or not working properly, then you need to do a new install of Windows 7.   PLEASE NOTE:   If you find that when you start to install Windows 7 and there is a partition called DISK DRIVE D, that is where your hacker is.  I would do the following as this partition will  not go away as the hacker has control over it,  start over again.  This time, DO NOT  use that same disk.  If you have a copy of Windows 7, use that or you can go Microsoft website and download it.  I believe that you   can do a free trial from there.  When you have it installed, then  just use the activation code from your CD and you should be fine.  What happens is that the hacker uses your old files to control the computer.   Or you can ask Microsoft for help with one of their technicians.  If you do use that same disk, it will bring over your Windows.old files.  You can delete them as they are just in storage and cannot be accessed anyway.  They are using up valuable disk space.

Here is how to tell if this is me or not:

1.   I am not using my true name Donna any longer and no bylines underneath.  I will only use “Donna” if I am sending a private email.

2.  Check the sender at the heading.  My email address medtran2@sbcglobal.net will be listed.  I AM NOT USING LIVE MAIL OR HOTMAIL AT ALL. I have closed and deleted that account.  I am only using luv2cutfab@gmail.com  and receive all my mail there including my sbcglobal.net account.  It takes Hotmail 30 days to completely close that account. 

3.  Going back to the header, at the very end, you will see the identity of the true sender.  Click on their email address, highlight, send to your blocked  senders list and then contact Microsoft support to report them as a SPAMMER.

HELPFUL HINTS:

1.   Export all your contacts to a file.  It will go to excel as a spreadsheet.  Print and save.  Don’t save your contact list or add new contacts.  SPAMMERS use that to check all your contacts, cut and paste into your send to header and then send to your friends.  Now send all your contacts to your SAFE SENDER list and use from there using On Screen Keyboard.

2.  On Screen Keyboard is very helpful.  SPAMMERS AND HACKERS can tell what you are typing from your keyboard as they already have access to it. On Screen Keyboard is designed for people with disabilities and the SPAMMERS and HACKERS cannot see what you’re doing because it is on screen.  You can access On Screen Keyboard by going to Accessories, Easy Access, On Screen Keyboard.

3.  Use your On Screen Keyboard to log in to your accounts.  Also, to enter your emails when sending

4.  Check your SENT FOLDER OFTEN.  If you see anything suspicious, DELETE. 

5.   IF you think you have been attacked, go to:  Here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba3yUNUvC20. The music is really sappy, but a lot of good info and shows you step-by-step. I would watch the ones under it too as they helped me a lot and they have explanations on what to do and why. You can even trace the hacker and find out where he is. Still learning how to get rid of them

6.  Change your signature line now and then or don’t use.   Make up a new signature line but don’t save it in your email account.  

ON SCREEN KEYBOARD:

For the On Screen keyboard, go to Accessories, Ease of Access, and click to open the file. On Screen Keyboard is there and you can pin it to the task bar. It’s designed for people with handicaps. Use that to type in your email and password when logging in as the hacker cannot see what you are doing. When you use the regular keyboard, they can guess from that and hack in from the strokes you are using. Also, check your settings and change your password a lot. Don’t stay logged in as they can attack easily. Set your security settings to the highest and check to see if they have disabled your firewall settings. 


Good luck.

Donna


 

 

 

 

Donna, Unplugged, Disconnected, etc.

Hello Everyone

Wow, what a way to start off the New Year!  Can you believe it is almost the end of January already?  I don’t make resolutions any longer but strive to keep a goal.  Doesn’t always work that way, especially this past month, but I have no regrets.

As most of you know, my Mother passed in December and it has been a bit of a roller coaster ride, emotion wise but I am feeling better and am at peace with her passing.  When I said my goodbyes to her, it was truly amazing!  She actually looked younger than 86, hardly a line or worry wrinkle on her.  She looked like she was totally at peace, and had no cares or worries; that they had all just rolled off of her.  She looked like she was lying down for a nap and would be up soon, ready to go shopping!  When I saw her, I had a feeling of peace come over me and I knew that she was okay and a lot happier than she was ever before.  That was a true comfort, a true Christmas present and miracle for me.

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I still have my moments but I am working past them.  I started a self-Bible study called “Become A Better You” by Joel Osteen and that has been very helpful for me in learning not to look back but ahead.  Not to have regrets, but to turn those regrets around into a positive rather than a negative and to live in God’s peace and glory and what He wants for me.  I truly believe that I am anointed, creative, talented, successful, and that I have the favor of God; that people like me and that I am a Victor not a victim.   My potential is not diminished or reduced by my past.  That is my Mantra every day and it really is powerful and helps keep me going.  If you have a chance, check out this book and see that it really does help.  I strongly recommend it!

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Another goal that I am striving for is to downsize and give away, throw away or use up objects that have no real meaning for me.  I had been planning to do this with my computer later this year, but SURPRISE!  It happened sooner rather than later.  Someone hacked into my computer and made a real mess of it and took control of my computer.  So, for the past 2 weeks, I have been in the process of cleaning, scanning, running virus scans and dumping whatever I could and rebooting from scratch, not once but TWICE!  The second time was my fault, I made the mistake of allowing the scan to include compressing my hard drive and I lost EVERYTHING!  I have gone through all my email accounts and deleted all but one main account that seems to be fine and being super careful about what I download, how I download, etc.  What a MESS!  I am now back online and virus-free!  At first, I was very angry about this situation but I am okay with it, now.  This has given me a lot of pause to think and work this out in my mind.  It does no good to be angry.  At least, I know that my computer is secure, clean, streamlined and ready to work again.  By streamlined, I mean that I cannot believe how many programs “hitch a ride” when you download something and what damage those “innocent hitch hikers” can do.  Just be careful is my motto and SCAN frequently!

As for my sewing, I have done a couple Jelly Roll Race quilts and they are so much fun to make.  I made them both in 3 hours! Very addictive!  So simple!  Here’s a link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bEJLnaZQOU.   Perfect for baby quilts!  Since I have been busy with my computer, that’s about all that I have made for this month.  Though, that doesn’t stop my mind or wallet from adding more projects.  I had planned to show pictures online, but then my computer problem started, so I decided to wait until everything was stable again before posting.

Sorry about not posting much before this, but for a while I literally was not able to post.  Oh, in order to get back into Stash_Quilters, I actually had to rejoin the group (I’m the owner) and have Jill approve me as a member!  I then had to go in and change my email accounts in the group, after a hassle with Yahoo, and change everything in there.  I can laugh about it now, but boy, Yahoo is not the most cooperative business to work with in resolving issues, especially with passwords.  The account I’m using now is an old one and I had forgotten my password, much less my correct username, after so many years.

Anyway, going back to sewing, I did manage to finish my charity quilts for Christmas and worked for 15 minutes or more on different projects.  That too was a goal that I haven’t reached yet.  But I am still going to Curves and Weight Watchers on a regular basis (so-so) and have lost some weight.  Still have a long way to go, but you will see “less of me” and not more when next we meet!   Darn, another tangent.  Sorry.

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Last weekend, I talked hubby into going down to Visalia for the day just to get away for a bit.  I was sick of looking at my computer and needed a change of pace for a bit.  It was really a very pleasant day and we did some shopping, of course.  I went to one of my favorite fabric stores, Beverly’s and stocked up on, you guessed it, fabric.  Well, I found out that they are closing the store (it’s a chain) as they are not making any money from Joann’s there in town, and they had everything 25% off, plus 40% off certain items.  Needless to say, I got a good deal!  They have been there for 30+ years, so sad to see them close.  I believe they said their last day was sometime in the spring, that means I need to go and buy more before all the good stuff is gone.  Yea, like I really need more fabric…  LOL!  But they do have thread and other goodies there.

Then, on Sunday, I finally used my gift card to Joann’s and bought the BOM kit called Kalidescope.  It is so pretty,  I’m going to make that for my bed.  Can you believe it, after quilting for so many years, I haven’t made one for my own bed yet!

I will be posting more about our group and ideas and goals for this year in a separate email.

I think that brings me up to the present and not much else exciting happening here.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting.

Donna

Lou Spallina

Lou Mildred Owen Spallina                             Lou Spallina

A former longtime resident of Porterville, Lou was born in Wills Point, Texas, on December 29, 1926, to Barnett and Elva Owen, and she passed away peacefully in the company of her devoted husband and two of her daughters in Placerville, California, on December 4th, a few weeks shy of her 86th birthday and her 66th wedding anniversary. She and her husband Dom have been residents of El Dorado County since June of 2004.

After the Dust Bowl finally defeated her father’s farming in 1934, the Owens moved from Texas to join family in Tulare County. Lou attended Springville School and Lindsay High School, where she met the love of her life Dom Spallina in cooking class in 1942. They got married on New Year’s Eve 1946 after Dom was discharged from the Air Force.

Lou and Dom became members of the Porterville Church of the Nazarene in the early 60s. They enjoyed many years of friendship and fellowship with the members of the Lamplighter Sunday School class. Every year Lou and Dom hosted a New Year’s Eve/Anniversary party with this large group of wonderful lifelong friends.

Four children and a busy family life took up most of Lou’s time and talents, but she also applied her considerable organization and leadership skills in local PTA, community and church groups. In 1970, Lou organized the first crisis help-line in Porterville, and she served as president of several PTAs and the PTA Council, Brownie troop leader, and was the Head Greeter and Food Closet steward at the Nazarene church.  Lou worked for several years as a bookkeeper in her brother-in-law’s floral shop and nursery, then as a special education aide at Bartlett School and at Monache High School.

Lou had much to give to her community, but her real gifts were the times she spent with family: she had five sisters and one brother in close proximity, and extended family picnics and holiday celebrations were always in the works. She excelled at planning birthday parties, excursions to the beach and the Sierras, making vacations memorable, and just being the best Mom ever. She and Dom traveled extensively, visiting 47 of the 50 states, cruising to various exotic locales, and traveling in Europe.  Their favorite vacation was spending time in Pismo Beach with their twin granddaughters in their travel trailer.

Lou is survived by her loving husband, Dom and her youngest sister Carrie Barraza of Wenatchee, Washington, Candis Spallina of Camino, Tracy Spallina (Jeff) of Dundas, Ontario, Canada, and Donna Coppin (Doug) of Fresno. They have four wonderful grandchildren, Jennifer Sandoval (Ariel), Kathaleen Pok (An), Loren Spallina, Ryan Spallina, and four beautiful great-grandchildren. Many of her nieces and nephews have mentioned that Auntie Lou was their favorite.

She is predeceased by her sisters Dorothy, Daphine, Letha, and Maxine, her brother Raymond, and her beloved son Fred who passed away in 2002.

There will be a graveside service at 10:30AM Wednesday at the Lindsay-Strathmore Cemetery, followed by a public memorial service at the Porterville Church of the Nazarene at noon, then a luncheon open to all family and friends of Lou. Whitehurst Peters Loyd Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements.

Lou’s family would like to express its sincere and heartfelt appreciation to the very special nurses and CNA’s in Gold Country’s Skilled Nursing Community for their expert and loving care of Lou during her five and one-half years in their care. They made such a difference in her later life.

 In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Snowline Hospice of El Dorado County, the Alzheimer’s Association, or the charity of one’s choice.

http://www.recorderonline.com/news/dec-55002-funeral-service.html

Directions for services:   Porterville Church of the Nazarene:  http://www.recorderonline.com/sections/death-notices/?fabc=1&catid=15296

Lindsay Cemetery:  http://www.yellowpages.com/lindsay-ca/mip/linsday-cemetery-653568?lid=653568

MOM

Hello

g42

My mother passed away Tuesday, December 4 at 4:14 p.m.  She had end stage Alzheimer’s.   She had a very quiet passing and no pain.  Candis, Tracy and Dad were there to see her off.  Kathy, Jenny and I were able to talk to her several times throughout the day by phone and I believe that she heard us and understood. 

She had a good long life and I feel very lonely without her.  Please, if you have stories to share, pass them along.  We would love to hear from you and pass the news along to other family members. 

I’m sorry everybody, but the plans for Mom’s memorial have been changed to
Wednesday. Graveside service will begin at 10:30, the service at the Nazarene
church will begin at 12:00, followed by a luncheon at about 1 pm. The obituary
should be in the Porterville Recorder by Friday or Saturday.

SURPRISE!

WOW! 

Friday night was an odd night.  I was feeling really yucky with a head cold coming on.  It was 8 p.m. and I was getting ready to go to bed already and had taken cold medication with codeine in it so I could sleep.  Come on, I don’t go to bed until 11 or 1130 normally, so I was really out of it.  I had even called off sick for the day.  Well, I hadn’t quite changed to my night clothes yet, and my daughter, Kathy, the one who lives next door called me.  “Mom, come over.  I need to talk to about female stuff.  And dress up, we have company coming over.  See you in a few minutes.” 

Feeling the way I did, that was the last thing I wanted to do.  Sit and talk about female stuff with company.  Much less get dressed.  But being the dutiful mother and feeling guilty if I didn’t go over, I got dressed, cleaned up, grapped a bunch of kleenex and shoved them into my pocket.  I walked over, feeling yucky, opened the door.  SURPRISE!  

Wait a minute……  What?  In my codeine haze, it took me a few minutes to understand what was going on.  I looked at the couch and there was my other daughter, identical twin to Kathy, Jenny, sitting on the couch holding her baby girl Emma!   The girls had their hair dyed their hair the same color and were wearing similar clothing and I did a double take!  Art and Eva, Jenny’s inlaws, were there behind the door and it took me a second to register!  Apparently, Art and Eva who had been with Jenny in Michigan, had driven out here and dropped Jenny and Emma off.  

Doug, Kathy, Jenny, Ariel, An, Tracy and Candis had kept this a secret from me for over 2 weeks!  I had no clue that she was coming out here.  I had talked to Doug about going out and visiting them later in the year but wasn’t sure if we could handle it financially.  Ariel and Jenny had a little extra money so they decided to come out and visit and then go back by train.  Jenny and Emma had driven out with Art and Emma!   What a fantastic surprise!  I had been so lonely for my girl and wanted so badly to be there to hold my grandbaby!  What a special treat!  I feel so blessed! I was and am still really excited about them being here! After a good visit with the girls, I went on to bed. We had decided to go to up to Camino to visit my sister and Dad.

Dad didn’t know anything about it either. Candis had Dad come over on the guise that it was her turn to host a luncheon for the Gold Country people (where Mom stays) and Dad thought it would be a bunch of old fogies. Little did he realize! We had a blast while visiting with Candis and Dad, and Little Sam had a great time in the pool that Candis had set up for him.  This is Jenny sneaking up on Dad.  Boy, was he ever flabberglasted! 

Little Cousins, Emma and Annalee! Emma is 1.5 months old and Annalee is 4.5 months old. Almost just as alike as their mothers, especially in matching clothes!  By the way that is one of the first quilts I made for my sister Candis, about 10 years ago….. or longer.

Sam at Candis’ house.

   We then went and visited Mom and had some great photo opportunities.

And so ends our visit in Camino.  Will post more later.   I have more photos available if you wish to see them.

Family News

Good Morning Everyone

A very pretty day here in the valley, clear skies and just a little wind blowing.  A perfect day for BBQ outside.  I hope everyone has a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend. 

A little family news.  We are waiting to hear if Youn delivered her baby boy yet.  She was admitted to St. Agnes last night and so we are anxious to go and see the newest member to the family.  We plan to visit her this afternoon.  If you are confused, don’t worry.  Youn is An’s  little sister and An is my daughter’s husband, so she is like a daughter to us.  She is a very sweet girl and we wish her and her boyfriend the best with their new baby.

Little Annalee is doing well and is so cute and cuddly, just like her big brother, Sam.  Sam will be starting Preschool this fall, just waiting to hear if he is in the morning or afternoon class. Preschool has a waiting list, so it will be sometime this summer before Kathy hears anything. 

Jenny is still waiting patiently for her turn in July.  Please continue to keep her in your prayers as she has a cyst on her ovary that needs to be watched especially during her pregnancy.  She is well otherwise.  They are still in Michigan and I miss them a lot.  I wish we could go back there to see the baby, but we can’t afford the trip at this time.  Maybe later on in the year.  Mat will be going into 3rd grade this fall.  Hard to believe that I have a 9-year-old grandson. 

We then have 2 more pregnancies to make it through after this.  June is due in September and Cintun is due a couple of months after that.  An’s family is certainly growing by leaps and bounds! 

We will be going to Camino to visit Mom and Dad for Father’s Day.  This will be the first time for them to see little Annalee and we are excited about showing her off!  I plan on staying there and coming back on Wednesday.  Tracy is planning on coming in from Canada to visit, so it will be the 3 Spallina girls once again!  Now to choose the perfect gift for Dad.  Hmmm….. tough one.

Not much else is new, so will close for now!

The Evolution of My Cutting Table

Hello Everyone

Well, two months later I finally have my birthday gift from my DH.  I had been asking for a new cutting/storage table for my sewing studio for quite a while.  I had PVC for my table, you know, the plastic stuff that stacks.  Well, my table wasn’t very level, especially in the middle so it was hard to cut properly with it.  Doug and I had been looking at tables and ideas for a while and I finally decided on 0ne that I really liked.  After some negotiating, measuring, and pricing, we decided on a solid pine table with a shelf underneath for storage.  It is very solid, made out of pine and stained a pecan color.  Doug is not the greatest carpenter but he did  a pretty good job!

Here is my new cutting table under construction:

I decided that I wanted a bookcase at one end:

And shelving on top.  I thought I would use it as an entertainment center for my TV and VCR, but that turned out differently.

Doug then stained it with MinWax, a pecan color, only one coat, after sanding it down.  After it set for 6 hours and was completely dry, we did the finishing touches.  I still had my original top from my old table and Doug put that on top, with the cutting mat on top of that.  I then did some decorating:

I started on Mother’s Day to put the bins underneath and on the shelves, by then it was getting a little late and I finished up the next day.  The top shelves:

The bookcase:

Surprisingly, I was able to fit about 2/3 of my books in the bookcase.  The remainder are in the top shelves along with my binders full of different patterns, ideas, etc.

And my many bins!  It took a little while to decide how to do it and make it work, but I did it!  I have 10 large plastic bins full of fabric, and several smaller bins full of thread, and other things.  I took the bins full of thread, 3 in total, used one of my smaller drawer units, (plastic) and consolidated them altogether.  I now only have one plastic bin for my large cones of serger thread, and that is on top of my sewing table.  I took all of the large drawer bins out, except for the small one, as I no longer have any room for them.  All of the stuff has been stored elsewhere, in my new 20 drawer organizer.  So much nicer and easier to access.  And it really does hold a lot!  I also took the little pressed board bookcase out and put that in my bedroom for my paperback books.  That freed up some space in my room.  My new table takes up a lot of space but at the same time, makes more room as everything is organized with it.  My sewing table is also cleared off with all my binders now on the new shelf unit, and that gives me more room for quilting.

One side of the table:

The other side:  Actually looks the same all the way around, lots of bins.  I am storing my small ironing board under there with a towel over it to keep the cat hair off of it.

Yet more bins, but also a space for my iron:

My closet is also a lot less cramped for space.  All of my bins are now under the table or on shelves, except for 2.  One is just for magazines and the other is for special fabric such as silk.

And finally a picture of the table put together and organized:  Sorry, couldn’t fit it all into the frame of my camera!

Now, I’m organized!

Chat soon!

My Mother’s Day Present

WOW!   Where do I start?  This has been a wonderful week for all of us, especially for my daughter, Kathy.  We now have a new granddaughter added to the family tree, Annalee Pok.  She arrived on Thursday, May 10 at 5:09 a.m.  She weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces and is so very tiny, about the size of a doll, but a lot prettier!  She wasn’t due until May 22, but we’re glad she is here.

She is my early Mother’s Day present!