Getting older and getting better!

Well, I joined the hearing loss club about 10 years ago.  One evening I was at a local watering hole, aka bar, when one minute I was hearing fine and the next I couldn't hear out of my left ear.  After many tests, hearing and scans and blood work, no one could fine the reason for the loss.  So off I was sent to a hearing center.  The good news was that I had great health insurance and I would receive $1,000 for the purchase of a hearing aid.  So after researching and trying many types of hearing aids, the $1,000 one did nothing more than scream in my ear. Oh course, the $5,000 one work great.  So with 4 kids at home, college zooming, I declined the offer to purchase.

A few times since then I have had appointments with all those storefront hearing centers that pop up all over town.  One gentleman had me in such a hard sell technique, that I asked him if he sold cars before this because he sound so much like a car salesman and not a hearing specialist.  He got mad and threw me, yes threw me, out of his office.  Well I wasn't upset, I was so glad to get away from his greedy little selling options.
 
Well, years have passed, and when I was at my lawyers office, I notice she had hearing aids on.  She told me where she got them and she was so excited that she could hear normal again.  She had ringing in both her ears and some hearing loss.  She was so excited about her experience that I thought, well maybe, I would address my problem again.

Today was the day of the rest of my life.  I want to scream it, but not too loud, please.  I CAN HEAR AGAIN.

 http://www.samsclub.com/sams/hearing-aid-engage-32/prod6430045.ip?sprodId=prod6430045 

Hear it is, John put me in one and it cost me $45.00 for Sam's membership.  The Liberty hearing aid costs me total $1800.00.  for 4 year warranty and 1 year lost replacement.  My insurance will re-emburse me for $1,000.  Out of pocket is the Sam's membership and $800.00. 

I am so happy I can hear.  I turned down the radio in my car several degrees as soon as I got in.  I kept thinking the car door was open because I could hear outside the car.  When I watched TV tonight, I told my hubby to turn down the TV.  He turned it down so it sounded fine to me, but now he couldn't hear it.  He even told me to take the hearing aid out.  HeHe.  

Lesson learned:  Don't give up.  Keep trying to find solutions to your challenges.  There is always a way.  Persevere!        Thank you John at Spring Meadows Sam's Club, Holland, Ohio.   

Looking for my lost sister, Lynne Morse!

Well, I guess you get one in every family.  A BLAck Sheep! Well, here is mine.

She is my oldest sister, 13 years older.  And I love her very much.  She was so much fun, always laughing, drinking Pepsi  and cleaning her sink so that it shined.  She raised 3 kids, most as a single mom.  She did marry, 3 times, one husband died.  But as life left it's mark, she became more and more depressed, and she solved that problem with drinking and prescription drugs of all sorts. 

Suicide trials also became a part of her scene.  It got so bad that the EMT's didn't want to go to her house, they would call me instead.  One day, in front of the EMT's, I gathered all her drugs and the bottles, what was left of them and sat down on her bed and lifted her up and said "Here, Take the rest of these now and let's get this over with".  She was even front page news with her suicides attempts when a neighborhood boy saved her.  

We all tried to help her, took care of her kids, gave her money and places to live, cars to drive but she would soon disappear "because she just didn't want to be around family"  (we were Christian and all?)  

With her kids grown, she became more and more distant.  She would jump into our lives and jump out.  We started to just realize "well, that's the way she is"  There were good times when she would get help with AA, or a new boyfriend would help her and she would settle down.  But soon some drama would result and things would come crashing down.  She soon followed a boyfriend to Florida, Pompano Beach, and things seem to look up for her.  The sun and great weather, she took up fishing and found new friends at AA.  But soon she stole her boyfriend's car, drove back to Toledo, Ohio with her cats and the cops called me again to do something with her.  My other sister and I got her into housing, food stamps and medical.  But she didn't like it, this was so beneath her.  Something happened (we never know the whole true story) and she left and moved into her daughters low income housing in Inkster, MI.  The downhill spiral soon swallowed her and her daughter up.  Her daughter's daughter, who was on drugs, but maybe they all were, stabbed her mother 17 times.  She lived miraculously, granddaughter got put in jail until 18.  We lost sight of Lynne during this time and haven't seen her since.  

It has been 2 1/2 years, I just filed a missing person reports, called the morgues, checked with Social Security, (She is supposedly still getting her checks) We sent her letters through Social Security and no word back.  I filed a fraud report with Social Security also, but if they find anything they will not tell me about it.  

I am at a dead end street.  

I will just pray and trust God to take care of her.

If you know where she is, or have seen here, please write me.  thanks, Chris 

Frustrated, Errrrrrr....

I purchased my Artistic 640 Bernina 2nd hand about 3 years ago.  And I loved it.  But, but, but, I really think my bobbin housing unit is screwed up.  I have had it in twice now for fixing.  During the embroidering process after about 2 min it starts to nest underneath and starts clinking.  I fix it, I pull every little thread out, I clean it,  blow on it, brush it but it still clinks.  I don't embroidery alot, but when I do, I want it to work.  Ya Know!   Well I was making a cute little tooth fairy pillow for my Emma.  Her tooth is ready anyday now to fall out and she is so silly about it.  Girls usually are.  But NO, I have to take it in again to see what is wrong.  
First I am a hands on girl and want to fix it myself.  But no symatics are on any web sight,  even the Bernina Repairman can't get one for me.  So he says.  So in I go with my machine all packed up, with another note and example of problem and there it will sit for 1 to 2 weeks until they get in whatever part they need and so by the time I get my machine back, I am on my way to another project. 
I gave up embroidery of a pink ribbon that I wanted on Emma's sister's quilt because of the last screw up with the nesting and bobbin housing flare up. 

Life is good though.  How can I complain? I can look at it as a challenge or a problem.  I like challenges better.  So I am going to quit my whinning, work on another project and maybe buy a tooth fairy pillow.    NOT!  Hehe! 

 

Quilt as I go-Gotta love this!

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="http://pileofabric.com/post/2012/12/28/skill-builder-block-of-the-month" title="Pile O' Fabric"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8363/8319269912_4085c384f9_o.png" alt="Pile O' Fabric" style="border:none;" />

I am involved with BOM with http://Pileofabric.com.   Hopefully I can post her block above and post my pictures today.  Well here goes-----

This quilt will be a series of blocks, some traditional and some by Pile O' Fabric.  I will be working on my free motion and be more exact in my cutting and piecing.  I'm a fly by my pants kind of gal and I love just grabbing fabric, ripping it and sewing and see what comes out.  The planning of a quilt drives me nuts.  Also I get so bogged down when I have to finish the top of a quilt, so pretty and nice, but no, I'm not finish yet - still have to quilt it.  UgH!   Then it tends to sit in it's little box until I get the energy to finish it.  Mostly I get distracted by another cool project like this one.  :')  If you look back in this blog, you will notice I have a pink and grey quilt that I started for my Adeline.  But I'm distracted because, I like these colors more, I can't figure out how to put the top together in a pleasing way, (the blocks are done) So procrastination sets in, and I get stuck.  Sometimes I am so flaky.  Well, that's what my dad use to say to me.    So stay tuned,  I will finish all of this before I die.  Promise.    (Now it is in writing, Oh No!)

Pileoffabric.com BOM

I so love the social network.  I have learned from so many quilters, knitters, crocheters, artist and other through their blogs, Flicker and Facebook.  This would not be possible unless those people wrote a book or became a TV star.  Now normal (?), ordinary, regular people can share their knowledge, experiences and pics, so the "world" can see. 
Well Alyssa Lichner is one of my favorite people right now.  http://www.pileofabric.com
For some reason the importer on Blogger is not uploaded my pics for this paticular BOM,  Please see my Flicker account http://www.flickr.com/photos/17474174@N05/ 
I have joined her group for BOM - Block of the Month, for those who are not quilters. She teaches a way to make a quilt using many different techniques and free motion quilting. And it is all free-"What a super woman".
Below are some of the great ideas and links at bottom, I have learned through social networking.    Enjoy!

Some sites I love  

http://found-stitched-dyed.blogspot.com/

http://shelaghfolgate.blogspot.com/

 

The future is here now!

 A BIG HI TO EVERYONE.

I am so excited.  Facebook is now hooked up with Skype and the other day as I was texting my daughter on facebook, who has a bachelor of Engineer from Toledo University, I hit a camera link on facebook and it opened a window and there was my daughter and my favorite grandson right before my eyes.  They live in Ann Arbor Michigan and I live in Toledo Ohio.  Boy it was so easy and it took us some time to get the voices but how much fun is that.  It is so exciting to be part of this tecnology.  Just think, to be able to see and hear our loved ones. 

I know this is has been around for awhile, but it was so easy to do with facebook.





What have I been doing?   This is my mother with her latest great granddaughter, Lilly.  She is 88 and is a wonderful person who has creatively handled all her challenges that life has given her.  I am so blessed to still have her in my life.  I have always felt and told my mother that I would not put them in a nursing home.  That has always been a big fear in her life to be left alone in a nursing home or to go to the "Poor House".  Well, after battling 5th stage Alzeheimer's, my sisters and I have had to make the "very hard" choice to place her into a home.  It has been a heart breaking 2 months.  She is adjusting,  She likes the food, I think she likes having a room mate, She is getting quality and loving care.  She is getting pysical therapy and keeping her mind and body active.  But I am so sad daily and so is she.  She has lost her home, her car, her freedom. 

The last 4 years have brought many challenges.  We took over her bills when they became to hard for her to handle, we worked with Office of Aging with nursing care and home health care. Meals on Wheels provide lunch.  We tried to get her to stop driving, I took her to dr. appts, grocery shopping and beauty shop.  Then I had to take over her medications and make her dinner daily and administer her pills.  It was taking a toll on all of us including the police, who she called weekly because I or my sister was stealing something that she couldn't find. 

 



We love family as you can see.  My older sister is in the back, along with cousins, aunt and uncles, brother in law and hubby.  I am so glad that we did our best to keep mom as independent as possible the last 4 years.  I wish she would of moved in with me, but she has been bull head and has always said NO.  So I am so thankful for the place she lives now and I pray daily for the wonderful workers who now know my mother too.  It is not perfect, but God has shown the way.  He loved her when she was born to an imperfect family, He loved her when her dad drowned while she was young, He loved her when she married my husband at 17 and through their long marriage and death, and He still loves her now.  God is faithful. 

Birthday Craft Party a big hit.

October 1, 2012 came and went.  That is my birthday and usually I hate celebrating birthday, but this time I decided to have several friends over and have a craft night and what fun we had.    Above is two friends who are craft handicapped.  But they found out they weren't.

Collect your supplies, gals.  "What, I got to pick something, I don't know what I am doing, What is this for?"  Well you get the idea. Confusion, arguing over items. "I wanted that"   No, I had it first"  Cackels,  that's what I called it.  Hen House at it's finest.  Well, after much wine and whine, we made our door wreaths for fall. 

As soon as we finished, my neighbor, who was upset I didn't invite her,  came stumbling over with her two girlfriends (they had their own party with hubbys)  to see what we were doing.  Of course I had to pull out my halloween mask to show them all. This next picture is R-rated.

Yes that's me.  As you can see why, my husband doesn't think this is funny.  Maybe because it looks better than his????????    Crazy Ass adventures,  Let's have more of them.  Fun was had by all, except my neighbor and her friends, which I will invite to the next one.