About Me

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Midway, NC, United States
I retired from Bali Bras, Sara Lee Intimates. Married in Oct 1976. I love meeting new people so hope to hear from you. Drop me a line. I've been doing crafts of all kinds since I was a kid. I loved making things and especially things that are recycled. I had never stamped until 2001 when I went to a stamp class while on vacation. We went to a local store to buy the stamps we had used. OUCH. When we got home I saw a Stampin Up catalog and realized how much money I could save with their stamps and best part as they are sets that go together which makes for easy card making. After doing some thinking I decided I should sign up as a demo and see what happens. I didn't know the first thing about stamping and still learning. Retired from Sara Lee Intimates in Feb 2001. I was in sales after many years, since age 18, as an office person, secretary, office assistant, etc. I am out of Stamping Up since Spring 2017 but still have lots of supplies!!!! These days I'm back to quilting and having a great time.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Where does time go as you get older....August 2017

Hi everyone.  I appreciate all the folks who have hung in with me thru some ups and downs.

Well it's August, 2017 and after 17 years as a Stampin Up Demonstrator, it's over for me.

Mama was sick in July 2014  with a very bad UTI that her doctor ignored.
By fall I was a caregiver.  She was 90.5.  We gave up her home of 69 years, the only home she had ever owned since she moved from Cuba, 1946.

    She now lives in a Independent Retirement Community and has a small apartment.  

She did a lot of activities in the beginning but has now settled down to her old routine of naps, Andy Griffith and crossword puzzles.    She's healthy and doing great.

Yellow sweater is one of my favorite pics. from late fall 2014.   I liked her hair.

  She has 3 meals available per day in the very nice dining room.  It's a very nice place to live and meet many new people as someone is always moving in.


 She will be 95 in Sept. and is doing wonderful.  It's like she's a new person.  She had no one to talk to living at home.  She had to think about what to fix to eat and many times it was McDonalds up the road.  

It's easy to find her apt. just down from the dining room.

   People often enjoy looking at her back patio

as well as the seating area we created.   I should be so healthy and live to 95.    Don't think that will happen but it would be nice as I have lots of creative things yet to do.    I just turned 70.


Broken Wrist.    Early in the year, 2016,  
I did a dumb thing.

 I tried to step down backwards off the steps.  Don was upstairs and I was on the second from bottom step tossing packs of quilt batting up to him to store upstairs as it was for Preemie quilts for our guild.    Well once we were done, I thought I was on the first step as I backed down.  Oops.  No floor and down I went, swinging around on the stairs post and landed in the hall with my right wrist wrenched against the wall.  I was screaming and Don said, I can't lift you.  Now is not the time to tell me that.....LOL.  I managed to get on my knees and he helped me up.  Yep.... I broke it good.  Right handed of course I could only think about all the things I would not be able to do.    Did you know it's hard to pull up your britches in the bathroom.

 My left hand was only for decoration.  It was not a working limb.    I needed Don for a lot of things..... you know that saying..... for better or worse.    He had to take my night guard out in the am as it was too snug for one hand to get.    It was a very long 4 months.

 Then around early 2017 I realized I just was losing interest in Stampin Up and have way too many supplies.  I'm currently down to one class a month, with some ladies who have been so loyal for about 9 years.    They come to a surprise class monthly where they make 3 projects (cards) for $15 and I supply everything.  My demonstratorship stopped early spring with Stampin Up.    Actually I'm a bit less stressed trying to keep up with minimums.    Now I just do a class a month, we laugh and often snack.  I have some great ladies who come to class.  Class is now 7 ladies as we just recently lost a dear member, Doris Biesecker to that nasty C.    I have enough supplies to last a long while.  I told them, when the card stock runs out, I'm done.

Trabeculectomy   May, 12, 2017.  What we had been putting off for a long time, was in our face....Surgery on the left eye.    I go to Duke Eye Center, part of Duke University, for my Glaucoma.  I found out I was type II diabetic in 2/2007.  It was recommended I check on my eyes.  Of course Dr. Sasser at Midway Eye Center said, I think you have the beginnings of Glaucoma and need to be seen.

 He got me in the next day with Dr. Moya.  I've been there ever since.  It was worse in the left eye.  We treated it for years with many different drops that you need an excel sheet for.    Finally we were at the end of the road.  He said it's time for surgery.  Shame the cataract is not ready so we could do both at the same time.   I spent better than 3 months hardly moving out of my chair.  No bending, lifting, no stress!!!!    Lots of naps.

Surprise, the Prednislone for the Left Eye, has not made the cataract in the left eye grown leaps and bounds.  It's to the point that Dr. Moya and the Retina specialist could not see behind it to see if eye still swollen.  That eye has been blurred since May.    Really can't see much besides fuzzy things, nothing clear.  
   Now we will discuss cataract surgery for later this year.   Of course it's not a normal one but I think 3 cataracts in one.    Just couldn't be simple.

So here we are, August, 2017.  Finally lifting, bending, trying to catch up on things I've missed out on.  My seniors class was this week and it was nice to see the ladies.  We were missing 3 this past week.   This is my stamp room in the basement.



Quilting is a renewed passion.   5 years ago I invited folks to join me for a Quilting Bee named "Busy Bees" and we are still going strong.  We have 9 local members and often it's a full space of buzzing machines.  We quilt from 9 am to about 3:30 and on, every Thursday, at the local Rec Center.
 I've been busy sewing since you and I last visited on my blog.    The blog got put on the back burner. My goal is to come back and share some of the pieces I've made.

Lately I've been working on simple string piecing blocks for a quilt for our bed.  BIG challenge.  Of course Don hates all the colors.  Bummer.  Not  going on our bed.   String block is a lot of strips of leftover fabrics.  I cut phone book pages to 7.5" and sewed on the diagonal.  When put together you can get lots of different layouts.  This is mine to form diamonds.
Well it's ready to layer and quilt once I finish the back.   Mama likes it so will make a twin for her and maybe reversable.   My first attempt at 1/2 square triangles.  We'll see when finished.  I'll share the results.

 My eyes are currently 2D and cutting is a bit off.  Trying to dead head flowers was a lot of cutting air so keeping sewing simple.

Well, I hope I can get back to staying in touch and sharing.

If you need a Stampin Up supply, don't hesitate to ask.  I just might have it.

6 comments:

Adele said...

love your posts about your mom. Looks like a very nice apartment. What is the name of the assisted living place?

Val-Belle said...

WOW Joan you have been busy. I didn't know you were a Stampin up Demonstrator. I didn't even know we could get their product here. Do you sell it? Glad your mom is ok in her new home. My FIL loved his little house in a retirement village and they had so many activities. He passed away last year at 93 :D ... Take care and glad you are on the mend.

Roberta Upton said...

Enjoyed your blog.

Joan Whitsett Lowder said...

Valerie, my email is jlowder1@bellsouth.net. Thought I had your email but not.

Anonymous said...

So nice, Joan! I like hearing about what you are up to. So glad you are still able to do a lit of the things you enjoy. You are so creative!

Lea said...

Hey, Sweet Lady! Good to see you on your blog! I've often thought about coming to your class again but trying to get away is a challenge. I lost my craft room in February to a fire but a bunch of my Stampendous Design Teammates and a few other friends sent me supplies to keep me going. I would go nuts if I couldn't create! Looking at a knee surgery here pretty soon. I'll have a week or so to relax (haha) and maybe even create. I hate living in the temporary apartment. We're on the second floor so the stairs are a bit of a challenge. Anyway, glad to see you blogging and maybe I'll make it to a class just for fun!

My Blog

May, 2009 when I started the blog and it's still a learning experience even in 2017.

If you are ever looking for a retired stamp set, ask me, I might have it and let it go.

As a follower you'll get emails when I post things which I tend to do in batches, once or twice a month once I get back on schedule.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate all comments.