File Cabinet Update

Here we go.  I was so excited these came early.  They were scheduled for between Friday and next Wednesday!  The delivery man brought them into the house - should have taken a pic of them still in the boxes, but I was too anxious to find a box-cutter and see how they looked.  But first, since they were a minimum of two days early, I had to clear out and sweep up the space.  

I then opened each box, and carried them, one at a time, up the stairs.  They aren't heavy, about 20 lbs. each.  Once upstairs and in the room, I had to screw the handles on - easy peasy.

Cleaned, empty space

That empty space sure makes it look like there is a lot of room.  Very deceptive.

one cabinet

The front of the cabinet is at the 30" from the wall mark - that's the depth of the table-top.  Notice the empty space behind.  That 12" space will be utterly wasted.  Keep this in mind.

two cabinets

It's beginning to look good.  That 12" floor space loss is still gnawing on me though.

handle and screws

The only assembly required was putting the handles on.  I had to find a Phillips head screwdriver.

three cabinets

Can you envision a work surface yet?  What I have come to realize, is they just might be a smidgen too high.  The cabinets measure 35.5 (more like 35.75) and the table-top will add another inch.  I won't have any back problems, but the top of my shoulder may grouse if I have to do a lot of cutting.  I could get a 1" - 1.5" thick board to stand on when cutting, which would really make it ideal.  I am not complaining.  Slightly too high is better then bending over with the back problems I've already experienced in recent years.

four cabinets

All four in place and handles attached.  There were no dents in any of them, and I also avoided adding any dents :)  Carrying them up the stairs though sure showed me how out of shape I am.  Especially the first two, but then I kind of got used to it.

Now, keeping in mind that 12" space behind the cabinets?  I'm going to recommend you go to my Webs of Threads site, because that actually deals with my quilting.  See you over there.

So Excited

I am SO over-the-top excited today.

If you've followed me here and on Webs of Threads, you may recall a few posts about how small my Creation Station is and my arrangement of furniture within.  

During the last couple weeks I've been considering an option that will kill two birds with one stone in giving much-needed storage space for my dozen or so genealogy records boxes (which includes easy access to the records), and I need to put my cutting table at a more ergonomic height.  I was at a local stationery store and saw the file cabinets.  Particularly the ones with three drawers.  They were displayed up on a shelf so I couldn't measure by standing next to them, so an aisle so away, I found a yardstick, lucky me!  The cabinet height measured 35.5"...seems good to me. 

That gave me the idea to put the cutting table top on four of them, giving me a total of 12 drawers for genealogy purposes.  The table top I use is a 30" x 60" heavy laminated top from an old metal desk.  The desk was scrapped as it was falling about, but I knew I wanted to keep the top specifically for this usage.  But first, I had to come home and measure, because I couldn't remember the dimensions of the top.  I wanted to make sure four cabinets would fit side by side under it...and they do will, perfectly.  

Taken from doorway

zoomed-in

Whew, I took a break, and got the area cleared.  Now I just need help of one of DH or son to lift that heavy top off, remove these two file cabinets, and unpack and bring in the new 3-drawer ones.  These old 2-drawers have that huge 'empty' area at the bottom which adds height, and the new ones don't so that's why the 3-drawers still only measure 35.5" high.  Add the inch of the table-top, and it's perfect height for cutting.  I use that thin grippy mat stuff between the cabinet and table-top so that there's no sliding.

For now, I'm resting, and I'll be finding lunch soon.  Maybe I'll go down and see about getting the cabinets out of their cardboard shipping containers (and hope none have dents!).  I may have to install the handles, so will take care of that too if need be.

I'll post finished pix later...or tomorrow.

Computer Insanity

I wrote about some of my computer issues on Saturday.  Some of those issues continued but hubs has my laptop working for now.  He's waiting to see if the problem returns once I shut it down.  I'm not planning on shutting it down until at least Friday night as I then know he'll be able to work on it Saturday if the problem does return. Any sooner and he wouldn't be able to work on it until he's "off work".

We also had to get our ISP involved on Monday as we had no internet or cable first thing in the morning and that will not work with Marty's working at home.  The tech found a couple problems outside in the neighborhood, and all has been sort-of good since.  This morning the TV had a lot of pixelation issues but that cleared after about an hour, and we dropped internet once, but it came back up within minutes...not a good thing that it dropped, but it was around the same time as the TV pixelation issue, so maybe a little behind-the-scenes work was still going on.

This evening my Dell is driving me insane!  I only use that laptop now for my Family Tree Maker, and only still use IT because it's FTM2006 and hasn't been updated...ever, on my machine, and won't run on my Win8 machine.  FTM is no longer being supported by Ancestry.com but has been taken up by another company just recently, but I haven't decided what to do going forward.  The Dell is so old, I'm afraid it's just going to poop out one of these days, so I need to decide soon regarding FTM - I'll probably purchase the newest version and load it onto my Lenovo Win8, but I'm not sure I can transfer the OLD data from the very OLD FTM to the newest version.  OK, that was a total rabbit trail.  So just what is it about the Dell that's driving me insane?  It's making a faint high-pitched mechanical-whine noise and what's really weird is, if I hold my head in one position, I don't hear it.  If I move my head slightly, it's there.  I've put my right ear on the keyboard and hear it, but I don't hear it with my left ear when I put it on the keyboard.  I'm ready to put my headphones on to block it out.  I've never noticed this sound before.  So is it the machine?  Am I insane?  Did my right ear hearing change in a day?  Do you have a spare white coat?

Love-Hate Relationship

I clearly have a love-hate relationship with computers & modern technology. Less than two years ago, my hubby replaced my old Dell laptop with a new Lenovo laptop.  The Dell was an XP which MicroSoft was no longer going to be supporting, and the Lenovo a wonderful (?) Win8 machine.

I got over the hurdle of learning Win8 for the most part, still don't much care for it.  XP was "perfect" for me, probably because I was so familiar with it for so many years.

A couple days ago, my laptop decided to not connect to the internet.  It had been fine the night before.  I had only closed the lid but had not shut it down, so there should have been no problem.  Not only did it not connect to the internet, it gave NO options of internet connections available at all.  It's done that once or twice, we seem to have issues with our wireless devices on occasion.  I thought I'd just restart it as that will cause it to reconnect, but not this time.  What I did get was an error message about a DPC Watchdog Violation.  This seems to be something common I discovered after Googling.  Husband's eventual work-around was to reset the computer back to March 6.  Unfortunately, Windows needed to do an update...as they so frequently do...and the fear was that it would revert the reset back to the current date...and it did. We're back to square one.

I'm without my laptop today.  Marty's off doing some photogging with his buddy and won't be back likely until after dark.  I have the downstairs desktop, but it's not the same.  I'd like to be working in my own little space, where I can have the TV on in the background.

Perhaps it's best.  I've plenty of housework to catch up on again and plenty of things I can DO, including working on Allietare so I'll have made progress for when Panda and I meet on Monday.  We didn't meet this week as she traveled out of state.

Nick & I took a break and strolled through an antique mall, something he seems to like to do on occasion and had asked to do some time back when I wasn't up to it.  I do enjoy that now & then; seeing things I grew up with now being called antiques though is a bit unsettling.

Remembering Mom

The 27th of February marked the 2nd year since my mom entered eternity.  The first 18 months were really rough, as you probably recall from some of my posts.  The travels back and forth between two states, spending weeks at a time away from home, dealing with my dad and his issues...and stories...and coming home to find more housework than ever took a toll on my entire being.

I'm really seeing in just recent weeks, that I'm returning to "me".  I'm working through things that have piled up.  I'm getting out with friends on a regular basis, and generally, most things are looking up.

This picture is my mom's senior picture.  She graduated in 1951.  

I always thought she was very pretty.  She had dark hair, and blue eyes.  I always disliked that I favored my bio-dad with brown hair and brown eyes - always wanted blue eyes.  I did get her wavy hair but didn't like it because, hey, I was a child of the 1960s when long straight hair was the fashion.  My hair was also very fine - like my dad's too - so very long and wavy in a damp climate (=frizz) was the bane I endured.  

My mom endured a sad life, mostly by her own choices.  The only things she seemed truly happy about was her horses when she had themm, and later in life spending time with her grandchildren.  In her final decade, we had finally reached a peaceful understanding of each other - there had been some very turbulent years that stretched into decades prior to that.  

I miss her greatly.  I miss our conversations.  I miss the familiarity that one has only with their mom.  I miss calling and asking her about her memories of her own childhood and family.  We lose so much when we lose our moms, even if the relationships haven't always been great.  I would love to have her here again.

Hello March

 [continuing on from Webs of Thread] {and still no Toaster Oven Tuesday item}

If you came over from WoT, you'll know I left off with having headed to the mall with Panda.  I don't get out much, so going to the mall was a big deal for me, not in a YIPPEE!! way, but it was interesting to see what stores were there and what was in them.  It had been at least two years since I'd been there.  We did quite a bit of walking around...oh my poor back and feet...I DO need to get out more!

To set the back story: last Monday while at Panda's we spent some time in the early evening watching a cooking show, Kid's Challenge or something, and I marveled at how much those 10-13 year old kids knew about working in the kitchen.  One of the items they made were French Macarons which I have never had (not to be confused with macaroons made with coconut). I know Judy @ Patchwork Times has blogged about them in the past but I don't recall if she gave what the ingredients were, so I watched these kids with rapt attention, and Panda was surprised I'd never had macarons and explained there was a kiosk that sells them at the mall.  We made plans to go to the mall at our next meeting, which was yesterday.

A few days after the show, I'd been to a local Trader Joe's and found some in the freezer department, a dozen for $4.99.  Not cheap, but overall less than the $2 apiece that Panda said they were at the mall.  There were six flavors in the frozen ones of which I preferred the coconut, the fig, and the apricot; the other three flavors didn't really stand out.  Now, the ones at the mall, she bought six of (actually $1.79 apiece or $11.xx for a box of 6). Hmmm, the '6' price is more than 6 x individual price...anyway, she got them and we found a table to sit at in the food court after also finding a Vietnamese food kiosk where she bought a Boba beverage - mango - also something I'd never had (remember, I don't get out much) which is juice that has tapioca and 'juice balls' in it.  Bizarre right?  But oh my, was it tasty, and of the macarons she bought, we split a coconut one - better than the frozen brand, and a strawberry cream cheese, which was very tasty.  

Then we wandered parts of the mall so she could go to a specific store for some facial products, we checked out the Disney store, a clothing store and Williams-Sonoma.  There were no crowds, and I wondered how these stores stay in business.  Shops in the mall can't be cheap to operate!  Maybe that accounts for their sky-high prices.  A LeCreuset oval pot at W-S was $345.00!  For ONE stinking pot with a lid!  Add sales tax to that and you're paying $380.00...for ONE pot! and a name brand! at an expensive 'name brand' store.  Growing up poor in the country in the 1950's I guess I just learned to be more frugal and I don't think I've ever bought anything because of the 'name' brand.  Stuff like that just isn't important to me.  Think of how much more fabric I could buy for $380!  Right?

Other activities of the past couple of weeks that have kept me busy have been getting back to a weekly meeting with my Padawan quilting student, and catching up with each other.  At home, I'm adjusting to Marty being a 'remote' employee (and the first paycheck hit the bank yesterday - always worth a smile).  We rearranged his desk into the master bedroom, but I have yet (with his help) to clean up and sort through the stuff that piled up on the floor downstairs where his desk had been.  Neither one of us have been diligent to get rid of things over the nearly two decades we've been married, and, add one teenager and all his accumulation too, and we seem to be overflowing.  I am INTENT (haven't forgotten about that word) to get a lot of this stuff out of here, but there are also things that could go back where they should be...if I had the cabinets.  

When we remodeled the two bathrooms, we had a cabinet above the toilet that has yet to be replaced, for my hair, make-up products, etc. .  Also, in my Creation Station, I still would like cabinetry along the one wall which will hold the stuff that now still sits out, as well as my genealogy files. 

An old friend, Shelby, spent the night back the end of January & will be spending tomorrow night here again.  With that in mind, I've been attempting to work through some of the overflow in the guest room.  And speaking of that, I need to get back at it.  When she was here before, I'd passed along a bunch of stuff that she could either use, sell or pass on to a women's shelter.  I have old clothes that are way too small for me now so will pass those on, and if I ever should lose weight, well, the mall is always there!

Owies, Shuffling and Cleaning

Nick went off to a friend's birthday celebration.  He won't be home until 9:00-ish.  Yesterday, he met another friend at a park he had to drive to.  He took his bike with him as the friend was riding his own and they planned on doing a little mountain biking.  He took a jump, landed it but then hit a rut/hole and went end over end.  We didn't know about that until he drove home and hobbled up the stairs to my Creation Station and said he needed to be bandaged up.  Dust was all over his clothes, the heels of the palms of both hands had ragged bare spots, a knee had a small scrape but his right arm had a good sized oozing scrape.  He told me he cleaned them all up the best he could in the park restroom with soap and water to remove the sand, dirt and grit.  He didn't hit his head but said the wind had been knocked out of him and when he finally caught his breath and attempted to stand felt like he was going to faint.  At home he was also complaining about finding it hard to take in very deep breaths though there were no marks on his back or abdomen, only some road rash on his right side above his hip.  A couple hours later we decided it couldn't hurt to go ahead and get an xray to make sure nothing was broken or punctured.  All was good, nothing broken.  He's just very sore and tender right now.

right palm

right arm - it looks worse in person and takes a 2" x 4" bandage to cover it

above hip

knee

None of these really look that bad, and they'll all heal up pretty quickly.  We're keeping bandages on the one on the arm as it's still oozy, and it stings when it isn't covered.  When he's typing or writing, that area hits the desktop too, so another good reason to keep it covered for awhile.

As I mentioned at WoT, Marty now works from home.  I had planned to discuss how to rearrange so that neither of us are bothering the other during his work-day and he brought it up himself earlier today.  He and I work and think totally opposite - often a problem.  His way of thinking was to just charge in like a bull in a china shop and start shuffling things around without a real plan.  In his mind of course, he had a little bit of a plan.  

My way of thinking would be to recognize what needed to be moved and how best to rearrange existing items in the room for everything to fit and function well. I would have drawn out a to-scale plan for that fit and layout.  This while recognizing that neither area, nor furnishings in them had been cleaned in eons, along with whole lot of clutter that hadn't been dealt with for a very long time.  I would have dealt with those issues first. Consideration had to be made for how the background and lighting for those times he'd be on video-conference calls too. 

While he was beginning to put his plan in action, and I was still trying to warm up to the whole idea of doing any of this today, and was dragging my feet wanting to do nothing but hang at the computer while I contemplated it.  Well, I finally felt I had to get off my duff and supervise (we have very different ways of cleaning too, and left to him - cleaning would be minimal).  Supervising meant grabbing the vacuum before too much dust started flying.  The brush attachment tackled the layer of dust sitting atop the furnishings and the vacuum tackled the floor with the help of the crevice tool.  Oh my there was a lot of dust and cat hair when some things were moved!!  A few cobwebs too!  The room as a whole is far from finished, but at least that little corner is clean and now houses his desk and computer.  It'll be a progression as he adds the small stuff. 

Marty's work area.

He will be getting an additional monitor and keyboard from his employer.  He needs to use the task light.  We both forgot that the overhead lights stopped working a long time ago.  Previous owners had installed two can lights in the ceiling directly above the head of where the bed would go.  We moved the bed and its orientation as well.  I would have liked to have this room painted before all this - hasn't been done since prior to 1992 - but Marty wasn't about to do that any time soon or wait for it to happen by me.  He'd wait a long time. 

This is the other corner to the right. That's my Sears Kenmore cabinet machine doing double solo duty as a nightstand.  Marty uses a C-Pap so that's the clunky machine there. 

Nothing else will get photographed in that room at this point.  So much to sort through and get rid of.  I have boxes of clothes that I've thought "I can wear those again when I lose...", well, we know how that goes, so it's probably time to get rid of them.  By this time, someone's bound to call them "retro" hehe. Marty & I both have boxes of stuff to sort through.

We haven't decided if we're doing anything tonight for Valentine's day.  My stomach has been giving me issues since Thursday night, so I'm trying to be careful about foods.  I don't want to go to the doctor, but the first couple days nearly did.  I'm thinking possible ulcer, but don't want to deal with the testing...not until I have the insurance cards in hand!  Marty asking what I might be able to eat, so I guess I'd better start thinking about that.