November has been rough

First it was the insurance mess, then the broken heater which meant of week of cold, now I've got another outbreak of shingles - worst yet. And so much to do before Thanksgiving! But enough complaining. I put a bunch of stuff in the store. First some Harvest Moon 2 Autumn color papers:

These papers are part of the current CAK so not included in 50% off sale. However, the packs of 4 papers are just $1 and the packs of 6 are $2. Next some element packs, overlay pack, and a template. All of these are included in the 50% off sale.

And I've got a CU4CU freebie for you too. It's a full size paper and a ribbon & button cluster:

You will find it here: http://www.4shared.com/zip/h1kJOCN8ce/ss4cu_freebie1117.html? Going to take a couple Bendryl on top of the anti-viral in hopes of being able to sleep. While I wait for it to work, I'll see what else I can finish up. Hugs!

Finally - a freebie! & new products added to store

I know, I haven't put up anything free in a while now but today there is something I created just for you. I've been working with the Harvest Moon CAK at Digi Style Designs so have autumn on my mind. Today I have a zip for you that contains a stacked autumn paper (full size), a fall leaf border, and a Poser fairy. All are personal use only, please.

Hope you like this odd little mix. Pick it up here: http://www.4shared.com/zip/6k-vLjbmba/ws_autumn_mix.html?

Sorry for the rant about health insurance etc but I wound up with anxiety. Our dear New York Life insurance guru and financial advisor, Mr. Stuart Birkel, is working on finding me a Medicare Advantage program to tide me over until I can go for a Medicare Supplement plan. The part for the heater is on the way and we hope it will be here before Thursday when weather will turn bad.

Here are the new products I just added to the store:

Don't forget everything except for this month's CAK items are 50% off all month.

It's Been Lovely . . . NOT!

Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed. This past Saturday was one of those. It was cold in the house when I got up and my husband questioned whether I'd left the AC on. No, I'd changed the thermostat to "heat" because temperatures were dropping. No time to investigate though because we had to attend a meeting at his employer about changes to health insurance that will take place in January. About 2 years ago, his company dropped insurance with Anthem to go with Optima because premiums were lower. Every one is trying to save money. We expected to hear about an increase in the monthly premiums for next year. We were unprepared to learn that the regular HMO and PPO plans we had in the past would not be offered. All the company is offering employees are HMO and PPO plans with high deductibles and a Health Savings Plan. No more just paying co-pays for doctor visits or prescriptions. New plan would carry a $6,000 family deductible! If we could participate in the Health Savings Plan (HSA), the company would contribute $3,000 to the plan this first year (no promise on years to come) and we'd have to pay about $300/month into the plan plus the insurance premium. They tried to convince us this was a good thing - lower monthly premiums and the HSA would be in place to pay off the out-of-pocket expenses. Except, if employee or family member on plan has any other insurance (including Medicare), then you can't have a HSA and you pay everything out-of-pocket until you meet deductible. I have Medicare because I'm disabled. So I have to be dropped from the insurance so my husband can do single policy and HSA for his expenses. I don't have Medicare RX policy because I've had his policy and now to get on the Medicare RX plan, I'd pay a stiff penalty. We've had to contact our NY Life man who is a financial advisor and see if he can come up with a Medicare Advantage plan for me. To make matters worse, we have to make a decision by the 17th! Then we get home and discover the heating unit is kaput! No heat since Saturday (Friday night really) and the weather is turning colder. Today BIL checked out the problem and learned it's a part he called the "squirrel cage" that needs to be replaced. He can do that for us but the part had to be ordered and will be at least 3 days getting here. And guess what? weather forecast tonight says possible snow by Thursday! I could go to my father's to stay but both he and his girlfriend are sick with respiratory infections and that's what I'm trying to avoid. When it rains . . . When I'm not under quilts in bed, I've been spending a lot of time in PC room which is small and has the heat of 2 computers. Finished up some things that were in process and plan to put together some freebies for you tomorrow. Maybe a sort of grab bag but definitely something and previews of what's going in store too. Be patient please, I haven't forgotten you.

New products, family news, and freebie

Hope everyone had a nice July 4 holiday? I know some had big plans with family and friends. Our grandson, Tyler, and his family went to TN on vacation. My LV friend, Stacey, was preparing for a big family get together. My husband was beginning a vacation that was not so relaxing for him.

(thanks to cheyOkota fro lovely divider here) We've had some pretty bad thunderstorms of late with heavy downpours, lightening strikes and hail. I wasn't able to get much done on computer but at least we didn't lose power like some people did. We even had small tornadoes touch down in Virginia Beach with lots of damage and some serious injuries. And here in Norfolk, one touched down at the cemetery where my mother is buried. It toppled and broke headstones, tore down some trees and did other damage. Fortunately, my parent's marker is a flat one of polished granite that is level to ground. However, it has a bronze vase for flowers and when Dad went to check for damage, he found the vase had been pulled up and was a few feet away - with flowers still in it!

During John's "vacation" he did some painting of house trim and arranged for BIL to come over and repair the damaged wood around garage door frame. He also got his Chrysler ready to turn over to Tyler. We had it waiting for him at his house when they got back today. It's in good shape for an older car and should serve Tyler well for some years. He also cooked two nice meals to which he invited my father and Miss June. Dad is a very picky eater so usually won't agree to come for a meal. He'd rather go to a fast food place and get a hamburger or BLT! So I made him and I BLTs the night John made chicken cacciatre. I don't like it because of the texture of the chicken in the sauce but John was pleased to have June enjoy it with him. Tonight it was homemade barbeque with purchased coleslaw, rolls, and potato salad. We did have homemade deviled eggs though and Dad surprised us by eating well. Sent them home with a bag of leftovers so they won't have to eat out a night or two.

One more bit of family news. We are getting a new addition to our household. Our niece, Rachel, will be taking us up on the offer to live here while she goes to college at Old Dominion University. It will be easier on her than driving back and forth to Suffolk every day. Raci is a delight and I'm looking forward to having her here. She's coming by in the morning so we can start working on making my spare room livable. Right now both closets are stuffed with various craft supplies and things we didn't have any other place to store. I will finally be forced to deal with sorting, organizing and deciding what to give away or throw away to make room for her clothes and whatever else she is bringing. I expect to be quite tired over next couple weeks lol.

I did finish up a few items for my Color Stash collection.

These were added to store tonight. You can find them here: http://digistyledesigns.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=85 While I was in purple mode, I made a free CU paper for you:

You will find it here: http://www.4shared.com/zip/GsL3bN3Mba/ss4cu_CS_Purple_freepaper.html? Expecting more severe thunderstorms over next few days so if you don't see me on line, that will be why. Hugs!

A few new Serene CU products

I've really enjoyed the colors and theme of my (Wonderland Scraps) recent Serenity kit. there were other ideas I had for the kit but finally had to tell myself, Stop & load the kit already. That done and a set of stacked papers loaded too, I went back to play with the items in my 4 Serenity folder once I got the PC fixed. the result is a set of borders, a set of frames, and a set of clusters. Previews and links below.

http://digistyledesigns.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_207&products_id=14031

http://digistyledesigns.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_207&products_id=14030

http://digistyledesigns.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_207&products_id=14029 Working on ideas for 2 other collections but we've got vacation and our 18th anniversary coming up so it won't be right away.