Let's Kickstart!

Please take a moment and watch this kickstarter video that was created by my friend Rogers Hellman. He's an IT guy that I know from church, who has been working on developing an eMR (electronic medical record) that is ideal for the developing world and the inherent issues and challenges in the field of healthcare delivery. It's a pretty powerful tool with some neat features!


Here is the Kickstarter Project page.

This is going to make a difference in so many people's lives in Nigeria and Tanzania, and hopefully save some lives too!

As someone who lived in Liberia for a year (yes, the very same country that is in the center of the 2014 Ebola outbreak) and who ended up going to nursing school because of my experiences in Liberia... I have seen the extremes!

This software not only benefits the local clinics (storing and tracking medical record data), but also can provide real-time data to epidemiologists who could easily spot and track clustered diseases and enable the ministries of health to act immediately! Too bad Rogers' work wasn't already implemented in the countries that have been affected by the Ebola outbreak!

I do have an ulterior motive for sharing. I think this kickstarter project is bigger than just raising funds for the Nigeria and Tanzania installation. I'm hopeful that somehow, someway, just the right person will discover Rogers work and help take it to the next level. Personally, I am way more excited about building interest in this software and hoping to see it installed and put in hundreds of clinics in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, etc...   I wish I had more connections to help facilitate people learning about this software. So I'm starting with you.

Here are some questions for you...

Do you know someone interested or already involved in providing healthcare services in developing countries?
Do you know someone interested/already working in the field of epidemiology?
Do you know someone who has connections in the world of health NGOS or funding parters like the World Bank, UNICEF, USAID?
Do you know someone who is working on a similar project?
Do you know a software engineer who has an interest in aiding the developing world?
Do you know a medical student or PhD student in epidemiology who is looking for study data?
Do you know anyone working in a rural clinic in Africa or South or Central America who would be interested in implementing some sort of  electronic medical record system?
Do you know anyone who has a particular passion for a specific country, like Nigeria, Tanzania, Liberia, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Haiti?

If so, I want you to share this Kickstarter project with them. I'm hoping it might spark some interest. Imagine the possibilities. This might be just the solution that your friend or the friend of your friend is looking for!

Sure. Of course. Rogers would very much like you and your friends to also contribute money to this kickstarter project to help the clinics in Tanzania and Nigeria. Of course. So please share, please tweet, please like, please pass along!

Thank you!

Feeling Productive!

Thanks to seven straight days off earlier this month, I was able to spend time working on some projects I've wanted/needed to do since my move in early October. I painted some furniture, restored a piece of furniture that I inherited and made a Roman shade for my kitchen window.

I inherited an antique "bookshelf" from my grandparents over five years ago. It was falling apart because it's actually a modular shelf made of six different pieces (base, case #1, door #1, case #2, door #2 and top) and therefore had gotten a lot of abuse over the years. My dad and I spent a while working to restore the integrity of it (gluing, nailing, adding supports) and then I cleaned it up with some wood cleaner, added a touch of stain to scarred areas and then added a little polish to it. Part of the design is that doors slide up and into the case. The doors originally had glass in them, but as you can see, I put in plaid covered inserts (thin paneling). Now I have a nice little storage case. It's been done for about two weeks and I've yet to decide what to put inside. The doors are still a bit fragile because the grooved tracks have worn out. So whatever I put inside will be stuff I don't need on a regular basis. But I LOVE the plaid fabric- it really "crisped" up the design of this piece. I wasn't exactly sure where it was going to end up, but it fits PERFECTLY on this wall!

And here's the picture of the Roman Shade. Yes, it's plaid too! (I'm a bit of a plaid freak!) I was originally planning to use "ring tape" but the ring tape my mom had was irregular, so I ended up having to hand sew the rings on the shade. It was a LOT of work, but I'm so thrilled with how it turned out! I still need to hang a lift-cord anchor on the wall. Right now I'm simply using a clip attached to an adjacent flower pot. I keep forgetting to go by Lowe's.




...and tonight, in less than two hours, I turned a beloved sweater into a Christmas stocking! This is a thick, wool petite (hits just below the waist) sweater that simply was too hot to wear with a shirt under it and too itchy to wear alone. I've owned it for a number of years and dutifully pull it out with my winter clothes every year, but I'm hard pressed to remember the last time I wore it. So today, it's now part of my knit Christmas stocking collection. I think this makes either #4 or #5!!

The point is to use the hem of the sweater as the top finished edge of the stocking, so while I'm a tiny bit disappointed at the position of the colored areas (wish it was higher), it was VERY easy to do and I'm pleased with my first attempt to re-purpose a favorite sweater! Thanks Pinterest!

It's been years since I've done any pleasure sewing. It feels really good to use my creative side, and even better to produce something I end up loving!! I have some left over plaid fabric from the above projects, so I'm contemplating how I might use the leftovers along with a bunch of other plaid fabric I have collected over the years. Maybe my first quilt? or a quilted wall hanging? or a braided rug like this, or a fabric seat belt cover (I'm short, these are a life saver!) or perhaps one of these? Hmm?

Off-Topic | Little Red Haired Girl

I love being a "Little Red-Haired Girl."  Enjoy this short video.



Whenever I watch one of Charlie Brown's monologues about the Little Red Haired Girl, I get all marshmallowy inside and think "Aww...he has it bad, she has no idea how big CB's heart is for her. If she knew, I think she'd like him too... he just needs the courage to take that step towards her."

--Aww, hoping my "Charlie Brown" makes a move soon. :}