Progress

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This was one of those hectic filled weekends, with family parties and morning meetings. The kids had fun, but now we’re in the throes of Monday and I have to catch up.

The electrician and the carpenters are here to work on the kitchen and hang up the lighting fixtures in the living and dining rooms. After a few delays, I see that there’s progress.

We’re moving along. Here’s a peek at what we have going on:

The cabinets are being unpacked as I type, and our fabulous carpenters are trying to make sense of our crooked walls.

The electricians have hung one chandelier (I’ll post the picture later) in the dining room. But they need to add support for the one in the living room (the chandeliers are made of iron). Such a shame they have to break into the newly-repaired plaster ceiling.

Back to wrangling Lana and keeping her away from any sharp tools.

A Girl and Her Table

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Earlier last year, I heard about the furniture of Korean designer Kwak Chulan, and I was immediately taken by the beauty and energy of his tables:

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/read.php?CATEGORY_PK=&TOPIC_PK=2255

These tables were inspired by running horses, and they are poetry captured in form. So lovely.

Kwak’s tables made a lasting impression and when they came to my attention again, I decided to try and contact this brilliant young designer to inquire about his works of art.

We emailed back and forth, and I commissioned a table in walnut. It would taken several months, so I put it in the back of my mind and busied myself with the business of moving into our new home .

Kwak and I stayed in touch about the progress of the piece, and a few weeks ago, he let me know that my table was complete and would ship.

This morning the UPS man delivered this package to my door:

Kwak’s beautiful table arrived in perfect condition, and it is magnificent:


 
In an interesting twist of fate, since I had already contacted Kwak, I was able to put Neil Gaiman in touch with the designer when Neil expressed interest in Kwak’s tables on Twitter. Oh, what a small, small world.

So soon our table (dubbed the dancing table by my 2-year-old daughter), will have a sister table on a distant Scottish Isle. (Although I believe that his table will be a darker table, more distressed…as is appropriate.)

My youngest has claimed our dancing table for her own and has decided to stake her claim before her siblings get home from school.

I think she may stay under there all day.

Helping Haiti: Friends of the Children of Haiti (FOTCOH)

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It’s always a concern when donating to relief efforts whether or not the money will actually make it to the people who need it.

With the devastation in Haiti, I wasn’t sure to whom I should send money when one of the parents at my daughter’s grammar school sent this email:

This from Mrs. Laskey at Immaculate Conception:

"My uncle, Richard Hammond, runs a clinicin Haiti. He, my aunt Barb, and his team were there on
Tuesday when the earthquake hit, and luckily only his building was damaged. My uncle started out as a
deacon for St. Andrews Catholic Church in Bartonville, IL. He became aware of the poverty and lack of
medical assistance in Haiti, so he started going over there every year with medical supplies. He started
up an organization called, "Friends of the Children of Haiti" or FOTCOH. This organization is nonprofit
and the proceeds help with the medical supplies, food, water, and the running of the clinic. He and his
team go to Haiti several times a year with supplies and stay there running the clinic helping people who
walk for miles and miles to get the medical care. That is what they were doing when the earthquake hit
on Tuesday.

The devastation is beyond belief. There are far more injured than any hospital or clinic can handle. The
clinic is quickly running out of supplies and need donations to keep up with the demands for food,
water, and medical help.

To find out more about this organization, go to www.fotcoh.org . It will give instructions for donations.
This organization was also written up in today’s Peoria Journal Star for it’s outstanding
accomplishments. If you want to see the article in the Peoria Journal Star, go to www.pjstar.com for
January 14, find the subtitle "Luciano: Medical Team Can’t Wait to Help Haita" then click on "Will you
give Aid in the Haiti Earthquake Relief".

Thank you for getting the word out for this organization. It really does help the people it’s
intended to help.

Marilee Laskey