For many years my mother worked in sales and lived out of a suitcase as she traveled country, but that didn't stop her from doing some of most beautiful needlepoint and cross-stitch work I've ever seen. When she retired, she quickly filled up walls of her home and kept local frame shop in business. After she had given favorites to her children and filled every white space in her home, she decided to start making quilts, but instead of just sewing pieces of fabric together, she cross-stitched or needlepointed squares that would be sewn together by town's quilting expert.

I was recipient of one of these beautiful quilts but because my children were small, I didn't want to leave it out on a bed where it might get smeared with peanut butter and jelly, or even worse, colored with crayons or a permanent marker. Instead, I folded it up and put it in my closet inside a plastic zippered bag that my bedspread had come in.

Well, when Mom came to visit next time, she went looking for that quilt. I assured her that it was packed away and that nothing could harm it. After all, it was sealed in plastic. Nothing could get to it. Boy, was I wrong!

I learned a lesson from Mom about how to store quilts:

1. Don't ever store them in plastic of any kind! It doesn't matter that your bedspread came in it. It's not same.

2. Don't store them in humid or hot climates. If temperature feels good to you, then it's okay for your quilt. If you live in Houston you shouldn't even own a quilt!

3. Don't store quilts in attics or garages. It makes a comfy bed for rodents and insects.

Instead, you should:

1. Store your quilt in a pillowcase or sheet, or roll it onto a muslin-covered tube.

2. Place a piece of fabric between pillowcase or sheet and your quilt to protect it from acids in wood.

3. Twice a year, when humidity is low and air is blowing, air your quilt outside, out of direct sunlight.

4. Mark your calendar to refold your quilt every 3-4 months so you won't make a permanent crease in it. Crumple up some acid-free tissue paper to help eliminate fold lines.

If you feel comfortable in displaying or actually using your quilts (and isn't that why we make them?), you'll want to follow these guidelines to make your quilt last longer and help retain its beauty.

1. Keep your quilts away from direct light. The sun will make them fade and will age fabric.

You see it every day on news. You get up and turn tv on in morning and learn that while you were sleeping, others were involved in accidents that caused their death. As one friend put it, "You watch news and think that somehow your family is protected from these tragedies. After all, these people don't live in your neighborhood. They come from a different social class. They were in wrong place at wrong time." It wasn't until his 21 year-old sister was killed in a skiing accident that he realized that all of his justifications were wrong. Your family most certainly can be affected.

Donna had asked her husband to write some things down for her before his flight to Middle East several years ago. He scratched some things out on back of an envelope and told her she was being silly. He returned from that trip, but a few short months later was killed by a drunk driver.

At least Donna had something to start with, but she wasn't prepared for all of questions funeral home fired at her. She knew what bank accounts they had, and had helped with paying bills over years, but what about funeral arrangements? Did he want to be buried in Louisiana with his parents, or here in Texas where she and her family lived? cremation or burial? What about obituary for newspaper? Did she have all of accurate information they needed to write it?

Her emotions were raw as she tried to deal with reality of it all. Was this all just a bad dream that would soon end? She just wanted to go home and grieve, but there were too many things to think about.