It has been way too long since I have been on here regularly

[Deb2of9]

I have been reading but not posting much the last few months. So much has been happening, that there are many times that I just seem so overwhelmed.

 

A lot of you know that a couple of years ago, I had to move because my landlord went bankrupt. I was so happy to find a place in the country on an acre close to my daughter and her family. Well first about 6 months after I moved, my daughter lost her house. I don't mean she lost it to the bank, but that the house was falling apart on her. She had to move to a rental place where she lost her yard and room for a garden. With seven children, not being able to have a garden is a big problem. As you may guess, her food bills had to go up. So here I had moved so it wouldn't take me over an hour to go see her or the grandkids, and she had to move 20 minutes away from me. My sister-in-law who lived in that town moved the next summer. She and her husband built a cabin about 20 minutes in the other direction. Every one I had moved close to had moved away.

 

We have had so much going on the past couple of years. Several of my grandkids, my daughter and her husband have ended up in the hospital, even my little niece ended up in the hospital and we came close to losing her, but instead she pulled through, only missing a leg.

 

I lost my job. It seems that life just keeps on hitting you sometimes, and it is times like those that you learn to appreciate even more your friends both close at hand and online. Well, this year I lost the house I had moved to two years before. This time the place was foreclosed on. Two landlords who failed to pay their bills, so I lost my home, even though I took care of mine.

 

Well, I know that God uses all things for good. I have moved and am getting settled in at a new home. The internet is difficult at times. It works when and if it wants to, but I should be able to be on here more often again. This place I found is great and I know that God found it for me. I am still renting. It was pure chance ( and a lot of help from God) that I found this place. I had my daughter take me around to some of the side roads out here to see if there were any rentals. We almost turned down another road instead of this one, but we didn't and it was driving by that we spotted this place. He had even pulled the ad that was in the paper to rewrite it. It is an older (1991) single wide trailer that is not in the best of shape. Everything is electric which is a problem if the power goes out, which it will since that happens a few times a year in this area. It is on six and a half beautiful acres. The driveway is 1/8th of a mile long. It is amost all fields, but there are woods behind it and on the other across two fields on either side.

 

My neighbors not only let me walk on their property, they have given us permission to forage in the wooded area where there are at least three different types of berries. I have planted blackberry, blueberry, and rasberry since I moved here last month along with two plum trees. ( I found them at the farmers market and couldn't resist.) I have not been able to get a garden started yet, but will at least do a raised bed and get it started next week. He told me no cows or horses, but I can do just about anything else I want out here.

 

I am loving it. I see so much potential. The best thing is, that when I can do it, he will sell it to me. He has several rental properties and all of them are closer to where he lives. His ex-fiance bought this place and needed money so she sold it to him. It is about 40 minutes from his place, so he really doesn't care about keeping it. He has a local guy that he sends to do repairs and otherwise told me I won't see him unless I fail to pay the rent. The trailer is barely livable. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but the wiring for the dryer is messed up, the hot water heater has to be reset in order to refill, the cupboards are in bad shape, in fact one of the shelves in the pantry collasped when I put my food on it. There are a lot of little things like that, not to mention that there was trash all over the yard when I moved in. He couldn't imagine why he couldn't rent the place, but one look at the place told me the answer. The way he was maintaining it was obvious that he would not be there and didn't care about the place. I on the other hand saw the potential. ( being desperate to move because I only had a month to find a place helped there.) I see this as a place that I want to live for the rest of my life. It is close enough to town to get there if you need to quickly ( 5 minute drive) but isolated at the same time.

 

My neighbors are great. Two of them came over one day and mowed my yard for me. One of them keeps my driveway ( and all of the other driveways) plowed in the winter for free. It seems like the community where everyone looks after each other without being overly nosey. Just the type of area I want to live in. It goes to show that if you trust in God and have patiences, things will work out for the best.

 

Now all I have to do is find a job before my unemployment runs out. Even that, when you think about it, I started prepping seriously about four years ago. I have not really been hurting since losing my job. Short of cash, yes, but we have everything we need. I look at my cupboards and after seven months I still have lots of food and even alot of the other little neccessities. Although I may prep for the bigger problems that may come up as well, it is times like this, illness, job loss, even being snowed in like I was this past winter, that shows that it always helps to be prepared. We may never see a major catastrophe, but every one of us is bound to have those short term emergencies that make you glad you were ready for anything. I am so glad I found this site a few years ago and I will try to get on here more often. Life is good and having good friends like those of you on this board make it even better.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ambergris]

Welcome home, Deb!

[Cat]

Wow, it sounds like you've had WAAAAY too much going on in your life. Thank goodness you can see the plusses instead of only the minuses, because that helps you get through.

 

So have you ended up closer to your daughter again in your newest move? Sounds like you have great neighbors.

 

I sure hope you can find a good, steady job. Even child care in someone's home might be a good choice.

 

Welcome home, Deb2of9!

 

 

 

 

 

[snapshotmiki]

Sure glad you're back and have landed on your feet after all your trials! God does provide!

[Mt_Rider]

Glad to hear an update from you Deb. How is that neice of yours? I think of her from time to time and pray for her.

 

I know what it's like to move into a trailer with barely a solid floor in it. BTDT Fortunately, my brother and a friend came in and did a massive renovation. They brought in cupboards that they'd taken OUT of someone else's house. Their old ones were an upgrade for me. The carpet was salvaged out of a dumpster from an office renovation. In good shape.

 

Perhaps you can stumble upon some provisions like those as you slowly upgrade. How is this going to be come winter? Or the heat of summer, for that matter. The old ones don't have much insulation. The land around sounds wonderful though. It makes up for a lot of shortcomings on old housing!

 

Praying that you find work!

MtRider

[Deb2of9]

I am closer to my daughter again. We are only about 5 minutes away from each other now. I am outside of the same small town but she is on the opposite side of it than me. It is great to be closer to them again. Just before I moved her husband had another heart attack. We were in the middle of packing and I had to rush over there on dark country roads so she could get to the hospital with him. What a difference it was on Monday when my grand-daughter broke her finger. I was able to get there very quickly so they could take her to the hospital. I definately like living closer better. We are about 5 miles apart.

 

My neice is doing good. I just saw her again today. She had been very active always trying to do for herself before. Even though she couldn't get around well, she didn't let it stop her. Since she lost her leg she had stopped trying. She just sits there and does nothing. Well today we were at my sisters for her annual Memorial Weekend cookout. Rose was out there keeping up with the other kids, even when they went up the hill. Her Mom said it was good to see her playing with the other kids because she had stopped trying to do things on her own. It is good to see her back to being just a kid. It was not safe to be around her today, I will tell you. No one that got close came away dry. They were having a water gun fight.

My sister has given me some ideas about fixing this place up. I am torn about how much that I want to do. After all it is a rental, but I do want to fix it up so that it will be more comfortable to live in and more affordable. Poor insulation drives up the utility bill. I have no idea how it will be in the winter, but as for the summer it is hot. He told us that the breeze was so good up here on top of the hill that we wouldn't need the air conditioning. What he forgot to mention is that it depends on what way the wind is blowing, most of the windows don't have screens and the air doesn't work anyway. We kept losing the cats our first few days here. Turned out there was a hole under the sink. The cats would go under the sink and slip out the hole in the floor. We have that fixed now. I will fix what I can. I do plan on staying here and I want to make it the best home I can while I am here. Then, God willing, when the time is right, I will buy it off him. It is such a great location not only in relation to the towns nearby, but also in the layout of the land and the wonderful neighbors. i know I will be happy here for a long long time. My daughter didn't like that I was investing in fruit bushes and trees so soon. She said we should make sure we are here a year first. I told her that it was worth it to me to spend a few dollars on them when I don't plan to leave. If we leave too soon, i could dig them up and transplante them. IF not, we will be blessed by having wonder ful fruit next year or the year after. If I wait till next year it will be that much longer before we have them. It cost me $5 a betty bush and $10 a tree. That is a small investment and I believe it is well worth it.

[Annarchy]

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