Ripple Effects

Bugs won't be able to pay her rent this month, after squeaking by for the last few. They are going to be evicted.
She found a complex that is subsidized rent, not quite 'the projects',  filled out an application, and things looks promising at first. This morning she calls in tears. She was not accepted because she has two cats.
So now a difficult decision must be made. Letting go of the kitties.

Boo will be heartbroken. So will Bugs. But if it comes down to finding a place to live for cheap, as opposed to living in your car.......

To think that all this could be avoided. Seven years ago.
If only....

If only Daddy would have kept his promises...
If only Daddy wouldn't have turned to drugs and theft and fraud...
If only he would have kept a job and paid his child support....

And here we are holding the proverbial bag.

For six years Bugs has kept up her part of the deal, always worked, never on welfare or food stamps.
Of course she had the Mom and Dad ATM handy.

Now the Mom and Dad ATM is empty.
Mom and Dad had to file chapter 7. Mom and Dad had to surrender their home...

Daddy's parents have split up...lots of anger in that family because of Daddy...

Bugs' car accident really was the last drop in the bucket....everything fell apart...

And now we hear that Daddy finished his rehab, and is coming home from prison this month. And his Mom has these insane suggestions...asked Bugs to HELP him get on his feet??...give him a job??...

You've got to be kidding!

And I am feeling that I really can't say much about all this. When I was Bugs' age, I went through a tornado of bad decisions and consequences thereof. I KNOW what she is going through. I also know that life goes on and you get out of the muck eventually.
All I can do is encourage her, listen to her complaining. But we can no longer help her financially. We can't help her raising her child. She is on her own. Time to put on the big girl panties.

We have our own problems. I am secretly glad not to be so close to town anymore. So I won't be tempted to jump in the car at a moments' notice.

I need to concentrate now on OUR little time left together, Wheelie and me. Who knows how long he still has on this earth. For now he is doing well, we're at some sort of plateau.
But it's only a matter of time for the next crisis to arrive. I want to be ready for that. I want to be rested and have my brain together and my wits about me.

And I have to just depend on our Higher Powers.

Ripple effects...amazing

SGMKJ!

Who do I know in Malaysia?

I found a link on this blog where you can see how often and how many people read your blog, and where they are located.
Apparently, someone in Malaysia reads it a LOT. I find that kind of weird. I don't know anyone from that country!

Anyway, here we are January 7. The past two days were very cold here. The so-called Polar Vortex reached all the way down to Georgia.
This morning it was 7degrees F. which translate into MINUS 15 degrees Celsius.
It has not been this cold here in a long long time, and all the schools are closed. Kind of ridiculous, the sun was shining brightly, and it was dry.
Buncha wusses down here!
Tomorrow it will get warmer again, I can't wait to hear the school buses come and go around 7 in the morning.

And look what I found on my balcony this afternoon! If the window had been open I could have touched it.
Living on the top floor will bring us new friends, ones that would not come down below. This guy is just beautiful and I hope he stops by often.

Across the street there are some grassy fields in front of the school. Every morning about 12 Canada geese come down. It's a joy to watch. At first they all stand absolutely still, all facing the same direction. After about 3 minutes one of them will start to peck on the grass, and all the others will then follow.
They don't stick around for long, after about 30 minutes they fly back to  lake Allatoona, which is behind us somewhere.

At the Lodge we had a newcomer's orientation today. Got to meet our new neighbors. Everyone is so happy to be here. And they should. It's a great place.
I am probably the youngest person here, but it's just so 'gezellig' to be able to stop and talk to people.

We spent a quiet day at home. Me crocheting my 33rd afghan, and reading a new book, well, an old book, but after a while you forget what it was, so I read it again. Wheelie doing his routine of reading the paper, watching TV and playing Solitaire on the computer, and both of us taking a few naps.
We watched an old movie I got from the library. We had a yummy dinner, watched Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, and that was the day.

Totally peaceful, away from all the drama, the stress. We earned this little piece of heaven.

SGMKJ!

ps: People in Malaysia, make yourself knows, I am curious as to who you are!

Slowly but surely

 Hard to believe it's January 4th already.
The holidays went by quietly. But it was nice and quietly.
I managed to disassemble the tree myself, and was able to stow everything in a small closet.
Then, when no one was watching, I moved the two bookcases around, schlepped the CD cabinet out of the big closet.
It is starting to feel like home. It's cozy, it's compact, it's convenient. I love my new washer and dryer, which come with the apartment. They work like a charm. No more scary hot dyer operations with the faulty exhaust. I don't recommend front loaders to anyone, they might look terrific and imposing, but give me the old fashioned top loader washer anytime.
There are still curtains/drapes to be hung. Haven't found any yet that I like. But there's no hurry. We're high up, and we have nobody across the street.
I'm a happy camper. Finally there isn't the stress of worrying about the upkeep of the house, the worry something might break down, like the heater. Here they take care of all that. Just one call and they show up on your doorstep. Such a relief!

 We did not stay up on new year's eve. There was a big to-do downstairs, but neither one of us felt like party-ing. We are still getting to know the neighbors, slowly.....
On January 1st we decided to put the CDs back on the shelves. Even though I packed them in order (haha) it was a mess. We had to sort them out and alphabetize them again. Thank God we only have one unit left.
As opposed of the 15 or so we used to have. Now all we need is a stereo. But we can play the music on the DVD player or the computer. It will have to do for now.

I think Wheelie was relieved that he can access his Cd's again, without having to go in the closet or the garage.
I don't miss the old house at all. I drove by it the other day. We still get mail there. The USPS didn't get my change of address info. I was promised it would happen soon. The house looked empty, sad, but soon someone will call it home again.

I sit in my chair here and marvel at how well we did this move. How everything came together just right.
No longer feeling the stress and the anxiety, even being away from Bugs is helping immensely to calm my nerves.
It's just me and Wheelie now. And it's great! We probably seem like an old boring couple, but there is contentment in the air, a feeling of yes, this is good!

SGMKJ!