Here I've been feeling sorry for myself the last week or so, well, actually more like feeling really scared and worried with all the things going wrong and the mounting bills, or what will be mounting bills. Now I have finally been able to 'let go' of the worry and just accept it as it is. "This too shall pass" and somehow all will work out, all will be taken care of, but only if I let go of the worry and trust in the Universe to provide for me.
It was very stressful and worrying to have to take Cherry Chinchilla to the vet or have her die. How would I pay the bill? $380 plus gas for the truck for 2 trips down there and back (no vet in my city works with 'exotic' animals, so had to drive to next town south of here). Force feeding her with a syringe and giving her medicine with another syringe for nearly a week now has kept her alive but she is not showing any signs of eating/drinking on her own yet, and not pooping yet either. I am taking her back tomorrow, if I can get in, so the bill could grow. I had to put the bill on my credit card so will have to pay major interest on it until it's paid off.
Before the vet trip, there was a problem with my truck that has not gone away. The emergency brake got frozen on and I couldn't drive forward. Eventually I got it to break free so I could drive, however, it keeps re-freezing which means the back wheels freeze in place and won't move. With it in 4 wheel drive I am able, after awhile, to get the wheels to break free and work again but this is not good and it is getting harder to get it to work each time. I need to take it to the mechanic, but so far have not had a chance to do so, due to all else that has been happening.
Friday the pellet stove stopped working. Well, actually I shut it off as it was not burning right. The auger was putting pellets into the burning box, but they weren't burning properly which is a sign they are not getting enough air, usually due to the stove needing a deep cleaning. I took it apart and cleaned deep inside, yes there was a build up of ash inside, but not enough that it should have caused so much problem... and I had cleaned it in September so it should not have needed another cleaning. They usually only need to be deep cleaned like that once a year. Once I had it cleaned out I figured it would work good again, but now the auger isn't working for some reason, so it's not feeding pellets into the burning box, so now working at all. With 3 ton of pellets sitting in my carport I am using my natural gas furnace which is going to be a very expensive thing. If the auger motor is burned out again, like it was 2 years ago, it will cost about $300 to fix it.
Saturday morning the water pipes under my home froze and broke. I tried to shut off the valve under there (crawled under on my belly in the water then nearly froze getting from there to back inside the house) but it won't shut off. The water is gushing out full blast underneath my mobile home. The city has to shut the water off for the plumber to be able to fix the broken and frozen pipes, however, the plumbers are all too busy to come do the work and the city guys said that if they shut the water off in these cold temperatures, it will freeze all the way down the line and my problems will be largely multiplied, so they are leaving it run until the plumber comes to do the work. Well, this is good as I don't want more problems, and I at least still have running water in my home, so could be worse, however, I don't think that having the ground under my home getting this soaked is a good thing, and the wood on which the home sits, etc.
Last night I lost my house keys and the keys to the Centre... again. Lost them a couple months ago too and had to get new ones cut.
Dan left here the other day... on the run. He can't handle problems and I think he was scared this 'bad luck' would transfer to him if he stayed around. He was going away for Christmas, leaving today and won't be back until sometime in January. I thought I'd hear from him before he left, but I didn't hear a word. There's about 7 1/2 feet of my living room floor done (laminate), so that's about 80 square feet of the 720 sq. ft. to be done. By the time he comes back to continue the work I hope he thinks my bad luck streak is past.
So... with all this 'stuff' happening in my life, why do I say I am fortunate?? It's like this. I have a home and a truck and pets, and not everyone does. There are many people out there that are homeless, and I've seen on the TV news that people have been dying from the cold as they live on the streets. Also, I am fortunate that I have a credit card to use for these unexpected bills. Not everyone has credit cards or credit. I am also fortunate compared to my cousin Janet. Last week, her home burned to the ground.
Janet lived alone in her house where she had lived with her husband, Charlie... up until he died of cancer several years ago now. They had 3 sons, and one of them passed away before Charlie, of a brain tumor that he had gotten removed as a child years earlier and it eventually grew back and was unable to be removed that time. Janet barely got out of her home in her nightgown and slippers with her dog and a bag in which she had her medications. Everything else was a total loss, including her 4 cats and her vehicle which she bought new just a couple years ago. Thank God she got out, and with her dog whom she loves very much and tells everything to (good thing the dog can't talk human). Janet has a very big heart and loves cats and other animals... she lives much further north in BC than I do and it gets much colder than it does here, and this month it has been setting records for cold temperatures all over BC. Well, Janet had a heat lamp outside, above her woodpile, for the stray cats so they wouldn't freeze, and there was some kind of electrical short in that light, thus the fire.
A few years ago now, my younger brother had his home burn to the ground too. He had some kind of heat lamp in his garage for his dogs & cats and no one was home when that light started the fire.
Yup.... I am very fortunate. I am sitting in my home, typing on my computer which has internet connection, watching cable TV with my dog laying near me and all my other pets in the house too. We are warm, though using the natural gas furnace rather than the pellet stove. We have lights and such too, as well as food to eat. Yes, there is a flood going on under my home, but it's not happening inside my home. Yes, I am very fortunate, and somehow all will sort itself out in time. The Universe (God) takes care of me.
2 comments:
You know, I was going to tell you that we used a heat light in our dog's house when I was a kid, but then I thought better of it, because they can be really dangerous. I know that dad checked ours for frayed wires or signs of heat damage every week. I think the space blanket was a much better idea.
How are your trailer pipes wrapped? Did you have heat tape?
I'm sorry for your struggles ... glad you see you're fortunate even so. Counting our blessings in times of difficulty and challenge helps us and others in a myriad of ways. I'll add you to my prayer list and close by wishing you a Merry Christmas.
Hugs and blessings,
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