Our house.

2011 is coming to an end quickly. I am reflecting on a lot of things and trying to put everything that has happened over the past year and a half into perspective. It seems like some major changes loom on the horizon and while I really dislike change, sometimes it can’t be helped.

My dad in the hospital.

As some of you know, my dad came to live with us in September 2010 due to numerous medical conditions that left him unable to work or live alone. He lived in a rental home, so we had to move his things here as quickly as possible. That was a pure nightmare trying to find room for his things without literally moving our own things out. He wanted his own items and I am sure it was tough for him as well when he found out many of his items would not be coming into the house.

The week before Christmas 2010 I found him unconscious on the floor in his room. He was airlifted to Fort Wayne where he remained for several weeks before being sent to a nursing home where he resided until the Saturday after Thanksgiving 2011.

During the time he was in the nursing home we struggled to get our finances back on track. Buying medicine and special food for someone can sure cost a lot when they don’t have insurance. We finally got the bills caught up and was able to hire someone to fix our roof. I left for the Garden Writers Symposium. Things were looking up – then all hell broke out.

We put a tarp over the roof to try to block the rain.

I came home – after being gone just a week – to find the entire roof torn off our home. Yip – nothing was up there. The roofer had stashed stolen property here on top of all that. When he got caught he informed me he was not going to put the roof on. He laughed. He said he knew my husband couldn’t do it. He knew we would have no heat. He didn’t give a damn. After all, he wasn’t getting everything he wanted from me. Unfortunately I had trusted him and had already given him money, a chainsaw and food in good faith.

So, we bought a tarp. We hoped it would hold the rain out until tax time when we could hire someone else. Needless to say, the tarp didn’t help. I was at my wit’s end when I got the call from the nursing home about my dad. Yip – no 30 day notice, nothing other than he was leaving that day. Period – and no, they did not have to find a place to send him.

My dad – with dementia – walked out of the dining room door at the nursing home and wandered in the woods for 3 1/2 hours until some deer hunters spotted him. Thank goodness they didn’t shoot him. They called the police, who called me. By the time I got there he was laying down close to the water. He was ok though.

The next step was to get his medication. The nursing home would not give it to me. I had to take him to the ER to get his insulin. I could not afford all of his medication, so I just bought the insulin. Monday I took him to the Dr. who wrote him new prescriptions. I explained to the Meijer pharmacist what had happened and he made the appropriate phone calls to get us help with his first round of medications. I was so grateful!

Six days later Jerry lost his job. A job he had worked for 9 years and the one we relied on for income. They did not pay him his accrued hours and so far he has not received any unemployment compensation. The nursing home still has not issued a refund to my dad. It seems most programs around here have a year and a half waiting list, but there are some wonderful people in the community working on trying to find a way to help us get a roof on our house. There were also some wonderful people who came forward to help us through the holiday season. The bills are paid for this month thanks to their generosity and we have plenty of food to eat.

It is one day at a time from here on out. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but we will deal with things as they happen. There isn’t much else we can do at this point.

Beauty eating hay.

I hope we will not have to sell the animals due to this situation. That would almost be more than I could deal with after everything we have been through to keep them. We have hay for now and I hope we can find a way to keep buying hay. It is $4 a bale here and they eat a bale a day. I did set up a fundraiser several months ago when feed costs went up hoping to keep our head above water. I never dreamed when I set it up that we would be in dire need later in the year.

My Christmas present from Jerry was an aquaponics set-up made from items we already had on hand and he is working on finishing the large tunnel house. We started with 12 small Tilapia, known as fingerlings and a 20-gallon fish tank.

As long as we can keep the house, we will be fine – and that is our main goal. I don’t want to lose the vehicles because that will put us at a real disadvantage, but the house is more important. My dad is getting along ok this time – much better than he was before.

Due to these unexpected changes, I have discontinued my Blog Talk Radio Show and I am seriously considering stopping the weekly #homesteadchat unless I can find some volunteers to help moderate it. Caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves is a 24/7 job. Finding time to do anything on a set schedule is becoming increasingly difficult.I do not have any family I can get to help out.

We have also started taking Jerry’s mom back and forth to work again, plus we take her to other places she needs to go such as the grocery store and pharmacy since she does not drive and his father is unable to drive due to illness. The stress level is quite high here and I just feel like there isn’t enough hours in the day. I don’t feel like I am getting enough sleep and I always seem to have a headache. Hopefully once I can get outside and start planting again that will relieve some of the stress.

Jerry is looking for a job – and is taking on freelance jobs such as website design – but jobs in this area are hard to find. If you know of any computer-related jobs in the Grant County, Indiana area, please let us know. The sooner he can get back to work, the better.

I hope all of you have a safe and happy holiday season – and please do stay in touch. I know things are hard for all of us right now, but as long as we have a place to live and can continue to grow our own food, there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel!