keljonma's Front Porch - Settling in and adjusting

[Dace]

Hmmm....prayers coming your way for a sign of what to do next. It is clear that where you currently are living is a challenge...perhaps something to be learned some how there. New place sounds perfect for you...how far would the drive be to DH's work? Is that not even a possibility?

These challenges in life perplex me but I guess it is not for us to always see the answers up front, they seem to reveal them selves over time.

 

[delia_peterson]

You talked about door and window quilts in "getting ready for winter thread", can you explain these?

Thank you!

 

[keljonma]

Delia, When we were kids (grew up in NE Ohio), my folks used to insulate an unused door during the winter by covering it with some old woolen blankets sewn together. Even though the door was insulated the best it could be, there were still drafts from that door; the blankets helped block the drafts. These were temporary and came down in spring. At Christmas time, my mother would cover the blanket with a large white tablecloth covered with a poinsettia design , but the rest of winter they were just plain white blankets. We have always done 'something' along the same lines.

Then in the early 90's I read an article in Countryside magazine about making window quilts. The same idea that my parents used, only fancier.

The author made quilts to fit her windows to completely cover the opening. The article stated that the window quilt could be covered with drapery or curtains at night, if desired, for additional insulation.

The back of the quilt, which would be the side seen from the outside, was white sheeting. The batting was the warmest batting that could be found. The front of the quilt, which would be seen from inside the house could be whatever material you have on hand. It could be one piece of blanket or a pieced quilt top; it could be one color or many. The quilts were tied or hand or machine quilted for stability.

In the original article the author rigged up a couple of ways to open the quilts during the day to let the sun shine into the house.

One way was to hang them like a Roman shade with a draw cord to pull the bottom of the quilt towards the top (much like a mini-blind).

Another way was to hem curtain rod pockets in the top and bottom of the quilt and run dowels through them. Large hooks were placed in the wall by the top of the quilt edge to hold the dowels. The quilt would be pulled up to the top (as if to fold it in half) and the bottom dowel would be hung in the hook. Then as dusk came, the quilt bottom was lowered again to keep the heat in the house and the cold out.

The author tried to use all cotton materials, so that the quilts could be laundered.

In another article I saw, the quilts were made with mylar (like automotive windshield sun deflectors) to be used in summer to keep the heat out of the house during the day.

I hope that explains it well enough. What I have done in the past is to cover the windows with plastic window film and cover with a quilt. I have found that flannel backed tablecloths make an effective, inexpensive window quilt backing in a pinch.

 

[keljonma]

Hmmm....prayers coming your way for a sign of what to do next. It is clear that where you currently are living is a challenge...perhaps something to be learned some how there. New place sounds perfect for you...how far would the drive be to DH's work? Is that not even a possibility?

These challenges in life perplex me but I guess it is not for us to always see the answers up front, they seem to reveal them selves over time.

Thanks, Dace, for the prayers. They are always welcome.

The place we are at now is definitely different. I really thought we were here to make it a safer place to live. We have done what we could, and the landlord did accept a few changes that were needed. But he is not interested in making any more of changes that we have suggested to make this a safer, healthier, more efficient place to live. Right now the water cannot be used for drinking, cooking, baking, preserving, etc. The toilet works when it feels like it, some days not at all. The two main doors don't close properly and 90% of the windows don't open or don't close or don't do either. There are more I could list, but why should we all be depressed? We offered to make some of the changes in exchange for a portion of the rent, but he really just wants the money. When he sent his Mr. Fix-It the last two times, we found out that *I* know more about fixing some things than this guy.

Unfortunately, the new place would be too far for dh to continue working at the hospital he is at now.

 

[Grumpy Pumpkin]

I am new to SS but stumbled upon your "Front Porch" this evening. I have been reading most of this and felt like I had to respond. You do not know me (being so new) but hopefully in the future that will change. I read or at least skimmed through most of the 171 pages that so far make up the saga. I am sorry for the tough time you are having right now and sorry to hear that you had to move from your home. I know that is tough. Let me give you alittle background on where I am coming from here.

5 years ago what a different picture would have been painted. We just sold our townhouse and bought a house. We just started our second business. I was about to quit my job to try and have our second baby. Money hand over fist. My biggest headache was that my three year old broke the fancy cupholders in my BMW. Boy, was I stupid.

Within the last year things have sure changed. We sold our fancy cars for a stripped down minivan (because I eventually did have baby #2), lost our business due to hard times and not being able to afford the lease, worked our payment arrangements for our house so we could keep it, my credit card was shut off and who knows how many other payments we are behind on. I now clean houses while the kids are occupied with school. The only frivoulous thing I spend on is private school because I am a firm believer that your kids get out of life what you put into them. I now want them to have a firm christian background. I have many friends in the same boat while others just spend and don't care. I feel your pain....I have watched the things I care about go.

In all of this, I do want to give you some encouragement. No matter what they are, they are material. There is more of them. Do we seem to get what we need, yes. Are we taught lessons the hard way, yes. Will I ever own another frivoullous BMW again, even with money permitting, no. Because I learned that it was a waste back then. Did I have to lose quite so much to learn this, probably. And when I am up late at night, worrying about all the things I have and don't have and who I owe what to, I think about the funny things my kids did today and the smiles we shared. I think about my husband and how although sometimes I'd like to beat him until he cries uncle, he is a good man. Tiny things seem big to the right person. Tiny smiles, tiny hugs, tiny moments....

The week we lost our business, my daughter had a strange occurance at home. We were playing and out of nowhere grabbed her neck and fell to the floor. She is two. She couldn't move. I called 911. I was scared to death. Turnes out, sprained neck from us swing a chain like a jump rope. But I had really been suffering emotionally that week with the business and all. After her little scare, it didn't seem so bad. I was thankful it was so simple of a problem and the recovery went well. Tiny things....I guess we should never put our hands to our forehead and ask if it can get worse, because it always can. Another lesson learned. I believe you have strong feelings toward Christ from reading your posts. I turned to him just a few months ago. I do believe in life lessons and that things can't be all butter and sweet cream or we all would go to heaven as saints, right?

As you can probably tell, I am a talker so I will wrap this up. I really just wanted to say I feel for you and will keep you in my prayers. I hope that things work out for you in the near future and pray for you to have the stregnth to hold on. Thank you for sharing your story with us on here. I really enjoyed reading it, well not so much the sad parts. But I did understand and relate to some of it. And it makes me feel hopeful that you are trudging on, that is all we can do in times like these.

 

[keljonma]

Hello, GP! Welcome to my front porch! I am just having coffee and some leftover Sausage Cheese Muffins for breakfast.

Thank you for your comments and your prayers. I think prayers are vital to life. I hope as a new Christian, you take the opportunity to take some Bible studies. There are many out there. We really got a lot out of the many studies written by Max Lucado - Just Like Jesus and Experiencing The Heart Of Jesus were two of my favorites. My dh and I took a 13-week study called Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. As long-time Christians, it really made us review our relationship with God and how to make it better and more personal. It is a course I highly recommend. Beth Moore has some excellent studies for men and women, although her focus is women's studies. Even though I was familiar with the stories of David, Beth's study, A Heart Like David, helped me take each section of his story and apply it to myself. It helped reaffirm that although we all are imperfect, God's love for us is eternal. We are saved by His Grace.

I hear you on the lifestyle changes. I am pretty good at letting the past go. Though, occasionally sad about the gads of money we spent when we were younger on inconsequential/material things, and silly things like going out to eat, we don't hang on to any dream of going back to that lifestyle. We are happier people now. But if I had that money, I have a long list to use it on - mostly food ministries in the community...and selfishly, a new pressure canner.

The week we lost our business, my daughter had a strange occurance at home. We were playing and out of nowhere grabbed her neck and fell to the floor. She is two. She couldn't move. I called 911. I was scared to death. Turnes out, sprained neck from us swing a chain like a jump rope. But I had really been suffering emotionally that week with the business and all. After her little scare, it didn't seem so bad. I was thankful it was so simple of a problem and the recovery went well.

All those things you mentioned, are so true. Material things do not matter. Your daughter's incident probably helped put that into focus for you. People and our relationship with God are really the only permanent "things", and everything else is temporary. You might enjoy Ortberg's book When The Game Is Over, It All Goes Back In The Box. He is a good writer with a wonderful sense of humor. You might be able to find it a church or public library, or at a half-price book shop, or yard sale.

I hope you did not get any sense that we are desparately sad here. I think frustrated would be the right word. In general, we are pretty happy people. I should probably put more of that aspect of my personality on my front porch, since I write about it in my private journaling.

We arrived at our new place with the thought that we were here for a purpose. We weren't sure what that purpose was until we realized that this place needs work for safety and health reasons. It could also be a more environmentally and energy efficient place to live if just a small bit of money were put into it. It is on a very nice large lot on a dead end lane. While we have not lived this close to people in a long time, we were apartment dwellers for two years. And before that lived in subdivisions and neighborhoods in Texas and Ohio. So I don't mind the neighbors. Although truthfully, I was not fond of living next door to 7 German Shepherds when we first moved here. But now that the neighbors only have 3 GS's, the noise isn't as bad.

Most of our frustration comes from the fact that the landlord doesn't care about this property, which is only one of seven that he owns. We can't imagine owning a piece of property and not caring for it. So we do what we can with little or no money spent. The indoor plastic window kits we had were purchased over a year ago at a year-end close out sale. At the time, we got enough kits for 20 windows for $5. So we've covered the windows, but the back door doesn't shut properly because a previous tenant kicked the bottom of it in anger so it is twisted. As I've mentioned before here on my front porch, we've considered covering the door with 4 mil plastic and a door quilt if we stay. The landlord had Mr. Fix-It push the door closed and put one of those laughable "security chains" on the door (instead of replacing the door) because he said he didn't want to spend money on a door.

I guess we should never put our hands to our forehead and ask if it can get worse, because it always can.

We learned in a study we took, you should never ask for patience, because God will not give you patience. He will give you the opportunity to practice patience.

I do believe in life lessons and that things can't be all butter and sweet cream or we all would go to heaven as saints, right?

I don't think any of the saints had an easy life. Stephen was stoned, Paul beaten and imprisoned numerous times, Peter was crucified.

We find comfort by leaning on Jesus 24/7 here, GP. I found at times when I feel overwhelmed that if I Let Go And Let God (take control), I have a feeling of calm and reassurance like no other. I will not pretend that this is an easy thing to do. By the grace of God, we have been blessed in many ways.

I hope you dont feel that Ive been preaching, because that has not been my intention. Feel free to visit and chat any time.

 

[Farmfresh]

Hello there Grumpy Pumpkin and welcome to Sufficient Self from another Christian.

There are lots of us around here. You have picked a good journal to begin reading on. Keljonma really inspires us all.

 

[keljonma]

10/9/09 - Friday
48 when we woke this morning, 50 now at 8:30am, and our high is supposed to be 58 today. The rain started right after dinner last night, when we went to do laundry.

The laundromat was packed! Luckily, we only had two loads to wash and dry. DH was out of work scrubs, and I wanted to get some clothes ready for next week-end, when I will be away at Koinonia Retreat for Women.

DH is working today but off all week-end. Saturday morning we will be at Habitat House and Sunday is ServeFest right after the 15 minute worship service.

I am doing all my week-end cards today.

 

[keljonma]

Good morning, FF! I know you can't have any Sausage Cheese Muffins, but I can warm up some Brown Rice Cranberry Salad for you.

Thanks for those kind words! I would hope to inspire others, but some days, my journaling is meant to inspire me to get into my devotions and Bible study.

 

[Farmfresh]

Sounds GREAT! I love cranberries!

No, I guess I had better not. I have to get dress and go to work pronto. I'll just have to eat a quick fried egg and off to the salt mines!