A Time of Healing

Thank you to everyone for your prayers during the passing of my mother.

Please allow me to give you a heads-up in case you have loved ones in a hospital during this most difficult time.

No one should have to endure what my mom and consequently we have gone through.  Being forced to lie dying in a hospital without family for seven days is unthinkable. When we were allowed to call, my mom would beg us to get her out, she said they were being mean to her. My mom was 82 years old and had one of the sharpest minds I know of.

We fought for a week trying to get the hospital to let one of us in to see her to no avail.

Thanks to hospice we were able to get my mom home where she died surrounded by her family. 

The trauma she went through at the hospital left her with fear, anxiety, and nightmares.  She was afraid to sleep and begged us not to leave her.

The trauma we've gone through as a result will forever stay with me.

I pray no one ever has to experience what she and we have gone through.

Let us not forget that this virus is about more than facts and statistics and numbers, especially for the elderly.

I am emotionally broken and need some time to heal.  I will return to blogging in a few days.

Thanks for understanding,
Patsi

Facing Financial Hardships, Day 7

Facing Financial Hardships

Day 7

by Patsy Norwood
(c) by patsy norwood  All rights reserved!

Our 'scenario' today is short but is not so sweet!  I want you to really put yourself into this scenario and think about some possible solutions.  

Here it is ...

Fast forward to the time when your mortgage or rent is due, can you pay it on time?  If not, what are you going to do?

What are your options?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~ 

I hope this series will be helpful to you.  If you're blessed by what you're reading and would consider financially contributing to it's writing, please do that by clicking on the donate button on the right side of A Working Pantry blog, no amount is too small.  Thank you in advance!

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

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If you like what you read it, please consider sharing with others, I'd be most appreciative!

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If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.   

Facing Financial Hardship, Day 6

Facing Financial Hardship, Day 6

 by Patsy Norwood

(c) by patsy norwood  All rights reserved!

Well you knew it was going to happen!  It seems like when you’re down that things just keep happening.  Last week it was a vehicle that needed repairs and this week Murphy is moving in as in Murphy’s Law which states that ‘anything that can go wrong will.’   Grab on to your hats and let’s get this week started …

Its early morning and you’re awakened by a sound; you clear your head enough to realize that it sounds like water!!!!  You get up and try to find where it’s coming from by following the sound that awoke you.  You discover that it is your hot water heater, its spewing water everywhere. You head for the water cut-off (you do know where your water cut-off is don’t you?) and turn off the water to your house.  You go back to the area where your hot water heat is and assess the damage.  Looking at the amount of water everywhere, it seems that it must have been spewing for several hours, maybe all night.  There is quite a bit of water damage and all you can see are dollar signs. 

Considering your financial situation, what are you going to do now?  Will your homeowners insurance pay for the repairs and damage?  If so, how are you going to cope between now and when the repairs are done?

What part of your home has been damaged?  Is your laundry area, kitchen, basement, upstairs?  How are you going to do laundry if the damage is in your laundry area?  How are you going to cook if the damage is in your kitchen area?  What about your basement, how does that affect your everyday living?  If the damage is upstairs, do you have ceiling damage?  

What are you going to do for hot water until the repairs are made, most importantly though, where is the money going to come from to get you through this “rough patch?”

I hope this series is helpful to you.  If you're blessed by what you're reading and would consider financially contributing to it's writing, please do that by clicking on the donate button on the right side of A Working Pantry blog, no amount is too small.  Thank you in advance!

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

Follow A Working Pantry on Pinterest

If you like what you read it, please consider sharing with others, I'd be most appreciative!

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.  

Facing Financial Hardships, Day 5

Let's recap our week ...

On Tuesday, we kicked the class off by being informed that we had just lost our largest source of income and what we would need to do immediately.

On Wednesday, we talked about what we would do with our last paycheck.

On Thursday, we talked about expenses we would need to cut from our budget.

On Friday, we talked about how to handle unexpected auto repairs on a reduced or zero budget.

It’s been a good week and I hope you've learned something that is helpful to you. 

I’ll meet you back here on Monday with day 6, enjoy your weekend!

I hope this series is helpful to you.  If you're blessed by what you're reading and would consider financially contributing to it's writing, please do that by clicking on the donate button on the right side of A Working Pantry blog, no amount is too small.  Thank you in advance!

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

Follow A Working Pantry on Pinterest

If you like what you read it, please consider sharing with others, I'd be most appreciative!

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.  

New Raised Bed

It was announced Friday by the governor of our state that a 'stay-at-home' order would go into affect starting Monday, March 30th and be in affect until April 29th.

Since we will be on lock down for a month, we made a run to the pharmacy at Sam's Club this morning to pick up needed prescriptions (The lock down does make exceptions for going to the pharmacy, grocery store, etc but our prescriptions were ready so we went to get them.)  We got there approximately 15 minutes before the store opened and the line to get in was already wrapped around the front and down one side of the building.  I sat in the vehicle and hubby waited in line to get in the store.  He wasn't in the store near as long as he stood in line outside the store and then we headed home. He said there was a limit of one on almost everything in the store.  It was surreal.

Once we got back home we headed outside to finish the raised bed that we started building yesterday.

We decided to put this one in the orchard area.  The small branches on the ground are from a bit of  pruning I did on some low hanging small limbs on one of our pear trees.

This is the finished product.  I planted Roma bush green beans in it and to keep the birds from eating the seeds and the squirrels/rabbits from eating the plants once they come up, we put a wire screen over the bed.  Once the beans get about 4 inches tall we'll switch to some kind of netting to protect the beans.

Our high temp was 89 degrees today, we had to turn on the AC this afternoon.

I wish I could say that I had good news to report on my mom, but it seems that things are not going well for her again.  In addition, we were told today that we need to limit our calls to her to one per day.  They suggested that since there were 3 of us sisters, that we take turns calling her.  One could call one day, another the next day and so on.  That would mean that each of us would get to talk to her once every 3 days.  This is heartbreaking to us.  I'm afraid of the effect this will have on our mom as she cries to see us now and when we tell her we all can't call her everyday, I don't know what her reaction will be.  Between the situation with my mom and this virus, I feel like I'm living in the twilight zone!

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

Follow A Working Pantry on Pinterest

If you like what you read it, please consider sharing with others, I'd be most appreciative!

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.  

Facing Financial Hardships, Day 4

 by Patsy Norwood

(c) by patsy norwood  All rights reserved!

Day 4 finds you in a better state of mind. You’ve contacted your creditors, had a family meeting to decide what needed to be cut in the way of expenses, and talked about some things you could sell. You’re being proactive and it feels pretty good. You're enjoying a few minutes of quite reflection when your hubby comes in the door with a scowl on his face and you know immediately that something is wrong. He turns to you with a dejected look and informs you that his vehicle won’t start. He goes on to explain that he has tried everything he knows to do and he can’t get it to run.

Facing Financial Hardships, Day 3

Facing Financial Hardships, Day 3

 by Patsy Norwood

(c) by patsy norwood  All rights reserved!

Its day 3 and you’re beginning to think a bit more clearly now and decide that you need to take a long hard look at your expenses. 

You have to cut and cut until you get your budget down to its bare bones.

Wood, Strawberries and Tomatoes!

I awoke to what turned out to be a beautiful sunshiny day today, something that I needed very much.  With the high temp reaching 68 and the sun bright and cheery, I spent most of the day outside working in the soil, planting and just rejuvenating my spirit.  It was the kind of day I needed!

Facing Financial Hardships, Day 2

Facing Financial Hardships
Day 2
 by Patsy Norwood
(c) by patsy norwood  All rights reserved!

Here's day 2 of our class on Facing Financial Hardships.  Throughout this class I'll be addressing the emotional side of financial hardships as well as the physical, in my opinion the emotional side can be just as debilitating.  Today, we start dealing with our emotions.

Facing Financial Hardships, Day 1

Today, I sat down and paid our bills and thanked God that I could do that, so many in our area aren't able to because of losing their jobs.  

With the idea that more and more are facing financial hardships I'm ready to introduce the material from the 'Facing Financial Hardships' class that I wrote and taught online a while back.

Here's the first entry ...