Part Two of Unprepared People and some creating

 Kara agreed to try on the rain poncho that Karsyn would have nothing to do with because "It got's no arms" Kara loved it, problem is, it needs to be longer :( back to the drawing board. All is not lost as I know the perfect place to send this too short poncho

 Yep, gonna have to make one that fits, she "willy, willy, rikes it"

 I stepped out of my comfort zone on this table topper. Lots of different quilting one each part of the mixer and extras

 Not sure but I think the quilting in this photo is called shadow quilting.

 Ditto on the mixing bowl

 Loop de loops on the sashing and border

Tonight I am working on hand binding, perfect To Do on this COLD winter night!!

 

What a great day Kara and I had today. Nothing better than hanging out with a toddler to put the world back in order. She was intrigued with the table topper I have been working on. "Nanny where de cookies go in dat machine?" When she was leaving this afternoon she wanted to take the little blanket (table topper) with her. No honey this one has too stay with Nanny.

 

We need to do a small grocery run tomorrow for milk, eggs, and fruit of course the free cookie from the bakery is the highlight of the trip. It was just too darn cold today to venture out. It's rare for me to get cold but when I am overtired and stressed I feel the cold weather down to my bones. BURRRR

 

On to the unprepared family member saga

 

Housing.

 

 "T" bought a home that was way overpriced 5 years ago with no down payment. She didn't have the house inspected, and depended on her newest hubby (BTW hubby #7, I kid you not) to pay half of the mortgage. DON"T DO THIS fell on deaf ears as usual. The marriage lasted close to two years, "T" was left holding the bag. She thought she was the winner, DUHHHH. Of course she couldn't make the payments on her income. She worked a deal (with the devil I think) so she was only paying 1/2 of the mortgage. Every December she was unable to pay the taxes of course. SELL THE HOUSE....no way. Last year was the end of it all for me, as far as the house goes. She let us know 3 days before the house was to be auctioned for back taxes that she had not made the payment. She needed us to pay it ASAP.

 

After checking around on the value of the house and the arrangement she had made with the lender hubby and I said NO. We say no reason to throw $800.00 into a black hole. We were very unpopular with many, how could you turn your back? Do the math folks it's a sinking ship.

 

She finally gave the house back for $1.00. They are allowing her to continue to live in the house until it sells for $400.00 rent which is VERY generous on their part.

 

Time to find someplace to live and FAST.

 

The area she lives in is a top University town, the cost of housing is over the top!! Gotta look into section 8 housing. She has been qualified and is now on the THREE year waiting list. That of course will not work for her. The rent would be 30% of her income which to me seems very high but that's the rule.

 

Knowing we are working with $360.00 for an apartment I search the Internet each day and give her a list of two possibilities to look at. Lots of "I can't live there the closets are not big enough, the piano won't fit, the kitchen is outdated". HEY hot shot it's all you can afford, we need to find a safe, affordable, one level place to lay your head each night, you don't have three years to wait. sigh

 

The other problem we are running into is her income. Because she is receiving such a small check each month they want a huge deposit $3,000.00-$4,000.00. Hubby and I have agreed to take care of that but who knows if she will pass the credit check :(, we are NOT going to co-sign on anything.

 

Yesterday when I checked in to see how the search went she had not gone looking. What the h... It is just too cold to be out running around looking at apartments. She has now decided she will start looking again in the spring when the weather is nicer (BTW she lives in the south).

 

Sound like fun to you?

 

OK, the reason I am sharing this not at all fun adventure is it just might be a wake up call to someone why planning for the future needs to begin TODAY. Our family member is as nutty as a fruitcake..... but...Any of us could find ourselves in her situation. Lose a job, become disabled, lose your home. We have all heard it on the nightly news, maybe some of you personally know someone who has faced a housing crises.

 

Folks you gotta save. No matter how small the amount might be we all need something put back. Wonder what your income from SS would be if you or a loved should become disabled? It is listed on your SS benefits statement or you can head over to the social security site to find out. You might very well be shocked! Could you live on that amount? Would you be able to stay in your home or apartment. Would you have a place to live for the years it might take to receive section 8 housing? 

 

Just writing this post gets me all wound up, need to go de- stress before bed as my sunshine will be here again tomorrow.