Alone Again....Naturally

Well, my marriage didn't work out.  No need to go into details, but he has moved on, and I am taking it one day at a time.

I've been alone before, so I know how to do it.  I just need to keep myself busy, and focus on the important things.  Right now, the most important thing is getting caught up on my bills.  I'm blessed, because I don't have any credit cards or small loans.  Just basic stuff.  My house, my car, groceries, gas, electricity, water, phone, medicine, taxes, doctor bills, and car insurance.  This month, I've been working on catching up on my house and car payments, because they are not quite current.

Since I needed to catch up on bills, I decided to sell a lot of the spinning fiber I have collected over the years.  Originally, I bought it all, intending to spend many hours making yarn on my spinning wheel.  But, it has not been touched since I bought it.  Seemed silly to hold onto something I wasn't using, while I was behind on my house payment.

So, I found the right place on Ravelry to list them for sale, and was able to sell them all!  What a relief!  The fiber was beautiful, but I didn't feel bad about mailing it away.  Now, I am getting on top of my finances, and feeling much better about my situation.  I still have a small amount of spinning fiber left in my craft room, and I still have my wheel and tools.  If I find that I'm still not using them, I will sell all of it.

Every day is busy with teaching piano lessons, practicing music for church, helping my parents when they need me, knitting, crocheting, making knit & crochet videos, blogging, moderating the forum on the Bernat Yarn website, and checking in on the Knitting Help Forum.   It's easy to stay on top of housecleaning, since it's just me here. 

I'm careful about my grocery purchases, trying to only buy things I know I will use - and looking for specials at the grocery store.  If I need to go shopping for clothes, I go to Goodwill or Salvation Army - always find great deals there.  Some of the clothes still have the tags on them from when they were originally purchased in retail stores!

I don't entertain, so my home is very basic.  And since it's just me here, I can arrange everything anyway I want.  I have changed the living room into a music room, hoping to teach lessons in my home one day.  I have an organ, a piano, and a keyboard.  I also have a music stand for singing or playing other instruments.

There is a nice, high back chair in the living room, for sitting and knitting while watching television.  I don't have cable, but I enjoy watching Netflix on my Wii.  I also have a few games to play on the Wii and Gamecube.  And I have a nice selection of videos and DVDs for watching, as well....I've gotten most of those at thrift stores over the years.  Recently, I found a nice little rocking chair at a thrift store for $30.  I just love rocking there to rest and relax.

Since I have allergies and asthma, I don't have a pet.  Along those lines, I decided to remove all the carpet in my house.  It was just collecting dust and dirt, and the vacuum cleaner could not get it all.  Pulling up the carpet made lots of dust fly in the air, and I got sick of course, but when it was removed, everything just improved.  I cleaned the floors, and put down vinyl stick on tiles, and learned how to make shoe molding to finish the edges.  So far, I've done the flooring in 3 rooms, and they look great! 

I still have one room left to do, so I need to get that done.  There is also a hole in the ceiling in that room, so that's step one.  I have no idea how to fix a ceiling hole, and I don't know how much it will cost to get it repaired.  Just waiting a while on that one.  For now, it's stuffed with polyester fiberfill. :P  When the ceiling is repaired, I will paint it.  Then I want to paint the walls in that room.  Next, the last bit of carpet will come out of the house!  I'm looking forward to getting that done, and putting the flooring in there.

The last thing I will need to get done is the flooring in the hallway.  There is a split going all the way up the hall, and I have no IDEA how to repair that.  So, I'm wanting to get a flooring company in here to do the hallway.  I will also have them install the transitions from the hallway to each room's floor, because I don't know how to do that either.

I've been blessed recently with a piano student who trades home repair work for lessons.  What a wonderful thing!  So far, he has fixed the light in my oven vent, checked my attic for repairs to the central air system, helped me find where a squirrel has been getting into my attic, and fixed a leak in the tub faucet.  I wish I could find more students who would trade repair work for lessons, because there are a lot of things I need to get fixed. 

Here's the list of things I need to have done:

Repair hole in ceiling
Install strong wire guard in attic to keep out squirrels and birds
Repair floor in hallway
Remove everything from garage, so it can be tossed or sold
Remove and replace siding on garage (termite damage)
Remove and replace garage door and side door
Repair roofing on garage

Remove and replace counter top and backsplash in kitchen
Replace kitchen sink and hardware (I already have the new stuff)
Replace bathroom light fixture (I have new one)
Install steps at back of house, or make a deck at that location. (prefer deck)
Check on driveway and make repairs
Install new post for mailbox
Repair steps at side of house
Repair door frame at side of house
Remove storm windows

Paint exterior of house
Install new storm windows
Install new storm doors
Install new back door
Add weather-proofing around doors and windows
Replace bathtub

I know I can't get it all fixed right now, but I can dream!  It would be so nice to have it all repaired. 

For now, I will just keep surviving the best I can.  My craft room is a comfort to me.  I enjoy going in there, and finding a new project to work on.  Sometimes, I will sit there in my glider rocker, and work on a project while listening to books on tape.  I have gotten most of my audiobooks at thrift stores, but I will occasionally check one out from the library.  It's fun "reading" a book while crafting.  I am accomplishing two things at once!

So, don't worry about me.  I'm okay.  I get lonely occasionally, but I have some good friends that I enjoy spending time with.  And I see piano students, family, and church people every week.  And best of all, I can talk to the Lord all day long.  He has been so close to me through this.  I thank God every day for being my companion and savior.

Talk soon!