And I don’t feel like singing.
This year has been tough for many reasons, health, health insurance changes, lack of time to work on our Mountain Farmlet and lack of money for same. The other day I said in passing that it couldn’t get any worse and the lady I was speaking to looked at me and said: “Never say that! It can get worse…”
Well, I’m not one to think that way, but sure enough it is worse.
Bob came home recently and told me he had been let go at his work. Made redundant as some would say. He looked stunned and sad. I didn’t look in the mirror, but I’m certain that I did too. The letter of termination said “… terminated, effective immediately due to lack of work for his skill set.” Strangely, it was dated from January of this year. I guess the owner was hoping for things to gain speed. Under the circumstances it was a delay that certainly benefited us over these past months.
We are not yet certain about what we will do. We have been discouraged about how things have been going, and see this as a possible opportunity to really dig in and get some work done on the mountain and here in town. We have recently offered to sell a bit off the top (so to speak) of our land to the neighbor that lives above us. The land is on the other side of the access road, adjacent to his property and would give him some road frontage. He was interested! He has offered to help us with repairs in exchange for the property. If done this is a win/win for all of us. It also means that the section on his side will be properly maintained and make a better view for all.
In the meantime, we are getting rid of anything we don’t want or need. If it is superfluous it is out’a here!
Translation: YARD SALE, Ebay, and Etsy.
We remain optimistic and look forward to reducing, repairing, and relocating to the Mountain Farmlet.
Here for your viewing is some of what we discovered after the big windstorm, but first some fun stuff. 😀
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- Along the trail I found a very large paw print,
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- a rather large fungus,
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- and Shagbark Hickory nuts!
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- There was an antenna up there. We found it in the north paddock…
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- Bridge out!
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- Tree down.
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- Maple I think.
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- Fence is damaged and the pine has been topped. It just missed the new plantings.
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- We are down too, but not for long!
At the moment, we are very grateful that the little house was not damaged and that the new roof did not blow away!
Life on the Farmlet 
Really sorry to hear this. Hope things get better for you both. At least your neighbour sounds nice.
Thank you, Emily, I have to believe they will. 🙂 Yes, he is very nice!
Your great attitude is a great place to start. I love that you’re minimalizing. Peace and wisdom to both of you!
Diana xo
Thank you for your encouragement, Diana!
I’m so sorry to hear the news. There’s a lot of that going around. My employer reduced nearly 30% of our headcount here in February. I survived, but a lot of good people were let go, including my VP.
Nancy
We are just hoping it gets no worse before it gets better, Nancy. It has been scary to hear and see what is going on with small, and lately even large businesses, here and everywhere. I’m glad to know that you were spared.
Hey you- Goose lady here. I wanted to let you know that you are not alone in these challenges or the resulting decisions. I too am liquidating everything I don’t absolutely need in order to have some kind of life again. I opened the B&B this year and have been booked every weekend in October (Oktoberfest is big here) and everything in it is for sale as well. If in 2 years if I end up with just enough to put into a truck and drive away it will be a success. Family issues here closed the goose business. I am reopening it next year without that family member, along with turkeys and chickens. But that is next year. And who knows what will happen by then.
We are all doing what we can, right? And selling off my “stuff” is actually making me feel better to rid myself of things that otherwise I have had to care for and when they leave, they go to people who actually want them! Right now I resent feeling buried in possessions. Soon I will be free of them. And able to make decisions.
I just wanted to give you a “heads up” as I, and many of my friends, are all going thru these times (painfully!!) and I worry for all of us and always hope for the best. And I will keep you in my thoughts. All we can do sometimes is keep moving!! And don’t forget to take care of yourself.
And PS here is the bed and breakfast site http://www.gosherdcottage.com
Connie
Connie, your B and B is stunning! I wasn’t sure what you meant about the business aspect. Your hard work shows, and again it is stunning!
I can’t believe you are out of the goose business (even temporarily). Will you restart where you are? Or have you had to relocate as well? Please send me an email and let me know what’s up on your end.
Thank you for sharing, and for your kind advice.
xo, L
My sympathies. It’s a shitty feeling and you are entitled to feel perfectly miserable for a bit. But as you correctly point out, it does present some opportunities to do all those things you haven’t had time for before. You have an optimistic nature, a positive attitude, and I don’t believe this development will keep you down for long.
Thank you, Kate! It was a shocker, but we do have plans and ideas in the works. I even took this opportunity to start a winter garden in my raised beds! It is just above freezing enough here in winter that we can grow with hoop houses over the RBG’s. Nope, not taking this one laying down! 😉
Great positive attitude!
😀
What a series of blows both metaphorical and literal. I am impressed that you are so very resilient and I hope that things move a little more your way over the coming weeks. If a virtual sympathetic pat on the back would help (or even a digital hug) consider yourself both patted and hugged.
Hugs and pats are always welcome, even virtual ones, Tom, thank you! We have plans, we have plan B’s, we are not on the street, and don’t expect to be there. So we’re good.
😀
I’m so sorry that you have had so many difficult challenges this year. I wish you both peace, love, hope, joy and a way to cope with whatever comes up.
We’re OK, Lillian, just a bit off kilter I guess. Your wishes for us are well received, thank you!
You always amaze me with your wonderful attitude, Lynda. Your positive thoughts and wise resourcefulness will serve you well during this transition. Hopefully, it will be a mild winter and you’ll be able to use this time to whip the mountain farmlet into shape and get moved!!
We are devising a plan, Lori. It involves setting up the hot water heater so we can spend the night when we go up to work. This would give us two days of work for the price of one trip there and back again. 😀 It has been very exhausting driving up, working our backsides off, and then driving home again afterwards. The bedroom on the house is separate from the rest of the structure. It has a nice setup in the bath… so long as we have hot water. We also need to get the mice blocked out so they don’t eat our (your) bed! HA! I bought some cute rugs to put on the floor in the bath and they just chewed them to ribbons when I was away because of my knee surgery. That did not make me happy.
We will find our way. We have to make this work.
What an awful shock that must have been and I believe your farm window is very slowly opening..almost time i think.. how wonderful that you have that land.. what a relief that must be, c
Celi, it most certainly was! It has been a week now that he has been home and he has been working outside every day. The weather has been glorious and cool. I think it was a needed tonic for him too. 😀
Yes, the land and the little farmhouse are a whole lot of work, but we own the place outright and that is a comfort.
Lynda – wishing you all the best in this challenge. And I believe the best is yet to come.
Curt, thank you, and I hope that you are correct! We need a few things to go our way, and soon.
🙂
You’re right, no body is singing yet. It’s time for you to write your own song. Go for it and keep us posted. When things get tough, that’s when we learn the most about ourselves. Some days we learn how much we need to learn, other days, we thrive. We’re all behind you and rooting you on. Your in our thoughts and hearts and you deal with this rough patch ahead.
Thank you, Carolyn! It is comforting to know that so many of my blogging friends are out there cheering us on. 🙂
Oh, my goodness, I am stunned! Sounds like they delayed it as long as possible, but what a shock. I honestly don’t know what to say right now. Feeling for the both of you so.
Thank you, Kathee. Yes, we were surprised and grateful that it didn’t happen in January as his boss first planned.
Thinking of you both. Hang in there, it WILL get better.
Thank you, Deb!
What a disappointment for Bob. Sounds like you’re finding a few slivers of silver lining though.
Annie, we are searching diligently for the silver bits to be sure! And yes, it has been a shocker for Bob, but he is very strong in spirit.
Aw, sorry to hear about Bob’s being laid off… what a bummer 😦
Yup. He was looking for another job for a while now because he felt the business was unstable, but he hadn’t found anything yet. Knowing or suspecting that a thing is going to happen is still a shocker when it does arrive. Kinda like a Jack in the Box! 😯
Sorry to hear your news. I truly believe that when one door closes another opens.
Anita, YES! We do too! It is just a bit nerve shattering sometimes. 😉
Sometimes after the darkest times in our lives pass, we look back and see the opportunities, the changes, and the good that these times can bring. I hope that is the case for you. It is so very difficult to go through these dark times though. I have had a similar year. The best to you, keep your spirit alive and looking up.
Carolyn, I’m sorry you are have a rough year too. It would seem that there are many who share our woes this year. I do agree with your statement about looking back and seeing the good that was there along with the difficulties. You have caused me to remember a certain Christmas from when I was about 10 or 11. I think I should share it this December. I wish you the best too, Carolyn, and thank you for your kind words.
Seems like when hard things happen, they just have a way of rolling in, one after another. Hoping that they have run their course , right down that mountain of yours and great things are coming in
Cynthia, it is exactly so! It’s like the ocean and we have no lifeboat. 😛
We shall see what the tide brings in…
Oh, my gosh. I just hate this for you and Bob. I’ve lost a job or two in my time, and even when you know it’s coming, it’s never a good experience. On the other hand, a little break while you sort out what should come next might be good — particularly since I’m one who knows that physical labor can be a good antidote to mental trauma.
Financial trauma is something else. I wish I could just cut you a $10K check. Heck, let’s make it $25K! Of course, if I could do that, I might not still be varnishing boats. (Or maybe I would — hard to say.) I do have one little thing in mind… I’ll drop an email about that.
Did you have your second surgery? Did it go all right? Are you mobile, and feeling all right? I hope so. Despite the bad news, I’m really glad to see your post. I’ve missed you! Look for that email….
Thank you, Linda! BTW, I have been watching for your email and wondering where it got to…
Then I came back to finish my replies to the others who have commented and have realized that I never replied to you. Sorry!
Bob is this very moment dropping off a resume for a job he saw online. He also went to an agency on Friday who had two leads on some jobs he is very well skilled for. We shall see!
All things happen for a reason. I have a hard time believing this sometimes myself, but after the year we have had, I am still looking for some of the reasons. But they aren’t always meant to be found. Relocating to the farmlet does sound lovely though!
Thank you for your kind words. We know what you mean about the “reason.” Just as soon as we can shower, cook and do laundry we will be up there, though at the moment we are considering a few overnighters so long as we can take a warm shower. We’ll see!
I understand! We camped for two months with a cold shower, and others was warm and the cold showers were still not fun!
We’ve just entered a new month that I hope will see you turn the corner on some of your cares, Lynda. Look at all the sympathetic blog friends you have.
I do have wonderful blog friends don’t I? You are all a blessing to me. Thank you, Steve! BTW, I have good news in the next post. 😀
Yo! Where are you? Did you get my email? Have you moved to the mountain? On a scale of 1-10, how are things? I think of you often,and hope things are straightening themselves out.
I’m sorry, Linda. I did get your email. I will post you back. On a scale of 1 – 10 we may very well be off the charts! Thank you for your thoughts, and yes, things are straightening out, but just not overnight. 😉