Not Sure Any More

Just when you think things are OK stuff happens. The other day I opened my cabinet where I keep all my dry goods of peas, rice and beans. I keep an ample supply on hand purchasing them when they are on sale or if I have a little extra money. I don't use them in the summer because I get all my produce fresh at the farmers market. But in winter if the weather is too bad to go out I have a supply to choose from. Apparently one bag had some type of tiny beetle in it which chewed it's way out and ate into all the other bags and then more hatched out and all the staples had to be thrown out. They were not weevils but a slow crawling bug. I was mortified when I saw all those bugs then totally depressed at the loss of all those staples.

The other morning I heard Bonkers meowing at the windows in the dining and living room when it was dark. A neighbor's cat was jumping up on the windows trying to attack Bonkers through the windows. Of course Bonkers has no fear and wanted to play. As the sun rose we noticed each screen has a huge hole in it where this other cat either bit or clawed his way through. These are the expensive spring loaded metal screens that came with the windows. I know the cat and recognize him because he has a collar with a tag and a bell. I will see if I can contact the neighbor about him. Perhaps I can get them to pay for the screens. Fat chance I suppose. No my homeowners insurance has way too high a deductible to even consider that avenue. Not to mention when you make a claim your insurance rates usually go up.

Just got the notice for next year's Medicare Part D. Unbelievably it is going up from $20 a month to $30 a month. The deductible is going up as well. Sure social security said we'll get a cost of living increase, but Medicare Part A/B almost always takes all an increase, so there is actually no cost of living increase. Ten dollars a month may not seem like a lot but to us it's a lot. I only take two pills for high BP which cost me an additional $18 a quarter. Luckily Gary has VA as well as Medicare.

Last week the rear window of our camper shell shattered and bent the frame and it was not fixable. We needed the camper shell to keep our farmers market set up dry. So we bought another used camper shell. Now we're questioning why we bought the camper shell and perhaps we should just give up going to the farmers market to sell my pottery.

Seems like every day, we are forced to face the writing on the wall much sooner than later. In the last twenty years every time we've moved we did so because we had to, not because we wanted to. Sure we put on a happy face and made lemonade out of lemons but I can't seem to put on a happy face any longer.

We must seriously face selling our home, again, and think of living in a mobile home or what? What kind of living is cheaper. Maybe an apartment? Ever since I left home and was on  my own I have resisted living in an apartment. Even when I was putting myself through college I rented a small house behind another house. But maintenance costs keeping up a home are expensive. Not to mention much of the work we are barely able to do ourselves any longer. Downsizing isn't an option because we bought the least expensive home we could find this last time around. Moving is very costly; we know full well since we've moved so often.

It's hard for me to wrap my head around living in a motorhome without a small garden to keep my spirits up; without a kiln to fire my pottery. And there are so many projects we need to complete to sell our home to get top dollar and all the projects cost money. Sometimes it seems near impossible to move ahead. I'm just not sure what to do. We had already refinanced our home a few years back and got a lower interest rate. I can't think of any assets ot liquidate. I am just not sure any more. Ok, I've got to stop this, it could be worse, much worse, I could have been living in Mexico Beach.