Random Thoughts - The Sequel

[Petunia]

I never dreamed it would get this much worse, my fuel assistance is cut to less than half what I got last year

how am I going to keep my boys warm? and still buy food?

We have food banks around here, where food has been donated and people can get it for free. Do you have something like that around where you live?

oh yes, when they cut my food stamps i knew i was going to need to go, you can go once a month, but there were several stores that donated to the food bank that recently closed, so they have less food to give out than they used to. all of the produce you get has to be used the day you pick it up because it's all the stuff that's about to spoil, that the stores couldn't sell.
the boys and i have a big feast on the day i go- i cut up all the veggies that can go into a soup and make a big soup to freeze, if there are any salad veggies (there usually aren't but sometimes they have some) we have a salad that day

a lot of the stuff that's donated is stuff i don't eat: soda, cookies, salty snacks, prepared meals, salty canned foods, a lot of processed foods so i just leave that there.
they always have two or three huge tables with cakes pies and cookies etc that are past their sell by date- it's hard but i pass those up too because i'm trying to eat healthier.
sometimes they have meat and dairy foods but i don't eat those any more

but um yes i go when i can, if the weather's not bad but you can only go once a month. I did get a big bag of potatoes this last time, that was unusual, and i'm making up all sorts of potato dishes and enjoying those immensely.

i moved from the 3rd floor which is cheap to heat, to a first floor apt and last winter was my first one here. i discovered that in spite of having new insulated windows, the bldg itself is not insulated. I kept the temp at 58 to 60 all winter last year (didnt' have rats then)
and i froze, but at least it kept the bills down so that my fuel assistance covered them with a little money to spare

so this year i thought i'd be able to keep the heat around 62 and have had it set there now since late Oct I think? only to find out that i'm not getting as much assistance this year, so i should have kept it lower
and will have to figure out how to keep it warm enough for them and well
i'm sorry
it's just not been good lately

i'll figure it out, the boys will be ok
the cats have a heating pad to keep them warm at night and i get under 3 blankets and wear wool socks and a turtleneck and a sweatshirt and sweat pants, a hat if its windy lol

problem i'm having now is that i just don't want to get out of bed, its' the only warm place under all those blankets LOL
and i'm depressed so that doesn't help

 

[Joanne]

I never dreamed it would get this much worse, my fuel assistance is cut to less than half what I got last year

how am I going to keep my boys warm? and still buy food?

We have food banks around here, where food has been donated and people can get it for free. Do you have something like that around where you live?

oh yes, when they cut my food stamps i knew i was going to need to go, you can go once a month, but there were several stores that donated to the food bank that recently closed, so they have less food to give out than they used to. all of the produce you get has to be used the day you pick it up because it's all the stuff that's about to spoil, that the stores couldn't sell.
the boys and i have a big feast on the day i go- i cut up all the veggies that can go into a soup and make a big soup to freeze, if there are any salad veggies (there usually aren't but sometimes they have some) we have a salad that day

a lot of the stuff that's donated is stuff i don't eat: soda, cookies, salty snacks, prepared meals, salty canned foods, a lot of processed foods so i just leave that there.
they always have two or three huge tables with cakes pies and cookies etc that are past their sell by date- it's hard but i pass those up too because i'm trying to eat healthier.
sometimes they have meat and dairy foods but i don't eat those any more

but um yes i go when i can, if the weather's not bad but you can only go once a month. I did get a big bag of potatoes this last time, that was unusual, and i'm making up all sorts of potato dishes and enjoying those immensely.

i moved from the 3rd floor which is cheap to heat, to a first floor apt and last winter was my first one here. i discovered that in spite of having new insulated windows, the bldg itself is not insulated. I kept the temp at 58 to 60 all winter last year (didnt' have rats then)
and i froze, but at least it kept the bills down so that my fuel assistance covered them with a little money to spare

so this year i thought i'd be able to keep the heat around 62 and have had it set there now since late Oct I think? only to find out that i'm not getting as much assistance this year, so i should have kept it lower
and will have to figure out how to keep it warm enough for them and well
i'm sorry
it's just not been good lately

i'll figure it out, the boys will be ok
the cats have a heating pad to keep them warm at night and i get under 3 blankets and wear wool socks and a turtleneck and a sweatshirt and sweat pants, a hat if its windy lol

problem i'm having now is that i just don't want to get out of bed, its' the only warm place under all those blankets LOL
and i'm depressed so that doesn't help

Well, it's lousy being that cold, but don't worry about the boys. Rats are just like any other animal - if the transition is gradual, then they get used to it just like us. I'm sure they have lots of warm, cozy hammocks to curl up in, so they'll be fine. Just take care of yourself!

 

[Petunia]

yes the rats are in the warmest room in the apt and they have tons of fleece scraps to nest in, they pull it all inside a cube hammock and keep themselves cozy

i hope i can get Rocko intro'd so they can all live together, then he'll be able to snuggle up too

right now he's in a cage on top of the single CN so he's furthest from the cold floor, and he actually doesnt' seem to be affected by the cold, he will sleep out in the open when the other guys are all huddled under some fleece

yeh it sucks but at least we have a roof over our heads and food etc. i'm just having a bad day,sorry

 

[Petunia]

food or heat?
this year, I think I choose heat

I'm tired of being so cold.

we'll just have to learn how to make the food go further is all
:nod:

 

[Petunia]

massive anxiety attacks, wondering what will happen when the landlord realizes I'm not signing the new lease.

 

[Joanne]

massive anxiety attacks, wondering what will happen when the landlord realizes I'm not signing the new lease.

Do you have another spot lined up? How much notice do you have to give? 3 months?

 

[Petunia]

massive anxiety attacks, wondering what will happen when the landlord realizes I'm not signing the new lease.

Do you have another spot lined up? How much notice do you have to give? 3 months?

no I don't have anywhere to go, no money and no way to get there, and usually it's one month's notice
I've been here for 16 almost 17 mos.
I had a lease for the first 12 mos, now he's wanting everyone to sign a new lease.
I'm not signing it.
I don't know what is going to happen.

:?

 

[Joanne]

massive anxiety attacks, wondering what will happen when the landlord realizes I'm not signing the new lease.

Do you have another spot lined up? How much notice do you have to give? 3 months?

no I don't have anywhere to go, no money and no way to get there, and usually it's one month's notice
I've been here for 16 almost 17 mos.
I had a lease for the first 12 mos, now he's wanting everyone to sign a new lease.
I'm not signing it.
I don't know what is going to happen.

:?

I think you should arm yourself with information. Find out from legal aid or the tenancy board what your rights are. You may not have to sign it and he may not be able to do anything about it. And if you are a good tenant, he would be stupid to kick you out (makes extra work for him, and the next tenant may be a dead beat or noisy.)

 

[Petunia]

thanks yes I'm waiting for monday to make some calls. in the meantime things are very tense here because he is doing this because he wants to evict the tenant above me, but he can't, because she reported him for code violations (an eviction now would be considered in retaliation for that and that's not legal here)
he needs some reason to evict her, and now he's doing this lease thing, and well, it's ugly


he's managed to get all the tenants upset with each other. two of the people here are friends of his, and the person who is causing hte most trouble is a friend (?!?!) of his.
it's really ugly and petty and stupid.
none of them seem to be aware of or care about the laws and rules, they are just acting out their disagreements and pulling innocent un involved people into it all

it's the most absurd situation. I never know what is going to happen next because I can't depend on the rules and laws to protect me, these ppl don't think they apply to them

 

[jorats]

It's always an oddly sad feeling when you find out someone you care about unfriends you on Facebook.

 

[Joanne]

It's always an oddly sad feeling when you find out someone you care about unfriends you on Facebook.

Hmmm, that would be disturbing....I have drifted away from friends, but rarely become NOT friends with someone.
(Some days I'm glad I'm not on Facebook.)

 

[Petunia]

that is sad
but it might have been a mistake
I know I was purging a bunch of friends from my list because they were people I didn't know and couldn't recall why or how they got on the list, and I accidentally deleted a few I wanted to keep.
sometimes you can just click the wrong thing, or forget why it is you have "friended" someone in the first place
I hope that's all it is.

 

[Petunia]

:joy: :joy: :joy: :joy: :joy: :joy: :joy: :joy: :joy: :joy: :joy:

I read the gas meter wrong!
I've used far less gas (for heat, hot water and cooking) then I thought,
cuz I read the meter wrong
:bliss:


not often I am this happy when a bill arrives! it's less than a half what I thought it was going to be
woohoo!

 

[mamarat]

:joy: So happy for you!

 

[jorats]

This is getting unbearable. It's -35 but feels like -48 celsius. We are in a windchill warning and this is to continue for another couple of days. I haven't taken Gypsy outside for our hikes in days and I'm getting restless and moody because of it. Gypsy gets her treadmill. Maybe I should do the treadmill too.

 

[Petunia]

wow that is brutal Jo!
it's bad here but not that bad, at least not yet.

 

[Joanne]

Gypsy gets her treadmill. Maybe I should do the treadmill too.

Absolutely yes!
When I had a very stressful confrontation to do at work (firing a long-term employee), I got up early and ran on the treadmill until I couldn't anymore. It was VERY good at taking the edge off, and I was much more calm afterwards. I find I always feel nice and relaxed/tired after intense exercise.

 

[KMG365]

This is getting unbearable. It's -35 but feels like -48 celsius. We are in a windchill warning and this is to continue for another couple of days. I haven't taken Gypsy outside for our hikes in days and I'm getting restless and moody because of it. Gypsy gets her treadmill. Maybe I should do the treadmill too.

It's absolutely freezing here in Ottawa, too. My car has trouble starting whenever the weather gets cold, but it's 100 times worse in extreme cold like this. When necessary, I can usually get the car going using a portable jump-starter kit I bought, but this morning it was so cold, I had to use jumper cables to connect my car to another vehicle and leave them connected for over 15 minutes before my car would start. To make matters worse, I'll probably have to do it all over again tomorrow!

 

[Joanne]

It's absolutely freezing here in Ottawa, too. My car has trouble starting whenever the weather gets cold, but it's 100 times worse in extreme cold like this. When necessary, I can usually get the car going using a portable jump-starter kit I bought, but this morning it was so cold, I had to use jumper cables to connect my car to another vehicle and leave them connected for over 15 minutes before my car would start. To make matters worse, I'll probably have to do it all over again tomorrow!

Perhaps a block heater would be a good investment? Or a new battery? I got a new battery a month ago because my car was turning over too slow for my comfort.
We are slated to have a blizzard here starting tonight. It was -19 here today!

 

[KMG365]

It's absolutely freezing here in Ottawa, too. My car has trouble starting whenever the weather gets cold, but it's 100 times worse in extreme cold like this. When necessary, I can usually get the car going using a portable jump-starter kit I bought, but this morning it was so cold, I had to use jumper cables to connect my car to another vehicle and leave them connected for over 15 minutes before my car would start. To make matters worse, I'll probably have to do it all over again tomorrow!

Perhaps a block heater would be a good investment? Or a new battery? I got a new battery a month ago because my car was turning over too slow for my comfort.
We are slated to have a blizzard here starting tonight. It was -19 here today!

A block heater would be a good idea, especially because my car is diesel, but there's no electrical outlet nearby to plug it in. I got a brand new battery in May because I had similar issues last winter with the battery dying in the cold and I was hoping a new battery would resolve things. Unfortunately, it did not. :cry: