After going over a week with dry goods or running to the store nightly for fresh food…we finally got a cooler to replace our dead fridge.

We got an Igloo Polar 120 Quart Cooler at Walmart for $48.83 + tax It will be able to hold a week of groceries in it and with some dry ice added to the wet ice we will be able to store it safely. We have to work on getting a cooler to store cat food but I will be able to look around for a used cooler for that.

Here is our new piece of furniture, we owe thanks to the many from GON who helped us get by this week.



My sister continues to heal well though not impressed at all with this whole staying out of work thing.  My son picked up the fuel filter for our car and then when disassembling the old one found all the lines were mucked up so he’s been cleaning up fuel and air lines hoping to take care of the fuel system problem in the car while we start checking around for mechanics in that area who can fix the car so that we can bring it home.  My sister just recently moved to this place she lives at now and I don’t know the area at all, so nobody really knows where to go, or who to contact to get the car fixed on a budget.  We have to get it done very soon though so I might wind up paying more than I can afford to get it back home.

That is where we are at now, some good news and bad news but lately that is the story of my life.

My sister is on the healing end of her nightmare. She is home and in her own bed being helped by our mom and my son. Today is her birthday. I called to wish her a happy birthday, but those wishes kind of fall like a lead balloon when one is in such pain and discomfort. At least she knows I was thinking about her though and reminding her that she did indeed live to see this anniversary of her birth.

My car is still dead in her driveway, 2 hours from here and I’m not sure how I will get it repaired to get it back home. Friends on GON have helped me tremendously this week so that our family could have decent food and gas to get to the store to get food every night. We don’t have coolers yet so unless we are going to eat dry goods alone we have to travel nightly to a store for meat and vegetables.

We hope to get at least one cooler on Saturday and will get another one after the first of the month. At least then I can do a few days of groceries at a time and save on gas money.

It’s been a hard few months and I keep looking for the silver lining, but I know October is going to be just as hard. I have get that car fixed and we will be spending more in gas money without a fridge/freezer. I have to catch up on bills I paid partials on in order to get by. Not covering partials only means late fees and more money going out which doesn’t help.

I still have a long road to go, but it’s an easier walk knowing my sister is healing. I made it this far with the help of those who care, I’m really hoping to make a good stretch on my own. I appreciate everything everyone has done, and I’m not really sure what I would have done without the help of others, but there is no pride in having to be picked up and carried. I just want to be strong enough to start baby stepping my way through this and begin paying forward all the help I have received.

Yes, with sadness I announce the death of Lady Kenmore, my fridge.

On September 14 around 1 AM Lady Kenmore breathed her last. Unfortunately she did suffer for 4 days prior to her death and infected everything contained with her body.

We tried hard with the help of Lori, an online friend guiding us step by step through the life saving procedures, but alas….we could not prevent her death, and with a hiss of misty white spray she exhaled to never breathe again.

We grieve for her, she has kept our family healthy and well fed for many years and at the current time in our lives we cannot replace her. I’m sure one day we will move on and another which will take her place, but for now, her empty lifeless shell stands against the wall as a sad reminder of what she once was.

We struggle now to go on without her in our lives. We struggle to replace the bounty she held within her when she took ill, we eat boiled beans for dinner, remembering fondly the lost meals that were meant to nourish us for the next few weeks.

From her death onto better news.

Our 1991 Lumina who was mistakenly diagnosed with Alternator failure. She was re-examined and found to have a faulty plug and with a bit of first aid she is running safely. She is not completely cured. She will need to go to a specialist to complete removal and replacement of her plugs. She is scheduled to be put on a lift and have that final procedure done on the 29th.

Please keep our family in your thoughts as we deal with the loss of Lady Kenmore, our fridge and all she contained and deal with the expenses of Lumina’s failing health.

Thank you.