hello, again...we've been here 3 weeks today....getting a little weary but hanging in there....have you ever felt like things were entirely out of your control? Thats the way I've been feeling....Good thing God is in control, huh? I had a dream last night, we went back to the house and a entire colony of people were living there...a commune of some sort..off the grid...all the men had beards and I realized one of our sons was among them..he was married and had children..weird dream..we told them it was our house and they said no, they had done something to our title and it was theirs....
glad it was just a dream!  actually a nightmare in a way....
we are down to the car, the locksmith van has transmission problems...its grounded until some money comes through..we had a flat on the car the other night, standing on the side of a busy freeway waiting for help is scary....one of our youngest sons came and helped..we were on our way in about an hour....felt odd standing in a weedy ditch, at night with the wind blowing.....I am not sure why these things are happening but have confidence that amidst  the chaos there is purpose...one day we will understand.

Sunday morning.....in the hotel, using their computer....someone accidently turned it off so I wasn't able to post for 2 days....
the restoration company is waiting for insurance approval and should start working asap....can hardly wait....
our garden is growing like crazy..I've been taking photos but of course, can't post anything like photos yet. we have been doing alot of locksmithing work too...3 to 5 jobs per day...its tiring but rewarding..God is providing for our needs. We re keyed some interesting places.....one by UCSD...reminded me of a bee's hive with tiny 1 bedroom apartments, crowded together...another was a 1950s house up a windy road, with a fabulous view of the city...a third was by a lake and golf course that was also built back in the 50s..just beautiful and well maintained...Alan promises me that on Monday we are going to a million dollar condo in San Diego...at least we aren't bored! but I long to get back home and pull our house back together.....
our youngest son got a new job, doing security for a lake community here in town..he drives around in a golf cart, checking peoples ID ...works weekends....he started on Friday....its nights mostly but he's happy to be making money and its easy work.
Our older son may be working for the restoration company! He talked to the boss and applied...they are doing a background check so he may start work soon too!
that's about all the news.....better get off the computer and finish laundry..we did find out that there is a church right here in the hotel Sunday mornings!

Progress

its been almost 2 weeks since the fire...we are still in the hotel....the restoration company has removed all the attic insulation and will be replacing it tomorrow..plus removing all the old carpet padding and replacing it..then the carpets will be cleaned....tomorrow an engineer is coming by to do blueprints of the new construction. I sure hope they can get things started soon....the insurance company requires two bids so a second engineer is supposed to come out also...
we go by every day and check on everything.....water and weed the garden, take care of the duck and the one cat that is still there...Smoky our son's black cat is very sensitive and wouldn't do well in the hotel....he is happier at home so we just keep him contained when the workers are there.

Please pray for the Lords provision..and thanks so much for the prayers already....it means alot to me knowing my online friends care so much...I am using the hotels computer right now..

Thank you for the kind comments..We are still in the hotel.....a little tough with 4 people and 3 cats...but we are making do....we have our phone forwarding to my husbands cell phone and have been busy..lots of foreclosures, 5 today!

The city inspector came today..several trusses in the garage will have to be replaced, new dry wall..garage fully rewired...the restoration company cleaned out the garage and all the bedrooms...they are going to pull up all the carpeting, replace the padding and then have the carpet cleaned...the smoke was up in the attic so all the insulation will be replaced with new duct work...
we lost most of our christmas stuff....our tree and such....most of our canning stuff, pressure canner, water bath canner,  the dehydrator, jars, etc. our shop vac...I am not sure what else.yet...the fire got really hot..it melted the garage door opener.
The firemen told us we did all the right things...kept the smoke/fire contained and got everybody (in this case, the cats and dog) and called them...it could have been alot worse.We are thankful....they think it started with our treadmill....be sure to keep things unplugged!

Hello..sorry I haven't posted this week..we've had quite a "adventure"..Monday night we were watching TV when the lights and TV went out...Alan got up to check the breakers and when he opened the door to the garage..he was met with very hot black smoke! our garage was on fire....the poor dog, Kingston was sleeping out there so he quickly ran around to the side garage door, cracked it open and Kingston raced out...he was ok..we gathered up the  cats, putting them in my car that was across the street....the neighbors called 911. The firemen were great..and got it out in about 10 minutes...it evidently started in an outlet..an electrical shot...the smoke was the worst..it got up into the attic and into most of the rooms, especially the office and our bedroom....
we are staying in a hotel for a few weeks.....is a nice place but of course, we'd rather be home....the cats have made themselves comfortable...the dog is staying with my son's girlfriends family..he is fine, amazing!
A restoration company has been cleaning out the garage..and will be doing the repair work....our insurance is paying it all...Can highly recommend Allstate insurance..we've had the same agent for 36 years!guess its paying off now, huh?
sorry no photos..my computer is smoke damaged..will probably be getting a new one...I am using Alan's business laptop so won't be posting as often until life gets back to normal...
I am very thankful to the firemen, neighbors and friends who came from no where to help.....I do ask for prayer as our little business will suffer somewhat..hard to stay in business from a hotel room...we lost all our food...and we had alot of canned goods in the garage that were ruined...much of our holiday ornaments and our tree are gone.....some tools, our treadmill,  things that can all be replaced....we are so thankful no one was hurt and our family of animals are safe.....

Monday

The guys went to the March field air show yesterday..Alan send me this photo from his cell phone....they had a really good time..our youngest talked to a Air Force recruiter...so don't know how that will work out....he's either going to go to college this fall (already started the enrollment) or join the service...I am hoping the Air Force as we wouldn't worry so much about his safety.....he's really very mechanically talented so it might be a good fit for him...

He's been doing odd jobs, lawn mowing, etc. since he's graduated and knows he has to look toward the future....I've been suggesting either the Air Force or the Navy..so many of the young men in our neighborhood have gone Army and Marines...one is being sent to Afghanistan soon..there just isn't much work here for our young people at all...no manufacturing jobs or large corporations..mostly just retail and fast food jobs and they are hard to get...with low pay and no benefits...My brother who is retired Air Force has been encouraging him also but its up to him...please keep him in prayer as he makes some life choices...its  hard for young people especially now.

I also discovered a wonderful website yesterday..maybe I'm late in finding this but in case there are others that don't know and you like paper crafting....please check out EweNmePrintables.com

Redwork

You may have noticed the My Favorites Amazon widget on the left side of this blog...I am a Amazon affiliate now....I get a small percentage of anything anyone would purchase from my recommendations..and I am very careful of the things I recommend...I had the above book and absolutely love it....I say "had" because somehow its gotten lost..hopefully it will turn up soon....its what inspired me to make my first baby quilt which is now put away for the first grandchild (whenever that will be).

 

I've done quite a lot of redwork in the past....and everyone that has purchased has been pleased...I love the old patterns like Aunt Martha and Workbasket..my personal absolute favorite are the Dancing Dish patterns....