HOW ARE WE ALL DOING TODAY - JUST BECAUSE WE CARE

[beaverpond]

This thread is for letting everyone know how you are doing ... maybe it is too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, too stormy, how you are surviving through whatever you are dealing with with you and your family.

Example from 12/22:
I am born, raised, and never lived anywhere else but New England...have lived in CT, NH, ME and spent a lot of time in VT. There is nothing I have not seen that I have not lived through so far...snowstorms, blizzards and yes there is a difference between the two, hurricanes, tornadoes, microbursts, earthquakes and yup seen parts of houses come down, torrential down pours causing flooding that has relocated brooks, streams, rivers, streets, homes, and a few lakes and ponds. I have also lived through triple digit heat lasting for days, double digit negative temps with windchill making it feel even colder, must not forget about the forest fires and structure building fires, have been down in underground caverns where it is cold and wet, have been a few hundred feet up in an old rickety fire tower and on a windy day it did sway in the wind and was kind of a freaky feeling...basically I have lived through the best of times and through the worst of times and can share the stories to go with it.

____
Recently a stretch of my parents road was wiped out and half the width of it was gone and washed into the river next to their house. Because it is a private road not maintained by the town or state, it is up to the local landowners who live on the road to repair it. Their are only 10 landowners on this road and estimates are coming in at close to half a million dollars to fix it. That is a lot of money and some of these people are on social security like my own parents. This is not something you budget for plan for.

[alenigma]

I guess the most simple solution would be to bring-in some clay and pack it down and wait for an asphalt contractor to be generous.
Of course, I have no idea about codes or infrastructure up East.
I do know from my Mainiac friends that there is a "pitch - in" attitude. Whether you have means or not, you help thy neighbor in need or in deed.

[beaverpond]

That would be more than 2 million dollars worth of asphalt say nothing for bring the road up to grade for asphalt.

Then there is the massive increase in property taxes that would take place. In our state, a private road that is unimproved or unpaved has a lower property tax rate. If you live on a road that is maintained by the state or town, then your taxes are considerably higher.

My parents road is wider than most state roadways as it is more than 50 ft wide. You could actually park three of the town fire trucks side by side...we actually have had to do it once. We struggle to put two side by side on my road.

[alenigma]

Thinking about my Poppa and how he left us a year ago...on my birthday. I sure have missed his advise and wisdom over the last year.

[beaverpond]

I lost an aunt and uncle over the holidays this past year in November just before Thanksgiving and in December less than 10 days before Christmas.

Over the past several years I have lost 5 relatives over the holiday season. I can't seem to get through the holiday season without shedding many tears as I was close to all of them.

I feel for you and what you are going through.

[alenigma]

I have become a close friend with my new neighbor across the street. He came over and dressed my wound. I bought he and his wife a couple of rib-eyes.

[beaverpond]

awesome

[alenigma]

He had recently bought a new gas grill and had never had rib-eyes He was used to T-Bones and New York strips.
I introduced him to pork tenderloin. He can't wait to try my chicken recipes.

[beaverpond]

It is nice when we can do things like that for family and friends.

I have come across a friend who has been raising farm animals for slaughter for years. She gives some away and then sells the rest. Because I homeschool her niece, she pays me this way. I get chicken, pork, beef, veal this way and so much more. She has been giving us so much that I share it with my parents and they in turn give what they can't store to my brother. Lets just say, between my freezer in the kitchen and my chest freezer in the basement and my parents with the same setup, we won't go hungry for awhile. It also sets us up to help others in need when we hear of it. There are different cuts of meat I have never had or dreamed of having until now.

[alenigma]

When I was a kid 18 - 22 I was a taker. Funny how life turns you upside down. I flipped a car in '99. I mean the rear bumper went over the front bumper and the same ensued for about 4 more flips
I'm lucky to be here but i"d do it again, just to k now people care.