A Tumultuous Month

This has been a tumultuous month for me and for my Beloved. We are eager for it to end and  hopefully, for a better month to begin. The beginning of our January featured repetitive computer breakdowns and repairs and lost data. Some of the data I lost was research files that were  intended to become posts in this blog and now I must do the research over again.

The environment produced two snow storms in our area where snow rarely falls. The result was two power outages for 2 days each time. Though we are prepared to deal with power outages and have water stored as deep well pumps cannot operate without electricity our young neighbors next door were totally unprepared.

They have moved from city to country without even contemplating what the lifestyle changes would be and what preparations to make.  Unfortunately they agreed to keep horses on the property for a friend in return for money,  despite the fact the fences are old and rotten and they know nothing about horses and their care.  After not being fed for 14 hours (!) while the neighbors slept after partying all night, the horses escaped and were on the highway. What to do? Over the course of two weeks the horses ecaped five times.

What part of horses are not cattle or sheep with four stomachs  did these people just not get?  Horses have only one stomach and require frequent small feedings. When their digestive tract is empty for a lengthy period of time the microflora that digest their food die and the horses can colic and die too.

What part of the fence needs temorary eletectrification while you repair it in order to keep the horses in and off the highway did they just not get? After the first escape and catching we provided our advice.  We offered the loan of  an electric fencer unit and also offered to help with the fencing repairs. In return we were verbally abused once,  and then abused again in a hand delivered note.

During the second snowstorm the same neighbors also had a chimney fire caused by not having the chimney cleaned and by burning green (!) wood.  After that we thought it would be smooth sailing for the rest of the month but we were wrong. There was more to come.

A family member we are close to was rushed to hospital in critical condition in liver shut down.  The diagnoses were hepatatitis C and a resulting cancer from it.  Within 3 days cancerous masses were removed but he is terminal and requires a liver transplant. Further enquiries produced the information that the hospital receives one liver for transplant weekly but requires five.  What can be done? Nothing, except to extend his life through chemotherapy and repeated surgeries to remove cancer, until a liver is available for transplant. Oh and by the way, he got MRSA while in hospital.

I am beyond the point of emotional and physical exhaustion as I type this. I am trying to keep pace with both my income producing work and blogging. The goings on I have recounted above are why I have not been publishing here. But every cloud has a silver lining and we all get by with a little help from friends.

Exactly when I needed a guest post for onecoolsite a regular reader contacted me by email and submitted one. I was so grateful to receive this outstanding post titled How a Dream Blogging Job Found Me by Cynthia of  Wine, Woman and Travel and my gratitude grew as I read the responses it from my wonderful readers.

To the readers who I contacted privately to aprise them of the goings on,  I say a hearfelt thank you for your support and your prayers.  I appreciate you so much. In the upcoming months  of 2011 I hope to be back on track when it comes to reading and commenting on your blogs again.

Would any of you readers care to share how your month went, and whether or not you are also looking forward to the arrival of February?

P.S. I’ll have another post ready for publication tomorrow.