Month: April 2009

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It came through!!

I was absolutely amazed that I got the building permit.  I figured they would come up with some sort of ordinance or something but they didn’t.  Then what came next was even more surprising.  I don’t know how it got all over town like it did but there are churches that have called with volunteers to help with the construction and even donating some money to buy the supplies.  Several people in the community are donating used refrigerators, stoves, furniture and just about anything else you can imagine.  I can’t explain what that has felt like.

I have a long list of supplies and will be heading out to Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores to make the purchases I’ll need.  I was told that if you talk to the manager and they have things that have a scratch or whatever and it’s going to a good cause, they will cut the price a lot.  I just hope what I heard is right.  Man do I have a list of building supplies!!!  But you know, even if they don’t give me big discounts on damaged items, they still have the best selection and prices in this town.

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It’s going to take awhile

Well I went down to the permit office and you know how slow the government works.  They aren’t sure if I can do that or not because of the zoning and all sorts of bull like that.  All we want to do is help those less fortunate than we are.  We have been blessed an just want to pass that blessing along.

Until they figure out if I can do this or not, I’m going to get a jump start on it for when they say I can do it.  All I’m going to do is put a floor in the upstairs part and put a regular set of steps in the end.  They can’t say anything about that.  Then I’ll go ahead an make the separations for each upstairs room.  I just won’t close them in until I get the go ahead.

I have a friend that owns a saw mill that has already donated the 2×4’s I’ll need to do the framing in.  My wife is going through the house to see what we don’t need anymore that could be put in the apartments or sold in yard sales to make the money to help pay for the supplies we don’t have on hand.  I sure hope they don’t drag their feet too long.

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I have a wonderful wife

My wife and I were discussing the issue of so many homeless people around here and she came up with an idea that I thought was wonderful.  We have a three car garage that is separate from the house that we don’t even use in all honesty because there’s a two car garage attached to the house that we park our cars in.  The other was built for the kids cars.  It’s tall enough to make a room upstairs in too.

What my wife wants for us to do is to close in each bay of the garage and take down the garage doors, close that in and make three small apartments for people that have become homeless.  She said that we could give them the first month free to help them get back on their feet and then just charge $100 a month to cover the extra electricity that it will cost us.  It wouldn’t take very much to do just that.  The upstairs could be the bedroom easily.  Now all I have to do is check with the county and see if I can get a permit to do what we want.  I really hope we can.  I bet I can find a lot of help with it too from our neighbors.

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It’s been a busy week

I did not realize how hard it was going to be to find the seeds or plants that I wanted to put into my garden.  There seems to be a shortage of seeds and plants.  Why?  Well my guess would be that there are more people planting gardens now for the first time or for the first time in a long time anyway.

Something has to give with the economy soon or we’re going to see more and more homeless and hungry people.  It breaks my heart to think of all of the children that don’t have a warm bed to sleep in.  Some at least have their car to sleep in but some don’t have anything at all.  There are tent cities going up everywhere because the homeless shelters are too full as it is.  I will be donating some of what I grow to the local homeless shelter to help them feed the people there.  They need all of the help they can get.  Now all I have to do is find the seeds.

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Tomorrow is Easter Sunday

Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays.  Just knowing that Jesus arose on that holiday gives us all  hope.  It’s like the trees and everything else arises every spring giving us hope for a warm spring and summer.  It’s life renewed.  It’s salvation at it’s most remarkable.  When Jesus arose from the grave, he not only appeared to his disciples, he appeared to American Indians, and others on this earth giving us all hope of salvation.  Not many people know that or believe it but it has been told by many tribes through out the generations that followed.  So here’s hoping you have a blessed Easter and realize the love that comes from this holiday.

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Here’s something to help our own

I received this in an email and I had no idea until I read it.  This is what I keep talking about when it comes to helping our own instead of everyone else in the world.  This makes sense!

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else and perhaps even their job. So, after reading this email, I think this lady is on the right track… Let’s get behind her!!

My grandson likes Hershey’s candy. It is marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it anymore. My favorite toothpaste, Colgate is made in Mexico now. I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.

This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off brand labeled, “Everyday Value”. I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats – they were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in – get ready for this – the USA in a company in Cleveland, Ohio.

So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here. So on to another aisle – Bounce Dryer Sheets….yep, you guessed it, Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada. The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!

So my challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in t he USA – the job you save may be your own or your neighbors! If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time!

Stop buying from China. . . . . (We should have awakened a decade ago……)  Let’s get with the program….Help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the U.S.A. !!!