Yep. You heard it right. I am on strike against Central Maine Power. I have lived up here in Maine for over eight years now and that is the only electric company there is for most of Maine I believe, if not all of it. Kind of puts the word monopoly right out there along side of them. At first, I felt fine with them and then over the years, just kind of sick of the power they have. It is not just the rising cost of electricity, believe me we would be totally off the grid if we could possibly afford to convert our power to wind and solar, it is more. Just recently we received a disconncet notice. Naturally I called since just a few weeks agao we sent in the amount of the balance. We have been paying steadily and monitoring our electric use. Yes, the bill has gone up as well, but it was paid off in full not too long ago. I called and found out what I had figured in that the check and their notice got crossed. But really? They were honestly going to disconnect for one missed payment (if that had been the case). My word! I was more livid about that!
Fine. I adjusted the the shock of almost being disconnected and put my anger on the side. And in that same phone call asked them what our bablance was for this payment excluding our payment they received. The new amount was not exactly pleasing. Especially since I feel in this household we are for the most part consertative with our use of electricity. We make sure that only the lights are on if someone is in the room and we watch things around here. I was not impressed. The sad part about it is that is there is no one else to run to if you do not like them. What ever happened to honest competition with other companies? There is no competion with them in fact since there is no one else for anyone up here to go to for electricity! So, they can raise their prices whenever they feel like it. So, we are fighting back. I am not sure how long this is going to last. But I really want to see some difference in the bill. I went out and purchased camp lanterns, flashlights, etc for step one. I decided that I loved my computer and TV so that would not be affected and the rest we monitor allready such as using cold water for the laundry (Tide coldwater) since we have an electric heater. So, the best way to tackle the electric company in our strike would be to not rurn on the lights at night. I honestly want to see how much of a chunk that would take out of our bill. So, Last night I had all of the lights off and we were armed with a lantern, two kerosine lamps, and flashlights and a few stray candles to test the first night. Let me tell you, it was VERY difficult to get used to. I have turned on the light switches upon entering a dark room for as long as I could reach the switch and it is over thirty years of conditioning that I had to tackle. But, alas I am stubborn and had the cooperation of my husband and two youngest daughters. I suppose they are all used to my crazy ideas by now but they followed along like troopers in this latest notion of mine. They are old enough to understand my frustration and they willingly agreed to give Mom's latest scheme a try. I presented the concept to them like a game and an important mission for our household. It was very nice eating dinner by the large candelabra at the dinner table, we had ham, potatoes and veggies. We do have electricity-but what we use we monitor. For example, we make sure we do not run the water long since we have a well pump way out in the country and the well is run with electricity, we are not turning on the lights at all, we make sure all of the TV's and stereo systems are off when out of the room, we wash our clothes in coldwater, we run all of the appliances on efficiency settings, and we carefully monitor the hot water in showers (I actually bought a timer for them since they are guilty of long showers like I am). So, we stumbled around in the dark for a bit trying to get used to this by the glow of the TV (again we are not completely dark here) and found our way. I also wanted to use last night as a test to see how many lanterns we really need and what else we need for this battle. I decided on buying rechargeable batteries and setting that station up in the kitchen on the bakers rack with the baskets of candles, batteries, flashlights etc. I am also getting another three lanterns. We have kerosine lamps (both modern and antique ones) for which Rob and I have to be present for as well as candles. We have a house that is over two hundred years old so the effect of the candles at night is quite beautiful actually. I might just like this. So, hopefully we all can conserve enough electricty with this battle to see a real difference in the bill. If not, I have an idea on how to battle it further. We will be setting out that clothes wire contraption I used to have in the center room of the house where we would dry our clothes. My old dryer broke and before I bought the new one we hung our clothes out to dry outside in the warmer months and inside by the woodstove over the winter. It was wonderful but I missed the soft towels that only dryers can produce and got tired fast of the dry scratchy towels that dried in the wind or by the woodstove and yet, I did use fabric softener. We have grown used to the dryer and hopefully we will not have to resort to that again and just work with the lights issue. I am not sure what else to do but knowing me-I will find a way. This battle is being waged in order to have some decent money saved for the winter. In the winter we use woodheat from wood cut on our property. Nothing beats the heat of a woodstove way up here in Maine. However the woodstove is in the living room and we have to run an electric heater in the basement so the pipes wont freeze. We also had to use electric heaters for the bedrooms and bathrooms since those rooms are on the outside of the heat radius. This year we are cutting grates where they were closed up years past. The house is well insulated and we even plastic the windows in the back room and put covers on the front porch windows. We all have goosedown quilts and are actually quite warm in the winter. I am just working on new ways of saving bills like everyone else. So, hopefully this battle with last enough to see some sort of difference in the electric bill. Again, it is only day one of the experiment but I will keep you posted as we add on more things and get used to not turning on the switches in each room we enter. We are armed and ready to battle against Central Maine Power or CMP with our flashlights, lanterns, candles and grates in the walls and floors to circulate the heat of the woodstove. Hopefull we will only need one electric heater in the basement this year for the pipes instead of the four others for those other rooms mentioned. Also to note; the pipes in the basement are well insulated and wrapped as well as the water heater and well pump and even walls. However the basement is limestone with a dirt floor in the oldest section of the house. Then again, it has been so warm this year and later than normal, that we have not had to even light the woodstove...So, wish us luck in our battle and I will keep you posted on further developments....Especially with how effective by latest battle is when the cold really hits Maine... :) I just received a notice in the mail about an old credit card bill. The original matter involved a credit card that I took out for a $200 limit back in 2000 or so. Well, I used the card and had almost paid it off when my marriage at that time took a turn for the absolute worse. My marriage had become incredibly abusive and at that time I focused all my time in initiating a divorce and in reassessing where my life was to go. So, I let all of the other bills be put on the side while I focused every penny on attaining that divorce. The matter went into a heated custody battle and I needed all of my focus on bringing enough money in for the support of my daughters. I have always been the main provider for them and had never been able to rely on child support. I held down my employment and every penny went into supporting my children on my own with very little help from any other source. I could not afford at that time to pay anything but the mortgage, car payment and utility bills. Which I did. However, in putting that credit card on the side the interest built up very dramatically in the interim to the point it grew way out of control. I had tried on many occasions to work with them, but they never would accept an amount that I could afford to pay. I even paid them on serval occasions anything that I could afford in good faith-but it never even touched the balance since they always made the interest rediculous.
The years went by and I endured my abusive marriage by no choice since if I were to get a divorce in Massachusetts my husband at that time would have gotten half of everything. It is scary since he never paid one bill and I fought desperately to give my children a decent life on my own. I worked hard for everything I had and always did. I fought hard for the custody of my children which out of spite my husband at that time wanted to take away from me along with the house he never paid one dime for. And all this while he owed me many thousands of dollars in unpaid childsupport from the many times of separation. I was scared and did not have the income to afford an attorney to represent my matter based on every penny going into raising my children on my own. This matter was put on the side despite my many attempts in contacting them in hopes of working out a payment plan that I could afford to make matters right again. They denyied any reasonable payment plan that I offered. All this while I was raising my daughters on my own. I even had to take my husband at that time, despite the horrible abuse I endured, back into my house since I was scared of losing everything I worked so hard for. He was emotionally, mentally and physically abusive, but I had no choice. I was not impressed with the legal system in his even having a chance of gaining custody despite his abuse and major amounts of child support owed. After that fiasco, I never took out a credit card again and paid everything by debit and what I actually had in the bank. This matter was forgotten since I had to focus all of my energy on survival. At that time I was living in Norton and my mortgage had been fixed. However, it soon turned into variable and I had to fight to pay the raising mortgage cost on my own so I would not lose the house I worked so hard for. I had decided that the best move was to sell my house and to move out of state where I could purchase one outright. I found my present house in Maine. I was able to puchase it outright from all of the equity I had gained from my house in Attleboro and then Norton. I took my husband back into the house because I needed him to get us up to Maine where I now live. I took a huge risk and knew the physical danger I was in by doing this. I wanted desperately to find a home and a job in this new state to be able to make things right and to pay off all of my debts. I only had that one credit card debt-that would not rest or work with me. But, I had every intention of making the matter right. We moved up to Maine in 2003. It only took 6 months for the abuse to escalate and for him to reach the point of almost killing me. This occurred in 2003 in December. One night he came after me while extremely drunk after hanging out with the neighbor across the street. He woke me up from sound sleep to beat me. If my daughter had not walked down stairs I would have been dead for I was found curled up in a ball while he was punching me in the head. He called the police and tried to blame it on me, but the police up here in Maine saw the truth of the matter and arrested him on the spot. He left bruises which I had pictures taken at the hospital of and I was able to use that as evidence in this state to finally divorce him. In Maine they recognize pre-marital property (they do not in Massachusetts). They also recognized that I was the one who paid all of the bills and the property that was in my name was paid for by myself and not he. Thus, they granted it all to me. I had oodles of paperwork showing my payments on everything and his lack thereof. To this day, I am still owned over $20,000 in back due child support from both of my ex-husbands. I am currently married to a wonderful husband and he is truly good to me and very supportive. I am working part time at an insurance agency. I was hired initially to work eventually full time, though that never happened. I had started a fiber farm here and had hoped that that would gain extra money for the household to make up for the lack of child support over the years. Alas, that never panned out. I never made enough money to cover the expenses of the livestock and had recently had to sell them. I only got $500 since they were older sheep. That money I gained from their sale I am using for Christmas money for my girls and step kids. Since my current emploment never honored my insurance license and turned my job into a mainly clerical one-I had let that license laspe due to lack of encouragement. I lost hope. I have an extensive resume for insurance and paralegal skills, though have always been over qualified for any other employment I sought over the years in this state of Maine. There are no decent jobs to be had and then the economy fell for the worse. I have also published three novels. I have spent years working on since they are historical fiction and hoped that even that would earn enough money to help pay for things. I have brought my household budget down to levels of incredible scarcity, so much so that it is quite impressive. I live totally and completely within my financial means-which most people cannot say at all about themselves. I only purchase what I can pay for in cash and have not had a credit card since the early 2000. I have done everything in my power to raise my children and have known incredible hours of work with no break from; working down in Lewiston, to the commute itself, the taking care of my two youngest daughters who are special needs, to the farm, to working on wool from my sheep, to working on my novels, to even working on the garden to put food on the table. I received this notice in the mail that this attorney, who has never worked with me, wants a writ of execution to order the seizure of my property to pay off this credit card bill. The initial balance was paid off back before 2003 and all there is is the exhorbitant interest. The order was dated 2008. The original paperwork for this matter has long been lost for it occurred so many years ago. I have been to court on this matter several times. Can she take away my car or house for $1509.00? After all I have done over the years to make this right and the incredibly high interest rate they illicitly charged? The interest was so high that any amount I paid them would not even cover the interest and therefore the balance (of the interest) was never touched. I do not know what to do and I certainly cannot afford an attorney. For currenlty I am trying to gain my licenses back and need $109.00 to retake the exam so I can get appointed to this company to earn more money. I also need to buy my girls winter boots and jackets-not to mention all of my household bills etc.... I am trying so hard with everything I do and am scared about this. How can the court grant this writ when I am owed more than $20,000 in child support?????? It does not seem fair that I have always been the one to pay my bills and to try to make them right with every cell of my body and they (my exget away with owing many thousands more????? Please, does anyone have any ideas on this? I just does not seem right. I know my story is one of many others out there. But, if someone is reading of this and has any ideas on what I should do about this-please let me know. We heard about the path of Hurricane Irene and we were way up by the top of it here in Maine. Still, I knew from past experiences with Hurricane Bob and Gloria that it might get rough. So, we prepared. Like everyone else we took in our lawn furniture and all we could that might be lost in the high winds to a safe place. We braced our animals in the barn and secured it. We gathered all we could from our garden as well. At our house we had plenty of non-perishables just in case. We filled up all of our recyclable milk jugs with water from our house. We have a well and knew that if we lost power-we would be without water. Then we searched for large buckets of water to catch the rain for that "just in case". We live in the country and knew the chances were slim if we lost power. We knew we would be some of the last on the list for repair. I live in the center of town up here, but there really are not that many of us to cause much of a concern and not that many businesses were in town-just a corner store and down the road further a volunteer fire department and the town hall. That was okay, we prepared our grill and had lots of coal on hand, we had a gas stove in the kitchen, kerosene lamps and even a Victrola for music. And if it became cold at all-we had our wood stove.
Perfect timing on her arrival for as soon as I remembered to fill up the bathtub (for flushing our toilet)the power went out with a bang! Yikes! My youngest daughter was all dramatic and sprung into action. "Why not fill up our bucket with outside water from the rain?" Perfect idea! So, she was happily on that job and told us each time one of the large buckets was filled. We had so much rain that the buckets filled the tub in no time at all and we were able to fill the tub. Such an insane amount of water from that storm. We checked on the sheep and they were doing fine. I decided to cook all of our food that was near expiration before the power went out. It must be some inside, deep down primal instinct to fill the house with food before a storm. Is it the memories of lifetimes past of starving to death due to the depletion of food supplies during catastrophies? I do not know for sure on that, but I made it my "Mom" job to fill the house with as much food as possible. We eneded up with only the burners on the top of the stove when the power went so my meatloaf cooking inside before the power hit just had to sit for a bit. It ended up being only a few hours so all was good with that eventually. My parents built a summer house on my property and we had decided to still have our Sunday meal. We normally have it at their house but with the potential loss of power and my gas stove, we decided to have it here. My Mom bought over all of the ingredients and had them all on the stove and simmering in record time. She made her famous speghetti sauce from a recipe from my Great Aunt Gyneth. The infamous sauce recipe was straight from Sicily and had to simmer for three hours. No problem on my gas stove! In the background we had the wonderful ancient music from the Victrola playing and candles lit on the table while the wind howled angrilly outside. We had a wonderful dinner and I even bought out the china plates and silverware for the occasion! We lost the power from around noon until just before supper but it was enough to appreciate things a bit more. We get so caught up in life in the modern era that sometimes it is nice to be reminded of how good we have things and how much easier life is-and cleaner! It was funny, but what I missed most of all was the running water! Yikes, I feel spoiled just saying that! But the whole time we lost power, I had to boil water on the stove for cleaning the dishes and then pour out the water from the milk jugs we had filled earlier. (I learned that from camping trips-we camp completely roughing it with tents and a river nearby for water). It would have been a major struggle if this went on for a few more days. But it did not and with a big lesson learned. When the power came back on we all rushed in for showers and to clean the dishes and to finish the laundry that had been left inside when the power was lost briefly. Yes, all water related issues of course and then the tv went on and all was back to normal. I did love the silence and the entertainment of our Victrola. It was easy to become lost in time and felt nice for that brief respite from modern times. The dinner was wonderful with family and loved ones close and made all the more magical by the candlelight. It was kinda of funny because I woke up the next morning to find out my work place in Lewiston was still without power. I went into work on Tuesday and it was still not back on. My co-worker and I worked the whole day by our office hooked up on a generator and no running water. This time I knew how to flush the toilet by pouring water in the back of the tank! I was proud of my new lesson and felt almost a bit more self-sufficient. The power at my workplace went back on about a half hour before it was time to close up! It was a nice adventure and we have interesting stories to tell of our adventures. I am so sorry for those of you out there who do not have nice stories to tell of this storm, my heart and prayers go out to you. I just wanted to show a bit of the light side of storms. Trust me, there are enough dark stories to tell, I felt that we could use a fun one that tunred out okay. :) It has been a very interesting journey in the past few days let me tell you. I will start at the beginning, well, sort of. I have a wonderful car that I inherited from my great aunt Gyneth (she gave it to me just before she died-bless her soul for caring for me like that!). She was like a grandmother to me. At the time I was driving my Ford Windstar, which I purchased brand new back in North Attleboro back in 1998. The van in 2007 had come up to Maine and provided well for us. It went from transporting my kids to games with their friends, to parks and on family vacations in Mass to transporting sheep and bales of hay for the farm in Maine. Eveyone up here had big trucks. However my "soccer mom" minivan worked just as fine. When you take out the seats and put tarps down, you can load in everything, including ten bales of hay and huge woodshaving bags for the stalls. I hated it at first, but grew to love how it kept the hay dry when I picked it up during snow storms and rain. Alas, the mileage of living in the country where everything is far away, takes it's eventual toll.
Then my aunt's car came along. It was a 1990 Chrysler Lebaron and in immaculate condition. I love old things and thought this car wonderful and a classic. However, it was definately meant only for the city living of Mass and neatly paved roads. When I took it home in 2007, it only had 35,000 miles on it and was in pristine condition! It was very impressive and looked as if stuck in a time capsule. It was garaged for quite a bit and I had to have it worked on just a little bit to acclimate it to the rough country roads up here. I had brand new studded snow tires added to it and it drove like a tank, but looked quite neat as it did. I felt safe in my pretty car and thanked auntie Gaye for thinking of me. And here it is in 2011 and it is starting to cry out to me that it has had enough of these dilapidated roads and scary winters and beggs me for retirement. It is sad seeing something that had so many memories to it taking it's toll in a climate not meant for it. My auntie Gaye would drive to all of our Holidays in Mass in this beautiful car from the time before my oldest daughter was born. This car was meant for paved roads and heated garages, not the raw nature of the back woods and mountains of Maine. Though, I have to admit, for such a delicate car-it climbed those steep mountain roads without complaint-probably because it had a V6. I am guessing since I am not that familiar with the mechanics of a car-but have heard. It was a car totally out of place, but it did not complain until very recently when I had to take a second look at it. I wanted to modernize it and had updated the AC and added a new car staerio that could take my MP3 player and charge my cell phone. Well, my Chrysler did not like that one bit and protested loudly. It kept shorting out my tail lights on the way home and even began to stall out on me in the rain-definately not fun in going up hill!!!! Poor baby! I pushed it way too much! I have since added to the 35,00 miles with around 90,000 more in just the 4 years since I have had it. And I was not able to store it in my two car garage since it was already being used by snowblowers, ATV 's, and winter hay and now my Angora Rabbits on the side. It is funny, I bought the house due to the garages, since I felt that living in Maine-I would definately park my car in the garage due to the major amounts of snow. However, for those of you who have read my blogs before-that is almost impossible up here. I did not count on how much snow would pile up and now completely understand why people park their cars at the end of their long driveways-abandonning their garages. The thought is daunting to shovel several feet of snow week after week just to get your car out of the garage and then to shovel a long country dirt driveway to get your car on the unplowed roads up here! Yikes, was I not prepared for that dilema!!We get so much snow and sometimes the roads are not even plowed that early. And in the state of Maine, apparently they do not let you take any days off up here due to a "little bit of snow"! Which for them is ANYTHING under TWO feet! Sometimes storms last days up here....So, needless to say, I have since learned to park my car at the end of the driveway so the shovelling out is not that bad in contrast to parking closer to the house! I have since learned to buy metal spikes for my boots (Most driveways-or "dooryards" as they call them up here are pure ice. I learned that the hard way! And I also made sure my boots are shearling lined-nive luxury up here and very warm in waiting for the car to heat up. You always kick off the snow underneath the car as well and from the tire wells. You plan you days earlier when you know a snow storm is coming and wake up at least an hour earlier to brave the roads and for the shovelling out. This does not sit well with pretty town and city cars.... I have had to go to work and be there on time during the winter of 2008 when we were getting at least a foot and a half per week-which only piled on the last storm's snow. The snow banks on the side of the road were taller than the cars most people drove. (Very normal for winters up here for that much snow). I would get up at the crack of dawn (I could not afford a plow then and had to shovel by hand. Also, it was pre-snowblower days and I did not know anyone to help me) to shovel it by hand. I earned the respect of the poeple I worked with back then and they made me an honorary Mainer out of respect for my not calling in to work and making it in on time each storm! They were impressed and so was I that I even had it in me! There were several storms like this that year when I parked at the end and shovelled my car out to get out onto to an equally treacherous road. One good thing was that most of the snow was a fine powder and not wet or icy, like down in Mass. So, it was really not bad as one would think-for the most part. And during my breaks at work, I along with others, were out there shovelling of a foot of snow off our cars to do it again for the ride home! On more than one occasion, my fifteen minute ride would take two hours due to some ice on top of the snow that occurred while at work. On those days you drove slow and prayed each time you went down the next hill and most of them have curves, to deliver you safely. So you beg for the cliffs on the side to not want you this time around and to make it home in one piece. Those were the days when I got home way after dark and had a good glass of wine to thank the universe for bringing me home to my children. Then I got the studded snow tires and it was like a miracle! What a huge difference. I even grew to have more confidene tackling the very same hills I hated. I learned them so well, I would actually look forward to scaling them during the snow and knew where each skid would lead me! Unbelievable but true. I love tackling my own hill-Zions Hill coming in from town and call out to it "Bring it on!"... However, my pretty town car could only take so much and did not like being modernized one bit. So I had to finally give in to search for a younger, vehicle meant more for the state of Maine than my Lebaron. I am still in the proccess of shopping and had quite a list of things I wanted and needed. I was frustrated since I finally had all of my living expenses down to perfection to where I really wanted to be. I own my house out-right (another story-but very true), I have only purchased two cars and they were both brand new and paid off in full. One was my Mazda Protege and the other was my latest Ford Windstar. I paid off all of my credit cards prior to moving here in 2003 and have not had one since. Everything I have, I own outright. I use debit cards. I am very proud of my financial situation and have worked for many years to get this way. I know I am amongst a few in the country who actually live on their means. I save up for big items and work out local budgets with shops I know. I have purchase antiques and my own woodstove from stores who knew me well and counted my word. I set up a payment plan with them and have always paid them before the date I tell them- in full. My word of mouth credit is good here. I did not want to break my hard planning which took so many years to achieve by actually having to finance again. But, my situation has left me no choice. So, I set out with a plan and came up with how much I want to spend to get my monthly payments to where I needed them. I really, ideally wanted to pay under $200 a month. I looked at cars I liked and talked with many people from the area. All highly recommended the famous Subaru for Maine driving. They swear that it was a huge difference from any other car to tackle the climate and steep windly mountain roads up here. Each and every person! They also claimed that they hardly ever broke down and that you could drive them well over 300 thousand miles. Alot of subaru's up here date back to the late eighties or 90's and are still climing these steep roads. They are heavily valued here. I also, wanted to keep an open mind and kept in mind that I wanted a V4 engine and good gas mileage. I knew the current rate of 6% for car dealers and went out to several places well armed with knowledge of what I wanted, what I wanted to spend and was ready to bargain. I was a Maine Momma with a purpose to find a safe car to drive my daughters and those I love to drive them in. However, in my travels in the auto circuit I came across another problem I had not even thought of. I have absolutely no credit! I am like a ghost in the system. It is horrible, but I was told that it is looked at the same as those with bad credit! I was horrified and almost cried at the injustice of this horrible concept. I am a person who lives within her means. I never took out credit, that I did not pay in full, and usually before it was due, and I never had a loan go bad-ever! Yikes, and now in credit talk-I am lumped with people who do not pay their bills!!!! I find that really sad actually. I am doing what most people really want to do. I have since decided that if I was to finance one thing in my life-it should be a reliable car since I do live in treacherous country area with back woods everywhere. So, I have been to several places and wait for the one who is willing to work with me the most. I have a trade in vehicle and cash to put down on it. Those are in my favor. The last place I went to told me that they have worked with quite a few people like me. Maine must be one of the few states with people who actually take pride in living on their means and in not trying to compete with the Jones'. Most of us take pride in not financing anything at all and are proud with what we have accomplished and what we own from our own hard work. Down in Massachusetts in the suburbs, the average person finances everything, with oodles of credit cards, multiple refinancing of their mortgages and living way above their means. This is probably the reason of the downfall for most of the country. For I have always brought my bills proudly down to the most minimal in case of disaster and a loss of any of my incomes. Possibly, this was partially due to my being a single Mother and having to learn to expect anything. I have lived years without help while married to my ex-husbands and after divorcing them-they owe me over $20,000 in child support. So, I have out of necessity-learned to be quite thrifty with each penny. We are used to planning for snowly days and rainly days up here in Maine. My friends up here have taught me wonderful survival skills and I thank them profusely for it. We have seen too many sources of cushy incomes lost after decades of safety when the mills left to overseas. We barter here and have gone back to living off the land for food in most cases. Most of us have huge gardens and can and store our food and even have livestock. It is not uncommon to find most homes with chickens for meat or eggs (layers or roast chickens as they call them). Also, they share livestock if they cannot afford to go in on one of their own. One person would have the fields for the beef cattle or pigs and the other would share in the cost of the animal and the feed etc... Together-it would be split-including the cost of slaughter and packaging. Some even share freezers for storage as part of the deal. So, we take great pride in our own thriftiness. This mentality has had the average Mainer weather the recession quite well. We might have had to take much lower paying jobs, but our bellies are full and our homes are warm with wood heat. Most people up here heat their homes primarily on wood heat from wood stoves like we do. We cut the wood off of our property, have wood splitting parties (I wrote an earlier blog about one of ours) and we fill that basement up with wood for heat that will last the whole winter long. My daughters have learned to start the fire when they get home from school-it is a necessity. For we have dogs and cats in the house and on some weeks temperatures drop down to 40 below zero. So, yes, most children from the age of 12 and up in Maine can start a woodstove safely! They can also stack wood and bring it up from the basement, not to mention, take care of the livestock and fill their water after dumping out the ice. We fill the water for the animals out in the barn from the kitchen sink in the winter for the outdoor taps are well frozen by then. Good old country exercise. We all share and help out with our farm and heat chores, since you have to up here. My girls are wonderful because of it and can survive on their own if need be. There were times when it actually took me four hours to get home from Lewiston due to the snow. I called them quite frequently on the way home when I could find an area with service to have them take care of the animals, get the woodstove going and to get supper in the oven. I am very proud of them for they were much, much, much more resiliant than I ever was at their age!!!! So, back to the financing of my car. I just find it grossly unfair that I am lumped in with people who have not paid their bills. Would our country be in this finacial crisis if they had the attitude of the thrifty and resourcefull Mainer-I think not! I wish people would learn a lesson from all of this and possibly bring our country back out of this mess with smarter financial skills. For example, to actually reward those who manage to pay their bills and full and to live a life without debt. Instead of penalize them. So sad. People should not be allowed to take on more than what they realistically can pay. I have based my potential car payment on less than one income's week pay. I have other sources of income and like to not touch those. My other bills are realistic and necessary-utilities, property taxes, insurance (I even have a good life insurance policy for my husband and girls) etc. We even have a few luxuries due to our thriftiness and having the extra income from my husband (I never before, ever had help from my last two husband's at all and find this quite comforting, knowing that someone is helping me with the bills for once). We also have the insome from my husband's rock band (he plays the base), and my novel sales and wool items we make from the sheep and rabbits wool (hats, scarves etc). So, Amerca, wake up and learn to live on what you have and do it proudly! I think if more and more people did this-it would change the credit laws of this country and give us a nice healthy attitude to actually get us out of debt. We might take a better look at what we have in our own yard to pay off our bills. As I mentioned before, we have quite a bit of natural resources to tap into-if we only though about it. And many, many people will wing to work for that as well. We should tap into solar power more and make it more affordable for the average person to tap into and wind power as well. The list goes on. So, to summarize; I am very sad that what I have been so proud of is counting against me when I actually have to look for my new car (by the way it is not brand new-for depreciation reasons-just new to me) it counts against me that I am a VERY GOOD credit risk, since I pay my bills and have the means to pay any new ones I carefully plan for. A very interesting predicament indeed! :) Wish me luck! The following are links to my two other blogs.
1. From my author site at http://www.sharondnovels.com/blog.html 2. and here is from my farm site; http://www.mymainesheep.com/apps/blog/ Yes, I said it! Now that I am hooked up to DSL and in touch with the rest of the world, I almost want to shut it all down again! The peace here is quite amazing and far away from the rest of the world. I see the ever-increasing global natural disasters, the violence and shooting and now the riots in the UK. Then there is the debt-ceiling debates and congressional screw ups. People have been loosing faith in it all for years and it is sad.
Being far away from all of the hoopla way up in Maine and then being suddenly tossed into the ricocheting riot of it all with our recent DSL connection has made up debate issues that we used to pass by since it did not affect us way out here. Now it does. In listening to many other people up here with their own suggestions-I wish congress would stop their ceaseless babbling and stop to listen to some very wise people. The majority of us are hard-working and very resiliant and thrifty people up here. We do not care about the Jones and value our privacy. We live our lives at a slower pace that seeminly the rest of the world and we value that. We have that old-fashioned Yankee ingenuity that has long been lost south of us here as the urban sprawl tried desperately to lure us into it's grasp. We hold onto our old ways and are constantly finding new ways to survive the harsh climate and sad economic reality we face. Mills used to be the pride of people up here and the glue that held the balance fast and strong. Lumber Mills, Paper Mills and other Mills-now long-abandonned as they moved to countries inknown and exotic-sit in slow destruction and weeds are the only sign of life they now see. People grumbled and then found some other way to make a living. That is what we do. With each issue-we reassess our goals and what we have to work with. Being a single mother for so long, I have learned many lessons in the normal struggle of providing good food for the table. Most Mainers feel that way too in all that has been lost to us as in other parts of the country. We take pride in our home and farms for we work hard for them. Yet, with all that has been going on-we are forced to question a few things. Why the debt-ceiling was not truly dealt with, but put aside for another day? How is that supposed to help us? We have learned to not put things aside for a rainly day for soon the snow will come and pile up fast. This constant scrabbling and bickering in the senate to have this passed in the last minute-so sad. If people only listenned we have plenty of good ideas. 1. To find a committee (many people, like myself are more than qualified to work on this-and looking for more meaningful work suited for them....hehehehe!) that will cut together all of the wastful spending of government spending. Someone need to crack down on the waste first which bought us here. Almost eveyone I have spoken with knows at least three people who abuse the system with disability, welfare, foodstamps, oh the list goes on. Granted there are many people who look to that as what is really is-a transition and use it honestly as such until their feet are back on the ground-but, many do not (as well as the legitimately disabled)! I worked in a plaintiff firm and saw another side of it in the insurance fraud department. All of the bogus worker's comp cases and false claims out there....Yikes! All of those swindlers and slackers have really done a doozey on this horrid economy-I know alot of you agree with that! Many people are unemployed out there and are more than willing to step out on this meaningful employment opportunity. Yes, I know-there allegedly is already something set up for that-really? I mean really? Perhaps, they need to find some new people in there who would truly devote good honest time to work that that issue. 2. You know I am going to bring up the issue in child support. You know it. If the right amounts of support were calculated for the non-custodial parent to pay and actually collected-well, there would be alot less people on food stamps and government assistance. Plus, the more agressive approach of sterilizing some famous deadbeats who only popluate the world and ditch the kids they helped to create. I have heard many sad stories of those people-so horribly sad and wrong. And what about some of those custodial people who use children as more income in welfare? Yikes? Crack down on them too and the same approach should be considered for them as well. Such abuse in a system are so apparent to many of us "little people" away from the thick of it. And when the deadbeats are actually caught-put them in prison and make them work to pay it back! Why not bring back the chain gangs of old? Really? Seriously.... Some make quite a fun trip of hiding from paying the pathetic child support the court orders them to pay-for the most part. I know each and every one of you know examples of what I am talking about in this arena. Male or female-a deadbeat is a deadbeat-it doesnt matter what clothes they wear! 3. Job, Job, Jobs. Since all of the good paying jobs that held Americal together in days of old have gone over seas, why not address this issue as well? Why not tax heavily all of those companies and take away any tax breaks they earned once they took their business off the US soil? As far as creating more jobs...well-get rid of the scary corporations with Egotistic CEO's and give real-people their jobs. I am sure they will do a much better job and think a much more realistic approach on money issues. We have seen the government bail-outs and have wondered-where was our help when our small companies were driven out by the Wal-Marts of the world? Farms have closed their doors and people joined in lines at DHS as the mills shut down and went over seas. Yes, we have seen temporary jobs for all of the improvements like bringing DSL out here to the wilderness and our roads being repaired. However, nothing was done for those who are used to salaries. Companies have been down-sized and have fewer employees with no new hires. Less people are taking on the burden with longer hours and no possibility of a raise. The Corporations that have ridden out this wave are becomming too big and are losing focus on what got them there. I suppose a good incentive to new jobs would be to let the small business owner have some of their power back again so they can fight fairly against the monster conglomerates. Maine is notorious for driving small businesses away with their radical envornmental laws and extremely high tax rate. Only Wal-Mart can survive up here. And they hire for the most part less than full-time so they can get way with not paying benifits. People are sadly used to that up here and have learned to tighten out belts another way. If they took away the high taxes and encouraged small business growth-more people and families would be taken care of in the real word. Up here in Maine-people look after one another. It is sadly not possible when most small businesses find it hard each day to keep their doors open. They have had to let families they were close with go and are forced to keep skeleton crews..... 3. Debt-Ceiling....really? I mean, of course we should lose our rating since we cannot pay our debts and we just raised the amount we owned. I think some serious eternal restructuring should be looked into. Too many politicians are losing site of the real issue and are clearly only thinking of how their actions will affect the next election. How scary is that? All I heard was endless bickering in all I read about the senate. Most people that I know are independant. We do not care that much anymore for party lines. Where has it gotten us so far? We share similar concerns about this country, like those I mentioned above. I am just one person, but I worked hard to buy my first house at the age of 26 and then to sell it for the bigger house in the suburbs, to finally buy my dream farm out in the country. I lucked out! I also saw the danger of credit cards. I made sure to pay off all of my credit cards and debts before moving up here. For I was able to purchase my farm outright! An absolute dream! I made enough to pay off my mortgage and got out of the over-priced area before the market plunged. My timing was perfect-that is all. So, I wanted to celebrate this new way of life that I am proud of, by having no debt and learning to live off my means. I had always lived above it like most people-and obviously our own country. I paid off my van and grew alot of what I needed for the table etc... I purchased items on what I have in the bank only and I have personal credit with a few stores that trust my payments. Not all places in the modern world can do this-but why cant our own country learn from this? If I applied for credit-since I own everything I have outright-I would be declined. Should I and other like me be applauded? It seems that our country has an atrocious attitude towards money. Why do you have to have a credit card and mortgage and other things to gain credit? Hmmmmmm because the country encourages people to be in debt? Probably since that it all they know it seems from all I have read about the world situation. It is awful embarassing how high the debt is! We are in a country rich in resources and most of it is sitting idle! There are millions who would give anything for decent employement. Many people feel that we should tap into our own resouces and encourage small business in our own yard. 4. Bring our troops home. Common concensus from most people I have spoke with. This war on terrorism-really? Have we not done enough already? I think we should bring those soldiers back home to aid us here in getting us back on track. There are people starving and suffering right here in the good ol US. I have heard of more and more families forced to live in their relatives yards in tents. They say we are not in a recession-but it bought to mind the old photos I saw of the Great Depression of those tent cities. Only now we have more modern tents and trailors etc...They might look prettier but an apple is still an apple. When things get tough here, we batten down the hatches and tend to matters at home where it means the most-or should. Can we take a break from saving the rest of the world for a bit to take care of our own. We are feeling really lost here and abandoned. 5. Oh, the big tax issue- 20% across the board (or some such-even and same figure)-for everyone! Get rid of that tax-break poo! When did it ever work for us? The only people who profitted from it seems to be the ones who needed the government bailout after they lost touch with reality and spent their extravagant way into that notorious debt which left many people jobless as a result...yikes! Need I say more on that?They took money saved and bought their businesses over-seas! And the tax breaks and the tax breaks-please let it stop! The government bailouts-what about the small busineses? They, for the most part should have been given much smaller amounts with a committee set up to supervise where it all went -or not given any at all. There were no breaks given to the common person. We had to take it and run with the punches.... Yikes! I really do not understand the senate-if they actually listened to the average person on the street-they would hear very similar comments. We have lost our faith for the most part in the politctians who have continuously let us down. Please, do something that makes common sence so we can stop shaking our heads.... 6. People should be encouraged for growing their own gardens and coming up with ways to cut down energy use. Most of us dream of being off the grid in having wind or solor power-but the cost is way out of reach for the average person. We have such valuable resources and strong working people-I wish they could see that. We have such strength in our numbers and in our will to provide well for our families in an honest way. As far as the lessons from most Mainers and single Mom's learned; be proud of what you have and make the most of it. Don't fret over the lawn of the neighbors being better than yours. Make wise use of each penny earned and do not live above your means. That is what gets most people and our country in trouble... We work hard to get rid of our debt-not to push it aside for someone else to deal with. We stand firm and use what we have in our envornment to sustain us. Our country is full of incredible resources and the creativity of manay amazing people who want to harness natural power in a safe way. So, there are just a few ways that we could harness our talent and reseouces to improve our nation. Do you think anyone will listen to this? Probably not...That is okay-because I love to write and I will find alot more to write about in this exciting time in which we all live! With all we have been through, our farm has been our peaceful haven, our solace. In the middle of nowhere Maine, it has been a beacon of hope for my daughters and I. We have sucessfully escaped the overcrowded media hyped up and chaotic life of the suburbs of Southeastern Mass. Dont get me wrong, I loved growing up there with the seeminly tranquil life of neatly groomed lawns and safely lit up streets with easy access to good employment and entertainment for my girls and I. But, it grew up too fast and more and more people arrived drawn in by the same lure. Thus, it soon became too crowded for us to even think and our dreams were lost fast in the rush to keep up with the increasingly savy and fast-paced Jones.
So, we all packed up and ran for the hills, literally. It was not always easy living in the country and adapting to life up here in the wilderness as I call it. It took years of hard lessons to become fully emeshed in it and for it to be real. We suffered alot in our huge learning curve and have become better people for it truly. Our farm has become a part of who we are. Yet, since we are not native to the country, it was hard learning how to make the farm productive enough to support our life-style. We are not elaborate in our living... not one bit. When we first moved up here the prices for food were so cheap we danced to it and happily filled up our grocery carts. Though, far away from any decent paying jobs for all of my work experience and education-nothing was to be found. So, the cost of living caught up with the lack of any decent employement up here. I took jobs comparable in pay etc... to what I had in high school before I went to college and owned my own business. It was all they had up here. That was okay, for I had my farm for extra income. And I also had my novels that I worked hard on since I did not know many people here and it kept my dreams alive and the doldrums away on those many snowbound days. I first purchased one sheep and then another and soon after, I had my lambs. I brought up two chickens-who caught a frost and died soon after. However, in earnest, I built a chicken coop and stalls in the barn with help from friends and family. Soon, we awoke to the sound of ol' Charlie (our rooster) and the hens chirping away and the sheep baaing in the fields. Life was wonderfull and tranquil. Life taught us many farm lessons that only other farmers can truly appreciate and understand. It healed us and helped us. However, as I worked full time with little pay and all on my plate began to fill, it made me lose focus. The gardens filled my table with wonderful food and the house with gorgeous and fragrant flowers. The chickens provided eggs and the sheep provided wool that I learned to work with and spin to make warm hats, mittens, blankets and sweaters. This made the Momma in me very proud and content. I have gotten used to barely receiving any help in financial support from my two ex-husbands and took great pride in giving my daughters everything they needed with my own two hands. I even sold some hats and other crafts that I have made over the years to help with the lack of child support assistance. The amount owed is constanly increasing and they both work-making me believe that-well, what could one believe. It hurts my pride more than my purse. Money-I can make and always have for my girls. I know the law stipulates that child support be paid and mentions a whole lot of alleged circumstances for those who do not pay. Yet, they both know how to work the system as so may others do. It is not the money that hurts. But the pride issue of it all. I am the mother of their children with them in my household. Should they not care that their money supports their own children? I have learned that not all people think that way. With each penny I make-I find a way for it to benifit my children and the farm that we live on. I take pride in giving them a wonderful and happy life with all I have in me to provide well for them. That is okay-I am used to it. I have long since stopped crying over their different thinking patterns in life and major issues. I have used the farm for our healing and to provide extra income. I have beautiful Icelandic sheep and had great dreams on all I could do with the wool. I worked hard on developing my own style of crocheting the wool after I worked laboriously on preparing it and spinning it. I have advertised the finished products and sold many of them over the years. However, with the economy the way it is-it has caused me (and I know most others) to reasses all of the household expenses. It is with sad regret that I am forced to make a decision to slowly down-size the farm. I have lost focus on my writing (which was my true dream from day one) in order to scrape out a living up here. I have worked super hard in just keeping a normal life up here for my girls and I and have as a result been almost too busy to smell the roses that grow in profusion all around me! I hoped that the farm would provide more support for the household to enable me to work more on my goal of writing and tapering out of the insurance and legal profession I needed to pay the bills with. Yet, living in the country, with just basic survival in this harsh climate-made it tougher for even the day by day things in life I love my sheep and they are a part of our family. However, it is not making the money needed to require the expense of keeping them. And believe me, due to how ancient their breed is-they are much easier to keep than modern breeds of sheep. If you are interested-I can provide a full write up on that. Maybe, it is partially my fault in not getting out there enough. Mainly, due to the fact of being tired with my long work hours and little pay and degrading jobs provided up here that kill my spirit slowly. I suppose, it is also because I am not the best of sales people for my own products. A confidence issue-that I know for sure. I can sell insurance and I worked in retail many years ago while in college and high school. But, that was for other people's products. I have preferred the animosity of the internet in sales of my own products. It works beautifully for my novels, though with the wool products-not so much.... I have been told that I should hit craft fairs with them in a booth. I did and set my prices fair enough and actually quite low for the economy of the area. Not much was sold to make it worth it to get a booth. I have lowered my prices and have lost my confidence in making more products. The wool unworked-has been sitting in the back room and will pile more when I shear them again in a few weeks. I know the economy is forcing people to work more hours and earn less money-thankful to be employed. But to constantly price home made farm products lower and even lower is only killing and pushing the small farmer with specialized products out of business. My hats are hand shorn, washed, carded (no machine) and spun (spinning wheel and drop spindle) and crocheted to no pattern-they are all original. Yet, my prices are so low, since people up here who really need them cannot afford them for what they should be marked at. It is driving myself and other farms out of business and losing their only solace in this chaotic world. I am slowly passing the word about the sale of my sheep-I have seven of them for sale for $500.00. I want them all to go togehter. They are a few years old and produce good wool. I want to make sure they go to a good home-for they deserve it. New lambs of this breed sell for around $300 a piece. I do not know what else to do at this point. It is hard seeing the possible end of a wonderful era of a peaceful farm. But, it is what it is....I still have my angora rabbits for I am trying to keep hold of some of the fiber farm in a more economic way. I hope that someone with more confidence than I have will be able to provide them with a better home and to make a better run of it all.... :( You would think by how much they have clamped down on collecting child support that there would be no problem. Not so in my case and many others. I hear fabulous stories of deadbeats being caught all the time and how great the system is. Then I hear other stories-those which I am caught in. My yougest two daughters are now 12 and 17 and I have dealt with this thewir whole lives. I did all the right things. There were court appearances and things were set in stone. Visitation-which for both is every other weekend from Friday 6pm to Sunday 6p. Not once in eather case-with either ex-husband had that ever been adheared to. They show up when they want and usually call with only a few days notice. (Usually their visits with their daughter occur only a few times a year) I know my story is just one of millions out there and it is sad and frustrating. I never denied letting them see their daughters whenever they requested-despite thier lack of paying child arrears and the incredible increasing amount of that.
To date I am owned a total of over $24,000. I am tired and sad over this. Each time I seek out an attorney for the matter-they request over $2,000 for each case-up front! I usually always made too much money to qualify for financial help-though could not afford it since raising children on your own ins not cheap and due to this-I live check to check. The last time I had an attorney-Ed David of Farmington; I won the case with almost $4,000 paid to me. My ex was supposed to pay court fees. However, the reality of it was that the check was signed over to my attorney until the attorney fees were paid. That action was many years ago and I never saw one cent of it. I felt as if I was forced to sign it. How does a single mother even have faith in the court system after that? I am used to raising my daughters on my own and and fine with it. But I am sad over the fact that-nothing has been done about this as my daughters keep getting older. No modifications have been made-despite the law since I cannot afford an attorney. I am afraid to. I could use the help. All I can do is write about this injustice and hope that karma with strike back at them. I know the laws on child support since I have researched them several times over the law. Federal laws on child support are supposed to take over the state ones. Not so in the reality of it all. I have seen it in black and while too many times how-despite what state either parties live in-the amount should be modified accordingly. This was never done-despite my numerous efforts. The order from my 17 year old daughter was made in Massachusetts and I live in Maine. Under federal llaws-the order should still be up for review and modification. Maine has refused to do this-despite the laws since it is an out of state order. This particular order was made before she was even born (long story) and based on the fact that he was a student at that time. He now works in the Iron Workers Union. I have requested reviews for many years based on that and her increasing age! Nothing was ever done on their end about it. My other issue is that both of my exes work and live out of state. They put all of their assets, including property under other peoples names and know how to avoid being served. They have had their licenses suspended-but to no avail-they drive anyway. I have even heard that my ex-husband Bill (who has not paid one cent since January of this year and owes over $14,ooo) was recently working in Montanna. Not one cent again was paid in child support. I have had garnishes on both of them since my girls were each babies and have had the money depositied into a separate account-they have both paid in the past with rubber checks before the garnish.) I have not been able to file modifications due to their ages since I cannot afford an attorney and it is almost impossible to track them to serve them! I have even signed up for help on national collection sites. Responce from them-nothing. It seems as if everyone is afraid to work on my case! I have recently had to make the horrible decision to stop visitation. I have been pressured for years by everyone I know on this-even the local authorities! I hate doing this-but I do not know what else to do. I am even prepared to go to jail over this. I feel that they have been in contempt of the visitation order (never once did they take their daughters on visitation at the alloted time-not once!) I have never stopped them from seeing their daughters in the past, despite their lack of requesting visits. But what other choice do I have? I figure at least they can afford court. So if this action brings them to court on their money-I am willing to take a chance. I just am so sad over this whole thing. I do not know how they can get away with all of this. Yet, they do! :( How else am I supposed to help my daughters? Their whole lives, I have been lucky to receive any child support at all from them. I have supported my daughters on my own since they were babies and have always done well with that with great pride. I have been dissappointed over and over again with with how the court seems to let them get away with it all. Please can someone offer advice. I am hoping that with my not letting my children see them-it will inspire them to bring this to court on their own expense. This is for my daughters most of all-I just wish they would see this. Can anyone offer some advice on another way? |