Many earthly angels

A few days ago there was a knock at my door. I wasn’t expecting anyone so I figured it had to be a neighbor. When I got to the door no one was there. Just outside my door sat two big boxes but no kind of delivery truck in sight. I wasn’t expecting a package. Well it must have been left here by mistake or maybe my daughter had one of the kid’s Christmas item sent here for secret storage. I’d just tell whichever person it belong to that it was delivered here. But, when I looked at the mailing label it had my name on it. What in the world? I needed to find out what it was and who sent it so I dragged the boxes inside to open.

Oh wow! I was flabbergasted. Completely surprised and happy. Someone had sent me a whole year’s supply of toilet paper and nose tissues! Actually it’s more than a year supply. There is 58 rolls of TP and 3 big boxes of nose tissues. Dang, no card or anything to show who sent it. I couldn’t send the person a thank you. It wasn’t until the next day that I found out who had been so kind and I sent my thank you.

Have you ever heard the saying “it takes money to save money”? I’m pretty sure several of the blog readers know the meaning. Low income people often struggle because they haven’t the means to buy the necessary items needed for lowering their expenses. Well have you heard the expression “give me a hand up, not a hand out”? For a low income person a hand up would be paying for something that helps lower their expenses permanently instead of temporary fix. It’s kind of like the difference between a meal for today and a hoe with seeds to eat for a lifetime. I call people who give from the heart angels on earth.

How does a person describe in words how much a gift means to them? It’s hard for me to explain my appreciation. I have angels reading my blog. Two of the angels send me a snail mail tip every month which I use to pay for medications. One angel paypals a monthly tip that helps pay for the internet so I can keep writing.

There is also a once in awhile tip left in the tip jar that I use for other things like deodorant or save up to pay for a doctor visit or make the payments on a toilet sink. Sometimes a gift from my amazon wish list arrives out of the blue. For awhile a tip of two dollars a month would arrive by snail mail from an angel. I appreciated that tip just as much as any of the gifts because it came from the heart. I don’t know if I ever told that person but I bought discount bin fruits with those two dollars. All of these gifts would be considered a hand up.

Does anyone remember when I was living without a refrigerator? One of the angels sent me a $200 gift card which helped me to buy a discontinued model along with my brother’s veteran discount for a small energy efficient fridge like I wanted. A smaller fridge uses less electricity. New refrigerator post.

Then there was the angel who helped me buy a portable washer. I have a family size washer but it’s old and leaks badly. I could have used the angel tip to have it repaired but honestly the size of it is way more washer than I need for a single person. It’s not energy efficient and uses way too much water. I seriously wanted a portable washer because using it would help me lower my water & sewer bill as well as use less electricity. I’m happy to say it did.

So far, the longest I’ve gone without going over the 1000 gallons is three months. That’s an average of 335 gallons per month. The portable shower I was using also helped lower the amount of water used. It took only about 3 gallons per shower twice a week or about 24 gallons per month for my showers. I’m hoping to break my 3 month record by staying under 1000 gallons for 4 months or only 250 gallons a month. Wouldn’t that send the water & sewer companies into a tizzy! 😉

I can’t return the kindness to the angels who help me but what I can do is pay it forward to someone else. Writing my blog is one way of paying it forward to anyone struggling to survive. Creating charity quilts is another way I’m paying it forward. I had really hoped I’d be creating more charity quilts by now and was anxious to get started. However the house repairs have kept me from it. It’s worth the delay and is even more reason for me to be thankful.

I’m not complaining, just explaining. I can’t get started until I’m able to put things back where they belong to uncover the quilting machine and my sewing machine. Almost all the stuff you see in the photos that’s piled up on the machine, the work table, and in the food storage room belongs in the kitchen and the laundry room. As I start putting things back where they belong I’ll be giving away quite a bit on freecycle or donating to Goodwill.

Hmm, I believe I’ve rambled long enough for today. I’ve got more canning to be done.

Stay safe, stay happy, count your blessings one by one, hugs from KY

Anita