A new life, long since due

Well, I haven't posted in a long, long, time. There's been no reason.Things have been slow crazy-making in so many ways. So, instead of making this a TL;DR post, I'll make a list of what's happened as short as possible.

* - I did lose the cabin and land just before Christmas that year. Ended up in a tiny motel room/cabin thing for a while with just Stars. All the other cats but Bouncer were killed by the folks he and the dope ho were staying with. Lucky to have saved these two.
* - She got him hooked on meth, then when his job went somewhat south because of being suspended for drug use, they split up and he came back to me, addicted. Stupidly, I took him back.
* - By that time, I'd found a small, 1-bedroom, on-grid apartment where I could have Stars and Bouncer without issues. Still there over a year later. Not the greatest but it's a solid roof over my head and only a few miles from work.
* - Three months after he moved back with me, he got so high on a batch of meth that I highly suspect was mixed with PCP or something similar, he ended up threatening to kill me when I told him to get out. Yes, I got the cops involved and he was arrested and charged with terroristic threatening, simple possession, and drug paraphernalia possession.
* - Getting him through court took forever. I had a no contact order going at that point so I could get myself together and he could get clean, the hard way. Turns out, he took almost two weeks to purge in jail, and they nearly sent him to the hospital's jail ward because of all the issues. But clean he got. Finally got released last year in early October for three years probation, but nobody could take him in but me. He has to stay with relative or friend in the state, and I'm basically IT. So they amended the no contact to no inappropriate contact and dropped the TT to a misdemeanor. He pled out and so came home.
* - Then the fun begins. He's somewhat who he used to be, but changed so much. He's been home just over a year, and there's no hope. He's lost four jobs. I got him the first one. He lasted two days. A temp service found him the next two, which he screwed up by calling in all the time. The last, his probation officer got him and he walked on that one after four days and never went back. He's on no rehire at Tysons and the last one, which both would have been good for him.
* - So, Mr. Lazy But I Don't Wanna Go Back To Jail got his probation revoked and had court on that back on the 4th of this month. It got continued to December 16th because the public defender argued, predictably, that there's NOOOOOO reason he should have his probation revoked. I am given to understand that once the actual hearing is done next month, he will likely end up with at least six months in jail if not going straight to prison for his full sentence.
* - Either way, divorce will happen once he's locked up and I've got the money together. It will destroy what's left of him, but staying with him will destroy me. I'm NOT going down with his ship.

On a brighter note, I'm doing okay in the apartment. I slept on a camp cot for about six weeks after he was picked up, all the way from when I moved in. Finally got things organized and my head straight enough that I went to the local rent to own/pawn place and got a bed. They delivered a few days later. So there was now comfy sleep! Took me forever and a day to pay it off, seems like, but I did and it's mine and I still love it. HE, on the other hand, seems to think a queen-sized sheet isn't big enough for a queen-sized bed. All because he tosses all night and pulls it off his side. So of course, I am to blame for that, because if I'd gotten a king-sized sheet, it would stay on better. It would stay on better if he'd not kept pulling the sheet keepers off and letting the dog chew them up.

Oh, did I say dog? Yes, I have a doggo, too. My bestie, Kat, bred her and gave Bandit to me. Kat is a huge blessing, along with her family. I have been through so much, but they were there for me for everything and still are. Her dog Pepper got pregnant by her other dog, Diesel. Pepper had to be rehomed because the entire litter ended up with some sort of inherited skin condition. Bandit was no exception. She ended up looking pretty mangy and had a horrible case of pyoderma before HE would admit there was anything wrong.

So thank goodness for grain-free kibble. I did some research and a raw or grain-free diet was recommended. She's on Pure Natural kibble and wet food, and everything she gets, I read the ingredient list or she doesn't get it. Turns out they have cat food too but I have to order that from Amazon. At least for Bandy Butt I can get it at WalMart. It's taken about four months of the stuff, but Bandit has completely cleared up the pyoderma and the majority of her fur has completely grown back. She's about forty pounds of pure muscle and love pibble puppy. Yep, she is a pit bull, purebred blue nose, no papers. Beautiful conformation, too. Too bad about no papers and the skin condition, as I could easily breed her when she's older and sell the puppies. But nope, with the skin issue alone, she's getting fixed ASAP after the vet will let me. For some reason, around here, they don't want to spay or neuter till a year or older. She's more than big enough, and I want it done before she ever gets a chance to come into heat.

Like most Pitties, the only things vicious on her are her tail (wag, wag, thump!!!), her breath (forget the Milk-Bone, she needs the whole factory!), and her farts (she farts and it makes the local skunks go PEEEEE-YOOOOOO!). She's a love, loves playing tug and fetch, and actually doesn't bark much. She also is a great squeaky toy killer. So far, in the last month, three of them have had their squeaky guts ripped out. She crates beautifully for when I can't be home to supervise her because she has chewed a couple of biggish holes in the hallway drywall. Ooops. Going to have to fix that eventually.

I will be homesteading again, somehow, some way, eventually. Not where I was, as someone else bought the place, which makes me want to cry some days so much, but someplace with no memories of him or us, where I can do what I want the way I want without any interference.

I've still got the Etsy shop going, and I'm constantly working on that. I'm not doing jewelry now except through Print On Demand, and what I had is either getting taken apart and sold as components or being made into miniature Christmas ornaments. I did sell at the local farmer's market this summer and did pretty well overall for the weekends I could make it. Between some Saturdays where I had to work, some where weather was horrible, and others where HE was being a jerk and wouldn't drive me after I'd worked all night Friday...I missed about half, but still made out good. I did every one of them on literally no sleep. Come home after Friday work, make and eat some dinner, load up, go set up, and sell till noon. Errands on the way back, and unload and sleep for several hours. It was exhausting but so much fun.

If he does go to jail or prison in a few weeks (37 days and counting to court), I've got a few ideas for the winter that I want to try to get done.

One is get his stuff sorted out and either disposed of or sold or packed away. He's got stuff he never uses that's in good shape I'll sell. The man has five pairs of sneakers and never wears them. Ditto a zillion t-shirts. He wears maybe a dozen. Things are going to get streamlined seriously, and his things that he uses frequently NOW will be put in totes for him for whenever. Everything else of his will go away.

Another is to keep building the shop so it can make me a nice income to supplement or replace the plant. It's a good job, but I'm so tired of the cold and misery there. I go through every day literally counting the hours until I clock out and come "home" to the apartment and the furkids.

And finally, to get a shelving unit, some small lumber, some chicken wire, latches, hinges, grow lights, and seedling flats. I want to build a small seedling grow setup in here but I have to keep the cats and the dog out of things, so it will get enclosed in chicken wire with a handmade door of sorts that latches so I can get at things without the critters getting in all the time and messing with stuff. The plants can be sold next year at market that way.

For now, I'm off to do more on the shop, watch a little TV, and figure out my dinner. I rarely cook anymore, because it's just me who cares and if he does eat, I get no compliments, so why bother? There's a lot of nights we "batch it" because of that. So for me tonight it's likely microwave meatloaf just to fill the belly.

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