Of Poverty and Strays

"A person is poor, when they are wanting something that they cannot have; I don't think of myself as poor, because there is nothing that I can't have, if I am willing to wait for it; if a person can't wait, and MUST have it NOW, then they are truly poor, no matter how much money they may have, because they will never be satisfied or content"

     I remember going to the store with change, and not having 2 cents to get the 5 lb bag of apples on sale, and had to take the 3 lb bag; then in the parking lot found the 3 cents; but I didn't go back; perhaps I should have, but I was content with what I had; I have a roof over my head, food and clothing, friends and family; so I don't have a 6 figure income or even a 5 figure for the matter; 4 will do me fine, and I am able to live on it a sustainable life, that being one that progresses, and doesn't go backwards;

     This year I was patient and now have a laptop dual core (needs a bit of TLC) with Win. 7 that cost me 200 dollars, and a free 7 year old G4 that had reached the end of it's useful life in an office, saved from the grave yard, I bought a $180 Skil drill press, end of line, for less than half price ($80), and a DeWalt 10 inch Compound mitre saw $224 dollars; the 7 cubic ft freezer is chock full, have meat and vegetables enough for the winter; about 50 lbs of flour, AP, Whole Wheat, Cake 'n Pastry; 20 lbs of rice; 19 lbs of home made mincemeat, 3 cakes and a pudding for Christmas;  this week I made 14 litres of Ginger Beer, and have been making micro batches of wine for the past 3 months which by next spring will be a cellar of 30+ bottles; not that I am a big drinker, but it is a cheap hobby which I have been learning for the past 17 years off an on; I have enough acrylic paints for my other hobby of landscape painting, and I did the 4x3 ft canvas from it, and a couple of sketches and still have paint and canvas left; the workshop equipment I am planning on using for making frames for the canvas to stretch on, and to make frames to put around some of my paintings and photos; the plan being to get money saved to buy some more prints and frame them for next summers yard sale; as well as other little projects, like a new counter top, and an exercise station that I can use standing up, that will only take up 3 ft x 3 ft of space;

     LIFE is moving forward, not backward; so long as that is happening, then one can't complain of being poor; when I look back to 3 years ago or even 5-6 years ago, when I was making $20,000 a year before taxes, and heavily in debt because of the years of only making 5-7 dollars an hour and living in the center of Toronto, I have to say that I am truly blessed to be able to live at the standard of living I am now enjoying; would I like to be earning more, certainly, but it would only mean that I would be saving faster for things like wood, canvas and the print shop photos;

       My Goal is to be as self sufficient as possible when I reach age 65 in 2 years; I am not looking to be uber rich, but to be in a sustainable income situation that will grow with the cost of living, and will enable me to remain living a healthy and fulfilling life; and not to be someone's stray project;

        Tonight that came at me rather forcefully; my daughter  and grandson were watching a movie on seals (the animals) and they heard a noise that they took to be from the TV, but when they turned off the movie, the noise persisted; when they opened the front door, a cat/kitten shot in, and sat shivering in the living room; well, a rescue effort was initiated by my brother and his wife, and in short order there was food, cat litter and a cat box over there; the kitten, for that is what she is, is about 9 months old, and has obviously been around humans and is not a feral cat; also, she has been looked after; now whether she is an escapee, or abandoned (anyone who abandons animals in this weather (-3c) should be pushed out of their homes for the night as a lesson) is hard to tell, but she has made herself at home and is very affectionate; she has made a friend in my daughter ;-) and will if necessary have found a home;

       my point is, that while I am on Gov't Assistance now, I don't want it to last any longer than necessary; I don't want to be someone's project either; I want to be either a partner with someone, contributing to the marriage, or independent of Gov't help other than my CPP and OAP; and to that end, I am utilizing the money that I do have to the best advantage that I can, while still having a life; as I said at the beginning, I am not poor,