Updates and WIP Parade-Part 1

So, a lot has happened since my last post and I debated going in chronological order, but it would just be stupid of me to avoid the biggest elephant in the room...my Mother died on October 23rd. I'm not going to say "passed away" (I hate that phrase), because she didn't just pass. She suffered for four days and then she died. It wasn't expected, I'm not sure she was even conscious the entire time I was there (which was just about 24/7 other than pup feeding time). She was drugged pretty heavily because of the pain, and once they started cutting on her, I'm not even sure she was "there" anymore. There was a lot of bad ju-ju between us that will never get sorted out, but there is nothing I can do about that now and it's useless to dwell on it. I have good days and bad days, last Thursday would have been her 79th birthday, so I've had nothing but bad days since. This probably sounds a bit cold, but it's really the only way I know to deal with it. I guess that's life now so, moving on.

I went to Disney World in September around my birthday and I'm glad I did. It didn't completely wipe out the memory of the last horrible trip I had and it put a more positive light on my favorite place on earth. I also went into serious debt because of it, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to go back again, but I definitely will be going back, and that's what's important. But as of now, I still haven't gone through my photos, and I don't really have a lot (I know, a shocking statement from me). About mid week, I got fed up with carrying a camera around, so I just stopped. What little pics I took after that were on my phone and were sparse and I'm glad I did that. I enjoyed things a lot more rather than spending a crazy amount of time taking pics.

I really want to start a FlossTube channel, but everyone that does FlossTube has either an amazing craft room, or a really good place to film videos. I do not. I have a Disney-hoarded trailer that I would be ashamed to put on the internet. I do plan to do some little renovations this year if I can get my debt down a bit, so maybe I can clean an area good enough to film videos in, but for now, that is on hold. When I renew my Adobe Lightroom to edit the Disney pics, I'll get Photoshop so I can take all these progress pics and align them up enough to make a video slideshow out of them. That is as close to FlossTube as I can get for now, but I have YEARS of projects, completed and still in progress, that have daily pics, so it could be pretty cool for timelapse progress videos, from start to finish. It's just taking the time to do them. I should also mention that I do post several times a week over on Instagram with my current progress, if anyone wants more routine updates.

Now to the reason why most of you are here...WIPs. Considering I have 26 of them in rotation, this is going to take a while and be pic heavy, so buckle up! It looks like the last time I did an end of year review was at the end of 2024. I apparently didn't do one for 2025 at all. I did start some new projects in 2025 and I have even started one or two in 2026, so let's save that for part 2. For this part though, let's go back to where I left off at the end of 2024 and show where it is now. I don't see the need to post 2024 stats (and I'm just too lazy to dig it all up). If anyone has a question about the previous stats, just let me know.

Let's start with my oldest WIP, one that has no stats because it was started before I kept stats...Tartan B. I figure I started it in either 2014 or 2015, but I'm just not sure. The last time I worked on it was Jan 1st, 2022!

Do NOT ask me why this took over 10 years to finish, but here it is. I finished it on Nov 26th, 2025. I did iron it, but it's just in a drawer right now because I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it now. I was going to have my Mother help me make a pillow out of it because I can't sew, but I guess we know why that's not going to get done now:

Alice and the Bouguereau Princesses, a Jasmine Becket-Griffith charted by HAED is now my oldest WIP, started on Jan 4th, 2015 on 28ct Monaco, 1x1 full stitches. As of the end of 2024, it was here:

I did stitch on this a bit in the beginning of 2025, but I really kicked it into gear at the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. It is now 847.7 hrs in, 194,366 out of 329,175 stitches and is at about 59% done as of Jan 14th, 2026:

The biggest pain in my butt, Christmas Contest Suteki, Aimee Stewart, HAED, hasn't been touched since 2020, even though it was started Jan 1st, 2016 on 28ct Monaco, 1x1 full stitches.

I did work on it this year though, for exactly one day on Jan 18th, 2026. It is currently at 183.27 hrs, 32,790 out of 89,662 stitches, and about 37% done. We'll see when it comes back out again. The older I get, the harder cross country stitching has become for me, but I'm also not the kind of person that could park because the loose strings would drive me insane. I could do a modified typewriter method, but just knowing there is a stitch a couple of boxes away in the next row down would also drive me even more insane. For now, I just can't handle it.

Next up is Night Wish by Anne Rodrigue, charted by HAED. It was started on Jan 2nd, 2016 on 26ct Monaco, 1x1 full stitches, and the last time I touched it in 2024 was Feb 13th.

This is going to get worked on probably by the end of this week, but the last time I touched it was Mar 9th, 2025. It is currently 202.12 hrs in, 47,806 stitches out of 206,000 and is at about 23%.

The furthest along is now Snow White, a retired HAED chart by Jessica Clark. I started this Jan 3rd, 2016 and, because of the weird fabric, have had a really tough time with it, but it's moving along better now. As per my usual, it is on 28ct Monaco (although really crappy Monaco), 1x1 full stitches. Nov 22nd, 2023 was the last time I touched it before I started back in 2025.

This one has probably gotten the most love in 2025 and even 2026, and she is now 270.75 hrs in, 52,682/69,374 stitches in, and about 76% done. This was the last pic from Jan 27th, 2026:

Sleepy Hollow Mural, another retired HAED by Lewis T. Johnson is slacking as well. I started it Jan 9th, 2017 on 28ct Monaco, 1x1 full stitches. I started it in a Q-Snap, but I absolutely HATED working on it, so I finally got scroll rods long enough for it. The issue has been that my stand has a heck of a time holding it. I got a VERY expensive attachment for my stand, but the mounting screws are too big and I just haven't gotten new ones so, when I do work on it, it's a struggle. Feb 11th, 2024 was the last time it was touched.

But it also got love in 2025 and 2026, even if it was sparse. And, I've switched it between enough scroll rods that I managed to clean up the crookedness caused by the Q-Snaps. I just don't know how you guys do it! It is now at 159.55 hrs, 12,382/246,000 stitches done for a total of about 5%. The last time I stitched on it was Feb 15th, 2026:

Happy Haunts, an Etsy project by a designer that has changed their name so many times, I couldn't tell you the name of the store now. I'm pretty sure they are still in business though. I started it Jan 23rd, 2017 on 18ct Aida, 2x1 and, although I love the design, I absolutely HATE stitching on it! It should be finished by now, but alas, Dec 31t, 2023 was the last time I touched it before the end of 2024:

I have tried and tried to work on this, but I just can't stand it for long. It is now 178.97 hrs in, 30,922/62,775 stitches in and is about 49% done. If I'd just focus on it, I could get it done, but geez, what a pain! Apparently, the last time I touched it was April 14, 2025 (although I'm questioning that and I need to look back through my phone to see if there is a later pic)

The Bride Doll Making, a retired Medusa Dollmaker kit from GeckoRouge was started on Jul 16th, 2017. It came with 25ct fabric, but I changed it out for 28ct and, of course, I'm doing it 1x1. At this point, Monaco became harder to find, so the rest of the projects I can't say for sure if they are Lugana or Monaco unless they are Easy Guide, so we will just go with evenweave from here on out. It was last touched on Nov 8th, 2023, nothing in 2024:

We are now up to 258.6 hrs, 49,050/107,269 stitches and about 46%. Nov 17th, 2025 was apparently the last time I touched it (time for it to come back out I guess), but she is here now:

Hook by Daniel Kordek and Tilton Crafts is still a massive pain in my backside. I still haven't decided whether or not I want to start it over and skip all the white background or not, so he's just been sitting in limbo. It was started on Feb 12th, 2018 on 28ct evenweave, 1x1, was touched in 2024, Feb 1st to be exact:

I'm ashamed to admit, I touched it once on Apr 15th, 2025. It is 63.3 hrs in, 14,726/148,750 stitches in for about 10%. I really need to decide what to do with this:

On a more positive front, a 2018 start (Mar 6th, 2018 to be exact), Faces of Faery by Jasmine Becket-Griffith, charted by HAED, has gotten some recent attention. I can safely say this is on 32ct Lugana because I HATE it! I am too blind for 32ct and 1x1 is super tight, but that's where I'm at. The last time this was touched was Jan 29th, 2024:

But I've done some major work on it in 2025 and 2026 and actually managed a row finish on Feb 2, 2026! The first one in a VERY long time! It doesn't look like much work, but 32ct makes it much more than 28ct in my opinion. It's now at 84.18 hrs, 17.996/50,175 stitches for 36% finished.

Everest, another Etsy special by a store called Addict to Cross Stitch (and I'm not sure they are still in business). Ironically, when I started this project on Jan 12th, 2020, this bridge was still at Animal Kingdom park. It is now long gone and is a construction zone for the new Encanto land. It was one of my favorite places in Animal Kingdom though, so I'm going to keep going on it. For this count, Jan 21st, 2024 was the last time it was touched and it's on 28ct evenweave, 1x1 full stitches:

And it will be coming back out soon since it was only touched once in 2025, April 6th to be exact. It's at 51.82 hrs, 8884/136,528 stitches for a total of 7% complete. I think I'm slowly figuring out that long, horizontal projects are hard and I need to come up with a better stand solution for them. But here it is:

Now we are up to the 2024 started projects, the ones I started as Leap Year starts. There were originally only supposed to be 4, but it ended up being 7. Not sure how that happened. On Feb 17th, 2024, The Harry Potter US Bookcovers was the first start. I originally was going to do the one with the author's name (who shall not be named) at the bottom, but I have since changed it to the unnamed one. It didn't affect my progress so far though. It's on 28ct Easy Guide, 1x1 full stitches. I managed to stitch until Feb 25th, 2024 and didn't touch it again for the remainder of the year.

But 2025 and 2026 upped the ante and its now become another row finish for me this year. It's 74.9 hrs in, 18,385/121,975 stitches (but I think the final stitch count changed when I switched to the unnamed pattern), and it's at about 15% as of Feb 9th, 2026.

Evil Queen, a Once Upon A Time pattern by Thread Geeks is next. It was started on Feb 26th, 2024 and that was the only day in 2024 I worked on it. It's on 28ct evenweave, 1x1 (although I'm pretty sure it is Monaco):

Last touched on Nov 16th, 2025, it has the Hook effect in the opposite because there is a LOT of black background, but it's a much easier stitch. It is also supposed to be very blue-y and purple-y, but it obviously is not. The colors worry me. It should be coming up again pretty soon though. It's got 34.85 hrs worth of work, 8926/81,648 stitches for a total of about 11%.

I started three projects on Feb 28th, 2024, so these will be in no particular order. First up is Merida by DoNa Stitches. I blazed through DoNa's Rapunzel in a few weeks. This one isn't going as quickly. It's on 18ct opalescent evenweave 2x1. I worked on this for two days for 2024, start day and then this last time, Mar 8th:

I picked it up some in 2025 and just recently last week, so we are here as of Feb 15th, 30.93 hrs in, 6990/41,836 stitches and about 17% complete:

Next on the 28th new starts was The Blue Marble is so Fragile by Unconventional X Stitch, artist is Borda Danut Adrian. It's another HUGE project. It also got two days in 2024, last being Mar 1st. It's on 28ct Easy Guide evenweave, 1x1 full stitches. It was also another one I started on Q-snaps before I remembered (again) how much I hate Q-Snaps.

It got three more days in 2025 for a total of 12.1 hrs, 2733/298,350 stitches for a total of about 1%. It is now in scroll rods, although I apparently haven't stitched on it since putting it on scroll rods, so I'm having the same issue with my stand (which is probably why I haven't touched it since), but it should be coming up again soon in rotation (not that I have a rotation, I stitch what I want when I want or else I get too bogged down with it all and it feels more like a job):

At this point, I start to sound like a broken record...started on the 28th, yada yada yada, hate Q-snaps, yada yada yada, it's now on super long scroll rods, yada yada yada, etc. This is SS/MC Once Upon A Fairy Tale Bookshelf by Aimee Stewart, charted by HAED. It got one day of love in 2024:

And only a couple more in 2025. It's now at 9.52 hrs, 2103/713,265 stitches (and it is my biggest WIP), and it's WAY less than 1% done. It actually shows up as 0% on my spreadsheet (which I'll talk more about in part 2). March 24th, 2025 was the last time it was touched and obviously (again) not since it's been on scroll rods.

We're almost at the end! Two more starts on Feb 29th, 2024, Leap Day. First up is Mini Wisdom by Cherie Gerhardt, charted by HAED. It's on 28ct Easy Guide evenweave, 1x1 full stitches. Even though it only got one day of love in 2024 (start day), it's moving along well. Here is where 2024 left off:

The last it saw action was Oct 19th, 2025. It's now at 37.98 hrs, 8828/84,500 stitches and it's sitting at about 10%. It's very confetti heavy, so it's taking more time than I would like, but HAED's minis are notoriously harder than a regular pattern, and that's a hill I will die on.

Last one, Belle of Bonaventure by Jasmine Becket-Griffith, charted by HAED. I had trouble deciding between this and another JBG, and this one won out, but not surprisingly, the other one became a 2025 start which we will discuss in part 2. This one is, of course, 28ct Magic Guide evenweave, 1x1 full crosses.

Of all the Leap Year starts, this one got the most love. I absolutely adore stitching it and, because it was before HAED started dithering, it just makes it that much more enjoyable! It's got in 94.13 hrs, 24,185/118,000 stitches, and is sitting at about 20% done. It was last touched Jan 18th of this year.

And that's it up to the 2024 starts! Doing these long posts just got too hard, then a bunch of bad life stuff happened, and it all just got away with me. Even now, I expected to have all my WIPs in one post, but we are just sitting way too long right now for this to continue for the 2025 and 2026 starts, so until next time with Part 2!

Sorry I'm late, but have BIG news!

Let's get the stitching out of the way first. My ADHD is in high gear right now. I'm having issues focusing on any piece for very long, so I was all over the shop this week. I stopped working on Amour et Vengeance and moved back to Belle of Bonaventure, which is what I wanted to do anyway. I left off on her here last time:

I'm not digging her off white face (she's a bit Wednesday Addams) but, I'm hoping it will all work out in the end. I managed another 10.58 hrs and 2675 stitches for a total of 68.22 hrs, 17,705/1118,000 stitches and 15%.

Next up, I went ahead and started Garden Path from Monet by Yiotas.

I'm fighting with the large paper pattern, but I'm just not feeling it either, so it got one whole night. It's not big, that marked square in the middle is the size of the whole thing, but I think the confetti might make it take a long time. I also can't give complete totals since it didn't cross into Markup RXP right, but by the pattern, I know there are a total of 26,730 stitches. I can also tell you that I did 804 stitches in 3.8 hrs. I'll keep up with the stitches as I go manually.

I kind of realized I needed something a bit easier and maybe that would sort out my ADHD, so I picked Merida by DoNa Stitches. I last left on this on 2-9 here:

I only worked on it one day this week so far (other things to discuss in a mo-mo), but I got another 886 stitches in 3.72 hrs, for a total of 22.47 hrs, 4745/41,836 stitches and I'm now at 11.34%. If I focus on this, it should be a quick finish, maybe a month or two, but again, ADHD is a pain, dude.

On Tuesday, I had a HORRIBLE crick in my neck (which I still have, FYI), so I decided not to stitch that night. But that's not the good news, or scary news, depending on each second my obessive brain flip flops.

I had already decided that this year, considering the debt from the past several trips, even though this is my 55th birthday and a big one, I probably wasnt' going to go anywhere for my birthday. I did consider a few places, Nantucket, Cape Hatteras, even Universal for Harry Potter (which was OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive, BTW), but eventually decided I wasn't really interested in anywhere and decided maybe to pay down some debt first and maybe get my new skirting or new deck.

I was having a rather innocous conversation with a co-worker about swimming, something I haven't done since I was a teen, since I grew up with a pool, but I refuse to be seen in public in a bathing suit now, so it's a moot point. I was reminded that the last time I stuck even my feet in a pool was many years ago at Wilderness Lodge, my favorite Disney resort. Then I started trying to figure out when the last time I had stayed at Wilderness Lodge and it was 2013! That was ridiculous! Then my brain went into overdrive. I randomly ended up on the Disney website to check prices around my birthday and they weren't bad! I saved a cart, but decided I needed to talk to my therapist on Wednesday before I did anything drastic.

As some of you may remember, my last trip to Disney in 2021 was a life changer. Not only did I plan that bad (booking a month out), but I didn't physically prepare so I spent the entire trip in severe pain (and it even led to both my knee surgeries in the couple of years that followed). It was also, not only the first trip I had taken since "Hotel California" in 2017 (my last Disney trip before that was 2016), but the first trip since COVID. It was stupid of me to do it and it severely burned me on Disney totally. I did start taking trips again, but it's been to the Northeast (several times) and Boulder and a few other places, not Disney. I had decided that I can go a ton of other places for a 1/3 of the price of a Disney trip (not including spending money, which would probably lower it to an 1/8 of the price). Plus, I disagreed with a TON of the changes Disney has been making. Disney hasn't been a thought for me in the years since (well, maybe a fleeting one, but more of reminiscing the old days).

This morning (Wednesday), I realized I don't have therapy today, it's Friday. I couldn't wait until Friday. They might book up at the cheaper rate, the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets should go on sale at any time this month, timing was key. So, this morning, after talking to a couple of co-workers, I booked it! A birthday trip to Wilderness Lodge! It's 6 days/7 nights (hence my 7 park ticket purchase). I decided to book a value resort for the night before (making it 7 nights), simply because I want to get my ticket's worth and didn't want to waste a night at a Deluxe Resort when I would be arriving late. I have done this before, one night at a Value then move to the Deluxe, and it worked out well. My therapist and I will just fight it out on Friday, it's done.

Yeah, I'm going to Disney World! Granted, I have to walk a lot between now and then to get in better physical shape as well as lose at least 30lbs (I've done it before, I can do it again). I'm not entirely sure where the money is going to come from, but that's why god made credit cards and I do have a Disney rewards card, so more Disney points for me (and adds to my spending money fund). Because I haven't been in such a long time and there have been SO many changes, I will have a few months to study up (and gives me a project for the next few months and focuses my brain).

I booked the Quick Service meal plan instead of the full Dining Plan. For those that don't know, Quick Service plan includes 2 quick service (or counter service, non-reservation sit down restaurants), one snack and a refillable mug (which is only good at the resort, but I collect the mugs more than actually use them on the trip). The full plan includes one quick service, one sit-down meal, one snack and the mug. I can't remember what I did last time (I will look it up when I get home), but considering I can count on one hand how many times I've been in a restaurant since 2017, I'm not sure it is wise to book restaurants. I will probably eat at Raglan Road for my birthday (it had become kind of a Disney tradition for me...bangers and mash!) and I can pay for that out of pocket. But I can change the dining plan if need be between now and then, or even upgrade when I get there. I need to research the restaurants because they have all changed since the last time I was there (as well as MANY other things).

One of the big issues in 2021 was the buses and how close I had to sit next to people after COVID (something that always bothered me, but having strangers touch me after that was almost unbearable). But with the Lodge, most of transportation is not buses. Yes, Animal Kingdom is exclusively bus, but the Magic Kingdom is a boat. I can get a boat to the Contemporary and take the monorail to either Magic Kingdom or Epcot. Epcot and the Studios both connect via boats and skyliners (and the skyliner goes to Pop Century, so I can get to Disney Springs via boat from either Epcot or the Studios)...and about a dozen other transportation options other than buses. Last time at Saratoga Springs, even though I wasn't exclusively tied to bus (there were boat options), the skyliner was barely working and new and I didn't want to risk it. That makes it even more exciting, human distance (to a point)!

Normally, I also upgrade my park tickets when I get there and get an annual Passholder (basically for the extras you get with that, special pins, discounts, etc), with the idea that I will go again in a couple of months, which would make it worth it financially, but I have only ever gone back a second time in the year of the pass twice. I'm not sure it's a good idea to upgrade (but even just for the discounts and pins, I might splurge and do it anyway).

I also have not edited a picture from any trip since Disney 2016, and I'm not sure those are edited properly. I need to get Lightroom for a couple of months and fix that. Depending on when I start that, I might actually be able to photo update you on all my past trips since 2021!

This will also probably cut into my stitching. I take Disney planning VERY seriously, and the fact that I didn't plan in 2021 is one of the reasons why that trip failed so spectacularly. I won't risk that happening again. So stay tuned, more Disney info to follow! And maybe I'll be able to update my Disney reviews page! I haven't done that since 2015 (didn't even apparently do them for 2016). If I don't shut up now at the possibilities, I won't shut up at all! I'm already pissing off co-workers today!

Not the best week, but...

Stitch-wise, it wasn't a bad week, it was just the rest of the world that fell apart, but more on that later. I did actually progress with The Bride Doll Making (I really need to make sure I do that title right, half the time I say "Dollmaker" which is the artist's name, but you guys know what I mean). I left off last time here:

I worked on her for three days, although each day I did less and less. I got another 1566 stitches in an additional 9.02 hrs, for a total of 47,583/107,269 stitches, which is 44.36% and a total of 248.63 hrs.

I moved on to a new start, the 40 year-old kit, The English Garden. I remember why I never started it (I was scared of the 18ct fabric, which is hilarious now), but I don't remember why I purchased it in the first place because it's not my style. Maybe it was a gift? I really don't remember, but here is what it will look like:

I had replaced the fabric with another 18ct but, my goodness, is the new fabric stiff! Since the threads aren't labeled with their DMC numbers, I'm a bit SOL on those if I run out (other than just trying to color match them). I also can't give you a total percentage or how many stitches I have left. Since it was from a kit, and the pattern was one long sheet of pattern (and not the only of my new starts that is that way), I can't trust that Markup-RXP has the correct number of stitches total. I'll know if Markup-RXP got it right or not by the end of the project. So, I'm going to do this one like so: I did 3466 stitches in two days and in a total of 16.18 hrs.

It was weird working on a kit again, but I'm glad there were no half or quarter stitches. There will be some backstitching, but not a lot, so I'm not worried about it.

On Sunday, I started another new start, Strangely Lonely, artist Jasmine Becket Griffith and charted by HAED.

This is my absolute favorite piece of artwork by JBG, probably because I feel a kinship to this picture. But stitching it started out rough. Firstly, I got about 350 stitches in and realized I hadn't gridded it properly. I took the total measurements, split them in half in both directions, found the middle of the fabric, and counted away. I wasn't considering the fact that the first page would start at the beginning of a 10 block and not in the middle.

It took way longer to frog the stitches than it did to; a) stitch it originally and b) restitch it. Numerous times I almost just stopped altogether. The culmination of everything else from the week was really dragging me down, but I continued on. I got 1159/273,150 stitches done, which is 0.42% and I put in 6.35 hrs (I did keep the first stitching time included in that, but not the frogging). Here is where I stopped last night:

I'm not sure what will happen this week stitch-wise. Strangely Lonely is in a weird place, so I'm not feeling it, but I know I will eventually if I get through this rough patch.

On the home front, the boys went to the vet for their 6 month check-up and shots on Thursday. The news wasn't great (to say the least). Bug needs his teeth cleaned (which isn't cheap), but he's only 11 so it can still be done. Bam's can't be cleaned because he's 15, and they desperately need to be cleaned. Bam, my beautiful baby boy...his heart murmur is starting to affect his kidneys and liver and his counts were elevated. They put him on the medicine that Zander was on for years, so we'll see how it goes. Back in the day, they also told me that Zander didn't have long to live when he was 5 and he lived to 11, but with Bam being 15, they told me to "prepare myself" (although I'm trying to stay positive). Plus, Zander was sick his whole life and Bam never really has been other than being blind now. Bam also has a knee that sounds like one of mine, all gravel, which explains why he's been walking like a car drifting on sand. To make it all worse, their bill (not including the future teeth cleaning) was almost $1000 for 15 minutes worth of interaction on a 9lb and 17lb pup? Really? Bam was a bit put out by the time we got home, and me hovering over him didn't help. He got so aggrevated, he wouldn't sit in my lap, he sat in his bed, but he did stare at the chair, even when I wasn't in it and I could tell he wanted up. Stubborness is a trait that runs in our family though, so he camped in the bed all weekend!

And, if that wasn't enough, I've been having issues with the skirting around my trailer since we have high winds almost constantly now, so, once we got home from the vet, I was checking it and found something really disturbing.

I'm pretty sure it's been almost a year since I looked at that spot, but I don't remember any burn marks (and I think I would had the same reaction I had this time had I saw it before). Also, considering this is also about one foot from the incoming natural gas pipe, I wasn't feeling too good about it. So, Thursday night, I barely slept at all and I called my electrician first thing. He wasn't going to come out because he said it wasn't anything he recognized as electrical and I needed to talk to the trailer park people and find out what that was. I let work know I would be late and they just told me to take a vacation day (which I'm glad I agreed, I needed it). Once the trailer park maintenance came out, he said it was an old cable box that wasn't connected anymore and the burn marks looked old and were probably burned into the pipe piece before they placed it there to make a dent for the box. I wasn't happy with that answer, but what could I do? I had two separate "specialists" telling me it was nothing and the burn mark does look old.

But I also had a long discussion with the park people about getting my skirting replaced and potentially my deck (depending on how much the skirting costs). My deck is about like a surfboard now, you never know if it's just going to slide and collapse on itself with every step on it.

There are a lot of repairs that need to be done on that trailer, but I really don't want to invest the money in it, especially when the park owner (who lives in Texas) could sell it to a developer at any time and then we'll all be homeless (the entire neighborhood now is nothing but cookie cutter subdivisions). I was told when we moved my trailer here (almost 30 years ago now), that it wouldn't survive another move. And land here is so expensive (and exclusive as to where trailers can even go), I would be out of luck even if I could move it. But there is no way I could afford a house now, even if I had to move, so I just sit and wait for doomsday. But I figure if I keep the outside looking good, maybe they will leave me alone for now. They don't need to know what the inside looks like, right? If I'm about to get swamped with vet bills, the house can wait.

I kept waiting for that third terrible thing to happen (bad things come in threes), but it hasn't happened yet, so I'm on hyper-alert waiting for #3, because it's coming. Here's hoping that it's only two bad things, for the first time ever in my life!