Greatest Hits: Act 2

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At some point in my minimalist journey, I got to the point of minimizing photos. I would not recommend such a sentimental category for a novice minimalist. This is a group to save for towards the end of your decluttering journey. 

I decided to carefully curate an album of 200 photographs that I call my “Greatest Hits” album. These are my best and happiest memories from my life. At the time, my thinking was that if I am in a nursing home or some sort of care facility at the end of my life, I would enjoy having this one photo album of all my precious memories.

My Greatest Hits album has so far been an excellent idea. Sometimes it’s nice to look at when I am feeling down. I no longer worry about printing photos or deleting photos. I know I have the very best of my collection in my Greatest Hits album. 

Now, with the Act 2 in this title, I am in no way about to go all maximalist and start a second Greatest Hits photo album. I do not need an additional 200 photos (for a total of 400) to tell my life story. That is not what Act 2 means. 

When I curated the Greatest Hits album, I had bought my first house. After a history of childhood (and adult) homelessness, I never thought I would be a homeowner. Purchasing my first home was such a relief. I remember saying, “we will never be homeless again.” I felt settled. I had all this in mind when I curated my Greatest Hits album. I had thought that the best of my life was behind me. I was biding time.

I had no way of knowing what was in store for me with the daily neighbor harassment and abuse that caused us to flee that house and relocate to the opposite side of the state for safety. 

However, that is what happened. We sold the house in the Village of Horrors, and I bought a different house. Never in my life would I have ever thought I would be able to sell and house and purchase a new one. It’s honestly not an experience I ever want to go through again. Although, the entire move was exacerbated by our physical injuries and the threats from the neighbors. 

This is where my Act 2 comes in. I feel like we have a new lease on life. It’s a kind of awakening being in a brand-new place trying to find your footing. 

Sitting in our new house now that we are safe from neighbor abuse, I was looking at the Greatest Hits album and realized three things:

  1. Flower was not in the Greatest Hits album. Flower is a family member. There are five cats that I rescued from the dog fighting ring who were not in there. They needed to be remembered too.
  2. I did not want anything in the Greatest Hits album from the House of Horrors that I had to sell to get away from the abusive neighbors. That chapter of life was so traumatizing and evil. I don’t want any reminders.
  3. Life isn’t over. We still have Greatest Hits happening and things to come. I’m not stagnant anymore because I am no longer paralyzed by abuse. I’m no longer physically blocked from leaving my home and prevented from living my life. We still have another decade ahead of us.

Put together, all of this means I needed to curate my Greatest Hits album to include my Act 2. What this looks like:

  1. Previously, each cat (Kitty, Kip, Jude, Simon, and Jolene) had 20 photos each. Now, each cat has 16 photos each, and Flower is included. For the cats I rescued from the dog fighting ring, they have a little folder with photos of each of them. They are not in the Greatest Hits album, but their small folder is beside the Greatest Hits album. So yes, I guess I did expand beyond the 200 photos a little. 
  2. When I curated the photos, I looked for any photos taken in the House of Horrors and tried to replace it with a photo from somewhere else. I could not do that with all of them. Jude never made it to the new house. But I tried to make sure that there are only the very best photos of Jude, and the focus is obviously on him and not the fact he was in the House of Horrors (the same for Simon and Jolene).  I do have photos of Jude and Simon in the apartment before we moved into the House of Horrors that helped too.
  3. I had to add photos of Radar and the new house. We still have a lot of new things to see, so it’s possible the Greatest Hits album will need to be curated again sometime.

While I did not go all maximalist and add an entire second album of 200 photos, there is a small envelope of about 10 photos of the 5 cats I saved from the dog fighting ring that can be tucked into the Greatest Hits album. Four of the five were adopted into loving homes. One had to be euthanized from their injuries. They all need to be remembered. 

All this made me realize that the Greatest Hits album is not some stagnant thing. It’s a living documentary of the best times of our lives, and we are still adding to it. We may only have another decade together, but I am hoping for the sweetest decade to come. 

If you are interested, the photo on the cover of our Greatest Hits album is Fenway Park. Fenway Park is one of my two most favorite places in the entire country. I’ve always said that “Heaven looks like Fenway Park.” This is especially true when Fenway is at sunset. The view is downright stunning.

Of my six cats deceased and living, the first cat who passed away was Kip. Kip used to love to cuddle me when watching baseball. The last baseball we watched together before he passed was the 2013 World Series. It was the first time in 95 years that the Red Sox won a World Series at home. The prior World Series wins were done on the road. 

It was a magical time, and Kip was starting to go downhill when we watched it. I remember telling him that “Heaven looks like Fenway Park,” and I truly believe that it does for him. 

So, the cover photo of our Greatest Hits album is Fenway Park. When we are all done and our stories are over, that’s where we will be. 

It’s not over yet. We are still living and getting new photos for our Greatest Hits album. This is Act 2. 

Riding Around the Sun

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It’s that time. I have made another trip around the sun. Birthdays are my favorite holiday. Every time I get one, it’s like a giant middle finger to the world that I was able to survive another year of what life threw at me. I don’t understand why people dislike birthdays. When you stop having them, that’s the problem. It’s not the dates on the stone. It’s that dash in between the dates that matters.

This past year was the worst of my life. I feel lucky to have another birthday. At the old house, I survived the crazed neighbors trying to burn the house down while we were in it, the gunfire that started in June 2025, and the daily harassment. We were able to escape and move several hours away to a safe place. 

It’s hard to sell a house in a neighborhood that bad. Several potential buyers put in complaints to the real estate agents without putting in offers. I had people who offered to buy the house and backed out when they witnessed some of the criminal behavior the neighbors were engaging in when they did their drive-byes of the home. 

What makes my heart ache the most is Jude passing away. He didn’t make it to the new house. He died in that house of horror neighbors. 

Recovery from an abuse situation that horrific is long and challenging. I still have physical injuries from which I am recovering. There is the mental recovery too. After being held at gunpoint, having gunfire right outside my house, and the constant pounding of boom cars, I’m very jumpy now. 

I love being able to sleep through the night now that I do not have people pounding on my door at all hours of the night screaming “Fire!” when there is no fire. When I was growing up, it was illegal to do something like that in a movie theatre. However, if you do that to someone’s house in the middle of the night daily for almost two months, it’s perfectly legal. 

But to get back to the positives of my trip around the sun. All that abuse with those horrible neighbors is behind me. What is ahead of me?

Well, we moved close to one of my two favorite places in the USA. I’m looking forward to spring and summer. Winter has been long and hard. 

As ever, my goal is to outlive the cats so I can keep them together. Jolene and Simon are very closely bonded. Flower seems to have chosen me as her human. My biggest goal and my greatest gift in life is in taking care of them until it’s time for them to naturally pass. 

Simon is the youngest. He will be turning 10 in May. So being optimistic, I figure I need to ty to stay alive for another decade to be able to outlive them. Then, I can do my patriotic duty and go to the euthanasia clinic that I was continuously being pressured to do where we used to live. 

I’m going to just try to enjoy the next decade with the cats and learn our new area. Other than the cats, my goals for live are to live peacefully and try to spread kindness where I can. 

In 2026, I have been trying to do one act of kindness per month. This is something I used to do but completely stopped when the neighbor abuse started because I was so overwhelmed with the daily harassment. So far, I purchased a new book from the library wish list, put $20 towards someone’s grocery bill behind me in line, and have some donations ready for our local animal shelter.

The world really sucks right now. We are all suffering. I figure we might as well try to help in small ways that we can. 

We had a lot of help in getting out of that old house and away from those horrid neighbors. I will be forever grateful for the help we had. It’s the least I can do to try to pay it forward with kindness. 

I’m hoping my next ride around the sun is much more peaceful that the last. If 2025 was the worst year of my life, hopefully 2026 will be better. 

The cats and I are together and that is all that matters. We are finally safe. We are no longer being physically attacked, injured, and harassed daily. 

I’m still here. I’m riding around the sun. I’m grateful to be alive. 

Yellow House in the North Country: Sand and Snow

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We had about two months in our new house before the snow started. Moving was a whirlwind. This is the biggest move I have made since the 90s. It was made under extreme duress. I was trying to walk after work in the evening to get my bearings learning our new neighborhood and area. On these walks, I noticed a lot of sand.

I didn’t think anything about the sand. I have lived in various places throughout the country. Different parts of this country have different kinds of dirt. When I was in Virigina, the dirt was red clay. On Cape Cod, we had sand. When we were on the New York – Pennsylvania border, the dirt down there was brown – traditional dirt you think of like mud.

Seeing sand, I just figured that was the type of dirt up here. The sand here is different than the sand on the Cape. The sand on the Cape is lighter in color – more tan. The sand here is darker in color – more brown. I just figured that the lighter sand was beach sand and the darker sand was mountain sand. 

No matter what color of sand, it still tracks in the house. I was constantly sweeping the floors before the snow came. 

Now that we are four months into our first North Country winter, I know the sand is not the natural dirt up here. Sand is used on the roads in the winter. 

Our snow total thus far is 22 feet. Our biggest storm dumped 4 feet, followed by another 2 feet two days later. Who knows how much sand has been used on the roads. But there is enough of it being used every winter that it makes it seem like the dirt up here is sand, no matter the time of year. The sand doesn’t ever leave. It just sits as another layer on roads, yards and driveways. 

The snow will melt (eventually), but the sand remains. 

We have a brief warm up this week. We will be reaching the 30s for the first time since November. This is also the first time we have gone more than 48 hours without a winter storm warning for 6-7 inches (or more). 

It is now February. I will admit, I am getting some cabin fever. It has been a long, stressful winter. There were medical appointments that had been scheduled for December that I have had to push to spring due to the weather. 

For the past three months, it has been a challenge to get around. I have struggled to even get my mail from the post office. 

Two weeks ago, I was finally able to get to my preferred grocery store for supplies. It was the first time since late October / early November due to the weather. The location of my preferred store gets hit worse with snow. 

Now that we are more acclimated up here, I have three grocery stores I use depending on the weather. 

The first is my preferred store. My preferred store offers pickup and has all my allergy friendly specialty items for my multiple food allergies. Unfortunately, this store is in an area that tends to be the hardest hit with snow and is the furthest drive for me. 

My secondary store is closer.  The challenge is that I must go in person. While they have some allergy friendly items, they do not have a lot of them. It’s just hard on me physically to do all the shopping in person, especially when I shop for several weeks and the cart is completely full when I go to check out.

My third store is my Hail Mary. It’s the local market, which is close. It’s near the post office and the library. The local market does not have any of my specialty items. It does have basics. For the local market, it works best for me to get about two bags of groceries. I went in an emergency when the roads were too bad for me to get anywhere else. 

A priority I had when we first moved into the house was restocking our emergency supplies, since we used our emergency supplies for the move. Not only did I restock the emergency supplies, but I increased our normal emergency supply by about 50% to try to take in account how much more severe the winters are up here compared to what I am used to. It was a good estimate. 

Many times this winter, I have just done what I call the post office loop because the car needs to be driven. I can’t let the car sit too long. I must get it out and drive it. I drive to the post office because I need to check my mail. The library and local market are nearby. If I can make it to the post office, I do a little loop between the post office and home. I repeat it a few times because the car needs to be driven. That way the car gets out even though either the visibility or the roads (or both) are too poor to really go anywhere. 

Winter is not over. We are only halfway through February and still have all of March to get through. We are doing ok though. 

We are surrounded by snow. Once the snow is gone, we will be left with the sand. Let’s hope for a slow thaw so that melting snow does not flood. 

Streaking 2026

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Get your mind out of the gutter. Admit it. You saw this title and you immediately thought “naked.” This post doesn’t have anything to do with being naked. Streaking is a running term.

For over 20 years now, I have kept track of my annual mileage running. As a semi-professional athlete who made it once to the Olympic Trials, training logs are important. They offer insights into what worked and what didn’t. You notice patterns. They help you to tweak your training in the future to be able to improve. 

Over the years, my mileage has ebbed and flowed. It all depends on what is going on in my life and for what I am training. For a long time, my lowest mileage year was 2016. That was the year I ended up in the hospital with what looked like stroke symptoms. It took a long time to recover from the physical challenges I had that year. 

That said, 2025 is now my lowest mileage year. In fact, 2025 was so low mileage, it makes 2016 look like a marathon year (which it most definitely was not). Why was my 2025 mileage so low?

The neighbor abuse. I was repeatedly injured by the neighbors on purpose. I was harassed daily. Any time I left the house, I was chased by people on bicycles, had rocks thrown at me, and even had vehicles attempt to run me over a few times. It was not safe for me to go outside. That is not counting the active gunfire that started in the neighborhood in June of 2025 or the attempted arson that started in July. 

Trying to walk inside in 2025 while we were living at the old house was not an option either. My activities were frequently interrupted by their behavior and harassment. There were many times we had to hide in the basement for safety, and even then, the house visibly shook around us. 

In 2025, my health took a huge hit. In addition to not being allowed to run or live my life, I was attacked and physically injured by the neighbor’s multiple times. From July until when we left in August, they pounded on the door every single night at random times screaming “fire!” to interrupt our sleep and torment us. This was after their very real attempt to burn down the house in July that resulted in leaves on the tree in front smoking. 

On top of all this, I am battling health issues not related to the abuse we experienced. The doctor last spring told me he thought I had cancer. Everything is exacerbated by the abuse we were experiencing. It didn’t help that I was being physically prevented from leaving the house to seek medical care.

We were forced to move to a different part of the state for our safety. Now that we are in a safe place where I can leave when I need, I am getting the medical care I need. I am improving very, very slowly. There are still some major issues as the result of the physical injuries the old neighbors inflicted on me. But things are moving in a positive direction.

So where does streaking come into play? 

The fact that I was physically prevented from running and leaving the old house had a negative impact on my health. As part of my journey to get my health back, I have decided to start streaking for 2026. 

Streaking is a running term that means continuous days of running. Some runners are just streakers. They will do a mile a day, 3 miles a day, whatever is in their personal wheelhouse.

I have never been able to be a streaker due to overuse injuries. I have always needed at least a day off between runs. I can run every other day, but not every single day.

So, how am I streaking now?

I’m walking. I’m not running. 

Walking is not as strenuous, so I have been ok to streak with walking but not with running.

The doctor is very concerned about me being able to run as a direct result of the physical injuries I have from the old neighbors. However, they are ok with me running and are also encouraging it, for multiple health reasons. 

Of course, my goal is to be able to run again. I was only doing 3 miles a few times a week in my retirement. I don’t need to go far anymore. I just need to go.

Those neighbors at the old house took many things from me, including my ability to run. It is going to be a long road to get things back they took from me. There are things they took from me that I will never get back. Some injuries are permanent. 

So, I am streaking though 2026 with walking. How does it work?

I am walking for 30 minutes a day. I am typically walking about a mile in those 30 minutes. Due to the several feet of snow we have, I am walking inside my house right now. I spend 15 minutes walking upstairs and then 15 minutes walking downstairs. I even found a special “walking” radio station to listen to while I walk. 

I am protecting this 30 minute walk each day as “me” time for both my physical health as well as my mental health. After what we lived through, I deserve 30 minutes a day just for me.

The 30-minute walk is helping a lot with my mood. I’m a lot happier when I’m walking. Of course, I would love to run, but I am not physically able to do that yet. It will come. It’s 30 minutes a day I get to have fun. I have some of my best ideas when I am running/walking. I am able to work through a lot mentally. 

Physically, the walking is helping me to get stronger. There are many physical health benefits of walking from blood flow to musculoskeletal. After all, if you don’t use it, you lose it. 

Some days I don’t feel like walking. I am still forcing myself to do the 30 minutes. I always feel better afterwards. You just have to start. Don’t let things get you down. I am not going to improve if I do not put in the work. 

On the days I don’t feel like walking, I tell myself to just do the first 15-minute segment. After that first 15-minute segment, I always feel so good that I do the second 15-minute segment to complete the 30 minute walk. 

We are only halfway through January. If I cannot streak through 2026, I won’t beat myself up over it. I am fully aware that life happens and I may miss days this year. 

For now, I am protecting that 30 minutes a day as time that I need to recover from the abuse we experienced. I am doing my best to streak through 2026. As soon as the snow and ice are gone, I will be spending my 30 minutes outside. 

For now, I am spending my 30 minutes walking inside my house. I am not bored. I look forward to my walk time each day. 

Have you tried streaking? You don’t need to streak for a year like I am attempting. Some people will try for one week or for 30 days. You can customize your streak to you. I am doing 30 minutes, but you may do 15 minutes for a week. Try it out and see how you feel. 

Here’s to streaking 2026. No nakedness involved. 

Happy 6th Gotcha Day, Jolene!

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Six years ago today, I brought Jolene home with a cone on her head. She took the cone off while in the carrier on the ride home. Jolene had her spay and the first of many dental surgeries that year. Jolene had been dumped at the shelter in a box with her kittens. The kittens had all been adopted. They waited to do her spay because the kittens were newborns and she was nursing when she first went into the shelter.

Jolene is now 11 years old. She is the life of our home. Jude was the soul of our home, but Jolene is the life. Things would be very boring without Jolene. She is a busybody and has to know everything that goes on inside the house and outside from her window. This is why she is our Lead Hedgewatch-er.

With Jude, Simon, and Jolene, I had a rare, bonded trio. Jolene ran herd on the boys. Jude would always think twice before playing with her and often thought better of it. Simon may be bigger than Jolene physically, but she always wins. Everyone knows who is in charge. Jolene is the Queen of our household. 

Jolene gives Flower a wide berth. Even Flower knows not to go after Jolene. Flower does not like the word “no.” Pretty much the only time Flower hears “no” is if she tries to go after Jolene. Flower and Jolene are the same weight but built differently and have vastly different personalities. Jolene is very respectful of Flower and a little scared of her because Flower can be grumpy.

In the new house, we are settling into new routines and still trying to decompress from the intense abuse and trauma we experienced. Jolene rarely transports stuffies in the new house, and I’m not sure why. In the old house. Jolene would move her stuffies around every day. Maybe she knew how much danger we were in there and she was moving them so that she always knew where they were for when we had to flee. 

In the new house, we are safe. Maybe she doesn’t need to move them around here because she knows there is no reason to leave this house and she can leave her stuffies without worrying about them. 

There is a neighbor cat named Snowball who likes to come onto our back deck and look at Jolene through the window. I joke and say Snowball is her boyfriend. Every once in a while, she will look out that window that Snowball can reach to look in and I wonder if she is looking for him. 

Jolene is the one who was traumatized the most by the neighbor abuse and is still trying to overcome that. It breaks my heart. Prior to the neighbor abuse at the old house. Jolene was a friendly, happy go lucky cat. She would go up to anyone who visited and came out of her carrier at the vet office like she owned the place. 

Since the neighbor abuse with the noise, ruptured ear drums, attempted arson, and nightly awakenings to the sounds of “fire” the last two months we were there, Jolene has become more fearful. She now hides whenever anyone comes to the house, which she never used to do. She doesn’t just hide when they were here. She hides the entire day, genuinely terrified, after what we experienced at the old house. 

I will never forgive the abuse we experienced at the hands of those people and what they did to us. Jude and Jolene were impacted the most by their intentional cruelty. 

I truly hope the longer we are in the new house that Jolene will realize we are safe here and go back to being her normal friendly, outgoing self. She gives so much love to all of us and is truly the life of the house. 

Jolene has checked out every single window in the new house. She has relaxed enough that she is now okay with seeing people outside and does not hide when she sees people outside. She only hides when people come inside. 

Jolene regularly watches our very kind neighbor, Frank, when he helps us with the snowblower. Frank has even joked that he knows he is being “supervised by the furry residents” when he helps with the snow. 

Simon loves playing with Jolene and cuddles her too. With Jude gone, it’s just Jolene and Simon who are very strongly bonded. Flower still lives in her own little world. Flower tolerates Jolene and Simon more now that she did when she first arrived. Progress with Flower moves very slow. 

Ironically, when Jolene does get scared and hides, she hides in the bedroom with Flower. Flower seems okay with it.

Jolene brings so much joy and life. You truly notice when Jolene is subdued or when something is wrong. She is constantly running around playing, observing, and being the center of the house. 

I never expected to end up with a third cat when I was volunteering at the shelter in wait for a cat friendly dog. I am so blessed that Jolene picked me out. After watching all her kittens be adopted, Jolene deserved the best forever home. 

We love Jolene so much. Thank you for bringing the LIFE to our lives. 

Yellow House in the North Country: Thanksgiving

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My time off from work has all been used due to the neighbor abuse we experienced at the old house plus the move to escape that dangerous situation. There were many days that the neighbors prevented me from working. Not only did I have to use all my vacation time, but I had to take unpaid time off from work too. The harassment at work from the bad neighbors at the old house was so severe, it put my job in jeopardy. 

Thankfully, that is behind us now. We were able to leave the house where we were harassed daily and the neighbor’s attempted arson. However, there is still fallout from those events. Part of that fallout is that I had to work Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the Saturday after Thanksgiving trying to make up time. 

Surprisingly, I did have a few invitations to Thanksgiving in our new location. I had to turn them down due to working and due to covid. N95 respirators only work to prevent covid if they are worn on your face properly. 

The neighbor right next to me – the first one to come over and introduce herself when we moved in – brought me a plate of food. I was so grateful that she was kind enough to think of me.

To be honest, I was feeling a little down about Thanksgiving. Even though we are safe in a new home, it just doesn’t feel like the holidays this year. It’s hard learning a new area after being forced out of an area I lived in and knew for 25 years. That is the reality of what happened – we were bullied and harassed out of an area we knew. Our lives were threatened. We are starting over somewhere new.

My favorite Thanksgiving movie is Pieces of April with Katie Holmes. There is a scene in the movie where she explains the meaning of Thanksgiving to her neighbors who do not speak English. To paraphrase, she explained that there was this one time when people just realized that they needed each other, and they came together due to that need. 

It was the plate of food that neighbor brought me and the kindness of another neighbor in the days after Thanksgiving that finally helped me to feel the true meaning of the holiday this year. 

When we lived 3 hours south in the old house, I used to say we would get nickel and dimed with snow – half an inch here, half an inch there. It was just enough snow to be annoying, but not enough to really plow or shovel or cause problems.

Here in the North Country, you get your money’s worth of snow and then some. To be honest, I am having culture shock with the snow up here and it is only December. I wonder if I am hardy enough to live in the North Country with the winters here. 

Yes, I’ve always said I wanted to live up here when I retired. Honestly, I had a very romanticized idea of what that would look like. I did not factor in the reality of three senior cats and being completely alone because we fled an abuse situation. 

We have been getting about 7-8 inches of snow every other day since Thanksgiving. There are constant winter weather warnings and travel advisories. The roads have been closed once already. It’s snowing right now, and when I went out to shovel, there is at least 3 feet of snow out front. I’m not exaggerating.

My weight is still low due to health issues I have been having the past year due to the neighbor abuse at the old house. I’m under 90 pounds, unintentionally. There is no way I can handle a snowblower.

For weeks, I have been calling every single ad I see for snowplowing. I have asked all the neighbors and everyone I see, from the librarian to the postmaster, for recommendations for snowplowing.

I call and leave messages. I name drop, saying “this person told me to call you.” No one calls me back. 

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, someone answered their phone. I told them I saw their ad in our local flier for snowplowing and would like an estimate. He told me, “I don’t go to that town.” You have an ad in our local flier advertising snowplowing for this town, and you don’t come here? Well, thank you for answering the phone at least. I have left dozens of messages, and no one calls me back.

Knowing I cannot handle a snowblower, I did get an electric shovel. It weighs 20 pounds. I know I can handle it. My thought was that it is like a mini show blower. If I keep up on the snow it will be fine.

How very wrong I was.

That first big snowfall on Thanksgiving, I went outside after work. I can only shovel twice a day – before work and after work. By the time I got outside after work, there was already way too much snow for the electric shovel to handle. 

The neighbor across the street saw me struggling with the electric snow shovel. He came over and used his snowblower and cleared my driveway for me. He explained that he is retired, but his wife still works, so he keeps their drive clean. He used to help the woman who lived in this house before me (she passed away). 

Now he is helping me too.

I offered to pay him. He refused. At least let me give you gas money, that machine costs money in gas. He refused. 

His kindness has helped me feel Thanksgiving in a way I haven’t felt in a very long time. As it was said in Pieces of April, there was a time when people needed each other. 

I still need to figure out something kind to do for him for helping me. Even though he is helping me with the snowblower, I am still going out twice a day to shovel (unless he beats me to it with the snowblower.)

Having his help with the snow in the driveway and front has freed me up to be sure that my back deck is shoveled. I know to keep the snow off that due to the weight of snow. So I am shoveling the back deck when the neighbor helps me with the driveway.

Words cannot express how grateful I am for the help.

Even though I had to work on the actual holiday, our first Thanksgiving in the North Country is one for the records books. I am so thankful for kind neighbors. Even if they did not help me with snow and remember me on the holiday, just the fact that we are safe here and our lives are not in danger is the greatest gift. 

We are getting more snow now. It’s only December. We have 3 feet of snow. I’m sick of it. It’s going to be a long winter. I’m struggling to get the car out. I’m struggling to get my mail. I’m struggling to get to the grocery store, the vet office, and anywhere else we need. 

Even though I am struggling with winter, I am grateful that we are safe. We are together. We have neighbors who are not actively trying to murder us (truly, that is what the old neighbors did – they tried to murder us with the arson and other physical injuries they caused). 

We are forced to learn a brand-new area because we had to escape an abuse situation. This is the hardest thing I have ever done. Yet I’m grateful we are together and safe. 

Last year I had to deal with the 20-year-old child across the street having some sort of drug induced psychosis and driving his truck into the bushes and front porch of my house. 

This year, we are in a place where neighbors bring me a plate of food and help me with snow. 

Happy Thanksgiving from the Yellow House in the North Country. 

We are hoping the Yellow House in the North Country will be a new series on the blog.

Simple Joys

/ rachelgoes262 / 3 Comments

When we fled the old house in August, it was under extreme duress. We were being harassed daily, prevented from sleeping and leaving the house. All visitors were harassed as well. I left with the cats and with what would fit in the trunk of the car. I ended up having to go back for all my belongings, but at the time we left, I did not expect there would be a house to take belongings out of.

We were in temporary safe housing for almost a month before we were able to purchase and move into our new home several hours away. That time in temporary housing was a refuge for all of us. We were safe. We could sleep. There was no gunfire or attempted arson. 

I was very fortunate that we had a full kitchen with my multiple food allergies and the duration of time we were there. It was nice that the kitchen was stocked with necessities. There were pots and pans for cooking, a cookie sheet for baking, and dishware. 

Opening the drawers to see what utensils were available, I was surprised and delighted to find an ice cream scoop. With one of my multiple food allergies being dairy, it is rare that I get allergy friendly ice cream. It is difficult to find and expensive when you can find it. 

Seeing that ice cream scoop, I immediately thought how nice it would be to sit on the porch there and have a bowl of ice cream and watch the world go by. I wanted to relax. After months of daily harassment and not being able to relax due to injuries and  repeated attacks to our physical safety, the ice cream scoop was a whimsical reminder of a bygone era of simpler times.

The closest grocery store to where we were staying was a Walmart. I was both surprised and delighted to find that they carry many allergy friendly items. They have items that I cannot find in more traditional grocery stores. After spending the past five years plagued by food shortages in the area we moved from, it was refreshing to have allergy friendly food choices again. 

I chose an allergy friendly sorbet. I did indeed sit on that porch with a bowl of ice cream and relax for a few minutes. It was nice. 

In the new house, I realized I need new coping skills. I have coping skills that got me through the stress of neighbor abuse. However, I don’t want to relive that time in my life. The abuse we experienced at the hands of two different families in that neighborhood is the worst abuse I have ever experienced.

I decided to purchase an ice cream scoop for the new house and that I would continue to put that allergy friendly sorbetto on my grocery list even though it is expensive. The ice cream scoop was only 97 cents. It is a dollar worth spending. 

Now I can use the ice cream scoop in the new house and sit with a bowl of ice cream relaxing at night. Sometimes I just need a break for a few minutes. It’s been a rough year.

We are in a better place. Our lives are no longer in danger. However, it is very hard to just pick up and move to a completely new area where you know no one. We do have friends in the vicinity, but they are still about 45 minutes south. I need to meet new people in my immediate area (20 minutes or less). 

I know this is going to be a hard winter as we do not have adequate supports here. It has proven very challenging to meet new people. I am having a hard time finding help with snow, lawn, electrical, plumbing and HVAC. Contractors do not answer their phones. They do not return messages. It is very challenging to get connected here when people won’t engage.

The good news is that we are all together. We are all safe. We are no longer harassed daily, threatened, or experiencing physical injuries as the result of other people’s actions. We are no longer in danger of being tortured and murdered (as they told us they were going to do many, many times).

I never thought I would have to completely move out of an area I lived in for 25 yeas of my life just to be safe from physical harm, but here we are.

We have a new beginning where we are no longer in danger. I am taking pleasure in simple pleasures like an ice cream scoop. 

Throughout this process, I have come to realize the only thing that is important is that the cats and I are together and well. We all need to be able to access medical care. We are all together. Nothing else matters. We have love. 

Sometimes you only need a 97 cent ice cream scoop to bring you joy. 

Happy First Gotcha Day, Flower!

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One year ago today, Flower finally went into the live humane trap. One of my friends called Flower my white whale. Flower lived in the house next door and was kicked out when the dog was taken for neglect and abuse. She was outside for six years (at least) before I was finally able to trap her.

We lived across the street from people who were involved in a dog fighting ring using cats as bait and doing boom cars to advertise drug sales. I kept finding injured, spray painted cats. I had trapped four and got them to safety. Flower was the fifth and final cat I trapped. The neighborhood had really declined due to two houses across the street. When gunfire started, I knew it was time to leave.

I said I would not leave that house until I trapped Flower and got her to safety. I never thought that I would be her forever home.

The animal shelter that had helped me with the other injured cats I trapped and provided evidence for the dog fighting ring was full when I trapped Flower. They couldn’t take her. I said I would foster her. To be honest, it’s a good thing they were full. I am pretty sure that given Flower’s age and medical condition, she would have been euthanized. (At least one of the other cats I got to them had to be euthanized due to the injuries from the dog fighting ring.)

A few years ago, I saw Flower with a broken front arm. It was obvious it was broken. It was hanging at an unnatural angle. Even when she was hobbling on three legs, I could not catch her. Last October, she was limping along. I tried to trap again. Flower is extremely intelligent. She avoided the trap for years. 

On November 3, 2024, she went into the trap. To this day, I wonder if she is happy, she went into the trap? I hope she is. 

I had tried to find a home for Flower. The longer Flower was with me, the more I realized that she had chosen me as her human. Not only that, but I honestly don’t think anyone else wants to handle her. People are afraid of Flower because she hisses and hides. She only does that because she was tortured by humans. She’s traumatized by what happened to her.

When I trapped her and got her to medical care, the vt confirmed she did have extensive injuries. All four legs and her pelvis had all been broken at some point, along with other issues as well. 

Flower was with me as a foster child for about four months when I thought I had found her a forever home. It didn’t work out. People were interested in Flower, but when they met her or learned about her medical needs, decided they could not handle her. That’s honest. Flower is a senior special needs cat who has been through a lot of trauma. She has “issues.” I lovingly call her “spicy.”

Flower has captured the hearts of many people on the internet and has fans all over the world. She used to get her own update on our social media sites daily, then twice a week. Now, she is in regular rotation as a permanent family member. 

I am Flower’s forever home. She chose me as her person. After 6 years, she finally trusted me enough to go into the trap. I do believe she chose me.

Flower follows me around the house. Now that she has a ramp, she sleeps in my bed. She purrs. It took months before she started to purr. At first, it was barely audible. Now, her purr is quite loud. She loves sun puddles and looking out the window. She has never tried to escape the house or go back outside. 

Flower is extremely intelligent. She is carrier trained and knows baby sign language. I read a bedtime story to Flower every night. Sometimes Jolene and Simon listen too. Flower’s favorites are Goodnight Moon and Toad and Frog. Those are the ones she seems most interested in looking at the pictures. She moves her head around to look at them. 

I’ve known that Flower is a hospice situation due to her numerous health issues. I didn’t expect her to do this well or live this long. I never expected her to outlive Jude. Jude’s passing came out of left field. Jude was the one that Flower tolerated the most. Jude won her over. He was the only one of my three that Flower did not hiss at. 

Given her medical condition, bones, and eyes, it is estimated that Flower is 15 years old. She has a birthday in April. She will be 16 in April 2026. November is adopt a senior pet month. I wasn’t planning on adopting another cat, but this time last year, Flower picked me out and went in the trap.

I fully intended when she went into the trap that I would get her medical care and get her into the shelter. I never anticipated that they would not take her and I would need to try to home her on my own. I also didn’t anticipate that that home would be me. She lets me pet her. She licks me.

Every day I wonder, “are you happy you went in the trap?” I don’t know. I hope she is. The hardest part of all of it is that I know she would do best as an only child. At the same time, I feel like she chose me as her person. Unfortunately for her, I had three cats when she picked me out. 

Flower has been a trooper through the move. She is the one who did the best when we were in temporary housing. She did not seem as happy in our new house as she was in temporary housing until the ramp arrived. Now that she can use the ramp and get into the bed, I think she is ok. 

I hope Flower is happy. I really do. She’s so spicy, it’s hard to tell. 

Flower is a natural bobtail. She looks like a skunk from the back but a cow from the side. She is a beautiful cat. My heart breaks when I think of what she has lived through. I try not to think about it. I want to give her as much love as I can in the time she has left. I hope she knows she is loved. 

I hope Flower is happy she went in the trap.

Happy Gotcha Day, Flower! We love you! 

Happy Gotcha Day, Simon!

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Simon was adopted on November 1, 2017. He was a year and a half old when I adopted him. While Simon is the youngest cat in this home, he is the one that has been with me the longest. Simon has also been through two moves with me now. Simon moved from the apartment to our first house. Then, Simon moved from the hell house to our current home. 

Simon is 9.5 years old. He may be turning 10 in the spring and approaching senior status, but Simon will always be the baby. He is pure innocence. I had Kip and Kitty from the time they were kittens. I called them the Dynamic Duo. I remember kitten phase and can’t handle kittens. Since then, I’ve said I would adopt adults. Simon is the youngest adult cat I have adopted. 

Simon is the sweetest cat. He sleeps with me in the bed every single night. We were so fortunate that we were able to all stay together through this vert rough move we just went through. I was worried we would have to be separated for 3-4 days. Turns out, we had to be in temporary housing for 3-4 weeks. I am so grateful we were all together. The cars came through the ordeal better because we were all together. They are not unscathed, but better than if we had been separated.

Of the three cats, Simon is the one who has been handling the move in stride. It may be because this was the second move for him. The hardest part for Simon is that he is grieving Jude. Simon was with Jude from the day I brought him home. Simon and Jude were very closely bonded. 

While Simon is also closely bonded to Jolene, bis strongest tie was with Jude. Simon is our Chief Cuddler. He just loves everyone and wants to snuggle everyone in the house. Simon gets as close to Flower as he dares to get once she is asleep. Flower hisses at Simon when she is awake. 

Simon loves playing with small toy mice. He can often be seen on cat cam throwing them around in the air, batting them, and carrying them from room to room. If there are cat toys under appliances and furniture, it’s because Simon put them there. When we were in the apartment, I used to take a yard stick to fish out all the cat toys from under the refrigerator every week. I was regularly pulling out 20-30 toys a week. There are not as many toys under appliances in the house. This is a bigger space than the apartment. 

Even the vet office says that Simon is the sweetest cat. He fully cooperates for his exam and vaccines. Simon is very loving. 

His only downside is that Simon is afraid of everything. He is so sweet and innocent. He is easily scared. This made it extremely difficult to get him to safety in the old house both for tornado warnings and for neighbor attacks when we were being harassed and assaulted. 

The other challenge with Simon is that he chews cords. I’m not sure if that is something from his kittenhood, but when Simon is being naughty, he tries to chew a cord or string. I must hide all cords as much as possible. 

Everyone loves Simon. Sweet and innocent are the words that describe him best. “Simon is a good baby” is a phrase heard frequently in our home. Simon is a very good baby. He is such a precious soul.

When I adopted Simon, I had been approved to adopt him in October. I asked the shelter to keep him until November 1 before I picked him up. I did not want a new cat near Halloween and have him scared on Halloween on top of being in a new house. I thought it would be too much. I’m glad I made that decision, now knowing how scared he is of everything. It was the best choice for Simon. 

This marks 8 years that Simon has been with me. He is the perfect baby. Simon’s name comes from three places. First, from The Saint so that Simon has a link with Kip and Kitty. Second, from Paul Simon so that he has a link with Jude (and now Jolene). Third, from the Chipmunks. 

Simon knows his name, and it fits him. When I sing Paul Simon songs to him, it’s typically either “Everything about it is a love song” or “Loves me like a Rock.” 

Simon is the only boy in this house now. It’s Simon with Jolene and Flower. It’s so strange. I’ve always had boys. Jolene was my first girl. Now, Simon is the only boy. There is a lot on his little shoulders. He is the youngest cat in the house but has the most “seniority” since he has been with me the longest. 

Happy Gotcha Day, Simon! We love you! I am so honored to be your mom. Simon is a good baby. He is the most gentle and innocent soul. 

Smaller Space

/ rachelgoes262 / 4 Comments

Back in August, I had started a blog post about the forced exodus from our old house due to abusive neighbors. I wrote about the attempted arson and daily harassment we experienced that necessitated that we leave under extreme duress for temporary safe housing that I only disclosed to very few people. It made sense to write about it at the time I was living it, especially when everyone in that area (except the attorney) was normalizing the abuse we experienced. 

Reading that now, I relived what we lived through this summer. It was very traumatizing. I am not ready to talk about or post about the attempt on our lives that occurred this summer and the subsequent daily harassment we experienced by the neighbors. 

Suffice it to say, we are now in permanent housing several hours away from those horrible people. We are safe. We no longer experience daily harassment, abuse or threats. We can sleep through the night without being deliberately woken up. I can walk outside safely without being physically attacked. 

It was very hard to leave an area and a community I was part of for over 20 years. We were literally bullied out of our home we had known for decades due to two families who were engaging in various criminal activities.

Now that we are in a safe place, I am learning a completely new location This is the hardest move I have made since the 90s. 

When we initially left, I could only take the cats in the car and whatever I could fit in the trunk. We had to arrange the leaving at a safe time when I would not be physically attacked or otherwise physically prevented from leaving. A few weeks later, when I went back with a moving truck to move all my belongings out of the old house, the moving men were threatened with assault by the neighbors. It was a rough situation.

I had spent all summer downsizing and minimizing the house. I knew we would be moving to a smaller space, even though I did not know where we were going. 

When they say, you and your belongings grow and increase to match the size of the space in which you live, that saying is true. 

While I got rid of over three truckloads of stuff before the move, it was eye opening to see how much I really have now that we are living someplace that is literally half the size of the house we fled. 

At first, it was encouraging to find that all my belongings fit into a 16-foot moving truck with room to spare. I had friends who kept saying I had way too much stuff and there was no way everything would fit into a 16-foot moving truck. To my surprise and delight, they were wrong! 

All my belongings were stored in the moving truck for about 8 days before we could get into permanent housing. To be honest, I mostly forgot about what was in there. 

The cats and I were in temporary safe housing with only what had fit into the trunk of my car. It was very freeing as well as eye opening to see how little we needed on a day-to-day basis. What was most important was that the cats and I were together through the entire ordeal and that we were all safe. 

While I was elated that all my belongings fit into a 16-foot moving truck with room to spare, moving into our new home was a bit of a comedown. With half the living space, it now feels like I have way too much stuff. 

We have only been in our new home for a month. In addition to unpacking and getting settled in our new home, I am learning a new area, working full-time, attending to all our medical needs, and had to deal with the fact that Sophie was totaled in this transition. 

It’s been a lot of change and a lot of trauma.

When it snows this winter and things slow down, minimizing will be back on my radar again in full force. This house feels cluttered with all our stuff in it. It is overwhelming. Therefore, things need to be removed.

I’ve seen how little we needed when we were living the emergency those few weeks in temporary safe housing. We do not need all the stuff in the new house with us now. 

The biggest difference between the temporary safe house and our permanent home is that when we were in temporary housing, we were in an urban area. It was easy to get things there and access resources such as groceries and laundry. In our new permanent home, on-site laundry is a necessity. Other necessities we need in our permanent home that were not relevant in temporary housing include emergency supplies for winter, as we are not in an urban area close to amenities. 

If people get more things to fill a larger space, then we must conversely get rid of things to fit a smaller space. 

Our weeks in temporary housing showed me how little we need. The challenge will be curating the items in our permanent home down to what will fit here without being cluttered. 

On top of everything I am doing trying to get settled in a new area, I am also trying to take time for me. The cats and I need to heal from all the abuse we suffered at the hands of the neighbors. Jolene especially has been traumatized. She had always been a friendly, outgoing cat until the summer when the neighbors escalated. Now she is timid and fearful. We are all still mourning Jude. I feel so guilty I could not get him out of that house before he passed. We all have a lot of trauma to process as the result of the daily harassment we experienced and attempt on our lives. 

This winter expect to see a return to minimalism as we acclimate to a smaller space. I’m now looking at it with fresh eyes after our experience being in temporary housing for so long and having to flee our prior house under extreme threat and duress. I have a lot of “comfort items” that were not comforting and not needed when we were living the emergency. You don’t realize how little you need until you can only leave with a very small, space restricted amount of stuff. 

The good news is, that chapter of our life of horror is behind us. We have a new chapter ahead. While it has it’s challenges, we are all safe and no longer in physical danger. We can finally get back to our roots at Rewind Live Slow.