Sat. July 18, 2009

Hi, Everyone,
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have been able to learn some things and share some things on my website to help you or others with domestic violence and abuse.

This past Tuesday I was outside at the back of the house washing the siding off. Bird droppings, and sometimes green stuff accumulates and needs washed off. While standing at the edge of a flower and bush bed out back, between the two decks, there was a spot on the siding that wouldn't come off with the long-handled brush I was using. So, I made my way up to the siding through the bush bed to try and scrape it off with my fingers and discovered there was a hole in the siding. I called out to hubby to come out and take a look. When he did, he said, "That looks like a bullet hole." So, he did an estimate of where it was below the stove vent and if it came out inside the house. He went inside. He called to me and said, "Hey, Buckwheat, it came through the wall behind the stove!"

I went inside and sure enough behind the stove on the wall was the much larger hole. Then we both noticed the indentation on the left vent panel on the back of the stove. I said, "Hey, I bet the bullet is in there behind the panel!" He used a screwdriver to remove the back panel of the stove and sure enough, there was the bullet lying on the edge of the back of the stove!" Holy cow! Freaked us both out!

He picked up the bullet and laid it on the counter. Hubby said it looked like a 30 caliber of some kind, possibly from a semi-automatic rifle. I called the Sheriff Department. They said they would send someone out as soon as possible.

When the Lieutenant arrived, he examined the bullet and verified it was a 30-caliber fired from possibly a semi-automatic. He said if it had come through the window or our sliding glass door, we could have been killed or badly injured!

Both hubby and the Lieutenant surmised the bullet was on its last leg of its projectile and was possibly fired from a good distance away, otherwise it would have gone through the stove and into the refrigerator!

That being said, we mentioned we had heard shootings, rapid in succession, last week or the weekend before.(The neighbors property beyond our woods behind us have a large wooded area also and there is always shooting going on over there any day of the week, especially on Sundays.)

Then when the Lieutenant was getting ready to leave, he mentioned if we were in the house, we definitely would have heard a loud noise and being metallic or ping-sounding. Well, that triggered my memory! I told him the other evening I was watching T.V. in the family room and hubby was reading a book in the living room. I heard a loud popping noise followed by a metal sound and asked hubby, "Did you hear that?" He said he did, but thought it came from out on the road, possibly from a vehicle passing by. I remember going out to the kitchen, thinking maybe Tigger, the younger cat, got into something in the kitchen, but she was lying on the floor in the dining room when I went to check on her. Hmm. That could have been when it happened.

If it had been about 20 feet to the left, the bullet would have struck me in the back of the head while sitting in my chair watching T.V.! That was the level across from where it entered the wall behind the stove! Or, hubby could have been out on the porch reading or studying and could have been shot too! Anything was possible and the many scenarios were running through my mind!

Thank you Lord for your protection! Wow! He had our Guardian Angels watching over us!

The Lieutenant took the bullet into evidence and possibly down the road they might be able to match who it belongs to. The bullet was intact and in good shape. (I talked with him later on and he went to the neighbors who have the property behind us to ask who had been shooting of late on their property but no one was home.)
Very scary moments my friends!

On a brighter note, we have a family reunion today. This is hubby's side of the tree and we will go there around noon today, visit with everyone, play cards, eat to much, and come back home later in the day or evening.

We finally received some much-needed rain yesterday and hopefully more over the weekend. The garden is really looking good and hubby's corn is starting to produce little ears, but if it doesn't get any rain to fill out the ears, no corn!

Thanks for stopping by and tell others about my website to help them. Thanks for your emails and notes of encouragement. I appreciate all of you!

Stay safe and enjoy the summer!
Becky :)

Friday morning, July 10, 2009

Hi, Everyone,
I've been extremely busy these last two weeks so therefore I have not been able to do a blog. Thanks for visiting! Tell others about my website so they can gain valuable information in becoming survivors!

The CCAPL now has land! We signed all the documents on Wednesday July 1st, and it is now officially ours. How exciting but scary! Next steps is to get approval of a sewer system by the EPA, and a driveway entrance by ODOT. Well drilling will be a must too. We are remaining patient. The engineering company we hired to do all the grunt work (and pretty much all the detail work) is being very reasonable to us. I've contacted a grant writer who helped us before, and she is willing to help us again for construction, etc. grants. I sent one out yesterday.

The summer is flying by. The garden is growing well but could use a little rain. I think we are supposed to get some tomorrow night. Hubby will be glad as his corn and potatoes are coming along nicely. Actually, one of the dogs came out of the garden with a small potato the other day. Hmm. Couldn't find where they dug it, but we will have to be extra diligent in watching them now that the potatoes are forming!

Hubby has a new buddy-"Wilbur" the Chipmunk. "Wilbur" (or Wilma), races across the yard to the corncob in the tree out back and fills his little cheeks with kernels. Then races somewhere and buries them. Well, we have found different areas where he buries them as the kernels begin to sprout. That is going to be one lean Chipmunk this winter if all his "catches" sprout where he buried them! He has even buried some in my flower pots!

The nights have been cool, and great for sleeping. We haven't had the air-conditioner on hardly at all. Part of one week recently was very cold. I had on a shirt, flannel shirt, and even dug out my winter hat! Sheesh!

The next three days I'm working a hot dog and bake sale for the CCAPL at a local grocery store. The morning-afternoon shifts. Sure hope we do well. Now that we are committed to a loan payment each month for the land, our fund-raising efforts are even more vital to us.

I gotta go for now. I have to get things ready to take for the hot dog/bake sale.

Have a great weekend and I'll be back soon, I promise!
Enjoy often, be blessed and stay safe!
Becky :)