Food Stamp Saga - part 8

preface - I apologize if this sounds too wordy or jumbled. I had countless interruptions as I was writing this post.
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I got the food card and went in to Walmart. This post picks up from the last post on the January 2nd outing after we had left the food stamp office.  I only wanted to get a few basic items at that point because I wanted to make my biggest grocery purchase at discount and closeout stores in the next town.  I spent approximately $10 in Walmart for a total of about $33 of groceries up to that point for the month.  We were supposed to go discount grocery store shopping in a  few days, so I didn't get any more than that.

Forty days later, I still had not gotten to get any more groceries! If I could go, he had an excuse that he couldn't. A large part of that time, though, I could not leave because I had puppies to watch.  It was cold and I had to stay close to keep the momma dogs and other dogs from accidentally smashing the puppies in their effort of trying too hard to snuggle close to keep them warm.  We had the puppies because T L Ogre put the dogs together, then bailed on us all, but that story will be for another post series.

So over the next 40 days, I lived on the "stock up for emergency" foods I had tucked away.  Oh was I ever glad I had gone food dehydrator happy last Summer and Fall!

Of course, T L Ogre had to periodically brag about how good some of the things he was buying and eating were during the time I was getting really burned out on stale, out-dated, old tasting foods. (But I was truly glad I had them on hand) He did offer to share some bread or fruit a couple of times.   I did not like the feeling that gave me so I took a piece of fruit once and that was it.  His tone, body language and expressions all felt like he felt sorry for me and was giving me a hand out.  Something in that just wasn't right.

A couple of times a couple of my elderly relatives made the long drive out here and brought me a "care" box with a little fresh food and basic essentials.  I appreciated that more than I could ever express!

I could get T L Ogre to pick up pet supplies for me (my cost) because he finally understood that I would call animal welfare if he didn't, but not groceries.  He might have picked up an occasional item in town, locally, if I begged hard enough, but it would have cost more than where I usually shop.  I needed to stretch what I had left on that card, out as far as I could!  There were signs all throughout that long stretch that he had been to the next town over and he had been to those stores, but he never let me know he was going so he could pick something up for me.

So, I lived forty days without going to a grocery store, only got a few grocery items at the beginning of that stretch, and it had been about a month, also, prior to that  that I had not been to a store and he had only picked up a few dollar's worth of groceries (for us) during that time. I didn't like it, but it sure was an excellent test of how well I am doing with my emergency food prep skills and what I need to work on more.

Last Saturday, I finally got to go grocery shopping and use up all the funds I had left on that food card!  It was a beautiful, unseasonably warm day, only one puppy is left and big enough I could leave for the day.  T L Ogre needed to go over to that town for a few items, also, and said I could go if I helped with the gas.  I had to stifle a laugh.  He didn't  have enough gas money to go on his own!  I was still very sick and after the first two stores, realized I was still much weaker than I thought, but I pushed and got my shopping done!  And no, he would not help me load my groceries into the truck, either.  He just sat in the cab complaining that his foot hurt and he didn't have any money to get anything.

I also had to unload all of my groceries back at 'home' by myself.  My hand and knee were in agony, but I finally got it all unloaded and tucked away in storage totes.  I think I am enjoying my big box of fresh fruits and vegetables, best!  I was sooo salad hungry.  I was so thankful to have my tucked away stock of dehydrated veggies, but you just can't beat that fresh produce!

Throughout that day, as we drove around from store to store and on the trip home, he made mention of several times he had been, himself, and purchased this and that at the various stores.  I said,
I didn't know you had come and gotten groceries here." He replied, "It was when you had to watch the puppies and couldn't come." Ugh! I knew he had, I had found the signs of it, but now he had to rub it in. He had the food card with him, he had my funds on it, too, he came to the stores I needed to go to for groceries, but NEVER, during that 40 day period, did he tell me he was and ask what I needed picked up! What an azz! I could have given him at least a short list each of items those times so that I didn't have to pick mold off of my bread and cheese and all. He knew that I was having to do that, too.  He had to offer me some of his bread, instead, during that time so he appeared like he was doing something nice and sympathetically wonderful for me. Grrr.....

I really stretched the dollar out as far as I could, but I will need to still be thrifty and make it last as long as I can, as I am still at "$0" income and no longer have food stamps.  About two days before the day they told me to come back in to apply, I reminded him and asked if he could take me on that day.  He said, "No, just apply online. You can do it that way."  That will mean a phone conference, a conversation he has access to listen in on, leaving no way for me to get opportunity to speak freely with a human services worker, which, I am sure, is why he insists I sign up online.

I'm gonna be okay.  I will get through this.  I will once again earn a good income and, with that income,  I will purchase all of my own groceries where I want, when I want .... what I don't grow myself, that is.

Thanks for stopping in and for your support. Have a beautiful day.

Signed - Betty Sue

Food Stamp Saga - Part 7

During all of the Ogre's process at the Food Stamp office, another worker called me to her window.  She asked what I needed.  I told her but she said that since funds were already on the card, I couldn't apply for myself until the last day of the month. So, no money to my name and only $23 spent on groceries for the month. (yep, good thing I am a stocker upper when I find bargains!)

What made my heart fall the most was, I didn't get that chance to talk to a worker in person.  The stocked up food will hold out for awhile, but I wanted to seize the opportunity.  I was able to slip the worker a small slip of paper with the web address to this blog on it.  I sat back down to wait on David, but, as I said, he had just finished, also, and proudly strutted out to the truck.  At first, I thought he had gone out to get something he forgot or needed, but then saw that he was sitting in the truck so I went on out.

He looked puzzled, put his phone down and asked, "Finished already?"  I told him what she had told me.  He said, "Well, I guess we will split what is on the card, then."  He also had a bag of chips in the truck (which he offered me some of) that were from a store we had not been to and he never mentioned he was stopping at, so that was more groceries - munchies - he purchased above that "limit" he had given me, because I had already seen him purchase his limit, as well,  yet my share was only going to be half of what remained on the card. His share did not include all the munchies he has been purchasing, nor anything that he has purchased for his sister. He still took half of what was left on the card.  So greedy!

He mentioned about three other stops he had to make and asked if I needed to stop anywhere else.  I said no, not specifically, but if I could use the card, I wanted to get a few grocery items at Walmart when he made his stop there. (He now approves when I can and can't have the food card. He uses it whenever he pleases.)  When I asked for the card for Walmart, he got hatefully sarcastic, "I guess you can!  I can't get anything right now! I can't get anything until I can find a place to store it! I don't have anywhere to put anything!"  (Most of our food is stored in totes outside or covered over with tarps.   He has 45 acres and a house that is crumbling. He could find somewhere to store his food!  He had just recently, adamantly, tried to get me to move our food from outside, back into the heavily rodent infested old house before it all freezes.  He said the rodents would destroy less than a freeze (that didn't make sense and was opposite to him wanting it all outside in totes and tubs away from the rodents, and with no heat in the house, it freezes in there, too.  The food is mostly all outside because he had said to put it there and often got angry because I wasn't gettting the stored food outside fast enough, away from the rodents. I needed more weatherproof totes! Actually, I needed him to quit being lazy and us get going on the food storage building we had planned to have built by now)  Such manipulation and balance tilting!

Since I have lived here, the rodents in that house have destroyed hundreds of pounds of food, yet he had just recently raged at me to put all of our food back in that nasty old house.  He's crazy! He just can't make up his mind!  So, he insists I put our food supply back in with the rodents (I refused), grocery money is unaccounted for, he gave me a tiny spending limit, I find multiple signs that he is purchasing and eating his food when he is away from home and out 'running errands', it sounds like he tried to keep me from knowing the money on the card this month stuck, and HE refused to put HIS food in that rodent infested house! Sounds to me like he intended to not only starve my animals, but me as well!  Manipulation at its finest!  It's that "greedy little first grader pitching a fit because HE wanted the biggest "cookie"" type thing.

If you set aside the danger and frustration, he is hilarious!

Part 8 coming up shortly.  Thanks for stopping in and have a very good day.

Signed - Betty Sue

Food Stamp Saga Part 2

T L Ogre, on the other hand, then decided he would see if he could get food stamps. He was making decent money hauling metal and stuff when I met him, but soon after quit. He only hauled a load now and then in desperation to pay a bill. He also took an occasional odd job here and there. He has a therapeutic massage business, but that, too, became few and far between.

He finally took a job at Walmart. He felt like the pay was low enough he could get food stamps. He applied but was turned down because  he was barely over the bracket. He constantly griped about how Walmart had to be doing that on purpose, keep employees' pay just above the limit. Eventually, for numerous reasons, he quite the Walmart job and took a job with fewer hours (19/wk) and less pay (provider for a relative).

Right after switching jobs, he went back to the DHS office, applied again and proudly got his food benefits started. He said, "I've paid in for so long, it's about time to get something back! I don't feel guilty at all, It's my turn!"

As soon as I moved in here, he went right back down and added me to his card. He was happy and pleased to see how  much more we got in food benefits. He kept his  job at the low hours it was and decided not to add another patient, nor add another part-time job.

I am always embarrassed when I go to the store and have to pull that card out, but he repeatedly stated that it was his turn to get something back and it didn't bother him. He also told me I didn't need to go out and get a job, that all the money I saved with the way I stretched the food budget so well, made things from scratch, found bargains on so many other basics, and other things I did around here saved enough to be like a job. I kept complaining that I needed an income, too. He kept arguing that all the money I saved us was an income. Now I see that his thought was probably, "If she works, it will reduce our food funds." and  "I can't let her out of my site. I can't control her as well that way."

Keep watching for Part 3 about our food stamps.

Signed - Betty Sue