Looks like we'll get enough money back to replace our aged chimney. We had a mason over this morning, and he gasped quietly when he saw the condition of the chimney. I told him I knew it would not withstand another winter, he said "I'm surprised it's still standing right now." Gulp.
There are so many repairs this old farmhouse desperately needs, but there's never enough money to do them when I want to or when they need to be done. We live so very frugally, but the end of the month finds us completely broke no matter what I do to cut costs. We have only one, very old car (circa 1992), we make all our food from scratch including bread, I forage for wild foods and barter for food when I'm able, we buy our clothes from the thrift stores, I've taken to recycling yarns and fabric from thrift store purchases, we don't take vacations or do anything extravagant. I honestly don't know what more we can do.
I found a maple-leaf viburnum growing out back by the edge of the wetland. I'm hopeful it's the edible variety, Viburnum trilobum, and not the inedible look-alike Viburnum opulus. I'm corresponding with a biologist at the University of Maine to find out. I sent him close-up pictures yesterday of the petioles which, apparently, have the only distinctive visual features that differ in the two species. I'm waiting anxiously to find out the verdict; if the shrub is trilobum, then it's a good food source for us. Fingers crossed. Here's a picture of the viburnum, which is loaded with fruits this year:
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