Growing Daily
10
When Mom called us and filled us in on everything Kevin ordered all the additional medical supplies he could without attracting too much attention and we went grocery shopping at the bulk sales stores for cases of non perishable and canned foods and anything else we thought might prove useful. Now 2 weeks ahead of plan we were heading home. I looked around our empty apartment while Kevin put the last of our stuff in the RV that we had traded our car for. The moving van loaded with medical equipment and all the supplies we'd ordered and our personal things had pulled out earlier that morning and was driving straight through to Oakgrove while Kevin and I drove to Denver to meet up with Danny and his family so we could all drive down together. "Ready Beautiful, Let's get you downstairs and into the RV where it's cool, I've called Danny and told him we're on our way." ***** I looked up as my brother and Tina pulled up in front of a delivery truck from the local medical supply company and walked over to help load the things they had bought into the cargo van we were driving up to Mom's. She and Kevin had had their heads together since he and Amy had got here and had left this morning to run some last minute errands taking Bobby Jr with them. By the time they got back they had bought enough medical supplies and equipment to furnish a small hospital when we got settled in at Mom's. Bobby who knows more about the woods and survival then most grown men, thanks to his Dad, had made his own purchases at a hunting and camping outlet and from the looks of it had bought out the entire store. ***** We'd stopped at WalMart on our way out of town and this time even Amy and Cindy went in. We bought food supplies, blankets, hand tools, school supplies and anything else the grownups thought might be useful at our new home. "Our new family must be really big if we need this much stuff." Cindy teased. Aunt Amy laughed and said "this is just for starters." Everyone had closed out their bank accounts and with that money and the debit cards Ms Jo had sent Mom and Aunt Amy we came out of the store with 16 carts of stuff. When everything was packed into the van Bobby and I climbed into Uncle Kevin's RV because Mom said it woud be more comfortable and we left for our new home. ***** The barn was ablaze wiith light when we pulled up into the yard and turned off our engines. Then the music started and the doors were flung open. "Welcome Home!" everyone shouted at once rushing out to greet us. "Oh well. So much for surprises" Kevin said helping Amy out of the RV as Danny reached up and lifted Cindy down, everyone laughed. "Why should this time be any different?" Danny answered, bending down to kiss his Mother who had just walked up. Some quick introductions were made and everyone was told to eat, drink, and have a good time; anyone not wanting to or incapable of driving home was invited to spend the night in the newly finished bunk house and the festivities started in ernest. ***** "Well, you're Mother promised us a family and that we've certainly found. She seems to have offered a lot of others a home as well." Tina remarked to Danny as they joined the others at one of the tables. "Yes. She and her Goddess have offered Sanctuary to anyone who has shown up - regardless of what path brought them here," said an old woman in Indian costume who held a small child on her lap. She introduced her family and told everyone the story of how they had come to be part of the community. The boys finding they had a lot in common wondered off to find their own amusements. Megan and Cindy discovered they both had a love of books so when Amy shared the secret that she was planning on opening a school at Sanctuary the 3 of them disappeared to a corner table with some notebooks and pencils Kevin had brought in from the RV to work on the plans. ***** The next morning Amy commendeered some men to start building the movable partitions and set up the school in the shed we had designated for that purpose with the things they had brought with them. They pulled out the Blackboard paint and cork board tiles for the walls along with paper, pens, pencils, crayons, paints, drawing pads and other school supplies. The DVDs and players, and 9 boxes of books of all kinds from Survival and Homesteading manuals to 'The Twilight Sagas' along with 3 computers and a printer were sent over to the library. A week later a sign was placed above the door that read 'Sanctuary School' and we were ready for the first day of class. ***** The week before the Autumn Gathering is a busy one; Tina and Kevin are finishing up the details on the Infirmary and getting a crash course in Herbal Medicine from White Eagle and the new assistant they have taken on. Dragon is a Reiki Master and an Herbalogist and a member of the North Shore Coven that has requested permanent statis at Sanctuary. Danny and Andy - who has decided he is not seeking another term as sheriff and is moving himself and his soon to be wife down to Sanctuary- are working with Bobby and the twins to set up Sanctuary's law enforcement branch whileTina and Beth are planning a double wedding with the help of Ashara who has asked if she and Lizzie could renew their vows at the same time. ***** We managed to purchase 13 used mobile homes from Kincaids in Bennetville and after digging septics and laying pipes are finishing up with the power hookups; in addition to this we are setting up 40 RV/Camper spaces, 9 of which are already occupied by Lizzie and her coven. A camping area complete with gravel paths had been laid out in the near field as soon as the hay was cut and bailed and port-a-pots are being set up all around the area. We seem to be gaining new people every week as word spreads that anyone in need can receive a hot meal and a warm bed here in exchange for work; we now have a total of 17 children and 23 adults plus the neighbors that show up several times a week to help or be helped and the ones who are just here for the Gathering. Three families even showed up with their own homes when David told them about Sanctuary after the trailer camp they were living in was shut down. There have been 2 more small quakes in the area and Oakgrove has received some damage. The entire parking area of Unity is now a huge sink hole along with 1/2 of Branson's pasture area and a couple of streets. People are leaving to head South, or out into the deserts or high mountains depending on their fears and what they've read. Everywhere you look in town you can see 'Going Out of Business' signs and Andy and a few others have been buying up everything we think can be useful at $.50 on the dollar. ***** I've been dreaming lately about that old black woman; in the latest one she's standing on top of a burning house throwing $100 bills to a crowd below shouting "Might as well burn it ifin you don't use it; 3 months from now it gonna be worthless anyways." I haven't yet received insight from The Goddess as to the full meaning of these dreams or who this woman is but it has made me realize the money we have sitting in our accounts needs to be utilized now rather then held on to so to this avail I have put several of the ladies to work searching the web for manual homesteading appliances and equipment like cheese processors, bread makers, logging equipment, sewing machines, hand powered tools and kitchen appliences, and Hamm radio setups as well as blankets, clothing, Hygiene/health supplies and non perishable items and medicinal and culinary herbs not native to our area. Delivery trucks are arriving daily. ***** *****
