My Cauldron

I am going to sand blast my Great Grandmothers Cauldron this month while I am sharing space at my friend's body shop.  Out of all my antiques this cauldron is my favorite.  I was fortunate to be able to use it last year on February 2nd for a small yule fire.  Candlemass (Imbolic) is the next holiday on the witches calendar.  I am pleased to be safe, warm, and dry this year.  I moved my antiques to my sisters house in late September long before the eviction process.  I had told my landlord in May that she would need to evict me.  This was a process that had to happen in order for me to have any hope of recovering the money for my damaged property.  Last winter we had a lot of rain.  My tools and equipment deteriorated for a year in that damp environment.  Had I just picked up and moved in June (the advise of legal aid), I would have had to just take the loss.  And while eviction is a nasty experience, it isn't as bad as helplessly standing by while my workshop was rusting away.  Columbus legal aid was not interested in looking at the deeper issues underlying the unpaid water bill from 2009.  I moved in in September 2010 and tried to get the water bill in my name.  Of course my landlord did not return my calls.  The water bill was in my landlords deceased mothers name, resulting in her not having to pay it.  She would have had to pay off the balance to change title.  I was told that it is common practice for landlords to use the water shut off tactic in order to avoid the expense of filing for eviction.  I was forced to pay this bill, or go without water.  I could not imagine living without water so I reluctantly paid it.  I also paid the water bill two days before my eviction notice, but was able to stop payment on that bill, leaving the balance of $182 for the landlord or unsuspecting new tenant to pay.  It was only fair since I had paid her bill.  This will probably result in the new tenant getting a water shut off notice soon, and have to come up with $200 in addition to sky high gas and electric bills.  Cosmetically the house on Paul Drive was super nice.  In reality though, it cost 80% of my income to live there.  I lived frugally, and in fear that my studio would be destroyed by water.  Last April I was approved for a full weatherization grant.  Of course my landlord did not respond to my communications about that, and instead wrote me an email telling me my lease would not be renewed.  The grant would have replaced the furnace which was operating at 60% efficiency according to my her own workman.  It would have replaced the aging water heater which was corroding in the damp basement.  It would have covered the cost of blowing insulation into the walls and plugged up the holes around the door frames and windows.  A few days ago I got a letter from the weatherization program that I will take to court with me in February as it is illegal to deny a tenant weatherization services.  The front door fell off in January and was not repaired till April, so I paid a lot of money heating the great outdoors last winter while my greedy landlord was only too happy to come collect rent!  My landlord works for H&R Block and is too busy to take care of her properties from February through April.  But this year she will have to make time for a pretrial and trial during the heart of tax season!  And who knows, the new tenant may be experiencing problems with the arrangement by now and may back out of the land contract agreement.  I am happy to take my cauldron elsewhere and I know my former landlord will probably get what is coming to her sooner or later...possibly as soon as February.