I'm sorry for your loss. My father passed when I was 17, oddly enough, cigs were his demise, too. ing awful way to go. He was first diagnosed with emphysema when he was in his 40s and kept up 3 to 4 packs a day of unfiltered PallMalls and Camels right until he was hospitalized the last time at 61. SOB used to get off the oxygen therapy at home and light up a cigarette still sitting next to the oxygen tank! Then the aftermath, estates and families, that's a joy, too. It's hard. Even if your parent isn't the best on earth, or just a plain old miserable abusive SOB like mine was, dealing with the death financially and emotionally is still painful and exhausting.

Take care of your mom. I know it's a burden but she's probably so lost. I was virtually insane for about four to six months after my mom died, just a total basket case mentally and I readily admit it. I remember I asked one person the same question once a week for four weeks in a row until he pointed out to me what I was doing. I had no memory of previously calling him. I missed bill payments, would burst out crying for no good reason, I was a total mess.

Life has been good, but it can always be better lol My dad passed (55 years of smoking, it had to catch up sooner or later) and now I am trying to help my mom before my deadbeat brother runs off with the money. Fate likes sending me curveballs to keep me on my tip-toes lol I've been trying to be active here but something always comes up.

Oh, I'm fine, I've just had some family/financial stuff that's got me so distracted that I can't get my head into the board. I let the Women's Forum know about it when things started up.

I'll probably be able to be back around here more in a couple more weeks, we're starting to settle into a groove

And blessings to you!!! How's life and the world treating you?

Just dropping in to say hello! I hope you are doing well! Blessed be

This is actually the first year this issue has ever come up for our coven, specifically, and we'll be discussing it at the next business meeting. We've always been very small and insular before. Fund raising, in a positive way, is one of our higher priorities and it's new (scary) ground for all of us to tread.

Have you tried other means of raising funds? I know most businesses (and people) look down upon paganism but it might not hurt to maybe have a fund raiser by soliciting businesses (or other people). I've done fund raising for non-profits (mostly pet rescue orgs) and they generate their funds through their adoption fees. With some other organizations a yearly raffle does the trick. I've done raffles that easily generate $1000-$5000 dollars over a one week period, it all depends on what you raffle and how many tickets you can sell. They key is to network with like minded people and devise a plan that can work.

I'm hoping we can build a relationship with the local Quakers. The rental on their meeting house is very, very reasonable ($150 full day/$75 half), but when you want to use the space four or more times a year and you only have $350 in membership dues it starts to pinch and the "suggested donation" bowl approach is not working. But we don't want to get into requiring donations because of the nature of spirituality, etc. As for the taxes, I was just curious, since they've had the land for nearly 300 years, how much they were putting out of their own pockets in yearly expenses outside of utilities.