Welcome!

Hello everyone and welcome to my garden, my cyber garden that is. A garden is a place for growing plants, discussing ideas and sharing a bit of time with friends both old and new. That is exactly what this blog is all about. It's a place to sit a spell and relax in the shade or sun and take a well deserved break from the rigors of the day. So join me on the shady front porch, the fresh squeezed lemonade is cold, the summer sun here in S.E. Michigan is hot and there's a rocking chair with your name on it.


Let me introduce myself, I am Delaney and this is my garden. I am a mom and a grandma and I have a dream. It's a pretty ambitious one, but it's something I'd really like to do. I have recently been diagnosed with both Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Athristis, plus high blood pressure, Type 2 Diabetes and severe depression. I hurt pretty much all the time and have applied for disability, but was denied because the government does not feel I am disabled. However another agency claims me unemployable because of my conditions, so I am very literally trapped between a rock and a hard place. Believe me when I say it is not a very comfortable or happy place to be. 


I have very little money, have pretty much used up all of my resources and have not had luck finding a job. It is difficult for someone who is young and physically fit to find work in this area, let alone someone in their fifties who needs a walker to get around. For the past four months I have been trying to get help, but it is very, very slow in coming. I have been living with friends and/or relatives out of necessity, but I'm making a lot of enemies with my lack of funds. To be honest, I wouldn't like me much either. I tried to start a home-based craft business but the state of the economy has made it rather impossible for most people to purchase luxuries such as art or handcrafted items. Last year my sales were a pathetic $167.00 which is very frustrating and not a living. I was a desktop publisher and graphics designer for nearly twelve years before layoffs derailed me and I have been an artist and crafter nearly all my life. To be honest I never would have believed things could get this bad.


What I would like to do is find the funds to purchase an inexpensive foreclosed home in the Pontiac area, because it is an area that needs the most urban renewal besides Detroit. I'm talking one of the older homes from around the turn of the previous century a "Handiman's Special" from the "Arts and Crafts Movement" and restore it. I plan to live in it and run a small shop/studio from it with a percentage of the profits donated to Common Ground, The Creative Art Center and Project Hope which are all in the community of Pontiac, Michigan. So how do I do this? What would it take to make it happen? I don't just want help, I want to be able to give help as well. I'd like to be able to have other clients of Common Ground help out on the project, to give them a purpose and a dream too. I want to be proof that good things can happen in all our lives. I want to encourage other creative people and work to bring the importance of art back to the community. If there is anyone out there who can help or knows who I need to talk to please E-mail me at DelaneysGarden@hotmail.com