The bad news is we have a temp place to live with MiL. The good news is she will grit her teeth and allow us to bring the cats with us since we are praying we'll find a place to stay soon. So THAT CRISIS is averted. We'll be packing up in the middle of a flood and tornado watch, though, and we can't get a storage place until Wednesday when we'll have money to do so.
The bad part is that MiL has become a wild-eyed fundy--Ben prefers the term "Jesusfreak" but I find it offensive, and just think of her an old woman who grew up here and is comfortable with fundamentalism. She spends her evenings reading horrid Christian books (the type which lie through their teeth) or watching the local Christian channel this is the home of Creflow Dollar among others). When she was here a week ago, we talked about books, and somehow Steven King came up. She asked me in dead seriousness if he were a Satanist. Since I have met him a few times, I knew he wasn't. Actually The Stand is pretty, if not Christian then at least tolerant thereof, with the Hand of God appearing in the sky after the Walkin' Dude is defeated--practically out of Revelations, as I pointed out.
I am currently looking for a therapist. After he's been dead for 5 years, the rage against my father for all the emotional and verbal abuse Dad hurled at me from the time I was a child, which he viewed as "helpful criticism" about everything from my weight to my clumsiness to my back problems ( turns out I was never fat--in fact, at times I was damned thin according to photos my husband dug out, and my clumsiness is caused by issues I've had from birth, a scoliosis and ankle issues which make my ankles turn--there's actually a photo of me at age 8 with my poor little turned foot). I need someone who won't try to convert me to Christianity and who can handle a pagan client, and I need to lance the abcess from Dad's cruel comments and leech the poison from my system. I will likely be screaming about MiL as well, but I intend to try to let her nasty digs roll off my back. With luck I will find one soon so I have a safe place to cry without upsetting Ben who doesn’t need the stress.
Thanks for the tips and support. We still have to find a new home. I wish we could just pack up and drive North but we can't. We're stuck here. But least the cats are safe for the moment. I plan to ignore MiL's comments as much as possible. She works so she'll be gone during the day. If it gets too bad I'll figure out a safe word that means “Get me out of here before I do something we'll both regret".
I need to start the packing. Will somebody please tell the Pootie People that for now the cats are going with us (unless MiL: changes her mind).