Wednesday already?
I have been a whirlwind of not getting things done. Amazing - really - entire days have disappeared since last Wednesday with nothing to little accomplished. I am starting this post about 3 hours later than normal - Once a month I have to write and send out the newsletter for my embroidery chapter - and I barely started it before dinner and had to write it after dinner - through my “reading the newspaper” time, my “doing the laundry” time and my “writing my post” time. (The last two items are normally done at the same time.
Worst of the week was our lost Friday. I think I have mentioned my mom has not been doing well - she is 90 and now in an assisted living facility. Since I was not able help to much at going through the family home and husband and I do not work full time (more like hardly at all) I was asked by sister to deal with taking mom to several doctors - she gave me a list of them. Last week mom was unwell and ended up at the hospital overnight. She had a blood clot in her leg. After she was back “home” (in the assisted living) my sister wrote that mom had an appointment to go to the cardiologist on (now - last) Friday at 10 am with a certain doctor - Dr B. We had been planning - again - to take a trip to Pennsylvania, but were not sure due to weather if we would go - decided Thursday not to and I texted my sister that I could take mom. Mom called me before I could call her to make the arrangements to pick her up. The appointment was at 10 am - none of the three of us - mom, husband, me - are normally up and out that early. Thursday night there was a huge storm in the general two county area. (Mom and sister are in the next county.) The storm was so bad that the front was blown off of a warehouse on the county line.
Husband and I woke up at 8 am to take mom (this is about 4-5 hours earlier than usual as wake up late and go to bed late (it is 2 am as I write this and husband has not come down yet for snack before bed and we will get to bed between 3 and 4 am). I had estimated a lot of extra time for rush hour traffic, getting mom into her wheelchair - then our car - and then dealing with her wheelchair for our first time. As we drove to mom there were lots of slow downs as huge trees had fallen along the parkway and the crews were working on them. We got to mom just at the time we needed to be there - so my extra time was a good thing. I went up and got mom, we got her into the car and figured out the chair fairly quickly (I had thought to look up online the night before how to take it apart to fit in the car) and we were off. The doctor’s office was fairly close to mom’s place.
I expected a doctor’s office as I am used to - an outer office with staff, then several exam rooms in the back. If it was in an multiple office building I expected to see doors along the halls with the names of doctors on them. The place had open offices along the hall - no doctor’s names - just the specialty that was in that space. We came to the end of the hall we had been sent down and had not seen a sign for cardiology. I asked an employee and we walked into a nearby office area. I asked someone about signing in (at our doctors one signs a sheet with name & time) there was acomputer tablets - oh boy! It asked if I was the person or signing in for them - I selected the latter - it wanted me to put my hand on the screen - I did, several times. It gave up and asked for mom’s name and date of birth - rejected that. I went to someone at the desk and explained - I should not have been sent there - mom was not registered. I was handed another computer tablet to fill in info on. Mom was confused by this (although she does use a computer since she worked with one at her job). I started trying to fill in the form - I have trouble using my Android phone as I do not always show up on touch screens (if I knew we would be using one I would have brought a toucher thingee to use). Husband had to take over and fill in info. I gave the woman mom’s two insurance cards while we did all this. Mom had to sign the tablet - multiple times - she was very frustrated doing so. Then there was a problem with one of her insurance cards - there was an extra digit in the account number (I have to wonder if it is because she has had it soooo long). The woman called it in and found out how to enter the number. We were told to sit down and wait.
We were called much quicker than I thought we would be. We followed an employee into a room. She was checking and taking information - we were there to see Dr. Z per her - I told her that we were suppose to see Dr. B (my BIL’s doctor). No, Dr. B is at the hospital doing procedures mornings - he only has afternoon appointments. I started texting my sister. All three of us thought mom was there to have her pacemaker checked - employee said mom was there to have her leg tested related to her blood clot, and they don’t do pacemaker testing - that is done at the hospital. (Her old doctor did same in his office.) I called my sister - yes, she was there for her leg (did not say to her - but if she was not there related to heart -why say she is going to the cardiologist?) and yes, she was suppose to see Dr B - sister had a card from the hospital which made the appointment with the doctor’s name and time. Our choice was to see Dr Z instead, come back another day or they had an open appointment for Dr B at 2 pm - we could come back. We chose the last. As we walked out it was corrected to a 2:30 appointment
We now had close over 3 hours to spend. We got in the car and started to drive and figure out where to go - lunch would be part of it, but not long enough. We came to a Barnes and Nobles and parked and went in - I figured we could always sit and look at magazines. We managed to easily spend over 2 hours there. Then we went to a Wendys we knew for lunch. Then back to the doctor’s office.
I had asked if we had to check in again and had been told to speak to the woman who had helped us. Again we were told to take and seat and we would be called. At 3:30 we still had not been called and I went back to the woman - I told her that it was an hour past the appointment and mom had to be back for dinner at 4:30 or she would miss same. She apologized and said it would be “soon”. Mom went in just after 4 pm - us with her. Nurse took vitals and asked for info - her assisted living should have sent info with her, including a list of her meds (next time I will check with the office which handles this, in advance) - we gave the list of meds as we could. We then went to another room where they had the machine that doctor needed to do the test. We waited. The doctor came in - he was extremely nice and took time to explain everything to mom and us very simply and without large medical terms unless he explained them. (Husband and I had already the report on the counter from mom’s hospital visit.) He said that she did not need the test yet - she should come back in 3 weeks. He gave us a list of things to be done in the interim for mom’s facility - I had one of the employees make a copy for us. We left. So basically we had spent, just since picking up mom 8 hours - and nothing had been done. We were concerned about mom not having dinner, but she said they would bring her a tray and when we got to her room, we had to insist that she throw out the tray left for her for lunch as it had been sitting out.
On the way home we stopped at the bank as we had planned to do in the mid afternoon on our way home and the at the post office to pick up mail at our box - ditto. Friday gone and wasted.
Then we found out that our kitchen telephone/answering machine was dead. It is on the wall across from the basement door. We bought a new one - per the online info it should have fit - the door passes close to the wall across from it - but apparently they had not included the handset in the measurements. So we have now bought and returned 4 telephones - the others were too cheaply made and at least one of them hardwired so the wire could not be removed for wall use.
In the meantime I am trying to get a copy of the changes to my reenactment unit’s insurance that we did - back in April. The woman I have worked with for years at the agency retired and I figured the new one was stupid and did not understand what I wanted. Then another thought hit me - perhaps the changes were not properly made - seems like that it the story - and she is checking what went on.
I have a client who files his income taxes on extension as he is away when it is due. I just picked up the info from him a week or so ago. He sent me an email that he needed to talk to me. There is a situation with his income for 2019 and I need to call one of his financial advisors - so that is another call I have to deal with.
We need to have a printout of what we paid for medical insurance last year for a senior tax exemption. We have 3 medical polices between the two of us. One company has now sent us the wrong info - not a listing of what we paid - twice now, and I have to call them AGAIN!
So when the heck am I suppose to get anything done?!!!
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Sometimes the stupidity of ours takes up more time than thinks one can deal with. One just has to deal with it and do one’s best. When others are not organized - they take our from our ability to be organized.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Thursday, August 22, 2019
WATCH THE PENNIES AND THE DOLLARS GROW
Yes, saving money involves being organized. One thing that husband and I agreed on - very early in our dating - was that neither of us liked being in debt. The day before we were married I paid for every one of my bills sitting waiting to be paid - including adding up the credit card slips and sending a check for same to the credit card company. I never wanted husband to be able to say that I married him in debt. (Well, technically I was in debt - my student loans were still being paid off by my parents and were not fully paid off until some time after we married - but he has been polite enough to never mention same.)
When I was a child - before age 5 - my parents started teaching me about money. I got an allowance of something like a penny (US) a week. Now, remember, both my parents were accountants. My mom set up a “bank account” for me. She drew up a little bank book (do they still exist now?). When I received my allowance I could keep it and spend it (amazingly, one could actually buy things then with a penny) or I could deposit it in my bank account and save up for something. If I “deposited” it in the “bank account” she would note in my bank book. If I decided to buy something and needed money, I could withdraw it from my bank account and she would note it in my bank book. Sounds crazy right? Well it taught me to save and what saving could do. (I don’t remember if she ever added interest to my account - I don’t think so.) If I got a gift of money from a relative I could, again, keep it and spend it or “deposit” it.
Over the decades the amount of my weekly allowance increased. By the time I was in junior high school (around age 12) I was getting $3 per week. My allowance was calculated so that I could buy lunch in school every day (50c per day), if I wanted to, from my allowance and I would still have money left over to spend. Over time I saved up money and took my parents and my younger sister (second sister was still a baby) to see a Broadway play (tickets were a lot cheaper than - under $10 even for orchestra seats and I bought for the mezzanine).
We have lived within our means since we married. We found an apartment that we could afford. At first we were spending most of our income. As we went along I came up with an idea. Husband received promotions at work - first director of his department and then director of the agency at which he worked. With the first promotion I took half of the increase in his net salary and saved it - only using half of the net salary increase for spending. Why? Well, we had been living on the amount he (and I ) received before - the raise was extra money that we would not miss if we put it in savings. I used the net amount (after taxes were deducted) as that amount was the extra money available to us. I did for some time.
Watch where you bank. Different banks, savings & loan associations or credit unions can charge hugely different amounts for the same services. A credit union functions just like a bank, only the depositors own it so fees are less. The same financial institution that works for a friend or family member - might not be best for you and what is good for you now (or last year) might not be the best for you right now or in the future. The credit unions I have been involved with locally require one to deposit $5 in a savings account and leave it there. One then gets a free checking account plus can make other deposits and withdrawals to the savings account. Generally the interest rate on credit union accounts is higher than those on accounts at banks.
We eventually bought a house. We bought one below what we could afford. We put down a good sized down payment on the house - much of it from my savings as a child. We did not like the idea of having a mortgage and wanted it paid off as quickly as we could. Instead of dividing the net salary increases in half after that, I would divide into thirds - one third to spend, one third to save and one third for extra mortgage payments. We paid the mortgage off in half the time it was for - again since the money was new money, it was not missed by us as we had not had it to spend before.
When we have bought cars - and we buy them, we do not lease them - we have mostly paid for them in full from savings. When we have had to take a loan - 3 times - for a car it was always for less than 25% of the price of the car. We drive them, with two exceptions, until it no longer makes sense to repair them. We have 23 year old van and a 10 year old car at the present time.
We did buy our little RV. It does have a loan on it. I send an extra $100 at least 4 times a year to speed up the payments on it and cut the amount of interest we will have paid on it when it is paid off.
We have paid our credit card bills in full - with one exception - since either of us had a credit card. No interest paid means money not needed for same and available to use. I recently read an article and the person who wrote it said that one should always pay in cash for everything. I wrote to them and pointed out that if items are put on credit cards one has a record of where their money went (and records for tax deductible items). If they are paid in full, it costs nothing in interest or fees. If one gets a credit card one can get one that pays a very small percentage back in cash - additional money to spend or save. In our case we use several credit cards - each for a different purpose and depending on the card and what we buy we can get up to 5% back in the purchases. Does not sound like much? We bought a fence for our house - we got 5% back on the price of the fence. We put a car down payment on a credit card - paid the credit card in full and got 5% back on the down payment towards the car. The one exception was decades ago. Husband used to get his unused sick days paid off at the end of the year, which was August, so we used the money received in September for the sick days to pay for vacation (and the balance of what was received into savings). One year there was a problem and the sick day pay was coming in October. We discussed should we take money from savings to pay the vacation bills and then deposit the sick pay to replace what we took or should we pay the half of the credit card bill we could and then pay the balance in full the following month. It was an odd time and the two interest rates were just about the same, so we went with paying half and then paying the bill in full the following month.
If one can get their bills in order, one can actually pay less and have money available for savings or needed items. I was reminded this past weekend when the movie “I Remember Mama” was on TV that I actually started my thinking of dealing with money with when I read the book (actually named “Mama’s Bank Account) as a girl. If you have never seen the movie or read the book - it is about a lower class Norwegian immigrant family in San Francisco in the early 1900s. Every week the father brings home his wages (in cash which was how people were paid back then at all but professional/executive level) and gives it to his wife. She sits there with paper and sorts the money “ for the grocer” she makes a pile and wraps it in paper, “for the landlord” ditto and so on. When there is a problem and money is needed for something special/different (such as the son going to high school - they will his potential wages and there will be costs) the mother says that they must figure out what to do so that they do not have to take money from her bank account. I have gone with this idea of “piles. I have moved money - in my computer accounts - to save for various things. By subtracting the money before we have it on our regular savings account, it is not there to spend. I had subaccounts in my Quickbooks - savings for next car, for vacation, etc. subtracted from the total amount of each paycheck and each time I did I heard in my head “for the grocer, for the landlord..”. (Spoiler alert - at the end of the book/movie the daughter/author has received her first payment for writing and tells the mother to deposit it in the bank account and the mother admits that she has never been in a bank in her life - but that “it is not a good for children to worry”.) Set aside money in advance for things that you want or need and you will not have to worry. Start next time there is a raise if you want and set aside part of the net raise in a savings account (or even a jar) and it will become a habit.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
It is back to school time again. If you need or know that you will need office supplies - now is the time to buy them. Pens disappear all the time? Buy them for around US$ for a dozen. Will you need a memo book, notebook, ruler, file folders etc. NOW is the time to buy them!
When I was a child - before age 5 - my parents started teaching me about money. I got an allowance of something like a penny (US) a week. Now, remember, both my parents were accountants. My mom set up a “bank account” for me. She drew up a little bank book (do they still exist now?). When I received my allowance I could keep it and spend it (amazingly, one could actually buy things then with a penny) or I could deposit it in my bank account and save up for something. If I “deposited” it in the “bank account” she would note in my bank book. If I decided to buy something and needed money, I could withdraw it from my bank account and she would note it in my bank book. Sounds crazy right? Well it taught me to save and what saving could do. (I don’t remember if she ever added interest to my account - I don’t think so.) If I got a gift of money from a relative I could, again, keep it and spend it or “deposit” it.
Over the decades the amount of my weekly allowance increased. By the time I was in junior high school (around age 12) I was getting $3 per week. My allowance was calculated so that I could buy lunch in school every day (50c per day), if I wanted to, from my allowance and I would still have money left over to spend. Over time I saved up money and took my parents and my younger sister (second sister was still a baby) to see a Broadway play (tickets were a lot cheaper than - under $10 even for orchestra seats and I bought for the mezzanine).
We have lived within our means since we married. We found an apartment that we could afford. At first we were spending most of our income. As we went along I came up with an idea. Husband received promotions at work - first director of his department and then director of the agency at which he worked. With the first promotion I took half of the increase in his net salary and saved it - only using half of the net salary increase for spending. Why? Well, we had been living on the amount he (and I ) received before - the raise was extra money that we would not miss if we put it in savings. I used the net amount (after taxes were deducted) as that amount was the extra money available to us. I did for some time.
Watch where you bank. Different banks, savings & loan associations or credit unions can charge hugely different amounts for the same services. A credit union functions just like a bank, only the depositors own it so fees are less. The same financial institution that works for a friend or family member - might not be best for you and what is good for you now (or last year) might not be the best for you right now or in the future. The credit unions I have been involved with locally require one to deposit $5 in a savings account and leave it there. One then gets a free checking account plus can make other deposits and withdrawals to the savings account. Generally the interest rate on credit union accounts is higher than those on accounts at banks.
We eventually bought a house. We bought one below what we could afford. We put down a good sized down payment on the house - much of it from my savings as a child. We did not like the idea of having a mortgage and wanted it paid off as quickly as we could. Instead of dividing the net salary increases in half after that, I would divide into thirds - one third to spend, one third to save and one third for extra mortgage payments. We paid the mortgage off in half the time it was for - again since the money was new money, it was not missed by us as we had not had it to spend before.
When we have bought cars - and we buy them, we do not lease them - we have mostly paid for them in full from savings. When we have had to take a loan - 3 times - for a car it was always for less than 25% of the price of the car. We drive them, with two exceptions, until it no longer makes sense to repair them. We have 23 year old van and a 10 year old car at the present time.
We did buy our little RV. It does have a loan on it. I send an extra $100 at least 4 times a year to speed up the payments on it and cut the amount of interest we will have paid on it when it is paid off.
We have paid our credit card bills in full - with one exception - since either of us had a credit card. No interest paid means money not needed for same and available to use. I recently read an article and the person who wrote it said that one should always pay in cash for everything. I wrote to them and pointed out that if items are put on credit cards one has a record of where their money went (and records for tax deductible items). If they are paid in full, it costs nothing in interest or fees. If one gets a credit card one can get one that pays a very small percentage back in cash - additional money to spend or save. In our case we use several credit cards - each for a different purpose and depending on the card and what we buy we can get up to 5% back in the purchases. Does not sound like much? We bought a fence for our house - we got 5% back on the price of the fence. We put a car down payment on a credit card - paid the credit card in full and got 5% back on the down payment towards the car. The one exception was decades ago. Husband used to get his unused sick days paid off at the end of the year, which was August, so we used the money received in September for the sick days to pay for vacation (and the balance of what was received into savings). One year there was a problem and the sick day pay was coming in October. We discussed should we take money from savings to pay the vacation bills and then deposit the sick pay to replace what we took or should we pay the half of the credit card bill we could and then pay the balance in full the following month. It was an odd time and the two interest rates were just about the same, so we went with paying half and then paying the bill in full the following month.
If one can get their bills in order, one can actually pay less and have money available for savings or needed items. I was reminded this past weekend when the movie “I Remember Mama” was on TV that I actually started my thinking of dealing with money with when I read the book (actually named “Mama’s Bank Account) as a girl. If you have never seen the movie or read the book - it is about a lower class Norwegian immigrant family in San Francisco in the early 1900s. Every week the father brings home his wages (in cash which was how people were paid back then at all but professional/executive level) and gives it to his wife. She sits there with paper and sorts the money “ for the grocer” she makes a pile and wraps it in paper, “for the landlord” ditto and so on. When there is a problem and money is needed for something special/different (such as the son going to high school - they will his potential wages and there will be costs) the mother says that they must figure out what to do so that they do not have to take money from her bank account. I have gone with this idea of “piles. I have moved money - in my computer accounts - to save for various things. By subtracting the money before we have it on our regular savings account, it is not there to spend. I had subaccounts in my Quickbooks - savings for next car, for vacation, etc. subtracted from the total amount of each paycheck and each time I did I heard in my head “for the grocer, for the landlord..”. (Spoiler alert - at the end of the book/movie the daughter/author has received her first payment for writing and tells the mother to deposit it in the bank account and the mother admits that she has never been in a bank in her life - but that “it is not a good for children to worry”.) Set aside money in advance for things that you want or need and you will not have to worry. Start next time there is a raise if you want and set aside part of the net raise in a savings account (or even a jar) and it will become a habit.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
It is back to school time again. If you need or know that you will need office supplies - now is the time to buy them. Pens disappear all the time? Buy them for around US$ for a dozen. Will you need a memo book, notebook, ruler, file folders etc. NOW is the time to buy them!
Thursday, August 15, 2019
WORK, FAMILY, CLUBS - ALL ARE TAKING UP MY ATTENTION
Okay, so now I have to work on getting things done - not all house things - mostly work, family, financial, and club things. I got a fortune cookie today that said that my problems are behind me - if only I believe it.
Work - I went to the client that I go to monthly. She was charged a large amount for fees by her credit card processor and she had no sales. I telephoned her processing company and they gave me a breakdown that sort of made sense, but did not. What I was told the fees were for do not match what I have been told in the past about the annual fee she has to pay (due to low sales and this being a crooked company that she says she will switch from, but does not). A friend of hers (she is in an indoor, open market area and this is one of the other vendors) came by and said that she has to fill in a form with the processing company (and Mr. Expert does not use the same company) and then they will get rid of one the larger fee. I called the company again and they then said that I had to call the sales office for more info. Her salesman who should be who she talks to about questions disappeared in 2016 about two months after she signed up this company. So I am trying to reach their sales office - either no answer at the extension I need or it keeps ringing. I looked up the company name on line that answered and not only is not the company she signed up - it seems to be a “use an electronic device for card processing” company not one that uses the card reader she has. I will keep trying.
Mom - since I have been less helpful with going through mom’s house, I have been put in charge of taking her to 4 doctors she has to go to. Husband insisted her wheelchair will not fit in our car (and she cannot climb into the van). I pointed out to him that if I went without him, it would fit as I could drop the back seat down for more room behind it. In the meanwhile, my sister explained that the wheelchair comes apart to fit in a car. I have been waiting for husband to set on when we are going on a trip - still a short one and probably to PA again - so I can make appointments for mom. Today my sister called - mom had to go to the emergency room due to leg muscle spasms. Now she will have an aide 24/7 for 3 days due to the medication - so I am putting off calling about the appointments until next week (or the week after if we go away next week) so I know where we are with her going out. I called her Medicare supplement plan to see if they would cover the aide, only if Medicare does - so, no, they don’t
Work, again - I have a tax client who has me put his tax return on extension as he goes south for the winter. Normally he will contact me the start of September to set up an appointment to do his return. He sent an email - can we meet Monday? Have to find out from husband if we are going away next week or not - he seems to be leaning towards not as it is suppose to, yes, rain.
Family, again - husband this time - husband has been having problems for several years finding the clothes he likes. As a result he is low on presentable clothing. Now that RV is finally working correctly, he needed something else to obsess about. Underwear - it seems that it cut with a lower waistband and is too low for his to be comfortable in and falls down. Then again, his old underwear falls down also - I am going to have start sewing new elastic in the waists. Some of his shirts are so worn out that he can be seen through them. When he complained a week or so ago, I made him go to the outlet of the company whose shirts he likes - they are short sleeved which I figured would make it easy - but he found most of them to be “too heavy”. He got 3 shirts - which have to be washed so he can wear them. We also have been going to various Walmarts as he found shirts in another fabric he liked, looking for what colors it comes in. He also bought some tee shirts to try - only $2 each at Walmart closeout. He didn’t like them, but they are fine are spares for me - especially at that price. Jeans - he had 2 spare pairs that he bought when the ones he likes was discontinued. I washed them. I went to pin them to shorten - but the waists are so tight that he would pass out if he wore them. (They were 2 of 3 identical pairs he bought together - the other is tight, but not like this and the next size up falls off him.) We went out looking for jeans. He found 3 pairs - all going back are they are not right. I did convince to buy a waistband extender which moves the button/button hole 1 or 2 inches apart and he is using same. More jeans shopping to come. (Okay, I can be as bad, just have been lucky - my only problem is socks and I have taught myself to darn so I can fix them when they get holes.)
Clubs - I have to get paperwork out to an upcoming event for our reenactment unit. We raised the unit’s insurance coverage and I have been trying - by telephone and mail - to get a copy of the increased coverages from them since May!
Clubs - I managed out to get out the summer newsletter for my embroidery chapter. Now I have to get the year book (upcoming year’s meeting programs) out. The newsletter is email; the yearbook has to be printed and mailed - and husband is planning a trip - sometime.
Financial - I have to print out, sign, and mail by certified mail two letters for credit cards that we have to “opt out” of changes they are making. I paid all our bills today until the end of next week in case he decides that we are going away same.
THOUGHTs OF THE WEEK -
First thought is - I don’t have time to write and post this!
When one does not know when one will do something - one cannot plan when one will do something else and has to juggle to deal with it all. It will all work out in the end - either work out well or badly, but it will work out and new problems will come along to be solved.
Work - I went to the client that I go to monthly. She was charged a large amount for fees by her credit card processor and she had no sales. I telephoned her processing company and they gave me a breakdown that sort of made sense, but did not. What I was told the fees were for do not match what I have been told in the past about the annual fee she has to pay (due to low sales and this being a crooked company that she says she will switch from, but does not). A friend of hers (she is in an indoor, open market area and this is one of the other vendors) came by and said that she has to fill in a form with the processing company (and Mr. Expert does not use the same company) and then they will get rid of one the larger fee. I called the company again and they then said that I had to call the sales office for more info. Her salesman who should be who she talks to about questions disappeared in 2016 about two months after she signed up this company. So I am trying to reach their sales office - either no answer at the extension I need or it keeps ringing. I looked up the company name on line that answered and not only is not the company she signed up - it seems to be a “use an electronic device for card processing” company not one that uses the card reader she has. I will keep trying.
Mom - since I have been less helpful with going through mom’s house, I have been put in charge of taking her to 4 doctors she has to go to. Husband insisted her wheelchair will not fit in our car (and she cannot climb into the van). I pointed out to him that if I went without him, it would fit as I could drop the back seat down for more room behind it. In the meanwhile, my sister explained that the wheelchair comes apart to fit in a car. I have been waiting for husband to set on when we are going on a trip - still a short one and probably to PA again - so I can make appointments for mom. Today my sister called - mom had to go to the emergency room due to leg muscle spasms. Now she will have an aide 24/7 for 3 days due to the medication - so I am putting off calling about the appointments until next week (or the week after if we go away next week) so I know where we are with her going out. I called her Medicare supplement plan to see if they would cover the aide, only if Medicare does - so, no, they don’t
Work, again - I have a tax client who has me put his tax return on extension as he goes south for the winter. Normally he will contact me the start of September to set up an appointment to do his return. He sent an email - can we meet Monday? Have to find out from husband if we are going away next week or not - he seems to be leaning towards not as it is suppose to, yes, rain.
Family, again - husband this time - husband has been having problems for several years finding the clothes he likes. As a result he is low on presentable clothing. Now that RV is finally working correctly, he needed something else to obsess about. Underwear - it seems that it cut with a lower waistband and is too low for his to be comfortable in and falls down. Then again, his old underwear falls down also - I am going to have start sewing new elastic in the waists. Some of his shirts are so worn out that he can be seen through them. When he complained a week or so ago, I made him go to the outlet of the company whose shirts he likes - they are short sleeved which I figured would make it easy - but he found most of them to be “too heavy”. He got 3 shirts - which have to be washed so he can wear them. We also have been going to various Walmarts as he found shirts in another fabric he liked, looking for what colors it comes in. He also bought some tee shirts to try - only $2 each at Walmart closeout. He didn’t like them, but they are fine are spares for me - especially at that price. Jeans - he had 2 spare pairs that he bought when the ones he likes was discontinued. I washed them. I went to pin them to shorten - but the waists are so tight that he would pass out if he wore them. (They were 2 of 3 identical pairs he bought together - the other is tight, but not like this and the next size up falls off him.) We went out looking for jeans. He found 3 pairs - all going back are they are not right. I did convince to buy a waistband extender which moves the button/button hole 1 or 2 inches apart and he is using same. More jeans shopping to come. (Okay, I can be as bad, just have been lucky - my only problem is socks and I have taught myself to darn so I can fix them when they get holes.)
Clubs - I have to get paperwork out to an upcoming event for our reenactment unit. We raised the unit’s insurance coverage and I have been trying - by telephone and mail - to get a copy of the increased coverages from them since May!
Clubs - I managed out to get out the summer newsletter for my embroidery chapter. Now I have to get the year book (upcoming year’s meeting programs) out. The newsletter is email; the yearbook has to be printed and mailed - and husband is planning a trip - sometime.
Financial - I have to print out, sign, and mail by certified mail two letters for credit cards that we have to “opt out” of changes they are making. I paid all our bills today until the end of next week in case he decides that we are going away same.
THOUGHTs OF THE WEEK -
First thought is - I don’t have time to write and post this!
When one does not know when one will do something - one cannot plan when one will do something else and has to juggle to deal with it all. It will all work out in the end - either work out well or badly, but it will work out and new problems will come along to be solved.
Thursday, August 8, 2019
RVs, Cars, Mom, and Work
I have not made it back to the family house since 2 weeks ago to finish up, heck, I haven’t even had a chance to try calling mom to just talk to her. I have been busy taking care of my husband.
No, he isn’t sick, but he has been going crazy over our RV and its batteries. Back towards the end of July I mentioned that we had ordered new RV batteries and then had to drive down to New Jersey and spend part of the day getting them installed (by the company which ordered them for us). We thought that would be the end of dealing with the batteries. It was not.
To explain the problem with this - our RV (a Chevy Express Van converted to a very small RV) has the regular battery under the front hood which does all the “car” type things - like starting the engine. We also have in a cabinet which opens to the outside two more batteries - similar to those in golf cart. These run all the electrical RV things, when turned on, if the RV is not plugged in and the engine is not running - like while the RV sits in a parking lot all day while we are somewhere. (Well most of them - we cannot run the RV air conditioner unless plugged in or the engine running.) There is a small electrical panel on a wall in the RV which lets us check how much water in the clean water tanks, how much is in the dirty water tanks, how much propane we have in it’s tank, and how well the electricity is doing. (It also has the switches on it to turn on the RV batteries to allow them to be used and to turn on the water pump so water works out of the sink, toilet, etc.) The top light for the batteries on this panel lights up and is green when the RV batteries are charging while the RV is plugged in or the engine is running.
In addition to the green charging light showing that the RV batteries are charging, husband has a small device to plug into the cigarette lighter to check the voltage of the engine battery or into a similar receptacle he had put in so he could check the voltage of the RV batteries. This had been low for the RV batteries, which is why we replaced them - especially since they were 2 years passed their expected life.
However, after the RV batteries were replaced, the green light still was not lighting up. That meant the RV batteries were not charging. We do not have an RV dealer near us to go to about any of this (hence the trips to Pennsylvania and New Jersey to get work done). Husband was going crazy about this. Over the past month and a half we paid out something like $4-5000 that we do not have to fix the three vehicles. He needs to get a tooth added to his denture as one fell out - probably another thousand dollars. Between being upset that the RV batteries are not charging, not knowing where to go about it, and not being able to pay to find out what is going on, he was rather despondent and depressed.
We have a really good mechanic and he tries to help us as much as possible even though he does not know about RVs. The fellow who used to work for him (retired) was even better at figuring all this out. Just in time for us - the fellow who had retired decided that he needed to work part time as he was going crazy retired. We called them and explained. I was suppose to go to work this past Tuesday, but husband was soooo, upset about all this - and Tuesday was when they could take the RV - I made the work appointment for Thursday (tomorrow) instead.
The engine battery was also low and was replaced (had another year and a half to go on it). But it the voltage was still low. There is a device, called a separator, which lets the engine battery or the RV batteries charge alone when needed. It is apparently a simple electrical switch, but not generally available. We had talked about ordering one to have it if needed and with all this going on, last week we did. It came in this past Monday.
Tuesday we were ready to go out for lunch and had not heard about the RV, so I asked if he wanted to stop by on the way to lunch and then suggested we put the separator in the car.
The fellow who worked on it was on the verge of replacing the alternator as he still could not get the system to the correct voltage. He was looking online for which of their suppliers had one for our RV that was good and not crazy expensive. We all went out to play with the RV. The fellow had not known about the light panel to show the RV batteries were charging. We showed it to him. They used this voltage meter and that in this place and that. Then I asked - can the voltage going through the separator be checked? Ah ha! Voltage going into the separator - right - voltage coming out - low! We brought him the separator and the voltage on each side was the same. Solved! Husband was so relieved to see the green light on the panel light up!
So, if I had not stayed home with him to comfort him, we would have paid out more big money for an alternator and still not resolved it. (Makes me wonder if we needed any of the batteries, but that is water under the bridge.)
In the process of all this - we have driven out to almost the end of Long Island to charge all the batteries. Since we do this after dinner we can go and return in about 2 hours. I have lived my entire life on this (long) Island and have been out as far this (or further) maybe 10 times, 12 at the most on the north shore. Five of these times - including these two times - have been to charge the RV batteries.
So I lost 2 nights of being able to do things in the house. I am going to my client 3 days later than I planned - and there is a possibility of thunderstorms. Plus the day lost while he was too upset to be home alone and all the time we were outside in the RV playing with the batteries.
In addition, my sister had sent me a text Monday evening asking me to go to mom on Tuesday as she was meeting with the physical therapist and would have to sign papers. Unfortunately it must have come in while I was out of the kitchen - after leaving my phone on the table while cooking. I did not see the text - due to all of the above mess - until half an hour after the end of the of the time range of when I was needed there! So poor mom was there alone because of all this mess. I sent a text to my sister explaining and apologizing, but have not had a chance to call mom.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Our time is limited. If we need (or want) to do one thing, we cannot do something else at the same time. Our loved ones are the most important reason for choice to be made. I am not sure if I had the text in time if I would have picked going to my mom or staying with my husband to make sure he did not go over the edge. When I apologized to my sister, I also told her that next time something must be done on such short notice, to call to make sure I knew about it and did not miss another important text.
No, he isn’t sick, but he has been going crazy over our RV and its batteries. Back towards the end of July I mentioned that we had ordered new RV batteries and then had to drive down to New Jersey and spend part of the day getting them installed (by the company which ordered them for us). We thought that would be the end of dealing with the batteries. It was not.
To explain the problem with this - our RV (a Chevy Express Van converted to a very small RV) has the regular battery under the front hood which does all the “car” type things - like starting the engine. We also have in a cabinet which opens to the outside two more batteries - similar to those in golf cart. These run all the electrical RV things, when turned on, if the RV is not plugged in and the engine is not running - like while the RV sits in a parking lot all day while we are somewhere. (Well most of them - we cannot run the RV air conditioner unless plugged in or the engine running.) There is a small electrical panel on a wall in the RV which lets us check how much water in the clean water tanks, how much is in the dirty water tanks, how much propane we have in it’s tank, and how well the electricity is doing. (It also has the switches on it to turn on the RV batteries to allow them to be used and to turn on the water pump so water works out of the sink, toilet, etc.) The top light for the batteries on this panel lights up and is green when the RV batteries are charging while the RV is plugged in or the engine is running.
In addition to the green charging light showing that the RV batteries are charging, husband has a small device to plug into the cigarette lighter to check the voltage of the engine battery or into a similar receptacle he had put in so he could check the voltage of the RV batteries. This had been low for the RV batteries, which is why we replaced them - especially since they were 2 years passed their expected life.
However, after the RV batteries were replaced, the green light still was not lighting up. That meant the RV batteries were not charging. We do not have an RV dealer near us to go to about any of this (hence the trips to Pennsylvania and New Jersey to get work done). Husband was going crazy about this. Over the past month and a half we paid out something like $4-5000 that we do not have to fix the three vehicles. He needs to get a tooth added to his denture as one fell out - probably another thousand dollars. Between being upset that the RV batteries are not charging, not knowing where to go about it, and not being able to pay to find out what is going on, he was rather despondent and depressed.
We have a really good mechanic and he tries to help us as much as possible even though he does not know about RVs. The fellow who used to work for him (retired) was even better at figuring all this out. Just in time for us - the fellow who had retired decided that he needed to work part time as he was going crazy retired. We called them and explained. I was suppose to go to work this past Tuesday, but husband was soooo, upset about all this - and Tuesday was when they could take the RV - I made the work appointment for Thursday (tomorrow) instead.
The engine battery was also low and was replaced (had another year and a half to go on it). But it the voltage was still low. There is a device, called a separator, which lets the engine battery or the RV batteries charge alone when needed. It is apparently a simple electrical switch, but not generally available. We had talked about ordering one to have it if needed and with all this going on, last week we did. It came in this past Monday.
Tuesday we were ready to go out for lunch and had not heard about the RV, so I asked if he wanted to stop by on the way to lunch and then suggested we put the separator in the car.
The fellow who worked on it was on the verge of replacing the alternator as he still could not get the system to the correct voltage. He was looking online for which of their suppliers had one for our RV that was good and not crazy expensive. We all went out to play with the RV. The fellow had not known about the light panel to show the RV batteries were charging. We showed it to him. They used this voltage meter and that in this place and that. Then I asked - can the voltage going through the separator be checked? Ah ha! Voltage going into the separator - right - voltage coming out - low! We brought him the separator and the voltage on each side was the same. Solved! Husband was so relieved to see the green light on the panel light up!
So, if I had not stayed home with him to comfort him, we would have paid out more big money for an alternator and still not resolved it. (Makes me wonder if we needed any of the batteries, but that is water under the bridge.)
In the process of all this - we have driven out to almost the end of Long Island to charge all the batteries. Since we do this after dinner we can go and return in about 2 hours. I have lived my entire life on this (long) Island and have been out as far this (or further) maybe 10 times, 12 at the most on the north shore. Five of these times - including these two times - have been to charge the RV batteries.
So I lost 2 nights of being able to do things in the house. I am going to my client 3 days later than I planned - and there is a possibility of thunderstorms. Plus the day lost while he was too upset to be home alone and all the time we were outside in the RV playing with the batteries.
In addition, my sister had sent me a text Monday evening asking me to go to mom on Tuesday as she was meeting with the physical therapist and would have to sign papers. Unfortunately it must have come in while I was out of the kitchen - after leaving my phone on the table while cooking. I did not see the text - due to all of the above mess - until half an hour after the end of the of the time range of when I was needed there! So poor mom was there alone because of all this mess. I sent a text to my sister explaining and apologizing, but have not had a chance to call mom.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Our time is limited. If we need (or want) to do one thing, we cannot do something else at the same time. Our loved ones are the most important reason for choice to be made. I am not sure if I had the text in time if I would have picked going to my mom or staying with my husband to make sure he did not go over the edge. When I apologized to my sister, I also told her that next time something must be done on such short notice, to call to make sure I knew about it and did not miss another important text.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
CLEARING OUT MY OLD CLOSET AT THE FAMILY HOME
Last Thursday husband and I went to my family home to deal with “my stuff”. I knew that there should be certain things there that I wanted - not many - and I sort of figured that there would not be much more in the closet I had to go through.
A digression - yeah, I always do same, without labeling it - I am the oldest of 3 girls and there are big age jumps between us - 5 years to #2 and another 7 years to #3. When my family bought the house I was 4 or 5 years old - it was then built to order in a 1950s subdevelopment - and my sister #2 was born several months before we moved in. The house as shown in the model house had 5 bedrooms - 2 regular and a master bedroom on one floor and another 2 bedrooms (and a 4th bathroom) on the floor above it. The house is a split level so floors not on top of each other they alternate back and forth. My parents did not need the extra 2 bedrooms or the 4th bathroom and wanted to save money, so that floor was not finished into rooms when we moved in. I had one bedroom of the 2 regular ones and my sister #2 - baby in a crib - was put in the other one. The house stayed with this layout and each of us in our bedrooms for about 7 or 8 years. At that time sister #3 was born. My parents idea was that they would now finish the upstairs and have a bedroom for me, an office for my dad, and the fourth bathroom up there. Being only about 12 and not knowing that in the future I would love the idea of a bedroom so private, I refused to move up there and sleep alone. So instead my parents made it into a second (larger) master bedroom. Sister #2 moved into my bedroom. Dad got an office in her old bedroom. Sister #3 and I moved into the original master bedroom. This worked great. When sister #2 got married a year before I did over 10 years later, I left sister #3 with the original master bedroom and moved back to my original room - which by then had sister #2's furniture in it, except her desk, and I left my furniture with sister #3 = except for my desk. The house arrangement remained the same after that until I married a year later and moved out and then sister #3 moved out some 10 years later when she was married. So, the room I had to clear out was not filled with items from when I was a child, but rather items I had after college. I took almost all of my stuff either when we were first married or 9 years later when we bought a house. Just a cute story - I had picked this bedroom originally as the room in the model had a little rocking chair - no one told me that the house did not come with what was on display in it and I thought I would get the rocking chair - boy was I disappointed.
So, back to clearing out the room. I had expected to walk in and see my old bed and a room as I left it. Hah! Either my mom had turned it into a mess of a storage room or my sisters had been throwing stuff in there to decide what to do with as they have been there several times to work on clearing out the house.
My desk was not there as I have it here and use it as my desk - and still hit my knee on the leg of it as I did when I was a child. I looked at the dresser in the room and started opening drawers. As I thought they were empty but with 2 exceptions. When I was baby I had a dresser set (not a child’s set, a grown up person’s set). It had 2 small china dishes and a china box with lid. I have one of the dishes still on my dresser and thought the rest gone - I knew the box’s lid and the other dish were broken and presumed that I had forgotten about breaking the box - but there it was!! And in it was my girl scout knife and a couple of other small items. Took it and the contents to go through - the box will go back on my dresser. In another drawer I found a small tack hammer and two small boxes of tacks - not mine and I left them.
It was rather hot when we were there. I had asked sister #2 - who is coordinating all of this as she seems to know what to do - in advance if the air conditioners were working - she said yes, but not well. Husband put on same in the original master bedroom and the one in the dining room (covers same, living room and kitchen). Not much cool. So as I am working he is starting to get overhot. I sent him to the dining room then to outside several times to cool off.
I should say at this point - this entire process would have been harder for me if not for Hurricane Sandy. Most of our toys were in the basement. If I had to decide which toys to take and which to donate or toss it would have been close to impossible. Since mom’s basement was flooded in the Hurricane, everything down there had been tossed out - including her washer, dryer, furnace etc. (furnace was replaced, but she decided to go to a laundry for her clothes). No more Barbies (I have one trunk of them I had brought here). No more doll house that I got when I was 3 or 4. No more games. No more Bobbsey Twins, Honey Bunch, Nancy Drew, Dana Girls, etc books.
I opened the closet door expecting a mostly empty closet - OH BOY. I started taking stuff out. I found a red looseleaf book that I had copied folk songs into while in high school - took as I hoped to find it. I found love letters from husband - definite take. I found 2 art projects from college - painting - took (I am not a good artist and it actually came out good), cut out initials - toss. I had expected/hoped to find my dad’s army shirt - he had given it to me back in the late 1960s when “hippies” wore same - it had reproduced and I took both of them. While I know that the rank and badges on them are not right, I figure one of the military museums might like and his name would go down in posterity (and my nephew had previously said the did not want same) so they were a definite take. Some “awards” drawn by a friend who was editor in chief of our college yearbook (before I was) had been taped on the inside of the door - took the one I found - hope to find at least one more.
For a closet it was lacking in clothes. As mentioned, my dad’s army shirts were in there. There was a pink gown. I took it out. We looked at it and then at each other. I was maid of honor at sister # 2's wedding - I wore brown (the others wore orange - fat girls don’t wear orange). I was not in my other sister’s wedding party - and did not buy a gown for same. I had not worn a gown to the afternoon wedding of the sister of my old high school boyfriend. What the heck was it for? It looked to be in good condition - I hung it over the top of the bedroom door and went on. I found a sweater I bought in Mexico - tossed it. If husband was not there I would have put it in a donate bag - but he insisted it was not wearable. I found a “genuine” 1960's/early 1970's peasant blouse - hung it over the bedroom door. (Sister #2 has come across so much clothing from that period in the house that she plans to contact theatrical costume houses to see if they want them - she can add the blouse and gown.) My college house plan (similar to a sorority) windbreaker - took that. I also hung a green jacket over the door - I have no idea whose it is, but it would not have fit me at 12 years old, let alone when I was grown.
I found an assortment of papers I had written (brought them home to shred as my personal info on them). I found needlework - kits and almost finished. Husband had me leave the 2 latch hook rugs - hooking finished, rug edges not finished there. (If we go back and they are still there I will take them home - I decided I really want them.) Two embroidery kits - not finished, I took. One unstarted latch hook kit - left for donation or sale.
I also found a complete, unopened set of “spurtles”. These were cooking utensils that a TV chef named Graham Kerr used. We had apparently bought 2 sets - either to give the second set as gift or for when the others broke - they are still in great condition. We opened the box and took the spurtles out and tossed the box.
Then I hit the problem. Apparently when we lived in our apartment we used this closet for storage of - yes - empty boxes. Cabbage Patch Dolls, fancy teddy bears, etc - empty boxes - you know, because they will be worth a fortune one day. I did not take the boxes - but since I had not thought that there would be this much stuff - I did not have enough garbage bags so the boxes had to stay for next time.
I filled 3 large bags of garbage. I could not put it out as there would be no pickup until the following Monday and the house is near an animal preserve and the animals come and go through the bags. I left them in the living room - sisters would be there on the weekend to put it out.
There was a section of stuff still on the top shelf that was not boxes - but neither of us could reach them safely and husband was soaked through his shirt and we needed to leave.
Problem - I had not figured out how to pack the stuff we were taking in plastic bags and seal them without them coming into the house (that bed bug fear). So I carried the stuff I was taking down to the front door and husband held a bag outside and little by little I filled 2 bags of stuff to take. They are now in our garage - I will take it out a bit at time and heat it in our Packtite bedbug heater - just in case.
I am missing an item I would like to have. I embroidered a tablecloth while in high school. When I got married I went looking for it - I could not find it. I have looked a couple of times since. I told both my sisters about it and asked that if they find it they save it for me.
As we were driving home husband commented on the lack of air conditioning in the house. He had seen the one in the office (bedroom next to mine - remember?) but could not get to it as that room is completely filled. I then remembered - there was one in my bedroom! He insisted that there was none - unless it was removed and the wall fixed it should be there - not sure it works, but we will look next time we are there.
Sister #2 insists that we are almost done - I am not sure how - there is soooooo much there of mom’s..
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
One can go home again - but mostly to clear out home. Why not post about your experience in something like this?
A digression - yeah, I always do same, without labeling it - I am the oldest of 3 girls and there are big age jumps between us - 5 years to #2 and another 7 years to #3. When my family bought the house I was 4 or 5 years old - it was then built to order in a 1950s subdevelopment - and my sister #2 was born several months before we moved in. The house as shown in the model house had 5 bedrooms - 2 regular and a master bedroom on one floor and another 2 bedrooms (and a 4th bathroom) on the floor above it. The house is a split level so floors not on top of each other they alternate back and forth. My parents did not need the extra 2 bedrooms or the 4th bathroom and wanted to save money, so that floor was not finished into rooms when we moved in. I had one bedroom of the 2 regular ones and my sister #2 - baby in a crib - was put in the other one. The house stayed with this layout and each of us in our bedrooms for about 7 or 8 years. At that time sister #3 was born. My parents idea was that they would now finish the upstairs and have a bedroom for me, an office for my dad, and the fourth bathroom up there. Being only about 12 and not knowing that in the future I would love the idea of a bedroom so private, I refused to move up there and sleep alone. So instead my parents made it into a second (larger) master bedroom. Sister #2 moved into my bedroom. Dad got an office in her old bedroom. Sister #3 and I moved into the original master bedroom. This worked great. When sister #2 got married a year before I did over 10 years later, I left sister #3 with the original master bedroom and moved back to my original room - which by then had sister #2's furniture in it, except her desk, and I left my furniture with sister #3 = except for my desk. The house arrangement remained the same after that until I married a year later and moved out and then sister #3 moved out some 10 years later when she was married. So, the room I had to clear out was not filled with items from when I was a child, but rather items I had after college. I took almost all of my stuff either when we were first married or 9 years later when we bought a house. Just a cute story - I had picked this bedroom originally as the room in the model had a little rocking chair - no one told me that the house did not come with what was on display in it and I thought I would get the rocking chair - boy was I disappointed.
So, back to clearing out the room. I had expected to walk in and see my old bed and a room as I left it. Hah! Either my mom had turned it into a mess of a storage room or my sisters had been throwing stuff in there to decide what to do with as they have been there several times to work on clearing out the house.
My desk was not there as I have it here and use it as my desk - and still hit my knee on the leg of it as I did when I was a child. I looked at the dresser in the room and started opening drawers. As I thought they were empty but with 2 exceptions. When I was baby I had a dresser set (not a child’s set, a grown up person’s set). It had 2 small china dishes and a china box with lid. I have one of the dishes still on my dresser and thought the rest gone - I knew the box’s lid and the other dish were broken and presumed that I had forgotten about breaking the box - but there it was!! And in it was my girl scout knife and a couple of other small items. Took it and the contents to go through - the box will go back on my dresser. In another drawer I found a small tack hammer and two small boxes of tacks - not mine and I left them.
It was rather hot when we were there. I had asked sister #2 - who is coordinating all of this as she seems to know what to do - in advance if the air conditioners were working - she said yes, but not well. Husband put on same in the original master bedroom and the one in the dining room (covers same, living room and kitchen). Not much cool. So as I am working he is starting to get overhot. I sent him to the dining room then to outside several times to cool off.
I should say at this point - this entire process would have been harder for me if not for Hurricane Sandy. Most of our toys were in the basement. If I had to decide which toys to take and which to donate or toss it would have been close to impossible. Since mom’s basement was flooded in the Hurricane, everything down there had been tossed out - including her washer, dryer, furnace etc. (furnace was replaced, but she decided to go to a laundry for her clothes). No more Barbies (I have one trunk of them I had brought here). No more doll house that I got when I was 3 or 4. No more games. No more Bobbsey Twins, Honey Bunch, Nancy Drew, Dana Girls, etc books.
I opened the closet door expecting a mostly empty closet - OH BOY. I started taking stuff out. I found a red looseleaf book that I had copied folk songs into while in high school - took as I hoped to find it. I found love letters from husband - definite take. I found 2 art projects from college - painting - took (I am not a good artist and it actually came out good), cut out initials - toss. I had expected/hoped to find my dad’s army shirt - he had given it to me back in the late 1960s when “hippies” wore same - it had reproduced and I took both of them. While I know that the rank and badges on them are not right, I figure one of the military museums might like and his name would go down in posterity (and my nephew had previously said the did not want same) so they were a definite take. Some “awards” drawn by a friend who was editor in chief of our college yearbook (before I was) had been taped on the inside of the door - took the one I found - hope to find at least one more.
For a closet it was lacking in clothes. As mentioned, my dad’s army shirts were in there. There was a pink gown. I took it out. We looked at it and then at each other. I was maid of honor at sister # 2's wedding - I wore brown (the others wore orange - fat girls don’t wear orange). I was not in my other sister’s wedding party - and did not buy a gown for same. I had not worn a gown to the afternoon wedding of the sister of my old high school boyfriend. What the heck was it for? It looked to be in good condition - I hung it over the top of the bedroom door and went on. I found a sweater I bought in Mexico - tossed it. If husband was not there I would have put it in a donate bag - but he insisted it was not wearable. I found a “genuine” 1960's/early 1970's peasant blouse - hung it over the bedroom door. (Sister #2 has come across so much clothing from that period in the house that she plans to contact theatrical costume houses to see if they want them - she can add the blouse and gown.) My college house plan (similar to a sorority) windbreaker - took that. I also hung a green jacket over the door - I have no idea whose it is, but it would not have fit me at 12 years old, let alone when I was grown.
I found an assortment of papers I had written (brought them home to shred as my personal info on them). I found needlework - kits and almost finished. Husband had me leave the 2 latch hook rugs - hooking finished, rug edges not finished there. (If we go back and they are still there I will take them home - I decided I really want them.) Two embroidery kits - not finished, I took. One unstarted latch hook kit - left for donation or sale.
I also found a complete, unopened set of “spurtles”. These were cooking utensils that a TV chef named Graham Kerr used. We had apparently bought 2 sets - either to give the second set as gift or for when the others broke - they are still in great condition. We opened the box and took the spurtles out and tossed the box.
Then I hit the problem. Apparently when we lived in our apartment we used this closet for storage of - yes - empty boxes. Cabbage Patch Dolls, fancy teddy bears, etc - empty boxes - you know, because they will be worth a fortune one day. I did not take the boxes - but since I had not thought that there would be this much stuff - I did not have enough garbage bags so the boxes had to stay for next time.
I filled 3 large bags of garbage. I could not put it out as there would be no pickup until the following Monday and the house is near an animal preserve and the animals come and go through the bags. I left them in the living room - sisters would be there on the weekend to put it out.
There was a section of stuff still on the top shelf that was not boxes - but neither of us could reach them safely and husband was soaked through his shirt and we needed to leave.
Problem - I had not figured out how to pack the stuff we were taking in plastic bags and seal them without them coming into the house (that bed bug fear). So I carried the stuff I was taking down to the front door and husband held a bag outside and little by little I filled 2 bags of stuff to take. They are now in our garage - I will take it out a bit at time and heat it in our Packtite bedbug heater - just in case.
I am missing an item I would like to have. I embroidered a tablecloth while in high school. When I got married I went looking for it - I could not find it. I have looked a couple of times since. I told both my sisters about it and asked that if they find it they save it for me.
As we were driving home husband commented on the lack of air conditioning in the house. He had seen the one in the office (bedroom next to mine - remember?) but could not get to it as that room is completely filled. I then remembered - there was one in my bedroom! He insisted that there was none - unless it was removed and the wall fixed it should be there - not sure it works, but we will look next time we are there.
Sister #2 insists that we are almost done - I am not sure how - there is soooooo much there of mom’s..
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
One can go home again - but mostly to clear out home. Why not post about your experience in something like this?
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