Written on Thursday, June 13, 2024, 9 pm

What notable things happened today?

Oh boy. I think you’d think I was telling a tall tale if I just tell you the truth about the real things which really happened.

Ok, here we go.

Last night, Omaha had a terrible hail and wind storm.

Of course! Closing on Mom’s house is tomorrow at 2 pm. My brother who lives across the street told me the hail was tennis ball size. Wow!

We had plans to receive the furniture delivery for my oldest brother at his new assisted living apartment. We put a few things away, but he needs to know where his stuff is. He’ll rearrange everything after his move in.

We received the furniture, got a feel for the facility, and went to Mom’s house to assess damage.

Luckily, it’s not bad at all, but needs a repair. God was good to us. The day was full of “I can’t believe it!”

Tom’s house doesn’t appear to be damaged, but we will check again later. Lots going on.

Several calls with brother Steve about storm damage, calls with real estate agent, more papers to sign, and talks about possibilities. What a day!

Title company calls, note to self, and another call from title company telling me I don’t need to call the place with the info they wanted. Whew!

Emails, texts, and phone calls later, I’m relieved. The day didn’t destroy me, yet it tried to.

Yes, I was grateful the day didn’t make me surrender. We held steady and were still standing at the end of the day.

It was a huge victory, actually. And we’re praying for another victorious day tomorrow. Then our family home will belong to a new family. And we are grateful.

How about you? What significant things happened for you today?

Have you decided what to do on this sunny, hot day? We’re trying to catch up at home. Have a great Friday. See you tomorrow!

Today’s The Day!

After months of archeological digs, sorting, identifying, laughing, tearing up, pricing and displaying, we are ready for the Estate Sale. It’ll be decent weather (no spring blizzard), we have good help, and we hope against hope many people come and spend money.

If you have a few spare minutes today, could you ask for God to be good to us? Positive thoughts are welcomed. Thank you, and we’ll see each other tomorrow. Be safe out there.

It’s Not Too Bad!

We are in the middle of doing Income Tax. After plugging away for most of the day, prognosis is, it’s not going too bad. How’s that? I’m thrilled.

For me, I’m ecstatic! Time for a movie! I wanted to see Oppenheimer. Netflix & Prime wanted $$ to see it. I think that’s awful!

The only way we It’s a dreary day and chilly. Not a bit of sunshine. Good day to curl up with a new book. Haven’t selected one yet, but will let you know.

This is truly a Taxman Weekend. Finishing up State returns tomorrow, then off to the next adventure!

Hope you have a good weekend, and we’ll see you tomorrow! Be safe out there.

The Grass is Growing

And some stuff is green. Mom has tulips near blooming in her yard. We have our cardinal back in the Wetlands behind our home, and he trills loudly every morning about 6:30 a.m. It’s soon going to be warm enough to sit out on the deck for morning coffee. We share dreams, discuss ideas, and wonder how the day will go. Not much gets us riled up. There’s so much that is regular in our life now. We’d often have to put our plans on hold for emergencies. So much more peaceful now. Many would say it is a boring life we lead. We’ll take it!

One thing I’m happy about is since we still own Mom’s property, I can transplant what’s left of the peony bush to my yard. I love peonies. We just don’t have any at our home now. This peony isn’t a special breed by growers’ standards. It’s the one Grandpa Bobell transplanted to Mom’s yard from his yard. It’s grown and thrived ever since. I can’t leave it. Now I can take peonies to Mom & Dad on my birthday, as I used to. They also serve as Memorial Day flowers sometimes.

On another note, I’m so happy Cillian Murphy won the Oscar last night for Best Actor. He made his homeland very proud of his achievement. He’s the first Irish born actor to win Best Actor. I hope the Babe and I see it on Netflix soon.

Have a beautiful Tuesday and enjoy some sunshine and fresh air. You’ll feel better. Let’s see each other tomorrow. Be safe out there.

Did I Sign Up For This?

Do any of you do this?

I’ve wanted to take some online art classes, and signed up for a couple probably when I thought I’d have more time. I didn’t. I have lifetime login on a class by . . . Huh, what was that? Recently, I decided this year would be the year I try my hand at brushes, pencil drawings, watercolor, acrylics, etc. And I signed up for . . .

Well, you get the drift. I need to go through and try to figure out where all those websites are for those phantom classes I eagerly enlisted for. My eagerness has not waned, and I need to make sure I find them all again, since we no longer have the commitment to Mom’s care we had.

Glad we did it, and now I can do some of those things I’ve saved for “when I have more time.” I have more time now, and I’m so glad.

This morning, I worked more on the Sudoko Quilt. It’s coming along nicely. This morning, there was a lot of sewing sections together, and pressing the seams one direction or another. I forgot how crisp the seams looked when pressed into place, the proper way being to the dark fabric. In Star Wars and quilting, it always goes to the dark side. That was a Dad Joke, I know. Grandma’s can get away with it, though.

That simple thing, the crisp look of a quilt top after pressing, is one pleasure I’ve rediscovered this year. I’ve also read 5 books this year (two of them over 350 pages), and have done quite a few things on the to do list for home. And it’s only February 8, 2024! Five weeks off to a good start. Praying it continues.

It’s time to read some more on my 6th book, “Along Came Millie.” It’s pretty intriguing. Have a Fabulous Friday, and we’ll see you tomorrow.

Things Get Real

Seems like a long time since I talked to Mom. It was a little more than a week ago but it seems like much longer.

Things have gone well, all things considered. Today, it was picking up Death Certificates, dropping off a big clothing donation for Lydia House, and back to Physical Therapy.

I’ve enjoyed the laid back pace we’ve had this week. Nothing demanding. When I read the Death Certificate, it was strange. A life categorized by cause of death, date, time, and location of death, who reported it. They goofed and used my previous married name. It’s all good, I imagine. I’m still the daughter, regardless of which name they use.

When we visit with family and friends, it feels good because the talking and conversation soothes us. The fact people take time to visit and check in is great.

Grief is different this time. Much different from Dad. Dad was too young, 64, and I was 37. I was alone in the world and had my kids to explain death to. I knew nothing about grief. People didn’t show their feelings, much less discuss them. I prefer this by a long shot.

The earth is still spinning, the sun rising, wars continue, people continue to be people. Words are coming back to me and making sentences. They’re getting to make sense again. Soon we’ll make our new normal. Thank you for walking with me through this maze. See you tomorrow.

What Have You Been Putting Off Doing? Why?

Perhaps I’ve been putting off the completion of my office reorganization AND my studio reorganization. It’s been underway now for a while. Then again, maybe it’s life in the way. How do I know?

I’m tired. The last seven months have been non stop crisis management. And it’s been a wild ride with Mom’s cancer diagnosis, treatment, and after treatment. Moving from her house to assisted living and building a new life for herself now. We are working a furniture swap between the apartment and house. Then an estate sale, home for sale, and hopefully sold before 2024.

We’re tired. Maybe I don’t want to make the time to get back to what my life was before all this crisis. Am I afraid to follow through on my dreams? Do I fear failure? I do not think I’m afraid of following through or of failure. I still believe in me. I would like to publish my children’s book while Mom is still with us. But you know what? If she’s not still with us, she’ll still know when I publish my kid book. It’s all good.

Hope to take today and tomorrow at home, then go to Mom’s late in the week. More packing to do, and hope to get the Plan B ready to implement. More about that later. I hope for a fruitful day today. Tying up the rest of the permission from God letters I need to provide for the utilities, private health insurance, and accountant. This list is only the beginning. There’s the IRS, both Federal and State, and others.

You know what? That’s it. I’m putting off the rest of my two huge reorganizations because there just isn’t enough time. The rest of our life is kind of lived a moment at a time. I need to not feel guilty about not finishing those reorganizations. We will get it all done.

How about you? Let’s all learn to not be so hard on ourselves. Reasons for not getting finished with something. Excuses are exactly that, excuses; they are not reasons. Reasons are valid. Excuses are not. Learn the difference and you’ll be ok.

Have a great Monday, and we’ll see each other tomorrow. Stay safe.

What a Day.

Without going into a lot of detail, it’s been a day. Of course, there were good parts, and lots of not so good parts. Frustration with all the hoops to jump through as POA. One bank I already made a pilgrimage to several months ago said I’m not POA on two of five accounts. They were another institution when the POA was done, and the bank that took them over claims I’m not. What a mess! I’m trying to reach the person who worked with me several months ago. Maybe tomorrow.

Trying to come up with a plan to remove stuff from Mom’s house. Stuff like the old National Geographic, Encyclopedia’s, their yearbooks, and some other volumed set. Does anyone recycle them?

I’m still reading “Eerie Appalachia.” Learning more about the ghost stories, alien sightings, and unexplained phenomenon in the region. It made me chuckle while reading a paragraph about the eyewitnesses. They reported several as drinking. I’m sure there were many who were.

There were many people who created hoaxes about these sightings. Tall tales spread quickly. People, entertained by it all, helped spread the rumors. Human nature amazes me. How about you?

Tales such as these are interesting. There are explanations for all of them. And we can scare ourselves silly, too. Going to read a little, and hope tomorrow is a much better day. Have a wonderful Thursday, and we’ll see each other tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

I’m Feeling a Little Funny.

I met with my real estate agent today. She also is my niece. She is very thorough, precise, and knows an excellent offer when she sees it. Wendy Welch has sold 3 houses for the Babe and me, and helped us find two homes that were “ours.” Home.

Our retirement home (a ranch style home with a beautiful walk-out basement) is perfect. I tell her often the deck is like a vacation home. We had a two story before, and now, it’s one story. We love it.

It felt weird today. As POA, I was signing papers to sell our family home. Mom lived there 74 years. I am fully aware of the importance this home has for her. It’s an enormous responsibility, and I am honored to be trusted with the job. I’m in awe of the stories in that home. Every room has stories in its makeup. Stories of childhood, teenage broken hearts, and even my living with the folks while my first husband was in Germany, on duty during the Vietnam War. My son Frankie was a baby and my brothers were 10 and 13. They had fun together.

Lots of memories are surfacing, and most of them are very good. How we’ve all grown up into good people. Mom is working her way through the normal grief a person has now. I’m glad she’ll be free of the concern of a house, especially when things go wrong with it. For example, we get severe hail storms in Nebraska. She’s replaced the roof twice in two years. And siding, painting the garage, and all the stress of managing the project. She deserves a rest after all that.

Mom’s happy my Wendy is the agent. She assumed that was who I would choose, as she knows how I’ve been happy with and pleased with her work. This should be fun. Another new experience. Life is good. I hope yours is, too. Have a happy Wednesday, and we’ll see each other tomorrow.

A Hard Change

The Babe and I changed something kind of big in our lives today.

Most American homes have one vehicle per licensed driver. We’ve always each had our own car or truck. In the past calendar year, we seem to go most places together, in one vehicle. That set us to talking: at what point should we go to one car?

We’ve leased for quite a few years. Yes, it’s a bit more expensive, yet it’s worked well for us. Now, we’re both in our 70s, and it makes sense to save nearly $1K a month and just have one car. On paper, it makes perfect sense. In the feelings? It’s hard.

Why? The Babe has had a car since he first got his driver’s license. I got my license at 18, and co-owned the car. As my married life continued, we had one car, and I was pretty isolated. Since I was 30, I’ve owned my car. When the kids were all old enough to drive, I was the owner of their cars, until they could have a loan of their own. It all worked.

And now, besides all the other things going on in our lives, we’ve decided on one car. It’s the smart thing to do. Sure, it’s a little hard. I have no problem staying home. If the Babe needs to be gone, I can always drop him off and pick him up later. I’m sure in three months, we won’t even notice. The other thing that sometimes happens is one person has a health crisis and can no longer drive. I believe this move today will make that sort of thing easier, if it could be.

In the meantime, we’re going to enjoy the little boost to the pocketbook and make sure we continue to coordinate appointments, etc. It should be no big deal in the long run.

What do you think? Are you a couple in a similar situation? What are you doing about it? Or do you have any other ideas about it? As the Babe said, “If we change our minds, we can always come back and get another car.”

With the Babe’s words of wisdom, we will go out and enjoy this Thursday. I have PT and it’ll be good. Have a wonderful day and we’ll see each other tomorrow!