It's Been Interesting

Friday morning, I had an appointment with an attorney.  It's  hard to seriously take advice from a guy that looks about 30, but he has good credentials.

It is not possible for me to get any part of my Dad's inheritance

It is not possible for my sister and I to get the rest of our Dad's estate from our step-mother.  Even though we were shown, by our Dad, the paperwork that showed our names and that we would split the one investment account ($250K each).  When the step-mother died, that investment account was gone--made into a trust fund, as she had told us, BUT with her two daughter's names on it, instead of ours.

There was not much consolation when the attorney told me he has seen this happen many, many times.  That does not help my problem of no way to pay my bills.

I am still paying the credit card for the money Fred had borrowed from me for his surgery and dental charges.  I am still paying the credit card for his funeral and grave marker.  I am still paying the credit card for the roof I had to put on two years ago.

I have played the "balance transfer" game and now all the credit cards are past the zero percent interest and the minimum payments have almost doubled.  

I have a FICO score of 798--the attorney was at least impressed with that, but as he said, "That's nice...but what good does that do you?  Are you going to buy another house?  A new car?  Do you need that at this stage of your life?"

"No."

We will meet again to discuss bankruptcy.

I find the whole idea abhorrent!  To me it is unethical and immoral.  

He said, "It's neither unethical nor immoral.  I'm an attorney and I can tell you of the many doctor's, teacher's, attorney's and rich people who I have represented.  It is legal."

My reply?  "Just because it's legal, doesn't mean it's moral."
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Friday evening, Merle, Pearl and their daughter, Marge took me out to supper.  Honest to Pete!  I have been out to supper with them six different times.  Six different restaurants and not once did we complete a meal without them complaining about the food--that they ate--to the waitress who took off part of their bill. 

When we went to Bob Evans, I ordered French Toast, Sausage and Biscuits with Honey.  They ordered meatloaf--which was pressed meat with some gravy over it.  I told them, "This is a place to get breakfast...you can't expect meatloaf to be tasty in a breakfast joint."

Friday night, we went to a Chinese restaurant.  Not a "real" Chinese restaurant, but a chain BUFFET restaurant that cooks for American's palate.  I had to agree with them this time.  It was awful!!!

It was tasteless!  Monogolian Beef is usually spicy--this was not--not even a teeny tiny bit.  That was the only beef dish they had.  I was looking forward to some Beef and Pea Pods--not even on the buffet  Egg rolls, which I love, were less than 2 inches long and no sauce to put on them.  The only good thing I had to eat, was the Oolong tea and the only thing remotely Chinese in the whole place, were the employees and the garish decorations!  EGAD

As usual Pearl and Marge complained and money was taken off the total bill.
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Today was going to be MY day.  I wanted no company.  I wanted to get things taken care of around here and not be disturbed.

I got my bird feeders filled up with the special Habenaro Chili Pepper liquid coated on the seeds.

I love how the flames are coming out of the squirrel's

ears and mouth.  We shall see.

I fertilized my container gardens and watered them.  I swept and washed off the porch.

I decided to hem some new tier curtains I got for this room.  My older ones (11 years) were looking kind of ragged , so I decided to take the best ones and put them in my bedroom, to take the place of the curtain I had in there, that I hated since Fred brought it into this house.

The curtains arrived last week.  Cheap, but good enough, but I noticed, the tiered one didn't have a ruffle above the rod opening--the valance had a ruffle, but not the curtain ..PLUS, they were too long, so to solve the problem, all I had to do was take out the top hem, turn it down about 3", sew it and then sew another pocket for the rod.

 You would think, after the hundreds of hours, over the years, that I have sat at a sewing machine, creating beautiful outfits for me and my kids, prom formals, on and on, that I would know how to do a simple, straight line.  I did a lot of that, for my Mother, when I was 10, and I knew I still could, but.....

#1: I have forgotten how to thread the machine!

#2:  Once that was figured out (my looking in the manual), I couldn't see to get the thread through the eye of the needle.  Which brought to mind a scripture about it "being easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle"---than it is for Judy to thread it.

#3:  After sewing for exactly 2 inches, the bobbin thread ran out.

#4:  How to get the bobbin case open.

#5:  How to get the bobbin case back in--although I 
had no problem filling the bobbin.

#6:  Why am I sweating and shaking?

 What should have taken 30 minutes, took me over and hour, but...I got my ruffle on top of the tier!!


This photo from last winter shows how my desk is right in front of my front windows.

In order to get to that middle curtain area---well, let's just say it is scary.  I can't move the desk so...

 I have to use my little step stool and climb up and walk on the window ledge.

I suppose it was inevitable!

I got the valance and curtain up on the center window and as I was backing out-I could feel myself going down.

Not wanting to fall on my new monitor or scanner, I sort of leaned to the left and fell on the edge of my desk--taking out my plastic calendar holder, causing my phone to fly to the other side of the room and disconnecting several wires with my feet.

Blood was pouring off my left elbow.....but 

cuts and bruises will heal and.......

 The curtains are up!

I decided, as I had disconnected a few cords and wires and could not access the Internet, I'd just take all the wires off the back of the computer, plugs out of the surge protector and I would re-attach each one and try and make a semblance of order in the "cord rat's-nest" we all have behind our computers.

Just then, I heard someone knocking along the siding as they came up the porch.  It was Pearl, and Lord Bless Her Heart, she needed to talk.  I have never seen her quite so excitable and talking so fast.

That story will have to be for another day, but.....I had given her a picture of the kind of surge protector she needs.  I wrote on the photo--"be sure it has 8 outlets--plug in areas.  It will probably cost $20,00"

She showed me what she had purchased.  "The cord is too short to reach to the outlet on the wall."

"I see that," I said.  "Plus--it only has five plug in places."

"Yeah, but it only cost five dollars and you said it would cost twenty."

"Well that's wonderful, but.....if you want to plug in your printer, speakers AND modem, you need one with eight."

And I picked mine up and showed here.

"Oh--that's just like the one in the picture you showed me."

<Lord, just take me now--please!>

"Guess I will have to take it back," she said.

"Do you want me to pick one up for you?"

"No!  I'm not totally incompetent.  I'll get another one!"

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So she left and I came back in here and sat for a moment, trying to calm myself and try and remember what plug went to what component and which connector went into which USB port and--got it done and little rope around each bundle to keep it neat--at least for the next week.

Like I said earlier this week--it has been a hellacious six days.  I am so totally beat up and bruised, not just from my fall, but from bending, lifting, carrying and so tired---I will sleep well tonight and.....tomorrow, I can spend a bit more time on this computer to learn more how to work Windows 7 and Outlook 2010 and perhaps one day next week, the kid at the computer place can recover my 40 years of genealogy work and all my saved e-mails and import them to this hard drive.

AND everything will be fine!