HOLY SHITASKE, IT'S WINTER (November 20)

 FINAL trip up North, hopefully, for a very very, let me say again very long time. I literally had fingers crossed as the "buyer/savior" nonchalantly signed her little mountain of paperwork for the house. Then tried to act cool by not snatching the check and rushing giddily out the door laughing like a demented hyena. Fifteen minutes flat which I feel is a world record prompted by my "let's just pop in early and maybe they can start earlier". Of course this was overshadowed by my discreet, ahem, glancing at my phone to assess the ominous set of "lake effect showers" impacting the escape route. Also record-setting visits to the bank and the attorney to make copies; cutting the chatter short and again trying to disguise my eagerness to bogey. 

THE SCENIC ROUTE The problem, of course, was no matter how many times I looked at it, the weather prediction sucked (best descriptor). Brief spots of clear surrounded by abysmal shadows of unrelenting squalls all the way home (roast beef notwithstanding - 3 little pigs reference is reaching, but oh well). I voted for a sitting tight option (which would probably have been 4 days) while the OH's vote was of the "damn the torpedoes" variety. Well we can always hole up if it gets bad - NOT. Mostly because when it got bad, we were in the proverbial middle of nowhere and any clear spots were attacked with an optimistic 75 mph, until we coudn't. The first 20 miles were fine...then there was the rest of the trip.  

Highlight was the giddy, gallivant into a gaping gully garnished with guardrails gliding 360 that occurred. Barely enjoying a sigh of relief we did not crash into the guardrails on the far side was immediately stifled by the comedic slide back to the looming guardrails on the other side of the road. Missed both sides, cue the triumphant music. Guess I'm getting new tires for Christmas under our new regime of less clutter, more practical; no stuff, just experiences; no knick knacks, more gift cards. Yeh.

Limping to the expressway while I'm searching for hotels a mere 40 miles from our starting point, we find the expressway somewhat decent....until it wasn't.  Following two tire tracks, a snake trail of cars, semis roaring by and waving at people as they slid down the side of the hills, we did not dare stop. I think my colon finally unclenched a day or so later. Spoiler alert - we didn't die.

 However the rest of the trip was just one shade less exciting culminating in the ice-crusted roads 20 miles from home where again passed the time counting the skid marks and vehicles off the road.  Upon leaving the expressway and traveling the two roads to home (about 5 miles) there was literally no road to follow. Thank you person ahead of us who happened to be going the same way. The joke in Michigan is "Hey hold my beer and watch this"  no joke.

GRANDPARENTING Had the pleasure of young Mr. Robel's company over the weekend where he and Grandpa attacked the pool table for a couple of hours. Good skills for college. Then he helped shovel the driveway and walkway. Mom forgot to drop off his foul weather gear, so we had to make do with what we had and what fit. (see pic) It's nice that he's growing up and can be helpful but there are some drawbacks.  I was checking emails when Mr. Nosey notices I was looking at one of his "Dolphins" items delivery dates.  Darn, he can read and he can put two and two together.  I passed it off as just spam, but he knows how to check history. Ah well, I'm sure he will be cool on Christmas morning.  

Another change to the routine is his Mom is hosting Thanksgiving for us this year for the first time with a bit of help from Dad.  Life is changing and I think we can look forward to a little resting on our laurels in the years to come. Peace out.....💙💛

                                            

                              

BLUE IS MY COLOR (November 13)

THE FINALS Hopefully this week marks the end of the up-north trips (funny how Michiganders always say going up north like the land tilts) for the closing. Of course early snow is predicted. Trying to cancel the utilities is practically an act of god and much paperwork must be provided. Of course possible rebates are involved so I will do the work. Actually should be a no-brainer as the new owner better be signing up for service, especially in the winter. That new boiler and water heater ain't gonna run themselves. 

Speaking of Up-North matters, a picture that my niece was desperate to get her hands on that inadvertently got tossed (I guess) was located.  Now this woman went through six boxes of pictures (supposedly) over six days when she was visiting the empty house and the only one she wanted was one of her in her baptism dress. NOTE:  She never showed up when we were working on the house. No momentoes of her parents, grandparents, etc. She berated me somewhat daily about its disappearance until I told her "get over it, it's gone". Well other sis-in-law found a snapshot of it, blew it up and shipped it to me. I found a frame to fit the 8X10 and presented it to her. Her reaction was "oh, ok".  Major LOL.You know what they say about good deeds never going unpunished.  Based on our hard work, however, the lady will get a nice inheritance.

BLUES NEWS Well the mid-terms were interesting. Never underestimate the American public-woke or not and our resistance against being told what to do, playing us for fools and counting on short memories.  It is amusing that the repubs display lawn freedom signs which from what I can tell (as they haven't changed their strategy "follow Trumpie" for three election cycles) must mean freedom to carry their guns to church. However the rest of us want body autonomy, freedom to worship or not as we wish and be treated with respect no matter who we are or what we believe. Simple. 

Love that MSU and U of M students stood in line for hours to vote. Looks like they brought chairs snacks and friends and made it a "happening" as we used to call it. Thank you younger generations for calling out the BS when you saw it. Do they think we forgot it was the red menace that attacked our capitol and all the inner circle repubs that were interviewed by the January 6 Committee admitting they knew it was all a big lie.  Yet they put out wacka-doodle candidates and no new ideas or changes. We are not all cult-minded Maga-gots apparently.  I think the best one-liner I read was "Who knew that Tiffany Trump's something blue was Nevada".   The count of mostly crisco's daughter was married at a storm -tossed Mar-a-logo Saturday in the midst of his cronies calling for his head after the disaster of November 8.  Much better result than the last time elections were held on my birthday (2016). Sorry, not sorry McConnell.

GIFTING Started my Christmas shopping and deliveries are occurring at record speeds.  Either I'm starting earlier or their overstocking is catching up with them. Joe, who is no longer a "Santa believer", was lobbying heavily for a floating Dolphins helmet.  Yeh, I didn't know either until he showed me on my phone. I told him no way-too expensive.  Of course it has already been ordered, heh heh heh. Nana is a soft touch, 

I saw another neat electronic for my future musical theater grandson. A hand-held item that creates all types of musical montages called a Rukus FX.  Not being familiar with curb-side service, I just saw it online at the store and ordered it to be held. When I showed up at the service desk to pick it up no Rukus. Of course it didn't help that I kept calling it a RUCKUS when it is correctly pronounced RO-KU like japanese or something. The clerk was overwhelmingly polite and never corrected me. I only "got it" when he called back to electronics where he pronounced it the right way.  Oops. I now understand why Grandma called Winn Dixie Dim Wittie. 

Good birthday week. We were early for lunch so shopped a store for socks but ended up with a "purty" little short car-coat. Not needed but pure white-so I couldn't resist. The family gang showed up at the restaurant (EARLY) for a birthday luncheon where each in turn gave me a gift card to our favorite beauty salon. As we get older and, after shoveling out one person's house, we now understand that simpler is better. Then upon meeting Joe and his Mother for lunch before we all went bowling Friday, he proceeded to sing Happy Birthday to me right in the middle of IHOP at pretty much full volume. Shy he is not.   MSU and Lions won. 💚  Peace out.💙💛

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LAST LAPS (November 6)

 NO, REALLY, GET SERIOUS  I've left politics mostly alone as most of us made up our minds before Labor Day. Now we just have to suffer through a few more days of atrocious political commercials which have no problem with out and out lies anymore.  "Make the Truth Great Again" - like to see that on a hat somewhere. One of the top crazies (and there are many) is the one running for Michigan's Secretary of State Kristina Karamo. She literally and publicly stated in a rally that those who have sex with demons will become possessed. (People say these things out loud now) Imagine that phone call to a one-night stand the next morning (penis demons-credit Steven Colbert) Other than that I know of no particular qualifications the lady has for the position other than as a  big election denier who wants to invalidate Mail-In ballots...but only in Detroit... so she has that going for her. 

But if it has a big red "r" on its head it's qualified to run-cue Herschel W.  At least he has an excuse; he's been knocked in the head a few too many times on the football field. But still it's a dead heat against the Reverand of Martin Luther King's old church? Really? You see making voting harder for "certain" people works.

IF IT SMELLS LIKE A ROSE Speaking of crap, on one of our marathon trips to RC last week I smelled a familiar odor.  In passing a large filthy truck with a giant hose on it I knew immediately what nefarious business with which it was engaged. The guys at the City called it a "honey-dipper" as irony is king when you clean sewers for a living. Similar to a wastewater plant you never forget that aroma. Not an outhouse smell but more "organically" (my word), which clings...  Interesting too that the implements to clean sewer pipes are called "pigs" as in a pig will eat anything I assume. Cameras are utilized in the pipes (on little sleds) to check for leaks or blockages. Upon hitting an obstacle, the piggies would get to work.

SPEAKING WITH Changing subjects, I have been working on a couple of podcasts but the completed ones are getting jammed up by our "volunteer" editor who merely adds the music. We may have to use the one about me which I've managed to avoid thus far.  After the PFAS Dilemma is published I'm looking to interview the director of the Michigan State Police HazMat Training Center and another one about electrical safety, specificially 70E, which is hard to explain in a few words.  Pretty much has to do with testing and classifying all electrical applications in an entity to determine PPE and procedures. My vast knowledge of trivia in safety and health is being sorely tested the further I move on from active engagement into retirement. 

NOTE: I'm meeting the MSP candidate at a Starbucks which is one of my worst nightmares. As a rule I do not spring for a $5 cup of sugar, machieeottties, caramelly blasters, expressive espressos, pumps of this or that or whatever the hell they order in there.  And god forbid I ask for a medium instead of a venti or grande or largeinpooper size. I will go with medium black coffee and see what I get. I understand the barrista attitude is a real thing and how much do you tip on a non-invasive, no labor-intensive plain cup of coffee anyway? I'm definitely using a fake name, like... Joe. I have done the Biggby's experience and when I ask for the plain black coffee they point me to the far end of the counter where they have tubs of plain coffee-self serve.

I have no doubt mentioned before how, even after a successful rehearsal, there are still "deer in the headlights" moments when we actually start recording. Reminded me of my first on-air (radio) interview on the Seatbelt Campaign I was coordinating for the City.  Everything was fine in our preliminary discussion, then we flipped the switch to live.  Forgot everything I was going to say, plus I do remember I tried to talk for a full minute without taking a breath.  That's why I always have a rough script. "Off the cuff" remarks are not really off the cuff.  Though I did do the video of the Right to Know Chemical training program in one take because I had given the talk dozens of times to new emps. The camera person was impressed. 

FINAL LOAD? Not sure if champagne corks are popping quite yet on the estate party. Hopefully the water heater install will not be cause for a delay. I do feel a great sense of relief so if my spidy-sense is any indication we have dumped our last load. As we brought every tool but a hammer we were forced to engage in unscrewing pieces of furniture to break them down to fit in the trailer for the dump. As the OH is a master packer we did it in one load though there was much cursing (on my part), much sighing (on his part) to get it done. A well-known secret in RC is on the first Thursday of the month, the garbage patrol will take one "bulk" piece along with your trash.  As I knew the neighbors on each side, one was gifted with a lop-sided recliner, one with a box springs and our contribution was the matching mattress. Saved $100 with that little trick. Now if we can just do the closing electronically...Peace Out 💛💙

THIS AND THAT (October 30)

HOUSE WARS Finally some good news.  After lowering the price we had three offers on the house. On the flip side in the process of accepting one, the water heater decided to take a dump...literally. Oh well. This was right after the OH's brother-in-law figured out how to fix the leak in the 2nd bathroom very inexpensively and we had a moment of relief.

 Although one offer was higher they wanted a payback of 6% and it was that awful FHA type. Umm no. I am not painting crumbling sheds in the winter to pass inspection. The other two were "cash" offers so no brainer-take the higher one. However I did counter that the price would go up if they wanted an inspection (just had one from earlier offer which cost us a month). Risky, but after a day she conceded, no contingencies.  Except, of course, for the water heater that took a crap just as we were negotiating. 

Heading up north to hopefully, remove the remainder of the "stuff". Oh joy, just found out Habitat for Humanity cannot pick up our donation until, oh I don't know, when we have a couple of trips out your way. "We'll call you".  Fine but we live 250 miles away. Have I mentioned how much I hate small towns. Also water heaters and installation cost a heck of lot more when there is no competition.  Well, it's not my money after all.

THE GOOD DIE YOUNG So sorry to hear Leslie Jordan passed away last week. A profoundly good and funny man who had to deal with a lot as a gay, short man in Tennesee. He always seemed to play characters like himself who were warm, witty and real. But one quote that stuck with me relates to his being raised in the Baptist church. Considering he was "different" according to some people's standards he said "we learn to hate ourselves in a pew". Profoundly true.  Perfect example of scripture on their tongue and hate in their hearts. 

WINE/WHINE TIME We had one of our legendary wine tastings with my carefully crafted selections and illustrative descriptions of each vintage...which are promptly ignored as we get rolling. By the 3rd bottle (maybe the 2nd), we are pretty much over the presentation portion and into the snacks, jokes and conversations. After the first half of the Green/Blue we gave up on the football game as well. We finally broached the aged bottle of red that we had paid mucho bucks for that we meant to enjoy on our 50th anniversary. Well a year and a month after that milestone was soon enough and it did taste delicious.

 A little talk of politics though I pointed out if you've lived long enough you have seen the stock market go up and down, inflation rise and fall. In fact when we were buying our first houses we would have killed for 7% interest rates.  Meanwhile the oil companies happily post record profits and people continue to buy buy buy.  Although it seems the only ones getting hurt financially are the single parent families and poor folk, but the number one issue is inflation?  Really. And crime when the GOP is calling for blood when the FBI raided Traitor Dumpf's place and an 82 year old grandfather is almost killed from hateful political rhetoric against his wife. 

CRUSHING Speaking of the horrific loss of life in Korea due to 100,000 partiers, I am reminded how I get a lot of grief over my distate (ok hatred) of standing in line or pushing my way through a crush to get to the front. In college we attended a concert where we stood in a long line (with tickets) before they opened the doors and said "Ok, run for it".  Not fun.  Never again I swore and I haven't. What a waste of a whole generation of young people. 

ALL HALLOWS The boy made his annual trick or treat visit last Friday as he is busy canvassing his neighborhood Halloween night and we head to the lake to hand out goodies to the kids and shots to the parents. He had a big weekend as Mom and Dad took him to his first pro football game.  As his Dad is a Lions fan and Joe's heart belongs to the Dolphins and their young quarterback, someone was bound to be disappointed. Well it sure as heck wasn't Joe...Sigh  Peace out and prayers to Ukraine....💚💙💛

                                                           

WOE OR WOAH (October 23)

 SHOPPING WOES After misreading both the sign out front and, apparently, the sign in front of the product, I believed I was charged more and pointed it out twice to cashiers who were at a loss. As it was only 20cents I said forget it. However when I got home I found I had been charged twice for the item   Arrgghhh 😖Then on further examination I realized I was not charged at all for another items that costs 9.99 a lb, though their sticker said 4.19 a pound. Darn labeling rules. Net gain probably $2.  Karma 😄 

Speaking of customer service (well I was) ever notice how difficult it is to find a phone number online to talk to a "live" person on your issue?  It is practically impossible to find on the website and if you query the "customer service" or "contact us" statement it ususally suggests one contact them via email or, my favorite, robotic Chat rooms; but no direct phone number.  Do you think that is by design? hmmm And I'm talking large companies here. 

HOUSE WOES Further delays, oh joy.  After tying up the house for a month, and agreeing to fix what was found on inspection or lowering the price, the buyer "booked". Apparently she is within her rights to do so "pending inspections" so no compensation for us and losing 4 weeks of sale time for nothing. I hate FHA loans. But then after getting news we had a showing already scheduled the next day, we got a call there was a water puddle in the basement. Fortunately my brother-in-law is up there hunting and he's a heck of a handyman....so I convinced him to take a look. He found the leak in an upstairs sink that apparently had been broken for some time but we never ran any water in there so news to us. People on house tours love to test out the faucets. As it is a hot water heating system we can't leave the water off too long or no boiler. He fixed the pipe problem but now the faucet is dripping. Hoping he can fix that today or put a new faucet in. We plan on presenting him with a major gift card in addition to his expenses.  Hard to sell a house from 250 miles away! 

DRIVING WOES I used to like driving, but everyone is so much more aggressive and in a hurry these days. As I have had my share of speeding tickets, I tend to set my cruise a few miles above the speed limit and relax. Except I can't as tailgating is constant.  Best case scenerio - magic finger gestures, worst case-bang bang. I reference the bang-bang to Kristen's and my trip to France in 2000. As our marvelous travel guide forgot there were no taxis after midnight on Friday night we had to basically "hitch hike" rides back to the hotel.

 Sandwiched between two characters in the front seat who did not converse with us in english and the girls in the backseat (Kristen thinking we were going to be kidnapped and murdered), I tried to make conversation from my high school french Zut Alors! Just as you imagine, there is much honking, gesturing and yelling out car windows when one is blocked in downtown Paris. Nobody backs up-kind of an honor thing I guess. At the height of the yelling and obscene gestures I said something like "Etats Unis bang-bang allez." (rough translation in "US we would probably be in shooting mode"). It was only after we arrived safely at our hotel did one of the gentleman ask for a reimbursement (more than a taxi but less than mayhem & murder would have cost) in perfect english.  I paid and "Merci".  

ECONOMY WOES Speaking of economics, I find it interesting that the business leaders are promoting recession, etc., while meanwhile the travel gurus and credit card companies (who actually have their finger on the pulse of American spending) claim people are "business as usual" and not holding back on goodies and travel. Also Halloween is back to 2019 levels to the tune of 10 billion! That's a "hell" of a lot of 16 foot skeletons I see gracing the suburban homes around here.  Speaking of which, guess who is going as the devil himself complimented with his best buddy the Grim Reaper. 

It's all about the light-up mask apparently. Not sure if the bare feet will be walking the neighborhood however.

Continuing with economics I suspected as much and then was reading a claim by Congresswoman Katie Porter from California who is known for her famous whiteboard demos.  After her speech she was fact-checked and proven correct. Business profits were around 11% from 1979 to 2019. Since 2020, the number has jumped to 53.9 (despite those new outrageous higher salaries/otherwise known as the cost of living). Inflation is solely due to government spending my sweet Aunt Fanny. Obviously there are other factors in play but we should not be fooled that we are not paying for that 40% increase. Your're welcome stockholders. 

BACK TO BOILERS A funny story came to mind when I realized we were dependent on water reaching a boiler for heating Sherry's house as the gales of November come closer. Our first apartment was the upstairs of a house and heated by a boiler. There were no downstairs neighbors at the time. ASIDE:  Our former neighbors had a "smoking" habit that tended to make one high just going up to our apartment from the aromas wafting from their apartment. Oh the 70's.

 Anyway the boiler had a tendency to run out of water when it got cold-makes sense right? The OH cheerily showed me what I had to do in the unlikely event of the boiler dying while he was up north deer hunting. I woke one night to all the brand-new kittens and their mother huddled with their paws on the heating elements of the electric blanket. Ruh-ro. I still can't believe I went down 2 flights of stairs in the dark to restart the heating system. If it wasn't for the cats.... Little harder to do 250 miles away. Hopefully we sell the damn place before Dale is done hunting up there.  Definitely, Peace Out..✌💙💛

THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE (October 16)

Definite sign of the changing seasons--dragging Madam Pontoon on a trailer heading to her winter abode. The Robel pole barn was graciously offered thus leading to the perilous journey on back roads with what has to be the most gargantuan trailer on two wheels.  We were the guys you hate to get behind on a two-laner. Considering the cost of gasoline these days, it's a good thing we only have to fill it up once every two years- Ouch.

Offered to to pick up the boy from after school Adventure Club leading to an eager tour of his classroom. He commandeers one of two special seats that face a square of four other desks.  Much like the chairman of the Board. His Mother said at the Homecoming parade twenty people must have stopped to say hello to him so the chairman reference is appropriate. I don't know if it's especially crowded or this is the "new" classroom design, but it is all open rooms with bookshelves between.  Not sure how one can identify their particular hubbub from other classrooms or maybe it doesn't matter. Which reminds me...

Had a much anticipated (not in a good way)  dentist appointment for a new crown this week and they also embrace the open concept with no floor to ceiling separation. A liberal application of gas and/or novacain keeps the clients from freaking out those who are merely there for a cleaning.  I warned ahead of time I insist on frequent breaks as my jaw tends to spasm so we had some interesting conversation. Mother always told us to make an impression so we are not just another patient -positively or negatively I assume. She was a master at "small talk" with strangers. Our friends loved her. We would troop home various bodies on weekends from college and she was always open to it. Not the typical Mom, she would much rather host never-ending euchre tournaments or debate politics than hide in the kitchen.

Anyway, I have been a patient of this dental practice so long I am actually being treated by my original doctor's son. I regaled him with tales about his father such as how much he enjoyed reading my newspaper opinions each week though he did not agree with me on any (read too liberal). I also related that I was the catalyst for insisting they wear gloves when the AIDS/HIV precautions were just coming out. Due to my occupation I had to create a program and do a lot of training on the subject. Both the doctor and technician were shocked it was ever an issue. They're both young, so it was the norm for their training. Things change and become routine. Funny how we forget everything had to start somewhere.  We also had a discussion on chemicals (PFAS) as I had just done a podcast interview on the topic (love to educate). 

Somehow we got on the topic of various inspections I had done including the Ionia prison. I told them the conditions for the traveling dentist were abysmal with such close quarters that body fluids were routinely shared. He relayed his own story where he was treating a prisoner (part of their training I'm guessing) and he normally asks the patient to lift a hand if they are uncomfortable.  Then he realized she was handcuffed to the chair (which would have made me uncomfortable). I said did you tell her to just raise a leg? He had to think about whether that was restrained as well. At any rate, I am not sure if it was a compliment but the Doctor said I was extremely memorable. 

The discussion actually made me realize something.  So many people lose their more liberal, saving the world ideals, and start worrying about themselves as they grow older.  It's one thing to get older, but closing one's mind to new ideas and the concept of change is fatal. It will age you faster than your years. I believe working in safety and health for so many years and having to change my thinking, my strategy, what I thought I knew and what I learned, kept me mentally nimble and open to new research and ideas.  I really resent it when folks become stuck in worn-out comfortable concepts or actually regress as change and listening to up-to-date information becomes too difficult.  

Go back to school; learn a foreign language; visit a new city; go zip-lining.  Staying in one place mentally forever is mind-numbing. That was reinforced when I interviewed the VP of Operations from an environmental consulting firm on PFAS. I had to study a bit as I struggled to keep up with his scientific concepts and acronyms -lol.  Made me feel like a student again!

A couple weeks' break from "es-tating" has been relaxing. Finally good news from the insurance company after two months of pretty constant haranging.  Apparently we have waded through a sufficient amount of paperwork, hoops, rings and dust bunnies to receive the payout. Fortuitous as the estate sale money only goes so far. Slight set-back on the house, but hopefully it will be resolved before winter. Do not relish bob-sledding up to Rogers to sign paperwork. So all good.  Peace out...💙💛

WHEN LIFE & MAKING SAUSAGE COLLIDE (OCTOBER 9)

 I know it's been awhile.  After five weeks of sorting, cleaning, phone calls, banks, lawyers, courts, realtors we finally caught a break. I now know the "dump" people by their first names and have discovered just what second hand shops and recycling centers will actually accept when one is disposing of a lifetime. So true, "you can't take it with you" and "dust to dust".  Lots and lots and lots of dust. Through the course of this undertaking I caught the worst virus in my life culminating with a ruptured eardrum.  However, when one lays on the "good ear" the compromised eardrum stifles any extraneous noise and helps with shuteye, when I was unstressed enough to get any shuteye.

I learned the intricacies and inefficiencies of government and the Veterans Administration in this journey. Not that I was surprised at it, of course, but I have sympathy for those who have neither the patience or ability to persevere against all odds and extreme "hold" times.  I found multi-tasking and speaker phone a great way to wait out the inevitable "your call is important to us, bla bla bla".  Hold times are inevitably followed by "you need to call this department and/or these six other numbers".  As I could not hear out of one ear and suffered a record two weeks of laryangitis, compliments of the ear infection, speaker phone was also my friend. I had to draw the line at foreign operators. It was just too difficult to decipher when one's hearing is compromised. Which led to callbacks and fingers crossed in hopes of a straight mid-western accent. Even a southern twang was difficult. I will say though, each operator made a point of expressing sympathy for my loss. 

Also any issue I was able to resolve ala telephone was later followed up by requesting the same information in writing, sometimes followed by another phone call verifying they received the information verifying the information that was provided originally by phone. You follow?  However through my prompt diligence I was able to snag several small refunds which were sorely needed for the Estate fund (funded by us) to pay bills. Another fun rule, credit unions/banks do not give one access to the deceased person's bank account even though the court-appointed rep (the OH) was required to give an accounting of assets and liabilities.  Funny how that works.

Insurance companies, and a niece with special needs and desires, were their own private nightmares.  I now understand why one hires a lawyer to collect after a vehicle mishap. The insurance goal is to keep providing hoops for one to catapult through before dispensing anything of value. Constant bombardment through phone calls and letters eventually breaks through the reinforced walls. I think; jury is still out. Though our lawyer told me we are moving at "lightning speed". To which I retorted, "because it's my money being spent!" 

 After spending three solid days in ICU and after dropping off the niece to "recover" I guess, us old people spent the next several hours cleaning in a massive "person-hunt" for pertinent papers. An almost useless task as things turned out. The joy of finding a locked mini-safe did not yield the treasured paperwork sought. (I should have guessed from the layer of dust on it) Instead it contained ancient and useless documents;  interesting but of no particular assistance.  Imagine trying to re-create a person's entire financial past-present-future from bits, pieces and conjecture essentially. 

One interesting story from that night still has us bemused. I'll preface it by saying several months after my Mother passed I was feeling particularly sad and wishing she was still within a phone call's reach. Apropos of nothing the rock station I was listening to suddenly, mid-song, broke into the Irish Rovers "Green Alligators, and long-necked geese" etc. the very song we played at Mother's funeral as she liked the group and it seemed appropriate at the time.  Fast-forward 15 years. Finally calling a dinner break the night of Sherry's passing the OH went to a local restaurant (there are a grand total of 4 restaurants in town) to pick up a pizza. Important to the story:  he NEVER turns on the radio. As he drove by the Rogers City cemetery, the radio starting blasting out the 60's station.  Hmmm. So at least I know Sherry made it to Rock and Roll heaven and apparently music is the choice for communicating with the living.

The fatigue factor was high as constant cleaning, sorting and phone calls took over our lives. (We have dedicated our dining room as the Enlow annex). Three estate sales yielded enough to keep the proverbial wolfie from the door in paying essential house bills. Amazing the stuff people will buy, though the positive stories about my late sister-in-law were comforting. She touched many in that town.

BEFORE  

                                                                                 

AFTER

  

 As I said we were constantly sleep-deprived, suffering a viral infection and making a 500 mile round trip every week so a couple of stories emerged. One night after a particularly brutal day, we searched high and low for the hotel room key as we were checking out the next morning. Harsh words were exchanged on who lost what when I flung open the door to find the key sitting securely, and unsafely, in the door lock on the outside...all night - oops.

Pretty much on a first-name basis with the various folks at the local hotel. Though them spinning off my credit card number from memory was a little disturbing. However our "chuminess" led to special services. This hotel is not high on luxury but nice view of Lake Huron. However there was a comfy little wrap-around chair one week in our room. The next week-no chair. When I mentioned it, they assured me they would do some discreet checking of other rooms and lo and behold, the little chair appeared in the room that night! They also knew my phone number by heart as they needed it when we left, get this, a pair of shoes and a swiss army knife in the room which I just had them hold until the next week, because of course we had to come back.

One high note. Real Estate people work any hour of the day or night. After two people mentioned this agent's name. I took it as an omen and put a call into her voice mail. She called that night and asked if she could meet with us the next day, Sunday. I had gotten used to the little town closing up on the weekend so I was beyond thrilled. House listed four days later and offer made the first weekend. Though nothing is certain until it is, I give high marks for the real estate hustle she demonstrated. Much better impression than the appraiser we were required to hire whose first words were "who's gonna pay me", who proceeded to lowball the appraisal and did not notice there was an unexpected extra strip of beautiful forested land behind the house. To be honest, the house has its "issues" but it is offered "as is" as part of an estate.  After the realtor finished the pictures (highlighting the back forest & us shuffling furniture around to make it look better) I was reminded of the old saying "you really don't want to know how the sausage is made"....  Peace out  💙💛

LAKE HURON SUNRISE