Tag Archive | probate

Living in a Viper’s Den

Mar13

Spoiler alert: I’m the viper. People ask, but how did you get here, and I reply I’m not exactly sure. However in January I needed someone to stay with the mutts while I went to Belize. My garden and yard helper, let’s call him Bill, had moved to Nova Scotia, didn’t like it and wanted to return to Kelowna at the very same time as my trip.

I then said well come and stay here with the dogs, and then you can start looking for your own place. I arrived home late on February 24th and Bill said, good news, he’d found a place, however it wasn’t available until March 15. Gulp. He’s a very nice person and all, but we aren’t close buddies, if you know what I mean.

So then cohabiting with an employee began, and there were many bumpy moments, all on my part as I discovered I cannot stand living with another human being. I adore travelling with Margaret, or staying with Alison, but for me, having to live with someone I really don’t know turned into a harrowing experience. For Bill.

At one point he admitted he didn’t feel comfortable, and I thought maybe it’s because of the icicles forming all over my body when we’re near each other. I explained to him that I’m unaccustomed to living with anyone, and so I hope there’s no offense taken if I pick up my laptop and move into another room. I said I can’t do this otherwise. He seemed to understand.

In the midst of this, I’ve also been to the courthouse four times with my probate forms, only to be sent home with corrections. I figure the fifth time’ll be the charm. If I can get those accepted, I’ll be halfway to my goal of settling all of mom’s life. My last trip to Osoyoos I once again filled the car with books, tablecloths, bowls, pans, and many other things from 80 years in the same house.

The reason for this is that I decided I can’t take the stress of owning mom’s property and it will be put up for sale. First time ever as my dad bought the land in the early 1930’s for $200. Of course it’ll be very sad to say goodbye to that, however whenever I’m there, I see all of the things that need to be done to maintain an old house. I already own an old house here in Kelowna and am dismayed by it.

Luke is balking at cleaning up his yard, but the realtor insists the place has to look neat and tidy. I’m hiring Luke’s pal to come and do some painting to spruce the place up. The private 90 feet of Osoyoos Lake that goes with the property is probably the biggest draw, so I plan on staining the deck and maybe prettying it up with planters of flowers.

The irrigation man was here yesterday digging a deep trench around my fruit trees and beds down in the vegetable garden where the greenhouse is. I had called the company to say I don’t want to continue moving hoses around down there all summer and requested underground irrigation that I can just turn on or off at will. It’ll be like the invention of the light bulb, a miracle.

But in the meantime I have two more nights of Bill and I bumping into each other in the kitchen or the only bathroom. Yes, we have to share a bathroom. When I went to Osoyoos Jan, being a Thai Buddhist said it was nice I had a friend staying. I said he is not a friend, so she said “oh good for you, you do good thing to help him.” And I said no, Jan, I want to kill him, so it’s not a good thing.

Spooky Mild Winter

Feb7

Not to complain about the lack of snow and the 7 degree C daily temperatures, but it is a bit fear-inducing when you’ve lived through a forest fire-filled summer season, and therefore know what awaits us come July. Unless we get an awful lot of rain in spring we’re doomed to endure choking smoke all summer.

But the good news is the hens are enjoying the balmy weather so much they’re laying as though it’s summer. Even Condoleezza the black hen, who hasn’t laid an egg in at least six months, has started to produce again. There usually is a silver lining somewhere. Plus, of course not shoveling snow is a huge perk.

Next Friday Margaret and I are off to the Yucatan and Belize so I’m ga ga with excitement. Belize has the second largest reef after Australia so the snorkeling should be excellent. We’re taking carry-on luggage as we have to use public transport quite a bit on this trip so don’t want to lug huge suitcases on the bus. It’s a fun challenge to see how little one can pack and still live.

We’re so fussy we usually take our own coffee and French press, but due to space restrictions I said to Margaret I’ll bring the coffee, but we’ll have to cope with a drip machine in the Airbnb’s. Our first stop will be at a grocery store to get tequila, limes and canned milk. Strangely, there is no cream in Mexico. We learned the term leche evaporate and are good with that.

I’ve completed the probate forms and am now waiting for the Wills Search document so I can get everything notarized and filed. The paperwork looks like it was designed to frighten off ordinary humans but compared to the building permit nightmare for Mom’s property, probate was almost friendly. If the will is straightforward, I’d honestly say skip the lawyer and DIY—it mostly requires patience, persistence, and a very cooperative printer.

So, with that behind me I can concentrate on cleaning mom’s house up and getting it ready for sale. The beach front that goes with it, and where we have a very private deck and little bar, should help it sell. The property has never been for sale before as dad bought it for $200 in 1930 or 1931. It’s sad to say goodbye to it but I live too far away and I’m not leaving Hall Road.

Not that Kelowna’s anything to write home about but I adore my property and this neighbourhood. I’m a seven-minute drive from several thrift stores, and I don’t think anyone can beat that. People ask would you move to Osoyoos, and I reply no, there are no thrift stores there. Easy.

Old Gilles the garden handyman is actually willing to stay here with the pets so that’s a big help as I go on my holiday. Calvin works, plus he lives downstairs, so the dogs get too lonely if left with just friends dropping in to visit them in the day. This way there’ll be someone hanging with them all day and then all night, too. I can enjoy Mexico and Belize with a clear mind.

But one interesting thing about this winter is the shockingly cold arctic front in the East has also messed with Belize where the weather was unseasonably cold. It’d be horrible to leave an unnaturally warm northern climate to arrive at a strangely cold one in the south, but this could happen. I have to be prepared for anything including snorkeling in a jacket.

The Year of the Fire Horse, anything and everything could happen.

Sure, I Eat Fruit

Jan23

I was in Osoyoos last week on what I thought would be a simple errand: dropping off Mom’s will at the Bank of Montreal and the Credit Union. Silly me. What actually happened was the closing of one account, the transferring of another, several forms, multiple online identity checks involving unflattering close-up photos of my face, and, because why not, a scheduled phone interview with someone in Eastern Canada. Apparently even dying now requires follow-up questions.

Nothing, as it turns out, is easy in this process.

While there, Luke and I got to talking about fruit. He said he eats two or three peaches a season. That sounded about right to me, I probably eat the same.

When I got home, however, I immediately polished off a box of cherry cordials from Purdy’s that my friend Jerralynn had brought me. She knows I like them enrobed in dark chocolate.

Afterward, I thought, See? I do eat fruit.Granted, the cherries have first been bleached in a lye bath, dyed with Red Dye #3, soaked in high-fructose corn syrup, and then sealed in chocolate, but still. I don’t know why I’m so hard on myself at times.

People are aghast that I should have the audacity to attempt to do the probate forms myself. I say piffle to that. If I get to a place where I simply can’t go on then I’ll hire a lawyer. But for now everything seems to be ticking along: Form P1 sent to the nieces, requested a Wills Notice Search, asked for and received a Date of Death Valuation Statement. All good so far.

The hardest part of the forms is the medium, not the message. Trying to figure out Adobe was fun at the beginning. When I was finally able to email the first form for Calvin to print for me, it was named “Form P1,10th Try.” But you have to hand it to me, I don’t give up easily.

I’ve sent a parcel to the kids in Japan which is always a shock as it’s very expensive. However if it brings a few chuckles to the grandkids it’s worth it. I added a jar of peanut butter as I read it’s very expensive in Japan and Nick plus the kids are crazy over it.

I also saw on one of the YouTube channels I like about Japan that fruit can cost hundreds of dollars per piece. In the “luxury tier” a musk melon can go for around $200. Special mangoes sell for $50 to $100 for a pair of them. I feel better when I see that and realize how much money I would save if I lived in Japan.

Every time I leave Osoyoos I fill the trunk with items for thrift. Now when I go to shop with Elsa I see all kinds of items that used to be Mom’s. A very nice person sent me a message on my Fruitcake Facebook page saying they’d found some type of plaque with Mom’s name on it, so had Googled her and were fascinated by all that she accomplished in her life.

I know, it seems heartless to get rid of all of that kind of stuff, but trust me, I kept all of the “good accolades.” That includes the Order of BC and her Jubilee Medals from the Queen which were awarded for volunteerism.

So now when people say so are you enjoying your free time without all the things you had to do for your Mom, I reply steely-eyed, “you have no idea.”