...details, details

REVISED VERSION...

since the visit with the lawyer last week, I've been busy...

I opened an account at Bank of Mudville...
enabling it for online/mobile banking...

changed the direct deposit info for my pension, effective the next payment...
and Social Security benefit, effective next month...
[the account/ATM card/15 checks /mo. are free with direct deposit]

took my 1st mortgage off auto pay...
as well as making sure that no credit card payments...
are set to be withdrawn from WFB...

I also changed my "pay from" account to BOM from WFB for...
all my utilities as well as my car & home insurance...
which have to be auto-pay to cost the least they can...

all done MUCH more easily than I had anticipated online or by phone...

a couple will not change until March, but I can deal with that...
since changing the bank for my SUSD medical insurance benefit repay...
[which is deposited into WFB each month...]
has, to this moment been difficult...
and will go into WFB, whether I like it or not...

so I'll "drop by" the "Castle" on my way home...
to see if I can talk to someone from Payroll in person...
[their,"helpline" wants me to leave a contact number...
and they'll call me back in a few days...]
their idea of a quick response is a couple of weeks...

been there... not interested in going there, again...
but then, I'm NOT at all surprised...
that SUSD would be the hardest to deal with...
for even such a simple change...

dealing with the Federal Government was simple...
one quick phone call was all it took...
if I could've remembered my password...
I could've done it online in a flash...

dealing with the state & my pension plan was also very easy...
I signed-in online, found the link, entered the new info...
they e-mailed me of the pending status...
and then quickly confirmed the new bank's approval in an e-mail...

all of my utilities & car insurance allowed me to change banks online...
by adding an account & then deleting the old one...
Sprint was actually processing my payment...
and changed to the new bank... right then...

I don't deal with my homeowners insurance company online...
but through a local agency, so I contacted her...
faxed a copy of the new check to them for her to process...
and received a confirmation e-mail from her...
of the change to take effect for March...

so what I thought would be complicated, has been really not...

well...

I haven't finished with SUSD yet...

but I'm hopeful...

oh... and I received 3 letters from the 1st mortgage holder today...
all asking for me to send ALL the stuff we submitted through HUD...
4 times already... ARGH...

made it a lot easier to go and turn-in my safety deposit box keys...
and empty out all the stuff in the box, most of it out of date, anyway...
I'll close my savings account tomorrow...
with the checking as soon as I get through the beginning of next month...

but for now, onward to grapple with the beast...

POST SCRIPT...

I went by the "Castle" yesterday...
Payroll sent me to Accounting...
and just when I figured that I would get a total run-around...
I heard a voice say,"I know you...I was in your band in middle school..."

it was Robbie, a former student[good saxophone player and good kid...]
who now works in Accounting at SUSD...
so after "catching up", he went looking for someone to help me...

the young lady who came was very considerate...
and listened to my problem, repeating back to me what I needed...
and then promised that she'd call the "holding company" today...
getting back to me, ASAP, with what I needed to do...

I also said that there was nothing on the website for retirees...
and that since this holding company was hard to contact...
there should be a link for retirees on the SUSD website...
at least a contact list for Cobra, the holding company, etc...

so I left, not expecting a great deal, but encouraged by her attitude...

this morning, I found a voice mail from her assistant...
[I didn't know that I was talking to the person in charge yesterday...]
she gave me the address for the website...
as well as detailed instructions and a couple of alternatives...

she also said that if I had no internet access...
to come back in & they would print me the needed form...

so I went online at the holding company...
followed her instructions and easily changed my info on line...
it was just as easy as every other online account...
I just needed the address...

so I called SUSD Accounting back to thank them for their help...
[They have been historically BAD & UNHELPFUL...
so I wanted to encourage this new mindset...]
the assistant I spoke with said that...
they were putting together a proposal to create a "retiree's"link...
on the website to deal with questions such as mine...

AMAZING! I would have NEVER expected that timely & complete a response...
to my mention of needing a retiree's contact list on line...

I guess things DO sometimes change for the better...
even in organizations mired in red tape & complacency...

...more stuff I gotta do

as I sit here in the conference room at the church office...
I look out of the windows, and though it's only 4:26 PM...
and the Winter Solstice is still more than a week away...
it is quite murky and dark outside...

to be fair, it's been showery and overcast all day...
but now, it's very nearly nightfall...
and as the hiss of vehicle tires on wet pavement...
blends with the roar of engines...
they create a Doppler effect as they pass by...

the red of tail lights and running lights gleam and blink...
like moving holiday decorations...
mixing with the street lights coming on...
as well as the outdoor signs of businesses...
that blink to life as the interior lights are extinguished...

I'm still here because I had some choir work to do...
and decided to write a post after doing a number of things...
since I need to do a bit more work, before I am "done"...
and wanted a sense of completion for this day...

to be fair, I did copy a bunch of statements & pay stubs...
for my meeting tomorrow at the HUD company about modifying my 2nd...
since they are threatening "foreclosure"...
if I don't pay them $2500 by tomorrow...
[good luck with that...]

the situation with the first mortgage holder is still in the first phases...
since my HUD counselor has now submitted my application for the 3rd time...

they lost the 1st set of papers and didn't respond to the 2nd set...
so she sent a 3rd set and is contacting a person at the bank...
who has been helpful with modifications in the past...

since I've never even been late with the first mortgage...
they won't foreclose...
and the 2nd mortgage holder can't foreclose if the first doesn't...
not to mention that I have no wages to garnish or savings to seize...
and that the value of my house is $50k upside-down to the 1st...
so the "worst" the 2nd can do is to put a lien on my property...

I just hope that the modification of the first goes through soon...
because I keep getting hate mail & phone calls from my creditors...

I had a scare when a letter from the SSAdmin...
referred to my first payment date as Jan. 26...
they had earlier said it would be Dec.22...
and I was counting on that payment, in December...

I made a phone calls, negotiated a menu, and spoke with a real person...
a local office person, here in Mudville[!!!]...
who checked for me & said that the Dec. date was correct...
what a relief... now I can pay the end of the month bills...

so tomorrow, I'll do my trash & chores at home...
then come down here to finish the choir paperwork...
I'll meet with my HUD counselor at 3...
and go to a Renaissance group rehearsal at 6:30 PM...

we have a concert on December 22...

and since there are only 4 singers at this time...
I'm quite busy practicing my vocal parts...
now that I've replaced the broken AC adapter for my keyboard...
[it cost $20, but got here quickly...]

then there are the alto & bass recorder parts...
I have to get my arthritic fingers to play...
as well as the sackbutt parts & trumpet fanfare...

oh... did I forget to mention the drum and the handbells...?

it now takes more effort to get all my instruments & equipment to rehearsals...
than I used to exert going to Symphony rehearsals with multiple instruments...
or brass quintet rehearsals/concerts that always used a lot of horns...
not to mention music stand, trumpet stands, etc...

but, it is fun music...
and there's no business like show business...

well, now, it's 5:14 PM...
and dead dark outside...

I'm going home to let Molly out...
and be called nasty names by Piglet...
who does NOT get to go outside after dark...
but believes that it is her right to be outside...
and will NOT go quietly into the evening...

...seek & you shall find

December is rapidly approaching...

for many, the expense of holiday gift-giving or feasting, looms large...
for me, it's the specter of property taxes, car registration renewal...
and the 6 month car insurance premium...

all due within the first 10 days of December...
[not to mention a 55K maintenance on my car...
the cost of which I can't even consider at this point...]

so I've been "hunting"...
for ways to accumulate enough cash to take care of these bills...
[totaling about $1400.00...]
and still have money for cat & dog food...
not to mention, "me" food...

today at the church, I was given more dog & cat food...
a new supply had just come in... both canned & dry cat food...
as well as dry dog food... and it's exactly what they eat...
so since I had just got "Fluff food" & litter...
that problem is solved for a while...

I cancelled my paid-up to March, dental insurance...
the refund will be $170.00...
I'll get a check in a couple of weeks...
it's no longer cost effective...
and the idea to cancel & cash out, "just came to me..."

that will take care of the car registration renewal...

but for the rest, I'll have to "dig deeper"...

I called the guy who worked on my professional musical instruments...
and has sold many of them on consignment since I retired from the symphony...
he may owe me for some bells & will get back to me if he does...
he said he did a while back & I have gotten no check from him since...

I could sell back the columbarum niche I bought at the church...
that was $500... I hope I won't need that anytime soon...

I do have a credit card with no balance...
and a $500 limit which I could use for the insurance premium...
but that's my,"emergency in the middle of the night" card...
[ie, emergency vet, medical co-pays, etc...]

I have applied for Social Security benefits...
I am vested into the system...
and my estimated monthly benefit would be about $500.00...
though retired teachers always get less than what they've earned...
if anything at all...
due to the state teachers retirement system payments...

but mine is low... so perhaps I'll get something useful from the government...

at this point, I'm investigating all possibilities...

I have a jar of change to count & cash in...
also a few old "silver certificates"...
and then there's the ring I wore for many years...
yellow gold with 5 diamonds, [cost $1500]
it's too big now... I might sell it if I can get a decent price for it...

not much else to sell that's worth much...
but I believe that God will provide me with the money I need...

I just have to find it...

...maybe I should be wearing garlic

ah Spring...

the fragrances waft through the soft sunny air...
blooming citrus blossoms, warm in the sunshine...
freshly cut grass, also warmed by the sun...
and just a hint, then the stench of sulphur from you-know-who...



yesterday, while watering the plants on my front porch...



I discovered this...

apparently, while my car was parked somewhere...
someone plowed or backed into my car...
I had been to the lumber yard, more on why, later...
and to WallyWorld, [I needed kitty litter & dog food]...
but as much as I'd like to blame them...
it couldn't have happened there...
because I parked with the front right corner next to a tree planter...
no one could have reached it, even if they tried...

so it must have happened at the lumber yard...
they claim their security cameras don't "review"...
sounds fishy to me, but, OK...
one of their company trucks, a large pick-up...
had a slightly damaged bumper & it's white...
but I can't prove anything & they, "heard nothing"...



the damage would have set off my alarm...
& I was at the far end of the store for at least 5 minutes...
where I wouldn't have heard anything...
the damage is high enough that it had to have been a big pick-up or SUV...



as you can see, there is white paint transfer...
the headlight unit is damaged...
and the fender & bumper are torqued & disconnected...
not to mention the lovely dent...

the insurance estimate is $2237.73...
it will take 4 days to repair, after the parts arrive...
that means 4 days of a rental car, which the insurance does pay for...
the problem ? I have a $500 deductible...

*sigh*

I considered NOT repairing it, but that's a lot of damage...

a loose bumper & fender...
broken headlight well...
possible frame damage...

I guess I'll just have to use a credit card for the deductible...

but, WHY, you ask was I AT the lumber yard ?



see the "ripple" in the bricks below the half-timbering ?



yes, the brick facing has come loose...
between ground movement & the corner, settling...
pressure is causing the bricks to bow out...

now look above the top of the window...



sigh...

I had figured that if I got a piece of pressure-treated wood...
27 7/8"x 5" x 1",with a 1" x 27 7/8" piece glued to it...
[to fill the gap between the board and the bricks...]
and then painted the "Tudor green" like the rest of the trim...

that I could screw into the underside of the top of the window frame...
and it would support the most "at-risk of falling off" bricks...
while I re mortared the cracks & gaps...
with the mortar replacement stuff & "Alex"...

& since it would blend in with the rest of the trim...
I could leave it there to improve the structural integrity of the bricks...
because I can't afford to have a foundation jack installed...
which is what the corner needs to be stabilized...

or even to have a mason redo this entire area...
so I'll try to prop-up & caulk the gaps...
hoping that we don't have "a seismic event" anytime soon...
'cause even a little one would be disastrous at this point...

of course, the roses have to be cut WAY back first...
& I have to dig my drill out of the garage[no small undertaking]...
THEN carry around & climb up on a ladder...
probably torquing my back, BIG TIME...
while getting stabbed by the remaining rose bushes for my trouble...

then, after pre-drilling holes...
install the support shelf & re mortar the bricks that are loose...

sounds like such fun...

and that's why I was at the lumber yard...

..."Say Kids,....."

nope...not anymore...

today, is TAX TIME...
[though Doodyville, with all it's lunacy might be easier to deal with...
than the angst I develop around April 15...]



and since last year, I actually had to PAY the state...
I'd been procrastinating as only I can do...
though I did have some help organizing my records...
[my own "purr-sonal" "pee-nut gallery", so to speak...
that is, they will pee on anything I need to keep...]

Mz Sneaky Pie knocked over & scattered all my papers...
then both she & MJ got that, "what can I do next?" look...



so I took the piles of paper into the bedroom to sort...
but after being "helped" there by Piglet AND Fluff...
[they have quite the unique sorting /filing system...]
I gave up & took all I could find to the church...
where I could, "spread out" in peace...
and go online for copies of records I needed...

now Jesus told us...



and I have no problem with "doing my share"...
my issues are with all the folks with a LOT of money...
who are able to avoid paying anything...
when I have a VERY fixed income & haven't yet found a paying gig...
[I believe that God will provide for my needs...
but that's a different, far less snarky, post...]

so last year, because of my severe financial problems...
I had to access/drain savings & investment accounts...
and because these were tax sheltered annuities...
AND I didn't fully clean them out in 2008...
I had to pay taxes on the money I took out...
without getting any recoup on my losses...
even though I'd lost a bunch of my original investment...

my house was/is



AND since I am unemployed, I can't redo my mortgage until I get a job...

I was, in essence, quite...

not only having to pay the state for the first time EVER...
between the tax prep fee and the state tax bill...
it took the entire Fed refund, plus a bit...
to cover my debt to CA & HRB...

but that was 2008... this year, I killed off those accounts...



which had lost THOUSANDS of dollars of my original investments...



money I could really use now...

but, it was gone...
the markets have started a recovery, but my money is gone...
so once again, I knew I was...



with 2/3 months worth of money left...
now I'd have to pay taxes on the last of the money I'd used...
what I needed was a miracle...

my tax prep lady worked her way through the statements...
muttering about original investments, capital gains...
taxes I'd had to pay when I cashed-out the accounts...
then she showed me my "income" & my tax liability...

then she showed me my refund !
[about 2/3 months worth of living expenses...!]
and then she said that my "loss" of over $13,000...
had a cap of $3000 per year, so I would have 3 more years...
to spread the total loss, which meant I recapped some of my lost funds...



so instead of running out of money around July...
I may make it to September...
and hopefully, find a job BEFORE then...

I had thought the loan I got in January would last a lot longer than it will...

but there were several BIG expenses...
[property taxes, new glasses, annual insurance premiums, vet bills...]
and there are a couple to come...
[biannual car insurance premium, tax prep fee, home repairs...]

I, for one, would like to see some better deductions...
so those of us who have to pay self-employment tax on the little we earn...
might be able to keep more of it on a regular basis...

I don't know about your situation, but for me...



this, would be ideal...

...errands & more errands....................... [aka, "lots of pictures & some complaining"...]

the last couple of days, I've been getting things done...
things that have needed to be done for a while...
[ie, I've been putting them off...]

stuff like doing the dishes...
3 loads of laundry, etc., etc., etc...



and going back to the dry cleaners to pick up all the stuff...
that I left there back in February...
[they said they'd call me...but they didn't...]
for some cleaning, but mostly alterations/mending...



my black wool blazer I used to wear in the orchestra...
had a ripped pocket & needed cleaning...



the dress I wear in the Renaissance group needed a stitched hem...
we had glued it for the Christmas concert so it needed a real hem...



I had 2 pairs of cords that needed mending...



and there were 3 pairs of jeans that needed holes mended...



like this...



and like this...

Mom used to do all my mending, etc., but she's gone now...
and I have finger issues that make sewing very problematical...
the nice lady at the church who did these kinds of things professionally...
passed away over a year & a half ago, forcing me to go to "strangers"...
she charged $1.00 per hole, these guys charge upwards of $6.00, each hole...

and when I went to put on a pair this morning...
the tear in them hadn't been fixed...
$85 plus, for cleaning 1 jacket, mending the pocket, hemming a dress...
and "supposedly" mending 2 pairs of cords & 3 pairs of jeans...
and they totally skipped one pair of jeans...

I could tell that they had been "cleaned"...
I was very clear with them when I left them that all the pants were just washed...
and did NOT need to be cleaned before being mended...
so this morning, I took back the still torn pair...

they are supposed to be ready tomorrow, no charge...
and I didn't even have to get upset...
I just wish it had been done properly the first time...

yesterday, responding to a phone call...



I went back to Port Mudville Nursery, my favorite gardening place...



because the dark red ivy geraniums I wanted...
to refill the front porch baskets, were in...

while I was there, they were unloading a huge shipment of seedings...
both in 6-packs and 4 inch pots, rolling rack after rack of flats...
veggies & annuals... there were several of us just cruising the racks...



I found 3 nice pots of English thyme for the herb garden...



red, yellow, green & purple bell peppers[1 each in 4 inch pots...]



a couple of gallon Brandywine tomatoes & a gallon grape tomato...
as well as a 4 inch,"Tigerella"[like "Mr. Stripey"]...
and a 4 inch "Mortgage Lifter"...
[the "Mr.Stripey"'s & the "Green Zebra"s will be another couple of weeks...]

if you're counting, that's 7 heirlooms & 3 cherry tomatoes...
I also picked-up ONE zucchini & ONE crookneck squash...
I'll try them in the boxes like the peppers...
Molly dug them up last year, the year before, the critters ate them...

yesterday, I also stopped by one of my "old haunts"...



the music store I've dealt with for a long time...
[how long ? the current owner's Dad sold me my first NEW trumpet, 40+ years ago...]

my goal this day was to have Bill'sSonBart[BSB]...



help me figure out how to best adapt my new bass recorder...
to my thumb-less right hand...
BSB is a woodwind repairman, extraordinaire...
so I figured that he would be the guy to help me solve this problem...

he looked at the instrument, we discussed what I thought I needed...
then suddenly, he walked over to his supply case behind the counter...



returning with this... a bassoon hand rest or crutch...



here you see one in place on a bassoon...



here it is in common usage...



but we decided to reposition it to be more like this...
[this picture shows an added adaptation for better wrist alignment
for the bassoon...]

so I left it overnight and this morning...



the "crutch" in place...



and my hand in place using it...
[notice how similar it is to the "good wrist"position...]
I will probably also use the thumb prosthesis...
to allow me to better anchor my stump...
but this, as they say, will work out very well...



I also tested & then purchased a saxophone "swab"...
to help clean all that pesky "water" out of the instrument...

the total bill ? $54.00 for the part [the list is now $75...]
the labor and the swab[about $15.00 list]...

so the grand total so far...
bass recorder, used, online from Amazon... $200...
shipping of same[arrived in 2 1/2 days...] $ 6...
adaptation for physical handicap & swab... $ 54...
grand total $260...

being able to participate in a recorder consort... priceless...

this morning, before I went "out"...



I did this, with Molly giving "helpful hints"...

I filled the seed starter tray cells with "starter" mix...
and planted these pole bean seeds...



some scarlet runner beans...



Kentucky Wonder beans...



and some purple & yellow bean seeds...

I watered them in & put the clear cover in place...
leaving it covered, in a semi-sunny place with a lot of indirect light...
when the sprouts are "up" I'll remove the top...
letting the seedlings harden off before planting...

if they all sprout, my bean poles will be sporting blossoms...
in red, white, yellow & purple...
all that & beans too...

after I planted the beans, I watered my inside plants...
I had just found a replacement for my indoor watering hose...
and online, it appeared to be the same product that I had used before...
but when it arrived, I discovered that it would need an adapter...
to allow it to connect with the bathroom faucet...

when I went in search of one, I discovered that there's a new law in CA...
one that restricts the amount of lead allowed in any plumbing supplies...
and that state inspectors had recently come by & removed all such adapters...

after a protracted search, I found not only a local hardware store...
but a saleswoman who could help me "put together" enough parts...
from what they still had, to allow me to use my hose...

the initial problem was that the hose had a female, 1/2 inch pipe threaded end...
and the faucet needed a 13/16, 24 thread/inch, MALE adapter...



we found this, the correct size,[13/16, 24, MALE]...
but it had a "quick-connect nipple", not a threaded connection...
but since it was the ONLY one that was the right size, etc...
to connect with the faucet, we made do...

by connecting it to a hose quick-connect fitting...

had we been able to find one of these, we would have been done...
a 5/8 inch to attach to the quick-connect on one end...
a 1/2 inch to attach to the hose on the other...
but no... none of these were there...

so we ended-up using a connection to the hose size...
that would accept a 1/2 inch nipple...

once we added the 1/2 inch nipple, it worked...
ending-up with a contraption about 4 inches long...
all because CA took all the adapters & the industry hasn't caught up yet...
but it did work... I got my plants watered...

now I just have to get organized to get my taxes done...
ARGH...