July goals

 Finish the basement ramp.

Repair garden box that side came lose.

Add rail to grape harbors to start guiding the veins along.

Hang the cedar birdhouse that was repaired

Add trellis to more of the garden beds

Lay weed barrier between rest of garden beds.

Finish laying gravel after basement ramp cement is cured (some of gravel will fill in where there is no dirt)

Repair deck board

Cut board for twin bed support

Install tower for tv antenna

Decide what to do with fuel tank (either fill it with fuel or take to scrap yard or sell it?)

Continue to water, weed, harvest, process, and plant gardens. Blackberries are coming on, a few small blueberries is coming on and purple beans are coming on.

There was mention of doing the front porch... I just don't see it as I walk on it several times a day to get to the gardens and compost pile.. Maybe in Sept 

Daughter 4 and saving/spending money

 Daughter 4 had her surgery for removal of ovary and a tumor on the lining of her stomach a week ago. Was a rough week as she refused pain meds, feared it would trigger her addiction and she's been in recovery 8 yrs. By the 4th day she was doing fine. She starts radiation today for 4 weeks Mon-Fri. and will be taking a chemo pill nightly for 4 wks. Then the plan is physical therapy for 4 wks. She is hoping to cut that by 2 wks and get released to go to work  so she could have her 1st pay check Labor day weekend.

In June we spent only on necessities until the closing of the refinance loan. I put everything that broke (grinder for herbs, cheese grater, immersion blender, instant read thermometer, oil/candy thermometer) ... I think the kitchen took the worst hit) on a wish list and waited. Day after the loan was notarized. Mortgage guy who had warned us to not buy much of anything and thought it was funny things were breaking ..said order LOL.  I went through Brandy's website to Amazon. I added to the wish list and to order a raised dog food dish as Rascal's cardboard box bit the dust. I ordered 3 as I figure Wilbur could use a raised one also and Charlotte shouldn't be left out  HA HA. I saved 38% on them.  It will be easier to keep them clean also helping keeping flies down. Living between two farms that has horses, cows and chickens and manure that goes on 3 pastures around us... flies are common.

I bought cherries to make mixed berry pie filling, jam and freeze. $6. OFF a pound bringing it down to $1.25/pound. I still need to pit the rest of them (jam is done and in freezer)

I got blueberries 50% off. I froze them , some for the mixed berry pie filling and some for eating. Ours is very small  so I decided fresh eating and for muffins this winter so I froze those also.

I ordered 2 Flylady calendars. One is for appts... we have used this for years. Love the big calendar with big squares. The other I will use to keep track of what to use in the pantry... another post. I had a code that I got $17.46 off the order.

I ordered one file pocket calendar using code for 10% off , this is the calendar for finances only. 

Hubby sold the Honda motorcycle since he has the one he bought off son 2 tagged and insured lowering the ins by $50/month.

Today I took the last of the peaches and last year's peach puree and started cooking it down for peach butter.

I harvested purple beans (like green beans but purple) for our supper tonight.

We discussed and debated and then went a couple more rounds... we want storage for paper goods/cleaning products in the barn. Barn means possible mice. Hubby didn't want wood... I wasn't thrilled with the price of the metal one he wanted. He did some searching and found almost the exact same thing but instead of holding 150 lbs per shelf it's 400 lbs per shelf AND $250 LESS per cabinet. We got 2. Hubby thinks paper goods in one, cleaning in the other. I saved an additional 10% and got a free $50 tool rolling seat cart that Hubby can use instead of sitting on an upside down 5 gal bucket.  

M sent over a bag of peas. They had enough for a meal  and what was left wasn't enough to can for them. I shelled them and froze them and now have another 6 meals in the freezer.

How is your summer going? 

Blessed Be

 

Lets talk Dementia/Alzheimer's

 

Age

Age is the greatest of these three risk factors. As noted in the Prevalence section, the percentage of people with Alzheimer's dementia increases dramatically with age: 3% of people age 65-74, 17% of people age 75-84 and 32% of people age 85 or older have Alzheimer's dementia.62 It is important to note that Alzheimer's dementia is not a normal part of aging,69 and older age alone is not sufficient to cause Alzheimer's dementia.

https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/alz.12068.

Also

Statistics are grim. 10 percent of 65-year-olds, 25 percent of 75-year-olds, and 50 percent of 85-year-olds will develop dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. And the fastest growing segment of our population is the 85-year-olds. Researchers predict Alzheimer’s will affect 106 million people by 2050. It’s now the seventh leading cause of death.

https://thewomensalzheimersmovement.org/8-steps-to-reverse-memory-loss/

Why am I bringing this up? The reason we have bought the house we have, done the work and will continue with the work is because...

We didn't want one of us to have to sell the home if one (most likely me since I wasn't suppose to walk to begin with) ends up in a wheelchair like Daddy did and Hubby's grandpa did and they had to sell their homes.  

Appraiser brought up that if we had a studio apt or a something along that line of a bedroom/sitting area we could have a live in helper when we got elderly (he said 80s is what is elderly to him when I asked because my Amish neighbor's brother said something about elderly/old and I asked what age that was... E from the back seat answered YOUR AGE...which immediately his brother denied but then said 60s ... then was worried as he was sitting next to me when I told him we were 60s.It's okay, his parents nailed him when E tattled as they are OUR AGE LOL). We could stay in our home with Dementia. Appraiser's great grandma had to sell her home and move in with a child when his great grandpa went in to assistant living home. There was no way to change the home to stay there with out incurring more debt than the assistant living was nor was there a way for someone to stay with them and help take care of them.

In this area

Assistant living home cost $10,000/ month $120,000 a year.

Nursing home cost $15,000/ month or $180,000 a year.

Memory care home cost $24,000/ month or $480,000 a year.

Medicare does NOT pay for this. Medicaid will some but you have to have meet low assets etc. and the waiting list at the limited homes is very long. 

We sat down... the home is so we can stay even in wheelchair. There are some things that would need to be changed out but that money is already sat aside in an account for when needed. We would save 3-5 yrs of assistant living/nursing home cost with the home finished as planned. We would need a better bedroom set up for someone other than our children to live with us.

Mentally ... is a different store but since Daddy had Dementia for a decade before he went into Alzheimer's at 92 and Hubby's dad just got diagonized at age 84 with Alzheimer's.  We decided to look at what we are doing to slow that and what more can we do.

In a study that tracked 639 adults for nearly 12 years, Johns Hopkins expert Frank Lin, M.D., Ph.D, and his colleagues found that mild hearing loss doubled dementia risk. Moderate loss tripled risk, and people with a severe hearing impairment were five times more likely to develop dementia.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-hidden-risks-of-hearing-loss

ALSO

Dementia is a general term for loss of memory and other mental abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life. It is caused by physical changes in the brain. Alzheimer's is the most common type of dementia, but there are many kinds.

https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia/types-of-dementia

Hubby is hard of hearing at a certain pitch. So after we close (waiting for title office to schedule that and our mortgage is pushing for this week) we will be going to get our hearing checked.... we will also get hearing aids if needed. No excuses allowed. We both know our dads refused to wear hearing aids. Hubby's dad just started when the doctor informed him of the connection.

What else is there to do?

Be physically active.

Eat healthy.

Don't smoke.

Limit alcohol.

Exercise your mind 

A new study is warning that people over 50 shouldn't watch too much TV. Researchers at University College London say excessive viewing could lead to memory loss and contribute to the development of dementia. They have discovered that people over 50 who watch more than 3.5 hours of TV a day are more at risk of losing their memory.

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/dacorum/about-us/news/articles/2019/watching-tv-and-dementia/

Take control of your health.

We focused on the positive first...

We can schedule appt for hearing after closing and get hearing aids if needed.  Hubby agreed since he refused hearing aids when working (always had ear protection on at work) and only would have wore them 3 -4 hrs a day.

I found this and he thought it helped him with looking at the costs.

Here’s another way to think about the price of hearing aids. If your hearing aids cost $6,200, and they have a lifespan of eight years, they will cost you approximately $775 per year, $64 per month or $2.15 per day. In other words, while the total amount is high, the ongoing usage price is more reasonable. Monthly, it is about what you would pay to get satellite or cable television. When you consider the communication, relationship, and health benefits you get from wearing hearing aids, most people agree that it is well worth it.

https://www.healthyhearing.com/help/hearing-aids/prices

Be physically active. Hubby started doing more trimming with the trimmer than the push mower as it also meant movement with his arms since he sits 2 days a week in the truck over 8 hrs. He is also walking the gardens just to be walking.  I average 10,000 to 15,000 steps a day. I will try to increase this to closer to 15,000 to 20, 000 (usual summer amount but will have to work at it in the winter.  We both carry weight or dig in the gardens etc. Drag dogs into the vet's office. ;)

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/risk-factors-and-prevention/how-reduce-your-risk-dementia

Eat healthy... I checked out Blue Zone diet/lifestyle. It's something a friend had suggested and then my brother who as mild dementia shared he was trying to do more like it. We need to add more leafy greens and beans. We do eat more meat than that but we don't eat as much as the US normal is.

I quit smoking March 6th 1979 when I found out I was pregnant for Daughter 2 (Daughter 1 is late husband's daughter we raised). Hubby has chewed tobacco off and on and quit when we got together ( I think my comment of YUCK was that factor LOL).

Neither of us are much drinkers, don't even do what the amts.  they suggest. THOUGH we might pick up the dry red wine since it helps with Dementia and other stuff with the heart.

Use it or lose it... exercise your mind. Daddy used to say if you don't learn something every day you are going backwards.  We both do Sudoku. Hubby does crosswords. We sometimes watch Jeopardy. I read a lot. Maybe a couple books a week ( I can read a 300 some book in a day On a Sunday). We should work harder of understanding/speaking Pennsylvania Dutch aka Amish Swiss German. The local Amish language. 

Take control of our health... this is from changing to things that have been proven to help lower the risk of Dementia and taking care of ourselves with doctor appointments for care. 

Where do we go from here?

This list is what I had put together for the Appraiser.  

PROJECTS WITH MATERIALS ON SITE WITH GOAL TO DO THIS YEAR:

REPAIR/REPLACE 2 STAIRS ON STAIRCASE TO LOFT IN BARN

FRONT PORCH WITH ADA WHEELCHAIR RAMP USING ULTRA DECK GRAY RUSTIC COMPOSITE DECKING

BASEMENT RAMP (POURED CEMENT INSTEAD OF BLOCKS *start date June26th or July 3^rd *AMISH DOING IT) UPDATE. Starts June 26th J is hoping that they get it to the point of putting in the forms by end of Saturday so Hubby can call for cement to be delivered and poured so they can take forms down the following Saturday.

KITCHEN PORCH INCLUDING MAKING IT WIDER USING ULTRA DECK GRAY RUSTIC COMPOSITE DECKING. (AFTER BASEMENT RAMP DONE)

SOUTH UPSTAIRS BEDROOM PANELLED FALL/ WINTER PROJECT *****

INSTALL CUSTOM CLOSET FOR NORTH UPSTAIRS BEDROOM FALL/WINTER PROJECT*****

INSTALL BANISTER ON STAIRS OF NORTH/SOUTH BEDROOMS (AFTER PANELING INSTALLED)*****

INSTALL PRIVACY SCREEN/CUSTOM CLOSET IN EAST BEDROOM. FALL/WINTER PROJECT

INSTALL BANISTER ON STAIRS OF EAST/WEST BEDROOMS. FALL/WINTER PROJECT

INSTALL WALL AT INSIDE BASEMENT STAIRS.FALL/WINTER PROJECT

GOALS:

2021 EARLY FALL HAVE AIR DUCTS CLEANED

2022 REPLACE WINDOWS

2023 ADD INSULATION AND CRAWL SPACE ENCAPSULATION

2024 REPLACE SIDING ON HOUSE.

 We might put the raise the roof on south/north lofts in 2022.  SO what is ***** marked might not happen this year. Instead of putting extra money on the mortgage it would be saved to do that. That would bump everything else by one year.  We could change it to a dormer. That's the top of the roof line with windows. Be best to put it on the west side of area so not dealing with staircase changes.

or change it to a shed dormer

 That would only be raising half the roof line.

Our hv/ac/electric/ plumping guy said it wouldn't be that hard for him to disconnect that area and reconnect it. We would have Amish do the work. Hubby would have to get a permit. HUM. I know it's common to recoupe 65-70% of the cost of a shed dormer...

It would be easier to resell with a dormer. It's a big negative and only considered storage as it is.

Lots of decisions to make of which way to go 

 

appraisal in

We really liked this picture he got. Said it is actually from the road and he zoomed in with his iPhone.

We bought it for $165,000 03/09/2018.

It appraised for $400,000 06/23/2021.

I am glad we both were sitting down when that phone call came. 

We figured $300,000 to $310,000 (we even bet, loser had to do to the other's chores for a week) with putting utilities in along with ADA wheelchair bathroom and ADA wheelchair ramp on deck. Our mortgage guy thought $275,000. 

So I went through the appraisal to see what the boost was from

Stable housing area... there are 2 house in our area for sale... that is it Both were around $270,000 but didn't have the land or barn.  Land WAS going for $9000. acre NOW is at $15000/acre. We have 4 acres more than they did. So $36,000 for the land should have been $306,000 . At $15000/acre it should have been $330,000.

Went from 2 bedrooms to 4... could become 5 if we ever raise the roof line on the north/south lofts and put in a wall. As it was he counted it as ONE bedroom.  We have thought about it as it's like an A frame and we do use it for bedrooms and non food storage(which is moved to the barn for now with thoughts of keeping it there with some metal cabinets to keep mice out of it). 

We have a walk in/out basement with 2 rooms that could be finished into bedrooms. SO the potential of 7 bedrooms is there. 

We have 200 amp service to the BARN so it could become a business or another home. As what we call the 1st bay was actually a studio apartment for the original owner while he built this house. The plumbing for bathroom is there (toilet and shower is not, we capped everything) Sink is still there. We have the water off to it because it's not heated in that area. 

We have landscaped. A dozen trees, bushes and perennial fruits.

SO definitely no PMI as we now have 40% equity in the property. 

And the ball keeps rolling

We are still waiting for appraisal to come in.  

Unless the strawberries bloom again this fall... those are done with the last batch in the freezer.

Blackberries are coming on slowly. I had 4 today.

Blueberries are the size of peas but are turning as I got 8 today. I was surprised to get any as they definitely got hit with the frost and snow with blooms.

We had 8 sour cherries off the trees. 

I picked snow peas three times. I picked regular peas twice. Hubby told me I needed to pick again today as he was just out in the gardens.

I dehydrated basil, cilantro, dill weed, sage, oregano, rosemary, and apple mint. I will reload today.

We have ate from the gardens or pantry.

I got 1/2 bushel of peaches for $24.50 from Amish bulk store. They were told they  were cling free... they aren't. I made 7 qrts, 5 pints of peach jam with half of the. Saved pits and skins (will make jelly with that). Today I will finish the peaches making freezer jam. I will call the other bulk store and see if they have cling free for my canning. I like halves when I can them as fruit and check to see what apples they have in. 

Hubby got the last of the rebar for the basement ramp that should start this Saturday or next Saturday. J got slowed down on the job he is trying to finish to start ours with the weather that came through. He also picked up some odds and ends while at Menards we were needing for other projects. He paid ZERO out of pocket since he used rebates.

I ordered Resveratrol (take for cholesterol with a side benefit is helps lower dementia risk also), dehydrator screens, a spice grinder (mine is making noises) and 3 kindle books about Blue Zone life style and eating during Amazon Prime Day for ZERO out of pocket using Amazon coupon and cash back points.

E brought two of his horses over to graze his pasture on the south side of us and our pond area so we won't have to mow that area saving Hubby time and gas. He said he would mow it around the pond (he can get a lot closer with his side mower and horses) after he removes these two in about a month or so.

I have one med to only take every other day  and another only as needed... that will save $15/month between the two. 

How is it going with you?

Blessed Be

 

Thursday .Appraiser...Bar done for Daughter 2

 What a week!!!!

This is the bar Daughter 2 wanted made for her man for Father's day. She is NOT fooling me, she's a bartender, she wants it for herself also LOL.

She found a picture on Pinterest. I found a pattern on Esty and then changed it to be bigger as they have 5 sons between them and told her to get at least 4 chairs. I wanted it big enough for a cooler or dorm frig to be in the side of it but not cause an issue with them bumping into each other or it. Hubby and I agreed that due to weight (4 pallets) that it should be on rollers so if either of them are alone and want to move it they can. H, Amish neighbor on our south side built it. He said it's almost like the counters he makes for Amish that sell from home. He also now has 2 orders from Englishers that stopped for other reasons. So he gave us a discount. The top was the hardest and most time consuming to do. It's now at N's, the Amish we bought the house from as he builds furniture and has the ability to spray it with sealant to protect it from the weather.  I told daughter she might have to pick up pavers for the edge of her patio. Said she had thought about it anyways as the gravel doesn't stay put next to the cement pad. We will be delivering it Saturday morning early. SIGH as that's a 2 hr. drive one way which means no sleeping in. When I told her she said she would have coffee on so if I didn't get my 3rd cup, she has me covered...the child is like her mother... 3 cups a morning for her also. 

I did not collapse yesterday. Wanted to but had garden to catch up. I put 13 trays of basil, 2 of cilantro, 2 of apple mint and 1 of dill fern aka weed in the dehydrators . I canned 3 pints of the last of the turnips. Caught the laundry up as I shoved one load in the washer and closed the lid when the appraiser was here.

Appraiser was the age of our grandchildren, worried me a bit to say the least. I Googled him and found he does a lot of Amish to English converted home. So that helped how we felt about his age.  We heard a lot of , this is cool, I really like this, I want this for myself (south and north loft, bed under the skylight). Loves the two upstairs with the point if you had younger kids and teens they wouldn't bother each other. Pointed out the house was appraised as a 2 bedroom when it is clearly a 5 bedroom with option of being 7 bedrooms. I told him I had that battle with both the appraiser and our ins guy and proved a twin bed would fit in the one room and a queen in the other and you can stand up out of the bed and NOT hit your head on the ceiling unless you were over 6 ft. I asked where the other 2  rooms that could be made into bedrooms was. Basement, my pantry that has a door and the other doorway had a door (I never noticed that since the door was already gone, I asked N and he said he took it off for E as she wanted it for laundry during the winter and the heating stove for her washer was there.) and the freezer room that has a door on it also and we have a walk out ramp so it could be bedrooms with sitting area instead of how I am using it. He noted that having the outhouse over the septic tank was a plus as if we lost power and had no fuel to run generator to run the well (he has seen that happen) we still had a working bathroom. As he wrapped everything he mentioned he doesn't usually get handed a list of what was done with what materials are on site for what projects and goals for the next 4 yrs. AND the receipts.  Said it would be a good help as there is NOTHING in the area to compare the house to. The closet about 5 miles away , will less than an acre and had no working furnace ( cost of $20,000 to $30,000, Son 2 just had one done so we know that cost) and it appraised at $168K without the furnace. He was not the one to appraise it.

Our mortgage guy told me to give the appraiser that stuff... he also insisted it be reappraised as the underwriter felt it was fine with the old appraisal. Our ins guy is waiting to see what it appraises also. 

IN the gardens today...

 I still have strawberries to harvest and the blackberries are coming on and starting to turn. I need to finish planting the fall crop, check the garlic as it's already turning brown. I need to refill dehydrators as the herbs are going nuts. 

We have been conditional approved for the refinance loan. They are waiting on the appraisal and then probably have to have this past month's bank statements since closing in mid July instead of late June like our mortgage guy wanted. I won't be doing a lot of shopping on Amazon prime day nor will I buy a new mattress for my bed until that point. BUT we did try a restuarant here in town and found the food comparable to two of  our old favorite places so that is a good thing. There is another  place the people down the road suggested we try and when Hubby worked plowing for the state several of his coworkers mentioned they ate there. 

Have a great weekend. 

Blessed be

Sunday morning 5 A.M.

I woke at 4 A.M. Rolled over to check my phone's time as it's DARK and Charlotte saw the light and jumped up on the bed to be petted and then needed out to potty. Rascal joined her. Wilbur slept on... until just now at 5 and Rascal came in when Wilber went out but Charlotte is still out. I'm glad I am awake so Hubby can sleep as he's usually the one they get up to go out. 

I have to :

Water all the gardens and flower pots. 

Fill Hummingbird feeders. 

Put the blue metal desk together (Hubby got new screws for the legs)

Clear the clutter Hubby stashed BEHIND the garden shed.

Carry the stuff that Hubby was to take to the loft in the barn and dumped it on the stairs to the loft instead. He sidetracks very easily.

Clear the barn porch (me, myself and I put stuff there) and sweep it.

Declutter and clean the east bedroom including setting up the bed that the frame just came in. 

THEN I can start cleaning the basement (only needs swept and doors need wiped down.

IF I have time today I will also start cleaning the first level including wiping down the wood work... there is tons of wood work .

AND I need to harvest strawberries, turnips, lettuce, spinach, snow peas, onions and maybe tomatoes and regular peas. 

Monday is finish what ever is NOT done of the cleaning. Deadhead the flowers.

Tuesday Appraiser at 3 P.M. so clean dog slobber off window. Check out of doors for dog prints that need washed off. Take the throw covers off the furniture (toss in washer ) and take down the fly motels (HA HA) that are hanging from ceiling lights. 

Wednesday COLLAPSE 

Refinance update Daughter 4 update

 we are now in what they call the processing stage of the loan. For those that don't know what that means... they are verifying that the information we provided is correct and that there is nothing showing that we didn't provide (aka bad credit on your credit score and I have our credit reports so that's not an issue).

Closing is suppose to be mid July. Our mortgage guy is trying to get it wrapped up by end of June as we are in a "don't spend" much part of the loan. I asked what they would consider much due to having cement delivered and Amish needing paid when they do the basement ramp at the end of the month... that is okay I guess since it is maintenance for the house. 

The appraiser is coming Tuesday at 3. It was decided it was a good choice to have one. There was a possibility of not since we are refinancing through the same mortgage company and it was appraised less than 3 yrs ago. Our mortgage guy pushed for it to be reappraised. One we have done tons of work and two house values have went up.  I have to write up everything we have done and give copy of the receipts to the appraiser. Making second copy for tax file at request of our tax preparer so when (if we sell or the kids do) there is proof to lower capital gains or something along that line. Brother had fits when he couldn't prove Daddy installed STEEL siding when he was filing taxes on Daddy's estate.

Daughter 4 came up and boxed non food stuff I had in the one bedroom. I moved it to the barn. She was in a good mood... was worried about trying to find work after she recovered and the company she worked at before Amazon (like 2-3 times) called and asked if she would like to have a job. They told her to apply in August (with her doctor's release and any restrictions). She can go back on 3rd at starting rate of $20 +/hr. Which is $5/hr. more than what she was earning when she left to go to a better paying job. There is 401K, health benefits etc. She has a good chance of getting back in. That's helping her mentally.  She is now focused on getting her divorce (they have been separated 10 yrs but he keeps disappearing when she gets his address). Hubby told her to get it done and move on with her life. She just got stuck with a bill of his and his girlfriend for their rent and ended up in court over it. YES LEGALLY she is responsible for his unpaid bills  BUT the judge said since she did NOT sign the lease nor live there at any time, he dismissed the case. Which triggered Hubby to tell her to get the divorce. He is paying for it and putting it on her loan. 

Her cancer surgery is June 24th. They are removing ovary and now a tumor that was found on the bottom of her stomach in the lining. She thought she was having a gallbladder attack so they scanned her. Cancer doctor has agreed to take tumor out at the same time but instead of just radiation 5 days a week for 4 weeks she will also take a chemo pill at bed time (she does better with it at night) every night for 4 weeks. THEN she has to do 4 weeks physical therapy to rebuild her strength which I can tell you isn't up as much as she thought it was. She was informing PT today she couldn't keep up with her OLD mom who just had hip replaced. I told her to quit sitting zoning out on the tv and get out playing with the dogs in the mornings and late evenings. 

Blessed be... back to work for me

lamp lady

 It's kind of weird because Mother was always one to sit in the dark if she wasn't in the kitchen. Pop had a goose neck lamp at his chair. But they worked the flea markets as Pop was on to barter or sale so they might have got it that way.

Refinancing

 We have debated until we were blue about refinancing KNOWING our goal is to have the house paid off in 3 yrs (no more than 8). 

We talked to both our finance guys and two bankers and our mortgage guy. All felt with the interest rate at half our currant rate, that we should for the following reasons.... FHA keeps the PMI (mortgage ins.) on until the loan is paid off instead of the 22 % like other loans. That is $2000 plus a year. IF something were to happen and we couldn't pay off the loan... we would be better off with a lower rate and lower payment. Since it is a home loan topped with a construction loan changing it to a home loan only will help if we ever had to borrow against it. We have equity but not 20% unless the appraisal comes in higher than what it was 2 yrs and  9 months ago. 

Which means the appraisal would have to come in at no lower than $325,000. I don't think it's raised that much but we will see. 

We refinanced through the same company that is holding the mortgage now. Closing costs were cut in half, interest was the best also and the escrow acct is transferred to the new loan immediately so we don't have to come up with the ins payment and taxes that are due in July when the loan will go through like we would have if we went some where else and then wait for that acct to refund to us. 

The house was sold as a 2 bedroom. If I get it done this week it should list at least as a 4 bedroom if not 5. 

The mortgage will drop $500/ month. I already know the ins will raise $50/ month and the takes will $100/month.  So that "extra" $350 can go on the principal each month.

Back to work.

Blessed be

Merry go round here

 

This was a lamp Mother gave Son 2. He passed it back to me as it was not working (too tall) for any place in his home. Works great in my bedroom next to Mother's rocking chair. He also gave me the lamp that was in the room I used which is now his work out room and he actually went and got a queen size mattress for the guest room that we had taking to calling the farrowing room. The farrowing house on the old farm we rented was where we store everything we didn't want to get rid of.

What we have been doing...

We met with Hubby's Finance guy. We told him what our goals are and he is making sure our finances  stay focused on helping us reach them. Mortgage and truck paid off in 3 yrs,

Hubby finished filling the last of the garden beds. I started planting them. One of the sides came off on the end as the board warped with the rain and 80 plus weather we got so he fixed it with metal bracing. Said the soil never moved when he took the board off and turned the warp towards the soil. 

He moved gravel to where he parks the livestock trailer and truck. He still has 1 pile to more before the cement get delivered end of this month or beginning of next. Start date for J to start on the basement ramp is the 26th  or July 3rd. 

He helped harvest strawberries twice.

He trimmed and mowed twice. Just loves the new mower as it definitely has cut the time of trimming down and takes less time to mow. 

He worked hauling 5 days. Turned down work this week so he could go to his finance guy.

I started planting late summer/early fall crops. Made plans to cover some of garden beds if we don't get the lean to green house put up late summer.

I harvested and froze snow peas, spinach and garlic scapes

I dehydrated 3 rounds of strawberries. Freezer room smells like strawberries

I canned 7 qrts and 3 pints strawberry pie filling, 6 pints of strawberries (won't do any more of that as the berries are now pink) and 14 pints of strawberry freezer jam. I have more strawberries... definitely a couple different desserts and more dehydrated. More jam .

TODAY

 I need harvest lettuce, spinach, 2 kinds of turnips, garlic scapes, green onions, snow peas, braising brassicas and more strawberries. I really hope the strawberries slow up before the blackberries are ripe. Beans are up about 6 inches. We get any sunshine with this daily rain and they will be up the trellis.

I need to dehydrate strawberries. We don't care for frozen strawberries. Dried get used in cereal, oats, and snacks.

I need to can the turnips.

I need to freeze snow peas 

I need to finish the refinance papers on line. 

Then I need to declutter and move things around boxes of stuff got put in the rooms what were to be bedrooms. This area most houses have 3- 6 bedrooms. I have 2 bedrooms finished. To make the house appraise higher a big thank you to the realtors that is friends with Son 2 told me what to do to raise the appraisal for a refinance instead of a sale.  I got a lot of "work" to do and get done in 1 week as the appraisal should be the beginning of next week. Daughter 4 is coming up and giving me some time after her PT today. Said she is practicing going back to work... get the dogs used to her not being there, her actually doing more than just sitting in a car delivering Door Dash (which is not earning much) and thinking about her surgery the 24th. 

I did decide to get me the new mattress and box spring... the old one can go on the spare bed. I found 2 bed frames that we really liked (only been looking for 2 years) . They might not get here in time but at least I have the pictures of what I ordered LOL.

I found while working at decluttering the front bay of the barn, sections of the old closet we removed for the laundry room,  doors that had been on the linen closet (thinking room screen?) decorative rod holders. The curtain Son2 used at basic for a door to his room, entertainment center to convert to wardrobe, and an old dresser that we can have H and M redo. I am not finish decluttering the front bay of the barn BUT I am half way. I plan to give it an hour every day at the end of the day because I definitely need to shower immediately afterwards. 

I am thinking.... there is enough closet sections left to use for at least 2 of the bedrooms (no built in closets in this house ever). Plus the entertainment center can be converted to wardrobe. I will need some wheeled under bed drawers for a couple of the rooms. Might have enough scrap wood to make drawers and just buy the wheels... lots of thoughts there. 

I need to move the dry goods storage as we have paneling for the unfinished walls in that area. 

Blessed be

bfast bar day

 I know it sounds weird but it's weirder it took me all day to get it done.  Sorry, not really, more of a what the crap moment of not taking a before photo... Just think 2 feet deep across entire area. I couldn't even put my coffee cup down to the left side of coffee pot let alone prep anything. I was frustrated as it seems I am clearing this off every other week. 

I still have another hanging sign to put up around coffee pot to the right but I need to buy a picture hanger for it first. 

Hubby asked what was all on it... 

2 dozen clean canning jars he said he would take to basement for me, mail that should have been put directly in burn trash (he acknowledged that was him also), paperwork from Daddy's insurance that needed filed, recycling that needed to be taken out to can (it was raining so he stuck it there and forgot to take it out when the rain stopped, it's 6 steps to the recycling can on the deck, I don't think the rain will hurt either of us)... dishes that  I used that was stored in basement but needs to be up here for summer cooking but had no place. SIGH. I have bruised my butt from kicking it. 

I told him if he agrees to take something to basement it is to be done that day. If it isn't and I take it down I don't want to hear the whine of "you never give me time to do such and such". I have started asking for a time something will be done that he agrees to do as other wise it is NOT done until I am fighting with him over it. He actually brought this up to our doctor during our appt and doc told him  it sounded like HE had a problem with priorities and keeping his word. I kept my mouth SHUT. Our doctor has did a lot of volunteer work with Hubby so he knows him well.

I cleaned off the bar (still have a box of jars and some dishes to take down to basement) THEN I put what I wanted on there... food prep stuff. I moved the chargers that usually sit at the wall to the end of bar (yes I have plugs on end of my bar) and put the chargers in that drawer after moving the random recipes and instruction books for kitchen appliances to the file cabinet in the front room. 

I also cleaned inside the cabinets which has the pots and pans, some of casserole dishes etc. , move dishes I have not used out to go to the basement. I shifted the cooking stuff to the kitchen side and put the serving dishes on the dining room side. 

I had stopped using serving dishes at the request of Hubby a couple years ago. It bugs the crap out of me so I just told him I would rather wash extra dishes which 90% goes in dishwasher anyways. Breakfast and lunch I am okay with serving from the pans but I prefer our evening meal to come from serving dishes. I have no clue why he felt the way he does as his grandmothers and mother (even today) puts food in serving dishes. Bfast was the only meal Mother didn't put in serving dishes.

ANY WAYS I side tracked. Sorry. Since my cooking methods change with the season and I plan on using the grill more... I looked hard at what is taking up kitchen space. 

I will be buying containers for the Christmas dishes ,sitting in the china hutch, and the fancy wash by hand dishes that was Mother's and Daddy's  I use for Easter, Thanksgiving etc. also in the china hutch. But that is for another day.

Today though I will be going through seeds... to finish summer planting (raining) and prep for fall planting and then winter planting. Since costs for the basement was higher and we are refinancing house... we might just cover a few of the garden beds for winter plants. We did that a couple years at the old farm we rented.

Blessed be

Another week including screw up by Hubby

 I love I was able to get this picture 

I sent it to my brother that didn't know that the rainbow would actually show on the ground and change the color of the grass.

THIS past week

We got blood work , they had to take mine out of the back of my hand ... 1/2 pint according to the nurse.

The dogs saw vet after our blood work. Rascal got pills for allergies and his annual vaccine, Charlotte got shot for allergies. All 3 got nails done. Wilbur's allergies are not raging....yet.

Daughter 2 asked if we could find someone to build a couple things she wanted to give her man for father's day. It took most of 2 days to figure out what she really wanted (I just love it when they find something on pinterest but are clueless of what size it is or where to get a pattern for it) . 

M sent over 2 dozen eggs, a loaf of bread and 4 small heads of lettuce.

I saw my back doctor to start the process of preapproval for my injections. 

I harvested 2 types of turnips, radishes, garlic scapes, scallions, asparagus, spinach  and strawberries. I made 5 pints of strawberry freezer jam... we already ate one of the pints. First time I made freezer jam...first time there was room in the freezers LOL.

Hubby drove me to ENT appt to get vein cauterized. I have been getting migraines also so that doctor gave me enough meds until my primary can deal with it. Not the first time I 've dealt with migraines. We got heavy spray starch for M as what E got her was worthless. We got flowers for graves (for Sunday). Stopped at the Mennonite store to get onion sets and got onion sets half price and free onion plants and should have LEFT but instead we walked out with  several packages of flower seeds for the butterfly, hummingbird garden to plant next year ,a dozen fry pies, raspberry sweet rolls, 2 snickerdoodle whoopie pies, and 2 metal scoops for the flour and sugar buckets. We also stopped at the meat store and got 2 meals of full racks of smoke ribs, pasta salad, fruit marshmallow salad, potato salad, cole slaw, rolls, and broccoli salad. We ate like pigs. 

I spent 2 days checking out mortgage rates for refinancing. Even though we plan to pay off the house in 3-5 yrs, our finance people felt we should refinance for a lower interest rate in case something happened and we couldn't get the house paid off. Also by get the lower rate, our payment would drop, meaning we could pay the same amount and that would help pay off the house faster. ALSO it will take it off the FHA loan which carries a PMI for the entire time. I applied at our original lender...their interest rate was the lowest. 

Property taxes went up. Our insurance guy let us know that our insurance will increase also.

I've been saving our Menards rebates to pay for the material for the basement ramp. Have close to $800. He went to Menards this morning to get the stuff including the stuff for Daughter 2 projects (she will pay us back so that's not an issue). He forgot to use the rebates, charged it all  to cash back and then realized I had just told him to not put big bills on the credit cards as I had applied for the refinance and we needed to keep credit cards under 30 %. Freaking plyboard is $80 a sheet. We need 20 for the basement project. Good news is we can reuse them... bad news is between them, the 2x4s , paint supplies and other odds and ends we will be at 40% GRR..... 

He texted he now has bruises on his butt... I thinking "great, he has fell and we have another bill" I asked how bad and how it happened.... 

He was kicking himself in the butt for forgetting to use the rebates. 

I need to go water garden. 

Blessed Be

New lawnmower and straining my

Brain... I am just exhausted after finishing getting the last of the garden boxes painted (Hubby is putting them together as I write this) and we filled what was already put together totaling over 2000 cu ft of soil. I am exhausted.  We need more soil for the last 4 beds and for pots  and for green house etc.

We both tried out the new mower. Hubby ran it around the edge of yard *inside fence*. Just to see how much trimming he would have to do. I mowed the rest of the inside of the fence (1 acre) and Hubby mowed what was outside the fence. 

Results are... normal time to mow/trim 12 hrs. each week. Cut down by 2 hrs. due to horses "mowing" around the pond and pasture. Leaving 10 hrs. of work. Trimming is usually 4 hrs.  What it took with new mower>>>> 2 hrs. trimming. 4 hrs. mowing.  We are tearing out a fence line this summer, removing an old dog house N left here and adding more weed barrier in the garden to drop the trimming of grass in that area. E has been burning fence line on the pastures .

My to do list was 60 items, it's down to 48. I don't think I will get that all done this month like I wanted to. 

How is your week going?

Blessed be

It never fails

 I put the money on the loan, mortgage and savings....

The riding lawn mower took a crap. Hubby has it limping. It's 10 yrs old . We had it checked out by our mower guy and he said Do NOT waste money fixing it. Son 2 is interested in borrowing it since it does still mow and his mower is down.

I talked to ex SIL and grandson and two others that all are in landscaping and know this property. Was told to get commercial mower and make sure it gets yearly maintenance and it would last us 20-25 yrs. I am not sure either of will be mowing this property in our mid 80s to 90 yrs old. But we might be as Daddy push mowed until he was 90. We were told what brands to stay away from. 

Then the owner of the pallet company (he is Mennonite) suggested where he gets his equipment. We got a commercial Bob cat ZT6000 mower 61 inch cut (so 1/3rd of time just got cut off) mulching blade (so no raking and loading grass in to bucket of tractor and moving it to another area cutting another hour off the time) . At 61 inch cut I can mow the ditch as it's big enough to handle the incline. The seat has an adjustment for your weight so you don't get jarred as bad. Has 2 tanks about 15 gals of gas between the two of them so no stopping to go fill up the tank twice... or worse ending up at the far side of property and having the go get gas can and then walk it back to the mower... been there and done that more than once. Zero turn so I should have less trimming.

It was on sale for 10% off, and then the manager took another 4% off for paying cash. Still was a big ouch in the finances but if it lasts 20. 

A "regular" riding lawn mower with a 54 inch cut is $3000 to $4000 and last around 5 yrs (10 if you are lucky to have great maintenance and got a good one).  

Yeah, not real comfortable about both our personal checking  accts and the joint acct and both our personal savings accts being that low. BUT I still have the money for the basement coming in from other savings accts and the IRA hit today so we are okay. 

Goal is to get this money replaced before we pay any extra on mortgage. 

Blessed be 

savings and mortgage.

Hubby gets his monthly withdraw from his IRA on the 25th. I get mine the 15th. We get our SS on the second Wednesday of the month. 

Daughter 4 has 6 weeks to her surgery for her cancer, then 4 weeks radiation and 4 weeks recovery. So if all goes as plan August 20th she should be released to go back to work. Being that said, we have in our budget to support her until the end of Dec. We just aren't sure she will be able to work full time without causing more health issues right away. 

I do have $$ that is automatically transferred to savings from our checking at our local bank which is no longer a local bank but we can do the banking in Sidney when we go to chiro every two weeks. When that account gets to a certain point I move it to Ally. When Ally gets to a certain point I move it to a CD. We lowered the amount that we keep in our personal accounts and in our personal savings. 

Since I still had the paperwork from our old eye glass place I checked to see how much we saved . In between the two of us we saved $1600. That includes a second pair that Hubby is going to order. I couldn't believe he didn't get two pairs to begin with since he always has. Especially since he needs them to drive with. I told him to get the second pair and put them in the work truck.

I saved $80 on a Kohls order as they were the cheapest I could find to replace some dishes that have been broken (that I use often). 

Electric bill came in $33 cheaper than budget.

We got buy one get one off on our meal thanks to FIL savings was $8.

I added my CVS extra bucks and coupons used into the savings total.

I added my cash back from my credit card. 

We got the bid for the basement, Hubby added extra on as he is looking to do pour concrete for the entrance walls instead of block. J agreed that it was a wise choice and they figured up what that costs would be. Cheaper labor costs but higher material costs.

SO that means I can transfer what is NOT needed from the tax refunds and stimulus also.

Hubby thought to put it all in savings. I came back with half savings and half mortgage.

Hubby is one month ahead of having his life insurance loan paid off so has 2 months left on that bill. 

Since our mortgage interest rate is higher than the interest rate on my life insurance loan we are going to focus on the mortgage. As long as I pay the interest on the loan it won't affect my policy amount.

I paid just over $6000 on the mortgage. Put $3000 in each of our savings accounts.

Since we have a higher taxes withholding on our IRAs due to the business AND also pay our health ins out of pocket... we got more back than normal. I will be surprised if that happens next year as the deprecation on the trailers is pretty much used up for deductions and probably won't pay enough interest on the mortgage to claim that either. 

We are now writing down daily what we saved. 

menu

today is supposed to be the last day in the 60s for the next 10 days. Tomorrow is supposed to be the last frost we have in the morning. AND it's should dry out by the end of this day. 

We hit mid 70's tomorrow and the to do list will start getting done. There are 90 things on the to do list for this month and doesn't break down gardens stuff and that's not dealing with any of the projects for this month or summer.

Since I know me... HA HA I know that when I come in from working outside I am not going to want to spend a lot of time cooking lunch or supper/dinner.

I need to organize the kitchen better as it is in shambles .

Lunch thoughts: eggs in many forms, lunch meat in tortilla wraps, hotdogs , brats. And a fruit... pickles, pickled asparagus, pickled cauliflower, pickled beets, regular beets, carrot sticks, celery, radishes etc will be on the table. There will be at least on run to the local little store for a lunch or two as we are trying to be supportive of her reopening after being closed a total year.

Sundays will be either frozen meal (already in the barn freezer , there is about 20 left) or soup.

Dinner (what I was raised calling it because it was around 5)/ supper (what my family consider a meal after 6 to 7 and what Hubby grew up with). I hate eating  late as it means I have to stay up right for 3 hrs. after I eat. I try to be in bed at 9 ( so 6 pushes me), read an hour, go to sleep (with praying I sleep) until 6. That is 8 hrs. In reality I am lucky to get 6 hrs. since I have issues with waking during the night for 2 hrs. Seems to be common on this road LOL.

On the menu: main dish for evening (that is not in the freezer), sides will be what ever is coming in from the garden. Lettuce, radishes, asparagus (still) turnip greens and green onions will be probably a week from now.

Tuscan Braised potatoes with fried eggs.

Fettuccini with butter and cheese.

Nacho Bell Grande *homemade

Mexican pizza(me) Crunch wrap( Hubby) *homemade

Creamy enchiladas

Egyptian barley salad (American Test Kitchen recipe)

Haluski  with smoked sausage

Baconator cheese burger *homemade

Roman braised beef with tomato and cloves (Milk Street recipe)

hotdogs with coney sauce

brats 

couscous  asparagus risotto (Milk Street recipe)

Baked risotto (Sara Moulton recipe)

sweet and sour chicken kabobs 

Roasted chicken 

Cornish hen

Appetizer night... beet sliders/ bruschetta/ chicken satay/ eggrolls/ pot stickers/ stuffed mushrooms/ spinach artichoke dip/ popper dip/loaded French fries (air fryer). I try to have 3 appetizers and then add crudité platter. 

We will chose what we are having the night before . 

savings

I have been scattered brained and had the hum drums. 

 Morning routine is on autopilot even if it takes me all day.  Clothes washed and either on drying rack or clothes line. Dishwasher unloaded, put away and reloaded if anything is sitting there. Dust mop is every other day That's usually done by 8, no later than 10.

Then it's either into the gardens or on the computer. When it's damp and/or cold , it is computer. If it's going to rain before noon even if damp and cold it's the garden. I like late morning or early afternoon but it changes depending on the temperature of the day. 

Then I take something off the list that is a priority.

Monday was dentist. I paid cash to get a 5 % discount which was better that the cash back I would get on my credit card. 

Tuesday with chiropractic and errands with a late visit from Brother. Used cash back card. 

Wednesday even with feeling like crap and trying to deal with the insurance that was Daddy's. Helping E and M as they got things around for the house sitter and us taking Molly and Dolly, two Belgian work horse, E's small pasture is connected to our pond and the feed trough (they get some oats besides the grass) is at our gate thanks to N that left his feed trough when he sold us the house. AND another visit from Brother as he got more mail from the same ins company for me.

Thursday was finance day which I promptly screwed up paying  off a credit card with MY account instead of the joint acct. Thankful that the bank caught it and I got money shifted so I wouldn't get an over draft fee.  DUH.  We decided that anything we saved through the cash back or coupons/clearance/discounts etc would be transferred to savings.

Friday We stopped down to A and B's to check out their hanging pots. I found marigolds and basil for the gardens and begonia's for parents and brothers graves. B gave us a discount because Hubby hauls sometimes for A. I went to library to get stuff for Daddy's life ins (another policy jumped up) and have it faxes. Lady there that witnessed my signature (not notarized) asked where I grew up. Then told me where I had grew up and who I was. Was clueless of who she was. We grew up together and I hadn't see her in almost 50 yrs but since I look like MOTHER she recognized me.

Saturday we checked out the local farmers market (dud) and got 2 fig trees and 2 cherry trees on discount when getting the dog food from TSC. Then we went to the nursery and got hanging basket for MIL and then to Walmart and got fountain grass at $3 and calla lilies half price. They are tender perennials in this area but I can put them in pots and deal with them that way. We dropped off the hanging basket to MIL. She was complaining of being cold and Hubby told her to put some clothes on instead of a tank top and pair of shorts. It was 58 outside not 85. I don't think she liked how he answered her but I had bit my tongue from not saying the same thing. FIL said he had told her repeatedly to put more clothes on. He is bringing it up to the doctor today(Tuesday). We then used coupons for Arby's FIL gave us that they would not use. Got one meal free with purchase of a meal.  We stopped and ate a the park near by and watched frisbee golf contest.  Since we ate out late we had a snack of popcorn.

Sunday I fixed French toast (using last of bread) stuffed with cream cheese and raspberries from the freezer for lunch. We had odds and ends for dinner.  All 6 kids , 3 grandchildren, 4 friends and one grandson's ex girlfriend text me Happy Mothers day. 

Monday. I called and priced my eye exam at our old place $150 without insurance. I already know what I spent on glasses. I went to Walmart at noon. Had the same eye exam for $60 saving $90. They were able to reuse one of my glass frames. I still ended up with 5 pairs of glasses (4 new frames in children's size), it would have been 4 but I know myself and need to have 2 sets of reading glasses. I could go without my long distance as the eye sight has improved in that part.  Thank heavens as at one time I was nearsighted in one and farsighted in the other.  That isn't as drastic now. I got long distance sunglasses $30 off, long distance glasses 20%, 2 reading glasses  20% off and the glasses for mending used my frame. Children's frames are cheaper and fit me better with the difference in costs almost 40%.  All told, I save $200 with the discounts etc and over $1300 of what it would have cost me at the old place AND I put it on the cash back card.

I went to the grocery store and got some meat for special meals, basic veggies (carrots, celery, potatoes, ice burg lettuce, cucumber. PLEASE QUIT being freaking cold with freezes and frosts Mother Nature) no fruit, dairy, and junk food... yes, junk food , chips, candy, coke a cola, root beer and ice cream for floats.

Tuesday... a sad day, a very sad day.... the pasta serving dish that matched my Nonna's can not longer be used. It has a large crack but not all the way through YET. There are no replacements . I spent HOURS trying to find one. SIGH... So I settled for 1 quart bowls (the size is a match) and went with  4 different colors to match the dishes I have. I finally found a soup tureen to replace the one my kids put in the oven to heat up chili (clueless as the bowls were on the table and they could have heated it up in the bowl in the microwave). Needless to say that dish was NOT oven proof. I found replacements at kohl's on sale, used codes, free shipping and  my cash back card. 

BEST NEWS ... J priced out the basement. Highest bid was $20, 000 , next one was around $15,000 that he came down to $12,000 when he heard that J was also bidding. J said less than $7,500... he thought closer to $5,000 depending on if we use the blocks we have or if we want all pour concrete. He is deducting $10/ hour for the time Hubby works on the job with him. ALSO said if we had it dig out on the sides and the block removed before he starts(2-3 wks as he is finishing a job and planting) that it would drop the cost of the labor. ALSO he is only going to work Saturdays (which is not a big deal for us) so Hubby isn't missing work himself to help on this job AND it will be easier to deal with the dogs only on 1 day a week. He thought 3 Saturdays barring rain. We are going to put up fence around that area to stop the dogs from going down there but also stop Charlotte from leaping on to that roof as she runs from back to front of the house for front to back. Don't want her to fall in when the roof is off while doing the basement. 

Blessed Be everyone

SIGH I miss you Daddy

 He would have been 94 years old on Monday. He was 93 years old in this picture. Right before he got pneumonia which ended up being his cause of death.

Yesterday (Tuesday) Brother brought out a stack of papers of 25 and a copy of the death certificate. Scared the crap out of me as he CALLED instead of texting. Which he only calls when it's bad. He has never been here even though we have repeatedly told him and his family they are welcome and we are not welcome at their home. Mother would "punish" him even as an adult if he had anything to do with me. If he mentioned I was at Daddy's when he stopped in that was okay. So we are like to only children but have a sibling. Sad even though she's been gone 10 yrs he still is that way. 

He had gotten papers from an life insurance policy that no one knew Daddy had on Monday... hard day for both of us . So he brought out what was for me to fill out and he got the copy of Daddy's death certificate so I wouldn't have to make a trip to the court house that he was driving right by to come here (savings of $5 for me and he didn't want the money back),

He said he talked to his lawyer and has now given his lawyer a list of life ins policies, a copy of such policies and a list of where his investments are so if both him and his wife die, or she isn't well enough (has really bad health problems for last 20 yrs and then long hauler for covid) the kids don't get hit with this kind of stuff popping up as this is the second time a policy has popped up that we didn't know about. The one we did know about he cashed out to pay for his funeral when he made the arrangements when Mother died so we wouldn't have to go through that HADES again. Nothing like writing your parent's obit on Thanksgiving.

I will be making copies of ours to take to our lawyer when we update the will this year. 

He stayed for 5 hours. With him "snapping" at me one time because I repeated what he said and he said he didn't say that.  Wanted to take a different way home, likes to drive and see the countryside we get that from Daddy. Hubby gave him a different route and wrote it out for him and then input it to his GPS on his phone for him as Brother is not all that great doing that. 

After he left , I mentioned I might want to check with doc about my short term memory. Hubby said NO, your brother has Dementia and hasn't accepted it yet. He had said what I repeated to him. Hubby texted niece to tell her what happened because he got "snippy" with me and she said he was getting worse since he had covid( real bad  and got the "drip" (Same stuff as Trump got). That her brother (from her mom's first marriage) was checking in on the two of them in the mornings before he went to work, her uncles and one cousin during the afternoon and she was still living at home (actually they put her name on the house and her brother's name on the other house to ease that issue). Said right now he is still okay to drive, even has worked some short term jobs off and on. She has been keeping in touch with Son 2 (who didn't mention it due to overload of changing job and trying to train his replacement etc) as she felt she could use the wisdom of Son 2 to help guide her since he is the one to deal with us.  And she didn't want to "add" stress to me when I can't do anything about it.

I am happy she felt comfortable with Son 2 (she is my grandkids age ) to reach out to him for support..

We knew he had the beginnings of Dementia as he would say "I have a short term memory issue " when he would start a conversation where Daddy would say "I have Dementia" every other sentence. 

Now I have 25 pages to deal with for this insurance. I am glad Niece volunteered she sat down with Brother to fill his out with the line she wanted to know how to do it when he or her mother died. Since he retired from teaching after 40 some years, getting him to "teach" you is a way to guide him she said.  She added that most the information they are asking for is already in the paperwork as she added that page for me. I just got to find the page in her handwriting LOL.