Another day off

I got what I wanted to accomplish done on my day off yesterday. I left about 8am. It was a nice sunny drive into the city. A beautiful morning in the mountains. Well, I guess I didn't get one thing on my list accomplished. I wanted to pick up 2 of the nicer, stained whiskey barrel planters at the nursery center, but they were sold out of all of them now. Bummer. Then I went to Lowes garden center. I was not impressed with their petunias! I should have just left and went to Home Depot, but I picked through them and I'm sure they will start looking good once planted. I decided to just get premade hanging baskets for the first time ever. Mine never seem to fill out very well, so I'm giving these a try at $25 each. They had some really big ones, but at $80 each I passed. I completely loaded up the back of my car. Then I ran back inside to look for some spray paint dh wanted, but no luck.

I had a bit of time before I needed to be at my mom's so I stopped at Home Depot. All their annuals looked so much better. They were laid out on big flat "tables" rather than shoved in carts with shelves. I picked up a few more and also got 4 perennials to replace 4 "grassy" type plants that didn't make it over the winter. I got to my mom's at exactly 10:30 LOL.

The first thing I did was grab her phone to figure out why it's not ringing. As I'm trying to do that her "guy friend" knocked on the door, so he could introduce himself. He does exist! LOL. Seems like a very nice gentleman. He had just been at bible study. He just stayed a minute and then I figured out she had somehow just turned the ringer volume down to vibrate with the buttons on the edge of her phone. I tested calling and also tested a call to me and both worked fine. Hopefully, that fixed her constant worry of late about her phone.

I went through her mail on her desk a bit. Of course that magazine subscription (she already sent a check for) was still on her desk, not thrown away like I told her to over and over. Basically, I just have to grab any mail on her desk and put it in my purse when she's not looking. Her problem with not throwing anything away is partially due to she thinks she has to shred everything that has her address on it. And her shredder is in her bedroom. So, while I'm on the phone telling her to just throw that away, she's setting it aside, because she wants to go shred it, but of course as soon as we hang up, she's forgotten that's what she needs to do.

At 11 the attorney's office called and we did the phone consult with him. It will be an easy thing to just re do her will to make me the executor and my dd the alternate. He also said it is MUCH preferred to have the executor in the same state. He also told me that since most of her money is in her retirement account and will be directly distributed to the beneficiaries, not through the will, as long as I keep less than $50k in assets outside of her retirement account her will will not have to go through probate and be much easier and quicker (and cheaper) so that is good to know. I will make sure to do that. He also recommended an health care directive and I could not find one in her paperwork, so for an extra $100 he will do that up, too. 

I left just before noon, as it was her floor's day to eat in the dining room. On Monday they are changing to all floors eating in the dining room.

I remembered I still wanted to try to find that spray paint, so I stopped back in Home Depot and found that. I had just eaten a granola bar, but was still a bit hungry.....so I stopped at Dairy Queen for a Peanut Buster Parfait. Heaven LOL.

I got home about 1:15 and the HVAC guy had already come and gone. I'm like he's done already? DH said almost, but his cord to hook it up was too short, so he's coming back in the evening to finish, which he did. The good news - he had told dh 3 months ago it would be between $5000 and $6000, so I budgeted $6k (and figured it would probably be more). But, when we said ok, what do we owe you he said $4500. Yay!

Our HVAC guy also knows dh's buddy - the one that drinks, etc. DH told him he hasn't talked to him in about a year, that apparently buddy has problems with dh now. Neither said a whole bunch, but what HVAC guy said about him is exactly the same things we have said to each other. He said he complains constantly, always complaining about how little he makes after working all these years. and hvac guy said "well then get a different job!" He could go work at many other places in town making like $35/hr instead of $22. He also said he would hire him himself, but he just talks/complains too much and has no filter and not what he wants to be around daily. He mentioned he complains that his wife spends all her money and then some and he even brought up the fact that they have separate bank accounts - "that's just weird".

I'm planning to plant all my flowers today, but dang, the weather is gray and cloudy. I wanted a nice sunny day to go along with the planting. I have to say it was nice and easy to hand dh those 4 hanging baskets to hang up and not have to plant those, LOL.

I ended up only working a half day on Wednesday. Wed morning, after payroll finally got submitted (after my boss had to email an urgent email again) she said sorry I had to deal with that stress. I said, I'm just glad today wasn't my day off, or then I would have been stressed! She said just take the rest of today off. I said, well...maybe a half day ;). (I wanted to get bills paid), and she said just do it!