I’ll begin working on transforming the shop soon. This is the starting point.
Category Archives: Property
Six Months
I’ve reached the six-month point. Life feels like it’s established a normal rhythm, but then it doesn’t. Sometimes things go smoothly for a while, then something will remind me that it isn’t. There are just a few things left to close out the estate — changing property deeds over to my name and paying taxes. I still have a whole lot more to do, but I can manage it in my own time.
The second property has been sold, and the proceeds have been distributed to the beneficiaries. The final portion of Alan’s retirement account still needs to be distributed. I have no say in that, but I’m monitoring it as a loose end. I had an unexpected opportunity for someone locally to pick up electronics recycling from the shop, so a lot of that task was taken care of sooner than I had planned.
I have estimates for the first two house projects — renovation of the porches and completing the driveway sills for the gates. I forgot to check the start dates for these projects, but the process is moving forward.
To help me design my new life, I’m re-auditing the Masker Key Experience class this year. It helps me focus on the good in life and how my new life is going to be going forward. I’m grateful to friends who continue to make this process seem effortless.
Five Months
The post-death adrenaline high has worn off. That’s the only way I can think to describe it. The last two weeks have been a comedy of mistakes due to communication failures on my part. Things I thought had been arranged turned out to have been interpreted differently by the people I was working with. I was mad at myself at first, but then, when more failures began revealing themselves, I could only laugh. I couldn’t change what I’d screwed up. I could only do the extra work that I didn’t have time for to fix it.
With the ranch sale completed, I distributed funds to the primary beneficiary. The other property I need to sell has gone to contract and should close soon. Everything has been moved out of what we called the store, and the building has been swept out. I’m ready to hand over the keys to the new owners. I have put together a price for my lantern buyer. Alan appears to have only been half done with his inventory and price list, so pricing has been a challenge.
I’m beginning to plan the next steps I need to take for the house. My plumber is working on getting plumbing working that has been capped off in the past. The downstairs bathroom is now fully functional (but requires a lot of cosmetic work, which is planned), and he will be working on getting an upstairs bathroom that has been plumbed since before we bought the house but has no fixtures completed. Some pipes need work and relocating. Once he does that work, my contractor should be able to do the rest.
At the shop, I’m still feeling my way. I’ll begin shifting items so like items are with like items soon. I am planning an electronics recycling run to Waco soon. It won’t clear out as much space as the bedrails, but it will remove clutter from my mind, the house, and the shop. I would like to get my Jeep running before I decide what to do with it. I need to get a good battery, replace the tires, and probably drain and refill the gas tank. I will probably sell it, but I may use it to run around town for a little while first.
I didn’t expect closing down Alan’s email account to be so stressful. I forwarded everything that looked like it should be saved to another account. I printed some threads. But still, it feels like I’m erasing another piece of him, and that’s hard.
Four and A Half Months
I was traveling at the four-month mark. Then I had some tasks to complete. So here we are. I’m attempting to slow my sprint while not coming to a complete halt. I FEEL as if I’m not getting enough done. I FEEL as if I’m falling behind and will not continue to make progress. In reality, estate tasks are getting done. Day-to-day household tasks tend to slip.
I closed on the sale of the ranch last week. I’m still seeking a buyer for the 4th St property. I have a trailer load or two of items to remove from the property and cleaning to complete. To move the lantern sale forward, I need to come up with a price to give my buyer, and we need to agree on it.
I wanted to figure out how to close out the estate myself, but I’ve had to admit I don’t know how to do it without risking making important mistakes, so I will be scheduling time with a tax and financial adviser to make sure I get it right.
I enjoyed my 45th high school reunion in Ohio. I enjoyed seeing classmates and spending time with them as well as a few other friends. Alan readily agreed to come on this trip when I got the date, so I was sad to not have him with me physically. Of course, he’s always with me in my heart.
I added a day to the trip to spend time with a friend from another class. I think it had been twenty years since we’d seen each other last, so that visit was long overdue. Another friend was unable to attend the reunion, so we met for lunch. Always a good visit with her. Some of our class met for the season opener football game. That was fun.
My high school biology teacher had lost his wife of 52 years a year and a half ago, and we each understood where the other was coming from, so I’m grateful I reached out to him while I was there. Besides, it was his birthday, so we needed to celebrate. Through the years, we have kept in touch. While we hadn’t seen each other for way too long, our friendship extended beyond high school, so it wasn’t as if we hadn’t been in touch for the last 45 years.
I had lunch with mutual friends of Alan and mine on the way back to Texas. I was able to catch up with a lot of people important to me on this trip, and I’m grateful for it.
One other thing I was able to accomplish was shifting Alan’s email from his primary mindspring account to his backup account. I’ve wanted to close the mindspring account for several years. I was notified while traveling that my pre-pay was up, and I needed to renew or I’d be paying on the month-to-month rate. That was my incentive to complete this housekeeping task. I will be closing that account next week after 25 years as a customer of that company.
Three Months
It’s been three months since your soul departed. I wasn’t going to do this thing where I mark anniversaries, but it’s challenging not to, so I’m not going to fight it. As part of the Transitions process, I’ll provide an update. Last night I firmly reminded myself this is a … Continue reading →
Transitions
Alan passed a little over two months ago. We always expected he would go before me, and we planned accordingly. While he had every intention of living until 100, we always talked about what to do when he wasn’t here anymore. While his passing on April 22 was a surprise, … Continue reading →
Spring is here. Time to Mow!
Now that I’m finally able to shelter in place like a good Texan (what a week it’s been until now), I decided today would be a good day to mow as much grass/weeds as possible. In preparation for this, I checked the mower at the store yesterday. Yes, I’d put … Continue reading →
April 2019 Property Update
The Ranch: Nothing new to report The Store: Charged the mower battery and got the grass mowed. The Detail Shop: Mowed the grass. The Shop: Mr. L got the leak in the heater unit repaired — it needed a new part. Now he’s ready to have heat in the shop … Continue reading →
March 2019 Property Update
The Ranch: Nothing new to report The Store: No change. The Detail Shop: No change. The Shop: Mr. L has been sorting and putting away parts and other things. Mr. L got the gas turned on on Monday, but there’s a leak in the heater unit, so more things to … Continue reading →
February 2019 Property Update
San Antonio House: In January, we took the Spitfire down to the San Antonio house and pushed it into the garage. We removed everything we plan to remove except the stove. The new owner made an appearance, got her walk-though, and picked up keys. Mr. L has some things he’s … Continue reading →