Wordless Wednesday

 

This and That

Greetings, friends. It has been extremely difficult since my mother's passing, but I am doing my best to get through it - probate BS and all. However, this weekend I spent some much needed time away from it all with my seester Aurora Skye.  We stopped off at "The Mint Leaf" before having lunch where I found this very nice four-leafed clover pendent ...

And, as usual, we went to our local "Barnes & Noble" bookstore and I bought these chocolate bunnies filled with jelly beans for 75% off ...

We had a wonderful lunch at "Ganly's Pub" ...

Also, my hubby and I received a very generous invitation to my co-workers birthday party near where I live - Miss Sonia (pictured on the left)  ... 

A song for Sunday

This and That

It's been over a week already since my mom's passing and it still feels so surreal to me. However, the stress is FAR FROM OVER. In fact, thanks to probate court (and a few other problems/issues with my mom's estate), it has only just begun! I have an appointment next Wednesday with the lawyer to have a ZOOM with the Register of Wills Office (apparently EVERYTHING is online anymore!!). I am nervous as hell - it is hard enough to deal with the loss of a parent without the added BS of the law! Why does dealing with the government always have to be so damned complicated and involved? No matter how I look at it I have NO choice. 

I still have A LOT of my mom's things stored in my small house everywhere in large bins. Today, I took this pic of Sir Leo (the cat she liked a lot) sleeping on her coat. I thought it quite fitting because not only did she like Leo, but her astrological sign was a LEO! Maybe I am just being sentimental, but it made me think ...  

I was working inside when the Solar Eclipse arrived on Monday afternoon in Reading, PA. I remember the Solar Eclipse from 2017 and that is the only time I ever had a chance to view it. My husband did his best to get pics with his areal camera ... 

A Season

"It's a season, and it will pass". That is what Chaplin Lugo from hospice told me on the telephone just two days before my mom passed away. She was right. She then asked me if I minded if she said a prayer with me and so we prayed to the Lord that He place her in his hands and help her to be where she needed to be now. 

She had been living at Mifflin Court Assisted Living since last June after her last detrimental fall at home which kept her in a wheelchair ever since. Despite the fact that the facility took excellent care of her, she still managed to fall several times while sitting in her wheelchair - mainly due to the fact that she refused to use her med alert pendant to ring for help. She would try to pick things up off of the floor and hit her head three times resulting in her being admitted into The Reading Hospital two of the three occasions. I had noticed her beginning to speak nonsense while at the hospital and demanded to know what medications they were giving her thinking that that was causing her to say things out of nowhere as if she were paranoid or having delusions. However, she would made sense the next day after speaking to her. 

The last time she was admitted into The Reading Hospital was in February where they sent her back to Mifflin Center -a rehab/nursing home (located directly aside of Mifflin Court). She spent time there last May after her first fall and then was supposed to finish her rehab at Mifflin Court where she ended up staying at their Assisted Living long-term there after. She received extensive rehab but she was far worst this time than the last. The prognosis was not good and the only option was to bring in hospice. She was in so much pain I remember her calling me on a Sunday night crying and begging for Oxycodone. They gave her the only pain meds they were allowed to but her knee locked up and refused to move! Her muscles were contracting and she was declining very quickly both physically and mentally.

I fought hard to get her back to Mifflin Court where she would be surrounded by pictures of my dad, her beloved dog, and other pictures she treasured so much. Mifflin Court agreed to let her come back with hospice and four days later she was gone. The last time I saw her was on Easter Sunday and I knew she was not going to make it much longer. I spoke to her hoping that somehow she could still hear me, but who knows? At 4am Monday morning (April Fool's Day) I received the phone call at home from hospice informing me that she had passed away. 

To be honest, this is just the beginning. Her money from her estate (the money from the sale of her home, etc.) is now being tied up in probate thanks to our esteemed government and State of Pennsylvania so I can no longer pay any of her bills after April 1st nor can I deposit anything into her account for her. Due to lack of money (she had no life insurance) and the fact that we have no family left, we decided to have her cremated. If her money ever gets released after the government is done with it, I would like to have her ashes buried with my dad. Her official cause of death was Adult Failure to Thrive.

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Mom and Dad sharing a dance at a wedding reception circa 1984.

Jitterbugging with my mom who was so good she made me look like I knew how to dance!

Easter dinner - 2019- Mother's Day dinner at "The Hitching Post" - 2018.

Her urn. I also ordered a silver locket with her finger print on it which will be sent to my house from the funeral home ...

In lieu of flowers, we asked that donations be made in my mom's name to The Animal Rescue League. These are the beautiful flowers we received for my mom at our house ...

💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

First Day of Spring

 

Happy St. Patty's Day

 

This and That ...

Greetings, friends! No, I am still not emotionally ready to discuss the events of the last few months yet as it is far too painful and difficult. However, I will update you on the current situation. My mom is back at Mifflin Center after several bad falls and TRYING to rehab there. She had no choice but to change her current Medicare third party insurance (Geisinger Gold Advantage Plan) to regular Medicare because Geisinger would not approve her stay at Mifflin Center until April to continue her rehab! And at $400-some dollars per day, she can NOT afford it! I HATE insurance! Especially when it is so damned complicated and confusing thanks to our Government!! I have no freaking idea WHAT I am doing I feel so lost. I spent four hours at Mifflin Center yesterday making phone calls with my mom lying in a bed aside of me because even as a legal P.O.A., there are some things I can do to help my mom and some things I can NOT - dealing with changing my mom's address with Social Security (and the million questions they ask of an 84 year old woman) is one of them, and, dealing with the IRS and taking care of her taxes is another! Both the State of Pennsylvania AND the IRS DO NOT recognize a legal document such as a Power of Attorney. In fact, the IRS has their own way of doing things and require you to fill out all kinds of ridiculous forms in order to accept you and your legal P.O.A.  In other words, my mom's bank and her insurance honor it, but the IRS and State do not. My mom owed money this year and after contacting the IRS via telephone, I was advised to pay her Federal taxes owed from her modest annuity by cashier's check. Oh God how I hate taking on my mom's responsibilities. It scares me TO DEATH! There is A LOT more to this story , but I will spare you the ugly details. I swear I am losing my mind!!!!!!

In other news, while I was getting ready for work on Tuesday, I received an IM via Facebook from The Mint Leaf that I won a bunch of tulips. It was a rather nice surprise ...

Have a good everyone.

Odds 'n' ends ...

Greetings everyone. Well, it is a miserable rainy Saturday here in Reading, PA and it is supposed to rain the rest of the weekend. I had a lot of running around to do this morning regardless. Among the endless list of responsibilities bestowed upon me (most of which are my mother's), I had to run to my mom's bank to get two cashier's checks for her income taxes which I am a NERVOUS WRECK over (another horror story in itself)), and I also had to drop off my husbands and I's income taxes to be done by our usual tax preparer service - more about that at a later time. 

On top of everything else, I have been fighting a blood clot in my left leg for weeks now - been to St. Joseph's/Penn State Hospital TWICE in the last two weeks. It was diagnosed at a superficial blood clot, but it hurts and burns like hell. I am following the ER doctor's orders, but if it does not go away soon I will have no choice but to either see my family doctor or a specialist ...

Change of subject. Here are some more birthday pics from last weekend. My seester Aurora Skye gave me these wonderful gifts ...

Magnetic page markers, a pair of pretty earrings, a large Yankee Candle (not shown), and a lovely card. 💗

She also treated me to a nice birthday lunch at Flanagan's Pub ...

Later that evening, my husband and I had a relaxing dinner at the Sinking Spring VFW ...

A rare photo op posing with our favorite bartender at the VFW, Steve! Steve is also a MAJOR Led Zeppelin fan like me.

One of our many friends at VFW, Walt. Walt is also my dance buddy. He enjoys dancing to the music of Motown as do I.

THIS song really hit home after having to have my mom's income taxes done for her - (more about that at a later time) ...

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, car (I'll tax the street)
If you try to sit, sit (I'll tax your seat)
If you get too cold, cold (I'll tax the heat)
If you take a walk, walk (I'll tax your feet

'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Don't ask me what I want it for
(Taxman, Mr. Major)
If you don't want to pay some more
(Taxman, Mr. Hеath)
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm thе taxman
If I reduce it, can you see?
(Taxman, Boris Yeltzin)
Get back more with the V.A.T
(Taxman, Mr. Bush)
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

(If you get a hat-hat) I'll tax your hat
(If you get a pet-pet) I'll tax your cat
(If you wipe your feet-feet) I'll tax the mat
(If you're overweight) I'll tax your fat

Now my advice to those who die
(Taxman!)
Declare the pennies on your eyes
(Taxman!)
Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

And you're working for no one but me (Taxman!)

The way things are going perhaps The Beatles were right?!? This video is a cover of "Revolution" performed by the late Scott Weiland of the group Stone Temple Pilots.