Campfire

[gingerK]

Thanks ladies. I appreciate your support and knowing others are going through this too.

[dayspring39]

Kathy what an axxx that brother is... when my mother died I thought my brother was so fair with her things taking the time to sort everything out and group them and having us choose in order from the piles of things... several years later my daughter Gwen asked me if I owed Jim money... I wrote to him asking him to show me what I owed... and told him if he ever had a gripe with me to talk to me not anyone else... however he had spread it far and wide about me owning him money... he never told people how much... he sent me a paper stating that I owed him $167 (about correct figure I think) I sent him a check and then called my sister Wilma... she was so angry she could spit nails... she said did I ever think about the beautiful furniture and other valuable things mother had? did I ever wonder where they went? I said no it had not occurred to me... then she said he is just like his dad mean and spiteful and taking everything he can get his hands on... he got the house and 3 1/2 acres and most of our mothers things...
He is a half brother... then he said to me he wanted a share of my fathers will... yikes how twisted is that! he never even met my father...
Some are greedy and some are more greedy and some are more and more greedy...
Stay sweet Kathy... it takes a long time to process this kind of loss... so glad you are seeking out an attorney before it is too late...

[gingerK]

I am finding it may already be too late. And despite what the will says were my mother's last wishes, I am finding that all her IRAs and annuity are listed as both of us beneficiaries. So I will have to share it. The will she had previously (this one was drawn up in May of last year) divided everything evenly, which is the way she always did things. So, either the value of her accounts was nearly equal to the value of her house and land or someone has co-opted things. My DH wants to sue, he thinks she wasn't competent. I think that will be difficult to prove. I almost wish she had left me nothing, then I could sue for 50%.

[havingfunnow]

Kathy, you're right -- support is a wonderful thing. Sue offers to make virtual popcorn when I have to deal with the mess. It reminds me just how thick my brother's melodrama really is, so I can laugh about it. I hereby send you virtual popcorn!

I've taken to singing garbled Dylan songs before meeting the lawyers. Like this:

You say you're counting on someone
Who thinks you’re wonderful and strong
To admire you and defend you
Whether you are right or wrong
But it ain't me, babe
No, no, no, it ain't me babe

Laughter is a strengthening thing.

[gingerK]

Met with lawyer, it will be difficult to prove he was fooling around with her money. Also, although her Dr. said she needed to see a psychiatrist, it was well after the will was drawn up so no help there. My lawyer sent him a letter requesting an inventory of all her accounts and property. Let's see what he does now. At least I beat him to that CD she had that he didn't know I knew about.

Thanks for the popcorn, Louise. I know I can always count on the ladies here.

[BarbaraRose]

It is too bad it has to come down to that, with siblings. My dad has nothing but the house, and that is already in a trust to us kids so it will be split evenly between us. Even tho I have done 90% of the caregiving for him, I would have no desire to start a rift by trying to get more than my third, even if I could.

Hope it all works out in the end for you. Enjoy the popcorn!

[gingerK]

That's another red flag, Barbie; her previous will had some kind of trust set up so all the assets would come directly to us and everything was split 50-50 between us.

On a better note; I'm going to kiss another frog tomorrow.
http://kalamazoo.craigslist.org/rvs/4956777401.html

Yes, it has a rear kitchen and I know I said I didn't want a rear kitchen, but sometimes it's a trade-off, I'm learning. Please keep good thoughts and fingers crossed for me ladies. Could use a bit of luck right now. Yes, I'm not going alone and DH will know where I'm going and when I should get there and I'll either call him when we get there & leave or I'll call Carrie.

(It has blue interior. My Mother's favorite color was blue. A sign from her?)

[cnq50b]

Really cute rig, Kathy. I hope it checks out for you. The interior almost looks new!

I do believe our loved ones intercede on our behalf. We experienced a myriad of wonders after Mom passed away a couple of years ago. We had an unusally warm week in February while the 8 of us siblings were together planning the services & taking care of everything that must be done. An amazing thing happened on the morning of her funeral. I was up early. My son's wedding was just 6 weeks away & I was on the constant watch for a drop in airline tickets. We had to fly about 17 people out to LA for it. That morning, I got on the computer & checked prices... They were nearly half-price!!!! I called my older kids & told them to get online & buy their tickets. I then bought the remaining ones we needed. The day of her funeral was grey & stormy - as if it was her signal for us to now go home & be with our families. We have experienced many other 'miracles' & recognize that she & daddy continue to intercede & watch over all of us. I'm sure your mom will do the same. Just keep your eyes & heart open to recognize them.

Hugs are headed your way for the trouble with your brother. I hope things even out for you & the letter from the lawyer makes him do what is right.
Take care,
Catherine

[Bethers]

Kathy, that is a cute rig. And if the interior looks that nice in person, someone's been taking care of her. Hope it's a Prince (or Princess) when you give a kiss.

[BirdbyBird]

Made it safely back to the Ohio driveway from our successful DeKalb dog show weekend. I ended up driving in rain both Friday and today. Cheryl drove over Saturday and spent most of the day hanging out with us at the show site and drove us out for a real dinner in town after the girls showed late in the afternoon. I can now say I understand why others like good fish tacos. I finally found some good ones. Cheryl thank you so much for coming over and spending the day with us. I do know that if you keep showing up enough days at work...you eventually make it to retirement. Keep your dreams alive with camping weekends and vacations....

Audrey won her class both days and earned her final points towards her Championship. Daisy earned 6 more points towards her Grand Championship.

[Acadianmom]

Tina, the few times I have been somewhere I could order fish tacos I couldn't bring myself to order one. I'll have to try one sometime but they just don't sound good to me.

I made it to my sister's. I was ready to walk out the door at 1:00 and they called that my tax papers were ready. I had to go to town, pick them up, have Harold sign them and return them to the CPA. I plan on being back before the 15th but now if anything happens I don't have to worry about them.

I don't know if this will post or not. I don't have a very good signal and it takes a long time for pages to load.

Martha

[snowball]

I've had both not so good and some really good fish taco's
down in Algodonas had some where the fish was grilled instead of breaded so yummy
trying to get myself in gear to get ready to leave but not succeeding if the winds would stop
perhaps I'd believe I'll actually be out of here on Weds..the 15th not this coming one...Glad you made it ok
Anita!!!
Generator won't work have a feeling it's the battery have a friend charging it to see if it will
hold the charge but I'm betting it's 7 years or older so if it's on it's last leg it did good...just wish it would have
kept on going for another week
sheila

[bikerchic777]

Hey Linda! You will be in my neck of the woods for the summer hope we can gtg!

I will be leaving Joshua Tree on, or about, the 15th, and heading your way. Maybe we can gtg, before I check in at R-ranch. Is there somewhere close to you that is free or cheap to park?

After I left Apache Junction, I met up with Rick at Catalina SP. We had dinner with his DM and her DH a couple of nights. I got my fridge fixed in Tucson, after we worked on it for about a day and a half. We left there and went up to Lake Havasu, AZ and stayed at Craggy Wash BLM. We drove way up and found a beautiful site, with a great view over Lake Havasu. It was so friggin hot and windy, though!!! The evenings were beautiful and we had campfires. Nobody even remotely close to us, so that was neat. My friends, from Amazon in NJ, are staying on the CA side and have a boat, so they picked us up in their boat and we spent a day with them on the lake. FUN!!! When we left the BLM and pulled into Walmart, Penny decided to drag behind Myrtle She did that when I was leaving Apache Junction, too. Got a local garage to check her out. They sent a tow truck. Couldn't find a thing wrong. As we waited, I decided to buy a new truck battery for Myrtle at Walmart and Rick helped me put it in. He noticed the shelf, holding one of my marine batteries, was about gone from corrosion, so he built a new one and secured it. I wish they would have figured out why Penny is doing that, but it was an otherwise productive day. The garage owner brought Penny back, at the end of the day, and city code wouldn't allow us to overnight park at the Walmart. We decided to go south a bit and stay at one of the other BLM areas and decide where to go from there. I had been leading the way the whole way, so I asked Rick to lead. Big mistake!!! He didn't slow down and scope it out, before pulling off the hwy, and he high centered I pulled off the hwy, on the shoulder. He couldn't get unstuck and his motorcycle trailer hitch was dug into the road. It was dark, by then, and I thought someone was going to hit his trailer or something, so I called 911. The highway patrolman made me pull off, into a park. Finally, at 11:30, a tow lady got him out. I stayed put for the night and so did Rick. We met up in the morning and I gave my ideas of where we could go. He made it clear that he didn't want to go visiting my friends. That, and other red flags, told me that the romance was not going any further. I even offered to compromise and stay at the RV park that my friends are at, as he wanted FHU, so he could do some work on his MH. My other idea was go go our separate ways and meet up at our job in Napa. He liked that one, so here I am in Joshua Tree!

The jury is still out on the roof job. That place that split and they had to patch, split again, before I left Apache Junction. I will probably just put some lap sealant over that spot. Penny looks good. I kind of wish I would have had it sprayed on the front of Myrtle, too, but can do that later.

Kathy, I like that little Class C! Did you like it?

[gingerK]

No, Linda, it was too far gone inside with water intrusion to salvage. Would have had to gut it almost entirely and that's not something I'm prepared to do. So still out there, kissing frogs.

[Bethers]

Linda, I am devastated for you. You couldn't wait to get back together. But I'm so glad you saw that major red flag. Big hugs to you gf, and I hope the summer working together goes well and the friendship can, at least, continue.

I'm having a very difficult time deciding what fall will bring. Amazon in TX, not sure I want to deal with those undecided cg's and traffic? Gila Bend as a volunteer with a stipend, which scares me because of weather there that time of year. Back to Quail Run for a couple months? Just be a bum? Possibly Baja for a couple months. Decisions, decisions lol. A lot will depend on what happens this summer and how much money I can put away. Then which options are still available, of course.