This is Dumb

I don't think that they'll get it, but it's just my little way of protesting. Blogger made me sign up for a new account. I don't know if this is my password for just Goggle or for blogger too, but somewhere, some drone is chuckling at my choice of password.

With all the talk of snow on the posts lately, it's nice to know that I am in sunny California. The sky is bright blue and the sun is setting over the hills--absolutely lovely. Not that the ice pictures Sean has up aren't beautiful, but I like my scenery a little warmer these days.

A few days ago was Founder's Day for the PTA at Adam's high school. I had to go, because I got roped into being the President next year. No one, I mean NO ONE was willing to step forward. We even called parents of incoming ninth graders who had been active in PTA in other schools. So I grudgingly said OK. Well at Founder's day, people kept coming up to me and saying an enthousiastic congratulations. I'm thinking--that's a funny way to say my condolances on the passing of your Aunt. Mystified, I said "for what?" And they said, "you've been elected as the President of the PTA next year--that's so wonderful." "Elected is not the right term" and I try to set them straight--"no one else would take the job," I protested. "Congratulations," they say. I guess "congratulations" is the new way to express commisserating a loss.

I don't know if it has been discussed in the blogs yet about how much stuff Mary had in her house. There's about 18 rooms and a finished attic and they are full of stuff--some very nice stuff and some not as nice stuff. I hired an Estate sale company to go through and sell all the stuff in the house. They've only been at it a couple of days and Adrienne says I won't recognize the attic--they've attacked it like crazy. Mary also had about a zillion piggy banks all over the house. Dad's been going around and opening all of them into a bucket, so now of course I can't move the bucket. Mary's bank will take the coins for a 5% fee, but we have a friend there who can get around it. The tricky part is how to get the coins to the bank in the first place. I opened a new account for the estate and that bank is very happy to take the coins for free and I don't even have to wrap them. They are so accomodating, they almost seem like they would offer to drive over and pick them up. Now that's a very accomodating bank. So that makes me nervous. Why are they being so nice. Are they in financial trouble and they need my Aunt's coins to stay afloat. I saw a little sign that said accounts are insured up to 100,000. There can't be that many coins, but still I worry.

I went to see the stock broker this week and she scared me with all the information that she doesn't have on my Aunt's accounts. Then the accountant said, don't worry, you can't deduct hardly anything anyway. Then I spoke to one of the charities in the trust. I gave them a small idea of what kind of money that they were looking at and they practically came through the phone to gush all over me. Then I had a real hard time finding one of the charities. Their phone doesn't work, but they have a listing with the Secretary of State, so I'll keep my fingers crossed on that one. The tax attorney at my firm gave me a really good idea to save on taxes, so all in all, it was a pretty good week for the estate.

ABWA fashion show is coming along with almost no input or work on my part, even though I'm the chair and the same with Kiwanis Major Fundraisor and Associates' Night. Girl Scout cookies practically ordered themselves--I just looked over the posts periodically and forwarded a few e-mails. A monkey could do that job. I'm obsolete. I almost have time to read a book and hey, it is a long weekend--maybe I'll even take in a movie. My duties as president of PTA don't start til June.