Lawn Decor
Comfort Foods
When I’m stressed out and just need something comforting on my plate for dinner, the first thing I think about is chicken and dumplings. I love chicken and dumplings with egg noodles and green peas.
My second choice for comfort food would be my mom’s meatloaf, with mashed potatoes and beef gravy. Again, green peas go great with meatloaf.
Third choice would be a big bowl chili and cornbread.
All these food are warm and filling and make me feel good when I’m eating them.
PBS Telethon
The month of August is the annual fund raising drive for our local PBS station. They show a lot of special programs to cultivate interest in the station and pepper the shows with telethon pleas for contributions. The station has a lot of good programming and I have watched some great documentaries about music and the music business that I never would have had the chance to see if not for PBS.
Keeping the Homeplace
My aunt and uncle are getting on up in years and they’ve been living in my grandmother’s house while taking care of her. We are so fortunate that my aunt and uncle were in the position to move into her house and be her caretaker all these years after my grandfather passed away. We’re all grateful that my grandmother has never had to spend a single night in a nursing home.
After talking it over with my two sisters, we’ve agreed that the three of us want to waive our inheritance rights to the house and property and give it over to my aunt and uncle. It seems only fair to do that to repay them for all they’ve done for my grandmother. They haven’t even wanted to discuss the inheritance issues, but it makes more sense to me to have a plan for the estate and do everything we can to help take care of all three of them. It’s my thought that my grandmother should deed the house over to my aunt now, and we hope that they will all live there together for several more years. But the reality is that grandmother will be 86 on her birthday this year, so we are trying to be practical and smart about inheritance taxes and other issues, such as income for my aunt and uncle and their long term health care, as well.
My sister has suggested that we explain to my aunt and uncle that they can use the house after it is deeded to them to provide the income they’ll need if they take advantage of a reverse mortgage program. It’s a totally new concept for them and we want to find a way to explain reverse mortgages to them so they understand the benefits.
I spend a little time searching the internet this morning to see if I could find a reverse mortgage guide. I’m hoping that if both my sisters and I read up on the subject, that we can have a little family meeting and suggest the idea to my aunt and uncle. If they are receptive to the idea, we can help them learn more about it and make the necessary arrangements ahead of a financial or health crisis. I would really like to see them both live the last years of their lives in a comfortable home with no financial worries. Their social security benefits aren’t enough to take care of the household bills and a reverse mortgage sounds like the best way to make sure they have money coming in. Of course, if they needed help, my sisters and I would find a way to contribute each month. But I’m hoping that we won’t need to do that after we’ve all read the reverse mortgage information and find out if that’s a smart option for the three of them.
