So here I am, back in London now, settling into spending the rest of the week in an empty house. Dave won't be home from the USA until Sunday, and of course I am really missing Olga, whose presence I could always count on to keep me company. (Almost exhaustingly so -- she followed me from room to room!)
Fortunately, I have a lot to keep me busy. Yesterday I met up with an old school friend, Lenore, who was passing through London on her way back to the states from Scotland. (Linda Sue, she lives in Bellingham!) She'd spent six days hiking in the Scottish highlands with two friends, and it all went well until Storm Floris complicated their plans and they had to skip the last segment of the hike -- they were getting fierce wind, even worse than what I was seeing in Blackpool. Anyway, it was great to see Lenore, who went all the way through school with me, from first grade to 12th. Like my recent visit with Alan, another high school friend, I had a great time reminiscing and catching up with her life since. It's always interesting to see what people wind up doing. (In Lenore's case, she's teaching science, so we were able to compare notes on working in schools!)
On the way home I stopped into a stationer and bought a small, strong mailing tube so I could send Gwynneth those rescued cake knives with the ruined handles. She spoke up for them and has a plan to give them a second life. I packaged them up with bubble wrap and put them in the post. I was concerned about the legality of mailing knives, but the Royal Mail web site says it's OK as long as they're not legally prohibited blades and they're packaged securely, among other things. I told the clerk at the Post Office what they were and emphasized that they are not at all sharp, and she was unconcerned. So hopefully Gwynneth and I won't be arrested.
In the afternoon I had yet another conversation with some lawyers back in the states about estate planning. You'll recall that Dave and I have been trying for at least a year now to get a will (or something) written, and it's incredibly complicated because we have assets in both countries, and we're planning for two legal systems. We thought we had a solution until a financial adviser here raised a red flag about it. Now my first lawyer has essentially bailed on the project, and has referred us to a second lawyer who has more experience working with ex-pats in Britain.
And it's time to start gathering stuff for UK taxes, too. Argh! The bureaucracy never stops!
Meanwhile, the garden is in its late-summer phase, with the red-hot pokers (Kniphofia) blooming, as well as Japanese anemones, Michaelmas daisies, cardoons and other August flowers.
I was pleased to discover two little cherry tomatoes turning color, deep in our tomato plant. We have at least a handful of tomatoes on this bush but most of them are still green. I feel triumphant knowing we will have at least a small harvest! I'm saving them for Dave to pick when he gets back.
Dealing with taxes in one country is bad enough, without the additional hassle of dual citizenship and a second country's tax returns.
ReplyDeleteAs our tomatoes develop I remove some of the larger leaves to allow more light down to the lower fruits to help them ripen.
Yours are looking good.
Yeah, Monty Don on "Gardener's World" advocates removing leaves too. I took one or two off but probably need to be harsher! Double taxation is a nightmare.
DeleteI remember red hot pokers as being red, yet I haven't seen a proper red one for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteOurs have always been bright orange fading to yellow, but there may be red varieties too.
DeleteIt is reassuring when the first tomatoes start turning colour!
ReplyDeleteYes! Success!
DeleteHow the garden still grows! I love these reconnections with high school classmates. There are a few (very few) I’ve been thinking of trying to connect with whenever I’m in New York but I never seem to have enough time. We’re arranging to have our Spanish wills done finally. Spanish inheritance law is different from the States, so our current wills would be invalid.
ReplyDeleteDo you have to change your wills in the states too? The problem we're running into is that people in the UK don't want to write a will for us because most of our assets are in the USA. And people in the USA don't want to do it because we live here. Ugh!
DeleteAt this point, our wills in the states are ok. How odd that they don’t want to write wills for you. Here, the wills are written for just that reason.
DeleteHow lovely to catch up with Lenore. I hope she gave you a few science lessons as you rarely refer to science in this blog.
ReplyDeleteShe apparently teaches physics and stuff like that, which is a branch of science that I don't have a whole lot of understanding about. In fact I'm not sure I ever took a physics class.
DeleteGlad you had such a lovely reunion with Lenore, and here’s hoping the cake knives make it to Gwynneth without any unexpected drama
ReplyDeleteI am sure they'll be fine. I packaged them well!
DeleteThose moments, when you recall doing something mundane with the dog but now you're alone, are so sad for me. I try not to take those moments for granted.
ReplyDeleteAnd there are so many of them, because the dog was literally by my side all the time. Even sitting here writing on my blog, she would have been next to me. :(
DeleteHow nice that you got to meet up with Lenore! It's special to see people who've known you your whole life.
ReplyDeleteYour cherry tomatoes are so cute!
Aren't they? We were gifted this tomato plant so we weren't sure what to expect. We even wondered if they might just be green tomatoes. I'm glad to see them finally getting some color!
DeleteIt's so nice to meet old friends. The years just seem to drop away.
ReplyDeleteOf course you're still missing Olga. My girlhood springer spaniel, Punch, used to sleep at the foot of the stairs, and I used to step over the then-empty space for months after he left.
Punch probably slept there because he knew you'd have to step over him to go anywhere. He was keeping an eye on you!
DeleteYou're not alone until your pet's gone, true. They're company, sometimes a bit too much, as when my cats would wrap themselves around my neck in a heatwave.
ReplyDeleteI love the word kniphofia!!
Yeah, they can be exhausting, but they sure are missed when they're gone. Kniphofia IS a good word, but I always have to remind myself how to spell it!
DeleteYou'd think with so many Americans living abroad the system would be rather routine, but bureaucracy doesn't DO routine!
ReplyDeleteAs my mother used to say, "It's like I'm the first person to ever have this problem!"
DeleteI used my first little tomato yesterday, popped it into my chicken dish.
ReplyDeleteIt would be hard without my having my dogs, even though they make some things harder, like travel. Sending hugs Steve.
Dogs are definitely a trade-off. They tie you to your home, but in return there's a lot of love and devotion!
DeleteRelax and enjoy the days you have left before school starts. My grandsons start August 14th so the summer flew by!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how fast it goes. I'm surprised every year.
DeleteIt is always nice to re-connect with old friends.
ReplyDeleteYour tomatoes are looking good. Fresh homegrown veggies are the best.
It is shocking how quiet a home gets without a pet. For this reason, I always get another pet in 6 months to a year.
We're thinking we'll hold off for a year. I won't notice it as much once I'm back at work.
DeleteAw. Look at those pretty little tomatoes! Now don't let them get overripe. They look just about perfect right now to me. Listen to me- giving you advice! Haha. I apologize.
ReplyDeleteUgh. Even your talking about the wills and stuff makes me anxious. I hate all that stuff.
Glad your knives got spoken for but even happier for you that you got to visit with an old friend. That is special.
I hate the estate planning stuff too, but we have to do it, don't we? And Dave is hopeless at practical financial stuff like that. It all falls to me. (Complain complain)
DeleteI used to know just about everyone living in Bellingham. No longer, SO many people! I tried to find Lenore via google but could not. Anyway, glad you could meet and have a good chin wag!
ReplyDeleteWe have our will sorted, I think, there may be surprises but we won't care because we will be dead. Complications of being in two countries has got to be frustrating and time consuming. Government wants their gold and will shake you down to zero!
I wish I'd asked her what school she works at. I'm feeling about the same way about our will -- I want to plan for contingencies but at some point you just gotta say, "Who cares? I'll be dead!"
DeleteSigh. Know the feeling. The only way it got better is when I had a new pal attached to my leg.
ReplyDeleteSeparate paperwork for two systems not an option?
I don't think so, because one system's laws treat inherited property different from the other system. It's a nightmare.
DeleteWills are complicated when it's just one country. Administering my step-grandma's and now my mom's is driving me to an early grave from the stress! Bellingham! My younger daughter lived up there for a number of years, graduating from WWU.
ReplyDeleteYeah, estate planning and execution is no fun for anyone involved!
DeleteI love the red hot pokers. Marc and I did very simple and basic wills about 10 years ago. I should probably go over it and refresh it. No big changes though except a few specific bequeaths if I outlive Marc.
ReplyDeleteIf we lived in one country we'd probably be able to have simple wills too. We don't even own any real estate. But planning for two legal systems is a nightmare.
DeleteRed-hot pokers are abundant around here. It almost seems strange to me to see them in an English garden. I recently wrote a simple will. Now I need to get it printed and witnessed. In Arizona, it's not valid in digital format. It must be printed with valid signatures.
ReplyDeleteThey are quite versatile plants! You'd think England would be too chilly and damp for them but I guess South Africa (where they're from) is quite cold at certain times of year, and apparently they live in damp ravines.
DeleteGood to reconnect with old friends. Seems like a busy week. Take Care. Hugs. :)
ReplyDeleteIt has been very busy! Yes, the reconnection was such a pleasure.
DeleteThe whole last will thing was a seemingly endless and expensive story and just after we had done it, in two languages, and paid for it, we found out that in the EU a simple handwrittem last will and testament co-signed by a witness is sufficient. All that tax caution and the long list of whatever we paid the legal notary for and never really understood just applies automatically to the best possible outcome for the heirs.
ReplyDeleteUgh! Well, all we can do is follow the advice of the experts (lawyers), but I do often suspect they're making things unnecessarily complicated.
DeleteHow exciting to reminisce with an old friend. I really enjoyed reading about Blackpool.
ReplyDeleteGood! I had a lot of fun on that trip.
DeleteThe baby tomato’s signify hope
ReplyDeleteThey are a very hopeful sign, it's true. A promise of future enjoyment!
DeleteCongratulation on ripe tomatoes! Sympathies on the empty house. Good luck with the dual-country wills.
ReplyDeleteChris from Boise
Thank you, thank you and thank you. :)
DeleteThose little tomatoes are beautiful! I'd be tempted to pick them so nothing happens to them before Dave gets home.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how you can hear nails clicking, sighing, etc. even when they're not there anymore. I miss seeing Olga here.
I know, I feel bad for all my readers who miss her almost as much as I do! I feel like my blog is going to be less interesting for a while. :(
DeletePretty tomatoes! Maybe we'll try growing some next year. We were pretty successful in Ohio, but have had no luck down here. Isn't that weird?
ReplyDeleteThat IS weird. I would think North Carolina would be prime tomato-growing territory!
DeleteYou've certainly made the most of home-alone time, which is really the best thing to do, but I'm sure the quiet house is challenge. So nice you could spend time with Lenore. I've plucked a few tomatoes, all about the size of a lime (but not Roma). Salad size. A first!
ReplyDelete