Bfth's Boring Blog

Approximately one year ago I was dealing with my mom's estate and  Bank of America .  It was a painful and frustrating process (as documented here:   https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2022/08/if-you-like-aggravation-youll-love-this.html ,  https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-update.html ,  https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2022/08/boa-is-annoyed-with-me.html    and  https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2022/08/jumping-hurdles.html ) exactly what you need while you are grieving and dealing with a million other stressors in life. Just over a month ago my dad died (which you are well aware of if you've been reading this blog).  Once again I am dealing with  Bank of America .  My initial interaction with  BoA   went much better thanks to a gentleman (and I mean that in every sense of the word) by the name of Mr. Robinson who helped me previously close out my parent's safe deposit box and then toward t...

 So, my dad's been dead for a month now.  I am worn out (or should that be worn down?).  I realize that this maybe be crass, but death is the gift that keeps on giving.  Who has time to grieve and mourn when there is so much administrative "stuff" (okay, B.S.) to do?  You keep jumping through hoops, thinking that this one might be your last and it never is. Now I guess I am lucky and/or privileged. I could afford to pay for funeral expenses and there is an estate to be dealt with.  (Estate sounds so grand.  Am I living in Downton Abbey?  I wish...or do I?)  Last year when my mom died, there were two banks to deal with and an asset management service to deal with.  Later I dealt with the car.  I never got around to transferring the title of the house (which my mother left to me, but my dad was living there).  Now that my dad has died, it's on my list of things that I need to do.  (Actually, I'm waiting for their attorney ...

Does this feel familiar?  Haven't we done this before?  It was just a little over a year ago that many of us were in this same place, mourning the loss of my mother.  Getting my father into this church was a chore but done thanks to Rev. Brooks Hundley.  He sat in a wheelchair right there.  And now here we are again.  As each of you here know, my dad could be a difficult man.  One of the reasons I believe he was so "difficult was that when he committed to something; he was resolute. Those things that he was passionate about, he was fully dedicated to.  He did NOT do anything halfway.  When he was in, he was IN.  That goes for when I married Steve and he made sure every detail was taken care of at the yacht club that evening, including blocking out a special parking spot just for our car.  It goes for when we decided to adopt James and at the very last minute (just days after he was born and before we could return home) we needed ext...

Thank you to all of you who are committed to the BBYRA and Sanderlings, and those NBYC members who continue to make this annual regatta a possibility in its 47th year and hopefully for another 47 or more.   My parents were dedicated to sailing on Barnegat Bay.  For DECADES they ran this regatta, meticulously planning every detail to make sure that this day ran smoothly.  It was important to them. YOU and your experience were important to them.   Last year, after my mother passed away, this day was renamed in their honor.  It officially became the Steve & Betsy Foster Sanderling Regatta. My dad, who had mobility challenges, was able to attend this event last year and I believe this was the last time he was able to partake in a social outing.  To all of you who were there that day, Thank You for making it so special.   My dad passed away on July 1st, 357 days after my mom.  You honor them both by coming here today and sailing.  You honor ...

For the second time in a week, I visited my town's new bookstore.  Yes, my little town (less than four square miles) now has in addition to its multitude of nail salons and pizza places, a cozy bookstore.  Its right next to one of three coffee shops that are in the town limits and it's a lovely little place.  It's exactly what a neighborhood bookstore SHOULD.  Barnes and Noble overwhelms me, this shop comforts me. I'm of an age when I miss bookstores, record shops, and pharmacies.  All of these things used to be in my town, but until this new bookstore opened last week, had gone by the wayside.   I'm feeling a little nostalgic.  I wonder how many people remember that there WAS a bookstore in town in the 1970s.  I don't recall the name of the store, but I do remember its location, about half a mile (or less) from the new store.  On the same main "drag" but the opposite side of the street.  The building, as I remember it, was small....

I'm back at my workstation, on the 4th floor of a building in Newark.  I can't remember the exact last time I was here.  It was probably mid-June.  But the last time I was here my son was not yet a high school graduate; my father was still alive.  So it's a bit weird to be sitting here in the dim light (the way I like it; until my co-worker comes in and turns on the light to full glare) looking out at the haze that sits over the city.  I don't want to be here (even though it is cooler than working in my home office, though soon I suppose I will be freezing and having to put on my company fleece over my sleeveless sundress which is the right thing to wear when it is going to be over 90 outside).  I've been working remotely from one of my two homes.  (How awkward is it to say that?  It sounds like I have a lot of money, when I don't.  I do have more money than I've had before and once upon a time I would have considered myself well off, but the...

 We are more than mid-way through the month of July and summer is quickly going.  Too quickly!  As usual, I'm not sure where the time is going, but the reality of what's coming is slapping me in the face. Yesterday my son got his room assignment and the name of his roommate.  In all honesty, the reason WE knew is because my husband and I attended a college webinar (my son DID NOT, but should have, and he WILL be attending next Wednesday nights which focuses on living on campus) and they mentioned that students had been emailed their room assignments.  So, when he got home from his "date" with his girlfriend, we had him check his email and there it was! So the exciting news is that he will be living on the 13th floor of the dorm that houses (mostly) freshman (I believe) and that his room SHOULD have a harbor view.  (As someone pointed out the view from across the river is better than the view you get from NYC.  You are LOOKING at the city. Or maybe ...