First World Problems

February was a cold month by Vernon standards and there was lots of snow in the hills, so I've done as much skiing after returning from Mexico as I did before leaving. Aside from that, I've been trying to resolve two 'issues': one concerning my blog and the other involving 

the easements connected to the bizarrely shaped property that this house sits on. 

When I first saw the plan of this property with its easements spreading out like long arms forming a 90%angle from the already rather tacked on rectangle of a parking area behind the main lot, I thought it was odd. But Jim discussed it with the lawyer and seemed satisfied that all was in order. Shortly after I moved in I took the sign "Jim's Eccentricity " that Gene had made for the sauna at our first house and attached it to the door of the 1/3 garage that constitutes one of the easements. 

Ten days ago, this and the other easement that extends from it onto 25th Street became an 'issue'. I don't usually use that word because it strikes me as being one of the many pc euphemisms that cloud our language and diminish clarity of thought. But I can't elevate the situation to the level of problem; although, perhaps it is what Jay would call a first world problem. At any rate, it's a bone I've been worrying since I answered a knock on the door one evening about ten days ago to be faced by a woman who introduced herself as the sister of John, the man who has lived alone in the house behind me since I moved in. She informed me that he had died and that she, as the executor of his estate, had lost two potential offers to purchase the property because of the easements against it. She said she had the legal papers in the car and would like to get them and discuss the matter with me. I hadn't even known John was dead and hadn't looked at our ownership papers since Jim died, so I didn't want to jump into a discussion of the eccentric easements there and then. We exchanged names and contact numbers and agreed to get in touch as soon as either of us had more information. 

My thoughts have been troubled by my ignorance of the matter and the vague fears that feed so readily on nothing. But I have also been taking action. I asked Jay what he thought when we Kakaotalked on his birthday. I felt much less anxious about the whole thing after that because we laughed about how weird we and all our friends thought the easements were, and he made some sane suggestions. Also, I was rereading Joseph Conrad's novel Nostromo at the time. It clearly illustrates the folly of excessive devotion to material interests. This also helped me to put things into perspective. And I had an appointment with the lawyer Jim and I had dealt with when we bought the house. He also got a laugh out of the easements and said that such things don't exist any more. But he's going to look into this one and make sure we get a fair settlement. And finally, I talked with Linda, John's sister and executor of his estate, this evening. We had an agreeable chat. She likes the woman who wants to buy their place. Things are looking up. 

 

Tomorrow morning at 11:00 I go to the library to meet the volunteer from Literary Junction who helps seniors with tech. problems. So by tomorrow afternoon my first world problems might be behind me. 

Jay’s chocolate birthday.  He told May not to bother baking a cake but that didn’t deter her from going to the heart of the matter, chocolate.  

Skiing at Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre last week, Priscilla, Jane, Erna, Lynne and me

Snowshoeing in duvets of snow in late February