Debt; The Yard Next Door; The Yard on This Side; Tobey Maguire as Spidey

As I think I've mentioned before, mother had two credit cards solely in her name. At no point was I listed as a cosigner or in any other way connected to the cards.

However, when I moved here, I stopped using my personal credit cards, and began using her's by virtue of my power of attorney.

One of the first questions, I asked the bankruptcy attorney was what was my responsibility for the debt. In fact, I asked the question several times, because it bothered me. The answer was the same each time: I was not responsible.

Normally, I guess such questions are resolved at probate. But I was joint tenant with mother with right of surviorship. Which means that on her death, everything became mine. Hence, no probate.

Even if there had been probate, and both cards were listed as debts under my name, the bankruptchy proceedings would have eliminated the situation.

Yesterday evening, I received a call from an attorney representing Sears. I explained that I'd written Sears in early May explaining the events and including a death certificate. But he said that Sears does not pass along information to him. Huh! How wonderfully inept!

I explained about filing for banruptcy, and he then wanted to know how the account could be settled. WTF! I barked back at him that I had no legal responsibility for the account.

I think he was having trouble understanding the lack of probate. So I tried explaining that.

I'm fairly certain he knew that there was no legal responsibility, but he was trying to see if he could get something anyway.

He also mentioned that a letter had been mailed that day that I assume will go through the same information.

This afternoon, I got a call from an attorney representing the other card. Again, he was not aware of the letter I'd sent. I promised him I'd mail him a copy of the death certificate tomorrow.

How really irritating! Does this never end?

The yard to the north of me has not been cleaned or cleared in at least a year. I keep intending to complain. Yesterday afternoon, I opened my backdoor, and there was a truck and trailer with assorted lawn equipment. I thought, "Oh, boy! At last!"

For about 30 minutes, half-a-dozen guys hacked and slashed their way around as though they were building a road through the Amazonian jungle.

When they finished, I walked over and indeed it does look a path in the Amazonian jungle. I expected to see a little man in a loin cloth with a spear. I'm sure tomorrow, I'll find a python coiled around one of the pine trees.

Never did I dream that cleaning the yard would be this big a task. After Hercules finished cleaning the Augean Stables, he would have taken on look at the back, and said, "Screw this!. He would have then hopped the next flight to Cleveland to become a stripper.

I've cleaned out the bed under the front windows. Not too arduous. Mostly leaves and pine straw.

Over the weekend, I plowed into the bed on other side of the front steps. Yuck! Ivy! Ivy! Ivy! Twisted and twined around every plant. And a prodigious root system of interlocking shrubs, vines and plants. But after three days of pulling, prying, cutting, snipping, digging and chopping, it is at last clean. Did I mention the bees? Somehow, I managed to get stung on the ankle by an angry bee.

Once upon a time, there was a brick border that I'm thinking of replacing and filling the bed with some type of mulch.

Amongst all this, I keep plodding away at the patio. I finally got all the bricks out and grouped by category. But the soil is a giant conglomerate of roots including several biggies from a nearby pine. I worked for around three hours this morning on removing them. Some require the reciprocating saw. But the saw has to have new blades, or it becomes too dfficult.

I came across a photo of Tobey in his tight Spidey suit that I just had to post. It's from the recent exterior filming in NYC. Note to producers: Leave the fucking bulge alone!

PAX!