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A Colourful Hibiscus and an Extra Helping of Toes

I have two important jobs this week while my mother is on vacation. The first is to keep the garden watered. I think I’m doing okay since this beautiful hibiscus bloomed overnight!

The second job is to take care of Boris, the polydactyl wonder:

Can you see his giant mitts?

Boris is just about 99% an outdoor cat. He comes in between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. for food and cuddles, then goes back outside. I was surprised to find him on the porch at 9 this morning when I went to the garage to check up on Bitha and Nee, and even more surprised that he was still there at noon. It is pretty damp out today, so maybe the porch was the one dry lounging spot he could find. Boris is incredibly affectionate and will seek cuddles from anyone; he was just as happy to see me the first night I was in charge as he would have been to see my mother. Boris kept my dad company when he was dying and spent hours and hours in dad’s room providing much needed comfort. So I have a soft spot for this lovely and gentle cat.

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A Date With Grand-Maman

It was coming on noon today and I was thinking that I really should call my grand-mother to plan an outing when the phone rang. Of course, it was her. I think we’re psychically connected!

My grand-mother lives in a seniors’ complex where she has her own independent apartment, but there is also a dining hall, hair salon, chapel, games room, and more. She was calling to invite me to eat dinner with her at the dining hall tonight. She has 10 meals there a month. I’ve been curious to see what sort of food she gets there, so I agreed to meet her at her place at 5PM.

Well… we kind of got our wires crossed. I walked over and went up to her place at the stroke of 5:00 just as she was heading down to the lobby to meet me. It took almost a full half hour before we found each other! I hadn’t wanted to go down in fear that I would miss her and she had actually gone out on the street to see if I was coming. I told her everything was good at my end and that, hey, it made a funny story to blog about tonight. *petit clin d’oeil*/*winks*

We were late for dinner (boy, seniors eat early!), but there was still food. We started off with some nice salads, skipped the soup, and opted for the fish as main course. We were served a really nice rice with sole stuffed with minced shrimp and a side of a really yummy butter and wine sauce. We agreed that it was a shame that such a lovely meal was served with mushy asparagus. Grand-maman says the food is usually very ‘ordinaire’ (eg. they had hot chicken sandwiches last night), but that they know what to do with fish.

There was no choice left for dessert and we were served bagatelle, something I had never encountered before even though it is apparently a traditional French-Canadian trifle (bagatelle literally means trifle, as in a little something that’s nothing as well as the dessert). I can’t even describe the dessert it was so odd. There was a white part that looked like a custard, but was rather solid, closer to cranberry jelly than Jello-O but not quite, and the topping seemed to be a soft apple crumble. Grand-maman wasn’t impressed, but I liked it! The coffee was excellent. So a nice dinner and now I know my grand-mother isn’t being poisoned 10 times a month. 🙂

We went back to her place after, opened a bottle of white wine, and took out the dominoes. I beat her 99 to 256! 🙂

It’s lovely having her walking distance away and we look forward to catching up this summer since I will be here long enough for us to have a few more meals and maybe go out to a movie or museum at some point, too. Je t’aimes, grand-maman!

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Heat Wave

The big news in these parts at the moment is the heat wave. Thankfully, the house has AC, I sleep in the very cool basement, and there is a small pool in the yard.

This cartoon from today’s Journal de Chambly made me laugh:

Prepare for the next heat wave: “Honey, would you pass me a little beer?!”

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Meeting With the Third Party Adjuster

This morning, I met the third party adjuster regarding the claim for things Aviva won’t/can’t cover.

I liked this guy. He didn’t sit there, listen to me prattle, then tell me, “I have everything I need. I’ll let you know their decision when it comes.” Instead, he told me flat out that he feels my claims are justified and, most importantly, they are not fraudulent.

I went in there to argue for $2,700. At the end, he said he had enough to recommend I be cut a cheque for $2,800 but that he suggest I pull out a couple of tax notices of assessment in support of my claim for lost income. I had claimed $500 per week for two weeks, for a total of $1,000. He said that he felt I lost three weeks of income. I went over my notices of assessment and was able to average out to $500 a week between 2010 and 2011, so my claim went from $1,000 to $1,500. I am now waiting to hear about about a $3,300 claim!

I don’t like to talk about how much money I make/live off of/my budget, but I know that the above information is going to raise a few eyebrows. All I will say is that in 2010 and 2011 I also partially lived off of withdrawals from my nest egg. So, no, I am not living on just $1,100 a month. This is the most detail I am ever going to provide about my financial situation. 🙂

Because of the major tropical storm/tornado that happened at the end of May, the adjuster is super busy. So he said that he won’t have a final answer for me till the fall, but that he will do what he can to have a cheque for me by the beginning of October. So it looks like I will likely be getting something. I still need to save up this summer for the toad conversion, but I may not have to save as much to hit the road in the fall. This story may end up having a happy ending after all.

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Cost of the Alberta Trip to Buy My New Toad

I’m meeting with the third party’s adjuster tomorrow morning to discuss my claim for non-Aviva covered expenses due to the accident. I already sent justifications/evidence for things like lost income and supplemental medical coverage, but I didn’t have much to justify my $1,500 for the trip to Alberta to buy my new toad.

So I took about an hour this morning to add up everything and get my receipts in order. My trip to Alberta cost me $1,600 in flights, hotels, taxis, buses, fuel, and food. My estimate was pretty good!

One piece of good news was that I was never charged for the car rental I ended up not using! So I only lost the two nights at the hotel in Calgary, but that was made up by staying at Chez Life on Our Ark in Stettler for two nights.

My breakdown for the trip had been:

$500 for fuel (actual: $596)

$300 for meals and incidentals (actual: $241, with this category including the bus and taxis)

$200 for the hotel (actual: $330 since I got a hotel in Sault Ste Marie)

$50 for a car (actual: $0)

So I have no problem justifying that claim. Now, I just have to get them to understand that buying a car in Quebec was not a viable option. The adjuster is a Quebecer so he does know a bit about how things work in Canada, which may help.

I will be so happy if I get that $2,700 that I am claiming. It’ll cover the toad conversion, meaning that I won’t have to save up anything this summer beyond my usual amount in preparation for departure and I just may be able to take a proper vacation in August. I shouldn’t be out this money and I really hope I don’t have to sue for it. 🙁