Applied for Social Security on Wednesday

So...I went down to the Social Security office on Wednesday and applied for Social Security, which is effective in January.

If you are still very young, or already collecting Social Security, this might not interest you, but...  If you are in my position as a divorced, single person approaching 66 years old, this might be something you would be interested in.  And this is a good way for me to document what I'm doing so I'll remember if I need to refer back to it.

I don't have any photos today, so I'm throwing in some odd-ball pictures that didn't fit into any recent posts.  Like this one that I liked:

I took this on my way to work a few weeks ago - it was early and the moon was still going down.  The Pacific Ocean is just beyond the trees, a block or two.  The red light turned green just as I snapped it.  I wasn't looking at the surrounding area, just the full moon.  It could have been a beautiful photo, but if I'm counting right, there are 5 poles with 11 signs on them including the green lights.  Just in this tiny area.  Must by why RVers take the roads less traveled.

As a divorced woman who is not currently remarried I am entitled to collect on my SS account, or I can apply for one-half of my ex-husband's "full retirement" monthly benefit.  The marriage has to have lasted for at least ten years, and it had to end in a legal divorce.  I re-confirmed that this is what I can do and want to do.

The only problem is I have to bring in a Certified copy of both my marriage certificate and divorce decree, neither of which I have.  And maybe never did have.  It makes sense that they would want this proof, though.  I need to prove we were married more than ten years, and it's so easy to forge documents nowadays.  I could probably change a document and make good copies if I wanted to and was dishonest.  I wouldn't and I'm not, but I could.

So, today I am printing out the necessary forms for Monterey County for the marriage certificate and Santa Clara County for the divorce decree.  I have to complete them, go to a Notary Public to have them notarized, then mail them in with a check to the counties.  When I receive the Certified copies, I'll bring them in for the Social Security office to make copies for their file.  Then they can enter my claim for Social Security benefits.

Two new things I learned in my visit Wednesday.  Even though I am eligible as of January 1, I won't receive my Social Security check (actually it will be an automatic deposit into my checking account) until the third week of February.  What you are eligible for in one month, you get the next month.  And depending on your birth date (or in my case my ex-husband's birth date) you might get it in the first, second, third or fourth week of that month.  In my case, the third week.

I thought I'd have the deposit in my checking account the first week of January, but instead it will be the third week of February.  Bummer!

The other thing I learned is that since our marriage lasted more than ten years, if my ex-spouse dies first and has a larger benefit than mine, I can collect widow's benefits.  In the same amount he was receiving.  Even though we are divorced.  Interesting...  the only problem is that I cannot know what he is receiving if he started collecting before full retirement age.  Which apparently he did.  They also cannot tell me what he is eligible for at full retirement age, only that I will receive one-half of it.  Go figure, literally.  One-half times two equals full retirement benefit.  Duh.

So I won't know what my income could be in the future until he dies.  Assuming he predeceases me. 

But for now, since I'm still working full time, I'll collect on his benefit and let mine continue to grow until I retire and/or need the additional income each month. I might be able to retire on his alone and let mine grow until I'm 70.  That would be nice! 

I'll end with this photo taken from my patio - also a few weeks ago.  The moon coming up over the hills.  I love my view:

From Me and My Dog, Katie, have a wonderful Friday, everyone!  We are! : )

Hummingbirds

I finally got a few pretty good hummingbird photos.   My feeder is right outside my sliding door, so it's easy to keep an eye on.  There's one bird, the one in these photos, who has taken over this feeder and won't let any other birds near it.  I guess it's pretty common for these birds to be territorial.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, I think

 

 Standing Guard

I have a camellia tree right nearby that's just starting to bloom.  When it's in full bloom I'll take a picture of it and show you, it's so pretty.  This bird perches in the tree and watches the feeder.  As soon as another hummingbird comes near, I hear this loud humming, and it's dueling hummers.  He always wins.  He takes a drink of the nectar, and goes back to his observation perch in the tree.  I didn't get any photos of the duels, they are way too fast for me and my camera!

 

I like this one - it shows his tail feathers.

Here's a photo of him hovering in the air with all his feathers spread, unfortunately it's blurry.   But still a keeper for me at this point.

I'm still working with this camera and sometimes I guess right, and sometimes I guess wrong.  I'm getting more and more photos I like, but it's an uphill battle.  This camera is an Olympus Stylus with 10X Optical Zoom.  It got it at Costco, and it's not fancy or expensive, but I've never had a camera with different settings.  This one has a few different settings, and then some settings within settings.  I've seen already how different the settings can make the photo look.  So, my photos are a work in progress.  By the time I'm on the road and have some great places to photograph, I should be ready.

This photo, if you click on it, shows his amazing red fluorescent throat feathers.

From me and Katie, have an amazing Thursday everyone!  : )

Hanging bud vases...

I wrote a while ago (October 6)  about some hanging vases I bought to bring with me in my RV.  This is what they look like in my kitchen.  I have a small galley kitchen and they work well here.  These had a rooted plant stem, and I added the rose buds:

 

These little vases have thin wires around the neck, which extend up into a loop for hanging.  They are so light weight, I just put a push pin tack into the wood on the side of the cupboards to hang them from. I'd love to have a garden window, but the estimate was waaaaay more than I was willing to pay, so this at least gives me some "garden" around my sink area.

This is what they look like when I'm out of roses, although there are usually flowers of some kind around here, but I like the roses best.  I also have a lavender bush that's pretty prolific, and sometimes I'll cut two tiny bunches and add those.

 See how much nicer it looks with the flowers?  Colorful and warm.  And pretty and fragrant.

 I think they look great with the flowers.

These will be super in an RV to add color and if there are no flowers available, any little branch or twig would look good, too.  Could look very rustic and decorative.

That's it for today.  From Me and My Dog, have a great day, everyone!  : )

RV loans - whaaaas up with that????? and Katie's warm sweater

I'm doing some preliminary work to see where I can get an RV loan, and what the interest rate would be.  What I've found out so far is that some financial institutions won't lend on a used RV, others will lend only if it's a certain limited number of years old, and at the RV show on Saturday I was talking to a credit union rep and found I can get a better rate if I borrow more money than I want.  

I have great credit, have owned homes all my life, and yet I feel "less than" because I want to buy an RV that's not new or expensive. 

Why should I have to borrow more than I want or need to get a lower interest rate?   I've been really surprised at the information I'm getting.  I could put the whole thing on a credit card for less interest than some financial institutions have quoted me, like my own bank, who I've been with for years.  They offered a ridiculously high rate at an extremely short term.

I'm very disappointed in my local bankers. : (    At one bank I was told he could offer me a lower rate if I applied for a personal unsecured loan instead of an RV loan.   Whaaaas up with that?????

This is a sweater that was hand knitted by my friend Alice for Katie, then she embroidered a square with her name and sewed it on the neck.  This is the warmest sweater Katie has, and on the really cold days, I'm sure glad she has it.

Katie loves wearing it, but we only use it when it's really cold.

It's very thick and covers her well, and keeps her dry if it's raining.

Isn't it cute?

We woke up last night to rolling thunder and blasts of lightening.  Lots of rain.  It's been dreary and dark, raining on and off, all day.  At work, when I went to my car to get something this morning, I saw this guy in front of the car by the building, with rain on his web.  If you click on it, you can see how detailed the web is.

 Isn't it pretty?  I'm not a fan of spiders, but I'm fascinated by these huge guys and their webs.

From me and warmly dressed Katie, have a great Tuesday evening, everyone!  : )

The Pomona RV show

On Saturday I went to the RV show at Pomona, CA.  They had just about anything you would want to see. It was very well laid out and organized.  Even though I'm going to be buying a used RV, it's nice to see the shiny new ones with all the beautiful interiors.

Gypsy, I did see Lance there, but by the time I spotted them I was so tired, I just kept walking out the gate to my car.  Now I wish I had taken the time to do a walk through so I'd know what your future rig looks like inside. Oh well, next time.

I caught part of a seminar about taking an RV to Alaska, and it was very interesting.  I'm not even going to Alaska in the foreseeable future, but sure did enjoy his talk and photos.  Some of the things he talked about can be used by anyone crossing the border into Canada, too, or just in general.

I also went to a seminar about full timing.  It was very interesting as well and I learned some things I haven't seen in blogs or forums.

I did some looking at Class C rigs, but most of them I've seen before.  There was one that was interesting to me.  Here are some photos:

This is the layout

It has the cabover bed, and then it also has two dinettes.  At first I thought that was kind of weird, but then I thought, "office/craft space."  The rear dinette would be a good office space.  The front dinette is large, and could be used as a couch also.

Do you have any opinions about this configuration for a solo RVer who'd love to have an office to use for computer stuff and crafting activities that don't always have to be put away?

Excuse the blurry photos, they are taken from the video I took with my little Olympus Stylus camera.

 

This was the only Class C rig I saw that had something different in the layout. I thought it was worth thinking about.  I can't wait to start my new lifestyle, but am kind of glad I still have time to think about everything.  It's going to be quite a decision to make as far as what I end up with.

Well, you've all done it, and I guess when the time comes I will, too.

I have to tell you, I keep thinking about Margie and Bruce and Annie.  I had a lot of things to do yesterday and today, but they kept popping in throughout the day.  I'd guess you are all having the same thing happen.  I hope Annie and their family are doing okay, they are in my thoughts and prayers.

Sam & Donna, Katie's Puppy of the Day looks like a "Riggen the Wonderdog" puppy.  : )

From me and Katie, have a nice evening, everyone...