Are your affairs in order?

I saw this post online.  I don't know if everything applies to where I live, but I thought it was great advice.  I've been executrix for three people.  The best advice to give people is put someone you trust as a signatory on your bank accounts.  It makes everything so much easier.  

Our affairs are all in order.  It's detailed and easy for anyone to find.   

When my husband's mother passed away, she prepaid her funeral expenses in 1950!  The funeral director was stunned at how much the price increased.  After she was buried, we prepaid our funerals too!  

This information is for those of you who don’t have your affairs in order. Make sure all bank accounts have direct beneficiaries. The beneficiary need only go to the bank with your death certificate and an ID of their own.  

We opted to put a beneficiary on our bank accounts.

**You cannot "TOD" Transfer On Death in British Columbia.  However, you can add someone to your title so when you pass, it is theirs with no taxes.

- TOD = Transfer On Death deed if you own a home. Completing this document and filing it with the court saves your heirs thousands. This document allows you to transfer ownership of your home to your designee. All they need to do is take their ID and your Death Certificate and they will then have the deed signed over. Doing this will avoid the home having to go through probate. 

- Living Will: Allows one to put in writing exactly what you want done in the event you cannot speak for yourself when it comes to healthcare decisions. 

- Durable Power of Attorney: Allows one to designate a person to make legal decisions if one is no longer competent to do so. 

- Power of Attorney for Healthcare: This document allows one to designate someone to make healthcare decisions for their person. 

- Last Will and Testament: Designates to whom personal belongings will go too.

- Funeral Planning Declaration: States one’s wishes as far as disposition of the body and the service/s. 

- If the above documents are completed, you can AVOID probate. If all the above is not done, you have to open an estate account at the bank. All money that doesn’t have direct beneficiaries goes into this account. You have to have your executor to open the estate account. The executor also has to publicize your death in the newspaper or post publication at the courthouse, to allow anyone to make a claim on your property. - It’s a complete nuisance. 

- Make a list of all banks and account numbers, all investment institutions with account numbers, lists of credit cards, utility accounts, etc. Leave clear instructions as to how and when these things are paid. Make sure heirs knows where life insurance policies are located. 

- Make 100% sure SOMEONE knows your Apple ID, bank ID account logins and passwords!

- Make sure you have titles for all automobiles, campers, motorcycles etc

- MOST IMPORTANTLY!- Talk with those closest to you and make all your wishes KNOWN. Talk to those whom you’ve designated, as well as those close to you whom you did not designate. - Do this to explain why your decisions were made and to avoid any lingering questions or hurt feelings. 

Hope this lights a spark to encourage all your friends and family to take care of these things and to make it easier for those we all leave behind. There is no template for these documents. these are quite simply, written documents, in your own words, and an exercise in just instructing your wishes to be carried out in detail in plain English. 

The above list at least helps you start an important conversation with your loved ones.

If any of my legal friends finds something wrong, please let me know.  My legal knowledge is from Judge Judy!

Ken Kirkby 1940 - 2023

When we lived in Richmond in the early 1970's, Ken Kirkby was our neighbour.  His wife was lovely and I remember when she gave birth to her son.  After her son was born, Ken left and they divorced.  He painted in his living room.  His art was incredible.  He was a quiet man.  

The home was sold and his wife said he moved up north. He was also a fly fisherman and Cec met him a few years after he moved on Peterhope Lake.  They were both flyfishing!  I've followed his artwork since we knew him.  I was sorry to hear he passed away.  I thought you would be interested in this Canadian artist!

Ken Kirkby entered the world on September 1, 1940, in the middle of an air raid over London during the Second World War. He later joked that this explosive arrival foreshadowed the intensity and determination he would bring to his art.

After the war, his family moved to Parede, Portugal, a seaside village where the Atlantic crashed against craggy cliffs. It was here that Kirkby’s artistic instincts took hold. He began drawing obsessively, absorbing the textures of the sea, the light, and the stories of the people around him. At just 16, he held his first exhibition in Lisbon—an immediate sellout that hinted at the career to come.

By the late 1950s, Portugal was tightening under dictatorship. On his 18th birthday, Kirkby made a bold decision: he brought his family to Canada, a country he had dreamed about thanks to stories from a whaler mentor who spoke of icebergs, Inuit hunters, and the northern lights. He arrived in Vancouver on September 2, 1958, ready to reinvent his life.

What followed was extraordinary.  For five years, Kirkby walked, paddled, and sledded across the Arctic—from Coppermine to Baffin Island.  He lived with Inuit communities, absorbing their stories, humour, and resilience.  He encountered inuksuit—stone figures that had guided Inuit travellers for thousands of years—and became fascinated by their quiet authority.

These years changed him forever.  He witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by Inuit communities and made a promise to an Inuk grandmother: he would find a way to raise awareness in the South about the struggles of the North.

Kirkby’s early Canadian success came in the late 1960s with paintings of Western landscapes.  But his heart belonged to the Arctic, and he began painting inuksuit—long before the symbol became widely recognized in Canadian culture.  At first, galleries weren’t interested.  But Kirkby persisted, convinced that these stone figures could speak to Canadians about the land and the people who shaped it.

His life’s most ambitious project was Isumataq, a monumental Arctic landscape measuring 12 feet high and 152 feet long.  The title means “an object in the presence of which wisdom might reveal itself.” It took decades to complete and stands as one of the largest oil paintings in Canadian history.

Eventually, Kirkby settled on Vancouver Island, fulfilling a dream sparked by early fishing trips along Nile Creek. He painted daily—often for long hours—and became known not only as a painter but as a storyteller, environmental advocate, and master fly fisherman.

He married fellow artist Nana Cook in 2017.  They both wore chest waders and exchanged their vows standing in the waters of Tunkwa Lake.  She was also a fly fisher and  together they created a shared artistic life on the coast, producing books and exhibitions that celebrated the landscapes they loved.  

Ken Kirkby continued painting with remarkable energy well into his eighties. He passed away peacefully on June 20, 2023, at his home on Vancouver Island, surrounded by family. He was 82.

https://ken-kirkby.com/

Happy 100th Fay

 

Back in the 1980's I worked with Laurie.  We've been friends ever since.  Laurie's mom was a single mother and at 55 she had terminal cancer.  Her best friend Fay was a nurse.  Fay quit her job to look after Laurie's mom.  Her mom asked Laurie to always look after Fay.  She is a lovely single lady with no family in Canada.  Laurie has always looked after Fay.  She started to get dementia a few years ago and now is living in Dr. Al Hogg Pavilion which is part of Peace Arch Hospital.

Laurie came to visit my brother-in-law while I was visiting and I went over to see Fay at her birthday party.  Phil was playing his guitar and singing to the crowd,  He had a great voice and sang songs all the people in the facility would remember.  Fay sang along with some and actually conducted him with a chocolate bar.

It was a lovely afternoon for a lovely lady!  Happy 100th Fay.

She received greetings from the Governor General and King Charles and Queen Camilla.  Laurie had them framed and they are putting them up in her room!

Rachael Maddow at UBC

Every so often, someone recommends something that turns out to be an absolute gem.  That was the case when my cousin Laurie told me to watch Rachael Maddow’s recent interview at the University of British Columbia. I’ve followed Rachael for years through her MSNBC program, and I’ve always admired her intelligence, her clarity, and her deep respect for history. But this UBC conversation reminded me why she stands apart in today’s media landscape.

Rachael Maddow isn’t just a broadcaster.  She’s a historian at heart—someone who understands that the past is never really past.  Her academic background shines through in everything she does, and in this interview, it was on full display.  She weaves historical context into modern political analysis with a fluency that feels effortless, but it’s rooted in years of study, curiosity, and genuine respect for the craft of storytelling.

What struck me most was her ability to make complex issues feel both accessible and urgent.  She doesn’t sensationalize.  She doesn’t shout.  Instead, she invites you into the conversation, guiding you through the threads of history that shape the world we’re living in today.  It’s a rare skill—and one that feels increasingly precious.

Watching her speak at UBC, I was reminded of why I’ve been drawn to her work for so long.  She’s not just reporting the news; she’s helping us understand it.  She brings context, nuance, and humanity to topics that can otherwise feel overwhelming.  And she does it with a calm confidence that makes you feel like you’re in capable hands.

Laurie was absolutely right to nudge me toward this interview.  It’s one of those conversations that stays with you—thought-provoking, grounded, and rich with insight.  If you appreciate journalism that respects its audience and honours the complexity of our world, Rachael Maddow continues to be one of the best voices out there.

This interview was presented by the UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs.  It  is an one hour and twenty-one minutes and well worth watching!

I was robbed!

I’m ok — just a bit shaken up, but I’ll be fine.

I was robbed yesterday afternoon in broad daylight at the gas station.

After it happened my hands were shaking, I felt dizzy and I was probably in shock. My money was gone, so I called the police. They were fantastic and even called an ambulance because my blood pressure was through the roof.

The officer asked if I knew who did it…

I said:

“Yes… it was pump number 2.” ⛽️

Diana never stopped being a Royal

The palace stripped Diana of her title the day after the divorce was finalized. She had one year left to live.  The divorce between Charles and Diana was finalized on August 28, 1996. The following day, a letter arrived at Diana's office from the Lord Chamberlain's department. It informed her that, effective immediately, she was no longer entitled to use the title Her Royal Highness. She would be known, from that point forward, as Diana, Princess of Wales — not Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales. 

The distinction is not ceremonial.  It is constitutional.  It meant that anyone meeting Diana was no longer required to bow or curtsy.  It meant she had been formally removed from the inner circle of the institution she had represented for fifteen years.

Diana had not been told the decision was coming.  She learned of it the day it happened.  Those close to her described her reaction as one of genuine shock — not because she had expected to remain inside the institution, but because of the speed and the timing.  The ink on the divorce papers was barely dry.

She was 35 years old. She had two sons who retained their HRH titles.  She did not.  When William and Harry were in public with their mother after August 1996, protocol required that they be addressed before her — because they outranked her.  Her own children, formally, took precedence.

Diana died on August 31, 1997 — exactly 368 days after the title was removed.  In that final year, she walked through Angolan minefields, campaigned for a global landmine ban, and sat at the bedsides of dying people in hospices across the world.  She did all of it without the three letters the palace had decided she no longer deserved.

The title was gone.  The work continued.  The world noticed the work.

The tulips in Ottawa

In 1943, a baby was born in a hospital room that had temporarily stopped being part of Canada.  It sounds impossible. It happened anyway. And eighty years later, twenty thousand tulips still arrive in Ottawa every spring because of it.

The story begins in 1940, when Germany invaded the Netherlands. The Dutch royal family fled. Queen Wilhelmina escaped to London, where she ran a government-in-exile. Her daughter, Crown Princess Juliana, heir presumptive to the Dutch throne, was sent further away for safety. She and her two young daughters, Beatrix and Irene, crossed the Atlantic and settled in Ottawa, Canada.

For three years, the royal family lived there quietly. Juliana sent her children to local schools. She shopped in neighborhood stores. She became a familiar, well-liked figure in the capital.  In the autumn of 1942, Juliana announced she was pregnant with her third child.  That's when the lawyers got involved.

The problem was citizenship. Canada grants citizenship to anyone born on Canadian soil. If Juliana's baby was born in Ottawa, the child would automatically become a Canadian citizen and a British subject. Under the Dutch constitution, that could complicate the child's place in the royal succession.

The solution had to be precise. Canada could not declare a hospital room to be Dutch territory. No country has that power over another's land. But Canada could do something else.

On December 26, 1942, King George VI, acting in his role as King of Canada, signed a proclamation under the War Measures Act. It declared that the place where Juliana gave birth would be temporarily extraterritorial. For the duration of the birth, that space would not be Canadian soil.

The baby's Dutch citizenship would come through her mother's bloodline, as Dutch law allows. But the baby would not also become Canadian, because she would not technically be born in Canada.

Four rooms on the third floor of Ottawa Civic Hospital were set aside for Juliana. One for the princess. One for the baby. One for her nurse. One for a security guard.  The rooms overlooked Holland Avenue.

On January 19, 1943, Princess Margriet Francisca was born. She was the first and only royal ever born in North America.  She was named after the marguerite, the flower worn by Dutch citizens as a symbol of resistance to the Nazi occupation.

In the occupied Netherlands, the news of her birth was a rare moment of hope. The royal family still existed. A new princess had arrived. The future had not been extinguished.

The war continued for two more years. In 1945, it was the First Canadian Army that led the liberation of the Netherlands. When they arrived, they found a starving population. The last months of the occupation, known as the Hunger Winter, had devastated the country. Canadian forces distributed food and supplies. Many Dutch civilians saw them not just as liberators but as the people who kept them alive.

After the war, the royal family returned home. And Princess Juliana wanted to say thank you.

In the autumn of 1945, she sent one hundred thousand tulip bulbs to Ottawa.  The following year, she sent another twenty thousand and asked that a flower bed be created at the hospital where Margriet was born. She promised to send ten thousand more every year.

She kept that promise. After she became Queen in 1948, the gifts continued. Today, eighty years later, the Netherlands still sends twenty thousand tulip bulbs to Ottawa every spring. Ten thousand from the royal family. Ten thousand from the Dutch Bulb Growers Association on behalf of the people of the Netherlands.

The bulbs are planted in two beds. One at the Ottawa Hospital's Civic Campus, where Margriet was born. The other in Commissioners Park, in a bed named after Queen Juliana.

Every May, over a million tulips bloom across Ottawa. The Canadian Tulip Festival draws more than six hundred and fifty thousand visitors. The tulip was designated Ottawa's official flower in 2001.

If you have ever received a gift so generous it changed the way you thought about the person who gave it, you understand what a hundred thousand bulbs meant to a city that had kept a family safe.

Princess Margriet is still alive. She has returned to Canada many times. On a visit in 2017, she said simply: "I was born in Canada. So somehow, quite naturally, I feel strongly attached to my place of birth."

A hospital room that temporarily stopped being a country. A princess born in a space between nations. And millions of flowers, returning every spring, reminding two countries that some debts are paid not in currency but in color.

Commissioners Park, Ottawa