Happy weekend! During stressful weeks like this one, it’s good to have pets whose demand for attention pull us away from our troubles for a while, like Penny from reader Muppet2171: “‘Work from home,’ they said. ‘You’ll be more productive,’ they said. They didn’t have a feline baby that required snorgles during the workday.”
Hi, All! Finally got the tax forms I ordered back at the end of
January yesterday. I was beginning to panic. I like to have the
paper forms to work with, and I have no printer to do taxes on
line and print a copy. Call me a Luddite if you will. All I have
is an IPad which Is not the easiest thing to use for taxes. I will
spend the weekend on this task. Aaarrrgghhh! I will need to
stop in here now and then to preserve sanity.
I feel your pain Phred’s Mom. Did Federal but still working on state taxes. This was a tough year trying to figure out taxes as I had my mom’s estate distributions to deal with plus all the changes that were implemented. I’ve been doing our taxes online for years but this time I almost broke down and spent big $$$ to have a professional do them. What’s odd is if we get a refund from Federal, we’ll get one from state but this year I got Federal but have to pay on state. Haven’t figured out what happened there. Oh well, once I get my rebate I’ll pay off the state taxes. Good luck and come up for air once in a while.
I’m with you, AJ, the year I was executor/trix for my mom was super
difficult and I hired a Pro. Ended up costing a fortune in all directions.
That’s why I will try to stick to doing it myself. By the bye, I haven’t
started yet. Had some nausea (oh, those meds) and napped and did
next to nothing. Maybe after lunch. Yeah, right. I always do deductions,
and this time should be a doozy with the spine surgery, etc.
Phred’s Mom, I just did my taxes…. from 2017! I was dreading that it would take hours but it only took about 30 minutes. Whew! That’s a load off my mind – I wish you the same feeling of relief and accomplishment when you’re finished with yours!
What a cutie!! I know I’d never get any work done with her around. She’d have to be locked out of my office and only allowed in at specific break times. Aside from trying to finish up taxes like Phred’s Mom, got hockey, a movie and a film studio garage sale on tap for the weekend. A local studio (did some TV shows like Veronica Mars and low low budget movies) is clearing out their wardrobe trailer and the public is invited to come shopping. I have no idea what we’ll find but if nothing else it might be interesting to paw through “movie star” clothes. And of course all the usual errands. Happy weekend everyone!!
I can’t lock her out. The other 16 hours of the day, it’s the cats’ bedroom, which includes things like their favorite recliner and litter box (that’s the important one for not locking them out).
So true!! If they were locked out I have visions of them acting like the cats from the FreshStep commercials.
Ooh, AJ, wardrobe shopping sounds so exciting! Please let us know what you pick up!
I am grading tests this weekend and trying to plan the rest of the semester so it doesn’t get away from me (again.. like it does every year). And prepping meals for next week. Tonight I’m going to a blues concert – anyone ever heard of Boo Boo Davis? Sounds like the real deal!! Also following the Iditarod.
I forgot to mention that my dad celebrated his 90th birthday this week! I established a blog for him in which I will write stories about growing up with him and lessons he taught me. Lots of people wrote birthday wishes in the comments. He was absolutely stunned by the outpouring of love. If you’re interested, I’ve linked it under my name here (it is meant for a larger audience, not just my DoD!).
Congrats to your Dad N. Fritz and wish him a belated birthday. I read your blog and he sounds like an amazing person (besides being your dad). Reaching 90 is an wonderful achievement and the fact that he’s so active is even better. We should all aspire to be like him if and when we reach that age, personally, I think keeping active and learning new things is what keeps us young.
Thank you for your kind words, AJ! I will pass along your well-wishes! You are absolutely right, my Dad has an amazing attitude which contributes to his longevity (his parents died relatively young). He is the embodiment of a life-long learner.
What a wonderful idea! Your father must be so touched.
Yes, he was very surprised! It was a risk to give him something intangible, but I actually had the idea about a year ago and it seems to have been the right decision!
Happy Belated Birthday to N. Fritz’ DoD! He sounds like an amazing man, with no pretensions but loads of integrity. I’m not sure they make guys like that any more.
Thanks, Lucy’s Mom, I will pass your kind words and wishes on. He is not without his faults, but my dad is a very inspirational person!
That garage sale sounds a treat, AJ. The costumes
will be so tempting for Hallowe’en. Have fun!
Oh wow that sounds like fun! And off the wall interesting! Wish I could say I did that today instead of answering “went for groceries”.
I had a wonderful night out in London last Saturday seeing the opera ‘Akhnaten’ at the Coliseum. It was one of the most stunning shows I’ve ever seen, and must be the only opera (at least in this production) in which the title character has to walk down a staircase, lie flat on the stage, be picked up by a troupe of jugglers and lowered into a pair of trousers, all the while wearing nothing but gold face paint and eye makeup! I hadn’t been to this theatre for over 25 years and couldn’t believe the transformation it’s undergone – in the old days the balcony was only accessible by a sort of tradesmans’ entrance down an alley, now there’s a staircase in the theatre itself. The rather depressing blue colour scheme has been replaced by cream and gold with red curtains and upholstery, and an amazing stained glass skylight has been opened up for the first time in decades. My only complaint is that the seats were a bit narrow, but to be honest that could be because my backside is wider than it was 25 years ago…I spent the night at a basic but perfectly adequate hotel three minutes’ walk from Kings Cross Station, which was handy for the tube and the trip home next morning.
Although my days of long-distance theatregoing are over for the forseeable future there’s some good stuff coming up at my local theatre – touring adaptations of Angela Carter’s ‘Wise Children’ and Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘The Remains of the Day’, Mozart’s ‘Idomeneo’ and ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.
Sounds like a wonderful evening. I wonder what the cost of theater and music is in London and where you are relative to what it costs in New York. I live in Manhattan but I almost never go to theater because a) it’s a lot of musicals and I don’t like musicals, but b) the tickets cost so much that it would have to be the Second Coming for it to be worth it.
I’m with you. When I lived in North Jersey we had friends who
were very much into Broadway shows. I went along with the
B’way trips because I didn’t want to be antisocial, you know.
I hate musicals, too.
I always choose the cheapest seats with a full view of the stage – my ticket for ‘Akhnaten’ was only £20. Had I known when I booked that I’d have to stay overnight (at a cost of £77) I would probably have paid more for a better seat (ie one with a bit more room for my rear end). Tickets for the above-mentioned shows at my local theatre cost between £19 and £29; tickets for my last trips to Stratford-upon Avon cost £49 at the Shakespeare Theatre and £16 at the Swan.
Sounds absolutely delightful, Alice! I saw a rather lackluster performance of Simon Stone’s Medea a couple of weeks ago in Vienna, but then I’m a purist. If you’re going to do Medea (or any play by Euripides) you have to get down and dirty with the psychological motivation behind the characters’ actions!
And they did not? What would you have done differently?
Medea is pretty heavy,no?|
Medea has so many levels. The adaptation was “Jason” had married a younger woman. It attempted to reconcile a modern Medea story (wife sets house on fire, two children die) with Euripides (Medea kills her children because Jason, whose ass she saved by leading him to the golden fleece, is tossed aside because he’s met a princess who isn’t a foreigner).
I tend to be a purist, too. Don’t like
the tinkering with classics.
It’s a sunny Caturday and I’m sick. I was planning to go do my taxes (my dad usually does them but he’s going to teach me this time; also while I’m there I want him to help me figure out phone plans) but I just finished throwing up (at least I hope I’m finished) so I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere today. At least I woke up not feeling great so the only thing in my stomach was some ginger ale. Still not pleasant. Sorry if that’s more than you wanted to know about my day.
Anyway, I suppose it’s a little late but it’s still in the realm of breakfast time, right?
hahahahaha! I always think guinea pigs sound like video games.
Ooh, I love piggies!
Sorry you are sick today, Allein. Ginger ale doesn’t do much for me either
when I’m sick, but it is nice way to replace fluids. Tomorrow will be better
for both of us.
How about using fresh ginger root? Just add it to the ginger ale? I think it would be refreshing too. I have been hearing that some ginger ales don’t have real ginger.
mine does
https://www.brucecostgingerale.com/
‘cept i just drank what was left in my glass and it came right back up. 🙁
Oh, dear…my dad and I were both ill with what sounds like the same virus a few weeks ago. Mercifully the illness is fairly short-lived but very nasty while it lasts.
Yeah, I just learned I can’t do water, either.
It looks like a fancy shmancy ginger ale! It should have worked darn it. Hope you feel better soon.
Keeping it short; not a happy Duckie.
Re taxes: one year when I felt lousy, I wrote the tax office explaining that I was sick and why, and sent them all my tax info. They do them again themselves anyway, don’t they? Maybe some of you can use that option.
Car died, building next to FIL caught fire, hubby work hours reduced, sprained muscles coughing.
On the other hand…
Chickadees, sunshine, taxes done, no raise in strata fees…not working.
Funny how one bad thing can kill all the benefits of the good things, but one good thing does not affect the bad the same way.
Oh, well, nowhere to look but up.
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Hugs, Duckie. I’ve noticed the same thing.
it’s the ten attaboys equal one gotcha phenom.
Sorry for your miseries, Duckie. We are wired to pay attention to the bad – danger! danger! danger!We should all at least try not to feel bad about feeling bad!
BTW, is it just me or does everyone still have to fill in their names and email addresses each time?
Yes, I’m having the same issue. But if that’s what it costs to come here, then so be it.
Uh oh. Mike, my little coloured icon has changed. Does that help narrow down what might be going on?
Me, too.
Plus I’ve read that folks with depression actually have a hard time creating good memories on a neurological level – they just don’t ‘stick’. That sounds valid to me.
Just back from running errands, stopped at Payless since it’s they are going out of business sale and bought a pair of boots half price.
The rest of the weekend will be devoted to starting the preparation for next weekend St-Patricks Day family diner. I’ll be scrubbing every surfaces in the house and my husband will go crazy with the decorations as he does every year.
Taxes are not due until the end of April here so we’ll save that “fun” activity for next month.
Happy birthday to N. Fritz’s dad. Hugs to everybody dealing with taxes, illness, and other unpleasantness.
I’ve spent the day so far working on the bathroom (of course), so now I’m going to take a shower, change the sheets, and then curl up for a long nap. Had a really rough night last night. Trying to deal with bathroom stuff on just a few hours of sleep hasn’t been easy.
PS even though I ask the website to save my info every time I comment, it hasn’t done so. Any tips?
I think we’ve all got this problem
Sorry to hear about everyone’s troubles with taxes, tummys, etc. Here’s hoping the dark clouds pass quickly for you. Just back from the studio rummage sale. Not too bad, didn’t see much of the studio lot, just one of the sound stages and it had nothing exciting in it except for the clothes. Going in I knew the clothes would be small. Sigh, oh for the good old days when I could fit into size 4’s and 6’s but that was like 30 years ago. I would have made out like a bandit – cashmere sweaters around $20, shirts for $5. Did get a nice scarf and hubby picked up some silk hawaiian shirts for a friend ($15! for silk!). Also, hit the outlet stores and picked up some stuff for our upcoming Alaska trip. All in all, not a bad day. Next up is hockey!! Fingers crossed we don’t get our butts whooped like we did last night.