A Pathway Through Thursday

[LadyMaverick]

I've been strolling along the Thursday pathway.

My day started with DD arriving at 7am to get DGD7 ready for school. DS10 was ready to start homeschool on time (YEAH!) and we did a couple hours before taking a break for him to go do some volunteer work.

While DS10 was gone I washed my hair, dried, flat-ironed and then used hot rollers. It takes about 30 minutes hands-on (including 15 minutes to wash/condition) to do all the steps so I guess that isn't too bad of a hair care routine. I like the final outcome and my hair stays looking good for 4-5 days with about a minute a day effort.

Lunch was our monthly get-together at the community center. Everyone in town is invited but it is mostly the "older folks" that come. It is an enjoyable time and good to get to talk to many that don't see frequently.

Our CPA was at the luncheon and he asked if I knew what I was going to do about filing taxes this year. I told him that I had 2 options
(1) I could wait until 10pm on the 14th to do our taxes online like I did last year. Then I could wait for the IRS to send us a letter saying we owed $10k because I put the amounts on the wrong lines. Then I could bring that letter to him and he could submit an amended tax return and we would end up getting a refund from the IRS instead of paying.
OR
(2) I could just bring him the papers this afternoon and he could do our taxes returns. We both agreed that would be the best choice.
So I will dump my filing system (foot stool) out this afternoon and gather all the tax'y type paperwork and take it to him. Thankfully our CPA is a kind and nonjudgemental friend.

DGS21 spent a couple of hours here this afternoon while I was working on the swimming pool. He had the afternoon off from work and it worked out so we had a good visit.

[Nancy]

I did go out in the back yard with the dog, planted more things. Today is better weather than tomorrow's forecast so I need to get back out there and get three more kinds of things in. I have to keep coming back in to look at my chart. Note to self put a copy of that in potting shed. I have seen seed packets in photo albums to keep but I do not keep the seeds from year to year. Plus this is fluid I keep changing my mind where I want stuff.

[Twins' Mom]

Skippable rant ahead.....Have been beyond frustrated at the state website where I understand one can file one's individual income tax rtn. I set up an account for us but it linked to dh's "Professional privilege tax" account and I could only file a business return there. So I think I am going to do it manually, which won't take long. Our state tax is like no other state anyway and to pay TaxAct $20 to do it is ridiculous. I've also been wrangling with TaxAct online and it's been making me crazy. I had to do some research, then went I went back to make changes it wouldn't change. I was deleting lines in the detail but it wouldn't make the change and save. So I ended up deleting all the charitable contributions and re entering all of them. Which is probably okay since when dh looked at the listing before he starting in with this one was that much and another was something else but I wasn't even done at that point. So I also went through the credit card statements and checks he printed. And I found that dh's assistant - he is a financial consultant - had sent us a wrong letter for a contribution of stock. I called the charitable org because I didn't have a receipt for it, and they didn't have it. All of this to say I'd like to take all this stuff to someone else and drop it off too, LadyM! So tonight he'll look at it and start telling me what amounts aren't correct. As long as I'm on a rant, TaxAct is trying everything possible to upsell and clicking through all the fluff is aggravating.

And more ranting, dh is making me crazy by insisting that if we have a check we don't need the acknowledgement/receipt from the charitable organization. The law states that if a contribution is over $250 the receipt in hand is needed before filing the return. The cancelled check doesn't do it and the contribution can be disallowed. And we doubled up on our charitable contributions because of the change in the amount of the itemized deduction so we have a relatively large amount and I want the return to be kosher in case we get questions.

All that to say I didn't go to see mother, but do need to go out to drugstore for scripts and paper for the printer, and to pick up the dog meds. I am completely out of printing paper, between the DAR stuff and this.

I still need to do our state return, I printed the forms and did ds's and will do ours later.

I think I'll head out now. Dh was getting a massage this afternoon so he may be home early. I'm suggesting we eat out, and save the leftover brisket (I'm not sure how much there actually is) for the weekend.

[Twins' Mom]

M was showing me this morning where she planted her tomato plant and flowers and basil and all kinds of things. I want to do that!

LadyM, I've been meaning to ask what you use as weed killer - or do you just hoe them out? My raised planters have a significant amount of weeds from the winter. I was considering just putting a dark tarp over them for a few days to bake the weeds out, but then I thought that it might kill the zinnia seeds that are in the soil from last year. (And I'm running out of time to do if I want to plant soon.) And I don't want to use roundup since I'll have tomatoes and basil there. Does the epsom salt and vinegar stuff work? OR should I just deal with it and hoe the weeds out?


dd uses my Amazon Prime account to order things when she's doing Temple projects. I just got a shipping notice for "Slime Containers, 4 oz." Turns out they are jars she will use for Pesach favors at the temple seder.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

What I love about US taxes due on the 15th is that the stress level of you guys getting things done usually stirs me to start in on mine (due on the 30th!) So I'm not starting at the very last minute. Just close. Our last slips to come in came last week, so now I have no excuses to get started.

I showered. I rested with wet hair for about 20 minutes, then dried my hair and we headed over to the store for the crackers and other things we needed. I'm not feeling like having dinner tonight so dh is making up something for himself. I might change my mind, we'll see. If I do, I can pop something in the oven with his. Or just have soup.

I'm exhausted after the walk (and am only at 4400 steps for the day so it wasn't a really long walk) so will lie down again for a while. I've taken another ibuprofen and decongestant since I'm achy and feel a heavy chest. I need to refill water glasses and leave them around so I can have a sip when I start coughing.

[LadyMaverick]

what you use as weed killer

No weed killer used or needed here. I dump all the container soil each year and mix it with compost & peat before planting. I'm trying to stay as organic as possible. I have 2 sprayers set up that I use on the plants. One of the sprayers is used for antifungal & bug control (mostly aphids). It has a mixture of organic Neem Oil, oregano oil, potassium bicarbonate & Dr Bronner soap. The other sprayer has Actinovate which is an organic pesticide that controls all sorts of plant diseases.

I picked DGD7 up from school. She rated her day as 100% good today.

I'm behind on my drinking (staying hydrated) today so I made myself sit down with a drink. I am making myself sit here & finish the drink before I can get up. The games I play with myself are sometimes ridiculous.....but effective.

[Nancy]

Got three more packets of seeds down, and walked the dog around the block.
Flood watch is in effect for lower areas tonight overnight rain in the forecast.
Planted some starts and plants I bought.
Used the hoe on some weeds and pulled some, dug out others.

[blessedw2]

so happy your sweet grand daughter had a lovely day d lady

d twins sorry about the tax kerfuffle

hello all

i just woke up - i became very week - mmm go figure - feel better though - making appointment tomorrow morning.

[CathyS]

Dh wanted to get out of the house so we ended up going for fish and chips for supper. He's feeling better.

I don't know what we are doing tomorrow night. Dh has a customer coming over for a tire change including winters coming off the rims and the summers going back on. A lot more labour involved including grinding the rims. He has 5 tire changes on Saturday with everything on rims already.

It's still cold and windy here. I am caught up on all the dishes finally.

[LadyMaverick]

***Big sigh of relief*** Tax papers are now in the hands of the CPA. He did an initial review of the stack of papers and said everything looks to be in order.

I have vacuumed the pool, brushed it and backwashed it again. My arm muscles are feeling the increased usage. It's a good kind of ache. I am testing PH twice a day and adding baking soda to bring the PH up but it takes some time. I am also shocking the pool water twice a day. Unfortunately, the pool water is looking worse rather than better. I'm trying not to panic and just trust the process. When the algae dies it looks worse. Just keep on keeping on.

DS10 has 2 friends here playing. DGD7 is being a lazy gal. She had a busy day so I'm not pushing her to play tonight.