Vacation Ends

I've been looking forward to this day for almost a year. On the one hand, I can't wait to do a better job now that I know what I'm doing. On the other hand, I'm pretty nervous about it. I have only two experienced tax pros returning--plus myself--and a bunch of lovely people fresh out of training. I have tried to make up a schedule that gives everyone some hours, but some of these people I have not even met yet! I am afraid I will be working lots of nights and weekends, but it will be fine. It's only for a few months.

There's so much to do, I woke up really early. We have to make sure everyone is on board to use the new software. There was lots of training, but we have to look at the latest update and do 10 or more case studies and see how it works when we have actual clients.

There are some major changes to the tax law, well, one, really. We have to ask every client if they have health insurance. If not, they may have to pay a penalty and they will have to fill out forms. Some clients are going to be very unhappy to lose their expected refund. Even if they do have health insurance, if they got it from the Marketplace (Exchanges), there is more paperwork and the possibility that their subsidy was too large (or too small), which might change their refund or amount due. Lots to learn and changes to anticipate. We have to call clients and get appointments made and do other marketing. So, I can't wait to get started, but I'm a little stressed.

Ray has been working really hard since New Year's to get in lots of walking. He is keeping track of what he eats and making sure he burns more calories than he takes in. I, of course, benefit as well, but we do spend a lot of time and energy discussing things like how much potato was in that soup I made (corn chowder with ham--very yummy).

We had a lovely lunch yesterday with John Z and Gini and John O and Deb--and Nathan. We tried to eat at the Vietnamese place -- closed. We tried the Sultan -- closed. We landed at Chonell's where we enjoyed Southern-style food that is a little less greasy than usual. We went to hear the Solstice Sisters at the library and they were great. We probably knew almost half the people there, mostly UU's.

Walked a mile in the rain. I have some great rain boots that were my mother's, but they are not great for long walks. My feet slide back and forth and they don't support my back like my good boots. I have been saying I would buy some new hiking boots for myself for a few years and I will look for waterproof ones. I think I am a little afraid to buy them. They are expensive and breaking in new hiking boots can be painful.

My mood is a little variable the last few days. I did spend several hours entering expenses from 2014, instead of going to the movies with our friends. This should make me feel good, right? Maybe it will in the long run. Of course, there's always a let down after my family leaves, and the weather has not improved my mood. I just keep telling myself how lucky I am to have a warm fire and a cozy couch and a pile of books to read...not to mention a life partner who does a lot of the dirty work, like bringing in the firewood and washing the dishes.

We have also somewhat virtuously eaten up all our leftovers instead of going out to eat or cooking more. The ham bone turned into a delicious pea soup yesterday, and I have 2 cups of finely chopped ham for an omelet or something like it tonight.

Book Review

Mrs. Pollifax on Safari by Dorothy Gilman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I admit that Mrs. Pollifax is not great literature, but I really enjoy the premise. This LOL (little old lady) spends most of her time at home taking care of flowers...and yet, every now and then, she flies off to work for the CIA as a spy. Of course, no one would suspect her...she also knows karate. This adventure is in Africa, and the setting is definitely part of the appeal. Of course, it's very light and I never have to worry that anything bad will happen to the heroine. Not really a mystery, hardly a suspense novel...


View all my reviews

Rainy Saturday

Sigh. Gray and rainy, drizzling at the moment. Soggy chickens. Ray is walking. I did my one mile and happily jumped in the tub. I have tea and a fire and I'm comfy. Not the day I wanted, but I'm lucky to be warm and dry and have my helpmeet. The cold is mostly better, just an occasional cough requiring tea and hard candies. Plus, I have lots to do: cleaning and getting rid of stuff and organizing finances for the new year.

Still some leftovers; thinking about my ham bone and some pea soup.

I drove to winder in the rain for an H&R block meeting that started at 930. It's still dark until pretty late, especially with the rain. I had to eat breakfast, make something for the holiday luncheon, get dressed and leave the house by 9. I really wanted to get in a walk, too. By 830, I had eaten and cookies were in the oven, but I didn't have much time for a walk. My walk is pretty important, but maybe not more than a bath...the cookies were in the freezer, so they just had to be arranged on cookie sheets and baked.

I managed about 15 minutes walk and clocked in one minute late. People were still wandering around and the meeting didn't start for a while. I did drive a little faster than usual, cutting about 4 minutes from my drive time. I ordinarily enjoy my leisurely back roads route, but I was happy to be on time. Joan had made snacks for us, candied nuts and popcorn...I managed to eat quite a lot as the meeting crawled along.

At 1230, we clocked out and began the festivities: several kinds of pasta, iceberg lettuce with commercial dressing, and 4 kinds of store bought dessert...2 cookies, 1 pecan pie, 1 cake, and some beautiful homemade cupcakes that were burned on the bottom. I don't think anyone tasted my cookies, but that's fine. I am happy to have them home.

After that was the gift exchange. A fair amount of coffee cups and chocolate, with a smattering of interesting options...a couple of fleecy blanket/throws, a hot dog toaster, an electric neck massager...I got a bottle of stress relieving bubble bath, which is fine...nothing electric for me!

Happy new year!

I might start blogging more...it's not really a resolution, more of a side effect. I woke up this morning with a headache, so I took some cold medicine. That might be what inspired me to make a very vague resolution. It's not really to do anything or give up doing something. It's just to give myself permission to relax. I have a lot of rules in my head, to do things a certain way or in a certain order, and my resolution for 2015 is to give myself permission to break those rules, to forgive myself (and maybe others) for not always doing things I think I should. That may or may not result in any changed behavior. It may mean I forgive myself for not forgiving myself. Right now, though, it feels good.

The fact that I have nothing I have to do today may be a factor as well. Most of the people I know are still asleep. I am sitting in my (dirty) bathrobe enjoying the sun coming in and drinking tea on the couch. I am breathing more deeply than usual and trying not to think about things I could/should be doing. Maybe I am resolving to be more in the moment, but without obligation attached. If I feel like it.

I'm not sure about technology...does this mean spending less time connected? I know my devices can cause me to be stressed, especially when they seem not to be working right. I know I was pretty horrified by the amount of time people (especially women) around me last night at a public New Year's Eve part spent looking at their phones. Sometimes we were taking pictures of ourselves and each other. Sometimes we were showing each other photos on our phones. Sometimes I was keeping in touch with loved ones not present.

But mostly, I just preferred muy phone to what was gng on around me. Maybe I don't like noise and crowds.

Solo weekend

Twice a year, ray takes a group of students on a weekend field trip. I don't really like being alone that much and look forward to him coming back.

The first 24 hours was kind of good. I could cook for one, eat when I felt like it, hog the whole bed, read late without worrying about the light being on.

There are lots of little things Ray does for me--washing dishes is probably the biggest. But, of course, the most important thing he does is keep me company. I pay a lot more attention to Cameron (the dog) when Ray is away.

This time, my Dad and I had been looking forward to eating some lamb. Ray doesn't like lamb and I didn't really want to eat it while he had something else, although that would be an option. Dad bought a whole (or half?) lamb from a farmer (a 70 year old woman someone else had told him about---a benefit of email is you can just forward stuff to anyone) and it was in the freezer. He has been gradually eating it and generously offering it to me as well. A leg of lamb, though, even a small one, is a lot for one person to eat. Yesterday morning, he cooked it in my oven and we enjoyed it together. Daddy eats his main meal at lunch time. He looked up the recipe in Joy of Cooking and it was pretty tasty. He cut a big potato in half and boiled it. I stuck it in the oven for a few minutes when the lamb was nearly done. We also had some green beans. He picked a few from the garden and I took some out of the freezer (also from the garden).

After Dad left, I spent the afternoon on the computer, more or less. I worked on the tax classes I am supposed to be taking for H&R Block, 15 hours every year, in order to work for them again. You pay $20 for unlimited classes and can choose from a huge list. I also spent a little time on our finances, paying bills on line and keeping track of things in Quicken.

I ate leftovers for dinner, the same thing I had Friday night. I made chicken cacciatore for myself and it was quite good. The only thing is, it was not really the right weather, since it has been hot and humid. I decided what to watch on TV, not that Ray usually objects. At 9:30, I went to bed and read and had a great sleep.

But by this morning, I was feeling generally crabby. I've washed dishes several times, but there are still a lot to do. If you cook for yourself, you make almost as many dishes (pots and bowls) as when you cook for two. Plus I made a (vegan fat-free) carrot cake to take to UUFA this morning. On the way, I was cross because I was running late, even without Ray to blame it on. I didn't remember to grab the napkins that I like to bring to events where food is being served. Otherwise, they will use paper napkins and that seems wrong to me, for an organization that claims to be green.

The service made me feel a little better and I chatted with a few friends, like Mary Jean. I stopped at Publix on the way home to buy a few groceries (yogurt, butter, brown sugar). The cashier asked what I was baking. I was facing a day alone with no particular goals. When I got home, it was almost noon. I had some leftover green beans and lamb. It was good, but there wasn't a lot of it. (I could have had as much lamb as I wanted). I wished I had some carrot cake...

I started a batch of bread. All afternoon, it was thundery and threatening to rain. Finally we did get a good shower. The dog is terrified of thunder and whines to come in. Then he whines to go out...I let the chickens out for a while. They come to me in a very satifsfying way whenever I come out. They are hoping for corn, which I use to lure them back in. We got four eggs again today. Yay!

I had a lovely time chatting with my daughters via Skype.

For supper, I made an omelet with some potatoes from the garden and a little onion and our own eggs. Pretty good. I had a little salad (just lettuce really) and a slice and a half of homemade bread.