Wednesday, March 1, 2023

It is 8:15 and time to load the car. All is packed. We should be on the road in 20-30 minutes.

BTW, we won both bocce games in our match yesterday (the first time we have won both). We miss the last game next week.

I will check in later. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Safe, and happy, travels, Liz.

Not much going on here.Puppies need outside time and there has not been opportunity with the weather. We finally have some dry weather the next few days so I am determined to get them outside after school today. Winter weather is forecast for the weekend, so have to take advantage of sunny, but cold, crisp days while we have them.

Eating choices were sugar filled yesterday.... Have no idea what my compulsion was, but I ate 7 pieces of chocolate yesterday! That's like 400 calories of junk! Not the best choice.... However the day before I was able to manage eating 140 grams of protein without using a protein supplement. I was kind of proud of myself for that, but damn! it took effort!!!!! That's a lot of protein, even for a non sleever.

Did you know yesterday was National Pancake Day? IHOP was offering free short stacks, so naturally Ron was all over it. I'd forgotten how much I don't really like pancakes. LOL! He has a lot of pancakes to eat today, too, cuz mine went uneaten, save a few bites.

All the talk of taxes the other day made me think about getting a start on mine. I'm usually an April filer. I read years ago that the later one files, the less likely one is to be audited. So, that's what I do.... I will owe capital gains this year on some money I withdrew. YUCK! I don't like that. It's not like I didn't already pay taxes on the principal.... There is something about paying taxes on interest or investment growth that annoys me. Why don't the institutions pay the taxes since they are using my money for their own financial growth? I don't even pretend to understand the tax laws, but I do believe the little guy seems to get the short end of the taxation stick far more frequently than the big guys do!

Okay, recess is over.... gotta go!

The rich guys pay little or no taxes - somehow they have enough flexibility to finagle ways to shelter their gains. So us regular guys pay a much higher effective tax rate.

I think this is a false notion or it depends on your definition of "rich". I know a lot of people with a lot of money who pay an absolute fortune in taxes. I can't speak about the Jeff Bezos of the world, but the idea that people who make a lot are swimming in loopholes and paying nothing is untrue.

From the National Taxpayers Union Foundation: "The top 10 percent of earners paid 74 percent of all income taxes and the top 25 percent paid 89 percent. Altogether, the top fifty percent of filers earned 89 percent of all income and were responsible for 97.7 percent of all income taxes paid in 2020."

I was thinking of people like Trump which I probably should have clarified. I incorrectly made too broad statement similar to stating that all lawyers are crooked or all priests are pedophiles. Obviously the majority of people at any level/in any position do the right thing but there are some who take advantage of loopholes or their positions.

Greetings all

It's sunny but very chilly today. I mailed out the gallery income taxes and have some other chores for them but thats the big one. Then I stopped at the studio where it was quite crowded. Lucky me to have a private space. then it was on to the grocery to pick up a few things. Low traffic hour.

So last night we watched episode 8 of Poker Face. The whole episode is a tribute to Hitch****; both the story and music. Our nephew directed a full orchestra to get the sound track and it has that very dramatic suspenseful music. Very fun. I recommend it.

So now DH is watching the Tesla investors program which is a total nerd fest. He loves it.

Yeah it's getting to be tax time and I don't like it any more than anyone else even though I do understand it. I agree that high income people should pay more in taxes than they seemingly do.

Gotta admit I have been watching some of that Murdaugh guy trial. Interesting.

The lentil soup was great and there is more for tonight. I put a can of tomatoes in it which is tasty. But I put crackers in it. Not needed I know.

Yay for the Harbor Sharks Liz. Enjoy your trip. Ditto Shirley.

Peps I envy your fake lawn. No mud puppies. I don't know where mine find the mud but they do. At least there is no goose poop. Border terriers find fox poop in the UK but not much of it here - at least not my yard.

Yeah DD you need to do something about your clod BIL's remarks. I think direct is best. What and when a person eats is no ones business. You should not have to explain or make excuses. Anyway I hope this resolves so you can enjoy the trip. And wishing you some rest after the 12 hour conference day.

Cheers all. Diane S

Home at last. I actually didn't have a lot of parents at conferences tonight, but the ones I did have were draining. I need to pack my lunch for tomorrow, but I am feeling rebellious. Sigh. I know I will be happy tomorrow if I do it tonight, so off I go.

The snow predictions stayed steady, but we went all day with just rain until about 5pm. Everyone thought they'd just made lousy predictions! But since we've had 7" and they have asked everyone to stay home. 2" more coming. It's nuts, but gorgeous. The most we've had on one day so far.

Lots getting done here. The closet guys were here for two days installing the closet shelving units. It looks terrific! And so much more functional than a single rod.

Then I met with a landscaper (after shedding a few tears when a tree fell over the other day, which wasn't the end of the world, but was a bit of a straw on this homeowner camel's overloaded back!). He gave me several estimates for cleanup of the yard which should have been done in the fall, restaking trees, replacing 4 deceased trees, draining and cleaning out the fountains (then adding snails! for algae control), replacing some broken light fixtures, a new irrigation timer, figuring out why I sink in the mud in a few parts of the yard when it rains, ongoing maintenance and eventually replacing all of the irrigation (ack) as what the previous owners put in is wrong for the area, not buried deeply enough, and not going to last. It was a blood draining from my face moment. I guess I'm supporting the local economy and who am I going to leave everything to anyway when I croak? But ow.

On a more fun note, we are watching Clarkson's Farm on Amazon Prime. It's hilarious and charming. It's Jeremy Clarkson (UK tv celebrity) deciding to farm his Cotswold's 1000 acre farm even though he knows nothing about farming and documenting it for this show. So many laugh out loud moments. Two seasons and one coming.

Food hasn't been the best. Wish I could find my spark. I think my folks are leaving in about 2 weeks. It'll be weird to be here on my own. But maybe easier to focus on my eating alone.

Safe travels to all our travelers!

Wow - that's a lot to absorb on the landscaping needed. I guess every climate yields unique challenges based on the wind, rain, geology, etc. On Cape Cod drainage is rarely an issue because of the sandy soil but we have to worry about trees coming down due to snow/ice.