Tracy's Tax Service

I prepared my father's income tax returns a week ago today. I had so much fun (ha ha) that I did ours, too. (In the past I've done Matt & Emily's also, but their tax situation is more complicated now.)

The two sets of returns (federal and state for Dad and Lew & I) were all accepted by the taxing authorities, and all of the balances due/refunds have been exchanged.  E-filing is great.

Tracy's Tax Service was open for one whole day.

Closed until next year!

Thankful

I was updating my book list and decided to write a brief post, too.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. Other than my fighting my annual "Tracy has a bad cold on Thanksgiving" condition, we had a nice day. We went to Matt & Emily's house and ate far too much. It was delightful. We are thankful for family.

I do have some sad news to report. Our sweet cat Jerry is no longer with us. His kidneys were failing and we said good-bye to him a week ago (Wednesday, November 19). He was a great friend to Lew, Dad, and me. We are thankful for the 13 1/2 years we had with him.

The bathroom on Dad's side of the house is being remodeled for a more accessible shower for him. The work is almost done. It's going to be nice. We are thankful for our home.

I believe our dinner has arrived. I am thankful for lasagna from Romeo's!

Plans Do Change!

For fans of Derf, please check back next week for his next post. He and I both forgot about the blog until this evening. Actually, I've been forgetting about it for a long time! Oh, well. 😬

Kim, Joe, and Kaelen postponed their departure by a week. They will be leaving this Sunday morning, so the planned Ken's Place dinner will take place this Saturday evening.

College football has started... the non-official start of Fall.

🍂🍂🍂🏈🍂🍂🍂

Travelers Update

Kelsey, Zachariah, Bode, and Boston safely arrived home today. It was fun to have them in Maine, but I imagine being back in their Illinois home is nice for them — especially after such a long drive!

Of course, we've had two beautiful days here after their departure. They did have mostly good weather for their vacation, though.

Next time we'll "see" them will be when we stream Zach's basketball games. We always try to find them in the stands, as well as watch for them after the game is over. Bode and Boston love to run around on the court.

Is it too early to say it?... GO, ROCKETS!

The Forgotten Blog....

Oh, my.

Dad was supposed to write on Thursday, but then we decided he would write on Friday.

I was supposed to post something on Thursday regarding his writing on Friday.

Neither of these things happened, ha ha!

The biggest news is that Kelsey, Zachariah, Bode, and Boston arrived for a week and a half long visit! They are staying down at "the big camp", although I believe Bode is bunking with his grandparents at "the little camp".

Seriously, that's about it news-wise. The beat goes on.... 🌞

The Annual Family Trifecta

Happy 87th Birthday to my father!

Happy 29th Wedding Anniversary to Debbie and Glen!

Happy 25th Wedding Anniversary to Lew and me!!!  Our silver anniversary!

The celebration:  Super beef sandwiches (with extra sauce) plus cake and ice cream.

Thank you to my sisters for providing the yummies!

🎂🩷🕺💗🍨

Another Update

Dad came home last Friday. He's had home healthcare workers coming just about every day. Today he had a late afternoon doctor's office appointment, and he planned to write a blog post after arriving home. And he will write that post... tomorrow!

As for me, I had three long days at work. I got a lot done, so it was worth the effort. Hopefully next week will be a little more relaxing now that the quarter end tasks are completed.

Thank you for checking in!

P.S. It is very windy outside!

Update

Dad is still in the hospital but he will be coming home tomorrow afternoon! He made significant progress the past couple days. The doctors have been working on the correct medication balance, hence the several-day stay.

Lew and I visited him this afternoon. A doctor came in and talked with us about the discharge time. He said he could have Dad out of there by 9am, to which Dad replied he wanted to leave after he gets his lunch! Apparently he has been enjoying the food there and getting ice cream with every meal. He wants his ice cream!

🍦🍨🍦🍨🍦

A Busy Week

We had a busy week in our household. So busy that my father didn't write his post on Thursday — and I forgot to put any update until today!

Dad's been dealing with swollen legs due to cardiovascular issues (resulting in fluid buildup). Lew and I took him to Urgent Care on Friday. He had a great doctor, who ended up doubling the dose of one of Dad's prescriptions. Dad's lower legs are wrapped, and we will take off the wraps either tomorrow or Tuesday. Then he should wear medium-strength compression stockings. That will be fun. (I call them "the evil stockings.")

Let's see... did anything else major happen in the world recently?  Operation Midnight Hammer!

We're embarking on an exceptionally warm week. Air conditioners are in the windows. Stay cool.

The Arrival of Summer

Kim, Joe, and Kaelen have arrived from Illinois! They left home Sunday morning and got here Monday evening, just in time for a meal from Ken's Place. Their arrival means summer has started!

Some sad news is that Cocoa didn't make the trip to Maine with them. He made his way to "doggie heaven" instead. Kim, Joe, and Kaelen had Cocoa for many years. He was loved very much, and I know they miss him.  Farewell to you, sweet Cocoa. You were a good dog.

Kelsey, Zach, Bode, and Boston will be coming later in July to complete the Illinois invasion. Looking forward to their arrival, too!

Happy start of Summer!

Grateful

On this Mother's Day, I am thankful. God blessed me with a wonderful mother! I sure do miss her.

These Shoes Were Made for Walking

After a couple rainy days over the weekend, the weather was lovely today.

Of course, I was at work.

My officemate suggested a walk during our lunch break. We ate lunch while working at our desks, then we got ready to venture out.

I keep a pair of sneaker-type-shoes at the office for times such as this. The shoes don't have shoelaces nor are they velcro; they merely slip on — with a little help from a finger or two. I purchased these shoes a few years ago for my mother and they are still in good shape. So I think of my mother every time I put them on.  She would be happy to know I am using them....

Mom's shoes were made for walking!

😍

Under the Weather

Spring and I were both under the weather for a few days.

It snowed again on Saturday, and it wasn't all that nice out yesterday either. Today was a bit of a dreary day, but it was a little warmer. I think it's supposed to be even warmer by the end of the week.

As for me, I've been dealing with a couple different ailments. But, just like Spring, I am on the mend. Hooray, I say!

Ending my post with this note: Josh's destination in Thailand is over 400 miles south of last week's earthquake, which was a relief to hear. Please be praying for those affected.

A Great Season

The Rock Falls Rockets basketball season ended tonight. They faced a much more physical team, so it was a tough matchup. But the Rockets should hold their heads high....

Last Friday night they won the Sectional Championship, which put them in the "Elite Eight" for their class in Illinois. Pretty good to be one of the last eight teams standing.

Congratulations to Zach and the Rockets on a great year! It was fun!

🏀🚀🏀🚀🏀🚀🏀🚀🏀🚀🏀

(P.S. Thanks to streaming technology, Dad and I watched every single one of their games.  We didn't have to leave Dad's living room.  😀)

Let's Go, Rockets!

The Rock Falls Rockets are Regional Champions!

They play again on Tuesday night in the semi-final of the Sectionals.

Best wishes for Zach and the team.

Let's Go, Rockets!

🏀🚀🏀🚀🏀

P.S.  Our mail was delivered every day this past week.

A Confession and Some Updates

Confession:  I am doing a post tonight so that I will have written something before my father's post tomorrow.  I couldn't let him have two posts in a row, ha ha!

Updates:

The State of Maine has accepted all of the tax filings I submitted, which makes me quite happy.

I've been questioning my decision to go back to a three-day work week. But then I saw what my net pay will be this week, and suddenly I'm okay with it again!

Our snail-mail has been more snail-mail-ish than normal.  After several weeks of sporadic mail delivery, we got a mail delivery on Sunday of over 50 pieces!  Forty of those were for my father. We got bills that should have been delivered two to three weeks ago.  Thanks, USPS.  (Our mail also was delivered yesterday and today.  It had been a while since we had received mail on three consecutive days.)

Thanks for checking in!

Nachos and Taxes and Puzzles, Oh My!

The Super Bowl is going to be played later today. Lew is making cheese nachos, which he says will be ready by kickoff. I admit I am looking forward to the nachos more than the game. But I will be watching. I do have a preference on who wins, but it is not a strong preference. 

It's "tax season" once again. I prepare three sets of tax returns each year: Dad's, Matt & Emily's, and our own. I did Dad's a couple days ago, and I am happy to report that both of his returns (Federal and Maine) have been accepted! (I prepared/e-filed using TurboTax.) Next up: Matt & Emily's.

I've been working hard on a 2000-piece puzzle for several days. (I even worked deep into the night a couple times!) I finally finished it earlier this afternoon. A photo of the puzzle is below. It is titled "Country Delivery" by Buffalo Games. This is the last of the three puzzles that Debbie gave me for Christmas. It is beautiful!

The Eyes-Crossed Puzzle

Earlier this month I shared the first of three jigsaw puzzles that my sister Debbie gave me for Christmas. You may want to re-read this post for my initial comments regarding the next puzzle I planned to tackle.

I finished working on the puzzle today! Although I did feel like my eyes were crossing/glazing over, it took me much less time than I anticipated.  It helped that the makers of the puzzle divided it into six sections (A through F) and marked the back of each piece with the section it belonged to. For example:

And, TA DA!, the finished product:

I asked Debbie if she wanted to do the puzzle herself, and she said that she would "pass on this one!" LOL! 😁

A Little Wooden Puzzle

It has been a while since I've completed a jigsaw puzzle, but I'm back into it!

My sister Debbie gave me three fun puzzles for Christmas, and I did the first one this afternoon. It is a small wooden puzzle featuring fabulous animals. 😺 (Photo below; ruler for size reference.)

I've already started on my next puzzle. It is one of those that will make your eyes cross while doing it!  It will take me a while, so don't hold your breath waiting for the blog post about that one. Ha ha!

Happy New Year to all!

Bagging Over Wrapping

Lew and I made the decision to put Christmas gifts in bags this year instead of wrapping anything. Today I completed the task in much less time than it has taken us in the past. (Bagging > Wrapping! Hands down!)

 A brief update on Aunt Debbie: She is receiving palliative care. Please pray she will be comfortable and have peace. Thank you. 💗