Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Dad 756: Rockets Rising

(Dad writes today. Best wishes to the Rockets! ~ Tracy)
 
Derf Here! A damp, dismal day is our only choice for today. Should be done with snow for the year. Along the coast we should see a lot of grass in the next couple of weeks. Set your clocks ahead this weekend.
 
I will talk about only two things today.
 
Lew's brother, Wayne, was taken to the hospital last Friday. The doctor sent him home yesterday, although he is still weak and will have difficulty caring for himself. Lew was surprised by this decision. He spent a long afternoon helping Wayne get home and then getting some materials that should help Wayne recover. Please keep both Lew and Wayne in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks!
 
A happy story follows....
 
A couple years ago grandson-in-law Zach's basketball team won its regional championship, but then lost the next game to end their season. After winning their region again this year, they played "the next game" last night. A steal and a pass to a breakaway team member led to the game-winning basket at the buzzer. A two-point win for the Rockets! Congratulations to Zach and his whole team from Rock Falls, Illinois. They play for the sectional championship Friday night. It will be tough to go too much further, but it has been a fine season.
 
Until next time!
 
Toodle Pip!
 
Derf!

Sunday, March 2, 2025

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.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Dad 755: Two Basketball Stories

(Dad writes today. Let's go, Rockets! ~ Tracy)
 
Derf Here! Another nice day during which the snow is melting (temp around 50° now). The sun is out and Spring is on its way. Bring it on.
 
A short post today. Everything seems to be going in the right direction around here. So I'm going to give you two short basketball stories.
 
I think I heard that the conference that Duke plays in, the ACC, has never had a freshman named "ACC Rookie of the Week" for more than 10 weeks. That just changed as an 18-year-old from Newport, Maine was named for the 11th week for the honor. Cooper Flagg is a 6'9" young man who has taken the college basketball season by storm. I remember watching Cooper win a Maine state championship a few years ago with his brothers. (His twin brother, Ace, will play for the University of Maine at Orono next year.) When Cooper was still just 17 years old, he was predicted to be the number one draft pick in the NBA draft later this year. Go for it, Cooper!
 
The second basketball story is that the high school varsity boys team from Rock Falls, Illinois is going into the post-season starting tonight. The team is coached by my grandson-in-law Zach, who is married to my granddaughter Kelsey. We have watched all his games this year on my TV (via online streaming). The team's record is 20+ wins and only about eight losses. If they win tonight, Zach's players will play for their regional championship on Friday. Go Rockets! Maine family will be watching!
 
Until next time!
 
Toodle Pip!
 
Derf!

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

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!

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Dad 754: Barrels of Money

(Dad writes today. I'm posting late because I worked late. I'm back to three workdays per week.... What was I thinking? LOL! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! Another nice looking day from the inside looking out. Was 13 degrees a little earlier. Now it is 19 degrees at 11:00 AM. Only a little over one week left in February. Whoopie!

Still watching Trump barreling through his signings of new laws. Boy, are the Dems up in arms as he and Elon find a lot of lost funds. I want better use of spending our tax money. It seems we have a multi-trillion dollar habit of throwing money away. Maybe start paying down debt. Now that is a novel idea. Hope our distinguished senators and representatives will do the right thing. So far they have failed to do much right. Par for the course. Carry on, Donald and Elon. We are with you!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Monday, February 17, 2025

Eagles, Snow, and Taxes

The last time I wrote a post was before the Super Bowl. Because the outcome went the way I hoped, I now will share that I was rooting for the Eagles. Congratulations to them! Fly, Eagles, Fly!

Old Man Winter has reared his ugly head. It snowed/sleeted all day yesterday. (Church services canceled for the second week in a row.) And I am listening to strong winds as I type this. You can go away now, Old Man Winter!

Yesterday I prepared Matt & Emily's taxes, and today I did ours. All e-filed! Just waiting for the State of Maine to get its act together and "Accept" the state returns. But otherwise, I am done. So Tracy's Tax Preparation Service is closed for another year. Have you filed yet? $$$

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Dad 753: More Snow, Less Spending

(Dad writes today. I'm officially back to my three-day workweek. ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! Another nice day looking out from inside. However, if you walk outside, please wear a warm coat. The weather is still cold. We will have a snowstorm tonight that will bring a fair amount of snow. Where we are on the state's southeastern coast could get a lot of sleet or rain to keep our totals down. We should get around six inches all over the state. Bring it on. Yes, our winter weather is with us. Our pattern of snow every two or three days is catching us up on snow totals. We have a good base now to add some more!

Following the Democrats complaining about having an audit of government spending. They are complaining about a "constitutional crisis" and illegality of the audit. I say keep looking for the corrupt spending of our "honest" government officials. We may be able to somehow balance the budget and start paying down our debt. That's a novel idea. Don't see how an audit is against the law. Do you? The Dems need mouthwash!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!