My Week

After writing that I probably wouldn't stay up for the end of the NCAA men's championship game this past Monday, I did anyway. It was quite the finish. Congrats to the Florida Gators!

Long days at work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I now have two entities to close for the quarter ended March 31st, so I'm busy, busy, busy. I think I'm on track to close both of them by the deadline. Otherwise I will grovel for a couple days extension. (I'm good at that!)

I thought I had finally returned to full health, but a cold set in yesterday. Lew told me I looked as bad as I claimed to feel (it's true love), and I feel even worse today. I'm sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. Hopefully the weather will get warmer soon, which should help.

I named my ukulele Georgia.

Dad 761: Spring Is Here... ?

(Dad writes today. We are in agreement that Spring has gotten off to a shaky start! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here!

Another great-looking day from inside. However, it is still cold outside. Please warm up for the spring.

This whole move to spring has been very annoying. It seems that every other day there is a snow storm in Maine. We are fortunate to not be getting the small snow storms in Southern Maine, but we still are getting rain. 

So we have another storm coming for the weekend. We hope the storms stay up in the ski areas. We want the skiing people to be happy, but we don't need more snow. They got more than five inches yesterday up north.

Let's get the warm days of spring here soon!! Please!

I'm through with my complaining!!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

One Out of Two

As most people know, we are in the final days of the NCAA basketball tournament. I was rooting for Duke on the men's side because of Maine native Cooper Flagg. I was rooting for University of Connecticut on the women's side because of Paige Bueckers (no Maine connection that I am aware of).

The UConn women did not let me down. Congratulations to the Huskies on their championship win today!

I don't really have much to say about Duke's semi-final game last night. A heavy sigh pretty much sums it up.

Tomorrow night's championship game between Houston and Florida doesn't start until 8:50 p.m. This is far too late. I don't think the scheduling folks care about those of us who live under the constraints of Eastern Standard Time. But since Duke isn't playing, I may just go to sleep early.

In other news, I bought a ukulele!

Dad 760: Spring Snow, Soon Mow

(Dad writes today. I worked late, so I'm posting it a few hours after he penned it! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here!

Not a bad day. It's 3:04 P.M. and the temp is around 40 degrees. Spring is trying to emerge. Will it ever get here? I hope soon!

Supposed to rain and snow tomorrow. We have had annoying snow the last couple weeks. The good thing about it is that the snow is completely gone the next day. It looks like spring outside with no snow. The grass surely needs some coloring to show it has some life. We hope that tomorrow's snow is the last and doesn't stay on the ground. 

Mowing will be in order in about a month. Must get the front tire of the tractor repaired. Want it to work good for Lew. (I miss not plowing snow and not mowing. Old is not great!)

Done writing for today.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

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.

Dad 759: Josh Here, There, and Everywhere

(Dad writes today! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here!

Cloudy and temps in the 40s today. Just an average day. No storms in sight so we'll take it. Bring the end of March on!

News of the Week!

Josh is home after three months on his oil ship in the Gulf of America. We had a good visit with him when he came by a couple days ago. He will be home through June to be a member of his friend's wedding on the 29th.

Josh has been in Maryland the last couple of days to catch up on papers for the ship. Today he and Sam are leaving for a ten day trip to Thailand. He showed us some pictures of the beaches there, and it looked great. Bon Voyage! See you on your return!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Is Spring Here to Stay Yet?

We got food from Ken's Place on Sunday to celebrate the start of Spring.

When I left work yesterday, I snapped this photo of my windshield once I got in my car:

Yes, it was snowing! ❄❅❆

It was a bit slippery walking outside this morning, but Spring seemed to be back by the time I left work.

Here's hoping no more snow until next winter! (And even then I could do without it.)

🌞

Dad 758: Happy Spring!

(Dad writes today. Spring is on our minds! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! The day is fairly nice. Started off with some fog but cleared up over the day. The big story for today is Spring is now in the air and we are getting ready for the opening of the seasonal food places.

The Clambake is now open weekends on Thursdays and Fridays. Ken's Place is opening this Friday for the summer. Ready for some clams and other food from Ken's.

Winter is over. Let the fun begin!

Spring is tomorrow!!!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Winter to Spring

Spring is in the air!

I have a bit of a cold, which I usually get with the change of seasons.

There has been activity over at Ken's Place. Lew tells me they are opening this Friday.

The March Madness brackets will be in place later today.

I am thinking about doing some cleaning and decluttering. My "thinking" about this is a sure sign of Spring. (Now I need to "do.")

Enjoy the last few days of Winter!

Dad 757: The Rockets!

(Dad writes today. We already are looking forward to basketball next winter! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! A brief report on the weather. Temps in the 40s. Sunny and the wind is not strong. A fine day!

One subject today....

We have finished our basketball season with Zach's team, the Rock Falls Rockets. They won their regional playoffs. The team was treated to a steak dinner before competing for the next step. They then won their sectional to become one of the final eight schools in their class in Illinois. The Elite Eight!

The team then played for a chance to make the Final Four. They played a team from the Chicago area. The Rockets played a good first half, but the second half didn't go as well. The opposition was tough, and the Rockets didn't get any help from the officials. They lost to a rough team which seemed to get all the calls in the second half. I think they were fortunate to end the season with no serious injury.

Nine seniors graduate this year, so next season will be a building year. We will be watching. Saw all the games this year. Go Rockets!!! A good way to spend our winter season.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

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.  😀)

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!

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.

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!

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!

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!

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? $$$

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!

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!

Dad 752: Snow, Snow, Snow

(Dad writes today. At the bottom of his hand-written paper, he wrote "Short enough?" Yes, it is. Thank you, Dad! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! A great looking day from the inside but very cold outside. We are in a pattern where we have annoying storms every other day. However, tomorrow we are expecting a larger storm, predicted for about six inches. Then Sunday more snow of between seven and eight inches. Then another storm on Tuesday. At least we are getting through February.

Otherwise, everything else seems to be going along in an uneventful way. We'll take it.

I'm done writing for today.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

The Number Two

The last few days have been tough in America. Two plane tragedies with loss of life. Devastated families and communities. May they find peace in the Lord during these times.

Our church had one service on Sunday mornings until today. Needed to expand to two services because we were at capacity. Lew and I went to the second service, which was nicely attended. Apparently the first service had a nice turnout, too.

Groundhog Day today. The 2nd day of the 2nd month. I heard the groundhog predicted six more weeks of winter. Sounds about right.

Tomorrow I start my final two-day work week. I'll be going to three days the following week. I'm hoping to go back to two days at some point, but we'll see.

May you have a blessed February!

Dad 751: Filling the Cabinet

(A brief post by Dad today.... ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! Another beautiful day if you're looking from the inside out. It is cold and the snow has stopped at two or three inches. My doctor appointment is tomorrow, and the prediction is for very cold weather but no storms. 

I'm not too sure about my doctor visit. I'll be glad to get it over with. A lot of issues.

Been listening to our fabulous senators checking out Trump's choices for his cabinet. Most Republicans try to build up the cabinet choices. The Democrats have learned nothing and try to tear down all the choices. What else is new?

More next week....

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

The Earth Did Not Stand Still

We had an earthquake in Southern Maine yesterday morning! It was pretty minor as far as earthquakes go, for which we are thankful.

Lew and Dad did not feel the earthquake, but I did. I was at work when it happened. My officemate looked over at me and said, "That feels like an earthquake!" We laughed because we really thought it was people moving some heavy things around upstairs in our building. But then text messages started coming in and the local news sites were reporting it. It was even on Facebook, so we knew it had to be for real.

Song cue:

I feel the earth move

under my feet....

The Second Chance Puzzle

Late last week I did a jigsaw puzzle with a New England theme. This first picture is of the "completed" puzzle.

Did you notice anything? Hint: A piece is missing! Can you find it?

The story continues....

Somehow I had two of this same puzzle, both previously owned. I got one from a lady I know from work, and I'm guessing the other was Debbie's at some point.

I had the brilliant idea of looking for the missing piece in the "second" puzzle, but it turns out I wasn't so brilliant. The two puzzles were not cut exactly the same!  Who knew?! So I couldn't cheat by merely substituting the missing piece from the second puzzle.

I was going to let it go, but I couldn't stand not knowing if the second puzzle had all of its pieces. So yesterday I put it together while watching the NFL conference championship games. Because I was already familiar with the puzzle, it went together pretty quickly.

Below is a picture of the second puzzle. Success! All pieces accounted for!

Dad 750: Pardon, It's Cold!

(Dad writes today. Brrrr...! ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! Hello from a cold Maine, although there is not a lot of snow along the coast where we live. Did have a plowable storm a couple days ago. Only been plowed out twice this winter, but this time was the only one that really needed it. Was seven degrees below zero in Portland this morning. A little colder in Scarborough. My hometown of Sanford was 19 degrees below this morning and warmed up to 18 degrees around noon. No new storms over the next few days. Keep the snow in the ski areas.

Happy to have Kamala & Joe gone. Now to get the Democrats to allow Trump to have the people he wants for his cabinet and government, but a change in governing is not what the Dems want. Joe certainly did a job with the number of pardons he granted. He has pardoned anyone that could have helped put him in prison. But he is gone! That's what is important!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

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! 😁

Dad 749: The Tube

(Dad writes today. I watch the basketball games with him! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another fairly nice day here in the Northeast. Around 4 o'clock in the afternoon and temp is in the mid-20s. But we still have no real snow on the ground. Here we are halfway through January and we have not had a snowstorm, just a couple snow squalls of less than one inch. Hope the rest of the winter is the same!

 

Been watching TV a lot. Watched Coach Zach's basketball game from Illinois last night; his team (the Rockets) won in overtime. The team's record so far is around 13-6. We enjoy watching his games. We get to see my great grandson and the princess running around the gym when they attend the games. Go Rockets, and go Bode (7) and Boston (2)!

 

Also on the tube are hearings for Trump's cabinet picks. Republicans are quite friendly to the candidates. There are several Democrats that try to put the candidates down. So far the lying Dems aren't making too much headway. Interesting to see grown people asking questions and expressing negative opinions of the candidates' qualifications. Government officials who have lied in the past are judging these candidates. Thank you, Senators Blumenthal and Schiff... NOT! How do these people get elected? Doesn't say much about their constituents.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Another Day, Another Dollar

I really enjoy my two-days-a-week work schedule, but I have agreed to add a third day for the time being. There are some big changes ahead in software and work volume, so I need to help get everything situated. Maybe once things are going smoothly I'll be able to go back to only two days.

I hope I am not being too optimistic about things ever going smoothly, ha ha!

My officemate will still be two days, and I will miss her on the day she's not there. We work well together and we think a lot alike. In fact, we had to take a brief quiz on "phishing" and we both missed only one question — and it happened to be the same one, for the same reason!

On a completely different subject, I think I am rooting for the Buffalo Bills to win this post-season. I hope that I didn't just jinx them!

Dad 748: Only 12 Days to Go

(Dad writes today. Prayers for our fellow countrymen. ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! The weather here in the Northeast isn't bad at all today. However, we have been getting the winter weather cold temperatures for a while now. Certainly we are a lot better off than the people of California with the winds and the fires. Some 37,000 have lost their homes according to reports. Certainly is good to be in Maine when other parts of the country are dealing with such weather problems. We are fortunate.

 

Well I, along with millions of others, find it difficult to wait for January 20th. It will be helpful to get some type of leadership in our capital. Hard to even think about what the departing president is trying to do on his way out. Selling wall-building steel for five cents on the dollar, then buyers trying to sell it back to the U.S. for two dollars after paying only five cents for it. Luckily a court has stopped this practice. The past four years have been a mistake for the U.S. Good riddance to Joe, Kamala, and all their friends. We have experienced the worst U.S. government ever. January 20th can't get here fast enough.

 

Rest in peace, President Carter. His official state funeral is tomorrow in Washington, D.C..

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

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!

Dad 747: Welcome to 2025

(A brief post by my father today! ~ Tracy)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Pray for January 20th!

(It's Tracy again. Dad didn't write this in his draft, but... "Until next time! Toodle Pip! Derf!")