APOLOGIES FOR MISSED LAST WEEK'S POST AND FILING/SCANNING PAPERS

 OOPS!!!  When I sat down to write tonight's post I realized I never posted last week.  My apologies.  Have you found that your sense of time passing has been negatively affected by staying home during the pandemic?  Mine has.  Something seems to me that it occurred last week and when I look in my calendar/items done list – it was months ago.  Since we cannot change the past, on to this week's post.

In between keeping up with normal daily and weekly stuff to do, I have scanned and saved, then put into the pile of paper to recycle more of those warranty papers and instruction books.  I have finished the ones for stuff in our office (furniture and other stuff), the ones for our computer stuff, and I am working on our telephones and related items (such as answering machines).  

Today I got in two quick scans as I was finishing up with other work for the day – account reconciliations for statements from the credit unions.  

 I pulled out the first telephone instruction manual to scan – a cordless phone - and looked at the picture on the cover.  Hmmm, it should be over there on husband's office work table  - it isn't?  I know the phone in question is white, I can see it sitting on husband's table – but the one there is … red?  I put the book aside until husband finished what he was working on.   I pulled another “book” out of the pile – the phone on the wall next to my side of our bed.  It is not actually book.  This leads me to mention - “Who the heck designs this instructions?”  Many of them are not books, but rather a large piece of paper folded into sections – the sections as they appear on the paper do not actually always make sense.  In this case at the front of the folds is the title “page”.  After that I was not sure what order the “pages” were intended to be.  I scanned what was there and if the order is wrong – so be it, it is still usable.  I realize the manufacturers do not intend the instructions to be scanned or copied – but!!!!!  Sometimes the pages fit as a letter sized scan, sometimes as a legal sized scan – this one had one set of instructions which started on one “page” continued on the next and then partially onto a third one.  The first two “pages” could be scanned (side by side pages) as a legal sized page, but then the other piece was hanging there with the next section of the instructions!  Another similar large paper consisting of “pages” at one point had the sections numbered in a clockwise direction and then one had to go the next “pages next to them and figure out how they fit into the instructions!    

How do YOU keep track of your various instructions and warranty papers in case they are needed again?

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Filing papers (of any type) may seem to be boring and useless – but one day everyone finds that they need some paper of theirs and cannot find it.  Filing in a logical way helps one keep track of papers that one may or will need some day.  Filing does not have be alphabetical – files can be labeled and used for certain types of papers – as long as papers in files and the files are arranged in some way which makes sense to you – that is what you need.  (In my scanning I have put the same instruction file in more than one folder when not sure  where to put it.  For instance – office telephone instructions scan is in both the telephone and the office files on the drive.)

COVID 19 # 27 - A WEEK WHEN EVERY DAY THERE IS SOMETHING TO DO - OUTSIDE THE HOUSE OR SOMEONE COMING IN

 We are having a busy week of it - for the first time since early March.  We have been staying home better than 90% of the time. But a variety of circumstances has hit us all at once.

Since husband has felt comfortable enough, we have been going out late on Sunday nights to post the outgoing mail for the week if we have same.  We are still not going to the post office for this or to check mail at our PO Box, but he drove around until he found a USPS mail collection box in a quiet enough area that he felt comfortable to go to - and even so we go only go after 11 pm at night.  So Sunday night we went and mailed out our mail for the week.  We received a call from the commander of our reenactment that he had a check from an event that some members of the unit actually attended.  He has had the check for about a month - his wife gave birth to their first child about the same time, so his mind is elsewhere - and the group which put on the event contacted him that we need to deposit the check - NOW - or the funding will be lost.  So he left the check in our mail box on Tuesday and we drove again to the USPS collection box and mailed out a deposit which included the check (and some other checks for the unit the past several weeks).

We are entitled to a discount on our real estate taxes due to our age.  We need to file the paperwork by the end of the year with our county.  We don’t like to file it at the last minute.  Two years ago there was a problem with the county and we were not sure if they had the paperwork - we had mailed it by Certified Mail, but there was a telephone mixup and they had called every property owner in the county to say they had not received their paperwork, instead of just those who had previously filed the paperwork and had not filed, so last year we dropped the paperwork in person to get a receipt directly from them that they had our paperwork.  Since we each have an extremely small business (both of which lose money generally) we have to file extra papers - this year’s paperwork was 157 pages - it takes some time to assemble it all - this year I started early as I was looking for something to do during the year - and I had the paperwork finished.  We have debating over the past several months - it is Covid-19 safer to go into the post office and mail it by Certified Mail to the County and hope it gets to right office or drive to the County office building and drop it off in person this year.  As we debated this we received a notice that due to the pandemic and the need to distance from others they would open late on a handful of Tuesday nights and open on many Sunday and Saturday mornings for the paperwork to be dropped off to help those concerned about going out in public, as well as there would parking spaces in their normally (during the day) overcrowded parking lot (last year husband dropped me off at the building and drove to a department store and sat in their parking lot as we could not park at the County building).  So, our decision was made - we would drop it off on Tuesday night.  Deciding it would be a lot more crowded in December - we figured to drop it off in November.  Last week was the first of the two Tuesdays for this month - but then we had to go to the doctor the next day, so decided that going out 2 days in a row was too big a risk (ha, ha in retrospect over this week). Of course one has to go through a metal scanner, so I prepared ahead - cell phone in a small plastic zip bag, wallet in another - and I brought a pen -just in case I needed to sign in as I would not want to touch a pen others have touched.  My keys I left with husband in the car.We drove there last night - there was one person ahead of me and one other came in after me - good choice.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we have an appointment to replace the tires on our car - we were told by our mechanic earlier this year that they woulld not survive the cold of this winter.  Costco has them on sale so we called and made an appointment for tomorrow.  Boy, this was getting exhausting for how our life has been this year!  

And - on Friday, we have an appointment for the phone company to change our phones from copper wire to cable - something we don’t want - both because the copper wire is more reliable and keeps working on the many times our electricity goes out for days in storms and - really - change it right now? I wouldn’t let family in the house and I have to let in someone from the phone company who has been in other houses and may have the corona virus (let alone my fear of his having bedbugs on him since we had same)?!!!  But if we don’t do this NOW they will cut off our service except to call 911 and them.

Husband realized yesterday that we need to food shop in general - our once monthly food shopping these months - and also saw people panic shopping again on TV.  (Back in early March he insisted on panic buying a large package of toilet paper, one of paper towels and every bottle of liquid hand soap he could find.  Did we need them - no, but I figured they will go not bad and if makes him feel better...  Last week I put out the last 2 rolls of the toilet paper in the package that was already in the house when we did this as spares - means about another month before they will be used, I still have not started and will not for awhile the paper towels or the liquid hand soap - a later purchases of bars of hand soap has had 2 bars started, so I pointed all of this out to him to prevent his running out to buy more of all this.) Plus Thanksgiving is next week.  We used to make Thanksgiving dinner for our two families, but since we had bed bugs, we just make it for ourselves.  I had printed out the recipes for what we usually make and added the items needed for same to the shopping list.  

So today we ventured out to buy food.  It was 25F here - a surprise drop in temperature.  Food shopping these days has a procedure that my husband came up with to keep us safe.  Of course we wear masks and gloves - but we also spray the cart before using it - he pushes the cart, I “touch the food”...  I have a listing of where which food is in the store - but of course that is my laptop which had to go for repair ( which is actually back - but still “sitting” before we touch it) and I had to wing it on this older laptop so foods were out of order.  People were out panic shopping so there were a lot more people there than has been, but by the end of our shopping (a few hours worth) there was no wait at checkout.  In the middle of bringing the food to our porch and wiping it down with alcohol before bringing it into the house - the cold of the weather hit me and I apparently had hypothermia according to husband.  He dealt with most of what was left to bring in other than some canned/bottled items that he left in the car overnight.  (And tomorrow before we take the car for tires - we have to deal with what was left.)  

Tomorrow (Thursday) after moving the food to our van as temporary measure, we will go and have the new tires installed.  We then go to the store where we have been buying our turkeys for Thanksgiving  - one of their 2 locations here is near where we are going for tires - they start selling their fresh turkeys tomorrow and then we will deal with wiping down and bringing the turkey and the rest of today’s food.  

Then the telephone person will be here on Friday.

Saturday, we will again go out and pick up Chinese food

So after not even going out once a week or seeing another person once a week (sometimes we see and wave to a neighbor though) we have 8 days in a row of being out or having someone in our house.  These days this much too scary!  


THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Well, what has to be done has to be done somehow.  Hopefully we will survive the week and neither of us will have contracted Covid- 19.  I hope all of you do also. 

FACING SILLY FEARS AND GETTING THINGS DONE

 Over the decades I have developed an aversion to the telephone phone.   We tend to get very few phone calls other than spam calls or calls from companies we deal with who annoy us about something.  I mean very few phone calls – less than 10 or maybe even 5, a month.  If the phone rings we freeze in place until we hear on the answering machine who is calling.  One problem is that I have learned if something is going on with my mom my sister will send a text unless it is a serious urgent matter – then she calls so that adds to the problem.  I also do not like making phone calls – needed ones or personal ones.  

I currently have a number of calls which have to be made.  I started earlier this week on Tuesday with a call I should have made in late September.  I telephoned our doctor's office and made an appointment for us to have flu shots.  Yes, we know one can go to a chain pharmacy and have the shots, but husband is needlephobic and the last time he had a shot (over 40 years ago) he passed out.  So he was worried about both the lack of privacy when getting a shot at a chain pharmacy and also if he passed out they might call an ambulance and he did not want that.  So the doctor's office it was.  Neither of us has had a flu shot before.  As always, he over read up about the shots making him more concerned. We are very concerned about going out in general, let alone a doctor's office due to Covid-19, but that was the very reason we decided to get the flu vaccine.  We went today.  We were told to wait in our car and telephone when we were there.  We presumed that we would wait in the car and then go into the doctor's office which would be empty of other patients – or perhaps one going in or out.  We were surprised that when we were called to come in there were about 15 people spaced out around the waiting room (it also serves a second doctor).  Luckily the shots went well.

I also have to call – since last month – the post office where our box is located.  I need to check with the very nice fellow I have been speaking with there about if our missing our bank statements were returned to the banks due to printed notations on them – related to letting the sender know if the address changed.  I also want to talk to him as we have now had 3 items returned to the senders – two items mailed to our businesses by our state tax department and one from a credit card company and figure out why these items were returned (and what else might also have been returned).  In addition we had actually gone to the post office late one Sunday night to see if the missing mail was in the box.  It was not, but 4 pieces of mail which should have been forwarded were.  I keep putting off this call, but I really have to get it done with.  

My embroidery chapter will be renewing its meeting room next month – though the rooms are closed and we do not know when they will reopen.  The chapter president who, unlike husband and me – has been going out – when to look at meeting room in a different park which she heard was larger.  Our room has been getting a bit tight and with the idea of maybe needing to social distance on our return (hopefully some time next year) to physical meetings, she had gone to look for other rooms from the same park system and found one.  She is not a resident of the area served by these parks and I am.  She and the woman in charge of the meeting rooms have been conversing by email and including me.  I suddenly realized that the form has to be notarized which means a trip, in person, to the bank - uh oh!  So I emailed the woman from the parks department and asked if there was going to be any allowance on the notarization this year, pointing out that they have my notarized signature from several past years and I was still residing in the same house.  (I am swearing that I am resident of the township.)  She sent an email back asking to talk to me on the phone.  I told her I would call tomorrow.  My stomach is turning over with dread, not over what she will say, but making the actual call.  (My neighbor works in real estate, if I do need the notarization, I will ask if she is notary, if not, I will have to deal with going to the bank for same.)

I have other papers on my desk that I need to make phone calls for, but forget what they are.

Plus Sunday nights I try to call my mom while I am cooking dinner.  I generally cook a frozen dinner on Sunday nights and do not need to do anything while it cooking.  Mom tends to call me at dinner time – generally just as I am about to start cooking on a night that I have to be active to cook the dinner and it is a problem.  So, I have taken to calling her either on Friday nights (I make a similar type of dinner then) or Sunday nights.  Mom either does not hear the phone, does not have enough time to get to the phone before it stops ringing. It rings 4 times and then either the voice mail from the assisted living residence or the answering machine put in by family for her answers.  I have taken to calling her several times in a time in a row to let it keep ringing longer, but even then she often does not answer.  I know she is okay because if she was not, my sister would have been contacted and she would called me.  

Now, I have been very good at calling banks to check that deposits (both mailed by me and automatic) have been received and also checking how much and when payments are due on credit cards and other bills as I currently mailing out payments sooner than normal and do not always have the bill in hand when I need to pay it – or since incoming mail is problematic these days since the corona virus stay at home started and we had to have the mail forwarded from our box to our house, to check that I am correct that nothing is due on the bill.  It seems to be the actual talking to someone that upsets me.  (I learned in the first months of stay at home to call about balances due and such late night as fewer people are calling then.  In early April one bill I kept calling about and the calls were not even  accepted to wait, I was able to reach the company (for a live person) at 12:15 am. )

I especially do not like make telephone calls when my husband is in the room.  He will tell me what to say and correct me (when I am not wrong) if he hears me making calls, so I have to make them when he is elsewhere in the house – which is not often these months.)

So I have been barely getting work done this week – too  busy putting off making the telephone calls.  Hence why this post is out a day late.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Everyone has something they REALLY hate to do.  We all know that we have to do them and get them done with or the problem will be even bigger.  What do you hate to do?

WORK, FAMILY, CLUBS - ALL ARE TAKING UP MY ATTENTION

Okay, so now I have to work on getting things done - not all house things - mostly work, family,  financial, and club things. I got a fortune cookie today that said that my problems are behind me - if only I believe it.

Work - I went to the client that I go to monthly.  She was charged a large amount for fees by her credit card processor and she had no sales.  I telephoned her processing company and they gave me a breakdown that sort of made sense, but did not.  What I was told the fees were for do not match what I have been told in the past about the annual fee she has to pay (due to low sales and this being a crooked company that she says she will switch from, but does not).  A friend of hers (she is in an indoor, open market area and this is one of the other vendors) came by and said that she has to fill in a form with the processing company (and Mr. Expert does not use the same company) and then they will get rid of one the larger fee.  I called the company again and they  then said that I had to call the sales office for more info.  Her salesman who should be who she talks to about questions disappeared in 2016 about two months after she signed up this company.  So I am trying to reach their sales office - either no answer at the extension I need or it keeps ringing.  I looked up the company name on line that answered and not only is not the company she signed up - it seems to be a “use an electronic device for card processing” company not one that uses the card reader she has.  I will keep trying.

Mom - since I have been less helpful with going through mom’s house, I have been put in charge of taking her to 4 doctors she has to go to.  Husband insisted her wheelchair will not fit in our car (and she cannot climb into the van).  I pointed out to him that if I went without him, it would fit as I could drop the back seat down for more room behind it.  In the meanwhile, my sister explained that the wheelchair comes apart to fit in a car.  I have been waiting for husband to set on when we are going on a trip - still a short one and probably to PA again - so I can make appointments for mom.  Today my sister called - mom had to go to the emergency room due to leg muscle spasms.  Now she will have an aide 24/7 for 3 days due to the medication - so I am putting off calling about the appointments until next week (or the week after if we go away next week) so I know where we are with her going out. I called her Medicare supplement plan to see if they would cover the aide, only if Medicare does - so, no, they don’t

Work, again - I have a tax client who has me put his tax return on extension as he goes south for the winter.  Normally he will contact me the start of September to set up an appointment to do his return.  He sent an email  - can we meet Monday?  Have to find out from husband if we are going away next week or not - he seems to be leaning towards not as it is suppose to, yes, rain.

Family, again - husband this time - husband has been having problems for several years finding the clothes he likes.  As a result he is low on presentable clothing.  Now that RV is finally working correctly, he needed something else to obsess about.  Underwear - it seems that it cut with a lower waistband and is too low for his to be comfortable in and falls down.  Then again, his old underwear falls down also - I am going to have start sewing new elastic in the waists.  Some of his shirts are so worn out that he can be seen through them.  When he complained a week or so ago, I made him go to the outlet of the company whose shirts he likes - they are short sleeved which I figured would make it easy - but he found most of them to be “too heavy”.  He got 3 shirts - which have to be washed so he can wear them.  We also have been going to various Walmarts as he found shirts in another fabric he liked, looking for what colors it comes in.  He also bought some tee shirts to try - only $2 each at Walmart closeout.  He didn’t like them, but they are fine are spares for me - especially at that price.  Jeans - he had 2 spare pairs that he bought when the ones he likes was discontinued.  I washed them.  I went to pin them to shorten - but the waists are so tight that he would pass out if he wore them. (They were 2 of 3 identical pairs he bought together - the other is tight, but not like this and the next size up falls off him.) We went out looking for jeans.  He found 3 pairs - all going back are they are not right.  I did convince to buy a waistband extender which moves the button/button hole 1 or 2 inches apart and he is using same.  More jeans shopping to come.  (Okay, I can be as bad, just have been lucky - my only problem is socks and I have taught myself to darn so I can fix them when they get holes.)

Clubs - I have to get paperwork out to an upcoming event for our reenactment unit.  We raised the unit’s insurance coverage and I have been trying - by telephone and mail - to get a copy of the increased coverages from them since May!

Clubs - I managed out to get out the summer newsletter for my embroidery chapter.  Now I have to get the year book (upcoming year’s meeting programs) out.  The newsletter is email; the yearbook has to be printed and mailed - and husband is planning a trip - sometime.

Financial - I have to print out, sign, and mail by certified mail two letters for credit cards that we have to “opt out” of changes they are making.  I paid all our bills today until the end of next week in case he decides that we are going away same. 


THOUGHTs OF THE WEEK -           

First thought is - I don’t have time to write and post this!

When one does not know when one will do something - one cannot plan when one will do something else and has to juggle to deal with it all.  It will all work out in the end - either work out well or badly, but it will work out and new problems will come along to be solved.

TAX SEASON OVER AT LAST - GLAD I WAS ORGANIZED

Well, somehow I managed to finish the tax returns for my clients and us - I never understand how it always gets done.  I actually finished early enough to work in a day trip to Lancaster, PA on Friday. 

Okay, I know sort of how I get it done - Organization!.  Well, also there are a lot less returns than there used to be.  I have an organized system for working on them.  I even print a form for each client on which I summarize the information before I start the return.  This lets me double check that I have entered the information in the program for the returns correctly.  (If, say the amount of interest income on the summary sheet does not match what is to be on the return - one of them is wrong and I have to figure out which.)  I print them out in the same manner each time.  I also make a pdf file of the client’s completed returns, any hand written info pages from the client, anything that showed withheld taxes (such as a W2) for the client, any extra pages I wrote up (sometimes there are a lot of some item and I list it on “columnar paper” - that’s the funny paper with number columns that accoutants use - and then add it up and put the total on the summary page - I also use the back of the summary pages for shorter, simpler listings), and then the summary page - front and back.  My paper copy of the client’s return is stapled together with all of these same items and put into my “to file” holder for next year.  Now, since I scan in everything I needed and did, as well as the return, after I finish the return I shred last year’s paper copy.  What?  Shred it?  Don’t I need to keep it as an accountant?  I have the scanned copy and I keep that - it takes no space other than on a computer disk.  I only keep the paper copy through the next year’s return to help me prepare the next year’s return.

The organization is important as I may be working on several returns at the same time.  Clients send me their info - but sometimes they are missing information either because they forgot to include it or they have not yet received something and wanted to get the rest of the information to me in the meantime.  By being organized and having a summary sheet to match up everything to (and checking last year’s return) I can pick up again if I need to stop and then go back to work on  a return.  Last year’s return helps (which is why I keep a paper copy for the year) as generally people have the same items year to year.  You know, if they had wages one year, chances are they do the next year.  If they had interest from the XYZ bank one year, chances are their bank account is still there the next year.  If they had his and hers statements from a broker - well, they should again next year.  If I find something missing compared to last year, unless the client let me know about it, I know to check for missing information.  

Oddly logic is important also in this organization project.  If a client has, say, a business from their home, not only will a missing amount for their business phone costs pop up when I compare this year to last, but it only makes sense that they would have some expense for using a telephone (of some sort) for their business.  A client who works online has to have Internet service and maybe some other related costs. 

Now despite the organization and being caught up enough to take a day off, I still did not finish until late Sunday afternoon.  I knew I would be able to finish and so took for the day.  I did end up with a small problem.  A client who is a good friend moved to another state and I had not a return from that state in over 30 years.  Their return was finished mostly, but I needed one tiny piece of information that I had not known I would need.  I needed to know their school district. (This is something some states require, most do not seem to based on the returns I have done.)  The name of their community matched one of the school districts, but I know that there still can still be a difference.  (I live in a community that has a school district, but since I live just into the district, my house is in the next community’s school district.)  So I had to set the return aside until I was able to contact them, they checked, and got back to me.  It was a different district, so I was glad I waited.  I prepared and filed extension forms for them and at the same time I mailed out the extension forms, I mailed their returns to them, they owed no taxes - the extensions were only to cover that they would not have the returns to mail out on time.

Now I have to catch up.  Anything that was not important was set aside.  (Please note that YOU are important as my posts went out timely.)  I set up a file folder on top of my paid bills holder and put anything that came along into the folder.  Three bills.  A stack of bank statements for us, our reenacting unit, and my embroidery guild chapter.  RV insurance policy.  You know the stuff I mean. 

Bills were timely paid while dealing with doing the returns due to them being in order in the wall holder next to my desk - and I made sure to note that of the three bills set aside, the earliest one was due to be mailed out on April 20. 

I kept on my email that was of importance.  The lesser emails - this store or that - I deleted.  I get emails from a chat group and they sat unopened until yesterday when I opened all of them and dealt with them.

Dishes and laundry were kept cleaned on schedule. 

On Monday afternoon I mailed out our returns and the items for the above client.  I then came home and wrote up my treasurers report for our reenactment unit’s meeting that night. (And went to the meeting that night.)

So yesterday, Tuesday, I finally started catching up.  I reconciled 6 bank statements - most from the 2 groups I am treasurer of.  I caught up on the chat I mentioned above and got to see photos of 2 lovely crocheted squares from one of the other “chatters” and hear about weather problems of the 2 weeks and a miniature kit one of the others was assembling. 

Today we went food shopping - yes, everything gets short shrift during the height of tax season. 

I should explain that I am the daughter of 2 accountants.  I grew up with tax season the same as I did with the seasons of the year or the holidays during the year - it was something that occurred at the same time every year.  My dad would let me “help” with the photocopying - back when this was a relatively new thing and copies came out wet and had to be hung to be dried.  No computers, of course.  So it is a part of my life.  My husband took many years to be accustomed to the idea of a period of a couple of months in which life basically stops - more so towards the end of tax season - for work.  He knows now how it will all unfold. 

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

If you have not filed your tax return yet, I hope that you have filed an extension and you get it prepared as soon as possible - remember it is only extension to file, not to pay and you could end up with interest and penalties if you owe money. 

If you did file your return and are getting a refund - how about using it towards paying off bills or putting it in the bank towards having savings?  If you owe money and couldn’t pay it - pay it as soon as you can to save to on penalties and interest which can add up quickly.

Start now to set up a system to be able to figure out what you will need to have for next year’s tax returns and organize a way to save the paperwork so you will have an easier time next year.  (I am going to send to IRS and our various medical related providers/insurances in a month or so for some printouts we will need to apply for a low income/senior real estate tax exemption, so when the paperwork for that arrives next August, I will be able to do the forms right away and get them done and out as I will have all that I need in advance and I already have a folder set up to keep them in.)

For those of you in other countries with different income tax systems - I am sure that you have paperwork you need also at the end of the year and need to have it organized to find it all easily.
   
As I always say when I write about taxes - this is not tax or legal advice.  Everyone is different and you need to check with whoever does your income taxes as to what YOU need to keep and what YOU need to do.

NO MATTER WHAT ONE DOES - IT CAN GO WRONG

This week was to be a busy one for me.  I was suppose to give a talk at my embroidery chapter meeting - today, Wednesday, and I also had to go to the same client again as she will going out of town and I have to do her books for February.  And we had to go and take money from husband’s IRA to pay bills.
       
I spent the evenings the past week working on the talk about the history of embroidery samplers.  I made an outline of what I wanted to say, both so I would not forget anything and would not wander - I tend to wander even more when I speak than I do when I write.  I checked information that I knew, just to make sure I remembered it correctly.  I searched for photos of samplers online to download and print out to show and pass around at the meeting, both to explain what I was saying, and because I knew the ladies in my group would love to see them - probably even more than listen to me talk. 

I had started working on the research a week or so later than I planned to do so, but as of Monday night, my notes were finished (well, okay, I remembered something afterwards to add) and I had photos of samplers I liked and which went with talk.  My husband was going to print the sampler photos for me on Tuesday afternoon and evening.  He was bit miffed that I was not using any of the photos he has taken over the years of samplers at exhibitions, but polite about it.  (I only was not using them as I have seen his photo organization - everything has the original number assigned to it and is a folder by year of every photo he took that year.)  I was going to bring a reproduction of a 1700s sampler I had stitched - and I had a photo of the original.  I planned to bring about 3 or 4 of the books I have with photos and info about samplers.  Yes, for once I was organized and not going to have to work in a panic at the last minute - I am a major procrastinator.  The weather since last week had said it would rain today - I figured out how to pack what I was bringing (especially the reproduction sampler and books) so it would not get wet. 

Yesterday we went to the banks and dealt with moving money around.  I had been unsure if I should go to the client yesterday or tomorrow and tomorrow was suppose to be the better weather day and it gave me more time to prepare for the talk.  Everything was going great.

Then yesterday the weather report changed!  The rain today changed to snow - not too much in this area, but it would be coming down while everyone was driving to the meeting and some members come from the county to the east and others from the county to the west - and let’s face it - we are a bunch of, literally, old ladies.  Heck, I live around the corner and up the block from where we meet and I was concerned about driving to the meeting.  I kept figuring I would hear from the chapter president to talk about the weather, but I did not.  Finally I telephoned her - good thing, she had not heard about the weather.  So, we split the membership list to call and tell them the meeting was canceled (not a big group and there are members who are friends and/or come to meetings together so we can call one and have them let the other know). 

So, now I have a lot of time as I will not be giving the talk until May.  I will not get complacent and will make sure husband has time to leisurely print the photos and he will time to look for a few photos he took for me.  (I like to make him happy as much as he likes to make me happy.)

So I planned to call my client and ask if I could come tomorrow - but the weather is to be below freezing and it is still raining on and off, so ice is a good possibility.  She is not always in on Fridays, but luckily this week she is, so I will go then when it was to be a tiny bit warmer and dry.  Of course once I made the appointment there was suddenly a 20% chance of snow on Friday!  But the local news covers parts of 3 states and the sections north and west of us tend to be the more likely to have snow, so I am hoping I will not get stuck driving in snow. 

Spent the afternoon catching up on things on the computer as I had not expected to be home.  Found some items online I promised to email to my mom and did so.  A few bank statements had come in, so I did the bank recs on them, so they are done with for the month.  I scanned magazine articles for my husband - in case the idea is forgotten - he had a number of issues of a reenacting magazine that for some years he no longer subscribes to.  I suggested he go through the magazines, mark the articles he is interested in and I would scan the articles so he would have them if needed or wanted (and they could be magnified easily so he could read them easier) and then get rid of the magazines. Oh, and the file can also be searched if he is looking for info on a specific topic.  I do this “between” other things.  Today I got rid of 3 more issues.    I also went through the work from last year for this client so that if I have any questions about anything I can look it up Friday to correct it.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -

“The best laid plans of mice and men...”  There are going to be times when what one plans goes awry - much more often than one expects.  One just has to go with it.  If you end up with time planned for one thing and then not doing that one thing, figure out what else to use the time for.  I am now ahead on other things that I would have to do anyway and I am ready - except for printing the photos - for when I give the talk in May and I will be much more relaxed as I will not have had to rush to put together the talk then.  Maybe I will even find some source for some things I know and cannot remember where I read them. 

TRIP WENT AWRY - AGAIN

We have not been on a trip really this year as each time we planned one, something happened.  We traditionally go away for my birthday and planned to be away for 5 days for it.  We were to leave on Monday and return home overnight Friday to Saturday.  Once again our plans went awry.  A huge nor’easter (for those not from the U.S. this is a MAJOR wind and rain storm and is considered a winter storm, even though it does not involve snow) was to hit us Sunday through Monday.  Luckily we had not made reservations at the RV park in advance - this time of year the parks are usually not anywhere near full here in the northeast U.S. and since we go midweek - we avoid the possibility of the park filling with weekend guests - as well as avoiding the crowds that come to the Pennsylvania Dutch country. 

When we going on Monday we planned to start packing the RV on Sunday night with plenty of time on Monday to finish doing so as we would not be in a rush.  I made up the bed in the RV last week to have it done in advance - I pull the blanket and sheets over the pillows to keep them free of dust.

I have a checkoff sheet that I keep in the computer and print out each trip to make sure we don’t forget anything. The check off sheet includes a section on things to be done in advance - making the bed, filling the water tanks, checking supplies such as toilet paper, tissues, paper goods, soaps & paper towels, and so on.  Then there is a section on personal items - clothes, shoes, jackets, my embroidery - I don’t list the clothing items individually as we know what we need in clothes.  I have a food section as we bring items for snack - soda, cracker, water, cereal - and on longer trips I will bring soup, peanut butter and bread - just in case.  We have never used the latter, although one lunch time in a bad rain storm we came close.  There is a section of electronics to come - laptops and such.  There is a section of paper items to bring - coupon holders, directions, reservations (I actually keep an envelope for each of our regular trips for reservations, coupons and other papers I want to bring).  There is also a section of what to do before we leave - unplug the washer, turn off the dryer and stove breakers, take out the garbage when we leave.  And, lastly, there is a section of what needs to be done when we return - what not to forget in the RV when it is unpacked, turn off the refrigerator, lights and RV battery, and related matters.  Very organized -right? 

We were planning to go to a farmers’ market on Tuesday so we had to be out and on the way early (for us).  I packed the RV Monday night except for our “last minute bag” which has things we need the night before so they cannot be prepacked and my laptop computer.   Our plan was for me to call and make a reservation Tuesday morning just after 9 am as the RV park office opens at same.  I called.  I got a message telling me the office opens at 9 am - at 9:10 am.  I left a message to call me back and we kept going.  Husband was upset about what would happen if there was no RV space available.  I pointed out that he keeps telling me the RV need to be driven; he was looking forward to going to the farmers’market, and I wanted to be away for my birthday (if you have not calculated - this is Halloween - there is much less of same where we were going than at home).  I told him that at worst we would have had a day trip and accomplished all 3 things and would come home that night.  We left.  When we leave I direct him to back out of our driveway using walkie talkies.  We also use these for me to direct him into the space at the RV park.  Since it was Halloween we wanted to make sure that the house did not look too different as if we were away, so when he was out of the driveway, I drove one of our other cars into where the RV usually sits - and then ran and got into the RV and we were off.

Along the way - around 11 am - I finally was able to make reservations, although not for any of the spaces we prefer - and so far this trip 2 of the 3 spaces we prefer have remained empty and the 3rd was empty tonight.  The trip down was actually better than most  - much less traffic.  When we got to the farmers’ market it was freezing - or at least it felt so to me.  I had on 2 sweatshirts and wished I had brought gloves.  I had thought of treating myself to ice cream
for lunch for my birthday - there is a stand at the market (actually they are at both markets we go to) that always has a crowd and the ice cream looks yummy, so I thought I would go off my diet and have it for lunch - I planned this last year and the stand was closed.  This year it was open, but I was so cold, I could not imagine doing so.  We went around at the market and then had dinner (mine was free as it was my birthday) took a walk around Walmart (as we normally do) and went to the RV park. 

Being level is very important in an RV  - or doors will not open or will fall open and one is uncomfortable.  One problem, while driving today on the trip here, I realized that we only had one walkie talkie - the other one I had left in the car at home when I moved it!  I waited until we were in Walmart to mention it to husband and quickly suggested alternatives - including buying a  pair of walkie talkies in Walmart (which is why I told him then).  We decided we would deal with it by using our cell phones.  The only level spot we could find in this space was on an odd angle - which we would have to duplicate the next two nights when we came back at the end of the day.  We then settled in for the night. 

I checked email on my (this laptop) and unpacked the last minute bag.  Then we went to get ready for bed.  The bed in the RV consists of two bench seats which face each other and two pieces of wood which slide between them and then the bench seat cushions are rearranged into the bed.  I was kneeling down to store the laptop and some other items under the bed (the center which would be the aisle between the bench seats is used for storage) and as I bent down towards the bed - WHACK!!!  I slammed my head into one of the insert wood pieces.  I figured out that I had not pushed it all the way into position between the beds, so where I thought was an open space or wood covered with cushion - was the wood.  Owwwww! We checked and there is no bump or bruise.  I checked for signs of concussions - none - I made sure to stay awake for several hours to make sure.  Tonight, 24 hours later my forehead still hurts if I move the muscles in my face a certain way or if I (or husband who of course does so often to make sure I am okay) touch it. 

It was so cold that we had turn on the propane to run the propane furnace in the RV.  We had to be very careful and many things could not go where they normally go at night and that nothing flammable was near the furnace.  We made it through and should not need the furnace tonight (there is alternate heat down to 40F from a heat sink in the air conditioner).

I then took our medications to take and to replace in our pocket pill boxes to take today.  I forgot the over the counter vitamins and such that the doctor has I take - they are either sitting on our kitchen table or my dresser at home.  Oh well, at least we have the prescription medications.

Unfortunately all of this mess is becoming more and more common when we take trips.  No matter how organized and prepared we think we are - we are not.  Well, somehow we always deal with what needs to be dealt with.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Mistakes happen.  There is nothing to do but go ahead as well as possible.  No matter how much I try to figure out in advance what can happen and what to do - something else will happen and will need to be dealt with all one can do is one’s best.

DEALING WITH COUNTY BUREAUCRACY

Last Thursday we went to an event to help us with applying for two exemptions of our real estate tax.  Real estate tax here is high - we pay around $8,000 a year for our real estate taxes and we pay rather low real estate taxes.  People easily pay $15,000 to over $20,000 for a subdevelopment house - more of course for fancy houses.  To help “older” people stay in their houses and in recognition that they probably don’t have children in the schools, there are two kinds of exemptions that one can receive if one is over 65, has income below certain levels and the property is one’s primary residence.  Since husband turned 65, we are now entitled to these exemptions.

I should also explain that our real estate taxes has two different components (well actually a lot more than two, but two sets of billing for them).  One type is the “general levy”.  This is billed annually in January and is paid in January and July.  It consists of the county assessments, the township assessments, the fire department assessments, the police department assessments (police is one, the police stations is another...), the garbage district assessments, assessments for water pipes (we also pay for water usage monthly), sewer assessments (pipes ar one, sewage plant is another) and so on.  The other type is the school taxes which also includes the library district assessment and is billed in October (yes, we got the new one today) and is payable in October and April.  (So we pay each tax twice a year, but pay real estate taxes quarterly as they alternate quarters.)   

Being an accountant I downloaded the forms and filled them in.  I am pretty good with forms - and it seems to me that I have helped clients with them in the past.  I have been unable to reach anyone with some questions I had.  I thought that I posted about this, but can not find it - when I call the County Assessors office I get a message that there is no one there to take my call (not that they are busy, there is no one there) and I should call back.  No matter what day of the week or time I called I received this message continually.  After some days of trying there was an additional part to the message - it gave their address and told one that parking is “extremely” limited, which to be honest, is true as it is the County office building - but basically they are saying “No one is here to talk to you by phone and don’t come here either”.  So we went to one of their help sessions for this paperwork.  It was much emptier than a thought and one was able to meet individually with employees about one’s forms. 

Looking over the employees I noticed the attitude of one, compared to the others and knew that I did not want her.  So, of course, we got her.  She looks at our general levy exemption paperwork.   and says to us “Your income on this one item is too high - you are not eligible!”  I point out to her that we have medical expenses which can be subtracted from the income by their rules, which bring us down under the income amount.  “It has to be out of pocket expenses!”  (Each of these comments was said as a challenge.)  Just our medical insurance premiums alone almost bring us down enough - add the prescription costs and I did not even bother get print outs from our doctors.  Understand, canceled checks or other receipts is not proof of the medical expenses, one must get a print out for the year from who the money went to.   “Oh! Okay”.  Now I had filled in the form on their website.  “This is the wrong form!  It is the form from the website!  We don’t use that form!” Huh?  I did not ask her why then the form is on the website and one is told to download it and use it, then again, there is a link to the state to submit income information to it for the other exemption and not only does it not work, when I telephoned the state, I was told that they don’t do that - all income goes to the county - if I complained, who knows how bad this would get.  She then takes the copy of our state tax return I brought with us for the other exemption, which is suppose to require it.  “IT’S HANDWRITTEN!!!! We can’t accept this!”  Huh?  I do our own return.  She then goes to someone else and comes back with our return and a page of information.  I have to contact IRS and get copies of all our 1099, W2, etc forms.  The page has the local number to call to get this.  “You will have to take this home and wait until you get the papers from them and then send it in to us altogether with the correct form!”  Okay. 

Now she goes to other exemption’s paperwork.  In our state we have a general exemption from part of the school taxes if one owns their home and it is their primary residence.  This is called a STAR exemption. (It means school something or other I am sure.)  The money for this one comes from the State, not the County.  Some years it was subtracted from what one pays, other years it has come as a check back to us after we pay the taxes, basically so we “see” that the our “wonderful” state senators and representatives are “giving” us a break on our school taxes.  If one qualifies for same, is over 65 (or one spouse is), has no children in school, and has income under a much higher limit than the first tax has one has their school taxes lowered much more.  I prepared for another set of arguments.  “Why are there three forms?”  I had the County form and the State form, and another form from the State which will automatically renew this exemption.   She throws the State form back at me.  “You don’t need this!”  I tell her the State office told me to fill it in.  “No, it is unneeded!”  She then looks at the form to renew it automatically.  “What this!!!”  She reads it, turns it over, then reads it again.  “Oh you want it to renew automatically?”  Well, hmmm, do I want to go through this every year for both exemptions, or would I rather get it one of them automatically.  I reply, “yes”.  Again, she does not ask for any of the paperwork - birth certificates, deeds, etc,that the paperwork’s instructions said to bring.  She looks it over and stamps the form.  Makes a copy (yes, they had copy machines and every thing - and I had brought a copy and even a stapler, just in case) and stamps the copy and hands it to me.  Hopefully we really did not need the other form.

So we went home.  I called the IRS number.  It actually has a choice to get the printout requested.  I put in my info.  “There is no available information for this person.”  Huh?  I try husband’s info and I am able to pick which one of two printouts I want - his income tax info or adjustments made.  I pick the former figuring that will give us - or at least him - the 1099, etc. copies printed out.  I try again for me - again I am not available.  I then see that there is also a form to request the info.  I go to the IRS website and download the form and fill in a copy for me and one for husband.  On this form I see a choice for the 1099 forms to be sent.  Hmmm, does that mean we are not getting them from the telephone call as that item is listed separately?  I don’t know, but the forms went to IRS the next day.  Hopefully one way or the other we will get the information.

We have until December 31 to fill these papers.  (This is an early date - most places in the state have until next March.)  I am so glad that I did not wait for the last minute.  If the information from IRS arrives in time there are additional sessions around the county until October 19 and we can go in again, if not we will have to either mail it in or husband will drive there and circle while I go in and deal with it. 

This process is so much worse than dealing with IRS or our State about any type of taxes.  Then again, perhaps despite their holding sessions to help people deal with the paperwork, they don’t want people to get the exemptions as, lets face it, it cuts down on the amount of taxes they will collect and they have to come up with the money elsewhere - including maybe raising the taxes.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK - When dealing with the government one has to have everything they want - even if they won’t want it - plus anything else one can think with.  Even then something will be missing or go wrong.  Never yell at the government employee or things will not come out well for you.  (Sorry if any readers are government employees - but at least I am telling people not to yell at you.)

WHY DO ALL THE APPOINTMENTS COME AT THE SAME TIME?

Well, it has been another one of those weeks.  Most of our weeks are fairly devoid of appointments.  Not this week - or next week.  Plus of course the normal things to be done in a week.

This story starts back in June - yes, June.  My husband does not like to know when he is going to the doctor and as a result I make the appointments and then tell him at the last minute.  When he worked outside the house I would contact his secretary and make sure the appointment times were clear and she would make sure he did not have anything to do on those days.  Now it is all up to me.  Back in June I had to make appointments for us to go for bloodwork and then, around a week later, for the doctor.  June was a busy month - as was July, but I found two dates a week apart in July and called the doctor’s office.  I was told that the doctor retired.  Now, the doctor was a man in at least his 80s so it makes sense, but I would think that some sort of notice would be sent to his patients so I was surprised.  His son has been in practice with him and we have seen his son a couple times when our doctor was not available and husband’s mom used him as a doctor, so I did the natural thing - I made appointments for us with the son.  This was the simple part.

While husband is now on Medicare and can see any doctor, I am still on our old ACA medical insurance plan and have a doctor who is in charge of my care and referrals who was our doctor.  So I went online to my medical insurance company to change my doctor from him to his son.  Only apparently the insurance company had been told that he had retired and instead of doing the logical thing of assigning me to the other doctor in his practice - his son - they assigned me to a strange doctor we had never heard of.  I picked his son as my doctor and the insurance company’s software showed that I had done so.  I kept checking for him to show as my doctor - but he did not.  When it was a week before the bloodwork appointment and he still did not show - I called the doctor’s office and canceled the appointments - apologizing like crazy and explaining the problem.  Since husband is always around it is hard to make calls and not have him hear me or ask who I am calling - this had been the easy part.  I now had to call the insurance company and fix the problem - which could result in sitting on hold for who knows how long - not something that can be done while hiding in the bathroom and pretending that I am there for other reasons.  I finally managed to get husband set up with a scarf to weave so that he would not come up to the office (my other choice would be to call sitting in the car in the commercial garage when I went to a client) and called the insurance company and a very nice young lady changed him to my doctor as of May (I presume that is when he retired and the other change made.) I now could call and make new appointments.

But we were going to go away on a trip in August - sometime in August, for some length of time, to somewhere - how the heck can one make an appointment under these circumstances.  I kept hoping the trip would be planned and I would be able to make the appointments, but they were not.  Finally I went to refill a prescription of his and was told - not without an appointment.  I found two days, a week apart in September to make the appointments and figured I had enough of his pills to last through the bloodwork appointment.

Then we found out that our dentist is also retiring and I have been having weekly visits to him since August to get a new upper partial made and fitted - and I am not done and then I plan to have him add to my old one for a spare.

Throw in I have to go to two clients this month - one to pick up information for his tax return (on extension) and the other for the regular monthly visit - including the work I did not do when I did not go in August (an annual thing to skip August as she is away in July and there is not much to do in August as a result). 

We are also involved in our county fair , which serves as same for three counties.  We started about 30 years ago entering items in the crafts, needlework and baking categories, then started demonstrating leatherwork and needlework, and finally we started judging the junior crafts and needlework categories.  So the fair takes up parts of at least 4 days each year - dropping off entries, judging, demonstrating, and then picking up the entries.  In the past we would demonstrate every day of the fair so it took even more time, but now I go on one day with other members of my embroidery chapter and husband either joins us or finds something else to do at the fair. 

There is a quilt show in Pennsylvania this coming weekend.  We would like to go there for a few days - a day at the quilt show and the rest at our normal things there, but we are driving down for the quilt show and then home. 

Our reenactment unit had an event last weekend and a meeting next week.

And there are the 2 major Jewish holidays this month - one is an evening and 2 days and the other is an evening and the following day. 

Somehow everything has managed to fit together like a giant jigsaw puzzle and then - my dentist called and said that the mockup for fit was not in for last Friday and could I come on Tuesday?  I could not as we were going for bloodwork at the same time as I would be going to him - but remember, husband does not know this and does not want to know this.  I told them no and we would go with the Friday appointment I had for this week, even though that would push everything back a week.  Husband heard part of the call and wanted to know what happened - I lied and told him that they wanted us to come Monday - when we were doing the judging. 

Then, the dentist’s office called and actually suggested Monday - and they were open late, so we went to the judging, had lunch and then went to the dentist.  After calling the lab they wanted us to come next Tuesday - I told her we couldn’t and it was all being pushed back another week - husband asked me why not in the dentist’s office and I told him I would explain later - he did not ask again.  By the time we got home I figured out that if we could go to the dentist in the morning, we could make it to the doctor in the afternoon - so another trip to the bathroom phone booth and that was done.

Now, I am sure I have mentioned that we live on a later schedule than normal people.  Due to all this craziness we had to get up three days in a row EARLY, well for us.  We had a reenactment on Sunday, the judging on Monday, and the doctor on Tuesday.  (So husband now knows that we have an appointment next week and that our doctor is retired and I got his prescription renewed.) So nice to get to sleep to our normal time today. 

Tomorrow I am going to the tax client to get his information.  We meet at the library near him and due to my crazy bed bug fear, when I go back to the car I change my clothes (I wear a top with straps under my shirt and shorts under my skirt and replace the clothes over them) - but I think it is suppose to rain.

We will go to the quilt show either on Friday or Saturday or there is slight chance we will to the quilt show Friday and stay overnight.  I have paid all the bills due this week and transferred money for next week’s bills so that same is done with, even though Friday is our normal banking day.

Monday night is the meeting of our reenactment unit - I will prepare my report to be made either Sunday or Monday.  Today while I actually had a bit of free time and was photocopying magazine articles to keep the info and get rid of the magazine, I went through some old records of the unit’s and shredded those past 10 years and boxed the rest to take to the meeting and put in the file there.  Also dumped some magazines that started to the unit some years ago in case anyone wanted them - too late now. 

Oh, and when I planned to be writing this earlier in the evening, husband needed me as he found out that online sales sites has mostly incorrect shipping costs listed and he needed my help to fix them.  So instead of starting this post on Wednesday night just after 11:30 pm, I did not start until 1 am on Thursday. 

Tuesday we have the dentist and the doctor.  Wednesday night starts the holidays.  Next Saturday I/we will be demonstrating at the fair.  The day after, Sunday, is pickup day at the fair. 

I then have 4 days the last week of the month that are open - but there will be more trips to the dentist to fit in.  My mom tonight told me that she needs to go to the doctor and plans to go this month (I told her not next week - the last week of the month is okay and I am not sure they will have an appointment this quickly) so the last week will be as busy - and husband plans to try to, yes go to Pennsylvania for a few days. And that Friday evening and Saturday are the other holiday.

And of course - there is the regular housework and such to be done.  Oh and we do have to go to the eye doctor next month...

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -

There are times when there is lots of nothing to do.  Then there are times when what needs to be done if overwhelming.  All we can do is what we can and not get sick over what we cannot.

     

HORRORS OF MOVING TO A NEW CELL PHONE

I have mentioned before that I have an older cell phone as I love the Organizer software I use on my computer.  I love it so much that my husband had to set up a virtual Windows XP “side” to my desktop computer as I could not use the software with Windows 7. 

Well, what I have been afraid of has happened.  As (I am pretty sure I mentioned before) my cell phone - a classic Blackberry stopped accessing the Internet or email (email is something which I almost never access on my cell phone anyway) through the cell phone signal and started working only through wifi a little more than a month ago.  I could make telephone calls and send texts without a problem.   I have previously described my attempts to resolve the problem.  Nothing worked.  Husband was upset at the idea of my continuing to pay the full price for my cell phone service when I was getting only part of the service - but also knew what a major upset the change would be.  We let the phone renew for another month to give us time to think.  I had three choices - keep using (and paying for) my old phone service with my phone it was - my choice, update to “the modern world” and get a (low price) android phone, or go the other way and get a flip phone that would make calls and texts and just about nothing else - either of the latter two options was cheaper per month than continuing the service I had.   

Husband has tried to be very gentle about this and help me as he knows how much change in general and this particular change especially, upsets me.  My life was in that phone - it kept me - yes - ORGANIZED.  My phone numbers were in it.  My calendar was in it.  My memos were in it.  It synced with the software I love on my computer.  (The phone did not sync with the software for todos/tasks something very important to me and I am still carrying my older phone - a Palm Centro (the first “smart” phone) around the house to deal with the todos as most of them are in the house and I learned to make a secondary calendar notation for todos to be done outside the house to get by.

I was happily getting by until this past Monday.  We had needed to renew prescriptions.  I telephoned the doctor from home and he was to call the pharmacy.  When we went to pick up the prescriptions two of them were missing and I tried to call the doctor from my cell phone - it did not work.  I then tried to text my husband to tell them about the problem and it would not text.  Oh boy!!  I found my husband who was looking at cell phones for me - his major hobby in Walmart these days - and after using his cell phone to call the doctor’s office and correct the matter - told him that I guessed that this was it.

I have one “real” (meaning a not just my craziness about things problem) problem with cell phones.  I don’t carry a purse.  I don’t wear a belt.  The phone has to fit in the front pocket of my jeans.  We have been looking at android phones to try to find one that would fit.  He had me try his phone in my pocket for size - much too large as were almost all of the phones we found.  He found two that were small enough - and only one was reviewed to be good.  So that was the only choice.  We bought the phone Monday when the Blackberry did not work - although it started working again later.

I have another problem which he insists is me - I haven’t been able to get anyone else’s android/Idevice to work.  At the dentist office he used Square for our charge card and handed me his tablet to sign - I didn’t show up on it - husband had to sign it.  So I have to learn deal with this. Husband has given me a stylus which will work with the phone and he found out that the “space pen” I carry will also work as stylus with it.  (The space pen fits in my pocket.)

So for three days now we have been working with the new phone.  It is on a different service provider and it was a bit confusing setting it up (my phones are both prepaids), but we got it done.  Somehow it changed immediately; husband had been worried about me not having a phone for a few days - how could he text me when we are in stores and I walk away?

I have been learning to use the phone - I have a problem, believe it or not - hitting the correct letter when typing (and even once the wrong digit when using the numbers, in a situation where I could not go back and correct it).  I tend to hit the letter to the right of the one I am trying to hit.  I sent a text to him - only took a half hour to write it as I kept hitting the wrong letters.  Yes, I am that lazy - I text him to come down to dinner instead of walking up and telling him.  I am sure I will improve.

My embroidery chapter board had our annual board meeting last week and there have been followup emails - I answered one of them and said that I have gotten the emails, but I am switching phone which means that I will be totally disorganized until I figure it all out, and to please bear with me - they are nice, they will.

First major problem - I have over 400 contact entries in my old cell phones/Organizer and the only way to move them to the new phone is by copy and paste of each item in each entry.  I looked through the sync software I use for the Palm Centro as it is a sync program we bought and it syncs a variety of programs and devices - it has a choice labeled “Google”.  We tried setting that up as husband figured I might not only be able to transfer the contacts and my calendar with it, but then I could sync them as I wanted to.  No, was set up for too old a version of Google.

He did managed to find out how to export my calendar from Organizer to Google, so after a few false tries, that worked and it is one set up done on the new phone.

I then started copying and pasting contact info.  There are two schools of thought as to the order to do this - first one is to start with the first contact in my Organizer (also Blackberry/Palm as they match) and go through one after another - this idea is very organized, hard to miss a listing.  The second thought, is copy the contacts most needed - so I can use the phone right away - and then copy the others, a bit each day, which is the more practical of the two. 

Since Monday I have had one contact in the new phone - my husband’s cell phone.  Today I sat and pasted and copied the listings for our immediate family, two other board members of my embroidery chapter, the head of our reenacting unit, our doctors, and our medical insurance companies.  I have out an email to each of my sisters double checking that I have the correct info for them, their husbands, and their children, so I put in basic info for them that I know is correct and will add the rest when they let me know of any updates.  I have a lot of contacts as I have all of the members of our reenactment unit and my embroidery chapter in the phone.  I also have at least one emergency contact for those in our reenactment unit (there is a campfire and there are guns, so we like to know who to contact - just in case) and one advantage to the new phone is that I can put the emergency contacts as part of the main contact for the members and label who they are for (mom, wife, cousin, friend...). That might speed it up a small bit.  In the mean while when we go out I bring my Palm just in case we need another contact - it is smaller than the Blackberry.

My plan going forward is that I will have a “memo” in the new phone - if I make an appointment while out or add a contact, I will add it to this memo and then add it to my Organizer program at home by hand.  The same with todos - up until now I have been putting them in the Blackberry as an appointment until I am home and can fix it.

The memos I have are the biggest problem.  Some of them are static - info we need for some purchases - how much fabric, what model saw, etc.  Others change sometimes - a list of our EZ pass tolls so I can check it against the statement - this one is not a problem as I will have my Palm with me when go out of state any way - but I will also use a separate memo in the new phone to keep track of same.  Biggest problem is the constantly changing memos - my shopping list for example - I need to keep both lists - the computer and the phone list the same and that will take some work - then again, right now I am using a list written on paper until all this gets set up and working and anything has to be better than that - I forgot to buy eggs today.

How have YOU dealt with switching cell phones?

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK - What has to be done, has to be done.  One can say no as much as one wants to, but when push comes to shove, one has to do what one has to do.  When the cell phone did not work Monday (which was apparently a problem with too few “bars” as it worked again later) I took it as a sign that someone (not my husband) or something really wants me to switch and I should just “rip off the bandage” and switch.

MARCH SEEMS ALMOST AS BAD AS FEBRUARY SO FAR

Well, another week has gone by.  Last Wednesday I was so glad that February was over and hoped for a pleasant March with a chance to catch up on everything - and put away my Christmas Teddy village.  It is not to be.

Last Thursday was pretty good.  We went to the dentist and he had a wax of husband’s new partial.  He fit it in adjusted it and we are to have the finished new partial this coming Friday.

That afternoon we signed husband up for a Medicare part D plan and a supplemental plan as he starts Medicare next month.  (For anyone outside the US - this is the Federal government medical plan for those 65 and over.)  Confusion - but not too bad.  More or less an auspicious start to the month.

Friday we had a fairly normal day.  There was suppose to be snow, but nothing.  At dinner Friday night husband’s partial broke again along the same line and I called the dentist to see if he could fit us in Saturday morning - he could.

We go to a quilt show annually at the same venue in New Jersey as the woodworking show two weeks ago.  We normally go on Thursday - the first day of the show - but due to the dentist appointment we planned to go on Friday.  Due to the snow we changed when we would go to Saturday.  So, again, we went to the dentist and then drove out of state to the quilt show.  (It always amazes me how quiet the quilt show is compared to the woodworking show and all it’s power tools, in the same place.  Another difference is that there are more tables and they are big group tables at the quilt show as well as spare smaller tables in the lobby for the quilt show than they have for the woodworking show.  More women eat lunch there?  Women like to sit with strangers?  Women are more likely to stay longer and eat there?  Who knows.

Saturday night we were both exhausted.  I had 3 hours sleep on Friday night.  Our reenactment unit had its annual party Sunday and neither of us felt like going - let alone dressing in period clothes.  We compromised and went in modern clothes (acceptable for this).  We got home even more exhausted and made a (relatively) early night of it. 

Sounds pretty good so far - right?

Monday we got a call to pick up a prescription renewal I called in.  Cost was $8 instead of $4.50.  We also got a notice from the prescription manager of our insurance company that we could not renew this prescription at the pharmacy unless we called them and told them that we wanted to do so.  Huh?  We have picked up our prescriptions at this pharmacy since before we were on the insurance plan.  I telephoned, of course husband had to get on the phone and tell them I could talk to them, I had to let the employee recite each medication, I had to say we wanted to pick it up locally at retail, and then confirm my response.  She told me to call the pharmacy and have them reprocess the prescription and it would be the former price.  I did so - they did so - it remained the same price!  Could not deal with calling them back right away.  So we moved on to our next problem.  We drove to our car dealer with the printout from the manufacturer about the problem with our car. Of course they cannot just take the car and check it for the problem.  We have to go on Monday and have an oil change at our expense - after just paying to have the car filled with oil.  We then have to come back in 1000 miles for a “oil consumption test”.  Okay, this sounds highly technical, but we guess it means the oil is drained out and measured and compared to the mileage driven - there should be no oil used no matter the mileage.  So we are playing their game. 

Now comes the real “fun” part of the week.  Since husband is leaving our medical plan for Medicare, we have to take him off of our old plan - and leave me on it.  Sounds like something which should be simple and commonly done.  I spent over an hour on the phone with an employee of our state health division which deals with the ACA medical insurance.  (Understand that we love our ACA plan - despite the complaints in the press, we have had a great price for a reasonable cost.)   The woman I spoke with had to figure out what to do - again, I would think that this should be common enough for them to have a protocol for doing this.  When we were all done - after I gave her extensive estimates of our 2016 income to use for the calculations - she told me that I no longer qualified for the insurance and I would have to go on Medcaid (again, for those not in the US, this is the Federal medical plan for poor people).  I pointed out to her that the household income, which is used to determine this, is the same as it was before.  She agreed that it did not make sense and suggested that since I was being asked for proof of income, I send in the paperwork and “I guess it will all work out in the end”. 

We were both sick all night thinking about this.  I worked for 6 hours copying income forms and since we each have our own business - finding receipts for the business expenses as they come directly off of the income before it is counted as income.  Exhausted and ill, we went to sleep.

Husband woke me early the next morning saying he had not been able to sleep and I had to call back.  I did.  I got another employee who found the same information.  She managed to determine the problem.  Since my husband would be over 64 his income would not count and only my income did, and mine was low enough for me to get Medicaid.  I pointed out that this made no sense as it meant a man could earn millions of dollars and his wife who did not work could go on Medicaid - she checked with her supervisor who agreed this was true - does it make ANY sense to you?  She passed me along to a review division to see if they could help me.

The man I spoke to at same told me that I was right and both my and husband’s income would be used to see what I was eligible for.  He also told me that the problem was that, even after providing extensive information the day before, NO income was listed for either of us - since we had no income, I was eligible for Medicaid.  He suggested we go online and enter the income and it should resolve.  I also found out that as of the end of the month I have no insurance as we had a couples policy and one person could not be removed and the other stay - I had to get a single policy.  At each point and person, husband had to give me permission to talk to them about my insurance as the account is in his name.

Now, husband had researched this online as I went through these extensive calls and the work I had done the night before.  From what he found, he checks the principle (him) is leaving the plan as he has other coverage and the dependent (me) stays on the plan.  When we went into our online account to list the income he was checked as not needing insurance.  It also said change of circumstances.  We followed it through step by step - it even let us put in that our income was the same as 2015 (the last year a record exists for) and then let me pick our insurance again as my new policy.  So easy.  I really hope this worked and the matter is resolved.  I have someone that we have been in touch with in the insurance company’s president’s office and will call her and ask her to check what is going on, on their end. 

I then called the pharmacy manager again about the overcharge on the prescription now that it should be resolved. The woman went away for about 10 minutes checking.  When she returned her answer was that the pharmacy raised the price.  I told her that the pharmacy told me that the insurance company decides the price and they raised it.  I could almost hear her shrug.  So today we picked up the prescription and paid the additional - we need it and I will try to resolve it next week and get a refund.           

Today I had to call our state tax department for a form I need for a corporation tax return.  It is the only form not available online as they want us to file all the returns online and when one calls for the form they try to talk one into filing it online.  I was on hold for 14 minutes to speak to someone to get the form.  I had planned on calling for this form a week ago - but the time kept slipping away with all the “stuff” we had to do. 

In addition as an accountant I should be working on clients’ tax returns, but have been caught up in all this.  I need to get the returns done timely for the clients, as well as so I get paid.

We are now expecting snow on Friday - the day husband is suppose to get his new partial.  It varies from a trace to 4 plus inches depending on who is doing the weather report (and that includes, as always, different reports from different weather people at the same station) and from hour to hour.  We plan to run our Friday errands tomorrow (Thursday) as they are banking and post office errands and it is better to do them early and not have needed to, then not be able to do them and have a problem.  I may call the dentist tomorrow to see if the partial came in early and we can come in tomorrow instead. 

We also have a St Patrick’s Parade on Sunday with our reenactment unit - but we have told them that if it is cold (say below 35F) or snowy, we will not be there.

Now, I know that in the scheme of life these are all relatively small things - no one is ill or injured.  The house stands and its systems work. It is just that we go through these periods where the small things go on and on, one after enough and become too much.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY -

In light of what has been going on, I will say that one needs a sense of humor and the idea that “this too will pass”.  As upset as I get, I know we have been lucky to find each other and have each other this long.  Perhaps I will get a chance to deal with the last of Christmas decorations this weekend if we are stuck in due to snow or bad weather or just because we come home between things we are doing.  I have learned that often what seems horrible becomes humorous when it is in the past.

So, remember to keep your sense of humor and sense of scale when things go awry.  You may end up with a good story to tell and laugh at. 

Off to change a load of laundry now.

A LITTLE SNOW

Last weekend we had our first snow of the year - okay, the year is not even 2 weeks old yet.  The only other snow this winter was very light and mostly melted before we woke up.

When husband went out to work and my time was my own, in winter I would plan trips to clients on days it was not snowing and stay in the house when it did and get all sorts of things done with the time I was “stuck” in the house.  No more.

My husband has become terrified of snow storms.  In the past he did not particularly like them, but now he is terrified. 

When we first moved into the house we were (relatively) young and had a driveway which was one car wide and 2 cars long, so we would park the two cars in line with each other, towards the bottom of the driveway and clean the snow behind the back car and between the two, and a path to the cars - no problem. We had a snow blower, but rarely used it.

After living in this house awhile we realized that we needed to be able to drive either car out of the driveway and we could not park either in the street and figure they would survive (we lost 2 side mirrors on the car we had in the street from the cars driving past - over the speed limit).  So we had a semi-circular drive put in.  Understand, our property is not big enough for same, so we now have about 90% of the front of our house paved - which means that any snow which is cleared off the driveway has to go onto the 10% of the front. 

At first we dealt with the snow the easy way.  I had a small 4 wheel drive SUV and he had an all wheel drive van, and the snow was just about never, if ever over, say 8 inches at a time - mostly less, so we did not clear the snow and just drove through it.   

Then came the year we were snowed out of the house - yes, snowed out.  We left on a trip to Williamsburg, VA in early December.  At home there was to be light flurries so we thought nothing of going away.  While enroute we heard about the snow falling at home and it was getting worse and worse.  Not wanting to go back and drive in the snow - we drove on.  While in Virginia we kept trying to find out about the snow back home.  At that time the Internet was relatively new, but the hotel did have wifi, and we checked the home television stations’ and the home local newspaper’s website.  The local paper from home was showing interesting photos of the midwest not home!  I tried calling my sister - she said it varies all over the area.  I tried calling my next door neighbor, an older woman, she said that she had not been out and didn’t know it snowed a lot.  We tend to arrive home at night when we travel and were concerned, since a foot plus of snow was being mentioned, about if we would arrive home and not be able to get into the house.  We were to stay Monday night in Pennsylvania on the way home.  I suggested to husband that he call into work and extend his time off a day.  This allowed us to stay in Pennsylvania an extra day - they were saying that Monday and Tuesday were to be warm and we hoped the snow would melt - as well as we could come home in the afternoon and have a chance at dealing with the snow.  It worked.  There was still a lot of snow, but with the help of all wheel drive, we were able to drive up the driveway. 

Husband never wanted this problem again and we made arrangements with our gardener to clear the snow for us in winter.  When he left his job and we could not afford the gardener, we hired his former secretary’s brother in law who was also a gardener, to cut the grass (never wanted the rest of the gardening work done anyway, but our original gardener would not come unless he did what he wanted) and clear the snow.  Worked great until he “sold us” to someone else. 

The new gardener was fine for a year or so.  Then a few years ago, we started getting snow such as rarely saw here.  Record breaking snow over and over again.  The first storm hit.  We waited for our driveway to be cleared.  No one came.  We called - the phone number was shut off.  We finally found out that the gardener had gone home to Ecuador for the winter!  He called us from there and said that someone would be here to clear the snow - they never came and husband’s fear started.

He went on Craig’s list and finally managed to get someone to come and deal with our snow.  By that time the snow had frozen.  The fellow had a plastic shovel and it was not enough to even break through.  We lent him our metal shovel (which will never be the same again).  Still problems.  Thanks to someone passing by with a plow on their truck who saw the problem and helped, the snow was broken through enough for the fellow to clear it. 

The next storm came - a 2 day storm with about as much snow.  The fellow could not come and husband went back to Craig’s list.  The fellow who came this time came with his wife and teenage son.  They came between the two days of the storm while there was a lull to make it easier.  They brought one shovel and borrowed one of ours - the metal one, of course that cannot be replaced.  They wanted coffee and were amazed that I had none in the house - cocoa was next suggested by them - none here either.  I offered tea - not wanted.  At the end of working he asked for half the money, I figured we had nothing to lose as they had done half the work and we paid them.      After we realized that they had taken our shovel.  The rest of the storm came, luckily less than the first part and much less than predicted.  The fellow said he would come - and didn’t - ditto a couple of times.  Then he came at 11 pm, said he was going for coffee and would be back to work - didn’t come.  We cleared the snow ourselves.  Now we had to get the snow shovel back - it took many calls and threats, but finally it appeared on the side of the house.  Some how we dealt with the snow the rest of the winter - several big storms spread out as we were never able to find anyone again to clear the snow.

The following winter husband contacted the first fellow early in the season before there was snow, but he was no longer doing snow clearance.  Husband finally found a landscaper who did residential snow removal and we signed a contract with him - for big prices.  His prices started at $100 and went to $175 depending on the amount of snow.  Beyond our budget, but what could we do.  Husband was in a constant state of nervousness waiting for the storm to come and then waiting for the crew to come and clear it.  Then again, the crew would come too early - often before the snow stopped falling and before the plows were done throwing snow back into our two driveway cuts.  If they cleared the driveway and we needed them back, even if just to clear what the plow through back, it was an extra fee.  To add fun to all of this, a neighbor 2 houses away had an arrangement with the neighbor between to clear her driveway in exchange for parking one of their extra cars on her driveway and one in front of their house (they have 5 cars with a one car driveway, as they have 3 adult children living at home).  The son who parked in front of her house did the work.  He would clear everything and throw it in the street in front of our driveway and we would have to go out and clear the cut - or pay to have it done.  I finally had enough and called his mom and complained the winter before the house between was sold and we did not have to deal with him any more. 

Understand, when I am saying record setting storms, we were getting storms that were in the top 10 in size for the area or new number one storms consistently over 2 -3 years - sometimes every other day - it would snow, it would be clear, we would go out to the post office and run errands.  The next day it would snow again and repeat.  It was so confusing that I managed to make more than the 6 withdrawals we are allowed from our savings account (had to pay for the snow clearing) and was charged a fee, which I managed to get waived.  In addition we have had abnormally cold temperatures.

This year the landscaper who was clearing our snow sent husband an email that he was no longer doing any residential snow removal - panic set in.  We could find no one else.  Husband decided to buy a new, lighter, smaller snow blower so we could do the work.  Our problem with same over the years is that we have to clear a path to the backyard shed to get the snow blower out.  We figured with the smaller blower we would get a small shed and put it in front of the side door and only need to get there.  Well, we bought the snow blower, but it was too late in the season to buy the shed.  So we have the snow blower in the corner of the garage - just inside the door and we have to shovel to there. 

Last Saturday night we were to have 2-4 inches of snow.  Husband was going crazy.  In the middle of the storm - which was definitely going to be more than they said - there was a lull. Husband has had a terrible cold these past few weeks. I went out and shoveled the way to the garage, as well as across the front of the garage door and around to the side door, on the logic that there would be less snow to deal with later to get to the garage.  This in the end did not do much, but it made him feel better.  Our area got the highest snow of the county (the county east of us got much more) and we cleared it up in 40 minutes.  Luckily we are having warmer days and other than snow plowed or pushed into piles, much of it is melted. 

He is still concerned about “a big one”, but at least we know we have a half a chance.  He has agreed that if we need to we will clear part and come in and rest than do more and that he may need to let me run the snow blower for awhile.     

So most of the week was involved with getting him ready for the snow, watching it snow, and clearing the snow. 

TODAY’S THOUGHT ON ORGANIZING -

First -have you done one thing - and kept doing it?

Be honest - are your Christmas decorations still up?  Ours are.  We put our decorations up late and tend to leave them up a little later.  Of course we would not dream of taking them down before the twelfth day of Christmas (Three Kings Day, Ephiphany, Little Christmas, Orthodox Christmas, it has many names).  But even that seems too early for us.  We picked the 3rd Monday of January as when we start to take down the decorations. 

Set a specific date (calender date or such as ours - by the day) to start taking down your decorations and have what you will store them in available when you start. 

I have the boxes in the basement and will bring them up.  I tend to take the decorations down opposite to how I normally put them up - trees first, then decorations, then my teddy bear decorations.  They all have assigned boxes to be stored in.      

Our outside decorations will come down early this year as we are having a warm spell and the snow has melted - we plan to take the lights on the bushes down tomorrow and store them away while we can.

So make your plans and get ready to take down your decorations - then again, there is one house we pass just about daily that always has its outside Christmas decorations up - lots of them - and then gets turned on in season - it does look odd though in July!   




       

HOW CAN SOME WEEKS BE SHORTER THAN OTHERS?

Wow, another week gone by already?  It seems too soon.  Again I did not write tonight’s post in advance - the election yesterday took up my attention last night.  No opinion being published on same.  This will be, again, a short post as a result. 

I managed to finish unloading the RV.  We let the remaining water in it out (there is a valve on the bottom with a cap - remove the cap and the water runs out and down the driveway - it is clean water so this is not a problem).  I went in and stripped the bed and disassembled it back into 2 seating benches as I need to clean the bedding, as well as we will be going in and winterizing and will need access under one side of the bed to the water pump.

I dealt with the mail from our short trip - it being the end and beginning of the month there was not much from the 3 days.

We dealt with a telephone problem.  We still have copper wire phone service at our house.  We have a cordless phone with an answering machine in the kitchen.  The last 2 times I talked to my mom on it (and we can go for hours) the battery ran out within an hour.  Husband looked to buy new batteries - discontinued and therefore very expensive.  So a new phone was needed.  Telephones have changed dramatically since we last bought one.  We have an additional problem that the phone hangs on the wall - so we need a wall phone - and the basement door is located across from the phone so it has to be able to open past the phone, and most of the few wall phones with answering machines we found would not allow this.  Luckily we found one, but the cordless phone sits in a separate charger elsewhere in the kitchen.  So far it seems to work well.  I will have to have mom call me - when I call her I use my cell phone.  So a lot of time this week was spent shopping for the new phone and then installing and testing it.

The reason we need one with an answering machine is that we screen our calls.  We tell everyone we know who might call us about this - “When you call me back about this problem, you will get our answering machine.  Leave a message for us; if we are home we will pick up when we hear you or we will call back if we are not home.”  This is a bit of organizing.  Our telephone number is rather similar to a Domino’s pizza (actually several of them, but one more than others), an optician, and a doctor’s office.  In all these cases the last 4 digits are the same and the 3 digits before them are similar when one looks at them and reads the numbers wrong. Add to the wrong numbers for all of these (This is Mrs. Jones, I want a cheese pie - I am timing you.  This is Mrs. Smith don’t tint my eyeglasses.  - would be nice if they left a call back number or an address to deliver the pie) the robocalls and other spam calls we all get and it is a major time saver not to be dealing with the phone calls.  We have 3 answering machines on the same line.  The one in the bedroom answers on the 3rd ring and is always on.  The ones in the office and kitchen are individually turned on and off depending on where we are and answer on the 2nd ring.  This way we can screen the calls in any of the 3 places in the house we generally are.

Managed to finally reach the person at our doctor’s office, so hopefully the problem we are having with the billing on our lab work - last June - will not need more attention.       

Ah, yes, managed to finally convince my husband that the shoes he actually wears should be on his closet shoe rack (on back of door) and the ones on the rack which he does not wear and keeps only because he wears such a hard size to find, in case he ever needs them, should be stored away.  I actually only needed to store away one pair of the shoes on the rack to fit all but the shoes he is wearing and his slippers on it.  This is a discussion which has gone on for years.  Now I can actually clean the floor in the bedroom as I no longer would have to move all the shoes.  Did I clean it?  No - it was a short week.  But I will and will do so more regularly.

Had to spend some time on my embroidery group this week.  I missed the meeting due to our trip last week and had to do some followup on business I missed as a result.

So, the week seems much shorter than it was.  I am now catching up the laundry, which of course, I decided not to do for the part of the week last Wednesday (I do the laundry Wednesday and Thursday nights) so I am doing lots of loads this week.

Hopefully this will be a more organized week and I will get more done.  Don’t you hate short weeks?