Well, this post is the start of my second year of posting. Pretty good for a procrastinator who has tried 3or 4 times before to start a blog - this is my 53rd continuous post. I did write several before I started to make sure I would keep going.
In the past year I have written about my adventures - or at least attempts - in organizing including my early attempts at organizing,the kitchen, organizing books, the December holidays, winter weather & later in the years hurricane prep, computers - including the replacement of my hard drive, income taxes, our studio, our tiny RV, medications, finances, my hatred of sheets and even an odd item found in my sofa. Some posts read better to me than others and seem more interesting than others. But, I have managed to write and post by late Wednesday night (very early Thursday am?) every week. Last week I thought I would miss the post as our Internet went down when I was ready to post. (It has been happening this lately - 3 times in 2 weeks for a few hours each time and, of course, when we call and complain there is no record of any outage at the cable company we get our Internet service from.) I plan to make a listing by subject on the site - when I figure out how to, so postings can be referred to by subject by you kind readers.
I was concerned that I might be late in this post. You know how it is - there are weeks when there is nothing which has to be accomplished by a deadline - and then suddenly 5 different things suddenly have to be done and all have a short deadline. But everything was done and a planned trip which was going to take up time getting ready was cut back to a one day trip. Whew, I wouldn’t want to miss or be late with this post.
We have a very small corporation (gross income less than $1,000 a year) and the returns are due March 15. I cannot prepare the return until after I do our personal return - which I get out after my client’s returns in April before the deadline. So I put the corporation returns on extension - to September 15 - yes, tomorrow. Most years I am doing the return at the last minute. This year I decided I would good and get the return done in July. I did the calculations then, but ended up with other things to do and the returns themselves were put off to August - still not too bad. I did the Federal return in August and then looked at our “new” state return. I almost fainted. Not only is there no longer a simplified return for small corporations (which are much larger even than our tiny corporation), but the regular return was redone and is now 8 pages long, plus I had to an attachment form 2 pages long, and another return because of where our corporation is located 4 pages long. It is aimed at huge corporations with multiple locations. At one point I found a section (we’ll call B) which could not be done until another section (we’ll call E) was done - so I went to section E and I needed information from section B to complete it - so I needed E to do B and B to do E! Luckily I knew the answer from E would be zero, I am not sure what one does it if something else, which it will be in most cases. In the middle I had a question and sent it by email to state tax department. (They say on the site and on their telephone message when one calls them to send an email rather than calling, so I do. I have never had an answer by email and usually they tell me to call them - and I sit and listen for 15 minutes to repeating messages telling me to go online instead - when I did and was told to call - and then their system hangs up as it is too busy.) This time they called me - what a shock! I was able to finish the return Monday and it was out in the mail today - the 14th - with a day to go before it was due. So, yes, I did know this return had to be done - and I will try to get it out earlier next year since I now know sort of what has to be done on the state return - I think.
I am not sure, but I think I mentioned that I enjoy stitching embroidery. I finished a piece which I started 10 years ago - some time off in the middle when dealing with the bed bugs and other pieces in between. It was finished in March and I knew how I wanted it framed. I planed to enter it at the county fair - which is actually the county fair for 3 counties and held in the manner of the late 1800s at a restoration village - with the original fair grounds recreated from photos - which is in late September to early October. Plenty of time. Unfortunately when I started the piece we had access to low cost picture frame molding. In the ensuing 10 years the place no longer sells same. So now I was stuck trying to find a frame which looked like I imagined in my head, was the correct size and shape, and was cheap. Not easy to do as the piece is a square. When I went to the various chain craft stores (the major source of cheap frames) they did not have the size. I found one slightly larger in Ikea in a different color and we were going to buy that one and I would add fabric to the piece so it would large enough to fit the frame and husband would cut a mat for it, but then, about 2 weeks ago, I found a frame in Michael’s - the exact size I wanted and the color I wanted! We bought it. It sat in the house waiting to be used. The end of last week we went to frame the piece (which also involves stretching the fabric over a back board and this piece has to be centered exactly) we found out that the frame is made of plastic over MDF board. It is intended to hang from 2 hooks on the back of its back board - something we have never seen before. In the interim between finishing the piece and now I found out the national of my embroidery group is having an exhibition starting next year and my starry eyes thought that perhaps I could enter and get into the show. For this show the pieces have to be hung by wire - not any other method. So the frame’s hangers could not be used and plastic over MDF is not good to put screws into, so that was it. I figured, well that’s that for now - the Ikea frame would take too much work. Husband went around and found some pieces of wood left over from other frames he made and there was just enough to make the frame for this one. So, over the weekend, in a great rush of course, we made the frame. While I was at work yesterday he painted and last night we assembled it. Not exactly the look I wanted - but it is frame and it is black and will do - and I greatly appreciate his not giving up, even when I do.
In the middle of everything else, I had to go to a client yesterday - which took up the day - but it is how I make my income.
We planned to go away for 3 days - figuring one day for a comfortable drive down, one day at a quilt show, and one day in the Lancaster, PA area. (You probably see this area mentioned a lot it is a nice relaxing place within a few hours drive.) So last evening after working all day and then framing the embroidery, I brought the bills and related items downstairs to work on them in the kitchen - while I did the laundry a day early to have clean clothes to take with us - to deal with them as it all had to be done by today. For extra fun - when I paid the bills last week there was some other problem and I paid them, but did not post them to computer, which I use as a double check on what I do. So I had to finish up last weeks bills before starting on this week’s bills, plus the laptop I was using (my work one, not this one, as it has the software needed in it) is not the easiest one to use when one is used to using the desktop with all the extra keys it has. I had to write an envelope for one bill and sent it through the house network to print it upstairs - but of course since I last used that laptop, the printer code reset and I had to run upstairs, put an envelope in the printer (and announce to husband - don’t print anything until this envelope is printed), run down, start printing, realize the code was wrong, try to access the router drive as it has the correct code on it - but the laptop would not access the house network, run upstairs and get the code, update it in the laptop, print the envelope and then run upstairs to get it. Exhausting. Well, all was done and ready to go out in the mail today and the clothes were washed and dried and this morning I folded them. Then today we decided to just drive down for a day - so all that work did not have to be done for today, but it was.
So at this point I don’t know if I am further along in organizing or not. I will keep trying, that is all I can do. I hope you will continue on my journey with me and feel free to tell me about yours or comment on what I have written. Thank you for reading “me”.
Remember - instead of waiting for January to start at “the new year” there are lots of new years to use - I started with September as that is when it is the new year for school, the TV season, and the Jewish holidays. February is Asian Lunar New Year. Then again, every day is the start of a new year!
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