Swings and roundabouts

You know the fairground expression, what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts.

This has been a week of swings, mainly, what with the tax hurry up and refile, the Misfits mishaps, the cable snafu, and today has continued the trend.

Knitting happily away, ready to start a new skein of grey when the old one ran out I found that I didn't have one. All used up. 

Here auditioning a candidate for the section between here and the toe. 

I'll have to do a design dance to finish the pair still looking like a pair.  They don't have to match, just look as if they belong.

Then I thought I'd finish up this year's tax return and found yay, it was completed, only needed scanning and printing.

I got all the scanning done and , after one page, the printer refused to function, despite all my workarounds.  So I did backups, via phone pix and scanner, and mailed the return.

I'd forgotten to bring out the paper recycling when I went to the mailbox, so I went back with the recycling container to empty it into the recycling dumpster. Whose lid came down, knocking the container out of my hand and into the depths of the empty dumpster. 

Back home again for something to fish it out with, came back with a gardening rake, managed to retrieve the container and thought I'd check the incoming mail while I was there.

And found a letter from the IRS, billing me for a large sum. Payable by March 14, daily interest accruing. Evidently the letter last week instructing me to refile to claim a credit didn't apply to my case. I had wondered how it was owed. 

So, a whole series of adventures on swings.

But then, balance restored with these wonderful roundabouts, starting with another item in the mail, from dear honorary granddaughter Heather

Dyed silkworm cases, mounted on beautiful deckled heavy art paper. From a weaving studio and shop in Vancouver, on her recent visit. The texture alone is worth feeling and studying. 

Then lunch was potato celery soup flavored with Thai basil

Dessert was dates from this beautifully designed box

Equilibrium is now restored chez Boud.

Still high anxiety around Ukraine.

Running between the raindrops

The raindrops are metaphorical, meaning a sudden bunch of worries and a glimpse of the end of my tether after the year of no social life, no touch, not even an animal. Worries involving other things I can't fix right now, mostly.

Now I'm also taking on helping get my, finally eligible, frontline worker son vaxxed. He's very computer literate, far more than I, but has no computer access in his working day, so he'll never manage without an assist. My heart sank as I started the process again, stressful. 

Anyway outside, the neighborhood kids have invented a new game. You throw a football, and it's batted away with a badminton racket. No rules, I think, but loads of fun 

And a further lift to my spirits came in the mail from Mary Anne, from Magpie's Mumblings.  She's a fiber artist, temporarily sidelined by surgery, so it was all the better to receive this lovely postcard artwork.  Thanks so much!

And an art card from honorary granddaughter next to it, lifting me up further.

This is my favorite place to sit, make art, knit, read, do business, and the side of the furniture is a useful bulletin board for notes I have to keep handy. Post-Its work best.

More knitted squares are happening, though that red one on the right fell prey to my general anxiety and I didn't decrease right. Ended up at first with a weird paralellogram. I ask you, simple knitting and I couldn't get it right. Shows how jangled I was. Am. It's fixed now.

If you're wondering if all those trailing threads are another symptom, no, they're on purpose. They'll be handy when I come to attach the squares into whatever they end up being.

Another nice thing: the state has reinstated a special program of real estate tax relief after several years of not being able to afford it (!) and my next quarterly tax bill, I just heard, will be several hundred dollars lighter as a result. Since NJ has the highest real estate tax in the US, we're Number One, yay!  this is good.

Especially since the Feds have still not started reimbursing seniors with the third covid-19 relief $$. A lot of  NJ people didn't get the second one either. Can't help being darkly suspicious about whether this is yet another blue state issue 

Appointees from the former guy are still employed at the irs and SS..one of whom finally admitted, under pressure from northeastern members of congress,  to delaying the handover of the vital files to enable the payments. I have my congressional rep, the blessed Rep. Bonnie (Watson-Coleman) on it now. Her caseworkers are in touch. 

But moving on, I finished reading Home by Marilynne Robinson, and it was really great. So intense that I may not venture into the others in the saga, at least not for a while. I do recommend it though.

And now that my pounding allergy season headache has abated, my spirits are doing better, thank you, sitting up and taking nourishment.

Taxes done, with special assistance

Turns out Greensleeves is a whiz with the numbers.  Here she is doing final check before the taxes go off in the mail.  

 


She had the good idea to use my biscornu, originally a pin cushion, as a table for the calculator.  After that, NameMe swiped it for a stool.


The Dollivers, however, retain Mailing Privileges, and they helped at the mailbox as in previous years.  Not without much grumbling and drawing of straws to see who would go out in this cold, and high winds, and the bribe of a brand new handknitted cloak, courtesy of K.  for Dreads.  Blondie Firstborn took the alpaca sweater and hat.

Finally we got the envelopes to the mailbox, just before the mailman arrived to pick up.  

And the homebound Ds were heard to explain that it's worth sending in the taxes because somebody would send a lot of money back, and they could get their high heels. Explained yet again that it's the other way around, and somebody in the Treasury is getting new high heels, but regretted getting into that subject.

Elton, of course, now that Greensleeves chose her new name, is busy with her personal selection.  What happened was that she met the Ds, aka Dollivairs, and the bunny Bon Hiver, and went all posh and demanded a historical name.

So there it is.  Elton brushed up his rendition of Greensleeves, and is in search of other songs with a green theme.  So far he's added in Green Grow the Rushes-o, and The Wearin' of the Green to his repertoire. Just as well to practice now, since once St. Patrick's Day arrives, she'll be in total demand mode.