Week of February 22, 2015 - Tax Time

By Joan Whetzel

Yeah, it’s tax time again. I was dreading it, but not as much as last year. Last year, I had a lot more to contend with – Mark’s estate, my inheritance, unreimbursed medical bills, the mortgage and mortgage insurance, etc. - so it was necessary to hire a CPA which was worth every cent.

I think part of my dread had to do with memories of my dad sitting at the kitchen table, with all the IRS booklets, an adding machine, a half dozen pencils all sharpened and lined up like a row of soldiers - and a bottle of aspirin.

I also had memories of my husband pouring over the same tax forms and books for the first couple of decades of our marriage. When Turbo Tax came into the picture, it sped up his process, more or less. He was still so disorganized it took him forever to find all the bits and pieces of information he’d put away for safe keeping. At any rate, he never let me forget how hard it was to do the taxes (hinting that I was too stupid to figure it out for myself). Actually, it wasn’t stupidity that kept me from doing the taxes; I just didn’t want to do them, plain and simple. Why should I go through all that paperwork when I had someone else to have all that fun for me?

This year, I had so few things to deal with, that I decided to forego the CPA do my own taxes, with help from Turbo Tax. Mostly because it is the next step toward standing up on my own two feet. I had a backup plan in case I ran into any problems I couldn’t figure out with Turbo Tax. The local library, in a joint effort with AARP, provides tax assistance for seniors and low income families, twice a week between February 1^st and mid-April. I could always go talk to them if I needed anything.

As it turns out, I didn’t need the library and the AARP. I had collected all the necessary receipts and proof of income in one place which made it quick, easy, and quite painless to finish. I only needed to call the IRS once to clear up one tiny piece of information. I submitted my taxes on Friday the 13^th and my Tax Return will be direct-deposited into my savings in short order. I’ve already gotten word from my bank that the deposit is pending for this Monday, a mere 10 days after filing. I will continue to do my own taxes from now on, just because I can.

Week of Feb. 15, 2015 - Dames of Demolition

By Joan Whetzel

 

We’re coming up on 2 years since my husband died. In almost 3 years to be semi-exact. Of all the things my daughter and I have learned in that short time, the biggest thing is how much we can do for ourselves.

True there are some jobs that required hiring some help – fixing the soffits under the upstairs roof, cutting down a huge growing tree too close to the garage trimming dead branches way high up in the pine tries. This was mainly because we lacked the tools and the skills to accomplish the task.

Bur we have discovered that, for most tasks, it’s cheaper to get the tools we need and do it ourselves. Last summer, for example, we rented a chain saw from Home depot to cut down another tree behind the garage. It taught us that we could wield a chain saw if need be. Last month, when it came time to trim back 2 badly overgrown crepe myrtle trees, we bit the bullet and bought our own chain saw for $90 and spent 2 weekends trimming the 2 trees. (We have a handful of small logs to use for firewood next winter.)

Last weekend we finished cleaning out the rotting, falling-apart tool shed out back. This weekend, my daughter, granddaughter, and I began the demolition of the monstrosity. All it took was our new chainsaw, a crowbar, 2 hammers, and hand drill with screwdriver bits.

Next weekend, we’re going to try and complete the demolition by destroying the floor to the barn. Unfortunately, like a couple other projects the previous owner built, the floor and the barn itself were put together with about 10 times more screws and nails than were necessary. Worse, the particle board has a couple rotted spots, so it has to be torn down. We’ll go after it again with the chain saw, crow bar, and hand drill/screw driver again. Of course, if anyone volunteered to lend a hand, the Dames of Demolition wouldn’t turn them down.

Week of January 25, 2015 – Gaining Job Skills

 

By Joan Whetzel

 

I’m still working part time while looking for full time employment. I haven’t been wasting my time though. I have been gaining job skills.

My current part time position has taught me to admit patients to the Clinic, update their charts, and perform data entry skills. Yeah, yeah, I worked at a doctor’s office many years ago – before computers were in use everywhere. (I’m dating myself here). Also we did patient admission and charting were done differently back then.

I have also taken some classes on Excel and Power Point. These classes have a number of advantages.

1.      They’re taught in person and are hands on. I got to do what they were teaching right then and there and save it to my thumb drive so I could play around with these new tricks at home.

2.      They are taught at the local public library so they’re close to home.

3.      Since I have a library card, they’re also free.

4.      The best part is that a lot of the jobs I’m looking for require knowledge of Microsoft Office, so now I can claim to have some skills in parts of Office other than Word.

It’s not much but it’s more than I had a year and half ago. So I guess I’m making some kind of progress.

Week of Nov. 9, 2014 – Plumbing 101 - Part 2

By Joan Whetzel

 

My garbage disposal recently seized up. It made an awful noise and then it just stopped. I tried everything I could think of and could find on the internet for getting it started. Nothing seemed to work.

So my daughter and I investigated the cost of a new disposal and instructions on how to replace it. In the meantime, I noticed the sink on the garbage disposal side – I have a double sink – was backing up. It backed up fast and furious. The sink on the other side ran just fine.

So I figured I would use some Liquid Plumber to free up the drain before we did anything else. The liquid plumber worked like a charm on the clog. I thought, “what the heck, let’s try the disposal again.” I flicked the wall switch, and whaddayaknow! It’s running fine.

It appears that whatever gummed up the drain also gummed up the garbage disposal. All it took was a couple dollars-worth of drain cleaner. That was the cheapest and easiest plumbing fix we’ve encounter so far. I sure like cheap and easy fixes. Beats the heck out of replacing a disposal – or calling the plumber. (No offense to all those plumbers out there. I'm really glad they're there for the hard jobs that I know are beyond our skills).

Week of October 19, 2001 – Around the World in 80 Days

By Joan Whetzel

I just put down the book “Around the World in 80 Days” by Jules Verne. It has been a long time since I saw the move with David Niven Playing Phileas Fogg, and an even longer time since I read the book.

Jules Verne, as usual, keeps his readers hooked from page one of this novel. Having seen the movie and read the book (once a long time ago) I still found myself wondering how Mr. Fogg got caught up in his adventure around the world, and all of the little side ventures that almost lost him his bet.

The only thing I found different between the book and the movie (SPOILER ALERT!) was that the book did not include the incident with the hot air balloon. I have to say, I missed the hot air balloon. I enjoyed the book as much as the movie. Even with the minor differences. I’ll have to find the movie on DVD so I can watch it again.

Week of October12, 2016 - Plumbing 101

By Joan Whetzel

Life has thrown us a lot of curve balls in the last year and a half. A huge chunk of those curveballs occurred during the summer of 2013. But the curve balls haven’t stopped coming at us. My daughter and I have solved many of the problems ourselves. Others we called for help to make the repairs. Some of our recent repairs have required crash courses in basic plumbing to:

1.      Replace the kitchen faucet and repaired leaky drain pipes under the kitchen counter.

2.      Replace a leaky bathroom faucet.

3.      Replace a leaky shower head and repaired the shower faucet – it no longer leaks.

The leaking shower head was the last thing we fixed. We started out replacing the shower head, which worked for about 2 weeks before the drip returned. The drip slowly increased until it was running steadily – and running up the water bill.

So we took the next step – figuring out which shower faucet we would need. We turned off the water at the meter, and replaced the faucet. Then turned the water back on. And the leak continued. Luckily, we were talking to my niece Catherine and her husband Tyler the next day. They were on their way to the hardware store and volunteered to inquire what else we could try – short of calling a plumber. Tyler came back with the information about a small piece of plumbing hardware inside the faucet sleeve that needed to be replaced.

I grasped the concept of what he was saying, but I needed a visual. So, I went online for a video on “shower faucet leak repairs.” Right there on YouTube was a short (10 minute) video showing exactly what we needed to do. I showed Emily and she agreed this was something we could do ourselves.

So we turned off the water again, removed the newly installed faucet, and pulled out the little piece that needed to be replaced. We took the part to the hardware store and found exactly what we needed. After replacing the piece and re-installing the faucet, we turned the water back on. Guess what? No more leak!!! Yea, us!

 

There are still home repairs to be made. It seems like every time we fix one thing, 2 or 3 more things suddenly need repairs. I’m now looking for a magic prayer that’ll slow them down or bring them to a halt.

Week of September 21, 2013 – Thing to Do While Waiting on the Repair Man - And an End to the Rain

By Joan Whetzel

 

It’s Friday and I’m waiting on s repairman to give me an estimate for some exterior repairs to the back of my house. The wait is worsened by this week’s rains which have made up for our 3 year drought. (Seriously, I’m thinking of investing in Ark supplies.) The company said they’d call before they came for their 2:30 scheduled appointment, but that it would depend on the rain and whether they’d finished with the job(s) they had scheduled before us. It’s not looking like they’ll make it.

Don’t get me wrong. I love a good rain. I especially love rainy nights – great sleeping weather. However, I don’t much enjoy driving to and from work in a driving rain as I’ve done all week. I’d rather be at home snuggled up with a blanket and a good book or some other indoor activity. The rain we’ve had all week has created nightmare traffic, flash flooding, and has slowed pick-up and delivery times for some service industries. Our trash pickup this morning, for instance, was about 4 hours later than usual. Guess those trucks were having trouble getting to and from the dump sites, what with all the flooding.

Once I returned home from my weekly grocery shopping this morning, I got into some warm, dry pajamas before putting up the groceries, I settled into a day of indoor, rainy day activities. I generally find that rainy days are great for getting stuff done around the house because I’m not tempted  to dally around outside in the sunshine. Waiting for the rain to stop as well as waiting for the repair man’s estimation has given me an opportunity to get a few things done today, like:

·         The laundry.

·         Clean the bathroom.

·         Write this blog.

·         Read a couple chapters in “Around the World in 80 Days.”

·         Find out what it takes to fix the leaky shower head.

·         Look up ways to get rid of the mushrooms growing in our yard – the same kind of mushrooms that are growing in all our neighbors’ yards.

·         Vacuum.

·         Do the dishes.

·         Make potato soup and corn bread for supper.

·         Online banking.

·         Going through some clothes and other items to take to Goodwill.

·         Mending clothes.

 While doing these rainy day activities, I have come up with a list of many other things I need to get done. I feel inspired to straighten up a whole bunch of stuff – including ways to cook mushrooms. Does anybody know which kinds of mushrooms are not good to eat?