Bogieblog

Tax Software Bloopers

I have used H&R Block tax software for years as a convenience. Sure, I usually don't need it per se because it usually boils down to how much did you make, how much did you pay in taxes, and what is the difference? But filling out forms can be so frustrating just to find out that you wasted your time.So for ~$30 I can let the software sort it out.

So I started completing the entries. About 1/2 way thru, I was flummoxed. Why? Because the software made me go the the RMD section (required minimum distribution from retirement plans). At the start of the section it clearly states that   if I am over 72, I have to take RMD. Um, I still have over a decade before I hit that age, and the software "knows" that (because it has my birthday - and yes it is correct), so why is it making me go thru answering the questions? I mean really, at the end it actually said something like, congratulations, you do not have any penalties for not taking an RMD.

Wishing My Dad

A very Happy Father's Day.

Mother's Day 2022

Cop Car, I wish you a very happy Mother's Day!

50th Anniversary Iditarod Day 6

Although I haven't followed religiously this year, I have been watching Brent Sass as I follow his Wild and Free Mushing page on FB (link to regular website for those not on FB). They were 3rd last year and look to be leveling up. His training style includes making sure his dogs are used to breaking trail as well as changing positions within the team.

From the Official Iditarod website, he and his team are currently leading, and has been first into many checkpoints such as Cripple, Yokon and Ruby.

But veterans Dallas Seavy and Jessie Holmes are hot on their tails. And, Jessie has taken all required breaks , while Brent and Dallas still have an 8 hour mandatory break they need to take. That may or may not be an advantage for Jessie. A break later in the race can give the dogs extra energy for the last leg of the journey.

Happy New Year 2022

I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year's eve. May this year be better than the last one in every way possible!

With that being said, my NY gift to myself (a new butter dish made in Vermont - because I broke my last one about 10 days ago) didn't make it here. I ordered it before Christmas, but knew it would be a while before it got here. Then on 12/30 I got notice that it had shipped and was expected to be here 12/31. Well, it went past my place to get to Londonderry, NH. Yesterday morning it said it had been loaded on a truck and was in transit. I just didn't realize it was in transit to central MA. Hope it heads back up north soon and doesn't take a country-wide tour. No, it's not perishable, or extremely important, just the more handling, the more likely it will get broken.

Merry Christmas 2021

My wish for everyone is that you be blessed with an abundance of peace and serenity for Christmas (or whatever your favorite holiday at this time of year is).

Christmas Presents to Myself 2021

Christmas gift to myself, decorations for the openings in the wall between the living room and stairway. Not overly impressed with the positioning of the eyes for the chains but otherwise I like them.

Well, this is a new issue - regardless how the pictures are saved/uploaded (natural or turned), they showed up sideways in the post. I actually got the application's turn buttons to appear, so was able to correct them, but that doesn't happen very often.

Flowers for Mother's Day

Virtual flowers for Cop Car on this Mother's Day.

The crabapple looks to be doing really well this year - it isn't even blooming yet, those are just the buds.
This is the only picture that wasn't taken yesterday afternoon

The phlox over by the swamp took a couple of extra days to bloom. The specs of red are English primrose and to the far right are lupine foliage from seeds a couple of years ago

English Primrose

Rosalie Figge iris. The only reason it is blooming is I bought it a couple of weeks ago with buds on it to plant in the newest garden (post of planting).

The daffs are doing well in their 2nd year

Tahiti

Un-named from a mixture

 

Blue Jacket Hyacinths. Unfortunately they don't make scratch-n-sniff monitors or I could send the beautiful scent to you. The redish foliage is one of the peonies

I'm happy that the catbird pair are back and have once again claimed the rhodie as their home.

Mother Nature sure timed all those beautiful blooms right.

Success With Water Drainage

Friday saw a lot of meltage with the top temp being 57* and receiving around 3" of rain.

This is the stream that developed in the back yard takin about 4:30 pm. The neighbors' lights help show that is all water.

Here you can see ponding that developed just off the corner of the path to the drainage area, both beside and behind the raised bed.

This was taken earlier in the day, about 12:30 pm and shows the stream that finally developed and broke thru the snow in the swamp. The running water is the dark part to the right. The slightly lighter portions are where the snow is still soaking in the water, but it too broke open later that afternoon

Oh, and pulling back some, you can see all the snow has melted off the landscape blocks (see previous post that showed the hump of snow  that it was before.

The garage stayed pretty dry and the front yard didn't flood to back up into the garage, so my mitigation efforts on Thursday were worth it.

And here is my lunch for Christmas day - nachos with chips, cheese, refried beans, salsa, black olives and sour cream. This is the "nice" picture, before I start eating, I smear the sour cream all over the top. I do have guacamole, but didn't feel like having any that time.

And, to end off the rain event, I woke up to snow on the railings and at the end of the ramp Saturday morning (about 3:30 am). Just a dusting, but considering it was still in the high 40's just 6-7 hours before, quite impressive that it was sticking.

Mother's Day 2020

Happy Mother's Day to Cop Car!

Hope you have great weather to be outside and you stay healthy and safe during this strange time.

It feels weird to send e-cards this spring to everyone for events and Birthdays - usually I only do that when it is late. But, certainly don't want there any chance of a physical card being the vector of transmission of the bug to any of my family.