Life and Taxes

So, it is April 17th and I just ran my taxes to the post office at lunchtime. It is true that I waited until the last day, but at least I didn’t wait until the last hour. I would have had them done on April 15th, but our always-considerate federal government gave us an extra two days this year, so I had more time to procrastinate. And you were wondering why Geoffrey leaves his homework until Sunday night at 9:00.

Last week, the electrician finished installing new light fixtures throughout my house and repaired some outlets that weren’t working. We have fabulous track lighting in the family room now. It looks great and I love having that room filled with so much light. You have already heard the story about how the ceiling fan, which hadn’t worked for years, had live electricity running to it. When the electrician got up there to take the fan down, it was so hot it nearly burned his hands. He said it would never have passed code, because it was put up with such cheap wire, which also should have been inside a conduit. We always knew the fan was a piece of junk, but we didn’t know it was so poorly installed. I am glad I had an electrician come. We are very lucky that the fan hadn’t started a fire in our house.

Bountiful City was kind enough to haul away the wheat, rice and beans from our food storage yesterday. I know wheat stays good a long time, but this food was dated 1973 and 1977. There are even bigger containers filled with food that I know is even older, but since they weigh more than 50 lbs., I will have to get someone else to haul them to the dump for me.

My yard is looking pretty good right now. I had ChemLawn spray it last fall, so there aren’t the usual weeds and dandelions everywhere. Geoffrey, Jay and Kjersti also helped me get the flower beds dug out and filled with wood chips. That was a big project that I am glad is out of the way. Things are improving one step at a time and I am slowly getting my house ready to sell. The painting is the biggest thing left to do, and then getting the carpets cleaned. I am planning to get my garage organized this weekend.

My Legal Secretary classes are almost finished. I have a lecture tonight that is a review for the final, and then the final will be next week. That is the last thing (hence, the word “final.”)! These classes have been very interesting to me and I still have a 100% average on all my assignments and tests. When I finish, I will have to decide if I am brave enough to launch into a new career.

I had a great time with my family on Easter and it has been fun to have Allison living with me this month. She has so many friends that she is gone most of the time, but we can’t stop talking to each other when she is there. I have managed to keep my running schedule in the mornings, but many mornings it has been harder to get up than usual because I have stayed up late just talking. Kjersti and Kameryn have dropped by some evenings, too, (see Kjersti’s blog about Kameryn's teething) and it is impossible to go to bed when my cute granddaughter is standing up by herself, dancing and looking so proud. It is too much fun to see her learning to walk.

I finished listening to A Room with a View last week and wrote down this quote from it. (Mr. Emerson is speaking to Lucy about his son, George.)

“Then be his wife. He’s already part of you. Though you fly to Greecce, never see him again or forget his very name, George will work in your thoughts until you die. It isn’t possible to love and to part. You will wish that it was. You can transmute love, ignore it, muddle it, but you can never pull it out of you. I know by experience that the poets are right. Love is eternal.”

So, in general, life is good and I am staying busy.