Taxes

I filed for a tax filing extension back in April.   My H&R Block software did my Federal return, but the State software kept saying "network connection not found".  I couldn't solve that.  And there was no way I was going to call the H&R Help Center 2 days before the April filing deadline!

So I filed for an extension and sent the IRS $5,000 to cover possible extra tax required.  Every month after, I tried to solve the "network connection lost" problem.  It was baffling.  But by early September, I could put it off any longer and I decided it was safe to call the H&R Block Help Center without being on a 2 hour waiting list.

An agent come online in about 20 minutes later.  The agent said network problems were not really their problem.  I pointed out that the Federal return software did not show that problem, nor did I have that problem anywhere else.  I pointed out that we were both looking at my account over the internet, so there was obviously a "working network connection".

So she agreed there had to be an H&R Block problem.  After 20 minutes of trying various solutions, she said, why not try re-installing our software?  I was worried I would lose the Federal return.  She said that the Federal return was saved under a different name (which I knew but hadn't thought about) and that the re-installed software would know what file to look for.

So I did.  And the Federal return was still there and the State return form seemed suddenly perfectly happy with my network connection.  I thanked her and hung up.

So I proceeded with the State return.  This is where things get bad...

I won't go into details about my taxes, but I have stocks, bonds, and a Government Savings Account (called the TSP if you know what that is).  My stocks and bonds are all Index Funds and some portion of those have some foreign investments, which complicate things.  I have no control over the Index Fund investment choices.  Plus, the TSP requires that I withdraw a portion of my savings from it each year now that I'm older than 72.

I hadn't known that in 2023, so they forcibly sent me 2 checks since then.  I had included one on my Federal return, forgetting about the 2nd.  So I had to adjust my Federal return in the software.  Did that, and shut down for the night.

The next day, my Federal return was blank!  Nowhere to be found.  I have no idea why.  Even my backup program (Time Machine) is acting weird.  I tried to recover the Federal return using that, but failed.  Each time I open a date, it sends me back to "choose a date". 

ARGHHH!

If I was 50, I could probably solve this.  I think I have to just redo the Federal return.  Fortunately, I have all the previously-printed tax forms, so it won't be like starting from scratch.  And then I can do the State return.  I have until October 15, so I will sort out the 3 different versions of the Federal return (as I said, I found errors before I mailed them) tomorrow and go from there.

But I think this is my last year using tax software (unless the Govt provides a better one).  Next year, early March, I will just take all my forms to a tax-preparer and say "tell me what I owe" and have them file the returns!  

This has finally become just too hard!

Old Basement Refrigerator

 I had an old refrigerator in the kitchen.  It wasn't the original one, but it was probably about 15 years old.  I decided it was sucking up too much electricity.  And it was a bit small.  And it was the only white appliance in the kitchen.

So I bought a newer more energy-efficient one about 5-6 years ago (maybe longer, time is fuzzy sometimes).  I liked it.  And it probably paid for itself in energy-saving.

And had them move the old one to the basement as a sort of root cellar.  Set it to 45F for storing garden and bird seeds, sodas, potatoes, bulk stuff like that which didn't have to be seriously chilled.  Since it was seldom opened, the energy-inefficiency wasn't much of a problem.  

But I did keep the freezer portion at 0F because I stored bulk meat there.  Individual meal portions of cooked chicken, pork, and shrimp; raw beef, all in individual zip-lock bags and each in its own larger shoebox-size plastic container.

Well, the shrimp come frozen, chicken and pork seem to come out fine (and safer) pre-cooked, but I want to cook the steaks rather individually at dinnertime.  And the old fridge had a top freezer which was convenient for seeing all the large container labels.

But I got tired of the newer kitchen freezer being at the bottom.  When I prepare bulk stuff like stews, spaghetti sauce, soups, etc, there were all these small one-meal containers loose in the bottom and it was awkward to find anything specific.  So on days when I didn't feel like making something new, I would just reach in and pull out a leftover.

I was willing to be surprised.  It was "Oh, I'm having hot sausage/cannelini bean/onion/tomato stew tonight.  Sometimes, you can't really tell what something is until you thaw it out, LOL!  But the small containers kept falling around when I pulled the bottom freezer drawer out and I had to keep re-stacking them.

So I decided the old basement refrigerator had to go.  My electric co-op offered a fee pickup of old appliances and offerred a $50 rebate.  So earlier this year I called them about that.  They said they had ended the rebate program.  So I figured I would have to pay to get it hauled away and moved it out of the way.

Meanwhile I bought a newer even more energy-efficient top freezer fridge.  But just before delivery, I realized it was too tall for the kitchen.  By 1/4"...  So it ended up as the new basement fridge.  Which actually works out.

I moved all the large basement top fridge meat containers to the bottom kitchen freezer.  The sliding drawer makes it easy to open the front of the large containers to pull out a frozen bag from the labelled containers.  And all the loose small containers went to the top fridge basement freezer.  No drawers there, so they don't fall over when stacked now.

And I mentioned all that to say that I discovered my electric co-op re-started their appliance pickup and rebate program!

They came and took away the really old fridge on Sept 5...

Goodbye old fridge, I am glad to see you go!  And good news is that it will be taken apart and recycled.

9-11 Day

 

Kitchen

A kitchen I would love...

But that's half the size of my house.  And unclutterred.  And clean...

The kitchen I have...

There seems to be a slight difference, LOL!  The difference, I suppose, is that I live in mine and everything is right at hand, and the top one is staged.  But wouldn't it be nice to have one like that?

Maybe.  But I had a long-time former friend who renovated his house and tripled the size of his kitchen.  And the only thing he did in it was cook steaks every night.  He wanted it to look impressive.

Mine functions well for me. But wow on the way a kitchen can "look"!

Neat Computer Thing

I can't touch-type, and my hunt&peck is very "poundy".  So my keys wear out fast.  I had about a dozen that were impossible to read anymore.  Well, maybe I can't touch-type, but I do basically know where each letter is.   

But out of curiousity, I went looking for replacement keys.  A bit expensive.  But what I also found were press-on decals.  

They seem to be very good.  The print matches most black keyboards (there might be white/cream/gray decals too), the vinyl backing is sturdy, and they seem to stick well.   I got mine at Amazon ($6), and there are 2 full sets of key decals.

It looks like a new keyboard!  

Computer Problems

I had sme real frustrations 2 days ago.  I was talking to my Credit Union about online access.  They keep shutting off my password if I don't visit enough enough.  Well, I woukld think they would be happy that I don't bother them often, but I suppose that means I don't see the loan offers (that I never ever bother using).

But in the middle of the call, KERBLAM!!!  Out of nowhere, thunder and lightning directly overhead in the same instant...  Then torrents of rain (which The Weather Channel did not predict).

I have a battery backup surge protector of course but that was too much for it and it shut down.  An hour later, it all stopped.  But I couldn't reach any internet sites.  The TV worked, so I hadn't lost my cable service.  Restarting the computer several times didn't work.  Shutting down and restarting didn't help.

Somewhere, there is a "take service online" menu choice, but I couldn't find it.  So I just left everything shut down

Yesterday, I tried everything again.  No luck.  Then I remembered about disconnecting and reconnecting the router.  That finally worked.  👍

I happened to look outside while waiting, and saw the rain gauge.  2.25"!  In about 1 hour!  Well, that should keep the grass and shrubs happy for a while.  But it was worrisome for a while.  I was afraid the computer was fried.

Interesting Day

 1.  My Credit Union (only existing in the building where I worked) has become too inaccessible being 25 miles away now.  So I went looking for a local one a year ago.  Eligibility on their website was too confusing.  So I finally just visited them today.  

It was damn easier than their website!  It is a military credit union, but I had 3 uncles who served active duty in WWII, so I hoped that would get me in.  That didn't, but actually anyone can join if they become a member of a "no obligations" charity organization.  Seemed rather strange...

But they enrolled me and then I was a new credit union member.   Nice that it is just 2 miles away instead of 25.  I set up a basic savings account and bought a 12 month CD offerring 4.94% interest.   Beats my regular bank .01% rate.  I will be switching all my regular checking/savings to the new place as existing CDs mature.

2.  Pleased with my success at the FCU, I went to the meat market and bought some Delmonico steaks (on sale), a chicken breast to poach for The Mews and myself, and some meatloaf mix.  That stuff is better than hamburger though it takes some effort to mix up thoroughly.

3.  Picked a couple of Cherokee tomatoes before they were quite ripe.  The squirrels or groundhog get at them if I don't.  If I catch the little varmints in a Have-A-Hart live trap,  I'll dump it into a large tub of water and bury their butts near a tree as fertilizer.  I have no tolerance for anything that eats my few heirloom tomatoes!

4. But the tub of "water of sudden departure" has tadpoles!  I don't know whether they are toad or frog.  A yard can't have too many toads.  If frogs, I will dump them into the storm drain that leads to the swamp across the street where they will be happy, and thrive.  A lot of toads are fine, but a lot of frogs get noisy.

But I'm feeding them ground-up fish flakes and some algae from the pond.  When I see the first legs, I'll put a small tree branch in the water to help them climb out and another attached to it to lead them down to the ground.  If I don't, they will just start eat eating each other (they turn carnivorous at leg-stage) and I'll just have one big fat frog or toad.  And I want a lot of toads.

5.  I need to rent a thatching machine from the DIY store.  Not that my lawn actually has thatch (few lawns actually do), but Summer was brutal and there are patches of dead (not just dormant) grass.  I need to re-seed next month and a de-thatcher will tear those up to expose bare roughened soil perfect for new seeds.

6.  Figured out the gas can problem.  I feel like an idiot.  There is a pull-lever to release pressure.  I've used it 100 times, how did I forget that?  Yesterday, I couldn't make it work.  Today I just grabbed it and automatically pulled the release lever and it worked fine.  I'm getting old...

7.  Time to go out and mow the lawn.  The flat mower tire has been replaced and what grass is still growing (in the shade) is 5" high. What is dead is dead.  What survives needs attention.  LOL!

I Have Fowl Neighbors

Well, they keep fowls.  Turkey, Duck, Chicken, Guinea Fowl.  They make some noise, but I can't hear them inside the house, so it doesn't bother me.

They presented me with a gift of eggs.  I had to accept them, of course, but I was unfamiliar with "home-produced" eggs.   Questions like are the shells sterile, what are the tastes like, is there danger of salmonella, etc.  I'm not a forager or even much of an adventurous eater.  

The 3 large ones on the right are turkey, the 2 in the center of the tray are guinea hen, and the rest are chicken.  The 1 duck egg was eaten previously (I misplaced my camera for a few days).

I cook the things I know well enough and stir-fries, stews, and pot pies are routine.  I can make my own pizza.

But some things worry me or seem too unusual.  I have a can of curry sauce I've never opened.  My Dad used to collect wild mushrooms and I refused to eat anything made with them.  "Try this; you'll like it" doesn't get anywhere with me.

So I was nervous about the eggs.  But I tried a duck egg yesterday.  Fried it like a chicken egg.  The white firmed up quicker than a chicken egg.  The taste was slightly stronger, but OK.  

Funny thing was that the duck egg was harder to crack open.  Not because it was stronger, but because it was slightly more flexible.  Maybe I was being more careful than usual because I wasn't sure how clean the shell was.  Commercial chicken eggs get sani-washed; I suspect the neighbor's eggs aren't so much.

But I ate the egg and felt fine after a day, so all was OK.  It still seems a bit weird though.

Time to try a turkey egg in a few days (I don't eat eggs a lot).  That's a big egg, though!  And I'm not sure what to do with the guinea fowl eggs.  Too small to fry easily so I might add a chicken one.

They are really good neighbors to give me these eggs to try.  But I think I will beg off the next offer.  I'm too used to regular commercial chicken eggs, LOL!

OK, eating a duck egg, a turkey egg, and a guinea egg weren't exactly on my "bucket list", but maybe I can be allowed to add that to the list after the fact.  Which is not how bucket lists are supposed to work, but sometimes there is a surprise item you never thought about.

Lost My New Reading Glasses

 I have to keep my reading glasses in a shirt pocket.  And they are forever falling out onto the floor.  I have never found a holder that worked well.  Of the 2 I've tried, one was too large too large to fit in most shirt pockets and the other fits but is too hard to get out the glasses out easily (the ear-ends catch on the inside seams).

I need to keep them with all the time.  If they were just for reading the newspaper or extended computer time, I could just keep them somewhere convenient (like I do with my camera, keys and wallet).  But I need them briefly for a few seconds so often, I need them "at hand" all the time.  

I remember "old folks" with their glasses on lanyards that hung around their necks.  I used to laugh.  I don't anymore.  As odd as it seems, I had the hardest time finding the kind long enough to both hang around my neck and reach my shirt pocket.  

Found them today at Amazon.  It was really just a matter of figuring out the right keywords.  Ordered a pair today.  And even that wasn't easy!  Most seem to be made of braided leather.  Some buyers complained that they got too stiff after only a month.  Others complained about the type that attaches to the middle of the ear side frame (they annoy your ears).  And some were too short.

I finally found some made of silicon and vinyl, 27" long, attach to the ends of the ear-holder, and have a length adjustment.  Most came in packs of 6 (who needs 6?) but a found a 2-pack.  Not much cheaper than a 6-pack, but I hate waste.

So, why did I need them?  Well, as I said, they keep falling out of my shirt pocket, usually onto a hard floor.  I usually notice that, at least, and pick them back up.  But I can't find them now.  Which probably means they fell out outside while I was doing yardwork.  

Well, I had done a lot of brush trimming about the time I lost them.  So I spent an hour today raking up the trimmings and looking around each time. No luck!  Maybe they are in some corner of the basement or under some furniture I haven't checked yet.  Or some future archeologist may find them...

The problem is they were only a month old and cost $300!  I am using my old ones, but there was a reason I replaced them.  The prescription is about the same but they are scuffed from years of shirt pockets.  It is slightly like reading through plastic wrap.  

But they have been lost for a month.  Time to give up and buy a replacement pair.  At least the eyeglass place has the prescription and frame type, so can hopefully make a new set cheaper than the lost ones.

Someday, I may find them by stepping on them, mowing over them, or just (happily finding them) the way I sometimes come across pulled-off cat collars.  If after buying new ones and I find the lost ones, having 2 pairs would be convenient sometimes.

Kim Possible

If you never saw this animated Kim Possible series, you may or may not want to read further.  But it is my favorite animated show of all time (and I've watched a lot of them).  Kim is not Lara Croft.  She has a real normal life (so to speak).  Classes, homework, problems...

I have the finale bookmarked.  So last night, I went looking for the origin episode just to watch it, only to find my memory of it seemed wrong.  I thought Kim started as a baby-sitter, but episode 1 showed her already a heroine.  I was very surprised and a bit confused.

But hurray for wikipedia!  I found this (footnotes removed):

"Kim becomes a crime-fighter unintentionally. In need of a job, she creates her own website to promote her babysitting and lawn mowing services, using the slogan "I can do anything".^] When a wealthy entrepreneur accidentally contacts Kim Possible instead of Team Impossible when he becomes trapped by his own laser security system, Kim rushes to his aid and uses her gymnastic abilities to disable the device. As news of Kim's heroism spreads and requests for her help increase, she finally decides to pursue it as a career".

Yay!  My memory isn't dead yet...  I knew she started out innocent of ideas of heroism.

Kim has a real family and daily high school problems.  Dad is literally a rocket scientist and Mom is literally a neurosurgeon.  And her younger twin brothers are mechanical geniuses.  Your typical family, LOL!

Kim has a male best friend from  kindergarden years.  No hint of a love relationship.  Just BFFs.

The guy is named Ron Stoppable.  Kim's last name is Possible; his is Stoppable.  Clue to his ineptness in life.  He basically becomes the sidekick who has to be saved all the time.  Well, his pants fall down on most episodes, so you get the relationship.  But he is brave even if inept.

Kim's main goal in the series is simply to help those in need regardless of money or rewards.  She does have friends who help her with various planes and information (You helped me with that ship problem, etc).

Kim's main oppenent is Shego (who is both acrobatic and can shoot energy from her hands how is a mystery).  But she is the sidekick of the blue-skinned Dr Draken who of course wants to take over the world.  There are a few other villians (like Senore Senior Senior and his utterly handsome clueless son Senore Senior Junior ("Senior" being their last name) and some guy who shoots golf ball bombs.  But Shego mostly appears.

And one episode explained her name.  Kim and Ron eat at taco places.  He eats tacos, she a salad.  In a different city (but same taco brand) a villian breaks in and Kim drives him a away.  Later, she discovers (because she solves things) the manager is a big strong hero named "Hego"

And darned if there wasn't a "Go-Team" once.  There was a Theygo (could create multiples of himself) and IGo (speedy kid).  Kim catches on about "Shego"...  Yeah, Shego was the (black and green outfit) outcast of the group when she followed Dr Draken into villanny.  But Kim goes away from their territory (Ron didn't like their tacos) and we don't see much of them.

There are some interesting suprises.  In one episode another of Dr Drakens' devices fail and Shego and Kin are zapped to become sisterly friends.  Which gets reversed back and forth, of course.  But the last moment of the episode was Shego looking at a photo them both together with a tear dripping down her cheek.  One of the slightly-suggested plot themes were that Kim and Shego were actually very much alike.

And then there was the "Graduation Day" episodes.  With a stupid build up.  Ron has "monkey-powers" which he has no understanding of except for a voice/image in his head.  Kim realizes that Ron has been her best friend forever.  Ron doesn't know how to express his love of Kim.  

They eventually kiss to the surprise of both.  And attend Senior Prom together.  Kim in "a liitle black dress and Ron in an over-the-top tuxedo (of course).  The high school crowd is stunned, then applauds wildly.  As in "well it's about damned time you two figured it out".  

Then the alien baddies attacked.  Just a husband/wife team, but they are very powerful (and have been seen a couple times in minor fights).  So a few things happen.  Dr Draken has created a beam that makes him all flowery (much to his dismay).  I mean, petals all around his head and a few tendrils.  Shego and Kim fight the aliens.  Ron has been given a rocket pack from Kim's twin brothers.

Kim is defeated and she and Draken are captured/taken to the enemy ship.  Ron and Shego go to rescue them (she steals a jet pack).  

Favorite paraphrases...

Shego to Ron:  "How do we get in"?

Ron". "There's always a trash dump".  

Shego:  That's ricul (and then the trash door opens).  They fly in.  They find Kim and Draken (Kim got them freed).  Ron embraces Kim.  

Now you have to understand something here.  Shego is Dracken's sidekick/enforcer.  She is insulting, snarky and belittles his mad scientist schemes.  She has never shown the least sign of affection towards him.  

But Shego embraces Draken like Kim and Ron do with a lot of embarassment and "well I was just happy to see you" explanations.  Woah!

So they escape the alien ship and return to Earth.  The alien couple (visualize 8" tall body-builder/hunters).

They defeat Kim yet again.  Draken complains about his petals and tendrils. "Its not like I can command them to surround you", but that actually happens when he says that.  OMG, he is sort of like Poison Ivy in Batman.  And as he stands there, he hatches a plan.  (paraphrasing again) "I see it Shego.  For once in my life I see how this could work.  It all makes sense now for the first time".

Kim and Shego are beaten.  The alien couple have landed destructo-machines all over Earth.  But Ron's "monkey-power" (lame, I know) is activated when he sees Kim being held up in defeat by the alien couple.

Two things happen at the same time.  Draken commands his tentacles to spread and "take down those machines".  And Ron glows red and levitates.  Kim is unconcious but Shego is still awake.  She sees Ron land vibrating body hits and then actually throws them into their ship (which immediately explodes), ending the threat.

Draken's tendrils crush all the destructo-machines. Ron returns to reality.  Kim wakes up and asks Shego "what happened"?  Shego:  "Ya had to see it.  I think your sidekick just stepped up".

Now another interesting part.  Draken is regarded as a hero and is awarded a medal.  Shego embraces him seriously (in public, though we sort of knew she loved him all the time and he her).  They will be together, as Draken realizes being "a good guy" isn't a "bad thing".   And the love of someone like Shego isn't bad either.  So the bad guys turned out good.  Hurrah, everyne is good and happy.

And Kim and Ron graduated and became permanent.  She to Universities asking her to accept them and Ron to work at "Smarty-Mart" as a clerk.  But it doesn't matter.  Because they had always loved each other and never realized it...  And would (as the series ended) as long as the stars shown in the sky.

Fini

UPS Store

I had something to return to Amazon and I usually bring the box to UPS.  They create a return label from a QR code and I'm in and out in 5 minutes.  But the UPS Store closed!   The nearest one now is 5 miles further away and actually, I couldn't find it.  So I drove home and looked it up for directions.  And no wonder!  You can't actually see it from the official address road.

It's one of those deals where an entire mall has an address and some business are "around the back" so you can't see them.  And business don't display addresses large enough to read from the street anymore.  And I didn't see any sign that said UPS.  So now I have to go back (with detailed directions this time).

The sad thing is that the closed UPS location was conveniently on the way to several places I shop.  This now-closest location is most definitely not!  It is in a direction I never go shopping and the traffic is always bad in that area (it's close to a large regional shopping mall that I never go to).

I'll miss the old place...