04/30/20 7:40 ...

April is over ... some of us refer to it as the April from hell.  Actually, I really cannot complain, my April has been weird -- but I truly think it ( life as we know it ) is going to get worse before it gets better.  We're just beginning to see the chaos.  Most of us have been unaffected ... that too will change.

Mom and I took a little drive tonight -- I'm making a list of things to see and do in the area -- things we should have seen and done already.  Tonight, we drove down to Minnesota Square and walked the Veteran's Memorial - it is very nicely done.  Our next stop was the pavillion - but it was full of kids on bikes -- another day. 

the eagle at the memorial

found this little dude on the way home 

across the field 

in the woods ...

I'm probably going to blog less -- less to rant about, the fear of the unknown is now the fear of the known and well, it is frightening.  The work load will let up -- we've got a lot of returns and a couple of big projects to go -- but it is under control -- at least today it seems to be under control.

I'm going to be smarter, wiser, and healthier in May.  More physical activity, a bit less work and better eating habits.  Better physical health leads to better mental health.  And believe me the mental health has had workout in April -- I ( and everyone else) need to focus on the good  --- and act on the good.  But dang I miss the ability to have a bit of attitude adjustment at the fabric store, I miss TWINS baseball -- I miss scrapping with the girls -- I miss attending meetings -- arguing a point over zoom or gotomeeting is not the same ...

positive peeps, focus on the positives

thanks for putting up with me

4/28/20 6:30am

I've already had my "stressed out," "flipped out" moment of the day .... so the rest of the day should go smoothly correct? ... let's hope so.


so yesterday, Monday, my least favorite day of any day ....

5:45 am -- gas station filled up Ruby
5:55 am -- grocery store before it opened !
6:30 am -- office

ran like a chicken answering the phone and a zillion needless stimulus emails -- they just keep coming and coming

5:15 home
5:30 deliver hot food to tractor man -- he was at Mrs. H's house -- 10 miles out and 10 miles back

6:30Sam's  Club -- we ordered and picked up -- it was pretty slick although no cukes or cantelope -

6:45 Panera drive up ... took the longest

7:00 eating said Panera drive up -- salad was tasty

there was more laundry, emails, surfing and stuff -- before bed


and it's raining ... the pitter patter sounds good

Operation Silence

I started this at the beginning of March when I was in my "operation silence" mode for the month of March -- 

As I look back at the posts -- I do this for self not others ..  

I can I can I can

should be 

We still are, we still are ...


thought I'd post this so I don't lose it ...



week one:

Thursday --- dang life is kicking my tush.


week two:
Sunday -- dang dang dang -- amidst the chaos I got a visit from a little dude.  Virgie and his parents stopped in -- their visit reminded me to enjoy the little moments -- pictures on the still camera -- he's a handsome little guy :)

Thursday -- COVID 19 will change the way we do things on Third Street ... life might get a bit more entertaining

4/26/20 7:21pm

confirmation 4/11/76 

there is a lot of polyester in this picture

and our house was painted "cat shit" yellow

those were the days

ah --- the happy place

the very first thing I did upon arrival 

drag the patio furniture out of the bedroom 

and sit on the deck

it was heaven

I broke my no working on Sunday rule and went into the office for 4 hours ...

got home -- loaded up Mom, supplies and her leftover Chinese from Saturday

stopped at McD's for my lunch and hit the road ... it only takes 15 minutes ... 

I managed to vac up the mouse turds.  they haven't touched any of the treats I left out on Wednesday night --- the fridge is plugged in and humming 

next weekend is the scrubbing of the surfaces 

I need to haul out more cleaning supplies I took basics today 

the docks and lifts are in the water 

the landlords landscaping project is moving along nicely

it was a nice break from the world 

4/25/20 7:56pm

ahhh  best news of the week arrived in a text ...


   the happy place has running water and hot running water ...
   let the cleaning begin .....

   and tomorrow promises to be a lovely day ....
   a little cleaning
   a little deck time
   a little cleaning
 
   no work ..



   I did go into the office this morning -- left at 3:30 ... mom came in for lunch -- we did take out Chinese via the alley ... they are the nicest people over there ...

  We then proceeded to create an account at Sam's Club -- place an order for pick-up ... Monday night .. fits into my schedule and well, we are rolling with it ... at 2:30 I created another order -- and I might try a Hy Vee later this evening.  We're dying for fresh fruit and veggies -- FF does okay - but a little variety is welcome


 hi ho hi ho ... off the lake we go ...


thankful we have a happy place to go ....

4/24/20 12:17 am

it's all about the technology these days

I hate it


has a BNCHB meeting via zoom this morning -- a heap of feedback -- once I realized 4 of them were in the same freaking building -- answered that issue ...

email issues still happening.  sending the geek over the edge.  really sending the CPA over the edge.


delivery day yesterday -- lands end, eddie bauer, target, fat quarter shop ... all that is left is old navy ... and a couple of office supply things from my friends at Amazon --

scored big at EB and lands end!   shampoo from target -- mystery box from FQShop ... treats -- it's all about the treats :)



Mom and I drove out the happy place Wednesday night to check on the mouse control measures --- 1/5 was ate --- not bad -- 20% bad 80% good .....


it's started up again .... i jump from project to project and finish nada .... yikes it's bad, really bad.

04/22/20 7:03 am

at 6:30 last night I took this shot in front of the office -- the empty street  -- Tuesday nights Patrick's hosts trivia -- the jockeying for prime parking pre-event is almost as entertaining as the Saturday night Demolition Derby at the Nicollet County Fair ... 

it is quiet at night -- it is quiet all day -- although the street traffic on Broadway has picked up.

  

Dad is busy farming and yesterday he moved from Oshawa (Middle Lake) over to Kevin's (south of Lake Emily) .... 20 miles --- and met 1 car from Middle Lake to GAC ... and only had 2 cars behind him as he went thru the intersection on 22 and 169 ... then up the hill to the Kasota corner.  ( no he's not supposed to be doing that commute -- I'll be making a phone call about that -- there are certain things 85 yr old elders should and shouldn't be doing ) --- and yes, he was in the 4WD John Deere (the whopper) with the 55' digger (folded up) ... 

elder #2 went to the grocery store yesterday -- no hand soap -- I suggested she refill the hand soap with dish soap and it appeared light bulbs went off -- alas -- it was Katie's suggestion yesterday -- I cannot take credit ... I went tot he $ store looking for something  (!) -- good grief it was a freaking disaster -- Lisa said they had no help --- just her and one other worker and they can't keep up .... between freight in and customers .... it's tough ....

4/20/20 8:59pm

somewhere in my crazy life there are a couple of cool pictures.

at 2:50pm my main email account decided to quit working and of course a few thousand emails rolled in ... computer dude came at supper and said -- this is classic -- "microsoft says it will clear up in 3 days" ... seriously Lance -- I wasn't buying into that logic

logged in on my surface pro 30 minutes ago and the shit was working.  not sure if it's working at the office but its working on this gizmo.

damn Monday's are a waste.  16 stimulus phone calls today.  it's gets really irritating answering THOSE questions -- some of us, like me, don't receive one, nor do we qualify for PPP loans or EIDL loans.  sometimes being special is not FUN.  done with the whining for today.

I quit working at 8:30 last night -- down in the home office cave.  my resolution for the week was to not work on Sundays until November -- ha -- time will tell.

Mom and I drove out to the happy place yesterday - left some delicious treats for the mice.  .... I have pictures on my phone -- peeps were fishing in the bay -- the neighbors were rebuilding their shore with lots of cool rocks and things.  Can't wait to see it when it is done.  We still had SNOW on our deck.  it and the mice need to melt away.

I managed to cruise home on the ATV ... down the street I went.  Mom was following in the truck.  She couldn't keep up  I was not going that fast ... or so I thought.  Job done, ATV home for rides and fresh air.

I even remembered to take the camera home .. there is hope after all...

04/19/20 7:26 am

pandemic day 1,724 ( or so it feels)
yesterday was the elders 61st wedding anniversary ..

i went to work
#2 called -- stated #1 was farming and she would like to take a drive to Minneopa to see the bison ... 15 minutes later #1 calls -- "when you two get back can you move my truck" ... wth 45 minutes into farming season and he needs his truck moved !!! 

so #2 and I got to Minneopa and the bison drive was closed ... so we trekked back to Panera and got takeout salads ... tasty -- ate and moved #1's truck .... argh.

back to work .... lots of drama down the road ... sad

finally home at 4:30 and #2 says -- can we have take out from El Agave - - #1 is now farming directly behind the house and the dirt is flying ... so off to El Agava I went -- tasty ...

so here he is ( and the green machine )  and Nick's house in the background -- Nick took on a little dirt yesterday ... welcome to rural america!

04/17/20 6:53 am

  you all know I'm a good speller but a bad typist .... just letting y'all know (after the fact) .... he he he



  the birds started chirping at 5:15 this morning -- good thing .... really good thing....

 
  I'm dressed ( well, the COVID19 wardrobe -- leggings, oversized t, sneakers ), fed (thank you McD's) and at the office ....


  Life is good.

4/16/20 4:32

it's official -- spring has arrived ... the garden center across the way received their first delivery of goodness .... I'm going over for coffee and garden smells in the morning ...


nicholas john took the snowplow off of the ATV today -- I'll ride 'er home on Saturday ( or Sunday ) ... the boxes are emptied, the tables taken down -- the counters wiped down -- my office is kind of tidy ... working on it ... going to pull up rugs before I go home.

if the forecast holds true -- the plastic will be yanked off the windows ... and the garage swept out ..  it's time for normal.

04/15/20 7:42 pm

it's the big day in my world -- after 106 days of non stop work ... life changes to a slower  speed -- our next phase would be 30 days of catch up and then we're back to projects and our normal routine -- well, there ain't nothing normal about 2020

I think we have more than 150 tax returns to finish -- the catch up is so so --- and well, normal went out the window in March 

normally April 15th -- is empty the trash, hand over the late comers, shut off the lights and go home for 36 hours ... Kate and I will both be back to work in the morning.

one of my favorite April pictures -- Jean and Gram working on something 

I remember visiting that night (and it was April 15th) .. taking this pix with my first sort-of-smart cell phone ...  seems like yesterday but it was 11, maybe 12 years ago 

i'm cranky, exhausted and emotional tonight

when the washing machine is done

this Diva is going to bed

tomorrow is a new 

( hopefully warm and sunny)

day 

we'll win this race together peeps ...

stay smart and stay safe

on the fun side of life -- my own tax return is done !!!

04/4/20 7:35am

shit it's good to be me ...

so far I've

    surfed the internet for 90 minutes
    finished my book (before getting out of bed)
    drank coffee

     lost the freaking mask I made ... it must be in my other coat pocket
     wth.


it's Tuesday ....



M



edit: 5 minutes later .... found the goofy thing on my desk.


argh

04/12/20 11:55am Easter Sunday

I've been the working Diva on this Easter Sunday -- I did not set my alarm clock this morning .. but my body clock went off at 4:30 -- I wandered down to the cave at 5:45 and have steadily worked thru my project box -- just 3 projects left .. mine, and 2 clients.

once the projects are done I'm going to attempt a couple masks -- well need one for my weekly trip to the grocery store tomorrow -- out of milk, fresh fruit and veggies

I may even venture into the office for another box of work -- I have lots of boxes of work -- the snow seems to be not sticking to the roads and hopefully the shoveling will be minimal (who I am kidding - it's a freeking winter storm warning)

it is the season of forgiveness

i'm concentrating on hope

hope for a better tomorrow 

a better next week 

a better me

4/11/20 4:11pm

I'm quickly losing my work mojo -- it's been a busy 9 1/2 hours (so far) .. I've been on the go since I arrived ...

finished up a pile of quarterly payroll returns
got client NCC -- reconciled, journal entries written, sales worksheets reviewed, and payroll q done
got client SRC -- je's entered, reconciled, sales, sales tax, ready to type f/s

uploaded completed (and signed off) tax returns, got them accepted
sorted my boxes of to do's

made up a homework box -- snow ya know

took down the big tables in the front room and re-organized the clutter -- ran the roomba and emptied all of the trash cans  --- and cleaned out the fridge

and while the back up tape finishes I'm wasting time typing this ...

this was my view on the inbound this morning 

sun doggies at sunrise 

several inches are in the forecast

several inches -- it is normal for "this day in history"

i don't like it 

I need spring.

04/10/20 7:04am

    we lost a Nicollet County resident to COVID19 yesterday.  92.   my heart aches. 

     my mind knows that this was going to happen, eventually, but ... i've been proud of our residents and their diligence about social distancing ... we've all been good .... it is hard, so very hard

     my mind knows there will be more -- i hate the unknown, hate it passionately.



      prayers for all of us ...

04/09/20 3:29pm

this shit is getting to me 

and Mother Nature - you are not helping the situation at all

not one bit

04/09/20 7:08am

another morning in paradise ....

and another 2 weeks of stay at home -- it is getting rather tiring, boring, close, old,  -- but safe.  safe is good.

it is also getting overwhelming -- 

I packed up the homework and went home at 6:00 last night ... headed to the cave -- did laundry and attempted to work -- by 8:30 I accomplished zip (other than the laundry) .. so I went to bed.  

I'm watching TV news and it appears it is going to snow -- I'm driving Ruby today --- probably should have checked the weather before I left home ...   argh.

04/08/20 7:06 am

yep, been here an hour ...  so far -- I've printed labels .. sort of ... read the paper, ate a piece of lemon cake, rescued the roomba ( it doesn't like all the cords) -- put away empty file jackets, printed payroll shit, emptied the trash, washed dishes, tossed old food out of the fridge ..

there were no raspberries at the grocery store yesterday 

hence the lemon cake for breakfast 

these were particularly tasty -- at $5.99 they should have been

the before shot of the "green space" between me and the neighbors

nasty -- trees, burdocks, critters 

it has been a 20 year battle with the neighbors

i took charge and got it done

I hired cousin Matt to clean it up and he did a fabulous job --

he's ready to come back and do more

he's even going to be my lawn mower boy !!!!

hazy moon shot at the mailbox last night -- from my phone ... the moon beams were dancing on the river ... and the cars were zipping by on the highway ... it was a beautiful night 

04/07/20 6:51 am

  today is my grandfather's 113th birthday -- i was playing with numbers this morning, he died 35 years ago ... at 78, a couple years after their 50th wedding anniversary ...

  time flies doesn't it -- seems like only yesterday -- he'd slip me $20 for gas when I was in college and things/times were tough - and was so excited when I graduated -- they both were able to attend --

 I learned the art of "watermelons" under his watch -- and I learned the skill of eating the first one of the season -- in the patch (always carry a knife :) ) 


  I can imagine the comments he and grandma would have about our current " pandemic" and state of affairs --


  yesterday was a tough one -- endless, and I mean endless phone calls regarding the "stimulus" payment ( it needs to go away ) and the PPP and EIDL loans/grants.  that stimulus payment is making even the nicest people greedy and I mean GREEDY --- I've never seen $1200 cure the worlds problems ...   the ever changing PPP and EIDL loans -- elected officials should never assume agencies can administer programs written that vague.  VAGUE ... yes I'm shouting


  I put a plug out on wastebook for someone willing to do a yard clean up project --- whooyeeee ... cousin Matthew to the rescue --- ( his Dad and grandpa helped) ... looking fabulous ..

4/6/20 1:12 pm

the world is freaking nuts

at least my world

04/06/20 7:33 am

so this is me today:

but I've got a case of the blah's .... blah blah blah

I did pretty good this morning

shower

clothes

grocery store by 6:30am

drove Ruby today

but dang

I'm tired of my office 

went home at 1:00 with a tote bag of work ...

have the stuff was missing something

one piece of something

blah blah blah

04/05/20 7:41 am

this is my "done" chair -- as in completed returns, ready to sort and pass off to Mrs. S to copy and distribute -- to the right are Christmas cards still stuck on my door -- I kept the cards with pics of kids and families up -- my collage for diversity training, a giant post it with projects -- to the right the cube bookcase with cubbies of clients ... 

I watched Tiger King on Netflix while working yesterday -- that was a waste of time -- good grief -- enough said ... don't watch it  -- going back to HGTV or the Food Channel ....

today's project list 

1.  more freaking tax returns

2.  quarterly payroll reports (15 more) 

3.  get the trash out and ready for Tuesday

4. keep cleaning the corners

5.  attempt to sew some masks

( haven't tried this yet -- i did pull some fabric last night)

pretty fabric -- we ain't gonna have ugly masks

4/02/20 7:00am

drone photo by Luke Schoeb -- posted on wastebook


If you look close you can see this old house ... 6:00 up a bit from the green blob

It's a cool shot - I'm trying to purchase it from him and get a print made. 


So it's Thursday ... today list is as follows:

1.  no watching of the news.  I just can't do it any longer.  I may listen to Gov Walz daily update ... but no more news.  I've attempted to ban the elders from it also -- not so successful with that goal.  Elder #2 got to go the bone doc yesterday (chiropractor) .. she will feel better tomorrow.

2.  keep plugging on the freaking tax returns.   many to go ...

3.  clean my office (both offices)


keeping it simple today

04/01/20 6:44am

April Fools Day ...

my day started at 3:15am -- the mind and body can't seem to shut down -- I crash by 9:00 every night and by 3:15 ... I'm wide awake -- so I toss/turn/toss/turn finally get the dang tv to come on (it's been an issue for a while -- remote? tv? directv box?), surf wastebook, check the email -- toss/turn.

I got up at 4:00 -- stripped the bed, changed sheets/bedding, put away the clean clothes -- laid back down and attempted a jigsaw puzzle on the iPad -- had a kittykat nap :) ...

At the office by 6:00 ... found my missing key  ----  in the lock, of the back door -- only in a small town during a pandemic -- too bad -- the work fairy didn't use the key and come to work ...

argh.


today is oil change day for the pickup -- yesterday was Ruby -- nice to have Ruby on the road .. missed her .. it's been 5 1/2 months .... separation anxiety --

sunrise is an orange glow this morning -- amid the rain to the south ..

re-watching Downton Abbey on PrimeTv -- seemed to be the least of all evils.