01/31/23 it happened

 

so today, 27 months after our first contact with MnDOT, we finalized the transaction.  27 freaking months later ... we sold some land to MnDOT ... about 250 yards the left of 9:00 o'clock on this picture.  27 months later.  

thru this whole process -- I've been reminded how hard my grandparents worked to purchase and pay for this dirt.  A lot of veggies, like 50 years of watermelons and at their retirement, and then my parents -- the challenges of the 1980's farm crisis ( remember that 20% interest - I do ) .. and the struggles to survive while farming and running a business.  and now, we (Jean, Lee and I) sold this small piece of dirt for a significant sum.  

Today, I've struggled with the reality of it all -- how hard they worked -- seriously -- this isn't prime Nicollet County real estate -- this is the sand prairie and if Mother Nature is angry it was difficult to grow a crop and make a living -- today's technology has bred genetics into seed to survive and thrive in a multitude of weather conditions ( might be why a bag a seed is damn expensive)

I am grateful for the wisdom, the life skills and the work ethic they passed on to the rest of us.  

But dang -- the reality has set in ....

01/29/23 'tis chilly

fuzzy security camera shot

sweatpants, down coat, hat 

tote bag of stuff

tote bag of work

the inbound this morning

I don't travel light anymore

 

this creature was checking us out while supper prepping

scored w/tilapia from HyVee

#1 has become a fussy eater -- this was a good choice

yep, mama c -- this weather is the pits

I worked most of the weekend -- 'tis normal

it might be the last weekend I work alone ... stuff really hasn't rolled in all that quickly ... so it feels like we're keeping up -- I'm just not sure ... it also feels like the bomb is going to drop at any moment -- 

I hate the uncertainty of life.  

Since I'm caught up on the homework, the laundry and the cleaning (or most of the cleaning) I'm going to spend a few moments tidying the sewing room .. and then find a good book to read.  

reading is good for the soul ... 

01/27/23 TGIF

words to live by 

the challenges of life never seem to go away do they ....

the cameras ( internet ) are working again at the happy place - I took this screen shot late Thursday afternoon - it made me smile -- well, the sun and happy place made me smile -- the grin dimmed with the snow drifts 

my new journal -- self care is taking time for self -- when the plague arrived I started journaling again -- a full book a year -- just thoughts and observations -- the plague entries mirror the chaos of our lives, the cancer entries the uncertainty and the busy season entries -- the fatigue .. 

I am a "glass 1/2 full" woman -- but lately the liquids are spilling all over -- I keep reminding myself to be grateful to have a glass to fill ..  a lot of chaos in the professional world, the weird, wacky freezing cold weather, and well, elders have a bad case of cabin fever.  really bad case -- they really don't get out much any more -- I suggested the puzzle table return -- I got a glare -- 

the speedy new internet is the best move in the last year -- it does bring the world in -- not all of it is evil -- but ..

today is a new day and I am grateful it is Friday -- the weekend brings uninterrupted work time -- and laundry, cleaning, truck washing, garage floor sweeping .. my endless lists

 

01/24/23 Random Tuesday moments

a flyer I received in the mail

at least it's not advil or tums

one partnership tax return 

400 + pages

8 partners -

wtf

paper was on sale at office depot -- I ordered the max

my phone was laying in my cup holder (post deer pictures - epic fail) and the camera was open I thought this was kind of cool .. ruby two has "lit" cup holders -- she actually lights up the entire neighborhood when the doors open -- I like that .. since I seem to live and travel in the dark ...

 

01/22/23 Piles everywhere

the snow is piling up everywhere

south from the house to the top of the hill

I spun around and shot north to the cat shack and Joyce's garage

the piles are 12 - 15' high .. unfortunately, this crap has to melt 

I can't get to the field road ... but the camera zooms

snow/icicles on the showroom lean to ... hoping it lets go tomorrow, if the sun comes out -- sun would do wonders -- Ruby and my SxS are stored in there ...

the flag is the only color in a sea of beige -- 

I have worked in some form or fashion for most of the weekend.  Yesterday was an early start -- came home in the daylight - #1 had an issue with sleeping pills (won't be taking them again -- once was enough) .. today was a late start, multiple interruptions so I packed up a couple of projects and came home -- so far it has been a camera walk, loading up trash and laundry.  

The week of laundry -- old snowmobile suits that were stored in a covered hanging rack, the same rack the cat sprayed -- I've washed all of the "good" ones, tossed a few that were in rough shape, cut the canvas cover off the rack -- will find homes for the snow pants and jackets -- that space is ready for a vac'ing as is the porch -- my cleaning schedule has become legendary .. 

While waiting on laundry I'm going to spend some time with the "fabric" . there is a couple of wastebook groups and blog groups that find time to sew 15 minutes a day -- I don't know if I could do that -- or make myself do that -- crochet -- because I keep a yarn/hook at office -- maybe -- a tidy space and project might be the key.

 

01/19/23 ugh more snow

yak traks -- a snow shoveler's best investment

even with grip -- the ice under the snow made shoveling slippery

i stayed upright 

the camera sees all

shovel in action

during the morning zoom gig with other elected peeps from the national and state level I was drinking out of 3 different glasses, mugs & cups

iced tea from McD's -- breakfast of shoveler's

iced coffee in the insulated mug

regular coffee in the spooky mug

it's been a day -- another 4? maybe 5" inches

I'm tired of it .

 

01/18/23 4:30 am

 

wastebook lets me live vicariously thru others

pics from the Como Park Conservatory

one of my favorite places

I bet it smells as wonderful as it looks 

I'd kill for a sunroom/greenhouse room

especially for November - February 

in my youth while working at the greenhouse -- I could have named this plant .. escapes me now, but I do remember how fragrant they are

and the 4:30 am starts have begun, me, my faster internet, work and laundry ... i don't even turn on the TV or radio in the cave -- during the plague I tried to work on giving up my bad habits, eating french fries, Mc D's iced coffee, toxic juans, pizza delivery - these are the success stories -- so for February I'm going to limit my TV viewing, I watch TOO MUCH TV.  I'm not sure if I watch or it's just background clutter .. we'll see ...

Monday supper that damn cat sprayed in the basement -- he's banned from the house, forever.  So after scrubbing, cleaning, sanitizing, getting truly irked -- I've had a laundry project .. the "location" was a rolling clothes rack that had a canvas cover -- ya, bad news.  I've washed most of the coats from the rack and have them ready to donate -- they've been in there 15+ years and well, it's time to purge them.  I'm down to 3 pairs of snowmobile pants and some hunting/camo bibs -- again -- donate .. the cover of the rack has been tossed and the rack will get re-purposed ... 

and that DAMN cat is not allowed in the house

01/15/23 the January thaw ???

it's deep at the happy place

so at 86 1/2 he felt the need to move snow at the shop 

on my way home from the office ( at 70mph) I spied him at the quick trip diesel pumps, he hasn't been out of the house much (at least since the last snow storm) and then he goes out and buckets snow for 2 hours ... I had a speech .... 

ever so slowly

I walked 1/2 down the hill -- yak tracks ... a girls best winter friend

and the house

I had hoped to get to the happy place -- alas, Jean and Lee did -- they put new batteries in the camera and moved them around  -- lots of snow

so, I'm up and out of bed before most humans -- seriously 4:45 every day --  this morning I tossed in a load of laundry, read my book and 

1.  gassed up the truck ( last time I got gas --12/11/22) it was time

2.  washed the truck -- same time as last gas

3.  went to the grocery store ... 

        raspberries were on sale!  milk, fruit, chex mix, bagels -- all the necessary things -- window scraper

4.  went to work 

            all of my W2's are printed -- shout that from the rooftop !!!!  there will be a few stragglers 

            all of my 943's are done

            all but one of my quarterly payroll reports are done

            a pile of 1099's are in my homework tote bag

5.  I did 7 small partnership returns over the weekend.  

6.  2 of 4 payrolls for the week are done ...

7.  need to push for sales tax .. it's coming fast ... only 2 to do 

8.  I've been hitting it hard ...

9.  I salted the hell out of the office sidewalks, steps 

10.  I took a brief walk .. fresh air is wonderful

I have homework .. the real gig and the county gig .. 

01/14/23 and today ...

the inbound commute was pretty -- I had a late start -- waiting on the washing machine ... I'm always waiting on the washing machine

late this afternoon, Dad and I, did a temporary hook up/set up for our new internet provider ... StarLink -- so far so good ... it's going to be a work in progress --- I'm giving it a week .. and then I'll cancel the Verizon -- so it appears I'm paying for two internets for a couple of months .. 

I was able to access my email via the exchange and it updated / populated the home outlook .. a freaking good thing ... 

it's the little things that make me happy

and I'm happy ....

 

01/13/23 TGIF

since I need a spot of warmth and color I'm popping up a pic of my flowers

thankfully, it's Friday and all that goes with the end of the week -- it's been a shitty week of chaos around here -- and my efforts to control it have been at best, dismal.  

and focusing on the positive -- 

the snow got hauled away

the W2's are almost done

the quarterly payroll reports are almost done -- 2 left

1099's are trickling (barely trickling) in

cleaning lady left us squeaky clean

I'm pooped and look like the crazy bird below

(with shorter - gray hair)

 

01/10/23 project # 697

 

so this happened today 

5 dump truck loads of snow got hauled out of the office parking lot today 

5 freaking dump truck loads ... 

the bill ought to be entertaining 

and the benefits of this project -- room for more snow ( good or bad ) and it won't melt and run into the basement -- which has never been an issue but I don't want it to become one

next project -- chip the 3 inches of ice off the sidewalks, steps and garage aprons 

such is the glamourous life of a CPA

01/08/23 Dining

so I saw this when I looked out the patio door while having breakfast 

and then she finished eating - nap time in the sun .. by this point I'd taken 40 pix and the camera batteries were getting low ... I was zoomed out at least a block .. 

tomorrow is a big day on Daisy Lane - new furnace -- our furnace pooped out on Friday -- we've been a house of space heaters - the buzz is driving me nuts

there is the ability to over-ride the faulty gas valve and run the furnace -- at full power -- # 1 was doing that this morning and the damn thing got hot and started to smoke -- I was uploading W2's to the department of revenue and got a little excited with the aroma -- and smoke ... so we're totally space heaters at this point -- and they are keeping up nicely -- basement is chilly ... 

it was girls gone wild weekend -- I showed up to eat, drink and be merry with the crew -- we always have good food .. and wonderful conversations -- the others got a lot of stamping and scrapping done I managed to print 225 W2's and a few other office projects .. it's all good 

my next project is to plan my week -- clothes, projects and extracurricular activities -- I'm such a creature of habit -- 

 

01/06/23 the men and I (?)

snappy titles elude me at the moment

woke up cold at 2:00am -- added a blanket

woke up to banging/clanging at 5:00

elder #1 determined the furnace was out

oh joy -- probably a new furnace ... 

so how about that stitch fix dress I'm wearing -- one of the few pieces of stitch fix i actually kept .. the boxes were fun when the arrived and kind of expensive ... so I quit them .... the $300 boots were the bomb ... fun to try on .. not in my league.

01/03/2023 Weather Shit Show #3

so today, another flipping weather shit show -- and I had a busy agenda -- got sworn into office at 8:30 - during the freezing rain -- .. followed by the first board meeting of the year and new board members .. a lot of change and unknowns .. then I

went to the office and kept looking at the radar -- by 2:00 it was clear sailing for home ... until some idiot was stuck in our office driveway .. I made it home, I assume Kate did also ... 

got home, #1 was a bit lethargic ... we got dressed and went out for "snow" removal -- I shoveled the sidewalk and went to check on him  ... he got the pickup stuck backing out of the machine shed .. and it was digging it out with the tractor .. mission accomplished ... 

he then proceeded to dig more stuff out with the fergie, the tractor

I then started plowing with the pickup -- I've never done that before -- it's just like farming -- oodles of hand signals and not so nice gestures .... quotes of the afternoon .. 

"#$(*#%* water doesn't run up hill --- push that to the bank"

"I didn't tell you to go down the $(%)( driveway" -- well I did ( insert grin ) ...

here's my take away ...

I didn't get stuck

I didn't back into anything (came close) 

I didn't run over a cat ...

and yes, water runs downhill

let's hope this crap melts fast 

this was 13 years ago -- #1 plowed for the township and the township truck resided here -- so we got cleared out first -- plow out -- plow in 

this is also 13 years ago -- the red F150 that I still miss -- my main transportation for 6 years 

best truck ever ... the same plow is on his 2019 truck 

look at all that crap sitting around ...

and this was last winter -- doing a little clean up with fergie

 

01/01/2023 Day 1

the missing glasses -- one of thirty pairs of cheeters

lots of gray 

I tested out the StarLink internet on Saturday

I had a supervisor

StarLink worked well 

now to run the cord thru the house to the router

I did order a different router and a cat5 plug in from them

the cave computer needs to be hardwired 

my life has always been a series of journals and notes, I have journals from my high school and college days .. jottings of life, it was fun to open up a new one this afternoon.  The planner is my wardrobe planner -- eliminates the need to select clothing in the morning -- and sometimes I'm anal enough to hang 7 days of clothes on hangers outside the basement bathroom.  Anal, organized or just nuts.  And there is always "shit I can't remember" and need to jot it down - helps when I'm super busy and move between home and the office to work.  

This blog is another journal - one with pictures -- I may take some time off from it during the busy season -- not sure -- it doesn't take long, but lately I'm barely functioning and it would remove one thing from my crazy world.  The trivial jottings during covid  helped my cope with that chaos, the 2021 commissioner drama couldn't be shared - but the weirdness/weariness/drama came thru .. life is all about balance and lately I don't seem to have a lot of balance.  I need to work on it.  

I'm terrified of tax season, the work load, the sick elder(s), the weather, the chaos.  I function better in an organized world and I'm no longer organized.  I did work most of the day -- it was beautifully quiet -- me, the TV and quarterly payroll reports.  routines lots of routine stuff .. 

and then there is the freaking weather -- wth -- snow, ice, winter storm warning -- 6 to 12 inches -- mother nature has been an evil woman lately -- I keep telling myself -- it's okay but damn it screws up my schedule(s) adds clutter to my brain.

so it rolls ... chaos, utter chaos.