Sidetracked Charley

First blooms of 2019 The new year thus far has be like herding cats. I read somewhere once that more people die in February, when the ground is too frozen to dig new graves, than any other month. I also think more mechanical and technological things also fail in February. That is particularly sad because it usually is the time we are most short of funds. I usually avoid sweeping New Year's resolutions in January because so much else is going on. But this year I unconsciously was swept up in some life changes. It was not unlike standing on the edge of the White River below Table Lake Dam when the alarm goes off signalling release of water. I didn't get swept away but I gathered up my fishing tackle and made a hasty, maybe too hasty, retreat. I am just beginning to find my footing again, and be able to quietly take stock of anything I might have missed in my haste. Some changes we have a modicum of control over like cutting back severely on coffee, upping water consumpti...

Morning Salutation to the Sun The desk calendar says it is May 18th. A year ago I did not get the poly tunnel up until this date. Now I have lettuce planted. The outside temperature is 27 F and the temp in the green house is 36 degrees. Sun should be up soon. It has been a month since the kittens came into my life and three hours since they (with the help of Wee Willow) broke the glass on the entertainment center. I just ran the shop vac yet again because of the glint of shattered glass 20 feet away. And also cleaned up the mess they made yesterday with the potting soil. On this day on my calendar I am suppose to begin doing yoga salutations to the sun. I am thinking of going back to bed. Straight to bed, turn the electric blanket up to 9 and assume the prenatal position. Not exactly Yoga. But the desk calendar says I can have the freedom of a total day if I do the yoga. Nothing else on the page but one pet sitting job which I usually combine with walking the dogs after the sun ...

Touch Me Not It's April. More than just taxes or the end of winter tourist season. April is not spring flowers if you live in the mountains. April is suppose to be beautiful but it is not. One day winter and the next spring. And winds through it all. No place you live can be paradise every day and if it were I am sure it would be boring. The New Mexico mountains suit me most times. I even enjoy winter mostly. And summer is never too hot. But I hate April and November. It is not just the weather or I would conspire like many of my friends to vanish during these two pivotal months. It is maybe that they vanish when so much needs to be done. Or that so much needs to be done I cannot vanish. Or maybe that I feel there should be nothing to do in April and November. Not the case. There is taxes. And rotation of art in various exhibits. Or getting another painting done for the next show. Or no money left after the taxes, getting prints for the last show, etc. Diets begin in Apr...

My turn to whine I got a flat tire today. Well, it didn't get exactly flat but it was on its way to there when I noticed it and swung by one of the three places I can put air in it. Actually I swung by two. One was out of order. I think one is always out of order. And the other took quarters of which I had none. By the time I waited out the people getting gas (let me mention they put the air machine in absolutely the wrong place by the gas pumps) and got change for it the tire was really close to flat. And as I am filling it up I notice the huge nail. So off to my mechanic. I have awful luck with tires. I have hardly ever gotten a puncture that can be plugged. Always on the sidewall or like this one too close to be safely plugged. So I have to buy a new tire. Well, actually two. It was a snow tire that was punctured and it is about time to take them off anyway. The new tires will not be here until Wednesday so I am running around on that little donut they call a spare. That ...

I hate getting my financial records ready for my tax accountant. And for years I had myself to getting them to her by March 1st. You may notice we are 17 days past that time. I really have to get it done today. I owe no money so no doubt she will file an extension. That is cool because I am getting nothing back. In point of fact I really probably would not have to file this year. But I have a business that made no profit in 2012 and a rental unit that I only got six months of rent for. But hopefully both of those things will change next year. And if they do and I didn't not file this year I will get audited. Point of fact it is probably only 30 minutes for the accountant of plugging in my numbers into the computer. And only a couple hours of me sorting receipts and finding out how much I did not make. That is the truly depressing part. Admittedly 2013 is beginning better already. No, let me amend that. March 2013 has shown an uptick. And I have stopped buying art supplies ev...

Winter Forest by J. Binford-Bell  Winter returned this week in measured doses. It shared time with spring. Yesterday it snowed about six inches and melted by afternoon. It did that about five times. Snow then what locals fondly call Mud and Flood. It seemed a good time to do taxes. I hate doing taxes. Even though I pay someone to do them for me I have to prepare the year to take in. I can generally get the that done in under four hours even counting clearing off the library table to have a place to sort the receipts. My disgust with the process last year resulted in a desk top box with very visible folders to sort things into as received. That helped. A couple years before I had developed a spread sheet with all the necessary categories listed. That is also a great help. This year, however, I still hated it. I had an epiphany though. I think what I hate is reviewing the year on a monetary level. I have mastered cash flow but not cash stay. And it always amazes me in hindsig...

Not my desk I copied the above image off of Google. I was looking for images of cluttered computer work stations for this blog. This was posted on a blog about messy desks. If this is messy then mine is currently a disaster area. Mind you I am a creative mind and ergo not neat, but my computer desk and adjacent library table have reached new heights of not neat. It all began with the new computer. CD's used for backup had to be unearthed, the laptop had to be in easy reach for transfer of files via jump drive, etc. And stacks of hard copies of documents I had unearthed to retype or scan into the new computer. I was in the midst of this task when the season to submit for fairs came. Now there are stacks of prospectuses and call for entries about with CD's containing art images shuffled from the regular back up copies. I really was making some head way when it occurred to me that my self imposed deadline for getting taxes to my preparer. Since my left brain hid after 2001 sk...