Monday, February 3, 2025
Happy Birthday, Nicole!!! šššš„³ Can’t wait to celebrate with you and the family in a couple of weeks, especially Wyatt and Coco. I watch them every morning on the Aura frameāitās a great way to start the day. Love seeing their sweet faces, even the ones that say, āIām having a bad moment.ā Day 1 of tax season prep! The real deal begins. Weāve got 22 days mapped out, 11 volunteers, and 700 tax returns as our target.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, family! Welcome to a brand-new week. Letās dive in: For the past few months, Iāve been ignoring the use of my cane indoors because I wanted to feel the freedom of movement, at least while Iām home. At the same time, I seem to set the cane down and move on without it and then canāt locate it. Itās going to be like needing cheaters to read, Iām going to need a cane in every room of the house so the odds of having one close by is improved.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Welcome to a Peaceful Sunday! Yesterday was…exactly as expected. A deafening orchestra of hammering, vibrating saws, pry bars, and whatever other power tools that could conjured up. If it had a motor, it was singing (or screeching) in the key of demolition. The crew was fantastic ā despite the noise ā friendly, personable, and surprisingly considerate. They did their best to protect the house from dirty winter foot traffic and demolition dustā¦as much as anyone can, given the circumstances.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, everybody! Itās the last weekend in January, and Iām already daydreaming about warmer weather. Hopefully, I didnāt just jinx usāI really donāt need a blizzard to round out the month. Mornings are my time to sit by the fire with a soft blanket over my legs, play a little backgammon, and sip on hot coffee while I wait for my brain to reboot. Itās my quiet time, or as I like to think of it, my donāt-talk-to-me-until-Iām-humanphase.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Yesterday was quite the marathon. I decided to sleep in, which set off a domino effect for the rest of the day. Day one of Tax-Aide at the bank is always the craziest. Not only do we have to take appointments in person, but thereās a mob of about 40 people lined up at the doors before the bank opens. The bank opens at the exact same time the volunteers arrive.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning family!! Iām trying to get in the groove for taxes and Iām not quite thereā¦yet. It doesnāt help that I slept in this morning. I was trying to catchup on the sleep I missed the night before because of the TV being on. Losing the 2nd bedroom doesnāt give Cindy a place to go and watch TV when she canāt sleep. Somehowā¦the audio puts her to sleep. Last night she was awake and didnāt turn on the TV, so she missed out on her needed white noise.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Hello and good morning everybody. Yesterday was a quiet day in terms of stuff and thoughts. Met up for a final session with many of the Tax-Aide counselors for a mandatory training session. I have to say that after 10 years, some of these requirements are not very helpful. Itās time to get into tax preparation and accomplish something. It seems to take so long to get to this point. Anywayā¦all the required training is finished and Iām in for another season.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, all! Welcome to my personal kickoff of tax season! Itās that fun time of year where I get to help the senior crowd navigate the jungle of paperwork and numbers. If all goes according to plan, my Tuesdays and Thursdays will be booked solid until April 10. Then, of course, the last five days until April 15 will be the usual tax-season rush to get family returns completed. Today, thereās plenty of time and then all of a sudden, thereās wonāt be, so earlier is always better.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Welcome to Mind-Numbing Monday! Yesā¦ itās just plain cold. Below is a link from an ALS blogger who goes by the name Gronk. This was suggested by my ALS coordinator, Peggy, who must have been involved in his care. Gronk was a Chicago Southsider and a die-hard Sox fan. I donāt hold that against him. I havenāt read his entire blog, but I paused on this particular entry. The narrative comes from a caregiverās point of viewāhis wife, Michelle.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, everyone. Whoās planning to leave the house today? Raise your hand. I think I mightāve overcommitted with this LEGO project. The pieces are getting smaller, and I seem to be dropping more than Iām actually putting together. It might be time to hit Amazon and find some replacement pinchers or maybe borrow a kid (Wyatt) with tiny fingers. Weāve been busy picking up the big items for the bathroom remodel the last few days.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Hello, family! Letās start with the LEGO wreathāI’m on bag 7 of 9, and itās been such a blast I went ahead and ordered the Notre Dame Cathedral set. Itās 4,383 pieces, so I should be happily buried in LEGO bricks until Spring. Last weekend, I recorded 150 phrases on Sunday to create a digital version of my voice. It took overnight for the software to finish doing whatever it does to create my voice.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, all! For those of you who made New Yearās vows, itās āNational Ditch New Yearās Resolution Day.ā Everyone except Alexā¦heās just getting started on his marathon training for the Chicago marathon on October 13. Thereās not too much to ramble on about this morning. Iām still putting the Lego wreath together. Legos have come a long way since I played with them as a child, or at least what I remember.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, world (or, more specifically, my family!) Today was the perfect day to stay inside. With temperatures hovering around 5Ā°, I took one look out the window and said, āNope.ā Letās be honestāwhat and why do I need to be outside? I spent the day bouncing around on a variety of activities. First, there was Tax-Aide volunteer work (thrilling, I know), then my actual taxes (because apparently, the IRS insists on punctuality), entertaining TV, building Legos, and some serious reading.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Happy Birthday to Geoff!! Cindy and I will do a toast. Who wants glass a Veuve Clicquot? Cheers!!! š„ Yesterdayās summary was a bit of a bummer to write. That one hurt. Now itās time to get back on the horse. We are getting close to the start of the bathroom remodel. Any day nowā¦the tile and flooring will be available to pick up. 700 lbs of tile and 1200 lbs of wood flooring.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning from the Heartland! This time of year, waking up to single-digit temperaturesāor worseāis just part of the deal. Yesterday was one of those frigid mornings, so, of course, the fireplace is the first thing to turn onā¦ahead of the coffee maker. Thereās nothing like the instant comfort of plopping bare feet onto the fireplace hearth and feeling the warmth of a fire. I recommend it to everyone!! And our swivel chairs?
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning yāall. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CINDY!!! This is a long one…sorry We said goodbye to Maria and Pete yesterday after a fun 24 hours filled with birthday celebrations, shopping, and cozy fireside chats. Pete even helped change the light bulb at the top of the stairs, which had been burned out for two years (!?!?). He managed to get the two old TVs, that we parked in the loft over the holiday, out of the house.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, everybody! Yesterday was a great day of getting together with family and celebrating Geoff and Cindyās birthday along with Pete and Maria, whose actual birthday was yesterday. Maria invited us to Minocqua for some respite because itās not cold enough here in Chicago. When we passed the offer, she thought it a good idea to invite herself to Crystal Lakeā¦and I thought the same. Itās not often we get to see her; it is rare for Maria and Pete to be together.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Happy birthday Maria! See you this afternoon for some laughs and togetherness. Well, we have floors for the bedroom and we saved $9 over the other quote. Woohoo!! The remodel is two weeks away and we may have all our materials by then. š We had a light dusting of snow yesterday. I typically always went out and cleaned up most of the driveways in our HOA. Instead, I watched from the house as our neighbor Fred, who is nearly 80, did all the shoveling, including our driveway and sidewalk.
Monday, February 3, 2025
TGIF. It was a busy week and we have a busy weekend. I missed two appointments this week. One of my doctors and a haircut. Sometimes the cold fashion way of keeping appointments on our calendar doesnāt work so well. There is good technology out there , I should use it!! Our remodel project starts in two weeks. I had flooring picked out and ready to buy. When the email quote arrived, there was a line item that was suspiciously high.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning all. Yesterday was a day a quiet day. I was going back and forth on Tax-Aide stuff, bath remodel, reading, and trying to take a nap. I failed on the last one which surprised me seeing how I woke up at 2:30 am, after tossing and turning, starting at 12:30 am. My sleep app had me logged in with 4 hours of sleep. Last night was 8.5 hours. I feel refreshed today and 5:00 am felt like sleeping in!