Saturday, May 6, 2023

Post Office, Landscaping and the Coronation

I have major agita.  On April 14, see bottom of the left most tracking info, we dropped off our tax return at the Post Office.  Thank all the gods and goddesses that we sent it with certified delivery.  As of yesterday, it still has not arrived at the IRS.  It went to Cincinnati, then back to Spokane, then back to Cincinnati, then back to Spokane.  The envelope was last seen leaving Spokane on May 4.  What's so concerning is that I don't know if any of this is true, is the entire thing lost?  If it finally does arrive, will they look at the post mark and see that it was mailed on the 14th of April?  What?  This may be enough to get me to e-file, even though I do not trust their 40 year old technology.  Monday I guess we will go back to the PO and ask them to explain this to us.



Thursday the weather changed.  It's cold, it rained.  Today it's dry so far, but it's cold and damp.  No one can generate any enthusiasm for planting the rhody we bought to fill in some of the space left by the Japanese maple we took out.  It had to go, it was a hazard to one's eyesight hanging over the path with its tiny little branches.

Anyway, Tuesday we prepped the crock pot for pot roast.  Jim seared the chuck steak, and I peeled things.  Earlier, I had decided to make stock so I could get the chicken carcasses out of the freezer.  This was the first big batch of stock in years.  I completely overestimated how much water would be needed and how big of a vessel I would need to receive the stock after straining.  There were spills, multiple containers and we messed up everything in the kitchen.  Here is said stock.  


I have new cheese cloth and it's a definite improvement over that loosely woven stuff you buy in the grocery store.  It's from Amazon.  The package comes with six big cloths, they're washable, they're hemmed and re-usable.  It's a simple thing, but it works so much better.


I washed it by hand, and then in the washing machine, and it is, in fact, reusable.  Given my rate of stock production, this will probably be a life time supply.

There is landscaping going on in the neighborhood.  The neighbor who had the giant trees removed, and the stumps ground down has received a load of rock to put on the area. They've hired someone to spread it, which is good.  We're too old for this.  When we lived in Issaquah, we took delivery of 27,000 pounds of rock to spread across a side yard.  It was too much to weed, so we poisoned it and covered it in rocks.  That was a lot of rock, but we were much younger then.



Another neighbor has vigorously pruned the shrubs that line the driveway.  One wonders if they will make a come back.


I see that King Charles III was coronated today, and Camilla got to be queen.  The monarchy seems to have lost its luster with the passing of Queen Elizabeth.  Charles has a tough act to follow.  Harry was there, in a suit.  His pervert uncle, Prince Andrew, was there wearing royal robes of some sort.   That doesn't seem equitable to me.  The entire ceremony just doesn't seem like a good use of tax payer dollars.  

Other than that, we're waiting or the weather to improve a little, maybe Monday.

7 comments:

  1. Hang onto your screen shots. They must go by postmark, but that could be obliterated by the time it goes through rain and snow and sleet and whatnot.

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  2. Thanks be that you sent it with tracking!
    They justify spending millions with the excuse that it brings in billions in business...tell that to the souvenir companies going out of business!!

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  3. we always filed electronically. well, the woman we paid to file our taxes did back when we were self employed. Marc organized all the stuff (income, receipts, depreciations, expenditures, percentage of house used for business, etc) and she did the rest and told us how much we still needed to pay. it was well worth the expense. once we retired we no longer made enough to have to file.

    sorry to hear that spring has abandoned you.

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  4. What the heck is going on with that tax return?! That's crazy. Is there not enough postage and they're trying to return it to you, or something like that? In any case, I would think the IRS will be able to tell what day you mailed it. (When it finally gets there!) I must say, I e-file every year and have for more than a decade, and I don't miss dealing with the mail.

    I think the taxpayer expense of the coronation is considered an investment in the UK's position on the world stage. Most people abroad know the UK for its monarchy, and it undoubtedly generates tourism and revenue. Oddly, I don't mind this expense as much as I do some others, like the hugely expensive railway boondoggle known as HS2, or all the commerce we've lost thanks to Brexit.

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  5. So sorry to hear of your IRS Tax woes. I hope it gets resolved satisfactorily? We just found out our Adult Disabled Daughter had her Identity Stolen when she signed up for Services for the Disabled... someone working at a Major Hospital in Wisconsin is Fraudulently using her Identity. We had to verify here in AZ at Social Services that she is the Authentic Self and the other Person the Fraud. It was our responsibility then to notify the IRS and Social Security of the Identity Theft. Guess what, they don't Investigate nor do they Care, unless and until the Fraud or you are applying for Benefits, just WTF? We E-File, so far no problems even tho', yes, a very antiquated System being used, but you do get Confirmation Codes and an E-Mail when it's received and accepted. As for the Coronation expense, I have Relatives in Great Britain and their Economy is not in great shape, so the Coronation is rather like having a huge Feast beside a Food Bank, isn't it... when the Average Citizens are suffering. Very Marie Antoinette I must say... and look what happened to her... *Winks*

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  6. Jeez, I've seen some pretty crazy USPS tracking over the years, but I think you have me beat. Barry has been e-filing for us for years using TaxAct software and has had zero problems.

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