It is Wednesday, February 9th and we have rain!

 TERRY

Terry has been awake since about 7:00 and is doing fine this morning.  I asked if she wanted the paper earlier and she said no but I am guessing she will soon want it.

Well my day at home was supposed to start AFTER tennis but no tennis today because of the rain so here I am with no plan for the day.  Is there work to do?  For sure but who really wants to work???  I woke up this morning with a smile on my face, why?  Well as I walked into the kitchen it was totally clean!  No fuss, no mess as the counters were empty and wiped clean.  Now that is a great way to start the day and yes it should be that way everyday but sadly it is not the case.  Well I just walked into the kitchen to refill my coffee cup and I did notice some work that needs to be done.  I had opened the dishwasher door to get a clean glass and there the dishwasher was staring at me with a full load of clean dishes.  Then on my way back to the computer I did glance into the laundry room and notice that there is clothes to get out of the dryer and dirty clothes to put into the washer.  Oh, and of course one would know that the dining room table has a pile of papers on it.  But that is not all that bad.  I now have enough of our 2021 tax papers to start working on things.  Well IF I remember correctly we did have our tax person figure out our taxes the last few years but I still have to gather all the papers up and send them in.  I am sure there will be more papers coming in over the next while but if I could get things sent in by the end of the month that would be good.  We always get some back except for 2020 when Terry had income from the sale of the house in Minnesota which meant we had a large tax bill.  

I actually got good news yesterday.  Now that we both are OLD (over 72) we need to withdraw money from investments that we have.  It is called RMD.  If a person fails to do that there is a penalty which I do not know the amount.  Well I do not recall filling out the papers for last year so I was resigned to paying the penalty whatever it was.  Well much to my surprise tax papers came in the mail yesterday stating we had done it.  So that was GOOD.  Now I am thinking I should fill out ones for 2022 before I REALLY forget to do it.  For me it is not a very big deal as the amount that I get would maybe buy several ice cream cones.  I exaggerate as it is a bit more than that.  But for Terry it is a sizable amount and we do not want to lose it. Anyway the bottom line is last year was done and make sure it gets done again this year Carmen.

I have my homemade 2022 calendar right in front of me at the desk.  So I always notice birthdays etc each day.   Well I am looking at it as I write.  As I look at February I see where this Friday is the date sister Janet died 56 years ago.  When I write that number it just does NOT seem that long ago but yes it was in the winter of 1966 which sounds like a long long time ago.  Then I glance down at February 25 and it is written Roxanne 2014 which I am sure means it has been 8 years since Roxanne passed away.  It is hard to believe it has been that long ago.  Well I guess I should maybe get onto some news that is good!  Well this is good news in the making.  Quinn Sandness IS slowly getting better according to Joan.  She sent an e-mail yesterday and said he is recovering but it has been a slow process.  I actually do not know many details as to what happened except that he suddenly became ill and it was serious.  Yes, good health is not a given so "for sure" we need to be thankful every day that we have it.  

I know, a repeat but it is a picture that I never tire of looking at.  When we lived in Devils Lake ND there was a wildlife preserve just south of town.  There were elk and buffalo there and most of the time when you drove through you would see one or the other.  Here we were watching the herd of elk and based on the kids it had to be the summer of 1974.  I might add that our 1970 Impala with the 8-track playing and the windows rolled down was a summer fun ride!!!

Well we fast track 8 years and help Cynthia celebrate her 2nd birthday November 1st in 1982 and by that time we were in St. Paul.  Look at those candles!  She must have had a strong blow for a 2 year old!  Most of the early birthdays were celebrated around an animal cake made by Mom but she must have been busy this year.

Well I do think it is time to sign off for the day.  Terry is now reading the paper with the TV on and I can think of many things to get done as I sip the last of my FP.