But the gal we need to order from is at the dentists.
Re-try tomorrow.
We got the gasket for the dishwasher tub…ie, that keeps the water inside the dishwasher.
We are really tired. Allergy is bothering me—couldn’t have anything to do with soaked wood flooring. Naw.
The bathroom however has all its pieces except the tile, and it will be here soon. Hardest come by is the tiny border we want around the little tile mural. But that’s all within two weeks. We are now showering with overfriendly plastic wrap which billows up every time you turn on the water.
We did get a surprise check for French rights to Foreigner, which will pay for the kitchen floor, if we lay it ourselves. Score one for us! So far our repairs have held and we have had no more leaks in the kitchen. I am installing a water-alarm in the kitchen cabinet underside, so that if water drips down there, it will scream like a banshee.
We found a flooring we like. It’s not too bad in price. When we go back to deal with the tile situation, we’ll talk about that. Our downstairs has ancient indoor-outdoor carpet that has been flooded. Our basement stairs are slabs of board covered with same, with no facie board, ie, there’s a gap under the steps. But we can still handle that ourselves. I am however making a deal with Jane that we get the board (laminate) now while it’s on sale, but postpone laying it until we have time to do the job. We are now facing end-of-year accounting and, of course, that great American pastime, getting things together for the income tax people, which is a national obsession until April 15, the deadline, surpassing baseball, football, basketball, and the lottery, and has probably cost billions in heart attacks and lost productivity. The mere thought that there could be 50.00 more deduction in those figures if you could just find it will keep some people, particularly men with some clerical skills, going at it to the exclusion of rest or food, figuring and refiguring. I used to worry about my father every time that period rolled around: he’d start in January, trying to find receipts, and wind up with a dining table covered with receipts, papers, scrap paper and tax forms, many, many tax forms. I so wish we’d just go over to a national flat tax—but in the eyes of many that would take all the sport out of it.
It’s not just men who obsess about Apr 15. Anyone comfortable with number does it. Although I have met people who just go for the standard deduction ….
good to hear the water issue is nearly cleared up!
My father-in-law was an accountant and, yes, from January to mid-April the dining room table was covered in his tax books, forms, receipts, etc.
Vive la France!
My sympathies on the tax game – what a pain! Add to that all the weird accounting juju like salary packaging and there are years of life we will never see again.
Salut et félicitations sur l’acquisition des droits pour l’Etranger en français!
…And congratulations also that that will allow some home improvements!
The bathroom tile sounds good. I last looked at tile and decided I’d need to look further afield. Both nearest stores had any color you want, as long as it’s greys or browns, and a lot was quite dark. Very few bits of color, unless you went for something quite feminine or kids/babies or sports. My master bathroom is small and has no window, an afterthought in design. The guest bathroom’s much better. So, the master bathroom needs light and (reserved but present) color to make it seem bigger. I’d like teal or turquoise and a light brown to cream color. But that will require a little planning and some hoofing it.
At some point, if I can keep my house over the next couple of years, I want to pull up the carpet in the office bedroom (here) and my bedroom. I have the flooring for the one but not the other. Between cats and occasional clumsiness myself, I want to do without carpet and use rugs. Carpet’s warm and cozy, but a bear to clean. Rugs, you can change out if they need cleaning.
Taxes…I get to prep taxes this year from a royal snarl of a complete mess. I can deal with words and images and code all day, pages and layout and the like. I liked calculus in college. I loathe accounting and bureaucratic forms with a passion. (Legalese is OK; I’m maybe above average in comprehension on it.) But taxes and bookkeeping and records? Ugh, fie, pfew!
All sympathy to you both.
Hmm, Jane’s ambition and enthusiasm, an overabundance of feeling obligation and an underwhelming ability to say no or not now, later. 🙂 Uh, I sympathize. I get myself in trouble that way.
I heard something on the radio this morning about an incentive to get people in the UK on self assessed taxation. I wasn’t really paying attention but I think it said people who got their returns in two months ahead of the first deadline would be put into a draw for £100,000. There aren’t that many people in the UK that have to file a return but I’m one. I’ll have to keep an eye out to see if the scheme goes ahead 🙂
My ‘hayfever’ is also playing up a bit at the moment. It’s usually autumn and spring that hits me but I think the extended summer meant the fungi started late. If this mild winter continues it might also mean the trees will start early. On the plus side it doesn’t do much other give me a slightly itchy throat and one eye. Even better I’m not affected by grass so I can enjoy summer 🙂
Sympathies for all that has come at you lately and the allergies. I know you have wood allergies, but have you looked under the previously flooded carpet….you could have mold.
As for me…I have just been diagnosed with a combo of ear/sinus infection and Lyme disease….three weeks of antibiotics ahead! The illness is annoying and tiring but it’s the antibiotics that wear me out….lots of acidofilus in my future!
I’m waiting until I’m feeling better to start sorting taxes….I make very strange mistakes when I’m not entirely with it! 😉
Oh dear, sympathies on the Lyme disease, Smartcat! My mother, who lives in Tick Central (aka Barrington, NH) has had it I don’t know how many times. She is a tick goddess: they just want to crawl on her and bite her. She keeps a half prescription of anti-biotics in the fridge at all times. Moment she spots a tick bite, she starts the antibiotics and calls the doctor for a refill prescription to continue the other half with. She may be into alternative forms of healing, but thank goodness she doesn’t mess with Lyme anymore. Keep up those antibiotics. They do work!
On the issue of soaked flooring and allergies: You mentioned Pergo and a slow leak over time. If there is mold under the flooring or the damp effected the chemicals in the flooring, that could effect you. I am sure you have considered that and I hate the idea of it because it would ultimately mean replacing at least that section. Good luck with it.
I’m glad to hear your water issues are doing better! I did do some tapping (EFT) for your dishwasher and floor.. Hopefully it helped some. Maybe I’ll throw in a round or two for your allergies. 🙂
Thank god, this year, I don’t have to hassle with taxes. I had my own small biz (coffee shop) for a number of years but I acknowledged defeat early on for the yearly income taxes and got an accountant. I wasn’t going to try to keep up with all the changing laws and rules and regulations at that level.
And since I made a point of keeping all receipts, filed away monthly, it wasn’t too much of a hassle. I did however choose to do the payroll taxes and quarterly excise taxes myself. Blah. I am SO not an accountant! It was NOT fun!
But I closed it down in April 2010, and so, this year, I’m finally free of that whole goat rope. But I do feel for anyone who goes it on their own! Especially if you have your own biz!
We count as self-employed for tax purposes, and I’ve fought with their forms for years. The basic rule, I have found, is that if the forms and instructions begin to make sense to you, you are doing it wrong.
And congratulations on the check from the French rights, and think of the pleasure the new French readers have ahead of them, with Foreigner!
Tax: There is, as ever, an XKCD about this: http://xkcd.com/951/ If you spend 9 minutes of your time to save a dollar you’re working for less than the minimum wage.
I am always trully glad that the UK doesn’t have your system – even if it means I pay more tax.