Simple strokes for simple folks: Below is a photo of the most usual first sighting that I make each morning. As I sleep in the basement, I luxuriate in the sun streaming through the two windows nearest my bed, as modulated by the bushes (and blown leaves) just outside. (When I look out those windows I am facing southeast; thus the photo is of my bedroom wall to the southwest.) Occasionally, I am treated to the silhouette of a bird swooping across, or a turkey grazing along. All-in-all it is a lovely sight to which I open my eyes. The sun arises early enough these mornings that the sun from the second window alit on a mirror, so I photographed the illuminance from but one of the windows.
Data mining Mom & Dad's planner entries: As previously noted, I am gathering data from entries that my parents made in their planner books. For the past couple of days, I've been perusing their planner from 1977, at which time they would have been approximately 63- and 68-years old, respectively. My parents kept really busy. They had hundreds of friends and relatives whom they interacted with in one or another way, they did much yard work (keeping grass mowed in several of their neighbors' yards as well as their own), they were always painting or papering something in their house, and they were active in the church that Mom attended and the senior citizen's group that the church sponsored. They drove to several small towns 50-100 miles from their home in Kansas City MO to see Dad's mother or Mom's mother or sisters, or to attend funerals of old friends. As they were both from an area that was/is about 100 miles south of their KCMO home, most of the funerals were that far away.
Something that struck me was how much time they spent attending appointments with various physicians, hospitalized for something that would now be a walk-in procedure, or attending to friends and relatives who were hospitalized, in a nursing home, or ill. Mother, alone, kept seven appointments with various physicians, an appointment with her eye doctor, and had minor surgery that hospitalized her (in the facility shown, above) for two days in 1977. Wow! Of course, I knew about all of that at the time; but, I probably considered my parents to be "old" and thought that it went with the territory. It makes me wonder what our children think of Hunky Husband's and my statuses these days when we are a few years older than the 79.75 years that either of my parents reached.
Federal Income Taxes: This week we finalized the package of paperwork that we shall turn over to the guy who started preparing our tax returns last year. During our first 10 years of marriage (1958-1968), I kept our financial records and, thus, did our taxes. For the next several years, HH took over the tasking and, of course, during the years that we were apart, each of us did our own - continuing, as I recall, until HH retired. At that time, we started filing joint tax returns, again, and HH did them - with much grumbling, I must add. Last year, I was able to talk HH into having an H&R Block agent do our taxes. The office is conveniently located - a bit over a mile from our home - and, I wouldn't have to put up with HH's grumbling. (Over the years I had simplified my investments in an attempt to minimize the grumbling, but never totally succeeded!) We were both delighted with the results. It costs a pretty penny; but, HH avoids the aggravation and I don't have to listen to him grumble!
About a month ago, HH asked me to give him my tax-relevant records for 2019 and to help him sort his own records out. We are now ready to take the paperwork in and dump it on the preparer's desk, having obtained all the receipts and forms that we needed. We are supposed to perform the dumping operation on March 6. BTW: This year, I've helped HH figure out how/convinced him to simplify his own investments. Yay! It won't help us this year, but next year, our tax prep will be simpler and cheaper.
ADDITION OF 2/29/2020 - Early signs of spring
It is nearing a time of year when, instead of visiting the gym (as did I, this morning) so often, my exercise will be performed doing yard maintenance. Below is a branch of our azalea bush - planted in a sheltered spot on the southeast side of our house and the recipient of moisture from one of the drain spouts from the guttering around our roof. It thinks that spring is here. Note the many pin oak leaves around the bush. Our neighbors (at least a couple of them) gift us with leaves from their trees that they don't rake up in the fall/winter.
Below is one (of many) clump of iris that will be springing forth, shortly. This clump is on the northeast side of the house - near my basement escape window.
Next come a small number of the zillions of sedums that we have. This clump is near our front steps - on the northwest side of the house.
Finally, below is a photo of a clump of creeping phlox - progeny of plant starts that Bogie sent me 10-12 years ago. Note that nearly all of the leaves are from our own cottonwood tree - as they should be.
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