Saturday, March 16, 2013

Is it Spring yet?!


13 comments:

  1. Everything's coming' up Dean! almonds have been in full bloom for a week, ditto our plum tree, peaches are starting, and cherries are just starting to show some color in the buds. Tulip tree blossoms have mostly been replaced with leaves. Grapes all pruned, but no sign of leaves yet. Article in the newspaper about how there are few young farmworkers these days--and the old guys work harder.

    I took Thursday (although I got called in for a bit) and Friday off, to get ready for/work on taxes. Seems weird--we both have to keep reminding ourselves of what day it is. I have taken care of some regular weekend chores, and made considerable headway excavating my office. Digging down through the piles of stuff and sorting out what gets saved, what gets shredded, and what goes into the regular recycling bin, I find stuff piled up back through 2009, when I had my major medical adventure. That's reasonable, I suppose. Floor is now excavated, desktop tomorrow. This year the downloadable IRS forms can be filled in on the computer, which will be very neat, at least. But at least the first version will be handwritten as always. Getting' caught up with HEP now...

    listener--thanks for the heads-up about Keen shoes. I want to find some slightly dressy chelsea boots or something like that. Ankle much better after a bit of taping and wearing lace-up gardening boots. I frequently go through security checkpoints, so lace-up paddock boots (similar to chelsea boots) would not work well. But I have to find some to actually try on--ordering over the Internet seems like too much trouble and risk if I don't know the brand.

    Great news about Tanner! Sounds like his bone marrow transplant really took. A granulocyte count of 1200 (per cu. mm) is within the range one might see in a person with a viral infection, so not bad at all, considering. And considering it's going up! Small wonder he's feeling crummy after such a series of insults to the body; even for a kid recovery must take two or three years, I should think. Of course it's comparing apples to oranges, but my bone marrow didn't recover from my (mild) chemo for a couple of years, and it is only this year (four years on, or a bit less) that I seem to have fully recovered my vigor. But I'm a semi-geezer; kids can recover faster. Really wonderful news; thanks for sharing.

    A year since Brady passed on? Yes, hard to believe. Darned if I can see why there should be any distinction, or at least any barrier, between where he returned and we shall.

    Renee-- that is a wonderful wedding photo. And I think Thomas Jefferson hit the nail on the head [I paraphrase]: if a good person is religious, s/he must have a good religion.

    Oh, good Goddess, puddle--I hadn't seen that Boston Globe story. But it's not all that far beyond other stories (many unpublished) about government crime lab analysts that I am aware of. Thank Heaven I have never worked for a lab that served only the defense or the prosecution.

    Cat-- never underestimate the power of subtle subversion; water wears away rock. And now Sis eats 18 Rabbits granola bars… Hmmmm…18 Rabbits sounds like the name of a Mayan ruler. I must investigate. About 18 Rabbits [Click]

    TTFN

    Alan

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    1. Alan, it sounds lovely. Makes me want to be in California.

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    2. Alan, my SIL in FL has the Tulip Bush in blossom NOW! I never realised the south was behind the west in blooming times.

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  2. Lol! My kiddle on my grandbebe's facebook page. . . . (whose birthday was the day before yesterday)

    Did you know being 18 means you have to pay your own bills? We'll try to ease you into it. Could take a few years...

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  3. Mot exactly spring here. Current temperature in Oak Park is 33 deg, although the snow is gone from the ground. I'm looking forward to my trip to San Antonio early next month.

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  4. What Cat said about the 18 Rabbits granola bars being guaranteed kosher reminded me of the delicious imported-from-Isreal whole wheat matzos (Yehuda brand) that Penny recently bought me. She hadn't previously considered them because the box didn't say "low sodium." But then she checked the nutrition label and saw 5 mg/matzo. Which is as near zero as makes no never-mind.

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  5. Help! Having a senior moment--I can't recall the word for an internally contradictory term such as "military intelligence" [note moderately sarcastic tone of voice]. I would like to use it in a letter.

    --Alan

    P.S.: I will, of course, probably think of it soon after I hit the "Publish" button.

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  6. I think Limbaugh is an oxymoron. He did so much oxycontin it turned him into an even bigger one.

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  7. Yep, that's it; thanks, puddle. And thanks for the mnemonic, Susan!

    --Alan

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  8. Slogging through my income tax return. Been very much on my mid. In a way you could say I started on it in January, when I belatedly learned that the expenses for the trips I took where I spent almost all my time promoting bids to hold upcoming science fiction conventions could be deducted as charitable contributions. A lot of work went into reconstructing those expenses. But today that was all in shape and ready to actually get started on the form. Still found some things in both contributions and business income and expenses that needed to be entered in my books. But now it's just a matter of getting all the data into the software program that will prepare the form. The income section -- including business -- is done. itemized deduction in front of me. Not sure I'll finish tonight, but still possible.

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  9. Ooooo, loved how literary this blog thread was! Thanks!!

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  10. How'd it turn out, Bill? All done? Mah*Sweetie is behind on it and stretched at the moment. We'll get there.

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