From My Dad —-
New Quote to Ponder
“…nothing compares with Texas at sunset.”
I agree, President Bush …. I agree.
And it will be the simple beauty of Texas sunsets, twinkling stars in the big Texas sky, and a soft, gentle spring breeze against my face that remind me God is the real administration in charge and that no matter what happens in the “halls of power,” He cares for His own.
Thankful
Earlier today I spoke with our accountant regarding our 2007 income tax return. We’d filed an extension (with the filing date being October 15), but after the storm, the IRS gave a blanket extension to our area until January 5, 2009. She told me that we were going to owe $1,694. Plus the $495 we pay her to do the return. (I know that sounds like a lot, but I am NOT a numbers person and the few times that I have tried to do our return, I’ve practically gotten an ulcer over worrying about screwing it up.)
Then she asked me about the interest on my business line of credit. Seems I can deduct some of that. So when I got home, I went through the statements and discovered quite a bit on them that would qualify for this deduction. I ALSO discovered some expenses that I’d overlooked … inventory payments of substantial size that were not included in the little spreadsheet that I sent her a few weeks ago. I emailed her all the information and after a couple of phone calls to clarify a couple of things, not only do we not owe anything, but we are getting a
REFUND!
Yes! It’s already spent, of course …. I’ll be applying it to some of our debt, but it’s a little over $1,400. Isn’t that exciting?
And the stimulus check that a lot of people got once they filed their tax return? Well, we would have had to have filed our tax return by October 15 to get a check, but since that didn’t happen, it will be applied to any tax we owe in 2008. So I’ll be anxious to see how that affects everything once we get our 2008 return done here in the next few weeks.
Have a great evening, y’all!
Yet another reason that Texas should secede ….
Here We Go Again ….
This past summer, our theater group held a play writing competition in honor of Mr. Mike Parrinello. Mr. Parrinello was an amazing man, a real renaissance man with a seemingly limitless supply of information on a seemingly endless variety of topics. He was dear to our group, helping us with costume and set design … sewing many of the Civil War era costumes used in our first season production of “Little Women,” as well as costumes used in our second season production of “Anne of Green Gables.” He would be tickled with the outcome of our contest. Lindsey Backen won with her delightful little story about a group of “little old people” who escape from the nursing home they live in. Called “The Great Escape,” rehearsals begin on Monday, January 12 with performance dates set for February 20, 21, and 22.
I didn’t intend to audition, but the first night there was a very small turnout and so AJ and I both read. The second night, there was a much better turnout, but we read again at the request of the director and assistant director, and …..
WE WERE CAST AS:
GLADYS
(A ditzy but lovable nurse who’s sole care in life is taking care of her “Little Old People” and making pudding.)
and
MITCH
( The UPS man who is sweet on Gladys.)
What is it about the theatre that just gets into your bones???? I had a small part in last summer’s show and was a nervous wreck, but after auditioning for The Great Escape, I couldn’t help finding myself wishing I’d get a part. Isn’t that just so funny? And AJ always says, “I just don’t have time ….” but then he always ends up either being in the show, building sets, or both and has a blast doing it. I’m so glad that we’ve found this nifty little hobby that we enjoy as a family. Even though Jami will not have a role in this production, she likes helping out with the backstage stuff and hanging out at the theatre during rehearsals — so it’s all good.
I’ll be posting on how things go over the next few weeks. It will be interesting since we are doing this in roughly five weeks, as opposed to two months in the summer. But it’s a short play, only about 45 minutes, so I think it will be just fine, even though production time is somewhat compressed.
Have a wonderful evening and I’ll be back! (I just realized this is my first post for 2009 — it’s been pretty crazy, busy here, so please forgive the stretches between entries!)
A Scribbler & A Shutterbug 