I have seen the Light!!!!!

For the past 4 years, Veve and I have only filed our taxes every other year because I was "scared" of the whole capital gains/losses thing and so in April every year, it would bare it's icky, pointy teeth and this would cause me to either go into denial re: tax time or run screaming to H&R Block.  The latter would cost us about $400 (it's amazing what they charge when you have capital gains).

Don't get me wrong, I completely understood the concept of capital gains vs losses and to boot, I understood the rules around them!  It was just the prospect of facing the forms and having to do the calculations that scared the bejesus out of me.

So, this year, my sister, Sharon, and my friend, Grant, berated me into using the ubiquitous software that is oh so easy to purchase and costs way less than what H&R charges! 

All I can say is........Holy Crap! It was so freak'n easy!  I did 4 tax returns in one afternoon!  And, I didn't have to pay for the 2009 software as a savy friend had saved it from last year so, 4 tax returns cost $40!

All I can say is that I have seen the light and will prosthelytize about the virtues of the software to anyone willing to listen and even those that are not!  I must save everyone, including Liz, who continues to go to H&R Block!

And, in case you were wondering, yes, we are getting refunds for both years!  Ha Ha, take that Sheila Fraser, 45 years old and I have never "owed" the government!

Where there is a Will

I am sure that it will come as no shock to any of you that when someone first finds out what Veve and I are doing for the next year that they are surprised and then inevitably the first question is to ask where we are going.  I realize we haven't posted anything about our plans and this is because we are still working on them.

We know we want to volunteer in Haiti for about 3 months and I want to work on a sheep or alpaca farm to go to the source of my knitting habit but other than that, most of our energy is concentrated on the house and the cats.

However, the devil is in the details and they need to be dealt with prior to leaving and among the many devilish details are questions like...."Veve, if you die while we are on vacation, what do you want done with your remains?"

Now you may think this is morbid but there is nothing like leaving everything behind to make you think of what happens if you truely leave everything behind. 

So, Veve and I are redrafting our Wills and now would be the time for any of you to feel free to schmooze us if you want to be in our Wills!

Trojans!!!!

I have Trojans in my house and it is not an ancient solder or condoms! Although both would be welcome, especially if they came together and the soldier was Michel!  (It's a good thing there are no underage persons reading this blog!

Anyway, we apparently have a serious infection on our computer because it won't let us launch any internet related programs.  So, it is off to "Geeks are Us" to be fixed tomorrow.

House Renovation Blues

There is nothing like the threat of having to rent out your house to make you notice all the flaws in said space!

Veve and I are in the throes of trying to get everything fixed up and it is the proverbial "one step forward, two steps back"!

We decided to reglaze the tiles in our basement bathroom to get rid of the 70s look.  Why......I am not too sure.....I am sure the 70s were good for someone!  Wouldn't you know it.....it has morphed into oh so much more.  The contractor found one wall that was rotten along with black mold.  Being Rosco's daughter, if you are going to do a job, you might as well do it right, the contractor is now replacing portions of 3 walls, retiling and then reglazing so all the tiles look the same.  The contractor is very nice and I am glad we picked him because I had another contractor in and they just wanted to cover up the job - including replacing missing grout with caulking (Mom-you need to tell Dad this cause I know can't operate the computer and he needs to know that he did a good job instilling his values!).  So, if you ever renovate your bathroom, I would suggest  Peter at Quality Renew It (http://www.qualityrenewit.ca/).

This is what our bathroom looked like several days ago.  Once it is done, I will show you the difference.  Please notice my BE-U-TI-FUL paint job on the cupboard - that is only 3 coats of primer and 3 coats of paint!  It used to be a very dark brown wood (also very popular in the 70s).  And what I thought would be a weekend project took 9 days!

And now for something completely different:

Home Renovation Blues (one verse version)

(sung to tune of Babysitting Blues - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0rY3dn5kos)

We got a house

We need to rent it

But its so dated

It's got to be renovated

And it's so hard
Renovating the house

We've got the home renovation blues

Help!

So, Veve and I are ticking along.  There is so much to do but everything is surmountable.

I do need to ask everyone for some help though.

We have two adorable middle aged cats that I do not want to have to give up to the SPCA.  However, so many of our family and friends already have pets or allergies that they cannot foster our cats for a year.  So I am desperately pleading with everyone to ask around to see if they know of anyone that is willing to adopt my two fur balls.  I just want to know that they will be loved.

Unfortunately, the "Final Solution" for my girls would be giving them up for adoption to the Meow Foundation (http://www.meowfoundation.com/bins/home.asp) but even this is not guaranteed as the Meow Foundation only takes in 10-15 cats a month because they have a no-kill policy.  All their cats are fostered out in homes until they are adopted by their permanent humans. 

They are easy to take care of and Salome loves attention and is a bit of a lap cat and likes to be picked up for short periods.  Ophelia (aka Phat Cat) loves to be petted and brushed but is not fond of being picked up.  They are both declawed on their front paws so furniture is safe.  They are chatty little girls and love to talk to you when you get home from a long day of work.  They enjoy sitting quietly with you while you watch tv or have a lay-down.

They are predominately indoor cats but I have trained them to stay in our backyard so whoever adopts them could do probably do the same.

My lovely girls were born in a composter and found when the house with the composter was bought by a co-worker.

Please, please help us find a wonderful home for them!