I'm the Tax Woman

Started the morning with the tail end of this week's American Top 40. I just caught a little of disco-crazy mid-January 1977, including "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder, "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" by Leo Sayer, "Dazz" by Brick, and "Hot Line" by Sylvers. Number one that week was one of my favorite numbers in a year loaded with dance tunes, "Car Wash" by Rose Royce.

In honor of yesterday's snow, I ran winter-related cartoons all morning. The Backyardigans protected a giant snowball in the Canadian Yukon in "The Snow Fort" and chased "The Yeti" across the frozen north. The Rankin-Bass special Frosty's Winter Wonderland is a sequel that shows what happens when the kids make a lonely Frosty a wife...and Jack Frost becomes jealous of the two very popular snow people. The members of Mystery Inc run across a chilly mystery in an abandoned saw mill that involves the legend of a abominable snowman-like-creature in "That's Snow Ghost" from Scooby Doo, Where are You? Serena and Raye compete to win the Miss Moon Princess skiing competition in "Ski Bunny Blues" from the first season of Sailor Moon, but they end up dealing with a lot more than a rough course when it turns out to be a Negaverse plot.

I made a quick run to the bank around 11. It was still very cold, but not quite as bad as the last few days, probably in the lower 30s. Other than that, the weather was gorgeous - sunny and breezy, with a pale blue sky and a warm sun. There were still icy patches on Manor as I headed out, but they were melting quickly. The snow was soft and light and easy to shovel. It looked like a thousand little diamonds as I kicked up puffs with my thick teal snow boots. The bank wasn't busy; neither were the Dorias when I stopped in to say "hi" and buy a hoagie for lunch.

After lunch, I spent the rest of the afternoon doing my taxes. My taxes usually take about 20 minutes to an hour. I own no large property, rent the apartment I live in, have one part-time job, and am single with no dependents. It took a little longer this year because of the temporary disability I picked up during October and November. I had barely enough time to send it out, print it out, and change into my uniform and pack dinner for work.

Work was very busy for most of the night. We had some problems with the registers. At least three of them, including the one I was in, went down. They were ok when they were restarted, but it meant we had to redo large weekend orders. Other than that, I was in and out.

Oh, and I bought my annual pack of Girl Scout Cookies. I always buy at least one pack of cookies from them a year. My sisters Rose and Anna were Girl Scouts when they were younger, but it was nearly impossible to sell cookies in January in Cape May, especially when they were competing against other local Girl Scouts for the same few customers. My family usually ended up buying most of their boxes. I doubt that's a problem in heavily populated Camden County, but I like to do my share to make sure it isn't. ; )