Cellar Scribblings

[Jeff Wrangler]

Of course, a financial planner would say small refunds are better, because theoretically you would have that money throughout the year and could have been investing it and having it grow instead of the government pocketing the growth.

But that idea runs contrary to human nature.

Decades ago, when I was able to do my own taxes, I was also able to pretty well balance my withholding with my tax liability. My dad always said, Don't use the government as a bank, or something close to it. But that was also back when banks actually paid real interest on savings.

[Sason]

 I'm debating going to a store tomorrow to look at some portable vacuums and shampooers to give the furniture a good cleaning.

It might be a good idea to look into renting those machines instead of buying. Probably a lot cheaper, plus you don't have to store them in your home.

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends!!!!

I hope everyone is doing well!


Things have been status quo over here, nothing really exciting to discuss.  Work continues to be busy, and I've met with friends and family a few times since I've posted here last.

I know it's spring, my allergies made me feel sick a few times, and a yellow jacket got into my apartment a few weeks ago.

 

I managed to kill it quickly, and there hasn't been one since, so it was just a random thing, and not a nest in the attic space.

Other than that, nothing major going on here now.

[Sason]

You killed it???

[CellarDweller]

I'm assuming you are joking, my dear, but in case you are not...

[serious crayons]

Or worse ...


 

[Sason]

I'm assuming you are joking, my dear, but in case you are not...

Yes, I was joking. You know me.....


We have those too, but ours are much smaller! 

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends!!!!

I hope everyone is doing well!


My goodness!  It's been almost a month since I've posted here!   I need to fix that!  One last post in May.

Last weekend was Memorial Day, did anyone do anything fun / special?  Saturday was my "quiet day".  I did absolutely nothing, and loved it.  On Sunday the family got together to celebrate Mother's Day, my mom's birthday, and Memorial Day all at once.  My brother and sister-in-law were not able to get to our place on Mother's Day, and mom's birthday fell during the week, so this was our chance to celebrate everything.

My niece (Shana) gave my mom a frame with a quote about a grandmother's love, and had a pic of my mom and dad holding Trenton the day he was born.

After that, I went over to my friends' home for a firepit night.  I made a small meat and cheese platter, and there was a group of about 14 of us there.  A few people made s'mores over the firepit, but I wasn't in the mood for them that evening.

On Monday I went to the house of other friends, and they hosted a BBQ.  Hamburgers, hotdogs, jalapeno & cheese hotdogs, baked beans, potato salad, numerous desserts.  I meal opened with what I made, a large antipasto salad.   For those who don't know, an antipasto salad is made with romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, salami, pepperoni, prosciutto, provolone, and mozzarella.

It also has olives and pepperoncini, but not everyone likes them, so I had those in separate containers for people to add if they chose to.

The radio played some jazz music, and there were about 20 of us there.

It was a great and fun weekend, but I woke up Tuesday feeling very tired.   

This coming weekend I'm getting laundry done Saturday morning, and then the family is getting together at a park, where Trenton is taking part in a baseball event.  It's a fundraising event to improve the playing fields for the youth leagues.  It's from 3 - 7 on Saturday afternoon.

Sunday, I'll just be relaxing.

[serious crayons]

Yum! Does the antipasto salad get a vinaigrette dressing?.

Some high-school friends and I followed our decades-old tradition of meeting at a particular lakeside park on Memorial Day. I made Asian peanut cole slaw, which seemed to go over well. I've been eating it for the past three days and still like it, so ... We all bring dishes to share and also individual things to grill.

Usually one or two people man everybody's stuff on the grill, but I'd rather skip or refine that so we all just share the same thing -- hot dogs or hamburgers or whatever. Getting different individual things with different grill times seems unnecessarily complicated. In any case, I brought two shrimp skewers. My grocery store has a vast selection of pre-skewed meats -- chicken, beef, salmon, bacon-wrapped scallops, etc.

We always gather again on Labor Day. But this year is different because we're also celebrating the 50-year anniversary of our friendship with a big three-day extravaganza in late August: a group party, a larger party, a boat ride, etc.

It's funny, we've all gone different ways in different careers and so forth -- journalism, health care, construction, manufacturing, etc. -- but the conversation flows more easily, and I feel more in common with them, than pretty much any other social group I have.

[Jeff Wrangler]

of pre-skewed meats

Something about that phrase strikes me as funny. 

But then, I guess something about that word s-k-u-u-u-d always seems to strike me as funny (sounds like a string of long U's).