Gray Fox

I thought I saw some movement among the trees in the back yard. Grabbed the phone and shot this short video of a gray fox coming up to steal a bit of food.

It's a little dark, but hope you can see ok. BTW the tub that is in the picture normally has dog food. The back yard isn't too messy normally.

Retire?

A co-worker asked if I planned to retire anytime soon since I now have 30 years in here at my place of employment. With 30 years, I’m fully vested in the retirement system and can get my full pension.

I told him that I really don’t know. I planned to work another 4 years, but so many things are beyond my control.

There are the possibilities of layoffs here and I’d retire before being laid off; hopefully with an incentive package to entice me into leaving.

But that also raises the question of whether I’d even want to live in North Carolina after I retire. NC is proposing an anti-gay marriage amendment to its constitution. If it passes, I don’t want to live here. There are a handful of states that have either marriage or domestic partnerships that I’d consider moving to.

As my partner and I get older, we are thinking more and more about the ability to make medical decisions for each other and inheritance rights. We don’t want to get stuck paying twice for the home we’ve bought together. (As an unmarried couple, we have to pay inheritance tax on the portion of the house that the deceased partner paid.)

On the other hand, if we stayed in NC, we don’t have to pay state income tax on our retirement benefits where we would in most other states. Also, our former employer pays our medical insurance if we stay here. They would pay if we move, but we’d face 40% co-pay for treatments, which would get prohibitive very quickly.

Speaking of health care, we have excellent health care here in NC in this region. Duke University and UNC Hospitals are nearby with excellent cancer care. Also Wake Medical Center has excellent cardiac care.

But again, we need to be in a location where we have rights. We’ve read about couples that have medical power of attorney and the hospital not honoring the power of attorney. It’s some crazy things happening in this country toward gay couples. If the amendment passes, it is worded in such a way that we may not have rights even with the Power of Attorney.

When we look at the list of states where we can marry, those tend to have pretty high cost of living. It will be pretty tough to get the pension to stretch far enough for us to live comfortably.

So many things to weigh in making this decision; I just don’t know what to do.

On the face of it, you would think this would be such a simple question, “When do you think you’ll retire?”

Moose and the IRS

Dear, Gussy! I think I'm going to have a stroke.

Came home to a big envelope from the IRS. Thought to myself, "well this can't be good."

Opened it to see they felt I owed about $2K from 2009. Said my Mortgage interest didn't match what they received from the bank.

Well in 2009, we refinanced. They picked up the lesser of 2 statements from that year and billed me for their incompetence.

Well they don't know how meticulous I am with record keeping when it comes to tax stuff. I went to my file, pulled the 1098 form; (both of them); copied them and checked the block "I disagree".

Just got back from post office where I dropped this bombshell in the mail.

That still doesn't mean the incident is over. Maybe that's why my heart is still pounding.

Can they send me some money for adding stress to my life? I'm sure they took off at least 10 years.

A Brand New Thing

After a million years evolution;
A billion trips around the sun;
I sit here with pen in hand;
To write a brand new thing.

A thought, a wish, or something cleaver;
Anything my muse reveals;
My only goal, let it be told;
To write a brand new thing.

Alas my thoughts escape me;
Not a twinge of prose from my muse;
I curse this day! This day set aside
To write a brand new thing.

Absence explained

I haven't put anything on the blog lately.

Sorry about that.

Lots of stuff has been going on. Where do I start?

Let's see. We went to Nashville to see Les Miserable. It was the new production; restaged in London. It was a Christmas from my Hubby.

Obviously the plans were made months ago. We were to fly Southwest directly to Nashville on a Friday; see the play that night & have a relaxing weekend until a flight early Sunday.

Well I woke up that Friday feeling a bit quezy. Didn't think much about it. Figured it was just nerves. I'm not the best flier.

We flew to Nashville; checked into the hotel, the Hutton, and did a bit of shopping during the afternoon. Let me say this about the hotel. The Hutton was fabulous. Flowers in the lobby; lovely, big room. I'd live there if I had the money.

We went to the hotel restaurant for a light lunch. Decor modern; seating comfortable; new American cuisine. The only issue was that I had no appetite. Since I didn't eat breakfast, I decided to order a little something anyway.

When the food arrived, it looked great but the smell almost made me hurl. I pushed the plate away uneaten. Hubby wasn't happy since the lunch cost big bucks.

After lunch, we went shopping and sightseeing in town. Now hubby grew up near Nashville and if truth be told I think spent many of his wild younger days in the city. He lived there for a couple of years after college in which he admits to drunken debauchery.

Friday afternoon he showed me some of his old haunts. Places where he met a number of now famous musicians, but back then they were all struggling 20 somethings trying to find their way in the world.

The tour was a lot of fun. We filled the afternoon until it was time to head back to the hotel to dress for the theatre. After dressing, we took the limo to a small restaurant near the theatre.

Again, I wasn't hungry. Well, more than that. Food repulsed me. I ordered chicken soup ; took one bite and thought I'd throw up. Now homemade chicken noodle soup is usually a winner with me, but not that night. Hubby tried a spoonful and said it was delicious. Not to me!

We saw the play and it was delightful. I'd recommend it to anyone. This was the revised version from London. Gone is the turntable that spun props on and off stage. They simplified the sets and that allowed the audience to focus on the important parts of the scenery. Good production.

We went back to the hotel; got a good nights sleep.

We went out the next morning. Hubby wanted to take me to a place for breakfast that he went to as a kid. At the restaurant, I ordered a sausage biscuit; took one bite and couldn't eat any more. Could hardly swallow that one bite.

It was good, don't get me wrong. I just felt like I couldn't eat. We took a limo back downtown for some serious shopping. Hubby wanted boots and maybe a jacket. You know the type. Stuff that looks like one just finished herding cattle to a stockyard.

He found a jacket; worn, soft leather that was just what he wanted. No sale after seeing the price. There are small countries that operate all year for less than the price of that jacket. But it was beautiful.

After shopping he was feeling a bit hungry. We went to a chain restaurant to grab a burger. He ate. I ordered and threw the food away.

He was getting concerned at this point saying I had to eat. Last meal was Thursday night and it was Saturday. Still couldn't force food down.

After lunch, We walked along the street with lots of bars and clubs. The street was Broadway. We stopped into old record stores, junk shops and bars.

We found one bar with no cover and live music. The band played covers of 80's rock and a bit of country. They were good, the lead singer was pretty, it just felt right to spend the afternoon listening to them.

I ordered a diet Coke and was perfectly content. After a couple of hours though I noticed that it was really cool in there. I had to step outside to warm up in the 90 degree Nashville afternoon heat.

But still, we had a really good time listening to the band. We stayed until the band finished; called the limo and headed back to the hotel. Hubby went to the bar; I went to the room for a few minutes. I needed some warmer clothes.

I met him in the bar shortly thereafter. He had a nice glass of Cabernet poured. We met some lovely people and struck up a conversation. I was getting colder by the minute so I excused myself and headed back to the room.

Hubby found me a hour or so later bundled up under all the covers I could find in the room. I was burning up with fever but was shivering.

It was a rough night; kept waking alternating between hot and cold. But I was determined to beat whatever was wrong with me. I was going home in the morning and I knew I could wait it out.

In the morning I felt much better. Fever was way down; chills gone. I packed then we headed to the airport. Hubby ate breakfast at the airport before the flight. Me, nothing.

Flew back home and was doing fine until I tried to stand to get out of my seat. I doubled over in pain. I asked hubby to get me to the emergency room. We went right there. They took some blood; pressed my lower abdomen. More pain.

A surgeon came to me and told me the bad news. Appendicitis. But the good news was it was routine surgery and would be over in an hour.

I think he regretted saying those words. The surgery took three hours. The appendix had ruptured. When I woke up, He said it was really nasty and wanted to show me pictures. I couldn't handle that and declined.

So anyway that was my lovely Christmas present. Hubby was well meaning and I enjoyed the trip and the play. But the fates were plotting against me. I hope to get back to Nashville soon. It's a lovely city.

So if you have it in your heart, please forgive my neglecting the blog for a bit. It's been a busy spring.