Flying High

Saturday, March 30, 2013 – Flying High

This past week has been pretty intense, mainly due to tax preparation and the ongoing bathroom renovation.  Tax prep has always been in Elliott’s domain.  After all, he spent decades doing budgeting work for the federal government.  However, his vision has deteriorated to a point where it’s a struggle for him to read the 1099 forms and other documents.  Since he isn’t quite ready to hand complete responsibility over to me, we have turned this into a cooperative venture.  Let me make clear, though, that he is still in charge and gives all the directions.  The Elliott Method uses a limited amount of modern technology (TurboTax) while retaining a reliance on paper copies, colored pencils, and the calculator.  One concession he made was allowing me to import information electronically from our broker.  This could have saved a huge amount of time if Elliott had trusted the process.  But he insisted on checking the figures TurboTax imported against our paper copies not once, but multiple times (hence the various colors of pencils).  I admit that it’s not a bad idea to check, but instead of letting me do the visual checking, he insisted on doing it himself, with his magnifying glass, which made the task excruciatingly long.  And we’re not finished yet.  So far, we’ve only gotten through Matt’s taxes (fairly simple and straightforward) and my mother’s taxes, which included a nightmare session with a Schedule K-1.  How did she ever get involved in an energy producing partnership?  This coming week, we’ll have to get started on our own taxes – not a pleasant thought.  

As of this past Friday, the pink bathroom has a vanity with a countertop and a sink.  We still have to get a few items, such as a mirror, towel racks, shower curtain, etc.  Fortunately, I think we can handle these ourselves since I’m sure the man we hired to install the tile, toilet and vanity never wants to step foot into our house again. 

By Saturday afternoon, I needed an escape from home.  It was a beautiful early spring day, with temperatures in the fifties, plenty of sunshine and a comfortable breeze, i.e. perfect kite-flying weather.  Although I don’t have a kite, I headed into DC for the annual kite festival on the National Mall.  This family-oriented event is part of the cherry blossom celebration.  The mall, all the way from the Washington Monument to the U.S. Capitol, was packed with people, both tourists and locals.  The blue expanse of sky, studded with hundreds of swirling kites, was a beautiful sight.  And I was delighted to see the blossoms opening up on the cherry trees that overlook the sculpture garden of the Hirshhorn Museum.  An hour of watching kites and walking in the fresh air helped erase the tension of the previous days.  

Saturday concluded with a visit from our dear friend, Katherine, who lives in the mountains of North Carolina.  I made a mostly Mediterranean dinner – a frittata with zucchini, shallots and sun-dried tomatoes; a Sephardic cauliflower dish with sweet wine, cinnamon, pine nuts and currants; a Greek inspired salad of romaine, green onions, and fresh dill; and a bowl of chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, feta and olives; and Elliott’s favorite cherry vanilla ice cream for dessert.