Saturday

Woke up fairly refreshed after having ativan on board, to keep my upper back muscles limbered up. Even had a sore throat, most likely from snoring soundly.

Got right to work with EOY transactions & a big puzzle with how to handle the trash account, reimbursements for Sam’s Club dues. Who used how much trash service & then decisions to make next year easier. Ready to enter the final Capitol One transactions. Ate leftover scalloped potatoes from Christmas. They were good Christmas Day, but reheated seems to make them even better in my opinion. More phone calls to take. A phone proxy for a mutual fund. No time for such things, but obliged this time.

The roads are in excellent condition for having 4+ inches of snow on the ground. Fueled up in HIllsboro & then on my way to work I was following a large PU going S on Ash & I was behind. He attempted to turn left onto Grand, but scraped the L front fender of a green car going N. Bounced back into his lane & he turned L anyway. I whipped around in case it was a hit-n-run, but he stopped afterall. Went around the section & the young lady in the car was near hysteria, but insisted she was not injured and she was walking around and all joints seemed to be working well. Therefore I was not obliged to hold her head still while waiting for a C-Collar. Jessie H (city policeman) came & took my statement & I was released to go to work. Felt sorry for the young man in the PU and he just wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Very restless, but composed. Glad there were no injuries.

9 pts starting today & down to 7 when we came on. Only 1 minor ER (groan). Amazingly it was easier today with 7 than it was Wed with 3 pts. Most of the new ones are able to care for themselves & are alert & oriented mostly x3. Happy days!

Shawn came at 11 so I could leave early afterall. Home & SS study time. Pleasantly surprised to rec an email photo from the Joseph S that I talked to yesterday in Michigan. A very nice appearing family with 6 children. It’s alwasy fun to see what people look like that I’ve talked to extensively on the phone, but haven’t met in person yet.

mikey

Friday

Woke up to about 4-5 inches of snow on the ground. My parents went to Johnnie Swanson’s funeral in Salina and Dad played piano for that. Johnnie was wheelchair bound and lovingly cared for by his parents until their deaths a few years ago. Johnnie had a special place at Stenfors family gatherings in Bennington. His w/c was always placed by the door between the kitchen and dining room. Just some early childhood memories.

Went to the chiropractor and low back is really painful now. Shoveling snow didn’t help much these past several weeks. Taking more pain meds again and starting to feel a bit in a fog again. Trying to hold off on redoing decompression as long as possible. A guy called me just today to ask about decompression and I told him my experience with it. This man is from Cawker City, way up north.

Went to Office Max to get printer paper, toner cartridges & used the generous gift certificate that my nephews & nieces gave me. A stop at Key Rexall for more drugs & then next door to Dillons. Glad for the shining sun today and very little wind.

Followed a young guy to his house to tell him his gas cap was riding precariously in a pile of snow on his trunk and gas tank lid still open. I’ve done that before. Saw a cop by his house & wondered if he had called me in, but the patrol car was not occupied.

More tax phone calls & Quickbooks questions. Then tried to take a short nap, but back pain prevented that from successfully happening.

Went to Hutch spend the evening with Grant to celebrate his birthday. However, I passed a Choice Books truck stopped along 61 just S of MP. Met Lyle B & Kristen H for the first time & they told me they had run out of gas. I took Lyle with me into MP to get fuel. Stopped at Kwik Shop, but only had a 1 gallon container, so we went on to WalMart for a 5 gallon container and much more reasonably priced than the first one. Got fuel at Midway across the street where I often stop & then back to the truck where Kristen was waiting and getting cold. Some difficulty getting the truck started, but finally on their way. 2 very nice young men!

Picked up Grant & talked to Miriam & Victor for a bit about tax things. Grant & I ate at Sirloin Stockade and had a great time.

After dropping Grant off, I was off to MP to see Jim and baby talk with Gizmo. She was just adorable with her rubber ducky in her mouth and prancing around and wanting attention which I was all to willing to give. It’s off to the vet tomorrow for her to get shots.

A full day, but a good one.

mikey

Thursday

Happy Birthday Mama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Slept in like usual & several phone calls coming & going out today. Went to Hillsboro to see my renter off to Scott City. Actually might not happen today due to the snow storm on its way. They’ve been here exactly 8 years and couldn’t ask for better people as renters. Always paying ahead of time & taking such good care of things. Made arrangements to wax the floors and clean the house to virtually spotless and shiny. That often is my responsiblitly. Gladly paid back their deposit, plus extra for their fridge, washer & dryer they plan to leave here.

Sad to see them go. Invited me to stop in anytime I’m in Scott. Already have new renters & they are related to this family. Both are/were employed at Tabor.

More phone calls re CAM insurance premiums needing to be increased to be at least 80% replacement value. Talked to Ollie about that. Also talked to Gary Unruh about some carpentry things that need to be done with the Hillsboro house. More tax calls coming in & trying to warn those who will need to file later because of the AMT debacle. What a mess!!!

Went to Salina for some EOY deposits & transactions & then ate at Bogey’s so I could use the coupon for a free shake. I got a blueberry shake. Quite nice. Also a nice meal.

Washed my car at Green Lantern knowing full well that a snow storm is on the way. It is just so crusted up with mud that even I am embarrassed to be seen in it.

Made it home & then a most interesting phone visit with Joseph S from Rosebush Michigan. He is a New Order Amishman wanting to get started in the income tax business & how to go about it & discussing software & and rates & general business practices.

Of GREAT interest…he & his family are planning to relocate to Marion Michigan so he can work for an Amish enrolled agent!!!! I had no idea an Amishman had that distinguished title & of course his business is still all done on paper. There are efiling mandates in effect in Michigan, so hope that doesn’t adversely affect this certain Mr. Yoder.

A busy day, most of it with a phone to my ear, but a good day. Stayed up late trying to get caught up with my Quicken things, going thru telephone bills, credit card statements, shredding junk mail, etc. Finally to bed 6AM.

mikey

Wednesday

A slow AM here. Several people came around for various reasons-settle up before the end of the tax year & endless things like that. Caught up with Redden Brothers Quickbooks, but have several more that need attention before the end of the year. Prob won’t all happen tho.

Forgot to mention that Grant S is a Rock Chalk Jayhawk KU guy. He is in weather (can’t remember the official name) AND….he knows the one & only Ross Janssen from Channel 12 fame. He is a farm guy from Geneseo and friendly & down to earth & he & Grant have been emailing regularly and is sort of apprenticing Grant at KU.

Darcee’s father is in surgery again today. Having rough times. Please pray for him.

Got several EOY bills ready to send off myself. Online paying is going much better with wireless and doesn’t take hours on end. More conversations with Mr. Black, our attorney at Johnson & more items to discuss on Clay cash leasing Eliz & my quarters. We are very grateful for this: number one cash leases are unheard of in W Ks and this will be a more steady income & SO much less paper work, bills & all that kind of thing. Several things faxes out here to look at.

Went to Hillsboro by Roxbury and Durham & most of the electric lines are up again. Nice shiny new poles in place all along 330th. Looks great.

3 pts and the one restless pt on day shift was amazingly quiet for us. Karla had the presence of mind to give her a teddy bear dog to keep her company & that did the trick! A good day at work.

mikey

Tuesday-Christmas Day

Got up early to eat Kringlas with my parents (about 10AM). A nice leisurely AM & went to Aunt Vivian’s at Noon. We took pop & Brookville corn to the gathering. About 25 were there today and lots of turnover from last night. Sat at my usual table and perhaps a bit more subdued than at past events.

Had a fun visit with Bob F who has travelled extensively in rural Russia & New Zealand. Tells me that rest stops in rural Russia amount to a hole in the ground and if one is fortunate it is lined with bricks. In either case it is inadvisable to make skin contact. Also told me his name “Bob” is translated “beans” in Russian & his wife must call multiple times to get ahold of her husband since hotel clerks usually bust into incontrollable laughter when Mary informs them who she wants to speak with.

Later in the day were 2 bloody Risk battles & Chad won both times. It was learned that winners usually have Australia at the beginning. Also many games of Dutch Blitz. I am confident that some of my relatives could give the most seasoned Mennonite players some excellent competition. Every so often I am commissioned to get a new deck at the sewing shop at Pleasantview.

For those watching videos: High School Musical 2 & The Ultimate Gift were on.

An interesting conversation in which one person was mentioning that “Happy Holidays” isn’t such a bad greeting since the word holiday comes from “holy day”. I had never thought of that before.

On a more serious note, Darcee was not able to be with us last night or today since her father had emergency surgery last evening in Hays. Prognosis is guarded at present. Pain med issues are the challenge now. Oh why can’t the medical field be more generous in keeping pts comfortable????

I have noticed how powerful RN’s are in this situation and it is in the pt’s interest to be on their good side if they wish for adequate pain level control. I feel my current RN coworkers are sympathetic with pts, but it hasn’t always been that way.

Glad that Grandma could be with us today, but she does tire easily. Seemed to be more herself today.

Overall it was a good day and I trust we all remembered to be grateful for our personal gift of salvation when God sent his Son to die for our sins and gave us eternal life when he rose again. Most importantly, have you accepted this gift into your life? May God bless you all!

mikey

Monday

Happy Birthday Michael Yutzy! 

Had a fairly quiet day. Went to town to pick up a few things that were overlooked, came home & got ready for tonight.

6PM went to Aunt Vivian’s for our annual Swedish Smorgasbord. We had about 30 people there and had a huge meal of cube steak, Swedish meatballs, scalloped potatoes and smokies and veggy mix (succotash maybe?). Sat with Wilma, Marsha & Grandma & Arlen. Grandma has pretty well lost most of her inhibitions & says what comes to mind now. Stuff that just needs to be overlooked. We’re glad she can still be with us, and appreciate all she’s done for us over the many years.

Males & females then separated for Christmas gift pick & steal. Too complicated to describe here. I ended up with a set of pliers/vise grips.

Then we said our poems so we could eat rice. (Dad made one up for me, VERY much appreciated). Ate rice and then ostkaka with thick grape juice. Stuff young ones don’t care for, but learn to like as we get older. Also thinking that Paul & Eliz & family are having a similar experience in CO for the first time on their own.

Had a good long talk with Colton about the situation at Nations Pizza. He and Devin & their mother, Becky, just finished aircraft mfg school & hope to work at Spirit (formerly Boeing) soon with Stephen. Also discussed electricity with Errol & Mark & the dif between single phase, delta 3 phase & 3 phase with wild leg (which we have here). Also argued who is on Westar or DS&O and where all the breakers are. Oh it was fun

On a more personal note, I found myself missing Uncle Warren more this Christmas than last Christmas. Stephen has taken over the Scripture reading role W had & is doing very well with this important task. Also noticing the aging of our family and not that many young ones presently, but Lord willing that will be changing fairly soon

I am thinking how much I need to have gratitude in my life for my gift of salvation. We really have so much to be thankful for! Praise God!

mikey

Sunday

Went to Church for the first time in 3 weeks. Glad to get back again. I did have quite a surprise. Joe K’s class was combined with my SS class in the west overflow area. The lesson was on Luke 2 and an informal sharing time & we discussed what emotions Jesus may have had while he was living on this earth as a human and various aspects of gifts, etc. Too many people to count, perhaps over 20. Definitely out of my comfort zone, but it really did go well. Glad I didn’t know this arrangement in advance.

Stan Nisly had the sermon today on reconcilation and mentioned some interesting facts about tax collecting in Jesus’ day. Several members of Stan’s family in Church as well as Ernest Yoder’s family. Counted the offering with Larry & prob a record number of checks since there was no Church last Sunday & several hadn’t come thru the week before either.

Ate dinner at Harold’s today & had a nice leisurely afternoon at their house. Kevin came by a bit later in the day & he & Ryan did computer things and we just had a great relaxing afternoon gabbing away. I even got in on Christmas caroling from the youth group while I was still there. Another indication that I am an old man!

Had a great time at your house Ryan. Thank you for the invitation!!

mikey

Saturday

Woke up to another snow on this first day of winter. And to think…winter has just begun!!

Stayed home the entire day and did some easy reading & caught up with my Quicken transactions & all. I had the house entirely to myself all day long. Returned some phone calls & also had a nice long phone call with Clara’s brother, Sam. Really not much else to say for today.

mikey

Friday

Today was shredding day for several clients. One even had some pictures to shred from the 50’s!! Made some phone calls to set up tax appts for Jan & Feb & all kinds of things like that. My parents are in CO for the weekend to celebrate Christmas with Eliz and her family. I’m hoping to go see them sometime in Jan.

I had a call from Harvey Nisly and found out Clara is not doing well at all. Made plans to see her and her sisters and go over some paper work and other documents a bit later in the day. Did a couple errands in Salina and then went to Hutch to Glenn’s store and used the gift certificate the Jared & Yoli gave me some time ago. Picked up a book on the Nickel Mine School tragedy & one on Emma Stutzman which has just been published. I did my entire Christmas shopping last night after I dropped off Benji and am quite pleased that this is done this early in the season!

Several Hutch errands & then went to see the Sisters. Clara cheerful and appeared comfortable in her recliner. Went over several items & am so grateful that Clara was strong enough to do this.

Then picked up Jordan & we spent the evening together. Ate at KFC & like his bro MJ carefully examined every table until he found one suitably clean to dine at. He earned $10 on a dare to eat 2 chicken gizzards. Prob the hardest $10 he earned, but he certainly did fair & square. Ran around at the Mall & WalMart & he picked up a Christmas gift for a friend. Later had a good visit with Jacob after we got back to the house.

Went to Jim’s later & did our Christmas exchange. Glad to get home before the snow arrived.

mikey

Thursday

Today I finally had the energy to get my Durham client Quickbooks caught up YTD. That was a good feeling. Made plans to drop off his payroll book on my way into Hillsboro. I am amazed at the devastation of the power lines between Roxbury and Tampa. The current owners of the former Richard Thayer place have been informed it will be after Jan 1st before they get their electricity back on again. Mile after mile of broken poles along 330th.

Dropped off the payroll book & the owner asked if I would pay his RE tax which is due today. I tried to politely decline this request. I took care of my RE taxes on Monday of this week. Nice to get that out of the way. Been paying full tax instead of half tax the past few years in Dec.

Went to Hillsboro to pick up my Christmas ham from work. I was unable to do so yesterday. Joyce even delivered it to me in the hall personally. What a nice gesture. Several MP county people hope to have electricity right after Christmas. Many out-of-state crews have left already. Saw that the line between Hillsboro & Lehigh is finally repaired.

Took the ham home & did a few other things & went to Hutch to pick up Benji M at Golden Rule. Got to chat with his father & Myron who were also still in the office until Benji was finished. We went to eat at El Potrillo to celebrate his Sept birthday and also to get better acquainted with this nice young man in my SS class. Found out he had meningitis as a baby. Glad to hear that his younger brother who had the viral form of the disease is doing fine now. A very pleasant evening with Benji.

mikey