The Never Ending Winter

I can’t ever remember a winter/spring like this one. This winter just drags on and on. We finally lost most of our snow pack a couple of weeks ago, but a storm surged in this week, and our ground is completely covered again with about three to four inches of heavy wet snow. The lakes are still frozen, because the temperatures rarely get above 40 degrees.

And to add insult to injury, we’re in a winter weather advisory today for snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain. Right now, the temperature at my house is 31 degrees, so it’s snowing. A lot. The dogs’ backs were covered with snow when they came inside.

Let me check the calendar. Yes, I didn’t rip off an extra month. It truly is April 14, 2013.

Usually by now I’m planning my garden, thinking about getting the lawn furniture out of the garage onto the deck. Now I’m thinking about getting out my snow shovels and glad to have enough gas to keep using the snowblower for a while. The weather people are predicting another winter storm coming in the middle of this week. Ugh.

Well, tomorrow is tax day. I did my taxes back in February, but I made a mistake. In 2012, the consulting company I worked for changed my status from W-2 to 1099, which means I had to pay the payroll taxes myself. Usually companies take care of that for their employees, but the company I was working for had gone through an audit from the IRS and were told either all their consultants had to be W-2 (company pays taxes) or 1099 (consultants pay taxes). They went with 1099, which is less hassle for them, so I had to set myself up as a limited liability company and open a business bank account.

I went to an accountant right away and he helped me calculate how much of my income should be paid to the feds and the state. I only had to make one quarterly tax payment before getting a consultant job through a company that paid as W-2. That was the end of my 1099 business life (thank goodness).

So when I did my 2012 taxes back in February, I thought I only had to do my personal taxes, income, and deductions, and do a separate filing for my business income. I made an appointment with my accountant on March 2 for that purpose.

My accountant told me that I was wrong; I should have included ALL my income on my 1040 tax form. So he created 1040X forms for me (an amended tax return). This time, instead of getting a whopping refund, I had to pay in.

In the meantime, I got a letter from the IRS asking me about my federal payroll tax payment, which wasn’t on my 1040 form. I wrote them a letter explaining my error and told them that I would be sending a 1040X along with my payment.

Of course, I wasn’t going to make my payment until 4/15/13. The IRS doesn’t need its money any time before the 15th is the way I think.

Yesterday, I opened up my bank account online and almost died! I had an overwhelming amount of money in my account. Where did it come from???? Well, the IRS sent me my massive refund, plus the money I paid for my employment taxes while I was a business. Holy cow! The refund amount is OK, because that amount is included on my amended tax return, but that extra money???? That should go back to the IRS. I’m pretending it’s not there and let the dust settle from the 4/15/13 tax deadline. I’m sure I’ll hear from the IRS about it, and I don’t want to spend it, as tempting as it is. But it just goes to show that the IRS makes some pretty weird mistakes, too.

Axel the beagle wasn’t doing too well this week. He was in a lot of pain, but I couldn’t figure out what was causing it. His nails were just trimmed, he had just been to the vet for his annual exam, he wasn’t favoring a leg, but he was shaking, his tail was down, and he didn’t like to go up and down stairs.

I tried giving him aspirin, but that didn’t help. Finally, we had a big snowstorm this past Thursday, so I WFH (worked from home) to avoid hours sitting on a jammed up freeway, and I made an appointment to take him to the vet.

The vet pushed and prodded, but couldn’t figure it out either. We think that he probably jumped off of something, pulled or strained a muscle, and had some nerve inflammation. She gave me a round of prednisone for him. One tablet and he was almost back to normal. Steroids are such wonderful drugs; it’s too bad they have so many side effects.

My grandsons and I were trying to think of something to do this afternoon, since being outside is not much of an option. I was surprised they both wanted to see the movie “42” about Jackie Robinson. So that’s what we’re going to do when the older one is done doing his fantasy baseball draft.

Jackie Robinson was the first black player in major league baseball and endured incredible abuse and racism during his storied career. His number, which has been retired from all baseball teams, was 42.

It’s weird to remember how bad it was in the United State not that long ago. I remember watching TV as a child when Alabama Governor George Wallace tried to block black students from entering the University of Alabama. I remember wondering why that was, because as most children do, I didn’t see color.

Recently, Joe and I watched a program on CNN about the assassination of Martin Luther King. Joe grew up with Jim Crow in the south and knew and experienced the monstrous hatred and racism of the times. He and others drove from Kansas to Memphis, TN to attend Dr King’s funeral. He said the police were horrible to them.

Times have changed, for the better. We haven’t made Dr King’s dream come true yet, but we’re closer.

When I go shopping, I shop with people from east Africa countries, Jewish folks, Hispanics, Asians, Afro-Americans along with white people. It’s amazing. We’re better and stronger together than we are when we exclude.

So, there it is, on a spring day that really feels more like a January day.