Tax Day Hooray

Todd is currently in Hawaii for his nephew's first birthday party. Congratulations to his proud family. He's been enjoying hanging out with his friends and even going golfing... something that would have been made difficult by the weather here. It hailed on Monday and Tuesday with some spots of sun. But somehow, being salted upon by God (which is how I feel about hail... like God has a big salt shaker) might put a damper on your golf game.

Anyway, Karen is recovering from a cold generously passed on by Todd, who received it from his co-workers. Offices are very germy. So nothing too much has been going on except pretty much the same old stuff. Karen's been applying for jobs and hasn't gotten far in the hiring process. But she's plodding on. The bar results are out on Friday afternoon. At least some friends from Seattle are visiting for a conference and she'll have company either way (commiserate or celebrate, that is).

We like our time apart and we like our time together. It's kind of nice to have a break from each other now and then and it makes us appreciate each other all the more. We miss each other but it's not like we mope and suffer debilitating worry when we are apart. It's nice to have extended time all to ourselves. Karen actually wishes she were in LA with friends now, but she's a responsible pet-parent and besides, trying to save money. It helps that the weather is warmer (no need puffy down liner inside of jacket!) and it's supposed to get into the upper 70s this weekend. Perhaps a nice outdoor run or tennis is in the future...

So anyway, here are some random thoughts and goings-on...

Einstein has taken to playing with his water. He darts his paw into his dish (fancing an invisible fish?) and shakes his paw off. He also has taken to picking up his bowl with his mouth and dragging it across the floor until flipping it over. We don't know why he's fascinated by water all of a sudden, but today he has a new water dish. It has no lip so hopefully will stay upright. The cool red cape Karen made him? He took it off one day and we can't find it. He might be a dog-cat and buried it somewhere. It's not like we have a lot of space...

You can't pump your own gas here in Oregon. There's a few pluses to this -- hard for you to run off without paying for your gas and it provides jobs. However, it's kind of irritating when the gas pumper person is very slow and you, being from one of the majority of states where you pump your own gas, really want to just do it yourself.

It's tax day. April 15th is always fun. When Karen was working in the tax field, it was a happy, happy day marking the end of busy season. There's some cool deals on April 15 so when she went grocery shopping today, she made sure to get her free taco at Taco del Mar. It was a little too far for Maggie Moo's and Cinnabons so no free sweets for her. But she felt pretty happy since she loves deals. Anyway, finishing a tax return is always an accomplishment and all you taxpayers out there should celebrate. Responsibly, of course.