HIGH BUTTON SHOE

...I am sitting here, well kind of slumped here, and checked to see if crow soup was up yet. It is. I barely am. Two words...income taxes. I unshackled myself from the leg of the harvest table where I have chained myself for a few hours each of the past two days. Today I only got about 4 hours work on it, as life continues to get in the way of that seasonal dreaded chore.

We are supposed to get a 'blizzard' tonight and tomorrow which will either dump several inches of snow on us, with strong winds, OR that also dreaded alternative, freezing rain. Didn't I tell you we would pay for this mild winter? Of course, I expect the worst of it in late March or the entire month of April. So I put income tax preparation on the back burner for a few hours and ran errands that could and should be done while I can still navigate the roads. Two pots of coffee has not aided my energy levels today. Were it not for those obvious dimples in my ankles I would add chocolate back into my 5 main food groups. I may have to do that anyway, as the next few weeks will be full of challenges and needed energy. Tonight my eyelids are hanging over slits for eyes and at 8:30, I find myself wondering if I go to bed now, what hour of the early morning will I find myself wide awake?

IF the storm manages somehow to miss us, I am supposed to drive my folks to another doctor appointment tomorrow before Dad's surgery on March 1. If not, I will once again work on taxes. In the event you are wondering why my rush, as April 15th is weeks away, I, as a business, have to file mine on Feb 28th. So there is my urgency. Medical appointments with my folks have slowed my process here. Oh yah, you say with a sneering smile, she would have never started sooner anyway. I fear you are right. I did manage to keep the resolve to have my paperwork more organized this year. I am somewhere in between BrunieMae (www.saltboxfarm.com) who diligently stuck to a new program for 2005 and taxes was no problem for her (bad word, bad word/ my slitted eyelids rolling to the top of my headache) ....and RhettaMae, (more my style) who just threw the tax receipts all in a box to deal with later. Later, of course, is here. Rhet, like me, will be chained to her table too.

The dining room table, and 5 chairs have organized, stapled, and paper clipped piles of information neatly stacked on them. The floor in front of the bakers cupboard has equally organized piles. Almost as bad as compiling these neat piles, is that after I get my "organizer" to the accountant for him to put in the appropriate boxes and then charge me a weeks pay for his knowledge of putting ALL my hard work in those paper forms to turn in to the IRS...I will have to FILE all the stuff! Last years income tax records are all STILL in the box waiting for that long overdue filing! Have I mentioned, like winter weather, I hate income tax preparation? I think that is new years day resolution # 849 from 1993, that never quite made it into practice...filing in appropriate folders IN the file cabinet in a TIMELY manner.

Having said that, and knowing all of you are commiserating with me, I really wrote not to tell you the progress of my income tax work, or of the impending storm, but that crow soup did get released this evening. We are found at http://www.crowsoup.com/Market586.php

Also wanted to tell you about my friend Karen Boulay (LizzyTish to me), who has her home featured in www.wellweathered.com . Click on featured home. Wow! She owns a lovely old home in Maine and has a shop in parts of the lovely old dwelling. I would give my one diamond earring (have NO idea where the other one is!) to see her house! And I think the second piercing of my one ear lobe that held the diamond earring has grown shut from neglect.

With all that is going on with my folks, I probably will not have anything up on ranting raven, and no time for a newsletter then either. I think I will be lucky to get my hair combed and teeth brushed!

But I should mention now, if I don't get any news to you in early March, of the Pig in the Poke show at Nashville Michigan on March 11. 10-4 It is all PRIMITIVE folk art and antiques, of the highest quality. Great show! I used to do it. Friends Jane Wallace and Cheryl Jones still do.

You can call the promoter Peggy Fry at (269) 758-3028 for more information. Mapquest directions address is 301 S. Main St. Nashville MI 49073. It is worth the drive! 24 miles north of Battle Creek on M66.

Bruns and me may make the trip down if all goes well with my Dad's surgery. I probably will need the shopping day...or maybe just a nap! Thankfully Bruns and me both know the road to there good, so in my tired state, we won't get make a wrong turn. Indiana and Wisconsin trips always stay fresh in our minds, along with wrong turns!

Beulah has uploaded all the last newsletters to the website. If you find yourself awake at 3:24 AM and have nothing to do, you might want to go back and read some old letters. (Scroll down to the archived letters.) She also added a few new things. More of our card line is showing in the newest items icon on the home page, under cards.

Ok, this turned into longer than I thought. Originally I was just going to throw out the crow soup link to you, as I didn't think my body draped over the computer keyboard could make it much longer than that. But, now with my one remaining brain cell functioning, but dimming fast, I will shuffle off to bed. Check our crow soup for this month!

Thanks for asking to be a part of our farm!

in fond regard,

Tilda