Finished our taxes at 9pm last night. Wound up owing the Fed $2.4k, but getting $1.4k back from the state. The problem was that we had taken money out of retirement to pay off the car, and I was expecting the hit on the taxes, so there was nothing to get upset about. Just thank god (yeah, I know) we were able to donate the antique dining room set.
So, things wit Mom seem to be under control; she's safely ensconced in rehab and is quite happily making life hell for the staff. Still unsure what to do about her cat, but that's a low-level problem. I guess it's time to finally start getting the basement put back together.
One interesting development is that during the waterproofing we used my folding tables as tables, piling things on them to make the footprint of our possessions as small as possible. Right now, I'm sitting at the one table that somehow didn't get used that way, and it's butted up against one that did. Both tables are equal in height at the ends, but the one with the load is slightly bowed down in the center. Looks like I'll be having some unintended elevation and grade changes to engineer around.
On another note, I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't time to start dialing back on the shooting hobby. It's no exaggeration to say that at least half of our debt is due to the trains, and there's almost $20k sitting in my gun safe that I haven't used in almost two years. That doesn't include the cowboy clothes, which probably are worth several hundred $. We're not in any danger, but it seems like maybe it's time to reallocate some resources. Problem is, I worked hard to be able to afford some of the guns, and won't be able to afford replacing them if I later have seller's remorse. OTOH, shooting is a seasonal hobby that really haven't enjoyed since leaving my original group of friends back in Vermont. Sigh; more on this later, I guess.
