Chapter 238

We started the week out by getting out taxes done. The house is on a hillside and has a sweeping view of the Tacoma Narrows. As slowly trudge up the walkway to meet our fate, we pass this beautiful magnolia tree. 

This beauty is bittersweet, however, since each time I see a magnolia flower I get the "tax time blues" feeling in the pit of my stomach.  

Like Scott and JoAnn, we have been going to this tax place 25+ years. We've had our good years and our bad years there. Although this wasn't our worst year, I think Scott left some bad juju in the tax preparer's office and we had a hefty tax bill as well. Each year after we have our taxes done, no matter the outcome, we go down to the waterfront and have dinner at Steamer's. It has a beautiful view of the Tacoma Narrows and the Narrows Bridges. Some years we celebrate and some years we drown our sorrows. This year it was the latter. But if we are going to cry in our beer because we owe the IRS, is there a prettier place to do it? Now, if I could only figure out what we did different than last year other than make less money... 

After our dinner we watched people, birds, the sunset and the train. 

 It was such a pretty evening. Too bad it had to be tarnished by the IRS.

Saturday morning we went on our monthly trek to Griot's Garage in Tacoma for their monthly Caffeine and Gasoline...as well as to buy more car polishing stuff since he is putting the requisite exotic car shine on the Jag. We have one or more of each of these items...plus all the stuff on the other walls as well.

Since we were in Tacoma and Carissa was heading north to visit Eileen, we handed Bear off at Costco while we were on a vitamin run. We made our plans on the fly and didn't have Bear's car seat cover so he had to cram in the very back of the Cruiser. He is used to riding in the back of the Escape, but he was not cool with the tiny space allotted him in the Cruiser.

Bear is not a good car rider and becomes a one-dog siren in the back of the car. He's either very, very good...

 or very, very, bad. When he's bad and runs from side to side of the car, a screeching siren the whole time. I feel like fire trucks and police cars would get out of our way if we pulled up behind one of them as long as Bear was "in a mood".

While Chris was here this weekend, he closed the fridge with a smug look on his face and I couldn't imagine what he'd be doing in there. The next day Carissa found that he had turned my Greek yogurt into "Geek" yogurt. We all agreed that this was a very un-Chris-like thing for him to do. Now the question is, was he having fun or sending a message?

 Branch manager. 

 Have a good week everyone!