It may sound odd, but checking off tax preparation each year on my to-do list is always incredibly satisfying.

Proof of Organizational Skills

Pulling together all of the tax forms, collecting all the tax deduction information, like charitable contributions and completing the various tax forms…it used to all seem so daunting…such a monumental task.

But with tax preparation software and the ability to directly download much of the information necessary from investment brokers, banks and last year’s taxes, the preparation gets easier and easier each year.

Don’t get me wrong…I think both our Federal and State tax laws are insanely complex, and I’m not a huge fan of paying taxes.  I will never get over how ridiculous all the stupid laws are that require supplemental tax forms for every minor piece of income…for instance my craft show income required a whole new understanding of how to report small business income.  But as for paying taxes, I feel like it’s my way of helping pay for the things in my country and state that we all should share the cost of…police, roads, safety regulations, security, our veterans, etc.

But mostly, the satisfaction of printing off a stack of pages with all the numbers from last year and all my personal information necessary to pay for my citizenship in the U.S. demonstrates that my life is in some semblance of order.

For me, that’s very satisfying indeed.

Current Knitting

The current project…Silky Wool Cardigan…is accelerating in speed now that I’m almost through the complexities of the hemmed edge and pockets.

I’ve completed sewing the fold-over hem and just have a little more work to do on the left-hand pocket lining and edging.

Now that taxes are finished, and the early details of the cardigan are almost complete, the remainder of the body should knit up pretty quickly.  I’ll still have sleeves, a button band and collar to contend with, but not until next week sometime.