Life's little ups and downs

I didn't think I would ever get those darn tax forms done.  This year I had to file forms not only with the feds, state of Ohio, city of Greenhills, but also state of Pennsylvania AND Adams County, PA.  Whew!  It was the PA forms that were giving me fits.  It took several tries to find the forms on line; then I could not find a computer that had a printer where both machines were in working order to get the forms.  Once I got the forms, I was just too worn out to try and fill them in.  I gave up and went to a tax preparation office.  Would you believe they were going to charge me $71 just for these two short forms!!  The clerk took pity on me and provided a coupon, which bought it down to $51--still a lot as far as I'm concerned, especially since they had a computer to do all the work for them and the whole thing only took 20 minutes.  Sure wish I had a job that paid $51 every 20 minutes.

On another note, things in the job search department have not been going all that well either.  I have now lost out on three different job opportunities.  The first was from the employer I had last year.  I thought for sure that job would be waiting for me this year, but the manager who had been appointed late last summer just did not want me back.  The fact that I told her last year that I wished she would have at least talked to me before changing the schedule and taking one of my work days away for herself was probably the cause--ya think?  Then there was the job I had hoped I could get because I had heard about it a month before the other person was leaving.  Somehow that person felt upset that I was inquiring about the job before she was gone; so that one went down the drain.  And, most recently, I felt I had been hired to work in a sutlery where I would also be doing sewing for them.  This manager kept asking me to come back for one reason or another, but would never settle down and put me on the schedule.  Then suddenly I was told that another of their employees needed the hours more, and I would not be needed.  Excuse me, but are there any managers with a professional ethic left in the world?

Despite all of this, there is a good side.  I will be getting my money back from both the state and county governments in PA, which will help to pay for some of the Ohio taxes, and I'll come out a little ahead.  And, I just found out that another local shop that has been carrying my "housewives" (Civil War style sewing kit for soldiers), sold a bunch of them today.  Knowing this makes me keep believing that somehow the job I need here will come to me too.

Just to show you what I have been working on since leaving home to get ready for the fall craft shows, see the dolls, apron, colonial mitts and dish clothes I have made.  Like I may have said in the past, my fingers have to keep busy.  If my hands aren't moving, better check for a pulse.