On a frosty February day, I, the long-gone-away bookkeeping perfectionist, became a let-it-go kind of gal. I’ve officially lost my be as detailed as possible desires. I’ll leave that kind of count-the-numbers activity to the rabbits, cats, or birds.
Have my desires been frozen in the past of being excited about the organized plethora of beauty I imagine perfect bookkeeping should look like? Maybe a little messy isn’t such a bad thing?
Or maybe it’s just the exceptionally cool weather that’s got my brain in the MEH zone? Getting stuck in the details makes for a self-induced laborious catch-up session.
When the distractions got down low enough I was interested in watching a rabbit take a pee, I knew I needed to CHILL the perfectionist right down!
Don’t believe me about coolness? Just take a look below. Seriously…the groundhog ain’t kidding about winter hanging on here in Wisconsin! On the last Sunday of January, it was a cold one (I told you that last post…but I wanted to join Bushboy’s Last on the Card for January 2023 too).
By Friday, we were in the deep cold…and it even got colder than this!
The extra cold weather helped all of our family’s stir-crazy stuck-in-house moods feel like…well, we’re stuck in the house.
I felt almost forced to complete my to-do lists. I have this adorable notepad to keep my tasks sorted. Isn’t it CUTE???!
Notice it’s blank, for now, as I got busy and gotter done. Tizzie helped me too. She made me realize the only party remotely interested in the papers I’ve organized that aren’t tax deductible was little ol’ formerly perfectionist me.
She was drawn to the table for the olive juice from my snack tray after I was done eating the olives. Her nonchalant paper sniffing was when I realized, “Oh, dearest Shelley, your perfection mode has to end.”
I got busy filing papers like a mad woman so I could move on from the yearly ritual of the tax prep. I’m happy to report, other than waiting for a form in the mail this week, I am DONE and ready to drop off the papers at our accountant’s office. That left me with spare time to look at the photos I’ve taken when I needed some distractions.
Earlier in the week the frosty white stuff outside blew in the winds and created beautiful waves in the snow.
It was impressive that despite the cold temps, the sun shining made the snow on the deck railings begin to melt.
And the tiny American Goldfinches have been mighty hungry and thankful for full bird feeders. I didn’t know their tongues are red!
Hey, lady, what are you doing playing with the camera?
Go get Mr. to fill the feeders again! I’m waiting…
And then…a new sign of spring appeared out of nowhere. The cats were as thrilled as I was.
Tizzie saw the monster-sized European Starling first. Her tail was twitching back and forth stirring up the dust on the floor that I must dust soon…
According to this video, European Starlings aren’t exactly the best bird to attract to your feeder.
The European Starling can be a bully at the feeders. Just look at that “Stay away, I mean business glare.”
I caught the squinting 😆 look as the other more polite birds flew off.
It’s a good thing they are a beautiful-looking bully.
In the spring we love it when they gather together with the Common Grackles to comb our lawn and eat the grubs in the yard.
Thankfully, only two arrived yesterday. They can arrive in huge flocks!
This one seemed to be watching my every move. That was the glare that got me to put down the camera and get back to business.
And now that tax prep is done…I’m hightailing off to take care of some dust bunnies before Spring arrives and I want to be outside playing instead of keeping up with bookkeeping. Also known as the period of time in which I get behind EVERY stinking year!
Post Inspiration: Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “perfection.’” Use it any way you like. Enjoy! And, Terri Webster Schrandt’s Feb 5 Frosty.
PS – What is your favorite bird to attract to your feeders? Are you excited that Phil predicted another 6 weeks of winter? Do you believe him? Do you keep to-do lists or not?
I get the urge for perfectionism, Shelley. I like that you are learning to let some of it go (I finally am!). I just love all your frosty photos–the birds and bunnies are so fun to see. That starling sure was giving out a frosty stare right? Man, you got some COLD temps, wow! You reminded me that I have to call our tax guy this week now that I finally have all the forms. Have a fab, frosty week, my friend!
Thank you for the encouragement to let that dang perfectionism go (one baby-step at a time).
Thank you for enjoying the critter photos. I really should think of something else to photograph, but they keep showing up in my field of view. 🤣
The temps are getting a bit warmer now, it’s 25 F today. It feels like a heatwave compared to the feels like of -25 F.
Happy tax returns to you and your tax guy.
You have a great week too, I’ll see you back here next week with something red…!! 😍
I love all the bunny and bird photos! I watched the entire video, the Common Grackle is very common in Las Vegas. The 60s are here for the next week, the spring warmup may be getting started!
Yay, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. The bunny must be getting bored with staying in it’s cozy shelter, it’s been hopping all over the yard.
The Common Grackle seems to be common all over. I do like their coloring too.
Yay for the 60s! I have a friend who just returned from visiting Vegas and wasn’t excited to get off the plane in our COLD temps. They’ll be jealous to know it’s getting warmer in Vegas.
Bunnies is sooo cute ! 😂 I hope this warming trend keeps rolling, Shelley. We are spoiled weather wise. The ski lodge in the nearby Spring mountains has had a fabulous season with so much extra snow up there.
Thanks, John! I agree, I hope the warming trend keeps on rolling.
You are spoiled, you can have warmth and snow all in the same day.
Thanks, Shelley!
You’re welcome!
☺️
I love the bunny photos! And the bird photos. I am also impressed with your organization. I have my taxes almost ready to stick into TurboTax, but not quite. We get grackles all the time, here. We don’t use feeders, we toss no-waste food on the ground (or on the snow) and let everyone eat. I love the pictures of the cats. I think you have their thoughts down perfectly.
I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. I’m envious of your Fort Myers photos…I can never tire of the sunsets there.
I miss the days when I could use TurboTax to do my own taxes. Some day when I retire and we’re no longer landlords, I’ll be back at TT with joy!
Hmm…no-waste food, I wonder if we can buy that here. We notice there is quite the ecosystem going on with the feeder birds, the ground feeders, the big garbage can crows, the rabbits, the deer, and I’m sure the small mice/voles are feasting on what they can find. It’ll be interesting to see if we have a sunflower field growing in multiple spots in our yard!
Our cats sure enjoy the show. I love it when they chatter at the birds. 😁😻
PS – I finished your third book when I took time to get distracted! I really enjoyed it 😃
I am so glad you enjoyed the book! I am thinking of switching to H&R Block from TurboTax. They really make me mad with their pricing. We started using the no-waste blend several years ago, so the little birds didn’t have to fight for a seat at the bar. Everybody eats it. We also throw out some sunflower seeds, which leave a little mess but they are well liked. We don’t have any snow here, so I love looking at your photos. I hope you have a nice week.
I did!! I’m going to take the set to my MIL to read to see what she thinks. The long winter months will go faster if she has fun books to read.
All tax prep costs WAY too much IMHO.
I’m going to mention the no-waste blend to my hubby. When the birds come to the feeders, they toss out what they don’t want as they dig for what they do want, and it is a MESS!
I’m glad you enjoy the snow pictures. I know I enjoy seeing your area without the snow!
I hope you have a great week too!!!
I am fortunate that my husband is our tax specialist… he actually likes it (not paying them, just figuring everything out). We don’t have a bird feeder but I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of “my” orioles from Mexico. The bright yellow beauties usually start appearing in mid-March.
Hi Janis! Sorry for the delay in responding. I found and rescued your comment from the Trash folder this morning. Why it was routed there I have NO clue. Grr…WP is so odd sometimes.
Way to have an in-home tax specialist. I hope he doesn’t charge too much 😂
You have yellow Orioles, nice!? That’s cool. I love seeing the bright orange Orioles in the spring, it’s a great sign that we’re officially over with the long winter months. Ah, the simple joys of seeing pops of color that brighten our days! 😍
Thanks for showing me what cold can look like Shelley for your Last Photo. It’s in the low to high 30’sC here at the moment 🥵
Dang Starlings. They overtook a couple of towns here years ago and it was a few years of hell for the people. Now it looks like they are here to stay.
https://avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2021/05/15/how-the-common-starling-conquered-australia/
Enjoy tax time and paperwork with your cat assistants, who no doubt get upset when you put the papers back in the box knowing that the box isn’t theirs 🙂
Glad I could provide you with a little chill factor! Yikes, that’s hot 🔥
Yeah, the Starlings aren’t Darlings in my book. Wow, thanks for the link too, very interesting.
You’re right…the cats were disappointed to know their box was repurposed to hold papers instead of them. Don’t worry, I found others to keep them content for the time being! 😉😁
I am perfectionistic in certain areas of my life, but have learned to let go in other areas. I get what you’re saying. As for the European Starling aka the bully, I agree with you that it’s a pretty bird. Mixed messages with that one.
Hi Ally! From reading your posts, I think you’ve found ways to embrace your creative perfectionist in designs for your home and the fun posts you share. You’re gifted, dear!
We’ve been trying to scare the bullies away by waving our arms at them from the windows – there are only two of them so I hope they go back to the rest of their gang and say, “Don’t bother with that yard, the humans are scary!” 🤔🤣
Thanks for the compliments. Some days I wonder if I’m more dippy than creative!
You’re welcome. I figure the dippy days contribute to the recharge for the creative days 🙂
Wow -15, and the bunnies don’t have a problem hopping around.
Hi Alice! Right?! I thought the same thing. Their fur seems extra fluffy. They seem to be quite hungry. With the temps that cold, the snow is frozen so hard they don’t fall through it. Plus the food kind of stays on top for easy picking. But, I think they’re ready for nicer weather too. 🌞
The way I learned it, if the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, spting is just around the corner, and will probably arrive in oh, six weeks…
Exactly! It’s always 6 weeks from that day!!! 🤣
I’ve never personally had to deal with perfectionism in myself, just ask my husband who is one…it’s probably good he does all the tax prep work. We too were eaten out of house and birdseed this week. The finches were ravenous! I had to go out and buy more thistle. We also had the European Starlings stop by. So far only about 5 of them, but yes they can eat me out of house and birdseed too. One year I got a great shot of a female in the sunlight with all her colors glowing. I’ve tried again this year, but they’re pretty skittish this year and don’t want me near the windows. I think she’s a beauty so I tolerate them for the few days or weeks they’re here each year. The other birds have lots of feeding options in my yard, so they’re OK with sharing too.
I’m working on being less perfect and it’s feeling good for the most part. My hubby keeps encouraging me to be less detailed on the bookkeeping as he knows it leads to, “Should we have a budget for that to track how we spend in that category” conversations. 🤣😂😉
I think we’ve bought several bags of food recently. The little finches are very hungry too! Dan mentioned a no-mess blend, have you tried that?
You catch so many great shots of your birds. I’d call them perfection! I agree, the Starling’s colors glowing in the sun are gorgeous. That’s funny that you mention they don’t want you near the windows. We’ve been going by the windows and waving our arms when we see them to scare them off. 🤣
They are fun to watch so I’m glad they’re all coming to visit. It’s quite the ecosystem they have when they toss and share and trade places to eat. We’re thinking the window feeder will only be a winter feeder, we don’t want them on the deck where we sit in the summer months.
That bunny is just cracking me up–what a cutie! (Oh, and just in case my email went to Spam–that sometimes happens with yahoo–I sent you an email yesterday.) Hope you have a good and organized, but not too organized, start to your week–and that your temperatures go in the right direction!
I’m glad you enjoyed the bunny. It’s a busy bunny and fun to watch for humans and cats!
Ooo…I just checked and YES, I got your email. I love how you gave me ideas on what feedback you’d appreciate. Now that I have tax prep done, I should be able to start reading your novel draft. I’m excited thanks for sharing with me and I’ll keep you posted.
We’re supposed to have warmer weather…right now it is 7F above. Woohoo, heat wave! 😂
I hope you get out this week with the warmer weather and sun, Shelley. Last week’s cold had me wanting to hibernate on the couch rather than be productive. I will need to decide this week if I’m doing my own taxes or taking them in for preparation. I had a tax preparer submit them last year since it was the first year on Social Security and with a pension (and it seemed pretty straight forward), but this year I may do it again because it’s much easier than spending an afternoon in front of the computer.
Have a wonderful Monday and week!
Hi Mary!!! Me too…it’s 33 F this morning. What a pleasant temp to wake up to. I can’t wait to take our morning walk without 4 layers of clothes on.
I’m happy to hand off our tax prep just to keep it consistent with the same firm for decades. We’ve loyally paid them more than it would cost me to do them, but they get done and that’s what matters to me at this point in life. 😂
I hope you’re having a great week and that you’ll be able to get outside too! Say Hi to Hoshi and Gibbs from Dessy and Tizzie. We hope they’re getting some bird watching in this spring too!
Wow – where to start in my comments Shelley? And apologies that you have posted again before I got to read this post and comment. I do like the snow “waves” … gee, if only it was sand and you could wiggle your toes in it. No wiggling of toes here, not in these temps … even that cute bunny would rather nose dive into the snow, then touch it with his back feet! I really like the Goldfinch with his mad look as it waits for food … yes his brain gears are clicking as he thinks “why is Shelley taking pictures of me when I’m starving!” A red tongue – who knew? The starlings are big aren’t they – they will push your smaller birds away and hopefully not break the feeder. The Red-winged blackbirds have returned so I saw in a post by bird photographer Jocelyn Anderson who posts all her photos and videos from Kensington Metropark in a nearby county. I have not heard or sen them yet, but new songbird voices were in the ‘hood lately – the sun no doubt spurs them to sing.
Aw, Linda, I adore your comments, no matter when you make them. I so appreciate the feedback and I’m glad you found your way here to see all the bird photos. I knew you’d enjoy them.
I love the photos Jocelyn shares too. I’m so impressed that she uses her iPhone for the videos.
That’s so funny you say that about hearing the new songbirds in the hood. The warm sun is bringing them out and they’re singing to help spring arrive soon!
Stay warm and enjoy the sounds of spring – we will have warmer temps soon!!!
Well I feel badly and tonight I have not gotten far, just comments, as my keyboard has been wobbly again – tomorrow I will need to swap it out before it completely dies again. We had a frosty morning and a pale sun – the birds stayed in bed. 🙂 But it has been nice the past three or four days hearing them again – we can think Spring. The weatherman said we will be getting another cold spell like last weekend and snow in late February/early March, so “oh joy” we say to that. I’ll hang on to the suet a little longer until they need it again.
Don’t feel bad, Linda, except for the darn keyboard! Ugh!
The weather is silly – it rained yesterday, and maybe will be snowing this morning. Talk about MESSY!!! Yikes…but, rain means it’s getting closer to spring. Yay!!!
One step at a time, we’ll get there!!!
Once again I never got back to e-mails and never got to Reader and it is now 10:00 p.m. – it will be better tomorrow as I have no posts now til Monday, but I took my time and scrolled thru and next up is a February 7th post by Ally. So tomorrow, nine days behind. It is disheartening sometimes. Thank goodness the wind has finally died down – it was 45-50 mph all day and we have freezing rain most of tomorrow and overnight Thursday into Friday – ugh. Freezing rain is usually mid-March for us. I am also hopeful.
Aw…I’m positive, every single one of your blogging buddies would understand if you just start fresh by picking the day to do so and going forward as if nothing happened to the unanswered comments, or just play with emojis for a day as your reply, or just like the comments and move on to the next until you’re caught up! Start with this one and send me just a cute emoji. 😉🤗
I was thinking of doing what I did when I was behind at Christmas … go to one blogger and catch up on all their posts, then the next blogger. Eight days behind is disheartening. What to do?
\_(ツ)_/¯
I will follow your advice and cherry pick a little. (I will feel guilty, but you’re right.) A wink for you:
😉
🤗🥰😊😉