Blog

It’s been another crazy, busy week between the holidays and the countdown to the April 18th tax filing deadlines.  I am so glad to have good friends who are the family we choose; who we joined for a seder on the first night of Passover enjoying a night of tradition, laughter and great food, what could be better… From our Passover Seder Dark chocolate fondue with fruit, shmura matzo and afikomen…  Read more

A week of sunrises and a shout out about my pod cast interview with Marielle Segarra and her team who produce Life Kit for NPR.  I love how they were able to take some very complicated issues and create a segment that was so concise and understandable.  Here’s the link to the segment… and now for a week of sunrises, with a sunset and a sunrise omelet substitute tucked in… Red Sky,…  Read more

Is it cheating if I fill our weekly blog with photos and go lite on tax details as we count down the remaining available days to complete our work before the next deadline or until we go on vacation?  This week we celebrated our 42 anniversary and welcomed our new grandog Rory into the family. How does a CPA plan a wedding during tax season?  We got married before I entered…  Read more

We in the Northeast were hit with some stormy weather this week, we got rain, but those north of us were hit with multiple snow stoms.  The snow looks so beautiful as long as it’s not your job to shovel… Sunapee New Hampshire Over 2 feet of snow this week in New Hampshire, look at those snow banks! We here in southern Queens received many inches of rain, while friends…  Read more

Today I got up early to run, yes run on the beach for a short stretch, then head home to another fun day in the office at tax deadline crunch time…  Just like yesterday, it is great to be able to do the things I used to do.  So I am picking out what I think are my best shots of the week and sharing them with a huge smile.…  Read more

Sometimes my only incentive for getting up at 6AM is to walk on the beach at sunrise.  Even when I know the clouds will block the sun like this week on President’s Day, when many people celebrated with an extra day off and some extra sleep.  Even with no sun I was able to take some cool photos and my phone showed them as black and white…   No sun…  Read more

I am excited to be writing and posting this week from my AirBnB in Brickell Florida, with a beautiful view of the bridge to Key Biscane; I am here for a special family friend’s wedding… Rickenbacker Bridge, Miami, FL My daughter Emily is in the weeding party, she and my son-in law Jeff extened their trip and have been down on the West coast for a few days, thank you Jeff…  Read more

I started writing this week’s blog/newletter while on the water heading into “the city” for a few meetings ; I feel so lucky to be able to take the NYC Ferry to peir 11 in Manhattan.  I took this shot as we passed under the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge as we started our journey… Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge Than as we continues on we traveled under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, the…  Read more

This week you will probably start receiving your 2022 tax forms as January 31st is the filing deadline for w-2’s and 1099’s, so keep an eye out and start collecting those forms in a file and get ready to scan them into one pdf file for safekeeping and submission to your tax professional.  This time of year it is most important to me to keep to my routine of getting…  Read more

Sending best wishes and our thanks to our veterans and their families this Veteran’s day 2022.  We salute you and appreciate your courage and service to our country. Just this morning I received several “Remember Our Veterans” emails, I am borrowing this one from my California realtor Jackie Kurth who included this quote from  Elmer Davis an American news reporter, author and the Director of the US Office of War Information…  Read more

I hear that many of our dads had a great father’s day celebrating with family and friends: fishing trips with laughter but no fish on the line, special meals in local restaurants, special meals prepared by our dads for the family, zoom and facetime meetings with smiles all around and of course many backyard bar-b-ques. Despite continued high gas prices and continued covid-19 cases most with much lighter symptoms it…  Read more

As we do our weekly shopping we see prices steadily increasing.  The USDA says grocery and supermarket food prices are already 8.6% higher now than a year ago and inflation remains at near 40-year highs.  I am hoping to finally plant the seedlings I purchased mother’s day weekend, maybe add a few more of those I am cultivating from seeds and then enjoy my organic garden this summer.  I keep thinking…  Read more

Celebrating May:  Cinco de Mayo and our Mothers!!! Anyone up for margaritas with lunch to celebrate Cinco de Mayo… Cheers! Mother’s day is this weekend and I am looking forward to my annual trip to the Brooklyn Terminal Market with a good friend Edith.  We share gardening stories and tips with other amateur gardeners like ourselves as we choose non-traditional varieties of flowers, herbs and vegetables to plant in our…  Read more

Although tax season 2022 seemed to just be an extension of tax season 2020 and 2021 I am so grateful to have confirmed that many of our processes worked well with our “mostly remote” staff and clients.  One of our favorite office sayings is  “it’s not a problem, it’s an opportunity”; this tax season we learned and confirmed yet again the importance of good clear communication, proactive actions and understanding…  Read more

The good news on the travel front is that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed all countries from its “Do Not Travel” recommendations. The highest Level 4 designation will now be reserved for “special circumstances” reflecting a dangerous spike in COVID-19 cases, a new variant or health care infrastructure collapse. You can find the CDC’s travel recommendations here. Monday the mask mandate for air travel was lifted as U.S.…  Read more

During my recent trip to Florida I saw that while the mask mandate was still in place in the airports and on our flight most public spaces had dropped the requirement even as the highly transmissibleBA.2 strain of the virus continues to spread and accounts for as much as 70% of US infections.  Now health officials are recommending a fourth shot of a COVID-19 vaccine to protect vulnerable groups such as older…  Read more

In leu of my regular weekly update about tax season, tax law the covid pandemic I feel fortunate to share sad news about my family.  My mother-in-law, friend and member of my support team of 40 plus years, passed away in her sleep this Tuesday morning, she is now at peace after a long and happy life. My brother-in-law Marty who has been an amazing caring son during Charlotte’s last…  Read more

Just as we were seeing news of the omicron variant surge subsiding, up pops the BA.2.  Researchers are keeping a close eye on this subvariant BA.2  reporting that this variant is more transmissible, but its rapid spread overseas also coincides with a drop in protection measures in Europe and low rates of effective immunization in Hong Kong.  This variant may not result in a new surge in the US because vaccines and…  Read more

After two years of pandemic disruptions, I am reading about people who have developed unhealthy habits and may need a reboot. Data from Nielsen shows that sales of alcohol are higher now than before the pandemic (this could be due to the ease of on-line ordering and binge watching series in the evenings while munching on popcorn).  In addition fitness trackers show that people are on the average taking fewer steps,…  Read more

One of the odd tell-tale symptoms of COVID-19 is the abrupt loss of sense of smell reported by many patients. Researchers have recently uncovered the mechanism behind this loss. While the COVID-19 virus does not infect the nerve cells in the nose that detect and transmit information about odors to the brain, it does infect supporting cells in the nose. The subsequent inflammation wreaks havoc on the smell receptors and even…  Read more