Wednesday, December 26, 2007

SLICE UP THE FRUITCAKE - IT’S TIME WE HANG SOME TINSEL ON THAT EVERGREEN BOUGH

I trust you all had a “successful” Christmas!

As promised, and as has been my custom for many years now, I spent Christmas Eve closing out and reconciling payroll and typing W-2s for my clients. Three sets down and three to go! My biggest client, a doctor with three corporations that have employees, does payroll bi-weekly (every other week) and this year it worked out that I did the final payroll for the year this past Sunday. I have done the local Social Security union, headed up by a friend of mine since probably the 5th grade, and two of the doctor’s companies. I will do the third company on New Years Eve (another tradition) once I have determined how much I will pay the doctor herself for the year after reviewing the situation next Sunday. I also have a bar and a deli to do – but will not have all the info for them until January.

For, I believe, the first time since I was a newborn I “dined” in on Christmas Eve. As a family we would always dine out on Christmas Eve (originally at a place called “Ray Grimes” on the Boulevard in Union City). Lately, while the folks were still in Jersey City, we would go to the “Lincoln Inn” in the Jersey City heights. Two years ago was my first CE on my own – it was when I discovered the hidden treasure “Renato’s” behind the “Pizza Master’s” next to the heights police station. Last year it was Burger King – hey it was still “out”.

We would have our “home-cooked” meal on Christmas Day, at the home of my paternal grandparents while they were alive, and then it moved to our home. This year our Christmas dinner was cooked by “the home”- my sister and I dined with the folks at the Francis Asbury Manor, their current residence, which is a United Methodist Homes assisted living facility in Ocean Grove. As with the mid-day Thanksgiving dinner there, it was not exactly a “sumptuous” meal, but satisfactory considering it was free.

Today I am going back to the home for my father's birthday. As we discovered last year, IHOP will give you a free dinner on your birthday!

Then it is back to work. Year-end "stuff", finishing up my 2007 1040 work, and a Form 1041 to do. And then there is my annual January client mailing to get out and forms and worksheets to update and prepare for the new tax-filing season, etc, etc, etc. Hopefully I can get a few days of leisure in before the deluge begins on February 1st!

TTYL

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