Cold and Wet...
...That pretty much describes the day. The temperature itself was only in the single negative digits, but with the windchill it was certainly unpleasant enough. Big, wet, heavy flakes of snow in the early morning, gradually giving way to smaller flakes and then freezing rain. The forecast calls for highs of +24c by Saturday, but I'll believe it when I see it. I hope that it's true, as a warm sunny day would be ideal for picking up and moving the 100 bales of hay we're going to need to see us through the winter.
I spent most of the day running bills and data through Quickbooks so that I can finally get the files off to the accountant. They're long overdue, but since I know we're getting a refund there's not quite the sense of urgency that one would have otherwise. Still, the sooner we get everything in, the sooner we get our refund, and we could really use it! Quickbooks, like many accounting programs, is probably pretty easy to use once you're used to it, but if you have absolutely no experience with accounting software (or accounting practices) it's a pain in the butt! Even with a couple of the "For Dummies" books to help, it was a gruelling afternoon as I tried fo figure out how things worked. Once I did, it was easy, but I spent at least an hour working up a sweat trying to figure out how to deal with an account that used an "Equalized Payment Plan".
The problem is that this was for our Natural Gas bill. The amount that you may actually owe is not necessarily the amount that the bill will be made out for. But you can't just enter the amount you actually pay, because the taxes are all based on what you really owe. This is where the "credits" come into play. It would have been so nice if somewhere, it had mentioned that Quickbooks automatically issues credits on the accounts if you pay more than you actually owe. Example: You use $25 worth of fuel, but the EPP bill is for $250, so you build up a credit of $225. Quickbooks will actually do this for you, but since as a totally green newbie you don't know that, you waste time manually entering a credit and/or creating another account to handle the credits, all because no one mentioned the fact that the program does it all automatically. AAURGH!!! But hey, once I figured that out, it was easy...
Then I realized that it was past 6pm, and we had to be in town by 7pm to get the kidling signed up for the 4-H courses he wanted. He's signed up for Welding again, and if they can find someone to lead the Canine group, he'll be doing that too. Sadly, it seems that the previous leader of the group had a "personality conflict" with the 4-H coordinator, and refuses to do it anymore unless the current coordinator quits. Which, for better or worse, she announced that she will be quitting as soon as someone else steps up to take over, or within 1 month, whichever comes first. I guess she's tired of the politics too. It's a sad state when people yark and whine about the leadership, but none of them are willing to step up and prove that they could do better. "Put up, or Shut Up," says I. I might take the leadership role for the Small-Engines group if there are any kids who actually want to do it. We'll see what comes of that.
On a happier note, it seems that I've finally managed to pump all of the chlorine out of the well. Now we're back to absolutely pure and clean water; It's cold, and wet, and that's all. No smell, no taste, just cold and refreshing. The KD was much better tonight! ;)