What to Keep–the prong book for reference and data.

Below is an illustration of the prong books that I keep for reference data printed from pdf’s and government sites on taxation. I find that this is a convenient way of keeping this type of data in the smallest amount of space.

I use Acco prong Fasteners 8 1/2” by 3 1/2” in height. A three hole punch and everything is held in place. Some construction paper or card stock on the front and back to give it a bit of stability and it is good to go. To keep the prongs in place a plane sheet folded as below will keep the prongs from popping out of the track. I find that these are better then binder as they take up less space, are very easy to fix and when dropped they do not open to a slew of papers that may never make it back in order. I have tendinitis in both wrist and I drop everything at some point in time so I know the last statement to be very true!

I have used this method with envelopes for receipts by date. It works well and I can post the process if any one is interested.

Insert the colored protector page under the last sheet of paper and before the craft paper, ensure that it is above the bottom prong.

This is how it will look from the top.

Pull it firmly but not too hard so that is between the two unfastened prongs.

Lay the sheet flat and attach the fastener above the colored paper.

Pull the paper tight against the fastener.

Flip the whole book upside down.

Fold the paper corners together to make a big point.

Pull till tight and then slip under the back prong fastener.

Label as desired.

I installed Windows 8 and I love it!

I first installed it on my old laptop Computer as I had heard how it really revitalized the older models. And I was very impressed with the final result Rolling on the floor laughing . It took awhile to get there though!

There was a problem during the install but I prevailed! Just kidding It was my wireless internet security settings and the new program did not like the simple set up.

So, I went around the house, reset the iTouch, the AP client, the second desktop and main desktop, the router and of course the laptop. That took a bit as I had a dyslexic Green with envy moment in memorizing the password for the new settings. The AP client where I stream my music was the most frustrating as I really need my music and this was where I inverted the code for the security. Oops Embarrassed smile ! It was only when I realized that I needed to reconfigure the wireless printer and was entering this long code for the third time that I had switched the position of the code. The light went off and I fixed the AP client and had music once again streaming thought the house. Rainbow This took the better part of my day. (I really lead a quite life but enjoy my toys for my working environment!!)

So, a lot of work to make the laptop faster and easier to use. And it is faster and easier to use. Before, it was a glorified lump of coal Snail in the guise of a snail paced computer. Now, it is fast and streamlined for my work. And I work a lot! Money

The second computer I installed it on was problematic. Confused smile My partner uses this and he tends to keep things simple. A few trusted programs and if they give him any grief, the are quickly removed. Devil So it should have been very straight forward.

The issue that was most confounding was the wireless internet. I had rest the security so it should have been good but the installation bumps persisted. On the laptop I had to hardwire the internet for the install to complete. On the second computer at the third attempt, we turned off the wireless and it installed ok. Punch

The second desktop computer was still weird and that took some hunting to discover the cause. Alien My husband had set the icons to 180% so that he could see the screen. Windows 8 didn’t recognize the odd number but installed anyway. The windows explorer would not show on the screen but disappear in a blue bit of screen. Not a good start! Devil I heard about the non working computer at every moment of his day until he headed off to work. That was not fun! Sleepy smile

So, in the quite of Mozart Note , I took a good look at the settings and changed the 180% back to normal. Then I found the change the PC setting in the charm bar and with a click of the mouse, Windows 8 repaired it’s self Thumbs up . Life is much better with his computer doing what it should. Peace

Third one is the charm they say! And I do too. I learned my lessons, turned off the wireless and let Windows 8 do its own install. I was so confident about it, I started the install and headed out Auto on errands. Upon returning all I had to do was enter my preferences and passwords. Red heart

Aside from my learning curve around the install, I love what I see. I am tweaking this and that with a password or a reinstalling an older program but it is to be expected. Nerd smile

Now to get ready for the tax season. I have my PTIN, my 2012 tax programs so I am ready. Just a dusting in the office and the fabric to put away until May. School

Life is good! Open-mouthed smile

The interLining

My photo representing my year 2012. IT is about the process, IT is tactile, IT is colorful, IT is warm. I moved past some of my boundaries and have had to learn to live with some new ones. Life is good. And it is represented in my 1912 jacket. It is taking an outline and moving it forward to a project and like me, mostly completed.

Thanks for taking your time to share some of this with me. I hope that you have a 2013 that is warm and a good work in progress 🙂

Cathy

The cape finishing touches

The Lining with hemp linen pockets.

In between clients, certification for 2012 US tax preparation, Christmas and the infinity of a bad back I have managed to make some headway on the cape.

It is fully lined in a purple jacquard cotton. It hangs wonderfully and is a nice fit on the shoulders. To the lining I have added pockets from some scrap black hemp linen leftover from a vintage dress a few years back.

I have added the brass dragonfly’s as closures for the front.

From my jewellery box I am using beads and unworn pendants as fobs on the end of a silk ribbon to hold the cape closed.

Surprisingly they do the trick.

: Suitable bobbles from the jewellery box.

A close up of the dragonfly closures with the silk fobs holding the front closed

I am working up the courage to cut in to the sides and make the armholes! It is like a puzzle but without the finished picture on top. So, I am taking it slow.

A THOUGHT FOR T…

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Moderate giftedness has been made worthless by the printing press and radio and television and satellites and all that. A moderately gifted person who would have been a community treasure a thousand years ago has to give up, has to go into some other line of work, since modern communications put him or her into daily competition with nothing but world’s champions. -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., novelist (1922-2007)

Food for thought!

Safe Haven for the owl

This owl found safe haven in the trees behind my house

The tress with the crows waiting for the Owl to move.

This beauty was being beset by the crows. I suspect that he was too close and they wanted to keep him away from their nests. He found refuge in the trees in my back yard and I managed to get some good photos.

He found a perfect place to hang out away from the crows. They could not swoop on him in this heavy cover

As I pressed the shutter on the camera, the Owl heard something behind him and before the shutter could release, his head turned. Impressive

I made some noise and caught his attention.

Just found out this a Barred Owl and common to the island.

What to keep – Terms of Reference:bookkeeping terms for the self employed and the curious!

Loki waiting for me to stop working and take her for a walk!

Terms of Reference:

The language of the banking, taxation and economy can be confusing or just plain strange to the uninitiated.

v Assets – what you own

v Liability – what you owe

v Income – what you are earning

v Expense – what is it costing you to earn the income

v Equity – earnings after expense plus what you have put into or taken away from the business

v Debit –(always left column of the ledger sheet) a transaction against a ledger :

Ø Assets including Bank – you are putting money in

Ø Liability– you are increasing what you owe

Ø Income – you are losing income

Ø Expense – you are gaining a usable supply

Ø Equity – you are taking out of your pocket and putting it into your business

v Credit –(always right column of the ledger sheet) a transaction against a ledger:

Ø Assets including Bank – you are taking money out

Ø Liability – you are decreasing your debts

Ø Income – you are making money

Ø Expenses – you are reducing you costs.

Ø Equity – you are putting money in your pocket and taking it from you business

v Accounts – a place to allocate any of the above

v Ledger – the data sheet of the accounts

v Bank Statement – a ledger data sheet of the transaction per account that you own in the bank

v Credit Card Statement – a ledger data sheet of the transactions per account that owe to the company

v Income statement – a report of the accounts of income and expenses

v Balance Sheet – a report of the accounts of assets, liabilities, and equity

v Invoice – the document you present to a client for payment of services or goods and what you receive from a contractor or supplier for services or goods

v Receipt – a document that shows payment of goods or services – can be the same as an invoice but should not be considered to be an invoice when there is only the confirmation of payment transaction.

v Capital Cost – a item that is purchased by you or your business that has a long term use

v Depreciation – a deemed cost based on a prorated value of use per year for Capital Costs

v Proration – the relation of a given amount to 100.00 – a duel valuation of the expense based on time, usage or similar cost allocation.

v Legislation – an act or statute of government to implement rules of conduct, process and taxation

Date – this is a little understated as it is only the Date. However the date of the transaction is a determining value in the processing of all of the above. For this purpose I will use the date system of month/day/year. Be forewarned that there is no legislation in the implementation of the date in the receipt or invoice. So have fun with this – no amount of patience can unravel the date of 07/03/09 on the lone receipt that resurfaces after a year or more of collecting dust at the bottom of the cupboard! And yes, the size of the receipt is not necessarily the issue; big ones do this as well as the small receipts (size and value). It is a part of humanity that we really need to accept – we lose things and they sometimes come back. If we are organized and aware of this – we can spot the whole in the accounts that this missing invoice.

The Finished Cape–almost

Well, almost finished as I write this. Just a quick press and the fasteners to do.

That may sound easy but I tend to get lost in the details. I found some terrific dragon flies in copper but where to put them!

The lining – I tacked the front pieces to the shoulder seams. I don’t always like to cut being somewhat intrigued by folds. The result is that the shoulders stay on the shoulders when wearing without any clasps or ties. Though to have more mobility when wearing a tie or clasp will be utilized.

To hem the lining I used a big hair clip to keep the wool up while pining the garment. It worked well.

I have a tendency to ware the garment before completion to get a feel for it. This cape feels good. I had originally left an opening for the arms in the front seams but while trying it out any movement of the arms away from the body were inhibited by the fount folds. To remedy this, I will add a cuffed opening at the sides of the cape but only when all else is done.

What to keep–a look at what is needed to show compliance with the “Tax Man”

To date this year, I have prepared 190 tax returns – T1 Generals, T2 Corporate and 1040 US tax forms. It sure adds up. And quick.

The spring time for me is brutal. Thousands of receipts are queried by these hands and eyes. Coffee is good for this. Especially when you punctuate the day with chocolate covered espresso beans! I digress but in my defence it was a blog about coffee that brought me to this – tax season.

Tax-season will be upon us shortly. All too soon my phone will ring and the appointments will be set. My clients will arrive with bags, boxes and envelopes. Some will have tallied the mountainous receipts but mostly they are in order.

The receipts are in order because they have been here before and know the drill. It takes a few times with new clients to get that they need to keep the receipts. Of course some receipts are easy to reappear like the dentist and chiropractors. A quick phone call, the fax number passed on and the receipt appears here in my office. Others are elusive and take time to make it to my desk.

For some, all I can say is “Sorry, if you are audited then you will owe. If the receipt dose reappear, then we can adjust the tax return(s) for the year and claim the expense or credit.” Sometimes the client walks away never to return. Most take the lesson and begin the process of keeping the correct receipts.

So then during the year I get the call, is this receipt worth keeping, can I claim it. If yes, they then keep it and safely. It is important and will possibly reduce the tax liability if they do have taxes owing.

But what do you really need to keep for our compliance? And why compliance?

Compliance is the new buzz word with governments. It a state of being that we are following the rules as set by the elected ruling party.

Now the funny thing that I see is that the elected ruling party inherits a slew of civil servants to set up new rules with the new ideas of governance. As these new rules must be legal, the language is the language of lawyers and because it deals with finances, the language of the accountants are added to the mix. For most it is confusing. Some days it confuses me too, but I can get over it! Part of my hardwiring is figuring out intricacies like a puzzle.

My clients are teachers, counsellors, artists, retailers, retired, new immigrants, and corporations. Some are just simple folk, not educated nor are they well enough to maintain compliance with complex rules. Really, it is the people that I enjoy the most. The stories of travel, new jobs, new businesses, loves and losses. And I enjoy helping them though the rules of taxation.

Thanks for reading this. I will be adding more in the coming weeks as I begin to prepare for tax season.

An idea for a cape

I saw this V1322

Vogue V1322

Misses’ Cape

so I came up with this

This is my muslin.

The fabric is a foundling from the thrift shop – a soft wool that was too hard to pass on. 2.25 meters was enough for what I had envisioned.

So I laid it out and found what I felt was a worthy center and then cut.

The center is one piece like a kimono, 88 inches (2.25M) in length and shoulder to shoulder 44cm + seam allowance. This piece was then cut up the center to midway point and a t-shaped cut at the neck to give it the kimono opening.

The sleeve cap / side panels I measured for the shoulder of 7.5cm + seam allowance. As I am no longer a whips of a creature, I cut the side panels in a kind of bell shape. This was Thursday night so I put the fledgling cape aside.

Then yesterday the bitch that bore me called wanting to see me. To put a long story short, not all who bare children should raise them. I was quickly tumbling into a psychosis of PTSD and help for this sort is not readily available on a Friday night. The fabric lay cut on the ironing board and the sewing machine was out – so I plied myself from my bad head space and concentrated on the putting together my creation.

A cup of coffee near by (this stuff is really good for mental health!) and basted the sides to the center piece. This I threw over my shoulders and it felt good. By now Loki (the fox terrier) was getting antsy for a cuddle on the couch.

I was needing to continue sewing and Loki was needed her nightly TLC in front of the idiot box so I found a compromise. I folded the right front part of the T on the center panel over and hand stitched a blanket stich. This worked well for two episodes of Battlestar Galactica and I was able to baste both the right side and left side.

The right side is finished on this photo and the left was only pinned but the result was as if I had applied a facing.

The back however did need need something to finish it up. When I made the first cut to the material for the right center I was left with a piece that was 88inches long and about 5 inches wide. I was thinking that I could finish it off as a scarf but it worked out when folded so and layered over back of the neck it looked very stylish.

The front view plied with pins keeping it together until I have my cuddle time with Loki and a needle and thread in front of the TV tonight.

Once it is sewn in place, I will re-seam the side panels making the seams a little bigger to remove some extra width at the shoulders. I will then work on the front hand openings that I am planning on the seams.