Taxes? Which taxes?

Oh, you mean those taxes...the personal property taxes I filed an extension for in April. The extension was until June 30? My goodness, where does the time go? Yes, gang, I had a total brain cramp and completely forgot that as a business owner, I'm required to file a personal property tax on everything in the shop. Every single skein of yarn. It's so unfair - I mean, this yarn is for sale. It's not as if it's my personal stash or anything. What are these tax people thinking? Honestly. Well, actually, I know what they're thinking. They told me exactly what they're thinking in a letter I received this week. They're thinking, HEY YOU - PAY UP, OR WE'RE GONNA' SHUT YOU DOWN! Well, not exactly, but you get my drift.

So today I spent many hours putting together my personal property tax return. I told my DH that I needed him to help me, so he was ever so patient and sat at the kitchen table while I dug my way out. I knew he couldn't actually do this for me, but I was very comforted to have him there. Just his presence was calm and reassuring. It turned out not to be so bad after all, and I vowed not to get in the same fix next year. In any event, I was glad to be done with it.

Afterwards I thought about the fact that while my DH hadn't actually helped me very much, I don't feel as though I could have done it on my own. Maybe I could have, but it sure didn't feel like it. Not logical, I know, but it all made me think about the shop. (I know, what doesn't!) Anyway, lots of us come to the shop and sit at the table when we're about to do something hard, or something that's a little bit outside our comfort zone, or just something that's unpleasant to do (like ripping out a week's worth of knitting because we made an unrecoverable error. We come in because we need is a steady, reassuring presence at our side. And even the best of knitters want that - trust me...

By the time I got finished with the taxes, it was almost 3 p.m. Too late to drive to La Plata, so I went into the Leonardtown shop and hung with MaryJo a while. We had Colleen's niece, Hannah, in for her knitting lesson. She got it right away and is working a scarf in Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed. Isn't she adorable!


Rachel was also in working on some fingerless gloves in Taiyo, and Colleen was back to work on her Key West Jacket. Still plenty of hot days to wear cotton...