Down the Rabbit Hole

Sorry, I've been stuck doing mom & stepfather's taxes.  They are even more complicated than last year.

Things to note:
If someone designates you as their power of attorney without telling you about it, decline the honor unless you really care about him or her.

The IRS has a special power of attorney form that you have to complete in order for them to accept an existing power of attorney document.  Can you say VOGONS?

The mailing address for the IRS change of address form is different from the one for power of attorney documents, so you have to send copies of everything to a separate place.  Did someone at the IRS buy stock in companies that make photocopiers?  I detect a possible conflict of interest.

AARGH!

Well at Least

it is a bit warmer.  Unfortunately, the winds are light to heavy (cattle).  I'm finally getting over the cold mom shared with me while sitting in the confines of an ER exam room with her a couple Fridays ago.  Well, cleaning the shed and garage at mom's is not an option today, because if I set something down on the ground it would blow into her neighbor's yard.  However, there are so many other things to do; there is no chance of not being occupied.  Boring is still on the table, because sorting through stuff that someone else didn't bother to throw away/organize for 50 years is terribly monotonous.

A few curiosities do appear.  Some are complete mysteries, like the sterling snuff box engraved with the name Francis L. Otis.  As far as I know Francis was not a family member, and I have no idea where mom got it.  I don't even know if Francis was a man or a woman.  Other items include pre-prohibition beer glasses, a vintage radio, grandma's record collection, etc....  I'll post pictures of the cool stuff when I get to it.

Also I have seen lots of family pictures I never knew existed.  The scanner that I bought a few years back is paying for itself; it does photo negatives, pictures, and slides.  It is astounding how negatives just pop up in the strangest of places.  I have to admit that scanning those to see who or what appears in the image is a treat.  However, the sheer quantity of stuff to sort is still a very daunting task.