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Week 6 seems to be a turning point, now I keep loosing my cane, I still hold it when I am out in the garden because I am a bit klutzy and the ground can be uneven, but it feels good to be back on two feet.  Enough talk about new hips, let’s talk about our summer harvest, are you growing tomatoes this summer, are they heirloom variety?  If so…  Read more

I am in mid-week 6 of my hip replacement recovery and glad to see real progress as I have returned to my office for 3/4 days and am able to walk without a cane and use just the hand rail for assistance on the stairs.   Now I am also back in my garden picking those cukes, and string beans that like to hide in their leaves… What could be better…  Read more

It may just be back to “business as usual” for summer 2022 as we’ve enjoyed great weather and I hear about vacation plans and see photos of family gatherings.  I am in week 5 of rehabbing my hip replacement and am now able to enjoy the weather as my daily physical therapy walk includes the handicap ramp onto the beach at the end of my block. Beach 131 Rockaway NY…  Read more

Get well wishes and lovely flowers have really boosted my rehab efforts. Get well soon I am 3 1/2 weeks into recovery from my right hip replacement.  Up until yesterday morning I was feeling better and stronger every day, and then… Weekly Take Away …after weeks of following the prescribed and ever increasing physical therapy exercise outline I woke up  feeling exhausted, with a 4/5 level of  pain.  I was…  Read more

Thank you for the support of family and friends through my planning and post-op; I have not been lonely, hungry or run out of dark chocolate.  How great to know that as I returned home from the hospital I would be met with such caring friends (luckily one is a Nurse Practitioner).  Nice to have a fresh brewed cup of coffee delivered to my room with an ice pack for…  Read more

Happy Birthday USA! I am expecting many are planning bar-b-ques, picnics and outings with family and friends. I hear the weather will cooperate and we can enjoy the weather, those friends and family as we watch spectacular fireworks. I am currently recuperating from hip replacement surgery so I will keep this week’s update short and sweet and lead right into this week’s take-a-way: WEEKLY TAKE-AWAY “Never underestimate the importance of…  Read more

I hear that many of our dads had a great father’s day celebrating with family and friends: fishing trips with laughter but no fish on the line, special meals in local restaurants, special meals prepared by our dads for the family, zoom and facetime meetings with smiles all around and of course many backyard bar-b-ques. Despite continued high gas prices and continued covid-19 cases most with much lighter symptoms it…  Read more

Welcome to summer (almost), a time of graduation parties, college kids returning home, planned vacations, walking barefoot on the beach again and fingers crossed that those seedlings take off… barefoot on the beach finally planted! I am hoping you have some great plans, enjoy your weekend. WEEKLY TAKE-AWAY Sometimes less is more; the most common  items in garden stores are 3 or 4 packs, and many weekend gardeners, me included…  Read more

As we do our weekly shopping we see prices steadily increasing.  The USDA says grocery and supermarket food prices are already 8.6% higher now than a year ago and inflation remains at near 40-year highs.  I am hoping to finally plant the seedlings I purchased mother’s day weekend, maybe add a few more of those I am cultivating from seeds and then enjoy my organic garden this summer.  I keep thinking…  Read more

Just a few more weeks until summer, I have been counting the days/weeks as the weather warms up and we have “real” beach days.   I was away this past weekend so I missed the first “real” beach day of the season, although I prefer to walk the beach rather than sit and bake.   I’m happy to share this morning’s sunrise, I wore long pants and a thick fleece … Post…  Read more

It’s graduation season once again, time for celebrating our grad’s, visiting with family and friends and once again enjoying these beautiful spring days.  I am happy to take my walks on the beach and share my “photo of the week” … I am hoping you are enjoying the weather and have some great plans to safely visit and celebrate! Weekly Take-Away We are seeing stock market fluctuations daily, those caused…  Read more

In this time of mostly virtual meetings and staff Raquel and I were so glad to see that Myriam was traveling to New York for a 2 week in-person stint.  Anytime we are together is call for a celebration so we cooked a lunch of salad, grilled veggies and sauté wild caught cod.  It was delicious and the company was great… I would be remiss if I did not include…  Read more

Celebrating May:  Cinco de Mayo and our Mothers!!! Anyone up for margaritas with lunch to celebrate Cinco de Mayo… Cheers! Mother’s day is this weekend and I am looking forward to my annual trip to the Brooklyn Terminal Market with a good friend Edith.  We share gardening stories and tips with other amateur gardeners like ourselves as we choose non-traditional varieties of flowers, herbs and vegetables to plant in our…  Read more

Although tax season 2022 seemed to just be an extension of tax season 2020 and 2021 I am so grateful to have confirmed that many of our processes worked well with our “mostly remote” staff and clients.  One of our favorite office sayings is  “it’s not a problem, it’s an opportunity”; this tax season we learned and confirmed yet again the importance of good clear communication, proactive actions and understanding…  Read more

The good news on the travel front is that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed all countries from its “Do Not Travel” recommendations. The highest Level 4 designation will now be reserved for “special circumstances” reflecting a dangerous spike in COVID-19 cases, a new variant or health care infrastructure collapse. You can find the CDC’s travel recommendations here. Monday the mask mandate for air travel was lifted as U.S.…  Read more

For once I am glad that tomorrow is NOT the filing deadline.  We accounting professionals usually look forward to closing the office and going on vacation on April 16th.  This year the deadline is actually April 18th and this little bit of extra time means that families can get together for the Easter/Passover holiday and include their favorite accountant without guilt. This lovely vase of flowers sits in my office…  Read more

During my recent trip to Florida I saw that while the mask mandate was still in place in the airports and on our flight most public spaces had dropped the requirement even as the highly transmissibleBA.2 strain of the virus continues to spread and accounts for as much as 70% of US infections.  Now health officials are recommending a fourth shot of a COVID-19 vaccine to protect vulnerable groups such as older…  Read more

Just as we were seeing news of the omicron variant surge subsiding, up pops the BA.2.  Researchers are keeping a close eye on this subvariant BA.2  reporting that this variant is more transmissible, but its rapid spread overseas also coincides with a drop in protection measures in Europe and low rates of effective immunization in Hong Kong.  This variant may not result in a new surge in the US because vaccines and…  Read more

After two years of pandemic disruptions, I am reading about people who have developed unhealthy habits and may need a reboot. Data from Nielsen shows that sales of alcohol are higher now than before the pandemic (this could be due to the ease of on-line ordering and binge watching series in the evenings while munching on popcorn).  In addition fitness trackers show that people are on the average taking fewer steps,…  Read more

One of the odd tell-tale symptoms of COVID-19 is the abrupt loss of sense of smell reported by many patients. Researchers have recently uncovered the mechanism behind this loss. While the COVID-19 virus does not infect the nerve cells in the nose that detect and transmit information about odors to the brain, it does infect supporting cells in the nose. The subsequent inflammation wreaks havoc on the smell receptors and even…  Read more