It's the worst season of the year--tax filing season. It makes me grumpy, and I'm even grumpier this year because I have to file for Isabel in TWO countries. Yes, my American readers, you probably don't realize that the U.S. is just about the only developed country to tax on the basis of citizenship, not residency, and so about one million Canadians, many with tenuous ties to the U.S. (i.e. birth there, nothing else) must file or face very serious and expensive penalties for failure to file, even if nothing is owing. To make matters worse, the U.S./Canada tax treaty has not been kept up to date and currently fails to take into account various recent tax-deferral vehicles such as TFSAs and RESPs. Isabel, who is about to embark on a 3-day all expenses paid trip to a major U.S. tech giant on the west coast, is not at a point in her life where she might want to consider renouncing her American citizenship (she spent the first 15 years of her life in the DC area and still considers it home for one thing), but those considering such a step should do so before acquiring any substantial assets since the IRS will impose a 50% tax on everything owned, including bank accounts, investments, and real estate. There, now I'm even grumpier! (Can you tell that I'm married to a pubic finance economist?)
Meanwhile, on the knitting front, I've sewn the buttons on the double wave cable cardigan/jacket and am awaiting a break in Isabel's schedule for photographs. If you follow this blog you may have observed that I'm a wee bit button-obsessed. I like buttons that echo the design in some way. So, here are the buttons I've chosen to go with this swirly-cabled pattern.
Buttons don't have to be expensive to be just right. I found these just a couple of blocks from my front door at
Gwin Gryffon. Susan, the owner, seems to be on the same wave length as I am when it comes to buttons.
I love the way these have exactly the same feel as the cable.
I see that snow is predicted for the next few days here. Honestly, I feel as though we're trapped in the land of the White Witch (even at age 55, I'm still stuck with Narnia imagery!) WILL SPRING EVER COME?
