The screening process

My neighbor across the street had his pool cage re-screened a year or so ago.  I asked for the guys name that did it since he was reasonably priced and did a good job.  The installer stopped by shortly after I got home from work.  The estimate number he gave me was more than what the neighbor paid but my pool cage is a lot bigger so I expected that.  It was still reasonable.

I was surprised when he said he could actually get to work later this afternoon.  The guy does the work with his son.  Today they are supposed to be removing all the old screening and pressure washing the cage frame.  Tomorrow they will be installing the new screening.  I like that he includes a 10 year warranty on his panels considering the original screening started ripping a couple years after installation.

As the guy and his son walked the cage they were commenting on the installation of the existing screen, some of which was original, some of which I had replaced.  They were pointing out how some panels weren’t done very well, probably the ones I replaced.  Of course I didn’t feel the need to fess up to it. The work will consume the majority of my tax refund but it’s something that needs to get done.  Much like painting the exterior of the house, it’s a job that I think I am better off paying someone else to do and to do it right.

Yesterday Cindy was nice enough to stop by my mom’s place to pick up her fake Xmas tree for storage in one of my sheds.  She also grabbed mom’s tax paperwork so I could do her income taxes.

I decided to not waste time and did the taxes online last night using TurboTax just as I have for the last several years.  In less then a half hour I was done, with mom getting a refund similar to last year’s amount.  On the plus side mom made more money this year.

I was surprised to see my Google ad revenue that goes directly to mom totaled up to more than $700 for the year.   In 2014 I am pretty sure the ad dollars for the year will easily break 4 digits.  When you combine the slight bump in income with the huge chunk of money mom has been saving since giving up cigarettes in early January, for the first time in a long time mom has a little more room to breathe financially.