Walks; Blooms; Taxes; Amazon; Fantasy - Bone and Potter

My walks in the park continued this past week. But it was windy almost every time I went. If I walk too much when it's windy, it gives me a headache.

Possibly because of the wind, there were not that many people out. A couple of times, there were less than a dozen.

Part of the track is further back and the terrain is lower than the rest. So that it is the most secluded. However, it is next to one of the tennis courts which are usually busy. Twice this week, the courts were deserted, no one else was on that part of the track, and the sun was setting. It was definitely creepy.

Once upon a time, the owners of my house, planted azaleas all over the place. And now all are flowering forth. It is overpowering. Spreading pollen in every direction.

Normally, the spring rains would sweep the pollen from the air. But not this year. It was the driest March on record.

Friday night was tax night. I gathered all my forms and set out to do my taxes on line. The last two years I'd used TurboTax, but I noticed this time that their fee had gone up. I then turned to the IRS site for free service.

But the free services depend on the type of form being filed. And the amount of your adjusted gross income. It took about 15 minutes to find one I could use - HR Block.

Although HR Block's service is free, they do sneak in several screens that offer fee-based options. I juggled forms, moved cats out of the way, caught several errors, and finally after an hour I was finished. With the federal that is. A screen pops up asking if I want to do complete a state form. "Yes," I say. And another screen appears saying it will cost "$24.95."

I thought about trying to find a free site that does state returns. But I also realized, I'd have to go through the process again. So I grugingly said, "OK."

Somehow this reminds me of the Irish bar that offered free beer on St. Paddy's Day. BUT it cost $10 to use the bathroom!

Amazon takes $0.99 per sale, plus 15% of the sale price. But I've noticed books on sale for a few cents. My guess is that the seller is making a little off the shipping charge Amazon provides. But it almost doesn't seem worth the effort.

Last weekend, I came across "Midnight for Charlie Bone." Charlie is one of the "endowed," who hold special powers. Charlie's gift is that he can hear the voices of people in photos and paintings. Although not as complex or witty as "Amulet," it was still enjoyable.

Barnes & Noble has a host of fantasy series, and I've tried several. They either seem derivative, or the action becomes too splintered. And in some cases, it's obvious the author is churning them out as fast as possible. So I've never found a set that I really like.

Wait a minute! That's not right. How could I forget Harry Potter. Silly me. Speaking of which I read or heard last week that the actor who plays Harry is the richest teen in England. And the plans are to keep him as Harry as long as possible.

The whole story of the creation of Harry is so extraordinary. A single mom writes a story for her child, and it generates the best selling series in history.

PAX!