Strolling Down Memory Lane

Early in this home building process someone suggested that since we'd have lots of big ticket purchases this year we should keep track of all of our sales tax to hopefully help lower our tax liability come income tax time.

So this weekend I started inputting into a spreadsheet all of the receipts we had saved in a basket since moving into the new house. I'd input a few and then stop at one that would bring back a good memory from a fun summer.

There was a Smash Burger receipt from lunch the day I spent with Josh & Susan visiting a wedding florist. And an On the Border receipt which is their favorite place to eat when they come back to Kansas, I guess Lansing, MI is kind of short on good Mexican restaurants! During their August trip back I got to eat at OTB twice, a lunch while Susan and I were out shopping and one evening Josh & I enjoyed the patio while having a drink and appetizer.

There were several Hasting's receipts for books we read during the weeks we went with no television or internet. Those were some very quiet and pleasant evenings.

There was a Spin Pizza receipt from a lovely evening spent with the Girls Night Out ladies. The weather was perfect and we sat outside visiting for hours while other diners came and went.

There was a receipt for the wooden pellets that Bobby uses in his new Traeger grill. This grill has produced some of the best meals to ever be served at our kitchen table! I'm not sure what that says about my cooking abilities but Bobby has become a great griller! There were melt-in-your-mouth ribs and corn on the cob that we dined on with Josh & Susan, and then Sara & Evan joined us after their kickball game got canceled because of the storm. Only one small problem, the power went out so Sara & Evan had to eat them cold and by candle light. The rest of that evening we all spent on the back porch listening to the rain and thunder. Bobby also grilled some knockout pork tenderloins and stuffed jalepenos that we had when Teresa & Charlie came for a visit. Good eats and good company!

There were lots and lots of Home Depot reciepts for items used to get the Pebble Lane house ready for sale. It's going to be like a brand new house when Bobby's done with it. I'll be sure and post some pictures once we have that FOR SALE sign in the yard. I'm betting once it's on the market that Bobby will avoid Home Depot like the plague!

There was a Henry T's receipt from a late dinner we shared with Sara & Evan after we had spent the early evening with Evan's folks, his sister Nichole & Dave and some of their friends at Rick's, a favorite local hangout with cold beer, pool, and shuffleboard.

So who knew? That a routine boring task inputting numbers into a spreadsheet could result in a flood of memories and a reason to smile! Hoping that smile comes back at tax time too!