Grumpf

 I finished the first draft of my taxes in February. I always leave them to rest on my laptop for a few weeks before I commit to filing them, in case I remember something I missed, or find something I should have reported. Finally sent them off last Wednesday/Thursday.

Saturday, I got two more 1099s in the mail.

What the heck? Aren't these supposed to be sent out end of January? Well, apparently mutual funds are allowed until mid-February, and this bunch slacked until the beginning of March.

Spent most of Sunday filing Amended returns. And let me tell you, my tax software does not do a good job of explaining the process. Took me three tries to get the federal form right, two on the state. 

Grumpf.

Lifts and separates

After a year wearing them, I find I really like the duck-bill style masks best. They fit tight over my nose and chin, don't gap on the sides, and do a better job of keeping my glasses from fogging. (Not a great job, mind you, but better than the standard flat-with-folds variety.) The only problem is on the inhale, when they flatten up against my mouth (chronic sinusitis means I don't breath through my nose much). In cold, damp weather, it's like being smothered with a wet wash rag.

I've seen plastic inner supports for sale online, but face it, I'm cheap. Why buy what you can jury-rig yourself? I always say.

So I've been retrofitting my masks with internal supports. Start with a cloth mask and a couple of 11-inch zip ties, available at your local BiMart. Clip the lock end off of the ties.

Using a seam ripper, carefully open up about a half inch top and bottom of either side seam. Tuck in the cut ends of the ties, angled to intersect the opposite corners. Restitch the entire side seam, sewing right over the ties. You may have to force the needle through by hand, if you don't have enough momentum. Bend the ties to follow the curve of the mask, then clip the other ends to length, tuck them into the open seams and sew the other side closed.

You end up with a flexible criss-cross bridge on the inside of the mask that's firm enough to keep it away from you face as you inhale. I've run my masks through the washer a couple of times and they seem okay, though I'd hang-dry them.