I've been busy working on a property tax protest. We can do it online this year. They will probably be swamped. It's a time-consuming process to research all the possible comp sales in the area. Our county goes back five years; back to when the housing market was good, and uses that to raise our assessed values. Last year one of my houses was increased by 29% from $140,000 to $180,000.

The other project was digging out the crop history for the farm I am selling. It means going through all tax information back to 1997, looking for invoices or other information that tells how much of which crops were grown where when.

About an hour ago I figured out Memorial Day is the 25th and I'll be gone. I wish it would be at the end of the month like it used to be. Someone called looking to stay in our good cabin for the Fourth of July - too late, already booked. I told her they can come for Memorial Day if they want. She is checking with her husband, and if they decide to come they will have to be in charge of themselves. They've been here before, so I know they can handle it.

But if they are coming, I need to rush around and get it all cleaned up. The next booking isn't until mid-June, so I was leaving it as-is because I'd have had to re-vacuum and dust in case any flies died or dust settled in the meantime.

And then I realized my good friends whose dogs I kept this weekend might want to come up and stay in my house for the holiday weekend. That means I need to clean my house to overnight company standards. I don't have to tell you what that means - inside the cupboards and all that, including the refrigerator. It's even more intense since I won't be here to steer them away from the closets where the bodies are buried.

I don't think I will be able to get it all done, so I'll be figuring out the compromises and chanting the Serenity Prayer to myself while I'm mowing the lawns - please help me accept the things I cannot change and the wisdom to know the difference.