As in most years people are glued to the TV or media screens in the USA to watch the NCAA March Madness, college basketball.
At the MSP Airport in 2019 March Madness ended in April.
Here at The Cedar Journal we have our own March Madness. In years past it has been awaiting the first day of the season to place the canoe or kayak on the water. Looking constantly at the perfect day in the forecast, the location we first want to explore, and checking supplies. You can read about those past adventures here and here and here.
This year is a bit different…
The Dutch government has extended the COVID restrictions now until 31 March. Although the government did make some minor adjustments this last week, like allowing for exercising with four people in a group outdoors instead of two; and adjusting the reservations for appointments to shop in stores, from only two persons in the store at a time so that now it is based on square meters of floor space of the store. All these changes still do not equal normal but they are small steps forward.
Suffering from my own new March madness I have been knee deep in projects. Planting seeds, making clothes and when I ran out of ideas…
I started making bias tape, pot holders and tea towels.
Somewhere in all of that I did my US taxes. Now, that is something that did drive me nearly mad. A simple tax return turned into seven pages! My question to the US Congress is why can’t we streamline the tax code? I gained a few more grey hairs on that week! Plus, I might have said a few naughty words towards Congressmen lawmakers and the IRS.
On top of everything else, I was informed via email that all mail going to the USA from the Netherlands must have a custom form filled out electronically and paid for in advance online. When I say ALL MAIL, even a birthday card or personal letters are now required such nonsense! I would send my Congressman a personal letter of complaint, but it would take four months to get there and now needs a custom form with electronic postage, WTF hassle!
Yup, March Madness has arrived at The Cedar Journal. We hope April brings calm waters and stable conditions for us and all our readers.
What is March Madness like for you? Share your thoughts in our comments below.
© The Cedar Journal, 2021, all rights reserved.
The Cedar Journal 
Still lots of snow here, but lakes are beginning to open up…hope to be on the water in 4 weeks! My Vaccines should be done by then, and then 2 weeks later I can travel out of state w/o quarantine, yippee! Still won’t be able to go to Canada to visit my daughter, but it will give a sense of freedom. Keep well!
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That all sounds nice from where we are at here. I normally head to the states in April/May for a couple of weeks but not doing that until I get my vaccine. Not sure yet when that will happen. Hopefully we can be on the water too in 4 weeks. Safe travels to you guys and the pups!
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Allergies….looking for the green….pie for Pi day….tulips
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Allergies are the downfall of Spring… Good to hear from you LA.
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💗
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Getting that canoe out will do you the world of good. I think we are all going stir crazy.
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You got that right “B”!
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Today would be a good day to get out in a boat; temps in the 70s F (23C.) here in Connecticut. But I didn’t bring a boat down with me, so it will have to wait. Sigh.
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Sigh…the weather sounds nice.
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We had our first tornado warning just south of the metro yesterday! That was a new kind of March madness – really early for tornadoes. I’m itching to get out hiking and did go out this morning with my camera and met my son at the trailhead. We hiked a total of four miles along the Mississippi River, saw a ton of eagles, a few hawks and some wild turkeys. Mick got his first vaccine, as did my son and his wife. All of them are educators. Abby should be up next as an essential worker at Target. Those are all good things. But people are getting impatient. Being outside in the above-zero temps helps!
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Wow! Hiking along the Mississippi sounds like a perfect day. Was thinking about Abby yesterday with the Target announcement of letting more people work from outside the City Center. Impatience is everywhere, here too.
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Yeah, we get to see the pot holder collection! Nicely done. I will openly admit I had to look up what bias tape is – unfortunately, my strengths are not in front of the sewing machine. Something tells me the snail mail coming out the Netherlands is going to be sparse from now on – do they really think people are willing to put that much effort to mail a card!?!
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Well the USPS sure thinks it isn’t important anymore as they were the ones that had introduced the new requirements. The Dutch just made it all electronic so it is easier to track.
🤣 Bias tape! Who would have thought that you would learn something new in retirement not related to hunting down your Big List.
I am reading Kingbird Highway, I have to say you birding people are pretty darn passionate!
Thanks for the dare to post pot holders it got me out of the slump.😊
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Just needed to get the juices flowing again! For the record, I loved that book, but that guy was waaaay to extreme for me so don’t judge all of us by that standard hehehehe – although tomorrow thinking about hitchhiking my way to California to check out a Gull .. or not!
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He was crazy hitchhiking all those months crisscrossing the country! Level heads on any passion is better, I think.
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You have been busy. Wonderful projects with immediate results. Sewing. Growing.
Your frustration with the new mail requirements seems justified. And I’m with you on the taxes. We just signed ours yesterday and paid our tax preparer as I cannot possibly figure out how to complete all those self-employment forms. I was disappointed to walk into the accountant’s office to read this sign: “No masks required” with a graphic of a face mask with an X through it. Minnesota has a mask mandate and I feel pretty strongly about the importance of masking to stop the spread of COVID. No one in the office was masked. I was NOT happy.
Minnesota is loosening its restrictions, in my opinion way too soon. But our governor is feeling a lot of pressure. And I see more and more people without masks. If only everyone could hang in there until more people are vaccinated. My husband has gone to work every single day facing half-maskers and non-maskers and he still is not vaccine eligible. Other “essential workers” who’ve worked from home are eligible because of profession. Randy, an automotive machinist, said, “I guess keeping people’s vehicles running is not essential enough.” Sigh. Patience, right?
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Patience is going to be hard I think in the coming months as we all try to figure out what is most important for each of us. Hang in there. Thanks for stopping by and your comments.
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Loved your handiwork! How are the vaccines going in the Netherlands? My mom and husband have been vaccinated, but I don’t qualify until the last phase, so who knows when that will be. And what is the possible reason for restricting mail from the Netherlands to the US? As for taxes, no politician is interested in meaningful tax reform (they could be so simple, and then people wouldn’t dread filling out their returns), so it just doesn’t happen. We make life so much harder than it has to be.
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Vaccine distribution here is going as planned. Everyone older than 75 and essential healthcare workers mostly now have them. We have to wait to get a letter to make an appointment for ourselves, they say most people will be vaccinated if they want by 1 July. We shall see…
The USPS reform… that is what is driving that train! Not making anyone here or there easier for sure.
Taxes could be easier! They are not considered with it so I am sure it won’t happen. Sad! Everyone could benefit from a much simpler tax code.
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