Web Site. We are updating our web site for 2008: www.zaffore.com. Please take a minute to check it out (after mid-January). Good stuff: annotated links to a variety of sites including the IRS, Social Security Administration, the Secretary of State, and a host of business and personal finance sites; articles for small businesses, investments, personal finance. We will be adding new content throughout 2008.

E-Mail. We check our e-mail often during tax season, so feel free to communicate with us that way (sometimes easier than calling). Our staff e-mail addresses: (the old one on AOL works, too)

PDF FILES. Your copy of your federal and state tax returns will be returned to you on a CD in a pdf format, just like always. We will include instructions to open the file on your PC—it is easy—just double click on the pdf icon—that is all you have to do. To our knowledge, the pdf will still not open on a Mac computer, but we can e-mail you the file, with your permission, and you can open that file. If you don’t have a computer, let us know. We will run a paper copy for you. If you don’t have Adobe reader software on your computer, let us know and we can help you get it installed. It is free. CDs save trees. That is important.

Payments. When we call to let you know that your tax returns are ready, you can either pick them up or we can mail them to you. Your invoice is included in the package. Prompt payment is appreciated!! We accept cash, checks, credit cards, and compliments (along with payment). We do not accept livestock but might consider jewelry. If your account is more than 30 days overdue, we will rebill you with a finance charge of 1.5% per month and a rebilling fee of $5 per month. Sorry L . Do communicate with us if you are having difficulty paying the bill…we will set up a payment plan for you.

The Official Client Mail Box. It is a real mailbox, painted brown, complete with a red flag. It is located at the top of the stone stairs coming down to the office. Feel free to use the client mailbox to drop off and pick up documents. Please do not leave stuff in the real mailbox on the street – the post lady gets, well, postal.

Directions. Remember -- Pinery Parkway is a circle drive, making a complete loop from Parker Road at south and north ends of The Pinery. Call for a map. Tax season is bad enough. Don’t wander in the dark and the cold. AND PLEASE WATCH FOR DEER ON THE ROAD – WE ARE TALKING *HERDS OF DEER* And I have seen elk over in Pradera, just southwest of the Pinery…yikes.

Kathy Zaffore, CPA, principal, escaped to Kauai, Hawaii in May, with a jaunt to Oahu. Big adventure: snorkeling in the open ocean off Nihau—I would have been gasping at the intense beauty of the coral reef twenty feet below me if I hadn’t had a snorkel connecting me to my element…air. Other adventure: if you are game, ask me about the “clothing optional” beach and the poodle (hint: I opted for clothing and the poodle was, well, au naturel). John and I celebrated our 30^th anniversary in September with a long, luxurious journey to Italy – a few days revisiting Rome, a cooking week in Tuscany (better than a spa vacation!!), and a museum-packed week in Florence (John is a saint) [thank you everyone for your patience this fall—I am still not caught up]. Trains = adventure in italia for car-centric Americans. Overall, we had a blast! We are planning a reunion trip in 2009 with our cooking classmates (see www.tuscanwomencook.com for details – if you love to cook, you need to go!)(and talk about a dream business in retirement….wow!)

Kim Ruane, CPA, practice manager, has turned into a scrapbooking tornado, scooping up odds and ends of family photos and memorabilia and whipping them into fun-filled treasures (where do we sign up for her to go through our messy boxes of memories?). Who knew she had such a creative streak? Kim, almost an empty nester (two still in college here in Colorado and one on his own in Chicago – a biochemical researcher – wow!), keeps up with her busy extended family (all over the country) while doing volunteer work at her church, being the life of the party at Bunko, participating in a Bible study group – so, how on earth does she have time to scrapbook??? I think she should become an Organization Coach. As such, I continue to be her toughest “client.” She tries to manage me--a real chore, but she is pretty good at it (read that, even I obey her….a lot of the time).

Kathleen Bell, CPA , accountant extraordinaire, continues to be everyone’s favorite accountant – she faithfully nurtures her happy group of clients. We continue to squeak a few more hours out of Kathleen – good for all of us (except maybe Kathleen…). She is the mom of a high schooler and middle schooler—time does fly by. I mentioned this last year and it remains true: she does not look one day older than when we started working together 15 years ago…maybe there is truth to that rumor about “hard work and clean living.” And maybe it is the stash of M&Ms we know she lives on. She continues to dazzle her family (and lucky us, occasionally) with culinary delights – so creative and fun! But with all she bakes and whips up, how does she stay so slender??? Kathleen and gang stayed close to home this year with one jaunt up to Ouray to soak in the hot springs. To my knowledge, she has not tried to ski again, opting for cocoa by the fire ;).

Vicki Stevens, IT Specialist and Overall Computer Wizard and Bookkeeper and Software Designer and …, not only keeps our systems up and running, with great humor and fun (she has to have a sense of humor to deal with all of us non-techies), but can occasionally be talked into QuickBooks training.   She continues to sell her own software product, AllReports, a nifty add-on for doing state unemployment reports, W-2s and 1099s with QuickBooks and Peachtree (see www.granitesoftware.com for details).  Vicki hops around town with her high schooler’s special needs’ sports teams (this season-basketball), while also overseeing a freshman in college.  In her leisure, she continues to work on the refinishing project in her basement, with her brother’s expert help.  Her basement houses an amazing assortment of her daughters’ pets (the usual suspects -- cats, dogs, guinea pigs etc)  -- including (are you ready for this?) a friendly tarantula that has become a popular visitor to her high schooler’s classroom.   Now, here is the mystery:  Vicki is a neat freak.  She has my deepest admiration—an immaculate house AND a lot of critters.  Read that:  hair control! 

Lorie DeBerard, Paraprofessional and Admin, continues to greet all of our clients with enthusiasm and a real desire to help, but she has also stepped into a new and growing role in the office. With her solid and increasing bookkeeping skills, she works with an ever-expanding list of clients as a paraprofessional, a much needed addition to our range of services. If you need bookkeeping help, we may have a solution for you! You may recall last year that we told you that Lorie’s Navy reservist husband John was called into active duty and was on his way to Iraq. We were all overjoyed to have him return in September, safe and sound. Lorie shoveled a lot of snow out of her rural driveway last winter and truly kept the home fires burning. Both John and Lorie – we applaud you. In her everyday life, Lorie scoots all over Douglas and Elbert Counties, keeping up with the activities of two teenagers and one pre-teen.

Shannon Fontana, Office Manager/Admin, another remarkably well organized (and delightful) person, joined our team early in the summer. Shannon, a recent Southern California transplant, turned in her Los Angeles suburban life to become a rural Parkerite with horses and chickens and manure, oh my. She is a part time accounting student at Metro, a full time wife, mom of two high schoolers, and member of a rambunctious Italian family. She grew up within shouting distance of my neck of the woods in LA (South Bay/Palos Verdes), and graduated from Redondo Union HS. I know we have at least one client who is a Redondo Union HS graduate…I just can’t remember who. Shannon gardens in the summer, brings us eggs and zucchini, and is also somehow finding time to start a scrapbook habit…all time gained by not having to commute in LA traffic for 4 hours everyday! Welcome, Shannon.