With Baby Steps Like These, A Toddler Would Walk At Approximately Age 22

Ever since Farmer H started renovating houses five or six years ago, I have told him not to throw random receipts on the kitchen counter for me to deal with. Sometimes it is unclear if he paid with our credit card, cash, or one of the store credit cards like Lowe's or Menards. Sometimes he takes back items that don't fit, like pipes or faucets, and gets a store credit on the replacement items. 

Now that he is working on two properties, and an occasional upgrade on The Pony's house, I need to know where the merchandise is going. Don't even get me started on when he was doing work for Back Creek Neighbors Bev and Nick, or  the Senior Center lady who asked him to work on her kitchen while she was on vacation for the month of January.

Anyhoo... I thought I had Farmer H trained last week when he had to go to the living room for a pen, and finish circling the date on a receipt, after he had already circled the total/payment method, and written which property it was for at the top. You know, because I'd been on a rant lately, having caught him tossing those receipts there while I was sitting at the kitchen table, rather than sneaking them out in the early morning hours as he leaves for town, while I am unable to see him from the short couch.

Last night, while Farmer H was at the auction, I discovered another receipt. NOT completed to my liking. When he got home, it was time for This Is The Most Recent Thing You've Done Wrong, a chat we had while watching Contraband: Seized at the Border. $3 million worth of cocaine concealed in a gas tank coming in from Mexico!

Anyhoo... I asked Farmer H how much that recent receipt was for.

"It's on there."

"It's on every receipt, but I have to search for it. Each one is in a different place. Sometimes there's a discount or credit somewhere above it. Sometimes it's confusing with the tax. There's a bunch of writing on some, like the store location and the manager's name. I think I see the final number, but it's not. You should remember how much you just paid, and circle it, instead of me combing over it days later."

"Oh. Well. I wrote that it was for the Beauty Shop on top. And circled the date. I thought I had it all on there."

"Not quite. I should just be able to glance and know when, for what, and how much."

Farmer H did not go circle the amount. The receipt is still lying on the kitchen counter. 

This may seem persnickety, but I am responsible for paying the bills, designating how much is The Pony's share of this investment, determining how much we've spent on the property when it comes to a sale price, and calculating our taxes. I don't need to comb over every single receipt for this information.