Thistlewhistle 2014 - A Fresh Start

Thistlewhistle

Morning all,

I was supposed to be having a 3 hour meeting this morning but it has been cancelled last minute so OH and I have got our day off back.

We were deciding what to do and thought that seeing as the sea is very exciting at the moment with all the high tides and stuff, we'd go and visit Arnside in Cumbria and watch the Arnside bore. It's like the Severn bore but in Arnside!:D As the tide enters Morecambe Bay, the contours of the land funnel the water together so that ninety minutes before high tide is due, a wall of water rises up and forms a tidal wave about 2ft high which sweeps across the flat sands of the bay at the speed of a galloping horse!! It's quite spectacular so I'm really looking forward to it.

Then we'll probably continue up to Kendal to see my folks.

It's very rare that OH and I manage to coordinate our days off, so today is going to be special:T

Hope you all have a smashing day too!:)

Thistlewhistle

Well we've just got back from our jaunt up into the Lakes.

Visited an antiques place in Lancaster. For antiques, read junk!! What a collection of tat!! And we had to pay £1.50 to go in for the privilege of looking at the tat.

Then on to Arnside. Had to admit, having seen the height of the sea at Morecambe, I didn't think we'd arrive before the bore, but we did by a good 30 minutes. Bought a nice warming cup of coffee to go from the coffee shop on the prom (a far more efficacious use of £1.50, I might add), and settled down on the pier. Sure enough, slightly later than forecast, the bore arrived, surging over the sands. It wasn't quite the 2ft we were expecting but it was definitely worth the wait.

Then a quick trip up the coast to Sandside to watch the bore pass by there.
Thought we'd miss this as the car began to play up - it's anti theft module is malfunctioning and the car wouldn't start. Grrr - another thing to add to the impending 75,000 mile service that's due any day!!! More money which I haven't got!!

Anyway, we saw the bore at Sandside which was still quite spectacular, and then headed into Kendal for lunch. A stop at the Citroen garage to have a new battery put in my key fob (£5.00) which seemed to have an effect on the anti theft crisis - thoughts on the old battery not having enough umph to immobilise the immobiliser!

Lunch in the Castle pub (£23.50) which was mitigated to the tune of £6 by a win on the fruit machine and then a drive up over Shap Fell to Shap, Bampton and then Haweswater dam. OH had never been to the end of the reservoir so we drove up to the end, where the snow on the fells was magical, what with the raging becks full of rain water from the weekend storms.

Off to Pooley Bridge, and a lovely drive back along the shores of Ullswater, which was VERY full, over Kirkstone Pass and back to Kendal, stopping off at Father's for a cuppa and a slice of fruit cake (5 syns) and then off home again.

OH paid for the car to be filled with diesel (bless!) and then the immobiler - anti theft debacle started all over again. Finally got it started and made it back home.

Settling down with a lovely cup of tea, and then an early night. Got to get up and sort the car out tomorrow!!!!

Hope your days were fruitful.

Tx

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Sounds like you've had a delightful day.

I haven't been to the Lakes for about 32 years :eek: I used to whizz up late on a Friday and walk Saturday and Sunday, then drive home late evening Sunday. Those were the days

Will have to check where I used to stay with Mum, as I really can't remember and she and Dad used to go - first place I'd ever recommended that they loved and went back every year. Thank you for triggering some beautiful memories.

Best wishes Tilly x

Thistlewhistle

Thanks Tilly,

Just carried out a £4.78 TT !!!

Thistlewhistle

Today is panning out to be a disaster moneywise.:(

Took the car into the garage for its 75,000 mile service which is due. I pay into a service plan so the actual service charge is covered (I hope) but obviously I'll have to pay for parts etc (10% off as part of the service plan deal). I can just about cope with that. What I'm struggling to cope with is that the anti-theft issue is going to cost me £78 :eek: just to have them plug the car into their diagnostic machine - that's before they rectify the issue! Blank cheques are springing to mind!!:o

Now contending with the idea of trading in and getting a newer vehicle under warranty, but I've still got over £5K finance on the old one to pay off. Admittedly there'll be a trade in value for the old car - the lady is working that out. Would it be worth doing? :think::think::think:Am I storing more debt for later on?:think::think::think: I just don't know what to do....and that's not like me - I'm usually fairly savvy where money is concerned.

So I'm feeling a tad vulnerable today.:wall: Coupled with that, I'm doing a money shuffle of gargantuan proportions, trying to get money onto 0% deals to give me some breathing space to sort it out.;)

I think it's all coming to a head because I'm having my operation on my hip next Thursday and naturally I'm a little apprehensive.:undecided

I need a group hug!!!:grouphug:

Stop the World - I want to get off!!!

Thistlewhistle

The rollercoaster continues but in the opposite direction.

Just had a statement from National Savings. Apparently I have £170.03 in a savings account with them!

I don't know whether I'm coming or going today!!:o:o

T;)

Thistlewhistle

Just feeling sick now. Can't seem to get ahead of the game.

Anna_Glypta

Thistlewhistle wrote: »

Just feeling sick now. Can't seem to get ahead of the game.

Hi, I'm meant to be working but I'm lurking around a bit - hang on in there - it will all work itself out and in the meantime try and focus on that savings account you didn't know you had - that's a definite positive.

AG

Thistlewhistle

Right - plan of action to right this capsized Thistle Ship!!

Just made lunch - can't think on an empty stomach.
Left over beef from Sunday, with potatoes, frozen veg & a nice gravy.
Need cheering up and nearly all this stuff was in the cupboards.

Spent £4.79 on groceries (milk, Bisto & Cornflour and two tins of on offer beans!!)
Spent £4 on a taxi to get me back from the car garage as they had no courtesy cars available - cross about this as I was entitled to one through my service plan deal!!!
Will no doubt spend another £4 to go back again, but then that's it!! No more!!!

I'm committed now to creating a spreadsheet to help me sort out where my money goes each month. I know that I'm so wasteful in so many areas and if I'm ever going to get rid of the shackles of Credit Cards and Mortgages, then I need to be a lot more on the ball.

Gosh is this really me speaking?!

Thistlewhistle

Anna_Glypta wrote: »

Hi, I'm meant to be working but I'm lurking around a bit - hang on in there - it will all work itself out and in the meantime try and focus on that savings account you didn't know you had - that's a definite positive.

AG

Thanks AG, that's just what I needed - a friendly reality check.
You're right of course - I'm just on edge a bit because I've just bottomed out my savings paying my tax bill and the pots are empty, but the bills keep a coming!!!:rotfl:

I'll get there - but thanks for the support! X