Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Oh thanks 😊 but I confess it wasn’t entirely altruistic - they asked me if I wanted to buy a ticket for the charity lottery! I seem to remember I bought one previously and didn’t win anything so this may well be the same. 😊

Cherryfudge

So yesterday we caught the train to Glasgow...

All pre-booked, split-ticketed and duly noting that we would have to get a bus from Melrose to Berwick, train to Edinburgh and another train to Glasgow. Before midnight I had an email to say one of the trains was cancelled, but there was another email in the morning to reinstate it.

We got to Melrose (I realise en route that I'd left most of my lunch in the kitchen, having avoided packing it early in case it spilled), and went to pick up the tickets - the station wasn't staffed and the screen on the machine was virtually unreadable and very slow to respond... and the train time we had from the app didn't appear to exist. Neither did the bus. Instead there was a rather earlier train - good job we arrived with time in hand!

It turned out this train was absolutely legit and went straight to Edinburgh, so I've still never seen Berwick. Anyway we got there without further adventures and crashed out at the hotel till dinner time.

Today I had a quick clothes-buying trip to make up for some stuff I'd not packed, then caught two buses to get to the Burrell Collection. I have to say the people of Glasgow are super-helpful and various people assisted with when to get off and where to get the next bus. DH's uncle used to work at the Burrell Collection, so it we had a slight connection but had never been before. If you're into art and history, it's a great place to go, and we had lunch and afternoon snacks too. The bus back to the hotel was thankfully uneventful, as I've about got to the point of not much sociability, however good the company.

In the middle of changing buses, I had a phone call from my manager as various people are going on holiday and she had to tie up some loose ends: the result is I'll have a meeting or phone call with the Union next week about the details of redeployment, but she's reassured me it doesn't go on my record as dismissal but as medical redeployment. If I don't find work with this employer within the allotted time, it's still down as leaving on medical grounds.

DH and I have also eaten out both evenings, so plenty of spending. We did manage to bring snacks and I had some of those and bought a yogurt to replace yesterday's lunch on the inexplicable journey, which was a bit of a saving.

In other news, the wrist warmers are coming along nicely but are going to be too wide for me, and thus potentially for other people too. I've decided to carry on with this pair (they're not so loose they'll fall off) but try another pair later if my knowledgeable friend can advise me on making them smaller.

I'm keeping a note of spending in a notebook and unusually I think I've got everything down. No totalling up yet but it's not going to be a cheap one. Tomorrow we are going to another gallery and I daresay I'll pop into a shop or two, though there's not much needed. It's more that city shops have things I don't see at home, and sometimes that includes things I think will be useful.

badmemory

I used to go up & down the country every weekend by train but there is no way I could do it now just too many cancellations.  Mind you I did once land up in Bristol because the person selling me a ticket to Gloucester didn't bother telling me that due to works at Glos the train was going straight through.  But these things don't seem quite as bad at under 30 as they do at over 70,

WelshmansDaughter

Trains in Scotland are a mysterious beast. Although I am always hesitant to complain now after the last one was delayed due to some poor person ending up on the track.

Cherryfudge

We got back on another train that was supposed to go via Berwick but didn't. In fact DH says there aren't any Berwick trains that would fit the bill.

Yesterday was a quick trip to £land, an MS lunch and dinner assembled or cooked from actual ingredients form the shops (nice, too), then a trip to the Modern Art gallery where we bought a birthday present for DS2. I spotted an Oxfam bookshop so we both got books - about £6 I think. Coffee and cake while waiting for the train, so not entirely MS.

Today DH bought some groceries and an LP that caught his eye in a charity shop, I bought raspberries and strawberries at 30p a punnet, and treated myself to yet another charity shop trip as we won't be back there for ages. This time it was a jumper and a tee shirt (£7.50) and I let her sell me another charity lottery ticket (£1).

We tidied up the house and checked all was well as it will be empty for a long time apart from the person who checks on it occasionally. I'd mentioned to my sister that the willow in the garden had grown and she said I could cut some. There's now a handful of long trails of leaves in water in the garden waiting for me to try my hand at garland making.

I fell asleep in the car on the way home: holidays are tiring!

DH has been to the shops again since getting back, but dinner tomorrow will be from the freezer. The fridge is far too full, between the jams I put in there before going away and the soft fruit brought back from Scotland.

It's nice to be back home: the first load of laundry is done, a lot of stuff is put away and I've enjoyed having a bath with bath oil in it. I never dare take some in my luggage in case it leaks!

I can see I have the letters to enable me to launch the new savings account, but I need to be more awake before I do that.

Floss

Sounds like you had a lovely break.

Cherryfudge

It was good to get away and. as they say, good to be home again! I had a quiet day today to recover. I watched church on YouTube though DH went in person. I got another load of laundry out of the way and line-dried. When he got home, we had dinner from the freezer and he had a long walk in the afternoon. I declined - it's so nice having time alone for a little while, though I'm not good at whole days of it.

It's been warm and very windy and it didn't seem right staying indoors all day, so I went to pick blackberries from the garden and ended up doing about two hours' worth of clearing. Lots of brambles are ready to cut back, as are various other things. I leave the main bramble stems unless they're growing the wrong direction, so that's a foundation for next year's crop. It's surprising how thick the sides of the garden have got over the summer: brambles, wild roses, honeysuckle, ivy... and things that were meant to be there as well.  

This evening I've gone through the holiday spending but couldn't check all the figures as the credit card site wasn't playing ball. Nothing spent today.

Cherryfudge

Another warm and windy day: two lots of washing have been done and the first is dry and put away. I think the other will need to finish on the airer. DH had a bike ride this morning  and his volunteering in the afternoon, and took a few donations to the shop. We now have about two thirds of  bin bag's space that we didn't have this morning.

I got some groceries and made chickpea and chorizo stew for dinner, which will feed us another day as well. There's still only just enough space in the fridge.

I've done another couple of hours in the garden: the grass was dry enough to mow and looks very amateur as it had got tufty over the last week. I did some edging too, including a bit under a tree where I rediscovered some pots I'd put out of the sun ages ago! Among them were a bedraggled blackcurrant bush and a very straggly gooseberry. In an attempt at rescue, those are now potted up and trimmed back. The gooseberry bush I potted up in the spring is holding its own so I'm hoping these aren't too far gone to follow suit. 

Expenditure:
Housekeeping £11.30

MS:
Noticed pastries being vastly discounted at 2.30 this afternoon so we now have three assorted packets! We'll take some for lunch tomorrow, I had one this afternoon, DH can take some to work...
Resisted the other discounted stuff.

Cherryfudge

I made a spreadsheet yesterday evening, to try to sort out September's finances: it's good spreadsheet practise and I realised I have a long way to go to get to use them to full advantage! The tutorial for adding headings wasn't much help as the relevant bits are hidden elsewhere, but at least I got some practise in searching for what I needed. Nothing like playing with a programme to learn how it works. So far, it works, though I've yet to integrate the DDs and SOs. I think they will just have a column to themselves as most of them are fairly steady.


I also don't have access to DH's credit card statements though he always tells me when he's paid them and how much.

That reminds me there's something inexplicable on mine: it shows I paid off around £190 when my bank statement seems to indicate it was £120. Very odd and I suppose I need to trawl back and make sure I've picked up the right figures.

Today is Granddaughter day. DH is taking her to the toddler club and library and I'm going to meet them to walk back, and do most of this afternoon's childcare. First I have a pile of ironing from yesterday.

badmemory

Could it be cashback or a refund?  I only ask because my cashback went on earlier this month & it didn't show on the statement but showed as reduced.  If yours is Halifax like mine they have changed to way they do the total & outstanding amounts.  Very irritating but I suspect it is something to do with the very large deductions being made when you pay at pump.