Seasidegal's Scrimpy Retirement Diary!

EssexHebridean

Lovely to be able to treat yourself to the paintings - and a lovely way of remembering your time there when you're back at home in  between visits! 

Seasidegal58

Thank you @milaan@Sun_Addict@Sunshine_girl2@doingitanyway and @EssexHebridean 😀

I flew home from Scotland last Monday and now back in Seasideville sweltering in this heat! 🥵.

I did go out and have an early brunch with my friend this morning - we sat outside in the shade but heat wise I felt like I was on a Greek Islands holiday in August!!  I've got all the windows open but I might have to blow the electric cost and put on the fan later.

I'm off to the gym tomorrow - I have a 9.30am session so I'm hoping it will be uncrowded and not too hot.  The gym does have air conditioning though thank goodness!

MSE SCRIMPY THINGS
One of my water bills (the sewage part) has gone down by £6 from this month to £10 which is something. I also won £25 on the premium bonds!😀

Whilst I was in Scotland Bear2 managed to get hold of my reading glasses and munched them into oblivion so I've had to order a new pair! 🤓. I do miss both Bears though notwithstanding!🐻🐶  Anyway I had to put a deposit down at the optician for my new glasses. Although I should normally have paid for an eye test as my next NHS funded appointment would have been in October, he didn't charge me for this as my prescription had changed since the last time. So that was £45 saved!👍

Today I also spent some birthday vouchers in one of our local shops and bought one of my favourite Stoneglow diffusers for my bathroom that needed replacing - Grapefruit & Mimosa - it's such a lovely fresh scent!

beanielou

It’s a tad hot in sunny Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 too! 😎

Sun_Addict

Roasting in the very hot and sunny East Midlands too, loving it, my kinda weather 😍 ☀️😎

milann

I’d hoped for cooler weather after our trip down South…..no such look. It’s clouded over now and really muggy. No thunder forecast but it has that feeling 😏
enjoy being back home 👍

Seasidegal58

Thanks @beanielou @Sun_Addict and @milann. 😃

It certainly felt roasting out there when I set out for the gym this morning!  I really didn't feel like going due to the heat, but the air conditioning was on when I got there and once I had finished I was glad I had came. When I got home I had a shower and did some housework - that was all I've felt like doing today! I've kept the windows open and it's felt reasonably cool.  I caught up this afternoon with the new Scandi noir series on BBC4 - Trom - which I'm enjoying with its beautiful shots of the Faroe Islands. 

I'm off to London tomorrow for my hair appointment- I'm definitely not looking forward to the tube part of the journey!😱

MSE SCRIMPY THINGS 
Spends today was the PT and my train ticket for tomorrow. I have to be at West London quite early for my hair appointment- as I'm travelling in rush hour I'm unable to use my Senior Railcard or buy the reduced one day Senior Rover return which is a shame - £20.10 - the return has gone up since I last bought one but I'll be able to use my Oyster ticket on the tube part of the journey. 

doingitanyway

Well done for exercising in the heat!
I hope you enjoy your hair appointment

milann

You’re a better woman than me I chickened out of the gym and went for a coffee with a friend instead. It was actually raining- not heavy but the sky was black. It didn’t cool things much though. 

Seasidegal58

Nearly another month gone by and very tardy again on posting!  100 lines SSG - Must Do Better!😱

I must say the month of July flew by - nothing of real importance to post here's apart from I've booked air tickets as I'm off to DD's Scottish abode later on this month to dog sit again while they're on holiday. I'm quite looking forward to seeing them all again - humans and the canine Bears!😃🐻🐶

I've decided to take up some more winter type clothing with me to keep there instead of dragging things up and down. I've already left waterproof outdoor gear, plus walking boots and wellies, so will take some   fleeces, leggings, tops and jeans this time. It'll also declutter the closet and drawer spaces.

In addition, I've ordered extra toiletries to take with me to deposit there to save packing these as well each time. The toiletry haul was very MSE as I had £93 worth of Boots Advantage points so ended up using these - I bought shower gel, face cleaning wash, deodorant, Pixi toner, micellar cleansing water, cotton wool pads, nail scissors and clippers among other things - I ended up spending just over £50 worth of points. 

I also bought a toiletry roll up bag from Amazon to hold everything and when I go home I can just roll this up and stow everything away in one of the drawers ready for my next visit.  It's very nice - black with taupe lining - quite roomy with plastic see through zipper pockets and elastic inside these to hold bottles.

My idea is to eventually being able to use my cabin suitcase on these trips rather than the bigger case that always goes in the hold (although it probably won't work at New Year when I have to take up presents). Still if I can, it will save having to pay for hold luggage and avert having to wait for the luggage when it comes off the plane. 

Other spends were a replacement bath mat from the White Company and bath sheets from M&S as the old items are getting a bit tatty. All of these items were bought in the sales (the bath sheets were 50% off!👍) and of course the orders were all put through Topcashback!😃👍

Since the beginning of this month I've seen friends for coffee and brunch, plus I finally got to see 'Elvis' at the cinema. Both my friend and I thought it was fantastic - it would make a wonderful musical on the stage. 

This week I have gym with my PT twice this week - it's going really well - I definitely think it has helped my lower back and I'm a lot stronger than I was. I'm doing some very light leg extensions now.   I've lost nearly a stone since starting the gym sessions and trying to watch my food. It's been slower than I would like and I did put on 2lb again one week but I'll carry on. 

It's little nephew's birthday this week. He has a party with his friends but we're going out for an early family meal to celebrate on another day this week. 

MSE SCRIMPY THINGS

One of my monthly DDs actually went down this month!  One of the two water companies I have to use (the sewage one) has reduced the monthly payment from £16 to £10. Quite a nice result as everything else is rocketing skyward!

I'm using the £150 I received from the council tax rebate towards my electric bill and have moved it into this category on YNAB. 

I went through my YNAB categories on the 1st August during my monthly update. There's nothing I have to reduce at the moment but I am watching things closely as once winter kicks in it could go pear-shaped. 

Extra money in this month was £13.15 from Topcashback and a £25 win on the PBs!😃👍

beanielou

Good to hear from you