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Home > Archive: May, 2021

Archive for May, 2021

Spending and Tracking

May 28th, 2021 at 03:32 pm

I did some spending yesterday, and I also adjusted a couple of my spreadsheets.  I took away some of my vacation spending from the Big Ticket spreadsheet.  I left in the cost for the airline ticket, but the other spending should come out of Variables.  I don't know why I put it there in the first place.  That means my variables are now at 93%, but that's okay, it's almost the end of the month.  Big Ticket spending is averaging $231 a month now.  I'm tracking it so I know how much to save per month to cover it in the future.

As for the spending:  I spent $37 on groceries, $30 on gas, $17 for a set of bowls, and $5 on takeout food.

The bowls were an impulse buy.  I was at Sam's, and there they were.  I have been wanting to replace my current set of mixing bowls, since a couple of them are chipped.  The new set is melamine, and they all have lids, so they will also be good for storing and transporting food.  And they were on sale!

I have to do some more spending for our Memorial Day get-together, which is also a graduation party for my two grandsons.  One is graduating from middle school and one from elementary school.  I figure I'll give them each $20.  I'll try to find some cheap cards.  I also promised my son I would make ambrosia salad for our MD lunch, so it's back to the store for almost all of the ingredients.  Maybe all!  Yes, I think all.  I don't have a single ingredient on hand.  Oh well.

Michigan Trip

May 24th, 2021 at 08:44 pm

I'm back from my short Michigan trip.  It was a very nice two days.  My grandniece's open house was pretty amazing -- held at her grandparents' farm, which includes a beautiful house, swimming pool, and some beautiful landscaping.  My brother and I attended together and met up with other family members we hadn't seen in several years.  Good conversation and good food in a beautiful setting.  You can't beat that!  

In the evening I played cards with my brother and his wife.  In the morning I met my man friend at a bakery/restaurant for breakfast.  I hadn't seen him for a year and a half, though we have kept in touch by email.  His health is clearly getting worse, which is concerning -- so many things he doesn't remember!  But it was still a really nice time.  Afterwards we went to his retirement home, where I toured the facility (lovely!) and saw his studio apartment.  I asked him if he was happy, now that he's been there ten months, and he said yes, with reservations.  I know it's been hard for him to give up his home, but he knows he is safer and that if he needs care in the future it will be an easy matter to arrange.

My spending on this trip was very small.  I spent $27 for gas and $2 for an ice cream cone.  Variables are at 49% -- which doesn't count the big spending on my Oregon trip, nor the down payment on my table.  Yes, it is actually a crazy spending month, so I'm really working to keep regular expenses down.

Just a Bit

May 21st, 2021 at 10:39 pm

Just a bit of spending today.  I went to the car wash and spent $6 on a wash and vacuum.  Then I stopped at Walgreens and spent $4 on a graduation card (into which I will insert $50 for my grandniece), as well as $7 on an OTC medication.

Tomorrow I head north for B's graduation open house.  I'm staying over at my brother's house one night.  I'm having breakfast with my man friend on Sunday morning.  I have not seen any of these people since Thanksgiving 2019, and I'm very excited!

The Table

May 19th, 2021 at 06:11 pm

Yesterday the refinisher called and gave me an estimate for the cost of repairing and refinishing my dining room table.  He recommended stripping the whole table, not just the top, and it needs a lot of regluing where boards are separating.  That said, he said it was a wonderful table, and when it is restored it will be amazing.  So, the cost.  He is estimating just over $2K and asked for $1K to begin, the balance upon finishing.  I put the $1K on my Discover card, even though I have the cash.  I want to get the cash back reward. 

He said it would be 4 to 6 weeks to finish the stripping and gluing, and at that time I will take in a chair so he can match the stain.  I'm not sure how much longer it will be after that.

While the table is gone, I want to send my carpet plus a runner out for cleaning.  Last time, when I sent my other rug and runner, it was $390.  It will probably be more now.  We'll see.  I'm going to wait till after my Michigan trip to make the arrangements.  One day at a time.

I'm Back!

May 17th, 2021 at 05:28 pm

I arrived back home yesterday -- tired -- exhausted, really.  But I'm bouncing back today.  My Oregon trip was wonderful and amazing.  Seeing my grandchildren was the high note of the year.  I got so many hugs and kisses it was almost overwhelming!

I spent $463 on vacation costs, which includes the extra fare I had to pay for changing the date.  The rest was baggage fees, eating out, and fun activities.  My son shouldered most of the entertainment cost, which was great.  He is finally at a place where he can treat, rather than be treated.

I also spent $25 for little gifts for the grandchildren, which I counted in gifts rather than vacation.

The trip home, especially, was a struggle.  I had stayed up late the night before and then couldn't sleep.  My flight was late.  I spent three hours in the airport and flew at night, where, again, I couldn't sleep.  I finally caught up on my sleep yesterday.

Today I withdrew $165 from my bank account -- $115 will go to the guy who is picking up my table.  Yay!  It finally really is getting refinished!  And $50 will be for a graduation present for my grand-niece -- I'm going up to Michigan this weekend for her open house.  

Life is getting fun and exciting again!

The Trip is Saved!

May 7th, 2021 at 03:53 pm

I woke up this morning feeling 100% better.  Well, make that 98%.  I still had a little headache, but that went away eventually.  I got online and booked a fresh set of tickets for my trip.  Now I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon and staying through the next Saturday.  Naturally, my reimbursement from the cancelled trip did not cover half the cost, but I only had to pay $233 out of pocket, and it could have been worse.  Chalk it up to "these things happen."

Now I have the day to rest and recuperate.  And I'm not leaving at a crazy time in the morning, neither coming nor going.  I do have a red-eye flight on the way home.  Hope I will be tired enough to sleep all the way home.

Another Setback

May 6th, 2021 at 11:09 pm

I hate to keep adding to this saga, but it gets worse.  Yesterday I decided I would go to Oregon unless I heard from my son that he was definitely positive.  At the end of the day, he had not gotten a result yet, so I told him I was coming anyway.  I went to bed early, planning to catch up on a little sleep before the 3 am alarm.

I couldn't sleep.  I thought I was anxious about the trip, but now that I look back I realize that I started to feel not quite right yesterday afternoon.  I went through a drive-thru for lunch, because I didn't want to mess up the kitchen, and I was barely interested in the food.  At dinnertime I wasn't hungry at all and ate nothing.  That should have been a red flag, because I'm always hungry!

I got up four times in the night to go number 2.  Still wasn't catching on.  Still thought I was just stressed.  At 3, I got up, after having slept maybe one hour at the most?  I cleaned up and got dressed and sat down, ready to call Uber.  Finally it hit me.  I couldn't even imagine going downstairs and getting in a car, much less getting on an airplane.  I was sick.  Not just with the diarrhea, but with nausea, headache and general achiness.  (Yet no fever!)

I'm still sick, and really, just thankful I didn't push myself any harder to go because I would have been extremely uncomfortable -- not to mention, they probably wouldn't have let me fly!

After doing some online searching I diagnosed myself as having stomach flu, or gastroenteritis.  After a day at home, I am still not much better.  I sleep intermittently, but I can't stay asleep.  Mostly that is because I am interrupted by my phone.

My son, of course, is very disappointed, and I don't think he quite gets how bad I feel.  He is urging me to come in the next few days, whenever I can reschedule.  I think a lot of that is driven by the fact that he is home from work due to the sick colleague and he doesn't want to waste the days off.  He did let me know that his test result came in and it was negative.  I am dying to get there, but I don't know how long it will take to get better.

During one of my better spells I called Alaska Airlines and canceled, and they sent me a credit for another flight.  It was such a low fare, though, it will probably not nearly cover the next one.

So there you have it.  The most ill-fated trip you could imagine.  I halfway wonder if the plane crashed -- it seems the universe was really telling me not to go.  I'm kidding about that, I'm not superstitious in that way.  But I am feeling beleaguered about how things have turned out.

My only goal today is to rest and get better.  Hoping to sleep tonight.  I'll figure the rest out later.

Can You Believe This?

May 4th, 2021 at 08:30 pm

My son in Oregon called this morning to tell me one of his co-workers tested positive.  It is not someone he works closely with, but still, you have to figure there is a possibility of exposure.  He got a COVID test today, but he has to wait 1-3 days for results.  That means I might have to fly without knowing his results -- or cancel the trip.  Right now my head is spinning.

I am fully vaccinated.  He has had his first Moderna shot and is scheduled for the second in one week.  Also, he has aleady had COVID -- he was one of the first, back in March 2020.  I think the odds are very good that he does not have it, and even if he does, the odds are good that I will not catch it.  But who knows?  This is so distressing.

Waiting

May 2nd, 2021 at 08:19 pm

I am anxiously awaiting the results of my COVID test.  I suppose I should have opted for the test with a quicker result, since the wait is driving me crazy.  I keep imagining that I have symptoms, but I think I am just psyching myself out.  I so badly want a negative result so I can freely travel to Oregon later in the week.  Meanwhile, I have been advised to quarantine until the results are in, and that's annoying, too.

I paid my license plate fee yesterday.  It was only $25, compared to the $151 it would have cost without the senior benefit.  So glad I didn't give up on that even when I found the application process daunting.

I'm sure my visit to Immediate Care to get the COVID test will result in a bill, but it's not posted yet.

Edit:  Just got my results.  Negative!