Grand Total                  3348  

The big ticket item -- or one of them, anyway -- is the vacation expense, most of which is for an Amtrak ticket. And that's only one-way! I have yet to arrange for a ticket home. Still, it's worth it -- to be able to see my son, spend a week with him, and travel in comfort, not facing the rush of airport traffic or the anxiety of flying (which I cannot conquer).

Another big ticket item is my donation to my grandchildren's college funds. I do this on their birthdays, and two of them were born in September and the other two in November.

And then there is the car expense, which I detailed in my last post.

Medical spending reflects one of my hospital bills that finally arrived. I'll be paying another one next month.

Eating out was high! Part of that is that it's more expensive these days, and another is that without a car, I'm more likely to be stuck somewhere and needing a meal. 

I am still in limbo as far as my license goes, even though the process was supposedly "expedited."

Yesterday I made another call to the DMV to ask about my license. Finally, I talked to someone who actually got up from his chair and went to look for the medical report that is supposedly under review. Guess what? It couldn't be found. Surprise, surprise. He said, "This should have been resolved months ago!" No kidding.

Since I had a copy of the report, and since it was noted on their system that the report was actually received -- and then lost -- I was able to fax a copy, and the person I spoke to promised to expedite it. So something may actually happen.

It was not easy to get it faxed. I don't have a fax machine, and my neighbors don't either. Nor my son or my ex. But someone told me the library did, and it was free. So all I had to do was get to the library. To do that I have to take two 10-minute walks and a train ride. On an ordinary day that isn't a problem, but yesterday it snowed like the dickens, and I had to walk through deep slush and fight high winds. It was awful. It sure gave me a taste of what it might be like if I never get my license back this winter.

In other news, I have made plans to visit my son in Oregon. I'm taking the train, and this time will be in a sleeper car. The ticket, with cancellation insurance, was a little over $600. That's one way. I haven't determined yet when I will come home, but I do want to get it on another credit card cycle so I'm not paying it all at once.

I finally got a bill from the hospital where I was treated after the accident. It was only $135. Pretty darn cheap, considering all the stuff they did to me, as well as keeping me under observation for a night and day.

According to my insurance, I still owe $250 for the ambulance, but I haven't been billed for that yet. 

I mentioned in my last post that my car battery had died and then was jumped by AAA. With the help of BFF, I did get to the mechanic, where they replaced the battery. I also got an oil change and a new cabin filter and wipers. All told it was around $460. A lot of money for a car I'm not using. But I needed to get it drivable, because my son is using it for the time being -- their second car was totaled in a minor accident -- totaled because the car was so old. The insurance was already reinstated when I first had the battery problem, so it might as while be driven around. Much better than just sitting there. If the DMV decides that my license cannot be reinstated, I will sell the car to my son for a fair price we both agree on.

I guess those are the high points of the month so far. I will provide more details when I do the November recap.

Grand Total                   1767

It was not a big spending month, though I did exceed my variables by a little. Food was the main event, both groceries and eating out higher than usual. I bought some supplies on Amazon, and I had some medical expenses. The main one was a visit to Immediate Care, where I got an x-ray. I had fallen earlier in the day -- just tripped over uneven pavement. There were no fractures; however, I am still quite sore from the soft tissue damage.

Entertainment included admission to three volleyball games in which GS2 was a player. Clothing included a watch that I ordered from Amazon. I have found I don't really like always having to look at my phone to see the time.

BFF is coming today. She will stay until Sunday, and then we will go down to her place for a few days. Here, we are going to do some errands -- taking the car to have the battery checked, going to Home Depot, going to the grocery store. At her place, we are going to meet up with an old friend -- actually the person who introduced us to each other. I will come home on the train, not sure which day yet.

About the car -- I tried to start it in order to move it for street sweeping, and nothing happened. I called AAA and they jumped the battery, but advised I get it checked out. I had to reinstate my car insurance to make this happen -- even though I won't drive, I must have insurance if anybody drives it. Luckily, I don't have to pay anything until January, by which time -- I HOPE -- I will know whether I will ever have a license again.

I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but our building's boiler went kaput this month, and I had a few weeks of no heat. It wasn't particularly cold, so that was lucky. It has now been replaced, and the heat is working again. There has been no mention of what this might cost the homeowners. Stay tuned.