Right hand/ left hand!!

This morning Dh has received a letter from a Building Society with papers asking for his mother's vote in their end of year AGM for the Executives of the Society.

It was addressed to him, however sadly his mother passed away in December last year. He dealt with her estate and closed her account. 

He had conformation from the Building Society and the residue of her savings account was paid to him and his sister and conformation that the account had been closed.

Yet here was a letter asking her to cast her vote??

Me thinks it's a matter of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing!

Computer error? We hear of people fraudulently cashing in on pensions of relatives who are deceased. Easy I'd say if the DHSS is run by a similar system as that of that Building Society. What do you think?

Chrisxx

Luck?? Not at all!

 I still have a friend here that I knew when I was 8 years old. We sat together in Junior school but had vastly different lives. Her father owned two shops in the town and she appeared to be well off. I was living with my grandmother and two maiden aunts,  we ate food grown on the old allotment and I wore hand me downs and in the summer my grandmother did B&Bs. But I didn't know how different our lives were, I didn't notice.

We do meet for a chat and a coffee, but not as often as she'd like because she is for ever saying to me.. 'You're lucky, with your husband, and no mortgage. I don't believe in luck and do point out to her, that she had a lot more than me once.

At one time she was managing one of her father's shops and had a husband, who had his own company and they lived well. Often visiting big gambling clubs where they won and lost thousands of pounds. At that time I was teaching, earning money to pay my mortgage and working hard to keep paying the bills myself, with my four older children still living with me.  I had left and divorced my then husband. At one time I did some private math lessons to earn extra money just to make ends meet. 

When I realised I wasn't getting any younger at 58 and didn't like where I was working and still had a mortgage; I resigned my Deputy position, sold my big house and down sized to get rid of it. It was a release, but hard, the three bedroomed house I bought needed quite a few things doing. But it had a nice sized garden and an open hall way as you entered it, so it won me over within minutes of looking round. I had all that needed to be done, bit by bit as I earned the money, doing part time supply teaching. It took 4 years but I loved that house. When I had a tax rebate, I bought what I had always wanted,  a raspberry pink carpet for the lounge, hall, stairs and landing, I loved it! And just doing supply teaching was good. I  did a regular three days in a local school, and really loved it. And didn't retire till I was 64, but that school was lovely.

I met my lovely lovely husband when I was 62 and we married 2 years after.. and so I am well off, not money,  but rich in blessings and we have a lovely home here in S Wales and are enjoying living here.

So when she says.. you're lucky,' I do point out to her, that she spent 4 1/2 years 'dallying' with a married man, re-mortgaged her house because she liked her detached house in that part of town, which is now too far out. She still works part time for Carlton cards in different supermarkets, restocking the shelves and will be 80 in a couple of months time. Like me she has arthritis and walks bent, but too proud to use a stick.

She is now talking about buying something smaller if she can afford it, in town, so she won't have to worry about driving.  I do care about her, but sometimes you have to distance yourself from some people. I really don't agree with her about being lucky, I earned every penny I have and worked hard. I do talk things over with her, but it's her decision and to be honest I think she is still thinking she'll be lucky and it will all work out for the best and even thinks her married man friend might come back.. WHAT??? .. 

It's true, some people never learn!

Chrisxx

Wool gathering, do you?

 I often sit on the edge of the bed in the mornings dwellings on things; wool gathering a friend calls it. Nothing earth shattering, I didn't care that Gary Lineker was off air,  nor that Boris was being questioned about Party gate, and especially not, if Harry and Megan will be present at the Coronation of Charles. 

But sometimes about the garden, shall we buy more daffs for out the front next year? Shall I wait till I lose enough weight to get into that lovely dress I bought, or simply use the cut off excess length to make it those few inches bigger? So many decisions about???.... not a lot!

I suppose now as we're into Spring I should review my New Year suggestions.

 I. I did not lose all that much weight, but didn't gain any.

2. I did walk at least 3 times a week, except when there was snow and it rained.

3. I did not manage to get showered and dressed every day before 9:30am, but was showered and dressed before 8:30 on mornings when we had to go out. The others... well nothing was planned so need to hurry.

4. I sorted out a lot more than 3 bags for the charity shop, so got rid of a lot of stuff.

And the end room, is clear of boxes, with items, books and sewing stuff neatly stored on the 3 book cases in there, plus a table set up with my sewing machine, so I can sew.

Life moved on and I did my best, and thinking about it, that's all anyone can do.

We're settled here now and loving the little town and joining in some of the many activities and groups. Next week I'm joining a craft group and have been asked to explain how to make a quilt! The people in the book group are very interesting and pleasant, the U3A is flourishing and attendance to one talk was 147 people. I have found an excellent hairdresser, and a gentle chiropodist and a private dentist, and the SW consultant is a real fun interesting person, so all good.

And this morning in town we met some people we know and stopped and chatted, which was very pleasant.

The photograph doesn't really do these justice, but we planted over 400 bulbs so you don't just see the odd shaped moss choked weedy grass, as you drive up to the bungalow and several people who pass by, have remarked about them and what's more important is I love them.

Chrisxx

A mere sprinkling!

 This tree is on the road leading to our town, called The Welcome Tree by the towns' people and this past week had snow! But not a lot.

We never have snow here well hardly ever being a seaside town.  I do however have a photo (somewhere) of me in a pram on the beach with snow all around about 1944. 

We didn't have as much as some places, but it did flatten my daffodils and crocuses although they have popped up again. We still only have purple crocus flowering, we never realised that purple ones flowered first, then the yellow and orange ones flower, its only since I've grown them I knew this, did you?

Have you had a lot of snow? Lovely to look at but horrible when you have to go to work, thank goodness I'm retired. What about you?

Chrisxx

How could I think I could compete with this?

 This is my amaryllis, it started to flower 4 days ago and I had not lost 5 pounds. That was my commitment to do before it flowered when I planted the bulb 10 days ago. I said I wanted to lose 5 pounds before it flowered.  I lost 2.5 pounds.. but I am not discouraged.

I've been ill all this week with a very heavy cold. I've had a sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, cough, aches and pains. My cousin reckons it is probably covid, but whether it is or not, I feel awful. I can't remember feeling this ill for years. 

My lovely husband had made me tasty meals, all on plan but I haven't been out walking, I felt too ill and tired.

But I do feel enthused to keep trying to lose this weight.

Today although the sun was shining, it was very cold, only 2.4°C.

I have 5 coats all too small, but I had bought a puffa jacket two years ago and I tried that on this morning, albeit without a thick cardigan and I could zip it up which I couldn't last year. So I know it will soon be fitting me with a cardigan, I feel really excited about that. 

I hope I'll start to feel better tomorrow.

Isn't this trying to lose weight so hard for some of us?

Chrisxx

 

Stuff!

 I'm trying very hard to think happy grateful thoughts, but its hard. I feel depressed about 'stuff.'

When we moved here June 2021, it was during lockdown, so there were no charity shops open; you had to book a time slot at the recycling centre to dispose of unwanted items, but there were few spaces. Consequently we had to bring a lot of stuff with us.

We had a lot and I mean a lot, probably 50 plus boxes of things we rarely used, all put in the end bedroom. Mainly because we moved from a large house, in which we'd had fitted wardrobes installed, a very large pantry, and a very large under stairs cupboard. There were no cupboards here, except for a hall cupboard for coats. 

It's not a small bungalow and all three bedrooms are double sized.  We bought 4 double wardrobes right away, and a small half size cupboard which now holds our towels, no airing cupboard here either.

We have our bedroom and the second bedroom sorted, but that end bedroom still has boxes to unpack. Every time I go in there, I feel over whelmed with the amount of stuff!

I feel like screaming there's so much 'stuff' A lot is craft work which I can no longer do.. 

Soooo....... these last few days we have made real effort and so far we have taken over 24 bags of wool, stuff for card making, ornaments, books and larger pictures plus some crochet throws to various charity shops. I've lost count of how many large bags.

But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel; we've bought a small incinerator to burn ' important?' papers from older houses which I have kept for years. 

I would very much like to use up the fabric I have to make quilts for various charities. We have the table from the kitchen, which can go in that end room and I can sew all day if I want! I feel excited just thinking about it. BUT we still have stuff to clear. 

Do you need to de-clutter?

Chrisxx

Shwmae!

Have I said we're learning to speak Welsh? We started in September last year; we're really enjoying our twice  a week zoom lessons, although after the 2 hours we feel exhausted, with concentrating so hard. As well as the lessons we do daily exercises with Duolingo and on Fridays we take part in a group zoom reading aloud with others. So you can see we are putting in a lot of effort and time.

I can remember a little bit from school when I was 7 years old, just odd words and numbers, so no real help, but what is a help I can pronounce the words. I can remember a lot of French!!

One of our lecturers said I do have good pronunciation! Strangely Welsh is phonetical, so we've learnt the sounds, and its a help us say the words.

We watch bits of the Welsh TV and laugh together and agree it sounds like a foreign language, especially if they speak fast.

We have favourite words, mine is ... archfarchnad, which is supermarket and what about... ysgrifennu.. which is ..to write.  So some odd looking words, but we are getting used to saying them. I doubt we'll be fluent at the end of the year, but we're giving it a good try. 

So I'll end with ..

Noswaith dda.

Have any of you learnt a language in later years?

Chrisxx

A really nice person!

 I stopped to look at the flower shop in town this morning while waiting for Dh, who had been to the library for me.

    There was a man with his dog in a dog pram there too.. and incase you didn't know this, dog owners chat to each other all the time. I said 'posh pram' and he explained their dog had been seriously ill and the vet had been wonderful and I agreed.. because even though they appear to charge a lot, you can get an appointment the same day as you phone, they make a diagnoses there and then and then produce the treatment too, or are able to do what ever surgery is necessary with in hours, unlike our NHS! Vets are good we both said.. 

Then he quipped tongue in cheek,  that his wife and himself had come to the realisation that dogs are better than children and grandchildren.. because...

1. They don't eat you out of house and home

2. They don't ask for money

3. And if they have children you can sell them!

I came away from that man smiling, what a treat to chat to someone who gives you a smile!  I really enjoyed our trip to town.

Aren't some people really nice, what do you think?

Chrisxx

Bank Holiday in Winter

 Today it was a sunfilled day, but there was a really cold nip in the air, it was 9°C.

                       The front promenade was crowded.

This was one of the cafes.  

People were there looking at the RNLI's craft, brought out as a fund raising activity. Our volunteer crews were called out 49 times last year; the one time to rescue a dog, which was featured on TV!

Dh and I had been to a town café and drove home via the sea front.

We were in a nose to tail line of cars as people surged across road at the crossings.

There was a huge queue snaking outside the fish n chip shop and the smell from it was very inviting, but we drove on home... ohhh I could have eaten a bag of chips!

It's not even summer and the crowds are arriving already.

Well it is a seaside town and it was Bank Holiday and the sun was shining.

Chrisxx