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