Checks in the Mail

I've probably written more checks in the past three months than I did the previous year. It had to do with changing banks, setting up new automatic payments, and reimbursing my brother for some things he brought for me. The biggest issue for me was finding envelopes to mail the checks. At least, I had no trouble finding stamps. 

While sending checks is somewhat unusual, receiving a check in the mail is a rare event. The last time it happened to me, I wrote a post about it. Well, it happened again this week. Jeff and I got a $825 check from the title company that handled our closing. That was a nice surprise. Keep them checks coming. 

Catching Up

I remember checking this blog last Sunday, realizing I hadn't posted in a week. Still, didn't post on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday.

Why not? I don't know: I was too lazy, too tired, too whatever. 

Last week was an expensive one. I picked up a few prescriptions for Jeff totaling over $300. I hope it's that high because he just changed insurance programs and has to meet a new deductible. We knew one prescription was expensive, but $300 was a surprise. 

What I thought was a slow tire leak ended up with me needing three new tires. At least I took care of that now and not during our upcoming visit to Delaware.(More on that later.)

I went to the dentist. I just needed cleaning--I take good care of my teeth. Preventive maintenance is well worth the cost, but it's still another bill for the week.

I found a place to repair the antique cinnabar lamps we inherited from Jeff's grandparents by way of his sister. I started looking for lamp shades back in December and had trouble with that, before finding I also needed some parts of the lamps repaired. That will cost around $200.

Then there's grocery shopping; I bought many things to avoid tariff increases. But I don't want to keep depressing myself, so I'll just stop here.

Food Snob Revisited

Several months ago, I wrote about whether I was a food snob because I didn't buy fish at Trader Joe's. Jeff and I were running several errands yesterday. I was in Trader Joe's and had planned to pick up some salmon at Pagano's Seafood. Then I saw frozen salmon at TJ's and bought it.

My thinking was more along the lines of saving a trip rather than saving money (though I had a little bit of sticker shock the last time I bought scallops) and I wanted to try TJ's seafood.

Verdict: Maybe I am a food snob. The salmon was so watery it didn't brown properly and just tasted blah. As I wrote before, some things aren't worth skimping on. 

State of the Estate

Yesterday I got the word that I could distribute money from my mother's estate. Today I closed one bank account, moved the monies to a checking account, and wrote some checks.

I still have to deal with 2019 taxes for the estate and my mother.

There's also an investment account that's become complicated. I'm working on it.

Check in the Mail and a Raise

Thursday I received a $30 check in the mail, the first in a long time. Apparently it was an overpayment for a car registration; the check was from the Volkswagen dealership.

Friday was a payday. I've barely worked in the last three weeks, but checked my pay statement and saw that I got a 15 percent raise in my teaching and tutoring rates. Wow. I've never received such a large raise before without starting a new job. I had no notice; it was totally unexpected, but greatly appreciated.

I feel like this.

Christmas Kvetching

There was a time when I loved Christmas.

As a kid, it meant toys. We used to trim the tree Christmas Eve, have pancakes for dinner and open one present. In the morning, we'd rush down to see what Santa brought. I seem to remember having turkey for dinner at our home most years, but I'm rather vague on that.

I remember some fun Christmases when I first moved to Connecticut. We had several guests--usually people who had no family nearby--our get-togethers were casual and eclectic. I remember one--when I and someone else received a bongo board. We had dueling bongoing going on. (I still have my bongo board in the closet.)

Jeff and I got engaged on Christmas Eve. After that we had to blend holidays together. It worked well for the first several years. We spent Christmas Eve with Jeff's family, and Christmas Day with mine. It got more challenging when parents moved south.

Even with good Christmases, there's always been an undercurrent of pressure. It just seems to get worse for me. The last three Christmases have been stressful. This year I'm trying to force myself into some semblance of Christmas spirit: today I wore red and green and my Christmas earrings. I didn't turn off Christmas music Jeff was listening to when I got home from my ACT class. I put up a few Christmas decorations (but no tree.)

I'm mostly frustrated because I don't have money. I had to put $1500 into my car last month. My work has slowed down a bit, so I don't have much money coming in. Then we'll be at Jeff's sister's house, where they usually have five feet of presents (literally) stacked around the tree. I'm not even getting Jeff any presents this year except stocking stuffers and one or two small practical household type things. We need a new couch and we both need new glasses, and other medical things.

It's not just money. Jeff's father's health is not good, and I'm concerned about my mother.

I realize objectively that I don't have things that bad. But I can't dispel a feeling of unease. I wish I could just skip Christmas.

Powerball Dreaming

I don't usually play the lottery, but I'll occasionally buy a ticket when the jackpot is big. $1.586 billion is pretty big.

Jeff and I each got $20 worth of tickets in two separate stores in adjacent strip malls a few hours before the drawing. We didn't talk much about what we would do with our winnings. We had fantasized about such things years ago. We mentioned buying a place in Litchfield County and maybe a winery. I said I wanted to travel.

Early this morning, I knew we weren't among the big winners. But I heard there was a million dollar winner in Connecticut. It wasn't me, but I didn't know where Jeff's tickets were. He could have been a winner. He wasn't.

But two of my numbers matched the powerball. $8 is better than nothing.

Checks in the Mail

In this day of direct deposits, it's rare to get a check in the mail. This past week I got two.

The first was for the cash value of points on a credit card that has been discontinued. The amount was about $28. It's not much, but it made my day.

About a week later, I got a letter from our mortgage holder. We had overpaid our escrow account for property taxes. Not only did our monthly mortgage payment decrease by about $80, but we got a refund check for almost $600. 

The timing is especially good because I have a week without work. Yea for unexpected checks!