Just before leaving for work, I heard from the social worker. I don't know how this came about, but National Grid says I'm still on the budget plan--even though I was short roughly 9 dollars on the payment--which always before, meant instant cancellation of my monthly budget agreement, followed by a demand for full payment (roughly an entire month's income, in my case), followed by a shut off notice when I couldn't pay.

So, I've till' the 29th to pay my budget bill--thank goodness, so my gas and electric are still on...but, the downside is that my bill went up again, to $220. I've got $60 put aside, and a short pay check this week--two day's loss of pay for the office being shut for the entire holiday weekend, meaning I'm only going to have about a $100 on Friday--which I can't put all on the bill, cos' I need to buy cat food and stuff. So...it's going to be rather tight, but there's some free things I can do to amuse myself, so no worries.

I don't know if I'll have enough money to go to the classic film festival at the new (restored) Park Theater down in the city centre, but it doesn't cost anything to go to the Hyde for the Degas exhibit--if I ride my bike and don't take a cab (it's on the opposite side of the city from me, and not on a bus line), and there's some free lectures and a jazz concert, coming up at the public library--unfortunately, I work nights, so it's tough getting to take advantage of things like that.

And, for $2, I can ride the trolley bus to Lake George. There's a town band concert coming up this weekend, that's free...and I think the Lake George arts festival is sometime soon...and, if I can spare an extra $2, I can even buy a soft ice cream conronet. :)

I just found out there's a new riding stable on the trolley bus line, this summer. Colonial Stables is at the Wild West Show theme park, right near the trolley stop by the Magic Forest amusment park (home to the only diving horse in the USA). I was over the moon at the prospect of maybe riding a horse agin. I rang them up, and was quite disappointed to find that they're charging $25 an hour to go out on a guided trail ride up the mountain and back. Way, way too steep for me. :( But, they are also supposed to have stagecoach and wagon rides, for $10, so I might have a go at that, come August, if I can afford it. Hey, I'm still a horse nut, and any excuse to be near a horse...