Happy Spring!

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, camping, cooking, swimming by

Spring is officially here, and it sure is where I live. Northern California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, is a wonderful place to live. All around the oak trees are blooming, daffodils are up, my wisteria is just starting to break out.

I’ve had a productive couple of days. I did go to the pool yesterday, and it was nice. I shared a lane, but the pool was not overly busy, which is always a plus.

From there, I went back to Costco to get more lavender plants, alas, they were all sold out. I stood there for a minute, wondering how they sold out in 2 days. So, I went and picked a few bottles of Sauvignon, a pair of workout leggings, and some salsa and hummus. I was back home by 10, so that was good. After I rested up, I tidied the house and then decided to tackle the outside windows.

I am very fussy about clean windows. maybe a little OC, really. I wash the inside windows in every zone when it comes up. So the outside ones are harder for me to do. I use Windex Outdoor Spray, which you attach to a hose, and it has a clean, rinse, and off setting. It’s quite easy once you get the hose untangled and ready to use. So I got them all done. I had to switch hoses 3 times, and that is probably the most time involved. I didn’t do my daughter’s room as her windows were open and she has the catio open to one of her windows. I’ll let her know she needs to close it up and do them next week. I felt really good about getting that crossed off my list.

Aftre regrouping I made some pizza dough using my tried and true recipe.

I made half the recipe for 2 dough balls. It comes out perfect every time. I’ll put the other one in the freezer unless my son wants it for tomorrow night. He’ll be staying here to take care of the kitties. Thankfully, they are all over their colds.

Today, I plan on getting the camp chairs in the car and getting B’s Mac Air in a travel bag to take with me. My MacBook died a while back, but this is newer and nicer. I don’t use it at home, though, since I have the new Mac my daughter bought me. I plan on leaving by 9am, and traveling on Sunday is always my preference since there is usually less traffic.

I’ll pack up my meds, clothes, and CPAP tomorrow and then be ready to go.

Next week, my daughter is on Spring break from the college, so I’m hoping we can go check out the tent trailer rental and see if it’s something we’re interested in. I don’t think we’ll know till we see it. I don’t think that place does trade-ins, but where we bought Rubi does, so we may try to fit that in as well. That’s farther down near Sacramento.

I’ve been reading some Agatha Christie books we got at the pet bookstore. She was such an amazing writer. I’m enjoying them and may pop out today to go see if there are any more there. Plus, I need some garden soil to repot some things. Yesterday at Costco, I tried to get the bag there, but it was way too heavy for me. Our nursery is right across the street from the bookstore. So convenient.

Thankful Thursday and a little sad.

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, camping, cancer by

Today marks 9 months since Barclay died. I miss him every day. When I look at my photos from Amazon, I get teary-eyed at how much fun we had and what a good life we had, traveling, doing stuff, etc. Well, I am thankful we had that time, and I am also grateful he didn’t have to suffer anymore.

I had an ok walk this morning. There was a class going on, which I thought was odd, but what do I know? It was still an ok walk.

Today I’m going into town to pick up my $75 dollar prescription, which I am not thankful that it is that expensive, but I can still afford it. I also plan to go to the bookstore as I have a bag of books to drop off.

I am thankful for our nice weather, although it is strange to be so warm so early. I’ve heard people wondering if the summer is going to be brutal. Who knows ??

I did manage Costco yesterday and even picked up 2 lavender plants for the front yard. Costco has the best prices on plants. I was tempted to get a hydrangea, but the cart was full of lavender plants. I did buy the champagne to celebrate Barclay’s life when we go to New Brighton. It was one of our favorite places, and I miss camping there. We won’t be camping, obviously, but we will go down to the beach area and bring our chairs to sit for a while.

Is there something in your life you can’t do anymore for one reason or another? How did you adjust?

Midweek Musings

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, Walking by

Another gorgeous day here in Northern CA. The pollens are coming out, though, and a lot of people are affected. I get some seasonal allergies but not a lot.

I plan on going down to the gym today and to the library. I don’t want to miss my holds. Then I’m going to Costco to get the champagne to bring with us and a few other things.

I haven’t walked in the park since Sunday morning. It’s now 6:40, and it’s getting light out. I plan on walking down at the gym on the outside trail some. Then plan on walking tomorrow morning, and I’ll plan for 6:30. Sunrise is 7:10, so people start showing up earlier. That’s ok, really.

My eye doctor did order the other steroid eye drop, but it’s still coming in at $75. I had checked before I had him order, and it said it would be $39, so I’m not sure what happened. I’ll pick it up either today or tomorrow.

I finished watching True Detective Season 4, and it was ok. Seeing Alaska, though, with the endless nights, was certainly strange. I can’t imagine living in that. I watched an episode of Scarpetta too.

Last night I didn’t make the nachos and ended up with an egg salad sandwich. I just didn’t feel like much. I cleaned out a few things from the freezer, though I knew we weren’t going to eat them, like some pieces of bell pepper I stuck in there and some mushrooms I froze. I don’t know why I think I’ll use them. At the time, it seemed like a good idea.

Things do get buried in the freezer drawer, that’s for sure. Do you find you freeze things thinking you’ll use them and then don’t?

Menu Monday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, camping, cooking, meal planning, travel by

Last night we had tofu burgers. Nothing fancy, just grilled tofu with condiments.

Tonight I have some asparagus to use up, so I’ll find something to pair with that. I don’t have anything defrosted for the week, so I’ll look in the freezer and see what to pull out. I decided on a pasta with lemony asparagus. That sounds springy!

Tuesday is usually Mexican-themed. I have beans I can defrost and corn chips, so I may make a platter of nachos. I have avocados and sour cream too.

Wednesday- If I defrost some chicken, I’ll do that on the BBQ grill and probably do enough for leftovers.

Thursday-leftover chicken. Maybe a cobb salad. I don’t have any bacon, but I can pick up some at the store.

Friday- Last week, I made a sourdough discard pizza dough for the pizza, and didn’t like it. We might get a takeout.

Saturday?? TBD

Then on Sunday, we’ll be heading down to Capitola, so that will involve eating out. Whenever Barclay and I went camping at New Brighton, we just went to the store and bought what we needed to make in camp. Since we’re not camping, we’ll need to figure out something.

Today is my dentist appt for a cleaning, and then I will do a few errands in town. I don’t plan on going to Roseville today, probably tomorrow.

simple Sunday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, home stuff by

We are in the midst of absolutely beautiful weather. Temperatures in the 70’s and next week will be even warmer. Global warming is certainly upon us. I don’t know if I remember such an early spring or these temperatures.

I checked on my eye drop prescription, and it was going to be $200, so I cancelled it and asked ChatGPT about alternatives, and there is one for about $40. So I will need to call the doctor’s office tomorrow and see if they can put an order in for me. There is no way I can afford $200 for a prescription.

I had a nice walk with my son yesterday. We went to the ‘rich’ people’s development that has walking trails that are open to the public. It’s much hillier than the park, but I did a bit. These houses are 2 million and up, and they’re part of a golf course community. Not my style, but the trails are paved and nice.

I started watching Scarpetta on Prime. So far, I like it. It stars Nicole Kidman. It’s based on the books.

As usual, I haven’t decided if I’m going to the gym this morning. I was out in town yesterday, so I may just stay home and chill. Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment, so I know I’ll be out and about. Sometimes that decides it for me, as I don’t like going out every day.

For next week, I plan to swim at least once and then go to the Mahany gym at least once. I have books at the library on hold, too. I also plan to shop at Costco for a few things that are on my list: flour, Dawn Power Wash, and some misc. I wanted to get a bottle of champagne to take with us to Capitola. There is a Costco in Santa Cruz, but I’d rather not go there if I can help it, so we’ll just bring it with us.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, Gratitude by

I’m thankful all my appts are over for this week. Next week I still have the dentist for a cleaning, but that’s all then till my next Velcade.

I’m thankful, though, both appts went well. My retinal scan showed the same as before, so that was good. I mentioned again to him that I have very teary eyes, and so he tested my tear ducts and they were fine, so he’s going to try an eye drop( prescription and see if that helps.)Today

I’m enjoying this great weather by BBQing and just sitting outside for hours. I did get a bit of pruning of the wisteria done and will do a bit more today.

I’m thankful that my bills are paid for the month. Still not much left over, but I make do. Of course, with that said, I just got the renewal for car insurance that’s due in April, so it just keeps going. sigh:(

Today, I plan on staying home and then tomorrow swim. I miss the pool this week, but it just didn’t fit in at any other time.

All of our cats have had a virus that Mama cat brought in. They’ve been sneezing and sniffling. I’m hoping that it’s mostly over, but Chester seems like he’s been hit hard. They’re still eating and drinking, so that’s a good sign. My daughter is the one who would deal with the vet if necessary, but she said as long as they were eating, it was ok for now.

Well, that’s it for now. What things in your life are you grateful for? As we age, I think being thankful for good health( or as good as it can be) and mobility, and just being alive, is a good thing.

Midweek Musings

Posted in Blood test, books, budgets, California, cooking, home stuff, library by

Yesterday was quite busy but productive. I had my labs and then went upstairs at the facility I go to and had my annual wellness appt with my PCP. It all went well. I asked about my blood pressure being inconsistent, and he said we could up my Lisinopril a bit. So I’ll think about that.

From there, I decided to get a Starbucks using a gift card and then drove down to the gym. I was on the fence about going, but decided to do it. I had a few books to drop off at the library, so that motivated me. After that, I went into Winco for some veggies and odds and ends.

When I got home, I unloaded( my daughter was still home, so she did this for me) everything and chilled for a bit. After I recouped, I set out to do the kitchen zone and got that done.

Today, I have my eye scan with Dr. Dan. I’ll specifically ask not to be dilated, which should be fine as this is a retinal scan, not for glaucoma. I get this scan every 6 months to check the macular pucker.

After that, I plan on getting the VW smogged, but will wait to see how I feel after my appt. I have time yet, so it’s not urgent. I also need to go to the bank for my printout for LLS. My grant is almost depleted, so I’ll have to wait to reapply in July, but it’ll run out of money by May. You can’t apply till the grant year is over.

I used the BBQ yesterday afternoon and need to clean it up today. Plus, I need to start pruning the wisteria a bit. It already has some buds, but I can work around most of them to remove the dead branches.

Spring has sprung here. How is it where you live?

Menu Monday

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, meal planning, Uncategorized, Walking by

I write a basic menu, mostly to keep me focused and to try and use up things that need using.

Last night was simple: beans and weenies with sauerkraut.

Monday- I think I’ll do something with tofu as I have 2 packages in the fridge.

Tuesday- I’m going to pull a souper cube of chili out of the freezer.

Wednesday- Chicken of some sort, maybe chicken pot pie?

Thursday- With the weather so nice, maybe I’ll get the BBQ out. I have some potatoes, so I could make a potato salad.

Friday- It might be a pizza night, as we didn’t do that last week. I might do homemade since pizza is expensive out, but I’d need to check what I have to make it. I think I’d need to get some mozzarella.

Saturday- TBD

I know I need some veggies and salad stuff, which I’ll get at Winco. I have some bell peppers in the freezer to use.

Today, I’m going to get the car washed and then go for a walk with my daughter down at Sierra College. There are lots of trails there, so we thought we’d give it a try. We’re planning on some sort of lunch out.

I also do sheets on Monday, so there’s that plus regular daily chores.

My son is coming over after work too, so that’ll be nice.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, meal planning, Uncategorized by

I am off about timing this morning. With clocks going forward an hour, I got up at my regular time, although the clock said 6:30am. Then I went for a walk, and it was closer to 8am. So now I’m trying to figure out about going to the gym. I still need to take a shower so… we’ll see I guess.

I did a fun ChatGPT on getting my little office nook to look better. I ordered a small rug to go under my chair to help break the space up and took down some things on the wall. The pictures Chat generated were fun and helpful. Have you tried ChatGPT? I’ve used it for a number of things and it has been helpful.

I made a quiche Lorraine for dinner last night. I used the bacon crumbles from Costco. I was surprised at how good they were. I did cook them a bit to crisp up. Not sure what I’m doing for dinner tonight. I’m sure I’ll figure something out. It’s going to be another adjustment tonight. I usually always eat dinner around 6:15, so that’ll be by the clock 7:15, so not sure how I will adjust. I think I’ll plan dinner around 6:45-7, then adjust if I have to. I don’t like eating later than 7pm.

I have a busy week with 2 doctor appts and my labs. I won’t be able to get to the pool till Thursday, probably. These are just regular appts. The eye doctor is to scan my retina and see if there are any changes. That’s at 9:30, so no pool or gym by the time I’m out of there.

I need to write up some sort of menu for the week and see what I can use up. I’d like to empty the freezer a little more.

That’s about it here. The weather is beautiful, 71 degrees today.

Five on Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, frugalism, Gratitude, Uncategorized, velcade by

I slept ok last night, but at least it wasn’t the Dex sleep, which is where I sweat. Also, I don’t have the super red Dex face. Plus, I feel fairly normal. So the big question will be how my numbers will respond. 🙁

I have to drop off a return to the post office. It was a pair of sandals I thought my feet would like. No, they didn’t. I have terrible feet in that I have a high arch and need extra support. I guess I’ll just keep to Birkenstocks.

Sunday time changes, and the evenings will be nice, but mornings will be darker at 6:30am. That’s ok for now. I do just wish they would pass legislation to end daylight savings.

I plan on meeting up with my library friends for a quick coffee. I don’t want to be there too long, as there are some things I want to get done around the house. My one friend is going in for breast cancer surgery next week, so I want to say hi. Fortunately, it’s a lumpectomy and not radical. I think it’s been a bit of a shock as she is over 80, and honestly, you’d think by then nothing like this would happen.

Our warmer weather is back starting today. All next week it looks to be in the 70’s, so very nice. I may get out webi the BBQ and do something.

I’ve been having fun getting my orchids to rebloom. I usually toss them after they dry up or look awful, but this time I watched some YouTube channels on getting them to rebloom. I ordered some orchid mix to try and repot them, too. I have a few buds on some, so I’ll be excited if it actually works.

I guess that’s six!