Frugal Friday

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, cooking, frugalism, library, LLS, swimming by

Since this was the first week of my May Budget we didn’t spend much. Costco we were able to use our rebate of $117 so that helped. The total was $345. So the breakdown was $190 for food, $109 non food, and $46 for alcohol which was B’s Sierra Pale Ale at $30 which comes out of his personal money, and $16 for 2 rose Proseccos. this was all paid with cash from my envelopes.

It was a lot of food and much of it will last more than 2 weeks.

We filled up with Costco gas which is the cheapest around. I’m trying to keep the tank at least half full.

After infusion yesterday, I added in the trip to the library to get my holds. I had 8. I was thrilled to see a brand new copy of Hannah Kristen’s The Women. I’m excited to start that. I thought of going into the gym but felt after infusion, to skip it. Just for reference, the gym is right next to the library.

We bought some tacos on the way back from Costco so we didn’t come home starving. I think that was $21. but I had 2 things, B had 2 things and a milkshake and I brought home a burrito for my daughter. Other than that no eating out. I did meet up for a coffee at our local cafe with my library buddies though.

Today is dex day so a home day for me. I don’t walk on Dex mornings as my BP is up and my breathing is affected( sort of shortness of breath). I have the sourdough boule in the oven already and plan to make a chicken salad with cranberries and pecans later.

Last night I made a brinner of scrambled eggs with Bourison, fried potatoes with mushrooms topped with cheese, buttermilk biscuits, and strawberries on the side.

It’s cloudy today and we might have a few sprinkles.

We finished Season 10 of Doc Martin( the final one). It was ok. Nothing too new but fun to see Portwenn. We’re still working on Lynley which I do like.

I did buy a new swimcap from Amazon. My old one was from when we went to Florida for UNFI’s awards and there was a saltwater pool that I swam in. So that’s 2016 I think. Actually, it may be older but I can’t place it. I won’t be back in the water till next week because tomorrow is still a no-drive day.

Budget wise all the bills are accounted for in May. Once my LLS comes in I’ll make another cc payment to get the Allstate insurance paid off. My award ends in June so I hope there is funding available. Last time it took almost 3 months.

I go for my labs on Monday so I do plan on driving down to Maheny (gym) after that. The pool is too close as it closes for laps at 9:25.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, California, cooking, Gratitude, library, reading, Uncategorized, Walking by

I’m thankful B was with me to do the Costco shopping. The cart was fairly full so it made it tricky. Mostly because we added TP, paper towels and bleach all of which are bulky. We bought a lot of fresh veggies, salad paks, fruit, and mostly food items. Oh, we picked up the 3 pack of geraniums which were a great price. ( 13.99)

I’m thankful swimming is almost back to normal. I’m doing around 35 minutes so I have to add another 5-10 to be back where I was. Actually, I’m fine with doing just the 35. I also like the later time. It’s more relaxed. By 9 am there are even lanes open, so I may try and push out getting there to 8: 40.

I’m thankful my son’s upcoming move is progressing. He and his partner are making their final decision about an apartment this weekend. Apparently, the rental market in Sacramento is very competitive and they have missed out on a few. It’s exciting for him and a big step. He will keep all his tools, crafts, etc in the barn, which is fine. I’ll miss him though. 😦

I’m thankful for all the small things in my life that help keep it simple. Routines I enjoy daily, always getting up early (5:30 or earlier), cooking, meal planning, and walking. I’m thankful for those small things.

I’m very grateful for the public library system. Roseville’s library is exemplary. I’m going today to pick up my holds. I think I have 10. Yippee!!!

Monday Musings

Posted in bread, California by

I’m baking another loaf of the Lost Dutchman’s sourdough. The baguette came out wonderful. This one is probably overinflated so it may not poof up. That’s okay. I have lots of starter and it’s really active. It did take almost 4 days to get fully active again so that’s something to keep in mind.

Today I’m meeting my library friends for coffee. One is recently widowed( from myeloma) and the other’s husband is in treatment for myeloma. Very strange.

This week is Velcade so that shifts how my week goes. And then in May, I have my colonoscopy. So that will change my week for sure. But you gotta do what you gotta do. Or, the fun of getting older. 😦

On the menu this week is

  • white bean soup with homemade bread ( the beans are Marcella from Rancho Gordo
  • grilled chicken/veggie burger with potato salad
  • falafels in pita bread or just tortillas if I don’t get to Trader Joes.
  • pesto ( from last summer) pasta and a salad of some sort
  • pizza night(maybe a frozen one if I’m lazy)
  • grilled shrimp with some rice or pasta
  • ?? something from the freezer or??

We’ve been eating out on the patio which we do all summer. Right now the weather is perfect.

I repotted a fiddle leaf fig yesterday, hoping it will spur it on to put out some new leaves. Does anyone have tips for that? I bought this large fiddle leaf from the nursery but it hasn’t put out any new growth at all.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, budgeting, California, cash envelopes, home improvement, home stuff by

A lovely walk this morning. Quiet and no one there to begin with. One person showed up later but we were leaving by then.

I got another loaf( baguette style) of sourdough ready to go. I put it in the oven and set the timer so B could take it out. I was heading into the Auburn gym. I did my usual 30 minutes and then went over to Target. I rarely shop at Target anymore but I need stainless wipes( I use Weiman’s and think this is the best product I’ve tried) and their sliced cheeses are also very good and affordable. I think ice cream snuck into my cart because it was on sale. Usually, I just call all this a Target trip but this time I’m going to separate the categories and subtract them from my cash envelopes. I think that’ll keep the categories more accurate.

After I got home, I checked the bread and it came out great.

I do have a baguette pan so that does help.

The only thing I did differently is I didn’t add that much more flour after the first rise. I added maybe a cup.

I think I’ll try this one next.

I found this really fun cookbook at the FreeLittle Library and it’s a gem. Lots of stories and the book is divided by cities and regions with lots of history.

Last night I made Tucson Crispy Tacos. They were yummy. This recipe calls for frying the corn tortillas till crisp and then fold over. It actually worked great.

Tonight I’m going to make Chile relleno casserole. I have made recipes like this before. That seems like a lot of cheese so I’ll probably do 1/2 that.

B got the trim off the bathroom window. It did, as with everything, take longer.

Those boards are the original when the house was built and are all rough-cut fir. They are not standard sizes and very thick. It looks like there had been some water damage previously but I don’t think B is going to try and pull all that out. that would be too involved and mostly it looks like surface damage. He may try using some Tyvec.

Anyway, it’s a start!

We have another warm sunny day here in Northern California and it’s quite lovely.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgets, California, camping, cash envelopes, frugalism, home stuff, travel by

Overall, a frugal week with just the basics being bought. I didn’t go to the store after shopping last Sunday at Holiday Market. I think I spent $80 including wine, lunch stuff and to use the 2 coupons for free stuff for April. The coupons were for a salad pack and olive oil. B went to Safeway the other day for milk and cream.

Today after the gym, I was going to go to Taco Tree but decided to just come home and have leftover lasagna.

All our meals were used and tonight is homemade pizza ( I think). I’ll get it ready( defrosting the pizza dough) but I might change the plan to something lighter.

I’ve got May’s budget almost done. I just need to tweak a few things. Rubi’s insurance is due in May so I need to put that in. I didn’t have that figured into my cash envelopes so I’ll add one for that for next year.

In May we only have 1 camping trip to Tahoe and that’s at the end of the month. We’re still planning on going ahead with the bathroom so that will have to be accounted for. We’re starting with a new window and then we’ll go to the one wall that needs to be opened up for a plumber to do piping. Of course, that means the claw foot tub will need to come out. When that happens, we’ll have to be using the RV shower. I imagine the whole thing is going to take longer than we think especially since B will be doing most of it.

This weekend is open and I won’t go to the pool tomorrow. I’d like to go to the nursery if anything, to get some plants.

The cherry tree has really exploded into bloom!! the bees are loving it and the whole thing is humming.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cooking, Gratitude, knee injury, pets, pets,cats,dogs,, swimming, Walking by

I’m so thankful my knee is doing so much better. I’m able to do almost everything without pain. I’m still only walking 1 + mile but I’m grateful for that. This morning on our walk, I added one extra loop around the school parking lot. That put me 1.2 miles, so I’m jazzed about that. I went to the pool yesterday and swam for @35 minutes. I’m not back to 45 but 30 is a good enough time in the water.

I’m thankful for the beautiful morning with sunrise quite early.( 6:21). It was almost too bright for my eyes which is one reason I walk in predawn light. I guess since sunrise is going to continue getting earlier, we’ll need to adjust and walk maybe 15 minutes earlier.

I’m grateful to be able to do some canning this morning. I have kidney beans I’m pressure-canning. I also plan on doing cannellini (white beans) soon. Beans seem to be the thing we’re using the most. It does take some time and you never want to leave a pressure canner unattended. I usually sit where I can hear the juggle and make sure it’s doing its thing. Pint jars take 75 minutes after the 10-minute air valve release.

I’m grateful to be where I am at this stage of life. My life is simple and filled with just the right amount of activity. I’m grateful I started my decluttering /minimalist journey years ago and don’t really need to do the Swedish Death cleaning. I’m sure after I’m gone there will be still lots of stuff my daughter/son won’t want. They may not want the 1950’s Heywood furniture. That’s ok, it’ll be primarily my daughter’s house. The barn is pretty much my son’s hoarder, oops, craft, tools, and everything else place. He does have a lot of bins of things:( Oh well, that’s his choice.

Here’s some fun photos of the kitties enjoying the Birthday box from Chewy!!!

That’s Bean!

Very strange Cherry!!

Spring Flowers

Posted in books, California, Gardening, home stuff by

Our yard is pretty right now with everything so green and lots of different blooms.

Above is the Rhode Island Greening apple tree. I wonder if we’ll get apples this year. We only bought this about a year ago so I’m not sure.

Lots of California poppies. I tried for years to get them to grow here but finally, my daughter, the gardener, got some to grow and once they start, they will spread.

Here’s the white camellia tree. This is the only original plant from when we moved here.

I’m not sure how old it is but probably over 50 years. It is of unknown variety but again probably one that doesn’t exist as such anymore. Where the Buddha is, is where Ollie and Winnie are buried. I still miss them.

Here’s handsome Gus though!!! He’s a very big cat and such a baby!!

This is the fence with wisteria. It’s about to burst!!

A redbud in bloom.

This came as a twig and my daughter got it to grow in a pot and then now in the ground.

This is part of the cherry tree. This is a fruit-bearing tree but the birds get them before we do.

This is the eucalyptus I bought last year. It’s still in a pot. It’s putting out some nice new growth.

this is English lavender. The stalks are different from French lavender.

All the Japanese maples are leafed out and look pretty. Again, my daughter has planted probably 25 Japanese maples around the property. Mostly they come up as seedlings around the big one we have. That one we brought with us from Foresthill was probably 5 years old then.

Yesterday I went to the gym and library and both were good. Not too busy. Today is a home day and I plan on doing a few organizing things, cooking the turkey chili, and reading some.

Barclay plans to start on the bathroom window this week. Well, I guess he needs to go buy it first and then he’ll start. I’m still not sure what we should do about the tub. It all seems a bit overwhelming. But I guess we’ll figure it out.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, books, California, camping, cooking, Flylady, library, meal planning, Myeloma, simple foods, travel, Uncategorized by

Our drive home yesterday was rainy part of the way. Traffic was not too bad and we made it home by 2pm. Everything was good at home and the house was tidy. Of course, it was mostly only my daughter home because my son was off camping with his partner. He got home Wednesday.

We woke at ‘camp time’. Err, later than normal. I woke at 6am which is normally our walk time. I just figured,’ Oh well’, tomorrow is another day. I planned on doing the kitchen zone, bathroom zone, and bedroom zone. They are all done now.

I also did not plan to go to the Auburn gym as I wanted to do the zone cleaning.

I planned some meals for the week. Spaghetti with sauce, turkey chili with home canned beans, a soup night, a pizza night, a fish night, and a taco/burrito night. I’m keeping my menu plans that I write out and will write a monthly one soon. The monthly one is really for reference only as I pretty much plan many of the same meals over and over. Occasionally, I like to do a new recipe but most of them don’t make the cut for regular rotations.

This week is a mellow week with no appts. I plan on the gym, library, and swimming. Next week I have Velcade/Dex, so not looking forward to the Dex again. BUT, GREAT NEWS!!! My numbers came back in the normal range even with a tiny drop. Kappa light chains at 18.6. I’m over the moon and will continue to persevere. If my numbers stay in range by fall, I might ask about going completely off Velcade, but for now, it is what it is.

Right now it’s still cloudy but the rest of the week looks sunny and beautiful. All the trees are leafed out and I’m sure more will be out this week with 70-degree weather. the wisteria is ready to burst into bloom. All the daffodils are done. But other things are starting to bloom, rosemary, apple trees, redbuds, and the cherry tree.

I’m off to make some banana bread and then look at what books I have left from the library to read.

Thankful Thursday and Frugal Friday

Posted in budgets, California, camping, Gratitude, home stuff, swimming, travel, Uncategorized, Walking by

I’m certainly thankful we had an uneventful and safe trip down here to Capitola. Overall traffic wasn’t too bad even through San Jose. We arrived to find traffic though completely backed up going into Capitola. So from Santa Cruz to New Brighton, it took forever to go 2 miles due to construction.

We made it still a little after one only to be told the new regulations were no checking in before 2pm. I told the guy( park worker) that we had always been able to check in early. His response was so rude, he turned to get our plate # and said” Why are people always lying to me”. I was pretty shocked. So we drove down to the beach parking and waited till 2pm. Then we, along with 6 other RVs, checked in and then we still had to wait for RVs to back into spots. Terrible system and not efficient.

Regardless, I’m thankful it was a beautiful day and we got set up and relaxed.

We love our little ‘Rubi’. And I’m so grateful trailering has gone easy and we have a bathroom.

We headed out on Tuesday to go to Gayle’s for a croissant and coffee. I also bought a loaf of their Jewish rye bread which is one of my favorite. Then we went to the local Anytime gym for a workout. I’m grateful it is free to us and gives us a chance to strengthen our muscles. From there we headed to Trader Joe’s in Capitola, not Santa Cruz. We were surprised there was one on this side of Santa Cruz and boy, was it nice. A really beautiful store, big and well laid out as most Trader Joe’s are. We loaded up on food, a plant for outside Rubi, and some candles I’ve been wanting. Not too frugal but not much more than a regular weekly shop. Overall, a fun morning. Then we came back to camp and just relaxed.

Wednesday we discovered the Simpkins Swim Center. Oh my, it was wonderful. I was really ecstatic to swim. It’s a huge outdoor pool heated. What a find. I’m so grateful for cities that provide these amazing places. We paid $5.00 to swim.

Overall, we have been frugal where we can. We decided to do a day trip up to Half Moon Bay which is about an hour from here. We’ve actually never seen that part of Hwy 1. It’s quite beautiful with loads of State Beaches along the way. We had a nice lunch at the very well-known fish place, Sam’s. It was good but not as good as Fishetarian in Bodega Bay. From there we just took our time getting back to Capitola and once again hit the traffic snarl in Capitola.

We’ve kept our meals simple. Last night we had scrambled Mexican tofu on tortillas with salad. I’m not sure what we’ll do tonight but I’d like to get a pizza night in.

Sadly, on the home front, we had raccoons get 2 chickens because no one was home. They were in their yard but it wasn’t closed so there it is. Raccoons are always looking for opportunities and there it was. I feel really bad for the girls because we have been so careful and here it is just one night and this happens. My daughter who was working late just missed getting them in. She got home right after and I’m sure felt awful. Well, we know we don’t want chickens again but still it makes me sad.

This is Half Moon Bay. You can see that rock barrier if you look carefully. There were numerous ones on each side of the Bay.

Today, we’re going to walk and then go over to Gayles for a bit. The weather has been picture perfect. Today though, we’re in for a 20 degree drop in temperature and some rain overnight.

I don’t think we’ll go back to the pool as we’re both a little tired, so a day to rest sounds good.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, camping, swimming, travel by

I went to the pool yesterday and was surprised that it was not crazy busy. Saturdays are definitely hit or miss with being busy. I didn’t do anything afterward, just came home.

This morning I went to the Auburn gym and it was somewhat busy but I just did my thing and left. Then I went to Safeway to get wine, deli sandwich stuff, bread, and some snacks to leave at home. I don’t have anything I need to do around the house so I will get my clothes ready for tomorrow and organize the food a little more.

Capitola is a good 4 1/2 hours trailering so we’ll probably leave around 9am. We also stop at the 2-hour mark for gas and to stretch.

The week ahead looks just great weather-wise. Temperatures are in the 70’s and sunny!! Spring has sprung!!