Mid-week Musings

Posted in budgets, California, canning tomato salsa, cooking, meal planning by

Gee, another thank you to a subscriber for a donation. I’m very humbled that someone is thinking of me and making a contribution to my blog/me.

Growing up very poor, I think receiving things, i.e., money or donations, is hard for me because I probably still have some issues. That said, I am grateful for the kindness shown. I remember being mortified at having to get ‘free’ lunches in elementary school.

So yesterday was busy with canning pinto and black beans. I know I said I wasn’t going to do it anymore, but… Part of the reason was I had listed the All American on Marketplace and only got very low-ball offers, so I nixed that and decided I’ll do what I can when I can. I wasn’t going to ‘give’ it away. Thus, I canned the beans, which we use regularly anyway.

But it does take up a chunk of time. About 3-4 hours in all.

After that, I zoomed into town to get the LLS form from the bank and then came home. I started cleaning up the kitchen and put things away. In the past, Barclay always did my cleaning up for me. sigh 🙁

I also washed my sheets, and since I only have one set of sheets, I have to wash them, dry them, and then put them back on the bed. My sheets are linen, which I love, but they’re around 5 years old, and I saw some areas that are showing wear. So I may need to get some new ones. These were from Amazon, and when I checked, they seemed to be about the same price, around $125. But I’m not ready to do that yet.

Today, I’m going to Costco to get the stuff my daughter didn’t pick up, specifically eggs, coffee, and some fruit. It shouldn’t take too long, and I plan to go when they open, as that is executive time.

Then once I’m back home, I need to do a tidy up and see what needs doing.

Menu Monday, a little late!

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, freezer cooking, medicare, Uncategorized by

First, a thank you to a subscriber who donated to my’ Buy me a coffee’. I was quite excited as this was unexpected and, of course, welcome. So thank you, very generous of you.

Last night we had nachos with beans, some beef, sour cream, avocado and salsa.

Tonight, I’m doing a Costco Veg barley soup with a cheese toastie.

Tuesday, not sure. This is my daughter’s late night, so something easy, maybe quesadillas. I still have some avocados, so that could work.

Wednesday, I have a freezer meal to use up, of orange chicken with rice.

Thursday, I think I’ll do some pasta with meatballs. I’ve been feeling like spaghetti. I have sauce I made in the freezer.

Friday, we did the takeout last week, so not doing that again. Maybe if it’s nice out, I can BBQ some chicken.

Yesterday, I went down to Mahany gym and did my weights. Then dropped off my books at the library. I considered going to Costco, but didn’t feel like it. I came home and baked the sourdough that was bulk fermenting in the fridge.

Today, I need to go to the bank and get my LLS. I’ve been putting it off, so today is the day. I might stop at Goodwill, which is in the same area.

I have some beans soaking, and I plan on processing them today. I soaked pinto and black beans, so we’ll see how it goes. We do like our beans, and especially Rancho Gordo beans. They have a new storefront in Napa if you’re in the area. I’m looking forward to going. Napa is only an hour and a half away, even a little less when there’s low traffic. So it could be a day trip. That would be fun for my daughter and me to do.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California by

Wow, are we getting the rain and thunder and lightning!!

We had rain all day yesterday and last night. I checked this morning to see if I could get a walk in, but it’s still raining. If I go to the Auburn gym, I’ll use the treadmill.

Update: I went to the gym and used the treadmill, and did weights.

Yesterday was low-key, and I didn’t seem to get much accomplished. That’s ok. I did do some laundry and tidied up some. For dinner, I pulled some rotisserie chicken from the freezer, and we had that with sweet potatoes and stuffing. It was an easy meal. Today, I’ll work on the menu ideas for the week.

This coming week, I have my appt with Dr. L in Sacramento. I plan on going to that and straight home. If I need to go to Costco, I may add that in, but I think my daughter will go to Costco so she can get a case of water and other things. I can’t lift the water, so she does that for me. I need a few basics like eggs, flour, butter( on sale), and a few other things. I’m going to try to keep it minimal.

I also need to go to the bank and get my LLS form to submit. My grant will run out next month, so I’ll need to be able to handle the insurance myself until I can reapply in July. I am grateful for the grant and LLS.

I’m assuming I’ll meet with the estate planner later this week as well. She submits it to the county recorder, though, so I don’t need to do that. One more thing checked off the list.

Sort of Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, frugalism, home stuff, swimming by

That’s mostly due to the cost of having the trust redone in my name. It’s actually reasonable at $300 plus county recorder fees. It should be done late next week. I’m not sure it was all that necessary but I feel better knowing it’s done.

We had incredible thunder and lightning last night and a huge amount of rain. It’s over for now, and only a sprinkle is happening.

Update: it’s pouring down rain.!!!

I decided to go to the pool and not the gym. I really would like to up my swimming. I popped over to Winco and spent $60, but $10 was on wine. I’m not sure where my grocery total is, but I think it’s low. I just did a rough tally, and I’m at $300 with another week or so to go. Some of that was Costco and long-term food items, so that evens out the costs.

I was able to throw a few extra dollars on the cc, so that felt good. Probably by the time I catch up, the next round of annual bills will show up. sigh:( Oh well, such is life at this point.

I’ve been using the new Rubbermaid containers, and I really like them. I can see what is inside each one. I did a bunch of food prep yesterday and used them. What I haven’t been using is the Chef Preserve that I bought. It’s like a hand-held vacuum sealer. I’ll probably see if I can sell it on Marketplace. The idea is great, but the usage is not so much. That’s ok, I’m all about trying new things when it seems like it will help. It wasn’t expensive, costing about $60. still …

That’s about it on the frugal side of things. How is your frugal life going? Where do you save money?

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, Gratitude by

I am thankful my kappa light chains at least went down a little, 2 points. So that does show the Dex had some influence. At least there’s no increase, so I’ll take it.

I’m thankful for a day to be home and do some more reorganizing. I’ve made some progress. I’m also going to see an estate planner today to find out what needs to be done for the trust. She is not an attorney, but a legal aide( or something). Still I hope to get what I need to file the trust with just my name on it.

I’m thankful to see the new baby geese at the park. they must have just hatched.

There are way fewer pairs of geese this year, so it makes me wonder if the park is doing something to keep them away?

I am relieved and thankful that the AAA house insurance and Fair plan got figured out, and now have me as the insured. What a PITA>:(

In the whole political arena, it is such a shit show with the orange idiot saying he’s going to wipe out an entire civilization. Why doesn’t someone do something about him? It’s a disgrace for our country. Well, there’s nothing I’m thankful for there, that’s for sure.

I started watching a fun show my son recommended called Resident Alien. It’s on Netflix and really is quite funny. If you’re looking for something new, that could be it. I need a break from the intense ones like Dark Winds, which I adored.

A bit of catch up!

Posted in Blood test, books, budgets, California, cancer, cooking, decluttering, home stuff, Pantry by

The days have been busy, which is good.

I went to the gym on Sunday and then did some decluttering when I got home. I have a bag of books to take to the pet bookstore and a bag of odds and ends to go to Goodwill.

Monday, I continued decluttering out in the garden shed and a utensil drawer in the kitchen. I looked at things I’m not using, as I prefer to not have single-use things. I wrote out the menu ideas for the week too.

Mostly, using things I have in the freezer /pantry, which included using up the turkey chili, a box of cornbread mix, a jar of home-canned kidney beans, and some ends of cheese( cheddar and comte) to make a baked macaroni. Today I plan to prep what veggies I have and put them in glass containers. I have broccoli, beets, spinach, some lettuce, and carrots. I’m sure I’ve missed a few. My plan is to wash and put them in containers so I can see what I need to use. Too often, things in those new produce bags just get pushed behind things, and I don’t see them ( refrigerator blindness). To help, I ordered some containers from Amazon. They’re the brilliance Rubbermaid. Costco has these occasionally, but not right now.

We also had leftover Easter tofu, potato salad, and deli ham. I didn’t buy a ham since that would be too much for us, so I got some sliced ham, and it worked fine as a side dish. ( We mostly want the southern fried tofu with tartar sauce.)

Rest of the Week menu ideas:

BBQ chicken

One freezer meal

Bean burritos with toppings. This will use a can of refried beans in the pantry, and some of the toppings will use things up, too.

a pizza night

Orange chicken with rice and broccoli

TBD

After my labs on Monday, I went and got the Santa Fe smogged, so that’s done.

Tuesday, I headed to the pool, and it was quite mellow. I stopped and got some cash from the teller, as I want to give my son a few dollars to help offset the cost of the weed eater and the motorcycle class. I also stopped at Winco for spinach, broccoli, bananas, and a few other things. It was less than $40.

I haven’t gotten my kappa light chains back yet, but my other labs are all about the same. We’ll see:)

Update: just got them and they did go down 2 points. Not a lot and I hoped for more, but I’ll take it.

Today, I plan on getting the thrift stuff organized and put in the back of the car. Then I’ll go to town and drop some stuff off. I do have a big bag of books to go also.

I got the notice of the Fair Plan being changed, so that was good news. But paying for the new auto insurance added to my credit card balance, so be it for now. I just don’t have the income to pay it from my regular accounts. I think the only other annual bills coming up are DMV for Rubi and the truck in June. That’ll give me some time to concentrate on paying more of the CC stuff over a few months. sigh:( Still, I’m thrilled the auto insurance was reduced from the Allstate quote.

The rest of the week is open, so I’ll figure out whether I’ll do another swim or go to the gym. Because of gas prices, I’ll pick one or the other.

These are roses from the back yard area and the California poppies are in the front of the house.

Simple Sunday and Happy Easter

Posted in Blood test, budgets, California, cooking, home stuff, seasonal things by

For those who celebrate, happy Easter. For me, it’s more about celebrating spring! Our lilacs are in full bloom and lovely. The daffodils are all done, and most of the wisteria is too. But everything is growing like crazy. My daughter is weed-eating every day. All the lavender plants are buzzing with bees.

My son did get a gas-powered weed eater on Marketplace, so that will help when he can get here to do it. I told him I’d pay half of it. This weekend, he’s doing the community college motorcycle class, which is very intensive. But if he’s going to drive the Triumph, he needs all the safety stuff. But it’s a 3 day class so he’s finishing that today.

I made it through most of my Dex stuff and was ok. My blood pressure is always a little high on Dex, but that’s normal, and it should go back to my general range today.

I didn’t drive yesterday except to the park to walk and then the market for some things for our little feast today. It’s only S and me, but I’ll do the southern fried tofu, and I made the potato salad yesterday.

There’s always the firsts after someone dies, and this is the first Easter without Barclay. Our local community center is selling bricks with names on them, so I bought one that says in memory of. I’m not sure when they’ll come in, but it will be a nice remembrance.

Tomorrow I have labs, and it’s a double whammy as it’s also the labs for my PCP. Those are my lipid tests and thyroid. It’ll be quite a few vials, I imagine. After that, I’ll decide either to come home or head down to the gym/pool. With gas prices so outrageous, I do need to be aware of how much I can get there. Even Costco gas is near $6 a gallon, so that’s steep.

I also need to get the Santa Fe smogged, so I have to plan what day I’m going to do that. I could do that after my labs. I’ll have to check what time they open. That’s an extra expense, and so are the DMV fees. Hopefully, I can get caught up by the end of April. 🙁

Last week, I gave away another 2 boxes of canning jars, and I think I’m going to relist my canner and see if I can sell that. Last time I tried, I had zero interest. But it’s spring now, and canning season will start soon. I’ve thought about getting the electric pressure canner, but I just don’t see that as cost-effective for just the two of us. I do love canning, but there is the cost, and then storing the jars, etc. So, I think I’m at peace with letting it go. If it doesn’t sell, it can just sit on the shelf.

Another orchid, but this is one I just bought at Trader Joe’s. i have at least 3 more I’m hoping will rebloom. TJ’s and Costco are the best places to buy orchids. I love them because they last forever.

Five on Friday

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, library, plants by

After my Velcade shot, I went down to the library and dropped off my books and picked up a new cookbook and a new Patterson. Traffic was weirdly light, so I’m guessing it’s the school’s spring break. Then I came home and did a few things.

I got the sourdough in the oven to bake. This loaf did ‘spring’ much, and I’m guessing my starter was strong enough. It still tasted good, though. I feed my starter and will probably do one more before I use it again.

Then I prepped for dinner by making oven bacon( while the sourdough was cooking. I had planned on BLTs with avocado for dinner. I had gotten Dave’s White bread at Costco because it was on a coupon, so I used that.

After a while, I took Dex and lay down for a bit. Dex doesn’t really kick in for a few hours. It was quite windy out, so I didn’t sit out very long. Today the temperature is around 70, so I should be able to sit out on the patio some.

Since it’s a dex day, I usually do those little things I see that need doing. The spot on the wall, the dust in a corner. Weirdly, Dex makes me so focused, and yet I won’t drive. Go figure. The only admin thing I need to do is call Allstate and cancel the auto insurance. I’ll do that in a bit.

My new fun hobby is getting orchids to rebloom. These took over 6 months, but I did get some!

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, Death, Gratitude, velcade by

Well, after spending more than 2 hours at the AAA office and running over to the county recorder’s office, most of the problem is handled. The young man helping me was spectacular and really handled the issue well and with confidence. We still need to wait 5 days for them( California Fair Plan) to process and approve. Why wouldn’t they? But who knows, they needed not only the death certificate but the trust record, hence the trip over to the recorder’s office. Hopefully that’s all. What a pain in the ass.

So I am thankful I followed through, and it’s done( I hope). Nothing will change with the mortgage, even with his name still on the loan. (As far as I can gather, it can stay there, and the loan remains the same. I think from what AI said, it would take doing a ‘new mortgage’ to do that, and I am completely not willing to do that. I will need to have an estate lawyer update the trust, though with just my name, but I’ll get to that eventually.

I’m thankful I got a swim in, and when I got there, it was not super busy, but later it did get very busy.

After the pool, I went to Costco for coffee, and I saw more lavender plants, so I bought just one. I also picked up the Dawn power wash, some breaded chicken on sale, and some Easter chocolates.

My Velcade is this morning, and I’m grateful it’s not raining. It was raining quite a bit yesterday, and driving in the rain is not my favorite thing to do. After my shot, I plan on going down to the library and dropping off the books because they are due in a few days. I won’t use the gym as I usually don’t try to exercise after the chemo is in my system.

From there. I’ll come home and tidy up a bit. My daughter leaves for work early, so usually there is stuff to do, like emptying the dishwasher. Otherwise, same old same old.

Does it ever go as planned?

Posted in Uncategorized by

So, yesterday in the mail was a notice that the request I had for our California fair plan insurance couldn’t be processed. The request was to take Barclay off the insurance and just have me. We are both listed. So the letter says, now this is really funny if I wasn’t so pissed off at it, Barclay must sign the quick deed to release something or other???? Oh, right, did you not get the memo that HE’S DEAD!!!

So my plans today are scrapped, and I’m going into the AAA office to see what they say. Maybe just leave him on it, as it makes no difference really. But I was trying to do a few more admin things, and this was one.

When I checked with Chat GPT about the mortgage, it said it can’t be changed unless I get a new mortgage, which I am definitely NOT doing, so maybe insurance is the same.

When I originally called about this, I told the agent the whole story, B died, blah, blah, blah… well, apparently that memo was lost, so now I’ll just have to see what to do, but I’m leaning toward just leaving the damn thing as it is.

I guess I’ll find out.