Monthly Archives: September 2018

Good news and other things.

Posted in Blood test, bread, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

I finally got my lab results. Kappa light chains went up a point to 14.3, Lambda went up a point to 12.3, the ratio (important) went down to 1.16. So I am still in a great remission and I couldn’t be happier.  Another month to add to remission. YAAAAAY!!!

I also had my mammogram and it was all good.  I skipped last year and probably will skip next year too.  They used the new 3 -d imaging and it really was remarkable technology.

I had my flu shot and did have a fever reaction( not unusual). Thankfully it was at night and didn’t last too long. I usually do have a slight fever, but this was chills and then a stronger fever.  Perhaps the strain was different and my immune system reacted. It wasn’t the dose for those over 65 as the pharmacy hadn’t received those yet.

So the continuing saga of my name change. I decided to go down to the Legal Clinic in Roseville for advice on how to fill in the forms. So I read it’s only open 9-12. So off I go. I get there( after getting completely lost), and go thru security and the deputy asks if I have an appt. So I say no, I thought it was all walk-in.  Oh well, after looking around at the masses waiting with appts, I just let came home and booked the appointment for this coming week. So another trip to Roseville.  Then to file it’s almost $500 and it has to be published in a paper for 4 consecutive weeks. So it’s going to be a while.

The fall weather is definitely here and we even have a chance of rain next week. It’s also way cooler today.  WE’ll need to have some small wood for the wood stove ready as I think we will need ‘a twinkly fire’ as I call them.

Our neighbor’s house is for sale at $399,999. It’s a 3 bedroom 2 bath. It’s on the smaller side of 1400 sq feet although that is a lot bigger than ours. It’s a nice piece of property but not a lot of usable land it’s mostly a hill. But I think it will sell quickly as we are right in town within walking of the PO, store, cafe, park etc. I just hope it’s not obnoxious neighbors.  The man who lived there( and is now dead), was a real asshole. He tried sueing all the neighbors( not us) because the road is actually on his property but of course we all have easements. But there were many yelling matches with this man and the Sheriff was called in numerous times. As he got older and he did lose the lawsuit, he backed off but was still a complete jerk. In the end, the EMT’s were at his house 2-3 times a week before he finally went into care.  Well, it’s a new chapter and I guess we will see.

 

I’m making a minestrone with the very last of our tomatoes and zucchini and whatever else I can get in there. Plus I’m going to roast a chicken in the oven. I made another loaf of bread the other day and this time used 1/3 whole wheat and it was really nice. Having the bread knife so sharp I can slice real sandwich slices. Very exciting is this life of mine!!!-

Tell-me-what-is-it-you-plan-to-do-with-your-one-wild-and-precious-lifeMake Bread!! Walk!!! Cook!! Read!!! Drink Wine!! (not in that order, but maybe!!!

Simplifying even more…

Posted in Blood test, camping, Death, decluttering, simplicity, Uncategorized by

While we were camping we went thru the tent trailer an got rid of all the weird kitchen stuff I had in there. A whole box worth. I mean really, am I going to use a vegetable peeler while camping?? Plus, we took out a box of dishes as we really only use the same 2 over and over. We probably eliminated 3 boxes of stuff including some clothes that were for “just in case’.  That was really great to do. It’s all dropped off at the Goodwill and I didn’t even go back thru to see whether I wanted it in the house.

I started making some homemade bread again. I used the Zojirushi to make the dough and then bake in my bread pan. My daughter got me a fancy new bread knife for my birthday so I had to make bread. It was amazing to cut the bread. It sliced thru like soft butter.  It always surprises me how having a good tool for cooking or like a sharp knife makes cooking so much better. I don’t use a lot of fancy tools but what I have does make the job of cooking so much better.

Recently, I got rid of our rice maker and started using my Le Creuset.  Organic long grain white rice takes only 18 minutes and then let sit for 15 minutes.  It’s actually quicker than the rice maker. So one less bulky thing in the kitchen.

Yesterday i cleaned out more pantry stuff. I have a good size bag to give to the food bank.

I had my labs Monday but no results yet so I’m guessing he’s out of town. That’s the only time when my esults get delayed. I’ll wait till Thursday then I’ll call his nurse.

Today I’m washing the white couch covers as this week is the living room zone.  I also need to do the outside window as I do these quarterly.

The garden is done and I am done with canning tomatoes. There are still some apples but they can wait. Last night we had butternut squash soup with our very own butternut squash. I also made a spaghetti squash and had that with butter and sage.

An old friend from my ‘metaphysical’years got a hold of me last week. It was nice to reconnect. Her sister had just died and I think it caused her to do some thinking about times gone by. We plan on getting together in a few weeks. She lives in Reno so not too far away. I will drive up for lunch!!

 

 

Book Review update, especially about transgender issues!!

Posted in books, Uncategorized by

I finished ‘Tahoe Skydrop’ and just want to add an addendum to my review the other day.

The character that gets kidnapped is an 11-year-old computer whiz kid. Jon is also transgender. Todd Borg writes about this character in an empathetic and descriptive way. He really brings out the issue of transgender in a knowledgeable way. Jon is born in a male body but identifies as a girl. In the story she becomes Jonni.

I just want to give a huge Shout out to Todd Borg to write about this issue in a way that really cuts to the chase of the issue.

‘Tahoe Skydrop’

Posted in books, Uncategorized by

T Skydrop front cover.jpg

Todd Borg is a local author who writes amazing suspense and murder mysteries. This one is his 16th book. I have read them all and love each one. His main character Owen McKenna is a person you would want to know and then there’s his sidekick Spot, who is a harlequin Great Dane.

I love reading about the Tahoe area and I always learn something new.

Thanks, Todd Borg for these great books and hope to meet you sometime.

This one was just released but be sure to start at the beginning. They will take you to Tahoe even if you never visit.

Greetings from beautiful Lake Tahoe

Posted in camping, Lake tahoe, Uncategorized by

It is really beautiful here. Lovely low 70’s during the day and chilly at night @35.

Fortunately, we have a heater plus we’re having fires in the evening(when it’s not windy) and the morning.IMG_0522

The’old folks at the beach!!

Our morning walk to the beach!!!

Last night we had our first Lodge dinner. Baked potatoes. The night before it was a red flag warning so we couldn’t do even a fire. The potatoes take a while @ 1 1/2 hours. But so cool, just pop them in and add some water.

Today, we’re going up to B’s gym and I’ll pay to be a guest. I need to do a workout.

Then we’re either going out to lunch or back to camp and chill for a while. We thought of taking out the kayaks, but the wind picks up by 11 am so that won’t work today. We’ll do that tomorrow. Yesterday, we had a nice bike ride around the area.

Tonight we’ll probably do spaghetti. Then another Lodge tomorrow.

The campground has really cleared out and people too. We’ve had a few noisy moments but nothing like in the height of the season.

 

 

Ready to go!

Posted in camping, Lake tahoe, travel, Uncategorized by

So, we have 2 kayaks on the car, 2 bikes on the car, 3 boxes of firewood, ice chests, clothes, dry foods, and the kitchen sink:)

 

We take off around 10:30 or so. We need to feed the doggies first, and I have a prescription at the post office. I need to pick up as it requires a signature.

It takes almost 2 hours with the tent trailer and weight to get to South Lake Tahoe.

And they don’t really want you checking in before 12 noon. Even when we get there they can be a little snippy. But only once before did we have to wait.

B picked up Bob Woodward’s new book’ Fear’ for me at Costco so I will start that today. I’ve been holding off till we get up there.

I’m planning to use the lodge tonight, but we’ll see.

I went to the Placer co Superior Court this week and got the papers to legally change my name to my name( ha, Ha). It’s a bit of a process and after filling out the forms which I will do after we get back, then I need to have the legal name change in the paper for 4 consecutive weeks.  I did email the jerk in NY but haven’t heard back. I want to confirm that this will release a certified birth certificate in the new order, which will be Christina Roxanne. So we shall see. I checked the passport requirements, and it does say certified BC. B thought I should just try with my old copy but I’m not sure that would fly with them as it is a very detailed procedure. That is the reason I’m doing any of this is for the passport in case we want to go over to British Columbia or on the hopes of Paris one day.

 

 

 

Midweek musings

Posted in cooking, husband, just keep walking project, Uncategorized by

Yesterday was a busy one.

I canned more applesauce (5 jars). It’s not hard work per se, just time-consuming. For this applesauce, you don’t need to peel the apples, just quarter or half and then into a big pot. Cook until tender. Then you put thru a food mill.  If you do any canning a food mill is really necessary.  Then into the sterilized jars and water bath for 20 minutes.  Overall time is about 2 1/2 hours.

I also went to the gym and then Safeway for a few things.

When I got home I decided to can the tomatoes that were ripe. Again tomatoes aren’t hard it’s just time-consuming. I plop them in boiling water so the skins loosen up and then into the food mill. The result is fairly watery but I then cook the sauce for a few hours so it thickens. Then into jars and pints take about 35 minutes. I put 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in the pints as I read the amount for quarts.  Overall time about 3 hours.

Any canners out there with advice?? I’m assuming it’s okay. It tasted fine.

By then I was kinda exhausted. But later was on a roll and cleaned out the freezer of a bunch of stuff no one is going to eat and the fridge some too.

My dishwasher was packed with pyrex containers:)

I decided to not walk this morning even though I wanted to. I just felt tired and not too enthused to head out. Tomorrow will be fine. Plus I’m back to 5 days a week and my foot feels a lot better. Some days I feel some stress on the top of my foot where the fracture was.

Today, I’m going to do just a few errands in town. I need a bag of ground coffee from Starbuck for camping. I might go into Target for a few things too, but that’s not critical.

B is in Chico for co-op work so he will go to Costco for some of the stuff we need. I appreciate that he can do this as it saves me a trip down to Roseville.

All the house chores are done.  the bathroom zone is always fairly quick( 10 minutes) because it’s small and decluttered. We have a walk buddy in the park that was always there when we were…in the dark,rain,wind, etc. Starting about 6 months ago, we hadn’t seen him. Then he finally showed up and we stopped to chat, and turns out he fell in his shower/tub and BROKE his back.  So on our to-do list is take out the claw foot tub and put a walk in shower. Our tub is lovely but probably a danger for’ getting older folks’.  We only have the one bathroom so I will miss a tub. But better to miss a tub than risk a fall and broken whatever.

Dinner is unknown.

 

Simple Sunday

Posted in camping, cooking, freezer cooking, Lake tahoe, simple foods, Uncategorized by

It is a beautiful fall day.

We had a lovely walk in the park this morning and it was quite empty except for our geese friends. The Canada geese babies have all grown up and have flown away. Once in a while, we see them circle around the pond. There are other lakes around here and I imagine they hang out there too.

I made another pie in a tin dish and froze it on the recommendation of blogger Hilary.  I just took it out of the oven and it smells and looks amazing so I will try and do at least a couple of pies this way for fall.

I went to Target and got another case of pint jars for the applesauce which I will start tomorrow.  I figure I can get most of the one box of apples done. The second box is staring at me already but will have to wait.

We leave for Tahoe on Friday and will be gone a week. It’s a different time to be up there but certainly, most crowds are gone. Evenings will be chilly but we can sit by the fire or inside the tent trailer. Usually, we play scrabble or I read. We are taking the kayaks so we will go out at least 2 times to make it worth bringing them.  We might drive down to Sand Harbor( quite a ways back on the lake) and go out from there. Sand Harbor State Beach is where many of the famous shots/pictures of Tahoe are with the big boulders and beautiful blue water.

IMG_1054

I’m planning a few Lodge meals and other than that just simple foods. Plus the grocery store is like half a  mile away.

Since the tent trailer does not have a shower we’ll go to the gym up there, work out and then shower. My main criteria for a new trailer is a shower/toilet.

I made organic long grain rice for dinner and we’re having burritos with rice, beans, cheese, sour cream, lettuce.

 

My name is Christina.No it’s not. I have to change my name to Christina….

Posted in cooking, decluttering, Uncategorized by

So here’s the saga continued.

I get an email from Vital Records saying no birth certificate can be issued because my name is NOT Christina. And I have to submit a correction to change my name, which is Christina, to Christina. Granted, it is my 3rd name on my birth certificate but none the less it is Christina.

Finally, in frustration, I call the records department and after speaking with someone I couldn’t quite understand I was transferred to the vital records department.  I actually was trying to reach the individual that emailed me but I guess that’s near to impossible.

So I spoke with someone, who confirmed that I have to change my first name to Christina, even though my name listed 3rd is Christina. The person was very empathetic and said ‘oh we see this every day with people who have 3 names’ ‘ Very unfortunate. I would say it is the most idiotic thing I’ve encountered( well, not quite but still).

So I downloaded the form and do not understand half of what they want. Here’s an example.:

List of documents accepted:

  1. letter from the hospital where the child was born
  2. letter from hospital admitting an error in name????
  3. Religious document  ( of what I have no idea)
  4. plus it says in the beginning, submit an original document on official letterhead with an original seal.   Of What,?????? I have no original document, isn’t that the point.

The list goes on and I have no idea what they want from me an adult.

I filled out the form addressing the changes I wanted to make.

copied my license, copied my original birth certificate( no official) and the fee.

I am 99.999999 sure it will be sent back for lack of whatever. I cannot on the website or anywhere find what an adult is supposed to do. I’ going to sen it out on Monday and see when it gets returned what I’m suppose to include.

I could call, but honestly, I don’t know if I can take it.

Anyway, the drama continues.  Anybody out there in blog land that know anything about NY vital records send me a heads up…

So we have had a lovely Saturday so far. We dropped off 2 more thrift store loads, One at Cancer Thrift and one at Goodwill. I gave cancer thrift about 20 1930’s magazines that were in pristine condition. I just need to continue reducing what I have. Also a cute vintage GE radio/alarm.

Then we got hay for the garden and chickens. After that, we had a nice coffee date at Panera.

Here’s the first apple pie I made:

IMG_1545.jpg

 

Here’s the box of apples:

IMG_1548

I’ll be making a lot of pies and applesauce as this is only box #1. We probably have 4-5 more boxes on the tree.

 

Dinner is a roast chicken and some tofu for the veggie and roasted garden potatoes.

 

Almost fall.

Posted in books, cooking, just keep walking project, Uncategorized, Walking by

I so enjoy this time of year of late summer early fall. Of course, my birthday is in September so that’s probably why.  Although I think beyond the birthday thing it’s just a beautiful time with cool evenings and warm days. We sat out last night till 8:30 and it was still warm.

The garden is winding down and so is watering the garden.  Our water bill was quite huge due to watering so much when it was 100 + for weeks at a time. We’re already watering way less and that should drop the bill next month. I’m still picking green tomatoes so they can ripen in a box. Plus now I’m starting to cut the hard squashes. We have quite a few butternut and spaghetti squash. They will be nice in the fall and winter.

This year our apple tree is in full production so I’ll be making applesauce and pies. I’m going to make a pie today or tomorrow so I can see how it freezes and then defrost and bake. I’d like to experiment to see if this is the best method. Otherwise, it’ll be apple sauce canned.

This morning is a gym morning. We walked this morning as well so that puts me at 4x a week. I’m probably going to add a 5th day next week.  It’s great to be back out in the morning. I love moving first thing( well after 1 cup of coffee).

My latest drama is trying to get a certified birth certificate. We would like to get passports so that we can travel or flee the country if necessary( just kidding). So my  birth certificate is not embossed. So I figured no problem. I filled out the NYC form paid the fee and voila. Well, no the next day I get an email saying that my first name does not match the birth certifcate so it’s voided. WTF????  My birth name is Aurora Roxana Christina. I have never ever in my entire life used Aurora as that was my mother’s name. So I email back and say I have always only used Christina as my legal name. Nope!! he says, I have to have something with my legal first name. WTF??? I have absolutely nothing. So I’m supposed to email someone else. Such a simple thing and now it’s a f@#King problem. Leave it someone in NYC to be an asshole and screw it up.

Well, I guess I’ll see what happens.

I’ve read a couple of really good books this week. One is ‘Educated’, about a woman born in 1986 to an extreme Mormon family in Idaho. It is so eye-opening. It’s amazing she found herself and escaped. And she went on to obtain her Ph.D. Quite a story. The other is a Jodi Picoult, ‘Leaving Time’. It has a huge twist that is completely unexpected. Great characters.

Dinner is either nachos or leftover homemade ravioli. Not sure which yet!!