Monthly Archives: October 2019

Power is back on

Posted in California, Uncategorized by

So this was the 4th blackout. We had it pretty well nailed down with what to do. We’re also lucky we have a propane stove, wood heat, and a propane water heater. We had the generators for the fridge and freezer and fairy lights everywhere.

Still, it was inconvenient and for business owners and restaurants, it must have had a huge financial impact. Hopefully, it’s all over for now although there’s no rain in the immediate forecast. The fires are really terrible and you just feel for all the loss of property, beautiful countrysides and hills in LA.  The winds in LA have been incredible. Is this the new normal? I’m guessing yes.

Overall, it’s been a good week. The clinic visit for B was good and he’ll have another BMB on the 18th to see how the bone marrow looks.

I saw the oral surgeon for my broken tooth and will have that extracted in November. The dentist mentioned implants but I’m not going that way and insurance doesn’t cover it (as far as I know)so the cost is very high. So that’s that then.

Happy Halloween!

Simple Sunday( AKA as no electricity or …

Posted in California, Flylady, home stuff, Uncategorized by

or Little House on the Prairie Episode.

Lights out at 8 pm last night so we at least got thru dinner. We were sitting around listening to my son’s Spotify and talking. It was nice really.

There have been winds all night from the northeast but nothing too frightening( well, it’s still dark so I can’t’ tell yet). the solar lights were going on and off due to the wind though.

Yesterday was really a beautiful fall day. Everything is turning shades of gold and yellow. We don’t get a lot of reds but we do have Japanese maples that are turning red so that’s nice.  There wasn’t any wind to speak of.

Last week the PG&E tree crew came and took down a dead tree from the back near the barn. I happened to ask if they freelanced and they mostly didn’t speak much English but the one guy said “yes” and I showed him the 2 trees where they had just been cutting. They aren’t a threat in any way but they had pretty good leans, I mean like at 45″ angles and one was very large.  So I gave him my phone #.  Later that week they stopped by with a quote and it was VERY good for 2 trees. No bucking up just 4-5 lengths.

So now we those 2 taken care. In front of these 2 is a very very large tree that is also a leaner. It is leaning into the barn area.  If it went it would take out the barn for sure. But this tree requires a large crane and that’s not on the agenda for this year. We still haven’t had the other tree guy that we have the contract with contact us about the tree in the front.  I’m guessing that’ll happen soon though.  So maybe next year we can do the big tree but I’m guessing that is a $5,000 tree so??

This week we have a clinic visit for B and I have a dental appt about the tooth that is broken. That’s it for this week so not bad in terms of appts.

This week the Flylady zone is the living room if you’re following.  If you want to follow her plan in a modified way this is what I do.

  • dust
  • wash inside windows
  • make sure only things that live in the LR are in there, remove the rest.
  • declutter anything that isn’t loved or beautiful( I did this forever ago) but I still look around
  • vacuum
  • wash mirror

that’s about it. If you’re just starting out you might set a timer for 15 minutes and see what you can declutter or remove.

Dinner is unknown since the power is off but fortunately we are quite comfortable since we have a propane stove and can cook. No oven as that is electronically controlled. I may do pasta or something like that.

Another PG &E blackout

Posted in home stuff, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

We had another PG&E blackout start on Wednesday around 2 pm and this one lasted till Thursday @ 4pm. We ran the generators and kept the freezer and refrigerator on for about 4 hours morning and 4 hours evening.

Now they’re saying there will be another tomorrow into Sunday. This is ridiculous. Yes, we want to be fire safe, but once again there were hardly any winds. Now, this weekend I did see 25mph winds so that is quite windy and I would agree with the shutoff.

Well, we made it thru and even enjoyed a good game of Scrabble with my daughter by candle/lantern light.

Yesterday was my oncology appt and it went ok. Nothing really new. He just said the same that we’ll wait till my numbers are higher. Now it would be more akin to wait and watch. I agree for now but we’ll see what my labs are in December.  Well, it is hard to be anticipating the what-ifs. Oh well, cancer has taught me to be more patient and what will be will be.

We did a small Costco trip this week for coffee and a few other things. Not a big shop. I also did the Walmart pick up. That had so things for the blackouts( more flashlights) but they were out of stock on those.

Today is a gym day and homemade pesto pizza for dinner assuming we have power. Most people it seems have bought generators and you can hear them going all around town. Our grocery store even got a commercial one so they could stay open.  We need to fill up gas cans and cars before this weekend and hope for no fires. The one over in the Sonoma area was started by a transformer so that is super scary.

 

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RIP Buddy

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another hard day with Rocky aka as Buddy took a sharp decline in his health and we had to have him cross the rainbow bridge.

It’s only 3 months since Bonnie left us and this is really hard. He was a sweet dog and we will miss him and how much he brightened our lives.IMG_0396

A delay…

Posted in cooking, home stuff, simple foods, Uncategorized by

Well, the tree guy got delayed on another tree project so we had to be put on hold. That’s okay. We have time before the storms hit. But we did sorta wait till noon and then realized he must’ve still been on the other job. Usually, tree people don’t start trees that late in the day.

Today is a gym day and then my daughter and I are going to Michaels for some wool/yarn as she is working on a few projects. She is an awesome knitter. I like to make washcloths and that’s about it.  She had found the cutest patterns of fall leaves and acorns to knit and a hat I’d like for Christmas. So that’ll be fun.

It’s cloudy today and supposed to rain, but it looks only cloudy.

Our meals this week have been fairly simple yet fall-like. We had a lovely minestrone one night with biscuits.

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Last night we had a spinach salad with candied pecans and feta. Quite delicious. Alongside that, we had French omelets. One night was IP breaded shrimp and vegetable birds nest( from TJ’s and great to keep in the freezer). Tonight is another spinach salad with homemade alfredo noodles.  I’m planning on doing a soup once a week and hoping to find a new recipe or two to add to our rotation.

I have a few pictures but my iPhone isn’t updating my photos to share. Hopefully, I can get that fixed.

 

 

 

Trees coming down

Posted in home improvement, Uncategorized by

Today we have 2 Ponderosas coming down by the tree cutting company. One is leaning toward the house although it isn’t a big lean but enough. This tree is on the South East side and that’s where our winds come in the winter for the most part. With the use of a crane, this tree will cost $2100.

The second tree isn’t as big and is no threat now but it sits near the back and I’ve wanted it out before it gets too big. The cost of this is $800. A fair price.  We budgeted $3000 for trees so this is what it’ll be. Taking trees this big is only going to get more expensive and we still have a lot more that should be done.

It’s really no guarantee that another tree wouldn’t fall in a wind storm, just that we’re trying to take precautions.  The tree that landed on our neighbor’s house last January should have been taken down as it leaned into the house and the root system was exposed.  It took off the front of his house. It has taken the workers ALL summer to finish repairing and he basically has a whole new outside plus deck, porch.  He had an illegal room under a deck that had to be all removed per the insurance. What a job. Anyway, we do what we can.

In the back of our house, we have a HUGE tree leaning toward the barn but it wouldn’t (probably )affect the house.  That tree will be more than $5000 because it will need a big crane.  Maybe next year.?

B had his clinic appt yesterday and all is good. He’ll need another BMB in November to see how things are. There are some issues with insurance that UHC is not getting right. I’m not worried but it is a PITA to deal with. the coverage was active and he didn’t even go on cobra till 8/1 but insurance companies don’t try and help really. So it may take a while but we are not paying anything unless it is the appropriate co-pay.  We even had the letter ( which I can’t find) that stated UHC approved his allogeneic transplant. so they can find that and put it somewhere.  Oh well, it’s always something, right??

I’m off to the dentist very early and hopefully back before the tree cutters get here. They’ll be blocking the driveway so I’ll have to park out by the edge of our driveway.

UPDATE:

NO TREES TODAY! THE TREE GUY GOT INVOLVED IN ANOTHER PROJECT SO WE GOT DELAYED. OH WELL, TOMORROW IS A NEW DAY!

PG&E’s disaster power shut off

Posted in home stuff, Uncategorized by

We were almost 3 days with no power and NO WIND!!!

Honestly, what was PG&E looking at???

Over near SF and the whole East Bay area and Vacaville, there were high winds but here it didn’t get past 5 mph. Really? No power for 5 MPH winds. All of the foothills, Auburn were completely dark. Just think of the grocery stores and businesses that lost money and food.

I mean we were fine really. We have generators for the fridge and freezer, so we ran those about 4 hours a day. Maybe a little longer and everything stayed nice and cold and frozen. We have plenty of flashlights, plus we have many strands of battery operated fairy lights and believe me they are the best invention ever. Our house was lit up and we could see where we were going.

Also, maybe the biggest thing is we had water.  In the past in winter storms, water has always been out. But for some reason this time we had water and could flush the toilet and take showers. Our stove is propane and so is our water heater.  So really we were quite comfortable.  Except for no Amazon Prime TV. We listened to the radio or Spotify.

Still, all services in town were off. Plus everywhere local.

It seemed all a bit weird to us.

We did celebrate the power back on by getting a pizza out, so that was fun.

B and I took a nice drive yesterday thru the canyon and it’s definitely fall and it is dry.

Today we need to go to UCD pharmacy as somehow we didn’t figure his Noxafil right and today is the last of his pills. I am going to call first to make sure it’s there though so we’re not getting there and they say it’ll have to wait for approval.

If we go down, I may stop at Trader Joes for wine and their fall candles are wonderful and affordable. But We’ll see, my introvert self loves to make these plans(mentally) and then reality hits and it’s just too much. sigh…..

 

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A delicious Mexican tofu recipe

Posted in cooking, Uncategorized by

Last night I made a chicken tortilla soup for my daughter and I since I had leftover chicken. It’s a good recipe and the soup with homemade tortilla strips on top was very good.

Since I always need a vegetarian dish I decided to whip up Mexican tofu with basically the same ingredients except in a pan(well, minus the broth).

I just had the leftovers for breakfast and WOW… I’m not sure why my husband wasn’t raving about this. It was delicious.

So here’s the basic recipe:

  • press 1/2 a block of tofu ( I use the tofu from Costco) for 1/2 an hour or so, then cube it up
  • cut up small amounts of green pepper( mine was from our garden). yellow pepper and red pepper
  • dice up 1/2 an onion
  • heat up a cast iron skillet with avocado oil and add onions and peppers, cook till soft
  • add tofu and chili spices, cook until the tofu has a nice sear
  • add 1/2 can of Rotel tomatoes with chilis
  • You could add some beans at this point but I had already used them in the soup
  • cook for maybe 8 minutes then top with shredded Mexican cheese( I use the Trader Joes brand) and top with a dollop of sour cream.

I would’ve added avocado but it wasn’t ready to be cut.

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Well, unfortunately, I didn’t have a picture of it but here’s my empty plate.

 

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, cancer, Flylady, home stuff, medicare, Multiple myeloma, Uncategorized by

Well, it’s a new week starting and I’m glad. Last week really was never-ending with stuff to do and I felt stressed all week.

We did get B signed up for Medicare Part D. We actually won’t use it for his Noxafil( Tier 5 drug) because it will be $4900. So we will keep the Cobra for now so that his prescriptions are covered that way. Hopefully, that will work. He won’t be on Noxafil forever, just maybe 3-4 more months.  So he is on Medicare and all signed up for Plan F and Part D.

This week I see my eye doctor for my quarterly check on my macular pucker. I’ll need my eye dilated which I hate. But it has to be done. I can’t see a lot out of my right eye but my left eye makes up for it.  Although when I went to renew my license and get the Real ID, I had to take the eye test and didn’t realize they test your eyes individually.  I panicked a little as I know that eye is around 20/60. but I squeaked by. Next time I’m not so sure. I could have surgery but it’s not guaranteed. But I still may go that route yet.

Other than that it will be a slow week and I need it.

I plan on going to the gym 3 times and keep walking in the mornings.

The fall chores are getting done and B has been busy doing stuff that needs attention. Painting, fixing some concrete steps, tidying the yard, putting away BBQs and all the fall things that need doing.

This week I plan on doing some painting outside on the window trim. That was the 2 windows he put in last month.

In not so good news, my Kappa light chains jumped 13points up. And my kappa/ lambda ratio really jumped to 3.68 mg/L. That’s because when my Kappa goes up my Lambda stays low so the ratio goes up.  Well, Fuck it, not much I can do and I do feel ok. I see Dr. L  at the very end of the month so once again, I’ll bring up when to start. I hope it can wait till 2020. I figure 2 more months and if it goes up 2 more times and hasn’t , hit 100 I can hold off on treatment. I don’t mind going back into treatment when necessary, it’s the dexamethasone that is so difficult. I pretty much lose 2 days a week. Oh well, F#*k it all. I’ve been doing this since 2005 so I guess I should be used to it. Although you kinda know you’ve been a cancer patient for so long, your family members forget to ask how your labs are.

This week is the kitchen zone so I will start that today.

Our fall weather is really spectacular. Leaves are turning and the mornings are chilly but by afternoon it’s just perfect. We had a fire outside last night because I wanted to.

It’s been a busy but productive week

Posted in Bone marrow transplant, camping, cancer, MDS, medicare, Uncategorized by

We had a nightmare drive to Sacramento on Tuesday. I have to say this really was the first time it was so awful. First off, we stopped to get gas and the car in front of us( so we couldn’t get to the pump) had what appeared to be someone living out of their car. We waited politely and waited and finally, I backed up and zoomed around to get to another pump.  The lady must have been in the bathroom washing, but then after she pumped her gas she proceeded to wash her car windows. I was getting frustrated at this point and this put us almost 15 minutes behind.

Then traffic was really heavy for some reason and I knew we would be late for B’s infusion appt( to flush his port and labs). We were 20 minutes late. That is a first.

Well, it all ended great with the NP telling us that the BMB results were excellent and chimera was 99%. Truly science is amazing.

We both got our Flu shots and both are arms a little sore. But not too bad. So that’s done.

B got his LLS reimbursement for the insurance so that’s a big deal and in the coming months will make a huge difference. Thank You LLS donors who make these grants possible.

Today I’m heading into AAA to sign up for the home insurance( that they canceled  and we now will be with them but they’re underwritten.) Plus it’s about $600. more annually. WTF!!!!

I might go to the gym afterward or I may just flake. I’ll see how it goes.

I was trying to plan another mini trip to Capitola but Airbnb’s are really expensive and so are hotels. We decided not to spend money on that. I checked New Brighton but it is all full, probably with retirees in huge RVs. 😦

Barclay is still processing going back to work but I don’t want to give up his SDI yet. That money is non-taxable so we will not owe next year. But it only goes thru December and that’s it. But it has been a huge blessing. If he goes back it won’t be his old job as that’s been given to a co-worker and he couldn’t really travel like he did.  His boss has indicated he could do something from home ( ideal ) but he’s still not sure. He’s only 4 1/2 months post-transplant and most people don’t go back to work for a year or not at all.

If anyone has any thoughts or input I’d appreciate the ideas as we definitely conflicted about it.

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