Monthly Archives: March 2020

Like an episode of ‘Survivors’

Posted in California, covid-19, Flylady, home stuff, Uncategorized by

If you’ve never seen the BBC show ‘Survivors,’ you should. It’s a group of people that find each other after a pandemic that has wiped out almost everyone. They are all very different and the story is interesting.  But this morning the one scene I’m remembering is when some of them go out to find any grocery store to get stuff. Well, my son and daughter drove out to go to Grocery Outlet this morning. It was weird. I said be careful, wear your mask, don’t talk to anyone….. slightly paranoid right?  I hope they make it back.  ( Just kidding):)

We did a nice walk and no one was there this morning. I have to say reading the WP about people going to NParks and the beaches just totally gets me upset. What is wrong with people? This is a pandemic, not a time to invade coastal towns so you can walk on the beach.

This week Flylady has 2 zones the Living room, and then the entryway. Both are relatively easy for me and I’ll do the LR zone this morning. I did get my beeswax candle order. Yes, it is a necessity as I light these every night. The order is 4 pairs for $40. I also got a Thai soup order( sort of like ramen). My daughter and I both like ramen for breakfast so this will be nice.

I think my Costco order for laundry soap is supposed to show up tomorrow. Definitely not 2-day shipping but more like 7 days out. Still, I will need laundry soap so we’ll be set.

Barclay is outside doing a burn pile of leaves and twigs so that should keep him busy for a while. Plus it is nice to get those outside chores done.

Keeping on…

Posted in California, cooking, covid-19, Myeloma, prepper pantry, Uncategorized by

Things are still in lockdown in California, for which I am grateful. Gov. Newsome is doing a great job of keeping ahead of things with basically shutting everything down. I honestly don’t get the Trumpers hating him so much when all he is doing is trying to take care of California. The negative comments on the local the newsfeed on Facebook are nuts.  Crazy!!

Since I’m an introvert and don’t go out to movies or things often it hasn’t bothered me to be home except maybe going out for coffee.

The park has posted signs to walk 6 feet apart and the playground is now taped off. I’m guessing the park is getting overwhelmed with people trying to just get outside. Since we walk early there is only the new dog walker guy and he walks very fast and not near us. He’s been coming for about a month now. Many people over the 8 years I’ve walked there have come and go. It changes with the seasons too. Lots more people as the weather gets nice. So we always start backing it up and going earlier. In summer even 5am is not too early.

I made some more oatmeal chocolate chip cookies yesterday and they are almost gone today. Humm…rationing  next??  We had fun individual pizzas last night although my son said each person was supposed to top their own. I did it because nobody was coming in to do it.

Tonight I’m making some chicken tenders with pasta on the side. I  think I even have some Quorn chicken tenders for B. I don’t have any salad stuff but I do have chard in the garden I can use.  Oh, BTW, Amazon prime has Julia Child’s the French cook original on and it is so fun to watch. It’s in black and white which is too bad since you can’t’ see the browning and sauteing she describes. I’ve actually learned a thing or two and I wonder how much I saw originally as her style of cooking is similar to mine although she is maybe a little more strict. Anyway, check it out as it’s fun.

I haven’t really started any projects except working on notes for a “prepper” pantry. I was trying to move away from stockpiling but now, no way.  If anything I’m going full throttle. Yesterday, I ordered from Mountain house which does freeze-dried stuff.  They didn’t have the #10 cans I wanted( all sold out) but they did have some servings of 2-3 available. I bought some to try and of course, they really last forever probably.  I’ll give an update when they arrive. Also, I’ve ordered from Costco, but they are sold out on most things and some they are not shipping to my zip code right now. I wanted a case of Rosarita’s beans but that’s not available as of yet. I’ll do a write up down the road when I get it together.

I need to schedule my labs for next week or maybe the following week. I don’t see Dr. Laptalo till the end of April and even then if things are only the same( my numbers going up but still not starting treatment), I’ll ask to just pass on seeing him physically.

BTW, Finnie seems to be doing better and eating a little more. I’m still not sure how long he will last but at least there has been an improvement.

Oh, and I think we are going to get some chicks as we know we’re not going traveling anytime soon so we will be home to take care of them.  I may order online so as to avoid the feed store though.

Well, I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

 

What we’ve been up to.

Posted in camping, cooking, covid-19, Uncategorized by

Fortunately, my son Zephyr is able to work at home. It’s a bit of a challenge as he does video production but he’s managing.  Sachi is able to also do the library stuff online too which is mostly ‘chatting’ with students about research stuff.

I’ve read 4 ebooks in the last week. It’s a new author and character I really like.

Here’s the link. 

 The character Emma is an FBI agent who’s really good at what she does. The books are paced well and the mystery is good.  Now what?? I’ll have to see what else I can download.

The weather hasn’t been good enough to work in the yard but maybe in a few days. Everyone is getting a bit of cabin fever I think.

Our pantry is still well-stocked but I am waiting on an order from Costco for laundry soap and dishwasher soap. Both were supposed to be 2-day delivery but it’s now day 4 and it hasn’t shipped yet. We don’t really want to hit up Costo so I guess I wait and see.

I canceled our camping trip to New Brighton in April. I just don’t think everything will reopen by then and even so, it’s probably just too risky. Disappointing to say the least.

We had tacos last night and tonight is kinda freezer cleanout. I have some spanokopita to use up. I’ll make a salad with the last lettuce I have. I’ll probably need a store run for some fresh stuff by Monday.  Maybe I’ll go Sunday or Safeway has the senior time Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I could do that.

the sun is peaking out so that’s a good sign that it might end up a sunny day.

 

Simple Simple Sunday

Posted in cooking, covid-19, Uncategorized by

Well, life certainly has slowed down for most everyone. It’s such an interesting phenomenon that I’m sure sociologists will be studying this period of time for many decades to come.

We’ve been taking our morning walk and in the afternoon just walking around the property. I’m planning on walking down our hill to the mailbox or even the post office when I get up the gumption to tackle the hill coming back up. It’s about a 45degree angle so quite steep.

This week is the bedroom zone. I took down the velvet curtains and put up the light white ones from Ikea, washed the windows, dusted and watered the plant in there. I think I’m going to hang out the quilts in the sun today too.  It is supposed to rain again but today is sunny and nice.

Some meals I’ve been making:

  • turkey chili with white beans plus some cornbread and a big green salad
  •           pizza that was a sourdough crust(and quite good, I might add) with sausage, mushrooms, peppers, and pineapple
  •         buckwheat crepes with fruit
  •         penne pasta with chicken sausage,  spinach, and cheese.
  •         Next week:
  •         Brinner
  •         Grilled chicken with potatoes and a vegetable
  •         Tofu burgers
  •         ????

Well,  all in all, a nice day.

It’s all too much…

Posted in covid-19, ikea, Uncategorized by

Well, no Frugal Friday here. It’s more like  WTF Friday. Hey, that’s catchy!

Really, I ‘m not sleeping very well and actually took an Ativan to sleep the other night. I

rarely do that and I guess the stress is building.

We had a nice walk though, this morning and then I went into our Holiday Market. There was no bread( I didn’t need any anyway), no pasta, sauces, no flour, etc, no regular milk. But I actually got what I needed which was maple syrup, sliced cheese, applesauce, tortillas, organic milk, and some other stuff. I wore a mask in the store as well as gloves. The clerks were very with it and asked did I want them to use gloves and I said yes. So they are being very proactive.  That should be the last shop I need for at least the next 2-3 weeks.

Everywhere in California, there is a mandatory ‘shelter in place’. I think it’s a good thing at least for the next 2 weeks. It is scary though, to think about this in the larger picture.  We still have our reservations for New Brighton in April but we will cancel as the California park system is shut down anyway. That’s disappointing as we missed last year and now it looks like this year too. Oh well, can’t be helped.

I even saw Ikea is closed so that’s something.

Finnie is still doing poorly. My daughter did take him to the vet and he’s on antibiotics, but he’s not eating and I’m guessing he’s not long for this world. Really upsetting since we’ve lost all our pets in the last 8 months. They were old but still. I still hope Finnie can pull-thru.

I’ve been freshening my sourdough starter from the fridge and it looks good. I used some to make some dough for pizza tonight so we’ll see how it rises to the occasion.

I’m not sure when I’ll do another post. I feel deflated about everything.  But I’ll post when I get back in the mood.

 

This is all very weird.

Posted in covid-19, Flylady, Uncategorized, Walking by

So we are home and not going out. I guess since it rained all day yesterday and right now it’s snowing I guess that’s ok.

My son was told to work from home. And my daughter is a librarian at Sierra college so I’m assuming they will tell her today to work remotely.

Our last kitty, Finnie, is sick with what seems like a cold but we can’t take him to the vet as it’s too risky for us so I hope he can recover on his own.  It would almost be too much if he dies on us.

I emailed my sister in Connecticut who has lung disease and she’s on quarantine as it’s very dangerous for her. She sounded good though. Her family is huge so hopefully, the grandchildren aren’t coming over.

We walked yesterday a little and then it starting pouring so we cut it short. I really needed to get out and walk so that was too bad. I will try again today if it’s pouring or snowing or whatever.

B has labs tomorrow so he needs to call and make sure he can go in to do them. He’ll need to glove up and put a mask on though.

This week is the bathroom zone if you want to follow Flylady. I had B clean the air vent and that was needed. I also cleaned as best I could behind the clawfoot tub. I can’t really reach it so I rubber banded a washcloth to a Swiffer thing and that seemed to work.

Still raining right now so no walk yet.:(

 

Getting a little nervous.

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All the schools are now closed down here in PlacerCounty. It’s getting really kind of freaky. I’m planning to go to the store this morning very early. Not for the TP and such just some extra things.   After reading some local Facebook stuff not sure if there is much left but I’ll check.

Just got back from filling my VW with gas and hitting up Safeway. At 7:08 am it was packed. What the hell?  Well, I got some produce and the ginger ale and bubbly water I was after. Crazy huh?

The rain has started so it’s going to be a stay inside day. I think I’ll make up some menus for the rest of the month. Plus I may download an e-book.

 

Five on Friday

Posted in budgeting, cancer, MDS, Uncategorized, Walking by

It was a beautiful week here in Northern California. Yesterday was 75 degrees. It got breezy in the afternoon but still nice. It’s supposed to start raining Saturday and go almost a week with snow in the Sierras. Well, we do need it but the sunshine and perfect 70-degree weather is hard to beat.

We are exploring different places to walk, so yesterday we went into Auburn and had a coffee at Depoe Bay( which roasts their own beans) and then walked around. We went up to the Gold Mining Museum and looked around and then walked the sidewalks. It was nice and I was surprised at the different routes we could take that would add up to a few miles. So, we will do this again after the rain stops.

I’ve decided to stop going to the gym and just walk and pull out my 5lb weights. Even though Sundays are the lowest people day, I just can’t risk it.  We are in the high-risk group. I am concerned with either of my Adult children who do work in the public sector bringing something home but I guess that’s the risk. They do wash their hands frequently and are quite conscious of what this means to us.

Budget wise things are good. I have way overspent on stockpiling stuff but I just figure that’s a one-off for now. I do still need a few things like cat food for Finwe who is a very picky eater. We also had our bi-annual Allstate bill come in. For 3 cars it was a little over $1,000. Seems expensive. Even our old Dodge van was $290 for 6 months. It seems high but I like Allstate and we’ve had them for 40 + years. This is the type of annual bill that will have to be paid out of our savings as the regular income only covers monthly expenses.

I did request a form for UCD financial help since the medical bills in August are what is causing a headache. Especially since the August 30 bill is for the Cystourethrocopy when the Cobra insurance wouldn’t pay the full amount. That alone was almost $4,000 with our part being over $1300. So I’ll fill out the form and see what happens if anything.

Well, today is not a walk day at least right now at 6:30 am, maybe later.

Midweek catch up.

Posted in California, MDS, Uncategorized by

Yesterday we went to Sacramento to Clinic. Barclay is doing well but still has to stay on the Steroids and the new immunosuppressant. I was hoping the doctor would take him off but not yet.

I didn’t go in with him but instead went over to the Trader Joes for more stockpiling. This time I did some frozen food, teas, snacks, and wine. Then I sat in the car and read on my iPad. It’s always so busy down there I was glad to just sit it out.

Today, I’m not going to the gym but have to go smog the VW.  We didn’t walk either so maybe I’ll walk later in the park or use our exercise bike. ( It’s my daughters but we all use it occasionally).

It’s supposed to be lovely the next couple of days and then SNOW???? What the heck is up with that. To go from 70 degrees to 32 in a few days??? Weird.

 

Our sweet Ollie…

Posted in Death, pets,cats,dogs,, Uncategorized by

The time finally came and Ollie was put to ‘sleep’ yesterday. Not sure why we say’put to sleep’. Really he’s dead now but his little body just couldn’t go on.

Ollie was almost 17 and part Maine coon. At one point he weighed over 20 pounds and was a big boy. He was also my daughter’s surrogate child so the loss is keen.

About 5 years ago he started getting a lump on his neck. She paid over $5,000 in diagnostics ( yes that is correct). And everyone agreed it was too dangerous to operate on and it was only a matter of time. Well, he fooled everyone and made it that long.

Almost 2 years ago in the summer, he had an episode where he couldn’t swallow. He was a goner …almost. We called the mobile Vet and she came out. But right before that, I whacked him on the back for 2-3 minutes and he spit up a huge gob of spit. When the Vet got there he was doing much better and we left it at that.

IMG_0386imageimage

Ollie loved everyone and was the sweetest cat. He was a rescue and now his rescue buddy Finwe( Winnie) is alone and he too is 17 so, I guess, he’s next.

Sad days.