Monthly Archives: April 2021

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, cooking, frugalism, Uncategorized, Walking by

The sunrise on our daily walk.

It was a frugalish week. No major expenses came up except buying the paint for the garden shed and the fence( redwood stain) but my daughter paid for these as part of her monthly rent. It worked out well especially since paint is so expensive.

I did do the Trader Joe’s shop but that will carry over to May’s food budget. So far the month looks good on the food budget. I’m definitely under $600. Separating wine/beer and non food has given me a better picture of what is just food. Of course, there wasn’t a big Costco shop this month. We are planning Costco on Sunday as the coffee is almost gone. So I suspect that will come in @ $400. We have our rebate to use so that will reduce the cash flow out.

Here are some of the lilacs blooming.

We both submitted our LLS copays and we should be getting that refunded as part of our grant with them. I’m absolutely sure we would not be making ends meet if we had to pay the medical copays. So the LLS grants( done yearly) are a big savings for us.

Tonight is pizza night and I’m doing a homemade one with TJ’s dough. I have to say the pizza dough is one of their best deals at $1.19( I think) it may have gone up. But you get 2 pizzzas out of one dough and the freeze really well.

I’m still debating getting the outside pizza oven. I think we’d get our money’s worth out of it but still it is a one use thing which I don’t normally like to do. But we calculated 10 pizzas at $30 would pay for it. Since we have pizza almost every Friday night it would pay for itself pretty quickly. The big advantage is it heats up to 925 degrees in 15 minutes. You’ll never get a conventional oven to do that.

Spring time busy.

Posted in Blood test, cancer, home stuff, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma by

There’s lots going on in the gardens and the yard. Flowers are blooming and all three lilac trees are in full bloom. This has been a really good year for flowering trees. Out Cherry trees maintained their blossoms for weeks which was unusual. Now the lilacs are in full swing and very full. The white roses are just starting to bud and a few have flowers. The Cecil Brunner looks to be ready to explode with pink blossoms.

Today I plan on applying the redwood stain to the new fencing. I’m going to use a small roller so I think it will go quickly but I’m not sure how much/far the gallon will go. It certainly wasn’t cheap at $58 a gallon. The garden shed is nearing completion and I have bought the same house paint to paint that. I’m still not thrilled with the way it’s positioned but done is done. We still need to get some roofing to finish the shingles. We had some left over when we had the roof re -done so we just need to get 2-3 more bundles.

The weather is stellar right now with this afternoon being @ 80 degrees. I plan on BBQ some chicken and tofu.

I need to write up my monthly menu and check the freezer. I know I’ve used up quite a bit and when we were in New Brighton my daughter also used up lots of frozen things so that’s good and I can write a list of what needs to be replaced.

After my doctor visit yesterday, which went fine, I stopped at Trader Joe’s in Roseville. I bought some bread things,bagels,pita bread, sandwich bread, some veggies, some frozen things too. TJ’s is great for snacks like sesame sticks so I got a nice variety.

The doctor visit was fine. He said to lower my Dex( from 16 to 12 mg) so it’s maybe not so intense. That’ll be nice. He also said we’ll just wait and see about Round 6. I think if the Dex is more tolerable he’ll go for round 6. I guess we’ll see. All my numbers were still great and my ratio even went down to 1.3 since Lambda went up slightly. So I’m pleased and plus I feel pretty good overall. I do feel pretty lucky that the cancer is being wiped out by Velcade. Unfortunately, there are always rogue cells left behind and that’s why relapse is inevitable. But that’s not now and I refuse to think about something in the future I have no control over.

Simple Sunday

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

A lovely walk in the park this morning. It’s suppose to rain but it still hasn’t. We really do need some rain so I’m hoping later.

Today was a catch up day with taking care of some Flylady things. Swish and Swipe the bathroom, vacuum, mop floors, do the windows in the front room and my office area. Flylady has 2 zones again this week, the living room and then the entryways. I finished both but probably will tidy up around the 2 doors sometime this week.

My daughter bought a new desk that fits her better since she is still working remotely so we moved the Heywood Wakefield desk to the living room. I thought it looked to over powering by the one window so I had B move the other Heywood cabinet down to my office area and put the desk where that one was.

Both of these pieces I bought on ebay years ago and actually had them shipped across country.

I think the Heywood Cabinet will be more useful down in my space. The desk probably won’t be used as a desk but it does have a file drawer so that may be useful. Plus I love the shelves on the side. both pieces should have the tops refinished but I doubt I’ll get to it in my life time and really it’s not a priority to me.

I’m not sure I would buy any Heywood again but since I’ve never seen any out here, I guess I’m safe.:)

I feel pretty good this morning not too Dexed out. I have the week off from Velcade so that’ll be nice. I still need to see the doctor this week but that’s ok.

I talked briefly with my sister in Connecticut. Her small cell carcinoma has re-emerged as another nodule on her lung so she will need to start chemo in a few weeks. Fortunately, the scan showed her brain clear as that’s always a concern for small cell carcinoma. She has a huge support system with all her children and their families right near her. It seems a little odd to me not one of her children(5) ever moved more than 5 miles from her. But who am I to say. both my adult children still live her at least during these pandemic times.

I made a spaghetti sauce for dinner and we will have salad and spaghetti. One of my favorite youtubers, Ivy Kitchen, just did a vlog on some new dish ware she was promoting called Denby. It’s from England and really really beautiful. The prices are way out for me but I did go look on ebay and you can pick some random pieces at a good price. She was given at least 3 sets of these dishes in different colors. She does an amazing job with her food photography plus she has 350,000 followers so I guess that’s when the promos start coming in. She does have a great channel if you want to check her out.

Friday Things and back from Capitola!

Posted in Blood test, California, camping, cooking, travel, Uncategorized by

We had a great trip to New Brighton State Beach.

The weather was picture perfect too. Lots of sun and temperatures in the high 60’s and low 70’s.

The ride down took about 4 hours and the only real traffic was near Los Gatos going over Hwy 17.

We thought it an accident but turned out just tons of people going to Santa Cruz. All in all a nice drive down. We got there and set up in out spot.

We did both realize that we really are going to have to get a new/used trailer as this one has seen better days. But we do still love it and it has taken us lots of places. At New Brighton, there are showers and bathrooms so a tent trailer works fine.

The view from the upper cliffs in the campground.

We had lots of good food. The first night was beans, macaroni salad and hot dogs. The next night we had BBQ chicken/tofu, twice baked potatoes from Gayles and salad. We had a pizza night order but it was terrible. Do NOT go to Village Pizza in Capitola. The last night we had bean tacos with trimmings. A lodge dinner would have been fun but I hadn’t really planned it out.

Another view from the bluffs.

Tuesday we drove over to Santa Cruz and walked the lighthouse trail.

This where the surfers go in the water to catch waves.

Nope, not a surfer:)

Gayles was great and I bought a bunch of treats to bring home including a loaf of their Capitola Sourdough sandwich bread. Delicious.

Today is my last shot of this round. Velcade Round 4, shot 3. I plan on putting together a falafel dinner so my son can cook that up later. I’ll take Dex after lunch.

The weekend will be low profile as I’ll be out of it tomorrow. Sunday I’ll do my Flylady chores.

Frugal Friday

Posted in California, camping, cooking, frugalism, Uncategorized by

It was kind of a frugal week. I did the Walmart pick up for groceries which did include ice cream. I hardly ever buy ice cream but for some reason did so. I rarely eat ice cream but sometimes I like a spoon full. Anyway, groceries came in @175 including some Rose wine thrown in. I’m hoping to have the food budget come in @$600 this month. I’m not including alcohol in the food total this time just to get an idea. Non food I am including.

Going down to Capitola will cost gas, food and that’s it since the camp spot was paid for back in December. We tend to be fairly loose with food as it is our vacation getaway. And we like going into Gayles or Nob Hill for dinner items.

The last bill of the month is our water bill and that’s next week. The only extra bill we’re dealing with is the UCD medical one from that one month(August) after transplant for Barclay.

I did buy the 2 orchids and clay pots this week. That ended up $38 at Walmart too.

Oh, good news! Both the electrical issues are resolved and the bathroom fan is working again.

Here’s a view:

The window was originally on the outside as B’s office/entryway was a deck. We left the window for air circulation and light.

Tonight is a mix of leftovers, pizza, ravioli and sauce. I didn’t feel like cooking much so these things will get used up.

Velcade, Round 4, shot #2.

Posted in camping, cooking, covid-19, decluttering, garden shed, home stuff, husband, Multiple myeloma, travel by

I drove down to Rocklin yesterday and had my shot. I was out again by 10:20 and it went well. Sometimes the injection stings some and yesterday it did. Other times I barely feel it, so who knows.

From there I drove up to the Walmart in Rocklin which is right on my way home and picked up my order. They didn’t have the propane bottles we needed for camping so we’ll need to get them somewhere else. Then I went into the nursery side and bought 2 clay pots and 2 orchids. For some reason getting clay pots now is like winning the lottery. They only had 2 on the shelf. Oh well, I’ll keep checking but Home Depot also didn’t have any.

I took my Dex after lunch and rested. Geez, Dex is so weird. Oh well, my daughter made a nice stir fry with tempeh. It was good. Yesterday I experimented with making jasmine rice in the Staub and it came out great. I love my Zojirushi rice maker but wanted to try this as an alternative. The nice thing is that it is half the time . 15 minutes on a boil and then 15 minutes rest. The other method is an hour. It’s nice to have the alternative.

Today is just take it easy and do a few things. I want to air out the bed covers on the line. And move a few more things around in the closet.

We finished the bedroom painting it looks amazing. I’m very glad I screwed up and started the touch up as I wouldn’t have really know how bad it was( well I guess that’s relative. )

The stove hood debacle continues as it wasn’t working unless the bathroom fan was on which I said”No way, am I putting up with that”. I said hire an electrician, people do it all the time. But he managed to get it hooked to something else?? and now the bathroom fan isn’t working. Did I say just hire an electrician??Well, he is pretty handy and always figures out a solution. We had most of the wiring was redone when we moved in but there were some that the guy didn’t do for some reason. ( he wasn’t a real licensed electrician although he did know a lot).

I hope the tar paper can go on the garden shed before we leave on Sunday but the shingles will need to wait. Most of the trim is going on too. It looks good and I think we will like the extra storage.

I have another Goodwill run to make tomorrow but i will have my daughter help. Last with her helping it went really quick plus I couldn’t lift the monitor anyway.

Tonight my son cooks and I’m not sure what he planning. Maybe I’ll check the freezer but I know I have lots of salad stuff.

Plus, the most exciting thing this week is he gets his Covid shot tomorrow. Hurray!!!!

Simple Sunday on Monday…

Posted in camping, cooking, decluttering, home stuff, simple foods by

Somehow between painting and other things the day got away from me. I did get another wall in the bedroom done. What a difference it makes. I told B that it must have been longer ago that it was painted than I originally thought. It is looking very clean and crisp. Then I got inside the ONE closet we have and it was a mess. I tidied and moved some things so it looks better but today I plan to take all my canning jars out and put them in the barn in a box. I’m not planning on any canning this year except maybe salsa and tomato sauce so I can put them in a bin out of the closet.

This coming around from the door side to the window side where I’ll paint today. The contrast is startling:( I like the grey trim but wouldn’t do it again as painting over dark colors is a two coat job. I’ll just stick to white.

The yard is filled with lots of flowers and this geranium is a new one. A bright red.

Here is an assortment of succulents that were just taken out of the green house.

This is the water pond with a yellow water lily. My daughter bought goldfish so their in there too now. Last time we had goldfish the raccoons had a fish feast so it’s been a while and she is covering it at night.

Barclay has been working on getting the new stove hood up. Everything in this house is more complicated and he had to fix the wiring in the attic. But it’s done and the hood should go up today. We really needed a new one the other was just gross. I’m guessing stove hoods have a life expectancy since there is grease involved even though I clean it diligently, it’s never really really clean.

The roof is on the shed so now it’s only the doors and trim. The roof felting and roofing will be put on later.

Next Sunday we head out for our first trip in over a year to Capitola. It’ll be great to see the ocean and just camp. We do plan a few walks in Santa Cruz but mostly just hanging out. Gayle’s bakery is at the top of the list too. I don’t plan to over do the food as I figure we can go to the store( Nob Hill and/or Trader Joe’s ) and get stuff. I plan our basic camping foods, spaghetti, tacos, and whatever else looks good.

Last night I made this delicious dinner. This was from The Washington Post, Eat Voraciously Newsletter called Tortilla Espanola with two Aiolis. Of course, I didn’t read the 2 aiolis right so it ended up one with the smoked paprika and basil in it. Still it was delicious. I added a little Manchego cheese and I think that made it even better. I evened flipped it out of the cast iron pan. I have a picture but it’s on B’s phone. I’ll try and put it up later.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgets, California, home stuff, Myeloma, Walking by

Back from the world of DEX, so now it’s on to how the week went money wise.

We did a grocery shop at Safeway that came in at $95 plus some wine which I’m not including in the grocery amount. I’m working on a Walmart order for next week that should take us thru the following week. That week we head down to Capitola, so the stuff I’m buying is partly for that and partly so the kids have some extra here if they need. Of course, they can get their own food too, which I’m sure they will.

I had to pay OP for my Dex copay of $36.00. That will be all I need to finish all the chemos. I checked online with the mail order and it was only less as a 90 day supply. So I won’t need that again so it’s a unusable as such.

I did order some N 95’s this morning as I/we will continue to use them even when the vaccine numbers go up. California is supposed to open more up and I’m not going to get caught in variants if I can help it.

My daughter paid for the nursery things so that didn’t cost me anything.

We’re ordering a pizza tonight but it’s from Celestino’s and their extra large is only $23, so that’s a good deal. I could’ve made one but it’s nice to do something different.

Here’s some shots of the garden shed as it is now.

And here’s a picture of one of the Japanese maples leafing out. These were planted by my daughter about 3 years ago!

I did my usual chores this morning after out walk. I vacuumed, mopped the floors, did a reset of the house ( going around and putting away whatever is out of place).

Friday’s my energy definitely comes back so that’s nice. I still don’t drive but tomorrow I’m going out so it should be fine.

Velcade, Round 4, shot #1

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Here we are at the beginning of Round 4. It all went well and I was in and out in @ 20 minutes.

My daughter came along and afterwards we went to Green Acres Nursery. The parking lot was packed so I was a little unsure of how , it would be. It was busy but most stuff is all outside and ALMOST everyone had masks . A few with their noses hanging out, like dude, that doesn’t really do much if your nose is out!!!

Anyway we got the tomato starts she wanted and a bunch of herbs, a mock orange, which I’ve wanted for her garden forever, some other stuff like geraniums, plus a sun hat for me that has the UV protection. It was fun and nice to go out and do something.

This morning is Dex morning so I didn’t walk due to the shortness of breath and just general kinda out there feeling. I will resume tomorrow. It’s hard to miss a morning but I need to be flexible. I won’t be on Dex forever so now is the time to respect my body and do what I can. Plus, I don’t drive as your judgement can be off. Oh, and I don’t use sharp objects( ha Ha)…

I’m going to tidy up around, swish and swipe the bathroom, and work on a grocery list. B is going to do the shopping at Safeway and that should get us thru the weekend.

I am so excited that in 2 weeks we’ll be down at New Brighton. It will be so nice to use our old tent trailer again and just set up camp chairs and look at the ocean. Plus our favorite bakery in the world, Gayles, is high on our list of visiting( masked up of course).

That week, we get back on Thursday so I will get my Velcade shot on Friday. I didn’t want to skip the week, although I could have. I’d rather stay on schedule.

The garden shed is almost done and I’ll get some pictures on the blog. I think it will be a great addition. the yard is looking so pretty with all kinds of green and flowers. The wisteria is just getting ready to bloom too.

Tonight is my son’s night to cook so I need to check the freezer for something. My daughter did an outstanding BBQ chicken and tofu, and asparagus dinner last night on the Weber. She’s a better Weber cook than me as I usually (sort of) burn everything. It was perfect. She cut the tofu into little squares and then put BBQ sauce on. It was delicious.

Japanese simplicity

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It’s no secret that I love most things Japanese. My daughter has a Japanese name. I actually tried to find one for my son, but nothing really fit him. So he ended up Zephyr which does fit him.

I love rice paper, tatami, japanese dishes etc. My house doesn’t really reflect that so much but the concept of simplicity , does. Also the functionality of many Japanese homes with built ins. I love the look of wood and the idea of Wabi Sabi. Probably it’s more ‘old’ Japan I love but it doesn’t matter really. Also being a lay Zen Buddhist for 10 years influenced me too. Practising breathe meditation, and trying to live by Buddhist principles.

Of course, all that is part of my past and now ,as an atheist, I can see the progression of how I evolved. Although, the interesting thing about Buddhism is that you’re not worshipping Buddha per se, but the Eightfold path or ideas to help live a more conscious life. Probably that’s what drew me to it in the first place.

So all that leads up to:

I just finished reading ” Simplicity at Home”by Yumiko Sekine who is the Founder of Fog Linen Work. Their linens are beautiful but somewhat expensive for me.

A really lovely book with lots of great ideas for caring for the home, using linen and many Japanese concepts. She goes through the seasons, which I like too and different ideas pertaining to each one. I am very much a seasonal person. I also adore linen. Ever since buying the linen sheets for the bed, I wouldn’t sleep on any else now. I like the crinkled look although sometimes I do a quick iron. I just bought some linen kitchen towels to try out. Usually, I just use Ikea’s towels which I do love since they are only .79 and I recycle them to rags once they are done. Last time I bought 10 and am now just putting them in the rag pile.

It’s not likely I’ll visit Japan but I can still use what is relevant to me in my small life.