Monthly Archives: February 2022

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, Bone marrow transplant, bread, budgets, California, camping, cancer, Flylady, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma, travel, Uncategorized, Walking by

We had a nice walk this morning and wow, Venus was right above the crescent moon. Very beautiful. Nobody was there initially and then the Le Foret guy( he comes out of the woods, honestly), showed up and then 2 others later. But we were done by that point.

This morning I’ve made the olive sourdough bread, a chocolate cake is baking, and I have a turkey breast in the crockpot. I’m just about done with the living room zone which BTW is just today and tomorrow and then Tuesday starts the entry zone. I would like to go to the nursery and get some kind of flower, like maybe some pansies. Our violets have gone crazy this year and are all over.

A week from today we’re heading to Bodega Bay. My son and daughter will hold down the fort. Both have to work so they’re here anyway. The weather looks nice enough with some wind which isn’t unusual. There are no hookups at Bodega so it will be l or solar.

I have my labs later this week and then I’ll get my results next week. I see Dr. L in mid-March. I would be pretty darn happy if my numbers stay about the same. Speaking of which, March 1st is my 16th re-birthday. Hard to believe, I was going in today and then getting Melphalan, and then on the 1st was when I got my stem cells. It’s really the melphalan that does you in It was hands down, the worst episode of my life. I remember we had terrible storms and looking out the window from the BMT unit over to the freeway and watching the rain and wind go sideways. That part of Sutter hospital has all been redone since then and actually the whole building I first got my chemo in was torn down and is now the Children’s Hospital.

FUCKED UP FRIDAY

Posted in books, budgets, California, camping, decluttering, Political things, swimming, travel, Uncategorized by

FUCK everything. What is wrong with this world.? The war now in Ukraine and DICTATOR PUTIN is beyond words for me. I really wonder what is happening on the planet. We have Putin invading a sovereign democracy, Trump calling him a “genius”. JFC, why??

Then you’ve got all these god damned spineless Republicans taking away woman’s rights, trying to control what is taught in schools, making transpeople out to be some horrible thing, banning books. The list just goes on and on.

I certainly do not want to just ignore the news or not read about things. We don’t have TV so I only read the Washington Post on- line and the New York Times. Still it’s enough to send me over the edge with what’s happening. At least there is a few items of good news, the 3 officers were found guilty of violating George Floyds civil rights and not helping him when they knew he was dying right in front of them. And the racists killing Arbery also found guilty . So at least there is some good coming out confronting the evils in this country.

In other home front stuff, just a nice week of pottering around the house, swimming, and reading some good books. Tonight is supposed to be pizza night but we’re not doing that. We all decided we want some ramen bowls so that’s what I’ll do.

We’ve had extremely cold mornings with the temperatures @ 28 degrees. That’s cold. We do get cold weather here but it doesn’t last too long generally. Lots of frost everywhere.

I’ve been having to deal with kick backs on my credit cards that were stolen that have automatic charges. Our Delta Dental, VSP, etc. So I’m having to go and call or go online to fix them. PITA.

I plan to drop off some books at the pet bookstore and then go the market for a few things. My Frugal Challenge of $100 a week is going well. This week I’m at @ $80 and I will spend that other $20 today or about that. It feels good to be going thru freezer food and pantry stuff. I still need to plan our camping meals for when we’re gone. At Wrights Beach, it’s bring everything we may want as there isn’t a store except for a tiny market in Bodega. But at the Napa campground, we’re in Napa so I’m guessing there will be everything in the way of stores. We added Mumm winery to our tastings but I’m not sure we’ll keep the other. Mumm is one of my favorite champagnes.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, budgets, California, cooking, Flylady, simple foods, travel, Uncategorized by

We had a nice walk this morning. The sunrise was all pink and orange. No one else there but the guy who comes out of the woods( it actually used to be a Christmas tree farm when we first moved here in 1995.)

I’ve tidied the house and the bedroom zone is done. I washed and ironed the closet curtain( an old Ikea canvas one). Then I made the sourdough bread that had done a slow rise in the refrigerator. This one is just sourdough, no jalapeno or olive.

Then I put a chicken in the oven to roast and now that’s done sitting on the counter. I also have cut up 2 delicata squash that I bought at the farm last fall, russet potato, and sweet potato. Then I washed all the dishes and put them away.

This week is again not too busy. We need to get buggie( the VW) smogged this week. I plan on swimming Tuesday and then going to Winco. I do need a few things but not a huge amount. My menu for the week includes the roast chicken, tortellini with Rao’s sauce, potato and sausage bake with scrambled eggs, pizza night, and the rest will be ‘fill in the blank’.

I’ve been using my daughter’s old Coach bag as my purse and decided to buy a Coach wallet. I doubt I will replace my Louis Vuitton. I’m just in a different place now than I was then. Even though I never thought of it as a status symbol or anything like that because I dress in jeans and T-shirts. But I loved it and because it was the monogram one it always was discrete. Plus no matter how the settlement goes, a new Louis is @ $2,500. So I really doubt I would/could justify that. When Barclay bought that for me, I was 6 months out from my SCT and it was kind of a life reaffirming gift. I think he paid less than $1000 for it then. It has gone to many places including Florida, Hawaii, all our camping trips, Seattle, and lots more. Now unless I can find a used one, I sort of doubt I would buy anything new. Unless I win the lottery, which I don’t play, … so??

My sister had a number of LV’s but of course, they are all probably going to the daughters as they should. Although, I used to joke with Heidi to ‘bequeath’ me her LV wallet which I did love.

I’m working on another small load for the hospice thrift store. It worked out great to drop off the Fiesta ware there and they were very friendly. I plan on giving them my two vintage fans and my original Waring blender circa 1985( which still works great).

some cherry blossoms from our tree.

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, budgets, camping, travel, Uncategorized by

So, overall a frugal week with no extra purchases. Instead of pizza tonight we’re opting for Italian sub-type sandwiches. I’ll need to get some hoagie rolls and shredded iceberg and some deli stuff but this will come out of ‘dining out’ money not grocery. We were going to order a pizza from a new place in town but decided to just do this.

It’s been cooler the last few days and mornings @39 degrees. It does warm up nicely by afternoon but still chilly to start. Our next RV trip is just over 2 weeks away over at Wrights Beach. We only could get 3 nights. Then we’re going to try a new place in Napa which is the half way point to home for us. We have a reservation at 2 wineries for tastings. That’ll be interesting. The one place was pretty pricey but we figured we don’t do stuff like that often so it’ll be fun and I’m sure different.

I’m just about to file our taxes. We owe a small amount this yearaso I’ll file and then put a pay on such and such a date. Our taxes were very simple to do. Since there isn’t any itemizing anymore, that’s worth it for us, it’s quite easy. We always use Turbo tax.

I went to the pet bookstore the other day and picked up some newer books like the new Reacher. Lee Child is writing this with his son, and let me say, IT IS AWFUL. I love the Jack Reacher series but this just doesn’t hold together and the plot is lame. I also picked up the newer Hiiasson book. He’s always good for a laugh.

We don’t have a new TV series to watch yet so we might put in Matrix Reloaded. We watched the The Matrix the other night and it is a good movie. Any TV series on Prime or Netflex that you’re watching?

Wednesday things

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, cooking, decluttering, prepper pantry, Uncategorized, Walking by

A beautiful walk this morning under the Snow moon. Quite bright and no one showed up whilst we were there. Sunrise is definitely getting earlier now. Venus is very visible too.

I didn’t swim yesterday as the Santa Fe’s window is still not fixed. It should get sorted this afternoon though and I plan on swimming tomorrow. When we went to Costco on Monday, I went to the service counter to get a new card and the person asked where I had my purse stolen. So I said right down the road at the Mike Shellito pool and she said wow, I was the SECOND person in the last two weeks that had their car broken into there. WOW, is all I could say. Nothing new with the claims but it’s early yet.

Yesterday I made sourdough cinnamon/cran bread.

It was good. I think next time I’d use brown sugar and a little more. My favorite is still the jalapeno cheddar.

My pantry challenge is moving along and I figured out breaking down the Costco shop into categories( non -food, food) and then I separated all the food for just this week such as strawberries,half and half) and then all the longer term items like coffee, blocks of cheese, I calculated the cost per week and how many weeks would it take to use and then added those totals. So that was kind of a revelation. So if I broke down just this week’s food it came to $43. Then the breakdown of food for the month(like the coffee) was $20 a week. That’s things like tofu, coffee, cheese, ramen. Then B went to TJ’s and spent $25 on food.( Well,some how two TJ’s chocolate bars ended up in his cart, but that’s ok. So, that’s @$88 give or take a few dollars. I usually round up so, $90 with $10 left over. Our meals have been delicious with tamales one night, Tucson Stew another night, pasta with homemade alfredo sauce tonight.

I still think this $100 a week for 4 people would be very hard if you didn’t have some sort of pantry or freezer back up. I’m not planning on doing any major restocking for the prepper pantry. I think I’ll just keep getting some things that I like to keep extras of and call it good. For some people the idea of a year’s worth of food is comforting. For me, it seems slightly fear driven ( I totally did this too) but maybe the lesson out of it all was FOR WHAT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES ARE, keep some pantry in case of emergency and decide how much that is. For us, I think a reasonable balance is maybe a months worth of stuff. Now remember, I have always ( since 1975) bought in bulk my beans, rice, flour,etc. So that’s nothing new to me. But all the extras was somewhat recent with the pandemic. ( Think extra soup cans, condiments, etc). Well, life is a journey and we can only hope to learn from where we’ve been to where we are going.

Barclay had a good visit with his transplant doctor and the good news is he will go off Jakafi. That’s an anti-rejection drug that runs @ $7,000 a month(OOPS, Barclay said it’s$17,000 a month). Fortunately, he has the grant actually from the drug company and UCD charity.

This month is my renewal for LLS and there is no funding for myeloma so I’m trying to not panic too much. I just keep checking daily as the funding can come in and then be gone quite quickly. Hopefully by the end of February which is my renewal month.

Today I’m planning to drop off the last of my Fiesta ware that I know I’m not going to use at the Hospice Thrift. Then a few other errands like an Amazon return.

Friday Things

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, cooking, meal planning, swimming by

It’s been a tough week after the car break in. We still don’t have the window fixed and it won’t be till next Thursday. I plan on driving my daughter’s Honda Fit tomorrow to the pool. I finished all the paperwork for the claim but I’m certainly not holding my breath.

I made the pizza dough for tonight and also have my sourdough starter getting ready for another loaf of jalapeno cheddar bread. I’ll mix up the dough later and then refrigerate overnight and bake tomorrow morning.

So far the grocery challenge has been pretty easy. I went to Winco Tuesday and spent a little more than I wanted at $61. Then Barclay spent another $15 at Safeway for bread flour and cream and something else I can’t remember now. So I don’t need anything today or tomorrow so I’ll end the week at almost $80. I’ve got most of the menu for next week done. Monday we plan on going to Costco because we will need coffee. I’m still not sure how I will separate Costco in the weekly budget since some things will last more than a week. Maybe I’ll try and divide it up but that seems like more trouble or effort than it’s worth. So, I’ll need to think about that.

I was working on a spreadsheet form from a Youtuber. But, even though I enjoyed figuring it out for budget stuff in the end it was just too complicated. I do a daily budget sheet in my notebook, so I know exactly what’s going out and coming in. I might play with it some more but I doubt I’ll use it.

In March we will have some bigger expenses. Barclay is having some dental work and that’s going to cost @ 900. Then we have property taxes due and Federal taxes too. We will owe IRS a small amount this year. I’m okay with that as we did use some retirement savings(withdrawal) to do the half payment for the RV. So that will all add up and it will be a pricey month.

If you have Disney Plus, the Mandalorian show is quite good and we’re enjoying it. Oh, and the Amazon Prime new Reacher was EXCELLENT. The actor is perfect for how you visualize Jack Reacher.

Well, I’m off to town to drop a load at Goodwill so I better get a move on.

ROBBED!!

Posted in Uncategorized by

Well, it wasn’t a fun day yesterday after all.

I did my usual swim and was out at 8am. I always lock my purse in the car figuring I don’t need to carry it into the pool area. I opened the car and there was glass everywhere and the passenger side had been smashed in and of course, my Louis Vuitton was gone. My wallet with ALL my credit cards, license, is all gone. I put my purse on the floor tucked almost under the seat but it must have been visible enough to the looter (s). Plus I had my cash envelopes in there too. So a pretty major hit of loss. All my grocery money, gas money, extra I’m saving for traveling. A BIG hit. I was really shocked and finally, the nice lady next to me said to call the police which then I did. Then I called B. I was definitely NOT handling it well as there was glass everywhere, in the car, still in the window, on the ground and I was just losing it. I told B to call our bank immediately and stop the 2 cards. Then after I did the police report I called Barclay’s card and canceled. Unfortunately, they had already charged 3 things but of course, it’s fraud so I won’t be charged. Still, I was unnerved and kept asking, what od I do about all the glass. I also called Allstate and started a claim but by that point, I was too far gone with adrenaline and told him I’d have my husband call back. Then I called B and said, “come and get me”.

He got down there and wrapped the door and window with a large plastic bag and taped it shut so I could drive home. I was pretty shakey but got home fine.

So now I need to get a new license, change what I have on auto-pay, get all new cards like Medicare, UHC, etc. I am definitely still freaked out. The pool parking lot is quite open and lots of people going in and out. Our guess is a car drove up block the view of the passenger side and did the smash and go. I was parked nearest the pool and was in there for only 50 minutes. Very sad really. Well, I’m sad and angry. My Louis V was the one thing I own that I really love. I also had my daughter’s LV change purse in there too and that was hardly used as she never really like it. so that alone is @ $500.

Product Image 1

Well, it’s a very hard thing to process but I wasn’t hurt. The window in the car can be replaced and with time, I can get the other cards like AAA redone.

So sad, I just hope Louis is ok. 😦

Post #1500.

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, swimming, Uncategorized by

It’s Saturday. This post is my 1500 one. I started my blog in 2012 so it’s almost 10 years old. (lo in April). I blog mostly as a journal and it’s fun for me to go back and read what was happening. Also with Myeloma, I like to keep track of what treatments I’ve had and when. It does put things in perspective.

Today is a swim day. I get to the pool @ 7:10 and swim till almost 8am. Saturdays are a mixed bag. Sometimes it’s busy and other times I get a lane to myself. It’s definitely worth my drive of 25 minutes to get there. As I’ve said there’s no pool in Auburn like this.

After that, I plan to hit up Winco for a FEW things. Their wines are the best prices around. So I’ll pick up something. My favorite right now is a French Rose. Not anything expensive, more like under $10. We are holding off on Costco till the week after next. I think we have enough coffee till then which is always the deciding factor.

The most exciting news this morning is my labs came in and there was NOT an increase in my Kappa light chains and it even went down a smidge.

Another month of things looking pretty good. Last month the kappa was 20.6mg/L so, hey, I’ll take it.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, cooking, home stuff, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma by

It’s been interesting not thinking about groceries on this low-budget food month challenge. This week, so far, I’ve spent 34.99. The 34.00 would have been even lower but B went to Safeway and bought 3 giant oranges for 4.97. It was an honest overlook as per pound it wasn’t too bad but they were very large so it weighed more. The same with apples. That’s ok, it was still a low-cost shop. Today I need to get some mozzarella for pizza night and I have a coupon for some free bananas. I think the biggest challenge is just mental and adjusting to I don’t need anything at the store or to build up the prepper pantry. Like I said, I’m trying to have us eat down both the freezer and pantry. Next week I plan on using some turkey for chili and then look at what else is in there. Overall, it’s been a good challenge.

We did fill up both buggie and the Santa Fe and gas is pretty steep at$4.59 to 4.79. per gallon. I try and fill Bugs up only once a month as I only drive that to Auburn and back.

Last week was an unexpected oak firewood purchase since we needed it and we saw it down at the corner where someone had a trailer full to sell. I wasn’t super happy that it wasn’t quite a cord when he dropped it off and the guy should have known. But he did drop off some extra after we complained. But even then I still don’t think it made up a full cord which is 4x4x8 and looks pretty impressive when you see it.

So far this morning, I’ve made the pizza dough, fed my sourdough starter, washed 3 shelves in the refrigerator. I’ve done some email stuff and checked LLS( Leukemia Lymphoma Society). Sadly, right now there is no funding for myeloma so my grant can’t be re-upped. I’ll keep checking every day because funding does come in on a daily basis. Still, that’s a big hit for us if I’m not getting my insurance covered. Hopefully, it’ll come in soon.

I don’t have any projects going on right now and feel a little adrift. I like to be working on something and nothing seems to be jumping out to be done. I’ll think about what can be reorganized or done differently. The kitchen always can use some organizing.

Here’s the last amaryllis bulb that’s blooming. I think this one is the prettiest so far. I’m still not crazy about them and won’t order bulbs next fall.

I plan on going into the pet bookstore this morning and dropping off some books and seeing what looks good. I still have a few PD James in my bedside table.