Monthly Archives: March 2023

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgets, California, Political things, Uncategorized by

This week has been relatively frugal since it’s the end of the month and all the bills are done and I didn’t need anything from the store.

I have next month’s budget done and there are some extras on there like more garden soil. Since we have the truck now, we can get a yard of garden soil and it’s way cheaper than getting bags. The weather looks really nice for the next couple of weeks so I’m sure my daughter will want to start getting garden beds ready. She already has lots of tomato starts in the greenhouse.

Today, I’m going to skip the gym and go to Costco. I want to get salad stuff, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, etc. I don’t have a big list but I’m sure it’ll add up. I might add on a few pantry items but I’ll have to see what I need. Then after Costco, we’re going to get an early lunch of some sort. Panera is always a good choice for us and I do love their broccoli cheddar soup.

I’m thrilled that trump has been indicted no matter where it ends up.Finally, something to show he’s not above the law. But regardless, I plan on doing a media break in April. Not a complete break, but very limited like reading the WP for 15 minutes in the morning and that’s it. I feel like I’m somewhat out of balance with something and feel like it might be a good place to start in limiting news, and other media things. I don’t do much with Facebook or Instagram but I still do some and I’ll cut that out too. Maybe it’s I feel out of control with what’s going on in this country, with AR, killing of children, teachers, the insane GOP esp. people like Boebart and Greene. Of course, I know I personally can’t do anything to change what’s going on but I know I am definitely affected by all this tragedy. All the Shit with trans rights, and LGBTQ stuff, book bans just sort of freaks me out. Where as a country are we headed? I know this stuff affects way more than it should so maybe stepping away from reading about will help me gain some perspective. I guess it’s worth trying.

I may also consider not blogging during that time too. April marks my 11th year blogging Tahoe Girl.

Wednesday and it Snowed again!!!

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Well, I got home from the gym yesterday @ 10:30 and the wind was howling and it was raining cats and dogs. Then by 1pm all of a sudden it turned to snow!!! Lots of snow and the forecast was still saying rain. It was a very wet snow and heavy.

The worst though is our beloved flowering cherry trees that we planted 25 years ago, were in full bloom, and both had their top branches break off from the weight of the snow. I’m really sad about this. Such lovely trees. It’s sort of weird because not a few hours before I looked out at them and saw them drooping but didn’t think much about it. But that snow was so heavy it split the tops right off. 😦

With all the snow at low elevations, I’m not going to the pool this morning. I don’t want to get caught out in that again. I think tomorrow the weather is sunny again, so I’ll go then.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, camping, cooking, swimming, travel, Uncategorized, Walking by

Somehow Frugal Friday got away from me as I went down to the gym and when I got home other things needed doing.

I did a small Winco shop after swimming yesterday. $109 including some wine. It was salad stuff and some pantry/frozen items like hash browns. The pool was amazing again with lanes even open. Maybe some of the die-hard swimmers are doing their other exercises outside I it’s been pretty nice out. Anyway, I sure appreciate having my own lane.

This morning we had a nice walk and once again we seem to be the only predawn walkers right now. Yay!!! It was cold but nice.

Then I put the sourdough boule in the oven which I had preheated while we walked so it was ready to go. After the bread was done I headed into the Auburn gym. Again, there seemed to be fewer people than last week so maybe the nice weather has everybody going to Home Depot for gardening stuff?

Once I got home, I made up a batch of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies which are still baking. I froze two logs of cookie dough for later. I also am soaking some Rancho Gordo beans(Marcella), and a white bean as I plan to pressure can them tomorrow.

This coming week is just regular stuff. Next week I have both my labs and doctor appt. My eye scan showed my macular pucker about the same. I’m still on the fence about the surgery but when the time comes and I need cataract surgery, then I will need to get it done. I guess I’m just scared to do it.

Well, nothing new here. Oh, after a week of trying for camp spots in Tahoe, we finally got one for the end of September. Geez, such an ordeal to get spots.

Thankful Thursday

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It’s the little things, really I’m grateful for.

  • We’ve had lots of rain and snow but when the sun comes out it’s lovely and allows the ground to absorb the water.
  • I’m not one who likes changes, I like routine. But I’m grateful for the routines in my life and that they make my day go smoothly(mostly).
  • Our bright yellow daffodils add lots of cheer to the yard and my table.
  • As always, I’m grateful for the indoor pool in Roseville. Sometimes, it’s a challenge leaving at 6:20 am to get to the pool and in the water by 7 am but it’s always worth it. This month marks 2 years since I started swimming again.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, Flylady, Pantry by

Another rainy day! At least we had a few days of sunshine which were so nice. We didn’t even walk this morning because of the rain. Usually, I will walk in the rain anyway but this morning I was just done with it. I figured I was going to the gym so I’d get my walking in there.

This morning I started on the pressure-canned split pea soup. Right now it’s in the canner going for 90 minutes. I got the split peas cooked first then turned them off while I went to the Auburn gym. It was nice because almost no one was there. Then after getting home I finished the soup with chopped carrots and onions( thanks B) and let that cook for another 30 minutes.

Our flowering cherry tree is in full bloom. It’s a cheery site on a rainy day. Plus the daffodils are up and in full bloom too.

Tomorrow, I have my eye doctor appt for a macular scan. I’ve been on the fence as to whether to do the surgery and so far it’s been no, I don’t want to deal with it all. I guess as long as my left eye can compensate, that’s good enough. If it were to get worse then I’d have to do something.

The rest of the week is just normal stuff. I don’t have any shopping to do and that’s a relief. We might do a lunch date on Thursday but we’ll see.

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, home stuff, Pantry, reading, Uncategorized by

I guess it’s been a frugal week. By not going to Capitola we saved gas money and food money. So there’s that. But then I wanted to go to Costco and finish getting the extra things on my list like batteries, cheese, canned tomatoes, and some other small items, which added up to another $250. Oh, and B threw in a case of Sierra pale ale. Still, I won’t need to go back to Costco till the end of April when the coffee will need replenishing.

Yesterday, after Costco I picked up my library books. It’s a good haul of around 10 books. I’m really enjoying Phillip Margolin’s books.

When I got home I took the chicken broth I had made the day before, skimmed the fat off, and got the pressure canner ready. The chicken broth only takes 25 minutes at 15lbs of pressure so it went quickly. So far then I’ve done chicken soup, chicken broth, and pinto beans. Next is the split pea soup but I don’t plan on doing that till Sunday.

All our big annual spring bills are done which include property tax, Allstate, and IRS. So now there’s nothing big till Fall and I’ll start saving up for that starting in April. Oh BTW, we found out that the eviction of our neighbor was due to a foreclosure that happened last year but took this long to process and serve the eviction. Amazingly, it sold at auction for $105,000 which for Meadow Vista is shocking. You can’t even buy land for that price so whoever bought it basically ‘stole’ it from her but really she was the one who let it go. Sad… Now why she didn’t sell and make some money, IDK. Maybe her health has declined so much she wasn’t really thinking straight. The owners I’m sure will remodel and flip this house as it’s still redeemable. They have had the junk removal people there at least 3X with a big truck. As I’ve said she was a hoarder! I still feel sad about it.

Today is just home pottering around day. I’m doing some house chores and am working on a thrift store load and food pantry drop off for next week.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in cooking, library, Pantry by

First, The Sun is out!!! It was so nice yesterday to have sunshine. Sitting in the sunroom the temperature was 72 degrees!!! Today looks just as nice.

We got thru the storms and wind with no trees coming down. We still have too many very large Ponderosa pines and they are worrisome. My wind phobia is not what it used to be. I literally had to leave and go somewhere. But most of the problem trees are gone but we still have maybe 6 that need to be taken down. Right now we can’t afford to do that at all.

Yesterday, I pressured canned chicken soup. I’m thankful for the person who passed on their canner to me so I could learn this process. Here are the pintos from the other day.

I’m thankful the library in Roseville is such a great place. I have never ( and will never)gone back to Placer Co library after the whole thing with how they treated me but now I have the Roseville one and it’s right next to the gym!! Win-win.

Here’s Mr. Gus

He’s a funny cat.:)

Another storm rolling in.

Posted in camping, cooking, swimming, travel by

Today was going to be our travel day. With the rain forecast and high wind warnings both here and in Capitola, I’m glad we decided to forego our trip down there. Now tomorrow looks quite nice but flooding just doesn’t recede overnight. In light of all this, I do think it was the right decision.

Today is a home day and I’m glad to be doing some home things. I plan on pressure canning pinto beans and that will take most of the morning. I want to reorganize my canned goods in the wine crate pantry and pull things that might be close to expiration so they can go to the food bank.

Now that I have the Ivar system for the canned goods complete, I can start to do more pressure canning. It’s great to be able to see what I have left and it’s all organized. I did use my raw silk curtain as a cover when I don’t necessarily want to see all the pantry items. I had B put up a small curtain rod on the top edge to hang a rod. Usually, I keep it open but I like the option of the visual of the raw silk. After this, I plan to pick one recipe to do like a ready meal. Probably a soup of some kind. I do have some split peas I need to use so maybe that will be first up.

I went to the gym yesterday and I plan on swimming tomorrow. The pool sent out an email that it will be closed for most of June and maybe July as they plan to resurface it. Their other pool is competition size and is used for swim lessons. I’ll need to check how they will do lap swimming and the times.

Wild California Weather or Frugal Friday

Posted in Blood test, bread, budgets, California, camping, home stuff, ikea, Myeloma, Pantry, swimming by

We are still getting clobbered. Right now it’s been raining here nonstop and there’s some wind. There are flood warnings everywhere for N Ca, specifically the Sierras and the Bay area. At this point, I’m guessing we’re canceling New Brighton because of the flood dangers in the Santa Cruz Mtns. Plus we’ll be right on the coast so I’m not too comfortable with the whole idea. Also, the day we leave it’s raining nonstop all day in Capitola. Reserving something in March is always a gamble, so we’ll be flexible. I do hate to give up the spot because it was an electric one. Oh well, that’s life.!!!

This week was busy but not too bad. I swam on Wednesday and that was lovely. I went to the gym on Tuesday and the library. We went to Costco on Thursday( yesterday), and holy cow was it busy. We didn’t have a clue as to why. It seemed just a regular Thursday. Weird. Anyway, I got lots of things to bulk up the freezer and pantry. I plan on going back in soon to get a few things more that we need like AA batteries. I didn’t want to add them to the cart yesterday.

After Costco, we went to our favorite pizza place, Celestino’s which is the closest to a NY pizza I’ve ever had out here. Although I left NY in 1970, thankfully, NY pizza has always been near and dear to me since I grew up right next to Pepe and Eddies. Now that might seem strange since I grew up on Quaker Rd in Highland Mills which back then was VERY rural. But right up the road, actually, the end of the road was this Italian family who ran the restaurant. There was the grandmother, Nonnie, Eddie, Pepe, and 2 children, Barbara and Johnny. Johnny was a few years older than me and we did play together occasionally. Anyway, their pizza was the best, ever.

We also spent money at Ikea but I brought cash for that from my ‘home’ money. The Ivar shelf is absolutely fabulous. I wish I had room for a second one. Maybe if I look at the space closer, I may be able to fit it in but that would mean using most of the wall and I’m reluctant to do that. ( at least for right now).

I should have bought another shelf and actually when I did my calculations I had the extra shelf in there but Ikea sells the Ivar as separate pieces. I had figured the 5 shelves( as shown on the website were all together but they weren’t. I got 6 shelves instead of the 7 I had planned thinking that was all I’d need but I can see I need the extra one for pint jars and half pints. I love that I can see what I have left in the canned goods and what I need to do this summer.

This is such a clever system and the total was $115. So a fabulous deal.

Today is a home day and with the rain and wind, I’m glad to be home baking and tidying things up.

Overall, an expensive week but since it’s all stuff we don’t normally do, I’m ok with it.

My labs came in with another 6pt increase. 😦 so now I’m at 36.7mg/L for kappa Light chains. It’s a bummer but as I’ve said,” your blood is your blood and it is what it is”. I did go back and looked at the graph for my increases in 2019 and they really started doubling at about 55mg/L. So in one month they went from that to almost 100. And then the next month almost to 200mg/L. So that’s what I don’t want to happen this time. The Myeloma cells are clearly on the increase and why wait till I’m at 600mg/L to start treatment. We don’t even know if Velcade will be effective since this will be my 3rd time on it. Lots of unknowns.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, bread, California, camping, Flylady, Pantry, Uncategorized by

More snow!!!

Yikes, we are getting clobbered. I -80 is closed again for the billionth time. Well better that, than tons of accidents, which there still are plenty of.

I made it home just in time from the pool when the rain/snow started coming in. This morning it was snowy on the ground but we still went for a walk.

I did a fairly big shop at Winco and was glad to get that done. I bought lots of produce and some items for the pantry like mustard and jalapenos. The store was very busy which thought was odd since all the Saturdays I’ve been there it’s mostly empty. ???rain maybe??

I just finished the Kitchen zone and have now started another WW bread dough to rise. My order from King Arthur came super fast, and that had the vital gluten you add to your dough and the baker’s dry milk. I think in the bigger picture, I’d rather use the Kitchen Aid to make the dough and let it rise in the bowl. I’ll still think about it but I think maybe the bread maker will go sometime this summer.

I’ve been thinking about where to put more shelves for the shelf-stable pressure canned and regular canned goods. I came up with behind the bedroom door is kind of empty space that could handle a shelf unit. The french door is about 11.5 inches from the wall so a unit would fit. This is the one I’m looking at.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/ivar-shelf-unit-pine-s49248311/

I would get 2 extra shelves because some jars like pints don’t need a lot of room. Since I did the kitchen zone and tomorrow is my day to not do any workouts, I plan to go to Ikea. ( unless it’s snowing:( )

If it works, it will free up the closet shelves. Since we only have one closet in this house, storage is always a challenge. Because it’s open shelving, I may have to hang a cloth or something as I have issues with too many visual things around. Speaking of which maybe I need to remove some things that are on shelves or the wall. Every once in a while I remove some items to see how it looks. What helps me the most is taking pictures and then looking at them with a critical eye.

This week is a fairly normal week with swimming and the gym. We’ll do Costco sometime too this week. Next week is our trip to New Brighton, but again it depends on the weather. If it’s raining here and there, then no. Capitola’s weather is usually milder than here so there’s that.