Monthly Archives: November 2023

Frugal Friday and other things

Posted in budgets, California, cancer, freezer cooking, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma, Walking by

This week we started the week out in Napa, so our RV space was $65 a night. A great price for full hookups. We spent $50 on pizza and wine, then $20 at the bakery, $40 at Trader Joe’s but $20 of that was for their seasonal candles, and $15 at the cheese station in Oxbow. So overall, a frugal getaway.

Yesterday was my doctor’s and we needed gas in the Santa Fe so we stopped at Costco on our way home. We went into Winco for salad packs, wine, and some Dave’s bread for sandwiches. We stopped at Celestino’s for a slice of NY pizza. It is the closest to NY pizza I’ve had in this area. That’s saying something.

My appt went well and he said it wasn’t the Velcade that caused my vomiting but the Dex. Dex causes lots of acid reactions in the stomach so he said to try and take only 4 next week. Then on top of that just as we were finishing walking this morning my knee( the one I fell on off the step ladder) completely gave out. WTF!!!! I didn’t fall but barely made it back to the car. So I vaguely remembered that dex causes muscle weakness. I messaged him to check that out and I guess I’ll just have to hobble around till it gets better. I made an appt with my PC for next week, but I’ll probably cancel that since I pretty much guess that the dex is the culprit. Since I had the fall I’m probably more susceptible there. Oh well, it’s always something. I planned on doing all the chores I didn’t get done this week today but that’s on hold now.

B has gone to town to buy cat crunchies and go to the gym. We alternate buying the big bag of Science Diet cat food with our daughter. So $55 for that.

I also planned going to the pool tomorrow but now I’m not sure what I’ll do. Maybe the muscle pain will subside by then.

I have a freezer lasagna ready for dinner and we’ll have one of the salad packs.

I do plan on going to Costco next week mostly for their sale items. Lots of good deals next week. But I want to do a freezer challenge and eat down some of my stockpiles.

I’m still working on some Christmas ideas for us all and have gotten a few things like a tea sampler for both kids. ( They’re big tea drinkers). I still plan on a few gift cards and will do that next week if I can get out and walk:( bummer and it better get better soon.

I just finished an absolutely wonderful book called” Lessons in Chemistry”. I highly recommend it.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, California, camping, Gratitude, library, Myeloma, travel, Uncategorized by

We had a terrific drive home. Traffic was minimal in our direction, terrible going toward Napa. So I’m thankful for that. We (meaning Barclay) had us hooked up, tanks emptied by 9:45 am. Boy, do I love full hookups!!. But plenty of places we love don’t have them so, it’s do what you can.

I’m thankful I wasn’t in any hurry yesterday as the infusion nurse was working 5 chairs alone and it took an hour to finally get my shot. Then I got stuck in traffic on 65 as there was construction on I-80 where it merges with 65. One hour later, I was headed home. So a normal hour and a half trip ended up almost 3.

I am thankful for the Roseville Library and the books I picked up yesterday too!!

So the most exciting news and what I am most thankful for is Velcade is WORKING!! My kappa light chains went down 100 POINTS !!!! Yay!!!! I see Dr.Laptalo today. B is driving me as it is a dex day and I never drive on dex. I could do it for sure but my judgements are just off on Dex. Hence, the no knives rule too.

Feel free to share what you’re thankful for and if you are traveling in blog land, the Frugal Girl’s blog on Thankful Thursday is always inspiring.

Greetings from rainy Napa, Ca

Posted in California, travel by

We had a great drive down yesterday and made it in 2 hours trailering which is pretty darn good. Very light traffic. We were still early for check-in so we stopped up at the big Raleys parking lot and walked over to In and Out for a burger for me and fries and a milkshake for B. Then we got over here@ at 12:10 and the office was still closed but very shortly some drove the golf cart up and asked if we needed checking in. So we were set up by 1 p.m. We have a back-in spot and it’s quite nice. It was sprinkling some by then but not much. We hung out and relaxed till dinner time and headed over to Oxbow for our favorite Fire Pizza. It did not disappoint.

We wandered around the Oxbow afterward and bought some cheese from the cheese stall. A french brie, and a piece of Comte I wanted for a recipe. Just as we were leaving the rain started. Not a lot but enough. By then it was almost dark so we were glad to get cozy in the trailer with jazz on the radio and wine in our glasses.

This morning it is raining and still dark out. We plan to venture out later to Modele bakery for some croissants then go do a few things I want to do here like go over to Rancho Gordo. I don’t think we’ll do any walking because of the rain.

Friday Things

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, frugalism by

It’s been mostly a frugal week. I didn’t do any grocery shopping but tomorrow I will stop in Trader Joe’s for some things to take with us to Napa and for home. Mostly whatever we need we’ll go buy there. The TJ’s in Napa is one of the largest we’ve been in and a flagship store. There were lots of things that we hadn’t seen in other ones.

My monthly budget is almost set. I want to factor in Christmas money and figure out gift cards. We don’t really have family to send gifts to but I give my brother cash, and my brother-in-law ( Heidi’s husband) a gift basket. Last year I did Point Reyes Cheese which is a women-owned co-op. Their cheese is amazing. Heidi always loved charcuterie boards and I figured Richard probably will too. So I’ll do that again this year. Other than that, the kids get gift cards, cash, and some small things.

For Thanksgiving, I already have a Diestal turkey I bought last year after Thanksgiving. I’m debating whether to just buy their turkey breast as it would be easier to cook. Since Thanksgiving will be on a Dex day I told everyone it’ll need to be super easy for them to cook. I’ll think about it. I’ll have simple side dishes that they can put together too. My son likes to cook so it shouldn’t be too difficult. The other option is to do Thanksgiving on Sunday and then whatever on Thanksgiving Day.

I’ve put together a new binder of rotation meals that we eat often and recipes for them. The idea came from Rhonda over at the Down to Earth blog. She talked about having 40 meals in rotation and the recipes. I liked the idea since we basically eat the same things like tofu in some form, pasta, chicken in some form, beans, rice, etc. She is now alone as Hanno died a few years back but she is an inspiration of living simply. She does have 2 adult sons who live nearby. She’s in Australia BTW.

Today is just a home day. I plan on making a no-knead sourdough boule. It needs an overnight rise so I’ll bake it tomorrow. Tonight is homemade pizza. I need to wash a few inside windows in the sunroom and just do an overall tidy-up.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, Gratitude by

I seemed to have pulled out of the chemo moment and feel fine now, so I’m grateful for that. Plus, this is my week off so time to let my body regroup.

I went to the gym yesterday and the library too. I had a few holds to pick up and found a few books in the new section. I should be set for a bit.

Our weather has been picture-perfect but a change is on the way. We may even see rain by the weekend. We still plan on taking Rubi to Napa even if it’s raining. We’ll visit Oxbow for Live Fire Pizza and the spice shop too. I also want to go over to Rancho Gordo for some beans. If you’ve never had Rancho Gordo you really must order from them. He’s done an amazing job preserving many varieties of beans around the world. The Marcella are wonderful as are the cranberry beans. I cook up the whole bag and then freeze left overs.

I’m planning on swimming this morning and then do some things around the house when I get home. I’m refining my cash envelope system and being more specific where I can. Something things, of course, like gas are still with a CC. But using cash for some things keeps me accountable. I’m grateful for the SS we get to pay our bills. There’s not much left over but we manage.