Monthly Archives: February 2024

Thankful Thursday

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, cooking, Gratitude, library, meal planning, swimming, Uncategorized by

I was grateful to the nurses at Oncology for being so nice, friendly, and efficient. My nurse noticed the uptick in my kappa numbers and mentioned it. I said I was quite disappointed but maybe the dosing just needs to be adjusted( which is what I think will happen). I also asked about Darlazex Fastpro and she said that is a once-a-month shot so maybe that’s what I’ll need to go to after trying the other options.

The huge storm is moving in and although we seem to be forecast not to have terrible wind it still will be gusting and lots of rain. I’m grateful that I got whatever I needed to get done yesterday. The Sierras and Tahoe are bracing for blizzard conditions and Cal Trans is warning people to stay home.

We continue to enjoy the free DVDs of Longmire from the library. A great series. I’m very excited about the new Shogun coming out. Shogun, the book, was a huge influence on me and Japanese culture. I loved the first miniseries with Richard Chamberlain. The Japanese did have some pretty horrific tortures and deaths ( heads rolling) but the beauty of the honor is somehow still infused, well, unless you were an enemy and then that wasn’t pleasant.

Today I’m grateful to feel good enough to make sourdough again, and I’m prepping lasagna to go in the freezer and I plan on making a soup for dinner. I took my dex at 5 pm last night and I think I like that better than taking it when I get home from infusion. It gives me time in the afternoon to do some stuff.

I’m grateful I got the March budget done. We have 2 cars to pay registration for and smog. I’ve saved enough in envelopes for one and the other I’ll need to figure out. My goal of course is that for next year these are fully funded.

I’m thankful I went to the pool Tuesday because I won’t be able to get back till next week with the storm and dex days. The Coast Guard kids were using 3 lanes which I was not thrilled about but otherwise, it was mellow.

This is about half in bloom. It’s cloudy so it doesn’t show how pretty it is in the sun.

Some happy daffodils from the yard. The pink tree is almost full out so with our weather turning for the worst, I’m not sure the flowers will make it. Next year I plan to buy 2 more bags of assorted daffodils to start filling in a few more places.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, Pantry, swimming, Walking by

Yesterday was just glorious. Our temperature almost reached 70. It was so nice to sit outside. Alas, we are now headed to some really cold weather. Oh well, soon enough.

I had a great swim on Friday but the pool was packed with the high school team so that wasn’t too great. But I had an end lane so I was fine. It is going to take a while to get back to what I was doing but so far the swimming hasn’t negatively impacted my knee. Next week with Dex/Velcade it will be hard to get a swim in.

After swimming I went over to Winco which is across the street and bought what I needed for the week. Also, we’re planning on Costco because last week I had to go buy coffee at Starbucks. So coffee will be the main reason to get to Costco. I think after that we will go down to the library and pick up my holds and drop off my books. Maybe we’ll go to Paris(Bakery) for a coffee and croissant.

Yesterday, I watered all the house plants and moved a few around. As the sun gets higher it comes in certain windows more and plants need to be moved from direct sun. I also washed a few more windows.

Today after we walk, I will get the sourdough boule in the oven. I made turkey chili yesterday so we’ll have that with some homemade bread and a salad. I have a can of vegetarian chili I can make for B. I want to use up all the stuff that was bought in the pandemic or after. For instance, yesterday I opened a bbq sauce that was best by last year. Normally that wouldn’t bother me, but the seal inside looked suspicious so I tossed it. That’s the kind of thing I want to toss or use.

Overall, I think February’s budget went well. The cash envelope system is working although there are some tweaks I need to make. I didn’t get enough cash for groceries so I used the debit card and need to adjust that amount in the budget. I think it works well if you’re putting accurate amounts in the envelopes. Amazon is tricky because that’s more of a virtual envelope and it goes on a cc. So I might start budgeting $100 a month and then move that to the CC. It’s tweaking these few things that will make it work. Plus, you have to be willing to work with cash and lots of people don’t want to. Also for annual bills, since we’re on a fixed income, there is only so much I can put in the envelopes and probably it won’t add up to the full amount. I’m hoping by fall, I will be able to get some of these fully funded. Another thing people do ( from Youtube) is when they start getting a lot of cash for some of these envelopes, they take the cash to the bank and put it in a high yield account. I think that’s something we need to do by fall as well. I might check with our Credit Union as I think I just saw on their website a high yield savings account. It’s amazing what some people have in cash envelopes but of course, they are usually 2 income people and getting regular paychecks from jobs.

Well, I need to get the bread in the oven before I go to the Auburn gym.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cancer, Gratitude, knee injury, swimming, Walking by

Admittedly, I’m feeling a bit stressed this week by a number of things. Mostly due to some medical stuff that still needs sorting and of course, my increase in Kappa light chains in one month. I try to take some deep breaths and tell myself this too will pass. I’m grateful that I’m usually able to change my attitude towards things but this week there were number of things that just added up. I’m hoping by next week things are clearer.

I’m very thankful to walk without my walking stick and I’ve increased my steps too. The PT does seem to be strengthening my knee. I have 2 more sessions. My leg does ache occasionally but I’m still trying to power through and walk and swim.

I’m so excited and grateful to be back in the pool. I’m going later and it’s a whole different crowd than the 6:30 one. It’s ok for now because I’m still only in the water 20 minutes or so. Next week I’ll try and increase to 30 minutes.

We have sunshine!! It’s chilly but after all the gloomy days the sun is nice to see and it does cheer me up. Plus the daffodils are all up. I picked some and filled 2 vases with them for the table. I can also see the flowering cherry is budding and soon will be blooming.

Golden Sneakers/ Golden Calf

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Am I the only one who is seeing this comparison of tRump’s golden sneakers to the idol that was made of the Golden Calf or was it a bull? It’s the Old Testament when Moses is away( probably on some psychedelic trip gathering stones that inscribed the 10 commandments. Everyone was partying(well the best that was in ?? B.C and then they started gathering up all the gold to pour the calf/or was it a bull. I think it had horns so a bull. Anyway, here’s trumpy showing off his golden sneakers to cash in as much as he can.

All I can say is, it seems about the same, worshipping golden sneakers and worshipping a golden bull. I’m pretty sure that’s where the commandment comes in ‘thou shalt not have gods before me’. So what’s the difference? And really tRumpers you bought them for $399. huh????

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, decluttering, Flylady, freezer cooking, simplicity, swimming, Walking by

I was able to walk the .5 mile today again. So that’s some improvement. I’m taking it slow but still, I am thrilled just to be out there. I hope to get to 3/4 mile this week.

I went and did the Auburn gym this morning for the upper body. I’d like to get to the Roseville gym once this week as the weights are much nicer and there is more variety.

Last night we had a pressure canned vegetable soup with canned kidney beans and some sourdough garlic toast. Quite delicious. I’m planning on pressure canning lentil soup this week as that was one of our favorites. I might try canning French onion soup but not sure yet how much we would use that.

I pulled some random food items from the freezer to use in the next couple of days. There’s 1 ready meal of mushroom crepes, 1 chicken enchiladas, 1 pulled pork, and one rice casserole. So there are some choices for everyone.

We had quite a bit of rain overnight but today is mostly dry till this evening. It’s not that cold though so that’s a plus.

With Monday a holiday, I have PT on Tuesday. I need to figure out how I want to plan the rest of the week. I definitely want 1 swim day, 1 gym day and ? I also need to get to Trader Joe’s for a few things or Winco. I think one of us is going to have to hit Costco because we will need coffee.

My friend suggested watching the Longmire series on Netflix. But we don’t have Netflix so I checked the library and they had all the seasons. So far we really like the characters and the storyline. It’s certainly not a new series but in the same line as Dark Winds ( Hillerman series).

The Flylady zone is the bedroom if you’re keeping track. I just have some dusting to do and that’s about it. I may go through a bin under the bed and see what can be consolidated. Ideally, I’d like just one bin of things to save for the kids if they ever want them down the road. Neither of my children are sentimental about stuff like that but there are a few things I’d like to keep just in case. (haha, just in case).

Friday Things

Posted in cancer, cash envelopes, frugalism, Myeloma, swimming by

I plan to go down and swim today. I’m going to go about 45 minutes before the pool closes and try to do 15 minutes or so. I was going to go to the gym but decided that working out in the pool swimming would give me a ‘whole’ body workout.

Out internet is down. The modem stopped working yesterday( I think ATT was working on the lines and screwed it up). So this is courtesy of my hot spot. What a PITA and they won’t be here till Monday:(

I’m trying to work through being depressed about my Kappa numbers. It’s difficult to handle and even though I know ‘this too will pass’, it’s a bummer. There’s not much I can do until the next cycle and labs because we don’t know what they will do. But I will ask Dr.L to go every 2 weeks and see what that does. Still very disappointing.

Frugal wise, not much new. I need some new clothes but am holding off till I have more in my cash envelope. Probably in March, I’ll get what I need which is a new Polar fleece, 1 pair of Levi’s ( that’s pretty much all I wear besides my workout leggings), a new pair of Hokas, and a couple of T-shirts.

I went down to the Holiday and spent 60 on food. Mostly this was odd stuff like Bubbies pickles, rice noodles, greek yogurt, and a sourdough loaf from Truckee Sourdough. There must have been a few more things but I can’t remember now.

B got gas at Costco so that saved some money. We’ve been doing this regularly and it’s at least .50 a gallon cheaper there than Auburn.

Most all the money bills are done except water which is later in the month. So no extra spending overall. I used a gift card to get a coffee at Starbucks but that’s about it.

Here are the 2 books I got at the FOL Roseville.

This added up to $5 and I used personal spending money. The Linda McCarthy book was interesting to look through.

Well, I’m off to get ready for the day plus figure out what we’re doing for dinner.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, books, California, cancer, Myeloma, Walking by

As always the library. I picked up my holds( more Tony Hillerman) and a new book. The new book is by a friend/author of my daughters. They met on Whatpad which is the platform my daughter writes on and sells her books on. The book is ‘A Bean to Die For” by Tara Lush. This is book 4in the series.

That PT is helping my torn ACL and I feel like my knee is improving. Whether it will ever be what it was, I don’t know but for now, I’m grateful to do small walks.

Although I wish my kappa light chains stayed in the normal range, they at least didn’t do a huge jump. But still, I’m now out of range which means the once a month Velcade is not going to cut it. Disappointing for sure. So I have my next Velcade at the end of the month. I’ll get labs soon after and if it goes up again, I’ll message my doctor and suggest we try twice a month. I think he will want to wait till after this next infusion.

We’ve had some breaks in the rain and it lets things dry out. More rain is due later and tomorrow. We didn’t go to Napa because of the weather so maybe in March.

12 years blogging

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This month is the 12th anniversary of this blog. I started back in 2012 in order to keep track of how I was doing with my cancer. It evolved into decluttering, Flylady zone cleaning, simplicity, and eventually minimalism.

Quite the journey and it continues. I write this blog as my personal journal of what’s happening. I have written 1800 blogs so far. I will continue until I no longer want to.

I’ve thought of doing Adsense at some point but just haven’t really wanted to go that route. Maybe at some point.

cheers!

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, California, cancer, cooking, knee injury, Uncategorized, Walking by

Yay, I walked one round in the park. This week I plan to try and walk 3 times. It’s slow going but I need to build up to my regular walking schedule. Hopefully, I can at least get up to a mile.

I plan on going into the Auburn gym this morning. I haven’t been there forever. After that just come home and do Sunday things. I want to meal plan the week and I want to do the bathroom and bedroom zones.

Okay, back from the gym. It went ok. I’m glad to be back to my Sunday routine. Once home, I prepped the stuffed peppers and got them in the crock pot. I’m pretty sure I’m going to buy another instant pot. The one I like is the new version that’s more oval. I haven’t seen it physically but the pictures look good. Maybe in March. I did check marketplace but they all seemed overpriced for used.

Tomorrow, I have PT and my monthly labs. This is the first month on monthly Velcade so hopefully, all is good. Dr. L wasn’t too worried and that’s why he scheduled a follow-up for the end of March.

Today is Super Bowl and we are not watching. We don’t have the networks that play it so I guess unless we subscribed we’re out of luck. That’s ok, I’m really not into football although it is the SF 49ers:)

Friday things

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, frugalism, home stuff, Myeloma, Pantry, Uncategorized by

I met up with two friends from the old FOA library for coffee yesterday. One of the women just lost her husband to Myeloma so she’s adjusting her life. He was just recently diagnosed but wasn’t in good health and I think his body just couldn’t take it. Another friend just had her husband diagnosed with Myeloma too. How weird is that? He’ll be starting Revlimid, dex, and Darzalex fastpro. I think he should do fine but he’s also in his late 70’s so there’s that.

I finished the pressure canned beans and so now I have 3 garbanzos and 3 black beans ready to go. Beans are really easy it’s just the time involved while the pressure canner is going.

I’m not going to the gym today but I might go tomorrow. It just depends on how I feel. Today I’ll do the PT exercises and then just potter around. It feels like I have lots of areas in the house that need some attention. The kitchen pantry shelves need to be sorted and a place for the chip bags. It’s interesting how these little things just are minor irritations and I tend to just look past them until they really bug me and then I do something.

Today is National Pizza Day so either we’ll get a pizza or I’ll make one. It’s a cloudy day with some sunshine coming through. Next week we’re tentatively going to Napa. Hopefully, it’ll be at least sunny. I have 2 weeks till my next Velcade so we could go the following week if that looks better.

Frugal-wise, we haven’t done any lunch dates or coffee for that matter. ( except my coffee with friends). If we do pizza tonight that’ll be takeout. B did go to Costco and got coffee, eggs, etc. I think we’ve been able to keep our grocery bill down because of TJ’s, Costco, and Winco. I haven’t shopped at Safeway in like forever. I have shopped at Holiday simply because it is 2 minutes away and if I need something then the cost of gas has to be figured in too.

I paid for Turbo Tax too. I probably could have found a free platform I like how turbo tax asks the right questions and then it’s all done. It’s worth the $89 for federal taxes.