My son came yesterday and helped B with the bathroom. It’s been one thing after another but he got the new underfloor laid and everything for the toilet(flange, etc). B will try and hook up the sink although the piece from Ikea is mia somewhere. They said it should take 7 days and now it’s been a month. He can stabilize it with something else. So we’re close to it being done except for fixing some of the grout and paint touch-ups.
We have some things to deal with this week so I may not be blogging. And yes, it’s not good but we’ll get through it.
Well, it was pretty bad. I didn’t think it would be that bad for Biden but it was awful. Trump was his asshole self and makeup made him seem tan or orange whichever way you look at it. But Biden just didn’t pull it off. So now, who knows which way it’ll all go. If tRump wins we are really doomed to autocracy or worse. He is a vengeful person.
Anyway, over a good week in the books. B went to Costco to pick up a few more things like coffee, Vitawater, regular water, and other basics. I’m trying to plan that we go to the new Costco more frequently and do smaller shops. I still need some brown rice and sugar and some other bulk items.
I tried to change my doctor appt but he had nothing available till August so I guess I’ll drive down. I hope eastbound traffic isn’t too bad since it’s the day before 4th of July. But it is what it is.
I paid the truck’s registration. Boy, that was steep over $400. I wonder why it’s so high? Anyway, I didn’t have the cash in an envelope so next year I’ll have one for the truck. The other cars plus Rubi, I had cash envelopes for. Overall, cash envelopes are still working well for us. I mean we don’t have much money anyway so maybe that’s why. But I am trying to get a head start with the fall annual bills because that’s when our house insurance is due and it’s not cheap. I just hope it doesn’t go up too much.
I’m still checking LLS daily for Myeloma funding but so far nada. It’s just a waiting game because at some point it’ll come up but it might be 2-3 months. So that won’t be frugal when we’re paying my insurance and Medicare. LLS covers both so that’ll be an extra amount till I get covered again.
Today is low-key, I’m finishing the steam mopping and baking a sourdough boule( it’s in the oven as I write at 6:30.) It’s still not too hot so it might be nice to cook something on the grill. Next week looks brutal with the heat. There goes our PGE bill skyrocketing. That’s not going to be frugal for sure.
I might go into town to the bookstore but I’ll see how I feel. I did finish all my books so…?
The 4th of July looks too hot to BBQ so it’ll need to be done either early in the day or figure something else out. I could do some salads and cook some burgers early and then just reheat later. I guess I’ll think about it later. If my son comes up we could get sandwiches from the store.
I should’ve named this post, Unfrugal Friday. Oh well.
We finally have a cooling off period so I’m thankful for that. Unfortunately, next week looks worse than this week with Wednesday being 110. Yikes! I’m supposed to go to Sacramento to see Dr. L but I’m going to reschedule this morning after they open. I’m not driving into Sacramento when it’s that hot.
I’m thankful for a day to just potter around and do some extra things. I want to steam-mop the studio and vacuum. We moved the Ikea sofa out to the studio so I want to vacuum that too. Plus the windows need washing. I may not get to it all but some.
I’m grateful for my swim yesterday, It was not too busy so that made it nice. After that I went over to Winco for strawberries. I think Winco has the lowest prices so I bought 5 containers. They were $1.48 ea. I have seen them as low as.99 but not yesterday.
I’m thankful I was able to come home from that and still have the energy to make strawberry jam. I used 4 containers, so that was $5.96. I ended up with 10 half-pint jars plus 3 quarter-pint jars. So overall a good savings. I don’t plan on any other jam-making so this will last the year.
I’m thankful that B has his medical things organized and is going for a CT scan to see if his weight loss is related to something intestinally. He’s actually eating much better so that’s an encouraging thing.
I’m not so thankful that the bathroom now has another issue. We thought the floor would be done yesterday but when B pulled up the tiles, the floorboards had water damage around the toilet. So we are now in stop, regroup, plan phase again. He’ll need to take the toilet out and repair the floorboards. All I can say is Fuck, it’s always something. At least it was discovered now instead of 10 years from now. The area is pretty small so hopefully, it’s an easy fix. Still, it means removing the toilet, putting in a new ring, etc.
I plan on making my sourdough bread this morning. I added more flour to my starter so it should be ready around noon.
Here’s one of our dinners this hot week. Scambled tofu with spinach.
This was an interesting book with lots of recommended reading.
this is little Cherry Rat. She’s the only girl besides mama cat.
Here are pressure canned beans, Rancho Gordo pintos, and Marcellas.
Two of the 10 half-pint jars. I skimmed as much foam off as I could but there’s always some left. Any canners out there with hints. I seem to remember something about adding a teaspoon of baking soda??
We had a nice walk in the park. We were the only ones there again so quite nice. It was already 70 at 6am so it’s going to be another hot one.
We went down to see my son’s apartment and it’s very nice and fits the 2 of them well. Nice layout and all the used furniture he bought before had fits it well. We stopped at TJ’s to buy some flowers and prosecco and a few goodies. He had Noah’s bagels ready so that was sweet. He’s a thoughtful young man.
We are home now and I just started the pressure canner to make chicken broth. It’ll take about 75 minutes. This week I plan on pressure canning the white beans too.
I’m coming down off of Dex so feeling tired. But overall, I’m pleased with how it went. Of course, the true test will be my counts but I do feel these labs won’t really reflect it since it’s so close to when I took it but we’ll see.
The traffic coming down from Tahoe was horrendous. All I can say to Bay area, Sacramento, and Valley People is STAY HOME. Don’t clog up Tahoe simply because you want to dip in the lake. The roads are clogged, too many people on and on…
The infrastructure and really the lake itself can not handle so many people and cars. Be considerate. Just my 2 cents.
I finished the new Chris Bohjalian book, it was a very interesting read and I enjoyed it. His books are generally dark but complex characters.
My son is planning on coming up in the next few days to help clear out the studio. His mattress needs to go to the dump and the bed frame dismantled. Then we can paint and freshen it up. I’ll still get a bed for out there so if he and Alia come to stay they can use the studio. When I had the Norovirus it was very pleasant to be in and it stayed remarkably cool. this Tuff Shed has had a lot on incarnations. We put it up 2000 as our home school room. I lazzured ( a type of Waldorf painting using a watercolor base and it’s brushed on using two brushes)all the walls rainbow colors. In Waldorf school each grade has a color starting in kindergarten with peachy orange, then yellows, greens and finally eighth grade violets and purples.
Dinner is unknown as it’s hot so maybe another cold dinner??
More caulking done in the bathroom and the lights are up. Yay!!
That’s it. It will be hot. I have all the windows closed and the thermal blackout curtains closed too. I have one cooler running on 78 so some air is circulating.
As I mentioned, I was planning on taking the 8 mg of Dex and I did that evening. I slept ok so I don’t know if my BP went up but I think not. I took it when I got up and it was in perfect range. I checked all day and it was fine. So I decided to go ahead and do 4mg Friday. And today I did 4mg so that takes me up to 16mg. My BP has been in perfect range so maybe that’s the ticket. I’m still unsure how the efficacy of doing it over a few days will be and I will ask Dr. L when I see him next. I get labs Monday so it may be too soon to tell with these labs. I guess we’ll just wait and see.
I’ve been busy this morning and even with the 4 mg of dex, I feel pretty good. So I put back a few baskets on the bathroom shelves and hung my Japanese block print back up. I love Japanese block prints but really only like the ones with water or Mt Fuji. I’ve checked eBay and they are out there but pricey.
I hardboiled some eggs so B can have extra protein. He’s lost way too much weight and so we’re trying to figure out if it’s serious or just that he’s burning more calories than he’s taking in. So far all his labs are in the good range so no surprises. He has a CT scan scheduled to see if there’s some obstruction and he’s called his UCD transplant team to check in. Hopefully, it’s just calories in calories out.
Then I’m making chicken broth in the crock pot to either can or freeze. I still want to replace my instant pot but it’ll have to wait till we have some spare $.
I made a pesto noodle salad for dinner and added some olives and mozzarella. It’s so hot we’ll want to have something cold I think. We even ate at the table last night because it was too hot outside. We had a shrimp scampi, a big tomato, fresh mozzarella, and bibb lettuce. then I pan-toasted some homemade sourdough with garlic and olive oil. Very tasty.
I think my daughter will drive me to the pet bookstore to check if any Longmires came in. I doubt it though, I scoured Goodwill in Auburn and not one. I guess if I really want them I’ll have to buy them used on Ebay but there not cheap! I guess people keep them as they are very re-readable.
I had to get gas this week so that was $53 at Costco. Not too bad. The other cars, buggie and the truck are fine so I don’t need to fill them.
I’d gone over to Wino after swimming and spent about $100. Some wine and food combined.
Yesterday after infusion, I stopped at Costco and spent more than I wanted but I’m going to move some of it over to July’s budget since things like shampoo and conditioner will last months, Qtips were on sale, and they too last about 6 months if not more, mayo was on sale and I put that in the pantry so that will last months too, flour, and a bunch of other things that will definitely be more than a months grocery shop. Maybe I’ll try and separate it out if I am sitting at my desk.
All the monthly bills are done so I have July’s budget ready. The only extra this month is the truck registration and I’ll do that next week.
Our hot weather is starting again today, so I need to close the windows and curtains. It looks to be hot till Tuesday. My son was going to come tomorrow but now with that being the hottest day he may wait till next week. We need to get the floor down so we can get the sink in so it is a bit of a hold up.
Today we’re going to try and paint some if not all of the bathroom. It just depends on how our arms hold up. Getting old, huh?? I used to paint entire rooms myself. Heck, I painted the outside of the whole house once. Not anymore. I can do a wall or two and then that’s it. I think my daughter will be my backup today. 🙂
I’m thankful to be walking fairly normally now. I suppose the torn ACL/meniscus will always be a factor, but at least for now, I’m walking. This morning I did 1.5 so by the end of the day, I’ll be over the 2-mile mark.
I’m thankful for the cooler weather and I’ve been baking sourdough again. When it’s hot, bread-making is out.
I’m grateful to have been swimming twice this week and it feels like that too, is getting back to where I was. I like getting there later as the die-hard swimmers are mostly gone.
I’m heading down to get my Velcade shot this morning. I plan on going to the new Costco afterward. It is nice it is that much closer and a beautiful store. The layout is different than the other one. I think this might be the way they are doing them as a couple of other newer Costco’s have the same layout. I am thankful that it’s right off the freeway and on my way home.
This was the random leftover garlic from last year that got planted. Really nice big bulbs.
I read somewhere to cut the scape off and the bulb will get bigger. I think it worked as these are the biggest garlic I’ve ever grown.
Happy Juneteenth Day!! Celebrating the end of slavery. What a cruel, inhuman way of life the southerners( for the most part) treated African Americans.
We have had a lovely cool down in the weather whilst the rest of the country is roasting. So I guess DeSantis still doesn’t believe in global warming even after all the torrential rain and flooding. Well, Florida can get swept away by the rising ocean, and then let’s see what he says.
I went to the gym(finally) yesterday and it was a good workout. The library had a hold for me so I picked that up and a few other books. The book on hold is ‘The Kitchen Front’. It is so great It’s about a cooking competition during WW2 in England. Quite entertaining.
The bathroom is coming along although still no sink or light. Today is(hopefully) dry wall and then at least get the light up. I’m getting tired of everything all over the place. I plan on painting as soon as the drywall is up and it has the mud on it. After painting, we can put the floor in.
My daughter cleaned the tiles and it looks better. There are still some spots where the gout needs fixing but B will do that.
I plan on going to Costco tomorrow if everything works out because I want to pick up an orchid for my son’s new apartment. I also need flour, tuna, brown rice and a few other things. I think I’m coming in around $600 for food this month. My budget starts next week so I’ll figure out July’s budget.
Today, I need to vacuum and later make some spaghetti sauce as that’s whats on the menu for tonight.
So good to be home. It’s cool out and the gardens look great. Plus it’s quiet!!!
Our obnoxious unfriendly neighbor has been unusually quiet for about 6 weeks now. I know he’s over there because he has opened his workshop/garage, but no metal grinding. Usually, he’s grinding metal all day. We’re pretty sure he’s running some sort of business but we can’t tell what exactly. But it’s been blissful to have it so quiet, let’s hope I don’t jinx it.
I used the new shower and it’s not going all the way over to hot so it’s warmish. I guess we’ll have to have the handyman fix it this week. Plus there are some gaps in the grout in a few places. Update: B watched the Delta you tube video and fixed it. It was quite easy.
Today I just need to use the steam mop and that’s about it. Yesterday I did the kitchen zone, the bedroom zone and washed the bathroom windows. I might do my office area windows too. I made a loaf of sandwich bread yesterday too using Rhonda Hertzel’s bread recipe. It came out perfect. I’m feeding my sourdough so it’ll need a few days.
I browsed Goodwill looking for any Craig Johnson books but nada. They really are hard to find. I found an old library copy of The Secret Garden which I thought would be fun to re-read.
Today is Father’s Day, happy father’s Day to all you men out there from your Furry kids and human kids. I told my kids to plan Dad’s lunch or dinner.
What plans do you have for Father’s Day?
My father was never around so it was a nonexistent thing.
I drove home yesterday after my daughter drove up to Tahoe in the Santa Fe. Traffic flowed along and the usual construction stops were non-existent which was great. Unfortunately, the camp host wouldn’t just let her drive in without paying the $10 extra car fee, so for 15 minutes we had to pay 10 bucks. I was definitely pissed.
It was windy up there when I left and it was windy here at home too. But it was much cooler overall. I was really tired for some reason, so I took a nap, a shower and read some. The beach was overrun with people and I definitely will not go back next year at this time. It may have been somewhat circumstantial due to it being so hot but still.
The new shower head is very nice but it seemed to take an awful long time for the hot water to come out. I’m going to turn it on again this morning and time it. B and my son are planning on moving the electrical outlet and putting up the lights tomorrow. B ordered the grab bars so we will the helper to drill those in place. We don’t have a tile drill so that needs to be done. Then finally the flooring and paint. I think I’m going to look at paint on line this morning and see if I can find a soft gray color.
Since we were camping all week there was little spending except for basics. We treated ourselves to a lunch pizza and that was fun.
I need to peruse the freezer and fridge to gleam what menu I can do for the week and write a list. I know I need salad stuff and some veggies. I haven’t been very food focused lately since my norovirus hit. Plus the weather being so hot, it’s hard to cook. This week is much cooler so maybe I’ll be more creative.
My LLS ended so I have to wait now for funding for Myeloma to open. Last year it took 2 months so I’m expecting it to be at least that long. We would definitely be short of money monthly without my grant covering Medicare and UHC. It’s a huge gift that this organization provides for thousands of people like me. Back when I was first diagnosed(2005) LLS didn’t exist so all my co pays and extras put us in huge debt at the time. So for now, LLS is a real blessing.
I’m planning on doing some tidying this morning before B and S get home probably 2 ish. I also need to do the camp laundry.
I've been married for nearly 20 years to a wonderful husband and I'm a mom to three great kids ages 17, 16 and 14. Oh, and I just happen to have cancer. Multiple Myeloma is a cancer of the blood that is currently incurable but IS considered highly treatable! My goal is to make people laugh, cry or feel a little less alone whether you are a mom, cancer patient or BOTH!
Tahoe Girl 