Monthly Archives: December 2024

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, camping, cancer, cooking, Pantry, simplicity, swimming, Walking by

Wow, did we get a lot of rain yesterday!! It was pouring all day with quite a bit of wind too. Fortunately, no trees went down. We still need to figure out money for getting at least 2 more trees down. Maybe in 2025, we can do at least one. I was very glad we didn’t need to go out anywhere.

This morning though is nice and clear with a beautiful full moon. We walked and it was quite misty in the park. After we got back, we got right on the computers to try and book Nevada Beach for June. Since we don’t know what the situation will be, I figured to book it because otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to get in. Both of us tried and B got a spot. Tomorrow one of our favorite spots opens up so I’ll try for that but it’s definitely a lottery.

Today, I plan on going to the Auburn gym and then coming home to do some house stuff. It’s the bathroom zone this week so I’ll do that and add in the bedroom as both are quite simple to do. My desk area needs some attention so I’ll tidy that up.

The coming week looks good weatherwise and only one appt for B but that’s his video visit. I plan on swimming and going to Maheny gym and the library. I don’t have any holds available so I want to look at the catalog and see what I can put on hold.

I’ve made my through some freezer stuff this past week and will continue to do that this week. I’m planning on falafels tonight and I’ll work on the rest of the menu later.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, California, cancer, frugalism, Uncategorized by

It was raining heavily yesterday down to infusion. There’s more rain coming in this morning too. I think the pattern will continue for the next few days. This morning my daughter will take B to his PET scan. Unfortunately, it is in Sacramento, so there will be traffic and rain. This will be his last appt. till the video visit next week.

Frugal-wise, I went to Costco to get the coffee. Spending $14 at Starbucks for a pound is not something I want to do very often. So with that in mind, I bought 2 bags at Costco. It was very busy at 1pm, which is a time I rarely go. I’m usually there at 9:30 and there are fewer people. It was okay and I got it done. I spent $180 and $$25 of that was champagne. The rest was food and $20 for TP and Toothpaste. So food ended up $124 or so. It’s not too bad overall.

I don’t think I need much from the store next week unless it’s some salad stuff. That’s the week before Christmas so I want to avoid stores if I can. I’m making our traditional lasagna and I might do a small ham.

I was able to submit my LLS for insurance. What a blessing. My grant is less than half of what it was last year, so I’ll probably run out of funds before my next sign-up period. I think they have so many people applying that a smaller grant allows more people to get some funding. It is still a huge saving for us.

Today, I want to go through the fridge and clean it. I have the leftover turkey chili I need to freeze and there’s a small amount of black beans too. Since I’m home for the day I can tick off some things on my list.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, California, camping, cancer, Gratitude, peritoneal mesothelomia, social security by

This has really been an awful year. B getting diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma was such a shock. Also, it doesn’t have a very good prognosis. Then because of this, we had to cancel all our RV trips and it’s been hard to not head out somewhere. All in all, it’s just been a hard year. As we close 2024, I’m still thankful for many things.

  • that he’s had the last chemo and will get a PET scan soon. So going into 2025, we should know where he is with it all.
  • I’m thankful that, even with me getting Velcade, I can do most things that need to be done.
  • I’m thankful my kids are there to pick up the slack and help us so much.
  • I’m grateful that even though money is always tight on SS we can pay our bills. There’s not a lot left over but we have a roof over our heads, food, and hot water, wood heat and lots more. It would have been nice to not have a mortgage at all but that wasn’t in the cards for us. At least we can pay for it.
  • I’m thankful for the library and the world of books. Books, even as a child, took me to places I’d never been. Today, at 72, I can say books still carry me to unknown places and show me a different perspective.

I’m hopeful for 2025, but I think it’s still going to be tough going especially when we head to Stanford for the surgery.

One step at a time, one step at a time.

My appt went ok yesterday. It was quite busy in there but I still got in on time. Dr. L asked if I had any sleep apnea. Not that I know of. I guess my hematocrit is slightly elevated and he said to consider getting a sleep apnea test. Even if I did have it, I wouldn’t use a mask at night unless it was severe. Does anyone out there have any experience with sleep apnea. My guess is the hematocrit goes up and down because of not drinking enough water. Dehydration is one cause. I never drink enough water. Plus it’s been 1 point out of range for a year. 15.5 is high normal, I’ve been 16.4. I’m not sure why he brought this up now, but I said, I’ll think about it but I really have too much going on to add one more thing. I’ll do some more research and see what I find out.

Mid Week

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, cash envelopes, cooking, husband by

It’s been a lot of driving back and forth to infusion and there’s still more this week. Yesterday, I dropped B off at 10 and picked him up at 2:45. Tomorrow he needs to be there at 11am so I plan on staying down there and doing a few things. Depending on the timing, I will hit up the old Costco( as it’s closest) and I think maybe the library. Tomorrow is platelets so they go faster than blood transfusions. This week is all about appts so I’m not even thinking about the gym or the pool. Next week, I can pick up the rhythm again.

This is his last chemo as far as we know and I’m so over it all. Next week he has a video visit with the UCD doctor and that should give us a good idea of the next steps. Cancer has a way of shifting priorities. There’s not much you can do but go with the flow of it.

Today, I have my doctor appt in Sacramento. After that, I need to pick up a prescription and maybe go to the bank. I need the insurance printout but I’ll see how I feel after getting back to town.

last night we had the black bean soup and it came out good. I never follow a recipe with it just black beans in the crockpot and chili powder, cumin, garlic, and paprika. I also made turkey chili and there’s plenty left over to have tonight or freeze. Of course, B doesn’t eat meat so it’ll just be me tonight as our daughter works late at the library.

I’ve been working on organizing my cash envelope binders and have one just for savings challenges. The challenges are fun and usually, I only do ones with $1 or $5 bills. I’m saving up for an LV GM agenda preloved. I think this is what I want to use as my daily book. Once I get it, I can get some inserts and use them to write my lists and plans. Right now I’m using a really nice Leuchtturm 1917 my son gave me for my birthday. The paper quality is really nice. I use a CrossFountain pen and it doesn’t bleed through. The LV GM is the largest agenda and will make it easier to write in. Well, that’s a ways off yet but maybe by February/March.

Menu Monday

Posted in Blood test, California, meal planning, Uncategorized by

Using my master one month plan, this is what I have for the upcoming week.

Sunday ( last night ), was egg salad sandwiches. Easy and I didn’t feel like cooking anything.

Monday- I plan on a quiche using a store-bought pastry. I’ll do Swiss cheese, a few veggies, and I have some cream to use up too.

Tuesday- I’ll probably do black Beans. Either black bean soup or chili.

Wednesday- Homemade mac and cheese with salad. We’re still getting the romaine lettuce from the garden.

Thursday- I think a tofu scramble with potatoes. I still have half a bag of Costco’s Yukon gold potatoes so I want to use them up.

Friday- pizza of some sort

Saturday- TBD

Today, I have my labs and then I’ll head down to Roseville to get gas at Costco and go into Winco for a few things. I need some fresh produce, and I’d like to get the stuff for the Christmas lasagna. Then I’ll head up to infusion. B should be done by 10 am.

After we’re home, I’ll work on the kitchen zone and get some of that done. I’m planning on being home on Tuesday, so I can finish it then.

I also want to sit down and write up some goals for 2025. At this point, we have NO RV reservations as we don’t know how long B’s recovery will be. I’m hoping that we can at least plan a couple of trips starting in June. or maybe one longer trip. I guess it’s a wait-and-see situation.

Simple sunday

Posted in books, bread, budgeting, California, cancer, peritoneal mesothelomia, Uncategorized by

I slept pretty awful last night. I guess the dex caught up with me, so I didn’t walk, and I don’t plan on going to the gym. Life happens.

I did have a very nice afternoon yesterday alone in the house as my daughter took B to infusion. Since it was only going to be one bag she stayed and went over to the new Trader Joe’s to get a few things. They still didn’t get home till 5:15 though. He’ll still need to go in Monday for another bag. I guess they couldn’t do the 2 because of the time factor. Hopefully this is the end of this with transfusions. the next step is the PET scan and then consult with Stanford.

So I read and finished another Baldacci. He’s such a good writer, it’s hard to put his books down. I have 2 more to read from the library.

A blogger over at The Humble Bungalow, who lives in BC, in a beautiful bungalow house, took a tumble and got some cuts and a concussion. Apparentley, her hip just went out on her and she fell. After all was said and done, she decided to get some walking poles. so that got me thinking when my knee buckled under me and I fell flat on my back. Fortunately, nothing got hurt but I decided to buy some walking poles from Amazon. They came yesterday so I plan on walking around our driveway and see how it is to use them. In the past, I’ve used one pole for stability but now 2, I might need to get the hang of them.

I made another Tartine baguette this morning. It’s still not as burnished brown on top as I’d like, so I think I’ll try his suggestion which is to put a wet kitchen towel in a pan and let that create steam. I’ll try that next time. I need to work on a menu plan for the week. I have my master one month plan but that is generally more like taco Tuesday, pasta Wednesday, so I need to firm up specifics. I would like to work thru a few more things in the freezer.

I just finished the bathroom swish and swipe and the linen bed sheets are in the wash. I’m also airing out the comforter outside on the line.

Well off to get a few more things ticked off my list.

Frugal Friday

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, frugalism, velcade by

Well, the bad news is his platelets did go way down to 31, so the infusion will be on Saturday. Overall, this cycle has been much better but it’s still a very hard chemo regime. The plan is I’ll take him down and my daughter will get him. I suppose I could go shopping or something but I don’t really do that. ( well, if I could go into Louis Vuitton I would).:)

Some wins this week.

I got gas at Costco, which was 3.79, so that’s the lowest around.

The Tartine baguette I made was delicious and almost all gone. I do have some ww bread in the freezer so I’ll pull that out for the week.

I went to Costco on Monday, mostly for milk and the above WW bread, but of course, I came out with more. I forgot coffee so I either need to go in for that or just buy it at Starbucks.

Some losses:

I found a fresh mozzarella roll stuffed in the back of the fridge. It’s way outdated and also a Bourisin cheese. Usually, both of those things get used up quickly so maybe with Thanksgiving they got pushed to the back.

Today is a dex day, so I’ll do some extra things around the house. I made some roast chicken breasts last night with potatoes dauphinoise so there are some leftovers. I still might make a pizza dough though.

That’s about it at chez moi!!

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, bread, budgets, California, cancer, cooking, Gratitude, instant pot recipes, velcade, Walking by

I’m thankful I can be flexible when I need to be because:

I woke up grumpy this morning and decided to NOT walk. That’s kind of a big deal for me not to do something when it’s planned. but I figured Fuck it, I’m not walking. I will go to the gym after Velcade and call it good.

I’m thankful the library is such a wonderful resource. I’ll get my holds after the gym.

Last night, we had homemade lentil vegetable soup with the Tartine baguette. The baguette came out very well, and I’m pleased. As I’ve said, his recipe seems to always work. It may be that his hydration is spot on. I used the instant pot for the lentil soup and it was done in 20 minutes of pressure time.

I’m over the moon that Barclay is doing so well. No nosebleeds and his energy is good. Today he’s getting labs so I’m hopeful they are still above the 100 mark for platelets. So grateful for this round being so much easier.

I’m grateful, most of what I wanted to get for Christmas is done. I feel like this is the last year of doing presents even though I didn’t do a whole lot this year. It still adds up and we’re definitely towing the line with money. I think I’ll formulate a plan and write it down so I can reference it for next year. Like maybe Amazon gift cards? Plus be more diligent with the budget.

I’m thankful it’s only 16 days to the Winter Solciste.

Mid week

Posted in books, California, velcade by

We are having beautiful weather. It’s definitely cold at night but the days are mid 60’s. The oak leaves are golden yellow and most are still hanging on. It’ll be the next big storm that will bring them down.

B’s labs came back pretty good really. Platelets at 120 so that’s a huge improvement. Hemoglobin was 9.4 so also good. He’s only had a little nose blood. So that means his platelets are holding. Tomorrow is another lab so we’ll see then but it is very encouraging.

I plan on swimming today since it’ll be my last chance this week as I have Velcade tomorrow. After Velcade tomorrow, I’ll go down to the library and get my holds. The new Ina Garten came in for me so I’m excited to read that.

I added a few ornaments to the tree and today or tomorrow will get the other box out and see what I want to add. The simpler the better.

I’ve made a sourdough using Tartines recipe. It seems his recipe works the best for me of all the ones I’ve tried. Before I leave this morning I’m going to shape it into baguettes. He actually uses a different recipe for baguettes but I’m just using the basic country loaf one. We’ll see how it comes out.

I’ve stayed away from most of the news regarding trump. His cabinet picks seem crazy but that’s what he is. It still makes me so sad that this is what this county wanted. Look out folks for the incredible increase of food, clothing, gas everything due to the tariffs. I get actually sick to my stomach thinking about him placing his hand on the bible and taking the oath of office. A convicted felon( which now he’s trying to get thrown out), an ex-president who lost the last election and tried to force a coup. It just makes me sick. And if he pardons those J 6’sers, OMG, what have we done. ( we’ll not those who voted for the reasonable, conscientious choice) but we as a collective. 😦 So sad.

Well, on that note, I’m off to the pool.

Menu Monday

Posted in budgeting, California, cash envelopes, cooking, meal planning, swimming, Uncategorized by

First off, B has done really well with this last chemo. He’s been engaged and has had energy(some). So that’s very positive.

Sunday night- we had spaghetti with Rao’s sauce and some meatballs

Monday- Tamales and rice with salad

Tuesday- Quiche of some sort

Wednesday- Brinner

Thursday- TBD??

Friday- I’ll do a pizza, either homemade or take out

Saturday- Soup of some sort, I’m thinking a split pea.

The pool was nice this morning but busy. Everyone was doubled up in the lanes. Then I went to Costco to return an item and got some ink for my HP printer. Also milk, eggs, bread, cookies, and some cheese.

Our weather continues to be lovely. Sunny and temperatures in the mid 60’s.