Monthly Archives: January 2025

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, home stuff by

A big shout out to Donna over at Retirement Confidential for gifting a sub to The Contrarian. I love Jen Rubin and she’s the one, along with a co worker to start this Substack program( I’m not sure what they’re called). If you believe in democracy, go sign up. I’m not sure how substack works totally and was having some trouble reading the articles but I’ll figure it out.

I will not watch the inauguration. It really makes me sick to my stomach to think of him swearing the oath of office after everything he tried to do to overthrow the last election. I just hope we survive the next 4 years.

I went to the gym this morning and it was again, a little busier than normal for a Sunday morning. I did 30 minutes of weights and 20 on the treadmill.

After I got home, I made up another batch of sourdough for the baguettes. What I’m doing is freezing 1/2 of what I make so I have some sliced bread in the freezer. Plus, when I’m on a roll( no pun intended) with bread making, I like to keep going.

I still need to mop the floor and tidy up.

I drove Buggie to the gym and she’s working great. I hope it keeps going that way. Well, that’s all for now, I want to get my stuff done and go read.

Frugal Friday or not so much?

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, frugalism by

Well, Buggie is going to cost over $1000 so that’s not frugal. And the mechanic said that it isn’t just the starter but the flywheel behind it and he quoted $1600 for that. We said no for now. I guess we’ll have to really think about keeping bugs. Well, we’ll go get it today. We don’t drive buggie that far but still. If it’s going to start costing $$$ then it’s not worth it to us to keep it. I’ll be sad though because I love Bugs!! No decisions for a while though.

Most of the month’s bills are paid except for water and garbage next week. I’ll start a new budget on the 27th or so.

Costco was $240 and it was all food. Some pantry staples and a few freezer meals like ravioli. I bought some salad packs so were set there too. I shouldn’t need too much next week if anything. I think I will come in at $600 for groceries for the month. So not too bad for the 3 of us plus some of that is long-term things like olive oil. When did olive oil start to cost so much?? Plus I bought a 4 pack of butter and that will last months too.

I will need gas next week in the Santa Fe and that will be the last fill up till the next budget starts.

My daughter and I are going to the nursery this morning for some bags of soil for planting the garlic. I might pick up some pansies or other winter flowers. Then she wants to go look at paint chips at Ace. She wants to paint the studio and it really does need it.

So, the appt ended up not to be with Dr. Lee but his nurse. He must be a very busy man. But not much was different except she will schedule the laparoscopy and then they’ll go from there. I was disappointed there wasn’t anything more definitive. We’ll only need to spend 2 nights in Palo Alto though. One night before the procedure and then one night after. The procedure is only an hour or less but because it involves anesthesia it’s 2 hours before and 2 hours after. So I’m not driving back home after all that. So that’s that.

Yesterday after getting home, I pressure-canned the pinto beans. I got 7 pints done. This is a great staple to have in the pantry.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgets, California, cancer, cash envelopes, Gratitude, Myeloma by

It’s a chilly morning here in N. Ca. I hope the fires are under control in SoCal. what a thing to go through. We live in a high fire danger area and so many insurance companies have dropped policies. What is going to happen with the cost of policies now? I’m sure everyone’s is going up.

I’m thankful for a warm house and we have enough wood to get through. I think next year ( this coming winter) we’ll need to buy wood. I don’t see B getting the wood splitter going and going to get wood. We could take some more small oaks down in the woods, so maybe that’ll happen.

I’m thankful we’ve all been healthy( of course that is somewhat relative with cancer) but still no colds or flu here. Although I do have some sinus stuff going on but hopefully that’s just seasonal stuff.

I’m thankful, as always, that we can pay our bills with our SS. We don’t have ‘extra’ but we have enough! Of course, I’d love to re do the kitchen and fix our foundation but it is what it is.

Speaking of money, I’m very grateful to LLS that gives me a grant for Myeloma and pays my insurance. Without that, we would be struggling. Insurance adds up.

I’m thankful for this time in my life. It is hard getting older. It is a gift though to reach 72. Lots of people don’t. So I try to do the best I can and I’m thankful for that.

The VW should be done today or tomorrow. The mechanic said it needed lots of things fixed, hmm, yes, we know that) but we said just do the starter, battery, and an oil change. It’ll come in @ $ 1200 I think. I have $300 in my auto repair envelope and then I’ll put the rest on my card. Not ideal but needs must.

I plan on going to the gym this morning. Then we have the video visit with Stanford. Plus I’m soaking pinto beans to can so I’ll try and get the canner going after I get home.

Mid week stuff

Posted in Blood test, bread, budgets, California, cancer, cooking, meal planning, swimming by

When I got to the pool Monday, the parking lot was fairly empty. It seems the warming pool was closed because of something so a lot of people weren’t there. Also, the lap lanes were not too crowded. I got my favorite lane by the stairs. I had a good swim and did 950 yards again. My guess is that’s about my limit right now. I was pretty tired when I got home.

I am really enjoying having the Apple watch. I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I do. Usually, I don’t like anything on my wrist but this has really helped me track my steps and swimming and the sleep stuff. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re on the fence.

The baguettes came out GREAT!

The recipe is straight forward and easy to follow. I wouldn’t buy the book though for just this recipe. I took a picture of the recipe to use later. Most of the other recipes are using more unusual grains like Eikorn which I don’t have. Still, this is a great recipe to have. I made this with rosemary and wowza!!

Today is a home day. Usually, I go to the gym but I don’t feel like driving. It’s still early yet so I may go to Costco and get a few things.

Here’s the front room without the rug. We took it up because it seemed every time we vacuumed it was full of lint and fibers. I think it was because the rug was a shag rug and it just had that stuff. I love the fact it’s so easy to clean and when I vacuumed there was very little stuff in the vacuum so my point was taken. I will get another rug eventually but it’ll be something like a Ruggable. I can’t afford that now, especially with the VW in the shop.

My labs came back with my Kappa up some to 19.8 so a bit of a jump from 18.2 but since I’m just over high normal, I’m not too worried. High normal is 19.4. It is what it is and every month there is some variation.

B has his labs today. He’s only going once a week now and all have been good. Tomorrow is the big day with the appt with Dr. Lee so we should have a good idea of what comes next.

The menu plan has changed a bit since I made it up. We had Boca burgers last night and tonight we’ll have the soup( pasta fagioli ). I used some of my canned beans, the Marcella, and kidney. I plan on canning more pintos very soon. It takes some planning and it is time-consuming with the pressure canner going.

Well, that’s it from mi casa.

Menu Monday and miscellany

Posted in Blood test, bread, California, cooking, meal planning, Political things by

The fires in SoCal are so awful. So many people lost everything. The power of nature is amazing and with fire, it’s hard to stop esp with the Santa Anna winds. Plus there are so many crazy people with conspiracy theories it’s enough to make you gag. Republicans keep spouting about not having enough water in fire hydrants. There’s plenty of water you idiots, but when there are dozens of hydrants being used there is of course going to be some effect. Geez, stick with the facts. It is concerning though with the orange man as president, will he be an asshole and withhold funds? Let us hope not for all of those people in LA that need it. Well, I try not to get sucked in but frankly, it is hard not to.

Menu for the week:

Last night we had the last of the breaded cod from the freezer with some fries and a salad.

Monday- I plan on making spaghetti with sauce and salad. I think I have some garlic bread in the freezer.

Tuesday- A freezer meal of chile rellenos, beans, and rice.

Wednesday- Baked tofu, with leftover potatoes from the freezer and broccoli.

Thursday- Soup, if I can get my act together. I wanted to make a Pasta Figlioli soup with Rancho Gordo beans.

Friday-Pizza, I really want to use up that frozen pizza but I haven’t made a homemade one in a long time so I may do that. I have a bag of 00 flour I can use.

Saturday- TBD???

I’m off for my labs and then swim. The warming pool is closed for maintenance so I’m not sure if that will impact the big pool. My backup plan is to go to the gym for a workout if it’s too busy. Mondays are like a box of chocolates, you never know what it’ll be.

My sourdough starter looks better this morning so I think when I get home I’ll make up the dough and then feed the other 2 I have in jars. ( I have 3 containers going to see which one does the best.)

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, bread, California, home stuff, Uncategorized by

A cold brisk morning but sunny. We had to take the Santa Fe to the park because Buggie’s starter finally died. Actually, it died yesterday at the park:( so we had to have AAA tow it home). So I guess that’s moved up on our list of what has to be done. Oh well, we knew it was coming. Now though, we’ll have to have it towed to Auburn to the shop. I was hoping to avoid this expense right now but I guess it’s what needs to be done.

I headed out to the gym and did my weights. I came straight home and now am writing this and then do a few chores.

I’m trying get my sourdough active and it seem to be taking a while. The house is on the cooler side so maybe that’s it. I’ll add some more flour a little later and see if that does the trick. I wanted to try the recipe in “The Slow Rise” for baguettes. The author is the guy who started Bread Alone in New York. His recipes are mostly ones I wouldn’t do but the baguette one seemed easy enough.

Tomorrow I have my labs and then I plan on going to the pool if it goes quickly. As long as I can get to the pool by 8:40 it’ll work. Otherwise, the pool closes for lap swimming at 9:25. I’ve never stayed that late so it would interesting to see what happens.

I need to write up a menu plan for the week. last week I used up quite a few freezer things so I want to do that again this week.

Things to use:

a frozen pizza

some chicken

a package of spanakopita

beans

I see what happens!

menu

Frugal Friday

Posted in Uncategorized by

It’s not a frugal week for the most part.

I paid B’s Triumph Motorcycle DMV. That runs @ $150 so not too bad. He hasn’t really used it since this summer but maybe after this spring, he’ll get back on.

I spent a good amount at Trader Joe’s. Food was $160 and wine was $40. I had a $25 GC and some cash, so the rest was put on the debit card. I did get some extra frozen meals for easy suppers. I like having some back up meals that just get stir fried or in the microwave.

I filled up the Santa Fe at Costco and gas was $3.63 which is the lowest it’s been in ages. So that was a saving.

I ordered my new Hokas, so not cheap. But I have to say they are the best walking shoes I’ve ever had. I also ordered a 4 pack of Bombas socks, which is my go-to. They are not cheap either but last forever. The ones I’m wearing now are probably 3 years old and I wear them every day. I rotate between 4 pairs. One pair is starting to get some holes so that’s why I ordered a new package. Also, they donate a pair of socks or whatever you buy to homeless shelters. So it’s a win-win.

I decided not to go to the pool this morning. I figured I could still tomorrow if I wanted. I wanted to do a few things around the house like water plants and do a quick mop of the floors.

I also want to try a new recipe for chicken shwarma. It has lots of spices and looks yummy. The recipe is from Damn Delicious.

We have a new kitty showing up outside. A black and white one. We’re not sure if it belongs to someone or was dropped off. We’ve been feeding it and it’s very friendly.

I still need to go to the bank for some money for cash envelopes but I’ll do that next time I’m out and about. We still need to figure out getting the VW starter fixed. I guess I’m figuring to wait till we pay our property taxes and then see if there’s any money left over. Ha, money left over, right……

Hey, frumps a convicted felon at least and that’s saying something!!!

Gee, the devastation from the fires in SoCal is terrible. It’s shocking to see the pictures.

On that note…

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, Gratitude, home stuff, Political things by

I am thankful for the sunny days we’re having. It’s not warm but it has been in the 60’s. I’m definitely a sun person.

I’m thankful that the gym was not busy yesterday and I spent 30 minutes on the weight machines. The regulars I know were there and maybe 1person seemed new.

I’m thankful for these days when Barclay is feeling good enough to go do chores. He got the cat food yesterday and went to the bank. Next week is the video visit so we should know what the next step is by Friday.

I rolled up the LR rug the other day because I wanted to see how much the vacuum picks up without this rug. It seems this rug always has some sort of fiber that comes out with vacuuming and I wonder if it’s because it’s a cheap rug.?? It wasn’t that cheap but I had gotten it on a Prime Day about 3 years ago. Anyway, I was done with it. I’m not sure what I want to get, maybe a Ruggable. Costco has a special Ruggable deal so I may do that. For now, I’ll see how it is. I plan on offering it on Facebook Market place free.

I also moved the little grey couch out of the sunroom and put it in my office area. I’m going to leave it there for a while. We don’t sit out in the sunroom this time of year because it’s too cold. I’ll leave it here till spring.

Today is a home day unless I run out to drop books off. I still haven’t gotten to that.:(

I’m thankful we’re all healthy right now especially with flu season happening.

In the political arena, I’m thankful President Carter was honored by so many people. He was really a good person and lived his values. It was weird seeing frump there though as he is the exact opposite of everything Carter was.

Menu for the week and misc.

Posted in California, cooking, meal planning, Uncategorized by

I had a great swim yesterday except I overdid it so my low back is a little sore. Once I started moving around it was fine but getting out of bed was like,, urgh… Oh well, I surpassed my last swim yardage and got to 950 yards so I’m happy about that.

Sunday night-Turkey with some stuffing, salad, and nut loaf from the freezer.

Monday- leftover lentil soup and salad. I made a salad I saw on Facebook of chickpeas, cucumber, avocado, cherry tomatoes, parsley, and artichoke hearts. quite yummy.

Tuesday- I made a Greek pasta salad and I’m unsure what I’ll have with it. Maybe grilled tofu.

Wednesday- I want to make a turkey and wild rice soup with the leftover turkey. I’ll make B a ramen bowl.

Thursday- Something from the freezer to use up. I have some perogi’s from Costco to use. I wouldn’t buy them again. They were ok but not our usual fare.

Friday- Pizza, either make or get take out.

Saturday- Again something easy to use up freezer stuff.

Sunday- TBD.

I just finished the kitchen zone and I still need to vacuum. I thought of going to Trader Joe’s today but I think I’ll wait a bit maybe till Thursday. The only thing I do need is butter and the Lundberg wild rice and I can get those down at the Holiday.

Oh EXCITING! We scrolled through Amazon Prime and saw on masterpiece, the new season of Astrid. So we watched the first episode and it was very good. They definitely have snazzed it up some.

The afternoons are longer and it was light almost till almost 5:35. Even the angle of the sun coming down our driveway is different from a few weeks ago. Imbolc is Feb 2 so pretty soon it’ll be crossquarter.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, California, cancer, Flylady, home stuff, swimming, velcade, Walking by

A cold morning to start and damp. We had a nice walk again, with no one there. I guess we must be between walkers because haven’t had anyone in a few weeks on the weekend. During the week, I see some regulars that start to show up around 7am. The next 10 days look nice with no rain so that’ll help dry things out.

I headed out to the gym at 8am and it was a little busier with the ‘new years resolution exercise’ people. I left before 9 and then it was getting even busier.

I stopped at the store for some things for a greek salad and wine. After I got home I cleaned under the kitchen sink. It’s the kitchen zone this week, so tomorrow I’ll finish the cabinets and I want to clean the fridge.

My son is coming for dinner and to spend the night out in Rubi. He works in Auburn on Mondays so it’s a good time to catch up. I plan on cooking some leftover turkey and potatoes. I also have leftover nut loaf to heat up as well.

This coming week should be mellow, no appts !!! Hurray!! I don’t have my labs till next week so that’s a little different than usual. I always go the Monday after my shot but because I had been scheduled for my next Velcade later( Feb), I pushed my labs out. We did reschedule me for the end of January or 4 weeks.

Last night we watched ‘To kill a Mockingbird’. Even though I’ve seen it many times and read the book so many times. it is still such a powerful movie. Gregory Peck did such an amazing job as Atticus Finch. If you haven’t seen it in a while, check it out. We finished the series the Helsinki Murders. I wouldn’t really recommend it. It was dark and seemed overdone. Oh well, some series are like that.

I do plan to go to Roseville tomorrow and swim but I do have an alternative plan if the pool is too busy. If the wait is longer than 10 minutes for a lane, I’ll go down to the gym. I’ll just need to pack my gym clothes as I wear my suit to the pool. Plus, I’ll need to bring my Hoka’s as I wear my Birkenstocks to the pool. Whichever the case, I’ll do one or the other.

Not much else new here at mi casa so I’ll close for now.