Monthly Archives: March 2025

Frugal Friday

Posted in Blood test, budgets, California, frugalism, peritoneal mesothelomia by

I shopped at Winco on Monday after the pool. I spent $100 on groceries. Winco always is the least expensive place to shop besides Costco but there the quantities are always bigger.

I got gas at Costco that morning too.

Other than just whatever bills were coming out no money was spent. I got a refund from eBay for a book I ordered and the wrong one was sent. I also got a weird refund from Amazon from a purchase they said I never received over Christmas?? Not sure what it was but I have a credit and will use that for a few things I need.

Right now it’s snowing outside and it looks pretty. Snow is rare here but does happen although this isn’t sticking or anything. I wasn’t planning on going out so it’s all good.

The doctor wants B to get the CT scan ASAP so he’s trying to get that set up now. ( well, he just tried and there are no appts till the end of March) He’ll have to check if Sacto has an opening. If it is a tumor in the liver then I’m sure the surgery is a no-go. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what it is. It’s all very stressful that’s for sure.

I started on the statin this week and now I have a rash so I will stop that and see what my PC says. Geez, it’s always something. I sent him a message but knowing my body obviously the Lipitor ( generic) is not going over really well in my body. That was only 3 days too so clearly it’s not going to work for me but there are other statins like Rosavastatin so we’ll see. sigh:(

Oh, the good news is my Kappa light chains came back in the normal range so that’s very good news.

The pantry challenge is going well. last night I made a split pea soup to use up all the split peas. It was a good soup with carrots, potatoes, onions, etc. We don’t eat a lot of split peas and I wanted to use them up.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cancer, husband by

Our storm yesterday wasn’t too bad. So grateful there weren’t super high winds. Some of the pictures from the valley looked like the winds were crazy high. Right now, it’s not even raining.

I’m grateful B’s ultrasound came back good but what is going on is still a mystery. Hopefully, he’ll get some answer from the doctor today.

I’m very thankful to have a few very nice slow days at home. I’ve been pottering about. I moved some dishes from one shelf to another and gathered the cat cups and bowls together. ( these are people dishes, not for the cats!).

I’m thankful for those people getting out and protesting at Tesla lots and protesting at elected officials’ offices. In the early 70’s we protested, as did hundreds of thousands, the Vietnam War. I think it did change the course of the war. I was saddened that Mayor Bowser of DC though felt pressure to remove the Black Lives Matter Art on the street. We will not forget what happened to George Flyod and countless other black men.

Here’s my latest East Fork bowl too. They are so beautiful. If you’re in the market for any dishware checkout East Fork.

All in all just thankful for another day.

Looks like the rain just started up again

Menu Monday on Tuesday and a few other things.

Posted in Blood test, California, cancer, cooking, library, meal planning, Walking by

We got to the park at 6:30 and had to use the headlamps for a bit. So this is an ok time for right now. It’ll start getting light earlier so we can keep backing up our time. My ideal is time is 6-6:30. although in the summer we are often out there at 5:30.

It’s a clear sunny day today but the next storm is expected tomorrow. My plan is to go the gym today, and the library then if the weather is awful later in the week I won’t feel as bad not going. I’m not a fan of driving in the rain.

The pantry challenge is going great.

Last night it was wonton soup except what I thought were wontons were periogi. Actually, it was quite delicious with lots of fresh grated ginger. Now I have to go find the wontons in the freezer. I tried one of the Costco beef burgers for lunch the other day. I only had half because they’re huge. But it was ok. Not great but I’ll try and use the rest up somehow. Not something I’d buy again.

Tuesday- tacos for Taco Tuesday. I have some crunch shells so I may do bean tacos.

Wednesday- Breakfast for dinner -pancake mix that needs to be used and scrambled eggs.

Thursday- macaroni and cheese from the freezer and a big salad.

Friday- one of the frozen pizzas

Saturday?? TBD

The good news is the ultrasound came back on the liver ‘unremarkable’. so that’s a very good thing. But it’s still not good that he’s still having some abdominal pain. I told him to ask Dr. Singhal if it could have to do with the gallbladder?? He’s going for labs either today or tomorrow so we’ll see what that looks like. This has certainly screwed up his surgery( although this is not official at all) but it’s just a waiting game.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, cooking, Pantry, Walking by

I woke up fairly early and knew the time changed. So had a coffee and got to the park at 7am which is really 6am. The predawn was nice and it got light pretty quick. There was some event happening at the community center so lots of cars showing up 😦

Then I went to the gym and it was empty for the most part. I saw 2 other people.

Then I stopped at Bel Air for half and half. Then straight home and got the sourdough in the oven.

This is a parmesan/oregano loaf. You can see the flakes of oregano.

Now I’m tidying things up and making a plan for the week. I know I’m going to swim on Monday, the gym on Wednesday, and then go back to the pool on Friday. The only caveat would be how much it’s raining.

I still haven’t mopped the floors so I need to do that today.

This should be a nice week with just a few chores like Winco. That should be easy after swimming since it’s across the street. B needs ginger ale. With the stuff going on he’s off wine so ginger ale it is. Then some odds and ends: fish food, Ball jar lids, some frozen things and I’ll see what else.

Saturday Stuff

Posted in bread, California, cooking, home stuff, Pantry, simple foods, Uncategorized by

No tree guys yesterday. I guess they got busy somewhere else. They might show up today though as they do work Saturdays.

It’s another sunny day but cold. The rain starts to come back in next week. I like the sun better but rain is always good. The yard needs some attention so with the sun my daughter can do some clean up. She actually does all the yard work except the little I do. When B is feeling good he does a lot too.

I plan on doing a pantry challenge till the end of the month. I have a list of quite a few things to use/make. I have quite a few freezer things that need to be used.

So far I have:

1.use the tortillas in the fridge( maybe quesadillas)

2.the 2 frozen pizzas

3. black bean burgers, I think there’s like 3 left

4.beef burger, this is a question mark. they’ve been in there a while and I’m not sure if they will taste ok. I think I’ll try one for lunch this week and see.

5.chicken broth in the freezer

6. vegetable won tons in the freezer

7. ravioli and Rao’s sauce for a ravioli bake with the mozzarella in the fridge

8. check if I have frozen beans

9. use the sauerkraut in the fridge with beef hot dogs( I think I have a few Kirkland ones in the freezer.) otherwise I’ll do baked tofu wth cheese.

10. english muffins in the freezer ( maybe a welsh rarebit night)

11. the double stuffed baked potatoes( 4 left)

12. fish from Alaskian Fish, there’s a pice of halibut,rockfish and 2 pieces of salmon

That’s all that comes to mind for now.

This morning I’m planning on making a sourdough ( get it started) and then wash the mirrors, dust, and mop.

It’s nice to have a relaxed morning at home.:)

Five on Friday

Posted in Blood test, California, cancer, cooking, frugalism by

I spent $240 on food at Costco but that includes the protein drinks for B. So that was $25 on sale so closer to $200 for food. That included maple syrup(which lasts a long time), granola( because I didn’t make any), and some other pantry staples. I’d like to figure out what the breakdown is for long-term pantry stuff but not now.

I got gas at Costco this week and that was $4.65 a gallon. So saved some money there.

Today is my eye doctor’s appt for a retinal scan to see how my macular pucker is. I haven’t noticed any change, I still can’t really see out of my right eye. The left eye does all the work. 😦

B had another blood draw and his ALP is still elevated( liver) so that’s what seems to be causing the abdomen pain. He has a message to his UCD oncologist to see what she thinks this is about. His ALT and AST are in the normal range. I think one of them is slightly out of range but those are liver markers too. This really throws a wrench into the whole process because I’m quite sure Dr. Lee won’t do the surgery if something is going on with the liver. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Somewhat stressful.

We have PGE’s tree people showing up today. We think they’re going to take the one tree today and then the big one next week. If we paid for these trees, it’d be at least $4K for one and the other is huge so probably $5-6K

I’m just glad they’re doing it. I may go for coffee in town as I get too nervous with trees coming down. We’ll see how it goes.

I made black beans for dinner last night. We each had half a cheese tamale with them plus avocado. I only gave B a small portion because of his stomach pain. I told him also to take one of his pain pills and he did and said that actually helped.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, Gratitude, swimming by

I’m so glad it’s Thursday and now 3 appts are done. My Wellness check went well for the most part. We talked about a number of things including my cholesterol being higher than it should be. So I decided to start a statin. Personally, I have no problem being prescribed drugs if they help and make the situation better. I mean I’m full of chemo drugs and still here to talk about it. Anyway, all good.

So grateful for that being over.

I’m grateful that our new Costco is so close and I can pop down there which I did after my appt. I went to get cottage cheese and a few other things but completely forgot cottage cheese. Oh well, there’ll be another trip I’m sure. I’m trying to eat more protein and cottage cheese is an easy way to do that.

I’m grateful for a wonderful swim yesterday. The pool was quite nice.

I’m grateful for my family who is always there to help as necessary.

Midweek Musings

Posted in Blood test, California, husband, swimming, Uncategorized by

So 2 appt’s done and 2 more to go. I really hate having so many appts all in one week. But it should be over soon.

I got my labs done yesterday and then went to the gym and library. It felt good to do my weights. Today I’m going to the pool as it’s my only chance this week.

We did get the pizza at Round Table the other night. My daughter paid for it and she had a deal for one of them. B has something going on with his stomach?? so he didn’t eat any.

I did get pretty upset at him and yelled he needed to call the doctor. Well, he got an appt but it didn’t seem to be conclusive as to why he’s having some pain. Geez, let’s hope it’s not anything bad. I mean it’s only been a few weeks since his CT scan and the laparoscopy so I can’t figure out what it might be. Hopefully, he’ll just feel better because it’s a bummer.

It’s going to be raining for the next few days. It sounds like a good soup day. This weekend is the end of DLS so we’ll be springing forward. What a PITA. It takes me about a week to adjust. At least it’ll be light later. I prefer the light in the morning.

We watched the Conclave the other night and would recommend it. It’s not fast moving but it is so well done. With the pope ready to die, it seems a timely movie.

Then last night we watched the new Beverly Hills Cop movie. It was fun and it’s fun to see how everyone is so much older( like all of us).

Menu Monday

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last night we had the Udon noodles with veggies and soft-boiled eggs. This is the Costco udon noodles. I think it’s a tasty version of Udon. There are 4 packs in the container.

Monday- My daughter is considering a pizza but that’s not definite so I’ll plan something. Spaghetti and meatballs from the freezer.

Tuesday- burritos. I have tortillas and beans etc.

Wednesday- Soup of some sort. I’ve wanted to try a cream of mushroom and have some mushrooms so I’ll see. I saw a recipe in the “Soup Sisters’ cookbook.

Thursday- Chicken something. Maybe grilled or if I have tomato sauce maybe a chicken parmesan.

Friday- If we don’t do pizza tonight I’ll put pizza on the menu.

Saturday- TBD I’ll need to check what needs to be used up.

My dentist appt. (cleaning) went well and I got home right after 9:30 so it was not too bad.

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, bread, cancer, ikea by

A different morning. We went for a walk as usual but then I wanted to go to Ikea for a Hemnes that was on sale. It’s the 2 drawers one and I’ve been waiting for them to come back into stock. Plus they were 15% off so a very good deal. I plan on using this in my office area to corral odds and ends.

So there was no gym day and that’s okay. I wasn’t feeling it anyway.

This week is crazy with appts, which is my least favorite thing. But I’ll persevere through.

We’ve been watching ‘Slow Horses’ with Gary Oldman and it is sooo good. A little confusing at first but then you catch on. I just finished reading Ina Garten’s memoir and like it a lot. What a talented woman. Maybe a little over the top with a Type A personality but still I have a lot of respect for her.

I’m reading the new Thomas Perry book, ‘ Pro Bono’. Also excellent.

My son stayed overnight and did a deep clean of my car. It really needed it so I appreciate his effort.

After getting home, I started another Meyer lemon rosemary sourdough. This is a great recipe and seems to work every time.

Here’s the recipe:

88grams of starter

360 grams flour

236 grams water

11 grams salt

1 tsp yeast

Note: I think this recipe would work without the sourdough and just adjust flour and water for the 88 grams of starter and use more yeast.

Mix together to form a loose ball of dough, it will be shaggy. Let rest for 30 minutes and then start your fold and turns. Basically lifting one end of the dough over to the other side. I do this on all four sides if that makes sense. Let rest for 1 hour or so and repeat. I usually forget and just do a few more folds and turns when I remember.

Put in a bucket or bowl and refrigerate overnight. The next morning heat your oven to 475 and keep your dutch over in the oven to heat up. Then take the dough out of the bucket put on parchment paper and do a few tucks and turns( rolling the dough into a ball and turning to create some tension). Then I make a few cuts on the top and put it in the Dutch oven with the top on for 35 minutes. Take the top off and bake for another 15 or so. You can take an internal temp to check if it’s done. anywhere @ 200 degrees is right.

B is not feeling very well so I’m hoping it’s only a passing stomach thing but he’ll call down to Stanford tomorrow and explain what he’s feeling. Hopefully, it’s just a bug.

Well, back to house stuff and reading:)