Category Archives: books

Saturday bits and bobs

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, cash envelopes, frugalism, home stuff, library, meal planning by

I went to the gym yesterday in Roseville and did upper-body weights. At least it’s something to keep me going. I also dropped off my load of books at the library. The library wasn’t open so I’ll need to plan a stop there next week. I just finished the Anne Hillerman book ” The Stargazer”. It was good although her father was a bit more of a concise writer. Still, it’s good.

When I got home I warmed up the sunroom and then later did my PT exercises out there. The Ikea couch out there folds down and is low to the ground so that’s where I’m laying on my back and side to do the exercises. I still don’t think I can manage the floor because I’d need to use my knee to get up. Maybe in a few weeks, I can start practicing doing that.

I was over the moon that tRump had been told by the jury to pay 85 +million. Of course, who knows with appeals if he’ll ever pay but regardless it sends a message. I heard on the news(NPR) something about Christian evangelicals putting tRump out there as a messiah. crazy, ??? really?? He’s about as far away from Christian values as you can get.

B had an unplanned trip to the dentist for a toothache. I pulled some of the money from home EF and will deposit that next week so I can pay the CC. Fortunately, it’s not an infection so the crown can wait a little longer. We just finished paying that off in December so I need some time to build up that fund. I’ve been watching lots of YouTube cash stuffing. I’ve gotten a few good ideas and enjoy seeing how other people do it. Mine is very simple because we only get $ once a month so it’s a bit different than people who are stuffing paychecks. Still, it’s interesting.

I’m using 4 binders to track spending and to use for cash envelopes. Here’s the small Louis Vuitton. This is the one I take with me as it has my grocery money and coffee money.

We’ve had zero luck getting rid of the quilting frame. None of the thrift stores want it so now we’re stuck with what to do with it. Even Goodwill usually takes anything said no. hmm, not sure, but I guess the landfill unless I can think of something. Maybe the wood could be repurposed. ??

Today is a home day. I want to do the menu for the week, then check the freezer and pantry for ideas. I also want to take the 2 bins I took out from4 under the bed out to the garden shed and see if I need them out there or not.

Frugalwise, we did great this week. B went to Costco using the ‘stock up’ cash envelope. Mostly it was in fact stock ups. It was HP printer ink, AA batteries, toilet paper, eggs and a few other things that came in at $137. We bought our usual wine for the week and that’s it. Tomorrow(Sunday) I plan on going to Winco and TJ’s so that I have what I need for the week and not have to go to Safeway or Holiday. It does save money to plan on those 2 stores.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, cooking, Gratitude, knee injury, social security by

Whew, I am so grateful to the PT that I saw yesterday. She explained what I needed to do to help my left knee and leg get back to at least being stable and stronger. I have the exercises to do daily and I’ll see her once a week. I could do 2 but she only works M, T, and W, so I didn’t see the point in going M and then W.

I’m grateful for Medicare/UHC which is covering this cost. I’m not sure what PT costs but I’m guessing it’s not cheap. Even my Velcade infusions, once a week, are over $6000. So in one month that’s $24,000. Crazy?? I’m grateful to be at this age and have those safety nets in place.

I’m glad we had one day of sunshine; today is also supposed to be sunny. Yesterday the rain was coming down in torrents when I left for Auburn.

As always, books to read. Books have always been so important to me starting when I could read(early) and throughout my life. I’m enjoying the Hillerman books especially because he really takes you into the culture in the Southwest.

I’m grateful that I love to cook and made a delicious red lentil curry for dinner. It was warming and delicious. 

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, California, frugalism, reading, simplicity, Uncategorized by

I added up our grocery receipts so far for the month and it looks like we’re coming in @ $425. We still have a week and a half till the new budget starts (Jan 23). That’s really good for 4 people. I am planning Costco soon so that will take us over 600 I’m sure. Still, planning and meal prep does make a huge difference in keeping the budget in check.

Our electric bill is still slated to be very high. I know that Dec, Jan, and Feb are our high months and since we have a balanced plan it helps keep it moderate. PGE is due to increase rates and I’m sure that will affect us. This time of year we use space heaters in the bedrooms and of course, there are more lights on.

Since I haven’t been driving to the pool or gym regularly our gas bill has gone way down so that’s a plus. I did check at the front desk at the gym about suspending my membership but they don’t do that so I’d need to cancel and then resign up. I’ll wait a bit as I think if I can do upper body weights I’d like to keep that going.

I just finished these 2 books. The ‘Murder Uncorked’ is fun and takes place in what I’m guessing is St. Helena or Sonoma?? The author calls it something else but she does reference local areas. The ‘Someone Always Nearby’ is amazing. It’s based on the woman who helped Georgia O’keefe build the Ghost Ranch and Abiqui. O’keefe was quite selfish and narcissistic. Quite interesting and well worth reading.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, books, bread, California, cooking, Flylady, Uncategorized, Walking by

Yesterday we were out the door at 6:20am( unfortunately, not to swim as that is my normal leave time to go the pool), but get the MRI on the knee. It all went very easy and even though it wasn’t an open MRI, my head was outside the tube. I’ll be glad to get the results and then go forward with whatever. For now, I won’t swim or go walking till I know the scoop.

I was done within 1/2 hour so we went to a new to us breakfast place. It’s called Pottery World Cafe. Just over the freeway from the imaging building. It was quite nice and the food was good. From there we drove another 5 minutes up to where Trader Joe’s is and picked up some groceries. All in all, it was a fine morning.

Then the rain came in quite heavy around 12 noon. It pretty much rained all day. Today is very cold but nice and sunny.

I do plan on going to the library Tuesday or Wednesday depending. I have 6 books on hold. At least I’ll have something to read.

I have to call the PT office and schedule seeing someone. I’m not sure how booked they are so that could change the week. If there’s a chance I will go do upper body weights and at least keep something going. 🙁

I have a tentative menu plan for the week:

  1. black bean chili and cornbread

2. roast chicken, potatoes, salad and something for the vegetarian.( I have some tempeh to use).

3. lentil soup and homemade bread

4. A freezer meal, maybe cheese tamales

5. pasta with red sauce and salad

6. leftover chicken something, quesadillas? or pot pie?

7. either pizza or something which resembles pizza.

Of course, every day is different so I’ll decide what to cook each day.

We finished the Reacher Amazon Prime series and it was very good. If you like Reacher as a character, the show is well done. Now we need to find something new. We really only watch maybe an hour and a half at night, sometimes less even but it’s nice to have a series where the episodes are 60 minutes or so. I had gotten the Season 10 of Father Brown and that was fun to catch up on. I think we stopped watching back in Season 7 or 8 so there had been changes but still, it was fun to watch and who doesn’t love the Cotswolds.

I’ve already done the kitchen zone for the week, so I don’t have any big house stuff to do. I need to run Bender, dust plus water some plants.

End of a year…

Posted in books, California, camping, cancer, cooking, Gardening, travel, Uncategorized by

2023 is almost over.

Overall, I think we had a good year.

We had lots of RV adventures in Rubi and even went to The Westin in Napa(points used) for an overnight.

Everyone’s health is good and except for my knee still acting up and being on Velcade this fall, I think my health is good. This week is my last weekly shot of Velcade/Dex so I will be ready for a break. I’m not anemic or having any serious issues with Velcade just the normal stuff that’s to be expected. Still, I will be glad to switch to the monthly.

I did a lot of pressure canning and water bath canning this spring, summer, and fall. At this point, I’d say I’ve used maybe 1/3 of my pantry. I’ve learned a lot about food storage and it’s been fun. The all-American canner is a dream to work with. But as I get older, I may switch to the electric canner because the all-American is super heavy and difficult to move around. The electric one does have limits to how many you can do but that wouldn’t be a problem for me as I’m trying to can for a family with kids.

We were fortunate not to have to have any trees taken down this year but if we can afford it next year we should move ahead and do at least one. By my last count, we have about 10 more trees that should come down. But that’s A LOT of money we do not have.

We had a great garden this year too thanks to my daughter. I’m hoping next year is good too. Probably lots of tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, etc. Of course, crops should be rotated so that might affect where things go and how much we can plant.

The library has been wonderful and after reading over 100 books, I stopped counting because …why? Also, having the gym and library next to each other is awesome.

We do live a simple life.

After Christmas…

Posted in books, California, cancer, cash envelopes, cooking, library, meal planning, seasonal things, Walking by

Today is my 3rd Velcade shot. I have another stye happening from the Velcade so my eyes are bothering me some. No walking this week as I must have overdone the leg muscles on the knee where the torn meniscus muscle is. So, I decided to just call this an ‘inactive ‘week, which drives me crazy because I want to walk and swim.

I’m hoping giving it some rest and stretching will help. Today after the shot, I have to drop books off at the library. I’m not going in because they have holiday hours and don’t open till 10am. Then I need to go over to the bank and then home. I’m considering doing upper body weights but I’ll wait till I’m there( by the library) to decide. ( The gym and library are next to each other).

On the menu plan this week:

breakfast for dinner

quiche with salad

steak bits and broccoli(tofu with broccoli for the veggie)

grilled chicken/ veggie pattie and some sort of veg

soup of some sort

New Year’s Eve will be our traditional sub sandwiches. I’ll get some GF rolls for my daughter. I saw some at Trader Joe’s so I’ll check there first. Her labs came back and she’s not celiac but she says she feels better not eating gluten right now so that’s good.

Our weather has been cloudy and cool. No rain but there might be some this weekend. Typical December/January weather, kind of gloomy and depressing.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, California, camping, Gratitude, library, Myeloma, travel, Uncategorized by

We had a terrific drive home. Traffic was minimal in our direction, terrible going toward Napa. So I’m thankful for that. We (meaning Barclay) had us hooked up, tanks emptied by 9:45 am. Boy, do I love full hookups!!. But plenty of places we love don’t have them so, it’s do what you can.

I’m thankful I wasn’t in any hurry yesterday as the infusion nurse was working 5 chairs alone and it took an hour to finally get my shot. Then I got stuck in traffic on 65 as there was construction on I-80 where it merges with 65. One hour later, I was headed home. So a normal hour and a half trip ended up almost 3.

I am thankful for the Roseville Library and the books I picked up yesterday too!!

So the most exciting news and what I am most thankful for is Velcade is WORKING!! My kappa light chains went down 100 POINTS !!!! Yay!!!! I see Dr.Laptalo today. B is driving me as it is a dex day and I never drive on dex. I could do it for sure but my judgements are just off on Dex. Hence, the no knives rule too.

Feel free to share what you’re thankful for and if you are traveling in blog land, the Frugal Girl’s blog on Thankful Thursday is always inspiring.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, California, cancer, Gratitude, Myeloma by

All things considered, my Velcade shot went well. The nurses are always the kindest and efficient people. Always concerned that everything is ok. The one nurse remembered me from last time so that was cool.

I went to the library and got my holds and it’s such a beautiful library.

We went out for a Mexican lunch and it was delicious and there were leftovers for dinner. Being a dex night I don’t usually feel like cooking.

Oh, I did remember a positive thing about dex. No aches and pains. Dex is a super anti-inflammatory drug.

The nurse had my schedule ready for November and now it looks like we will only be able to go to Napa for 2 nights instead of 3 because otherwise they would have to change all my appts to Thursdays. So I said fine let’s just keep Wednesdays.

Today is just a home day and I plan to do some quilting and reading.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, California, camping, cancer, Gratitude, Lake tahoe, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma, Walking by

I’m always grateful to be able to walk in the early morning even if it is only for 40 minutes. As soon as my knee is 100% I plan on upping my time to 50 minutes. I’d also like to add in doing some hiking. Since we’ll be in Tahoe this week I’ll add in some extra walking if my knee feels good enough. There’s the hike through the meadow near the campground and there’s Richardson Trail near the Y in South Lake.

In spite of having to start Chemo, I’m grateful that I know what to expect as opposed to a new drug. Still, it’s hard to have to add this in but I’m grateful I have the option.

I’m grateful for a supportive family that I know will pick up the slack with things I won’t be able to do on chemo/dex days. Being the planner I am, I’ll have lots of dinner ideas ready plus freezer food.

I’m grateful my husband is having a birthday tomorrow, turning 73!!! Wow, after all he’s gone through he’s a walking miracle thanks to science. We plan on getting a pizza and some sort of birthday cake.

I’m thankful the Roseville Library is accessible and has an excellent selection of books. Roseville Parks and Recreation is probably one of the nicest resources in our area. After the gym this morning I plan on going over to the library and loading up on books to take camping.

Frugal Friday

Posted in Blood test, books, budgets, California, cooking, reading, simple foods, swimming, Walking by

We have another rainy day forecast. It’s very weird for us to have rain in Northern CA this time of year. Usually, it’s around Halloween. But we’ll take it and it will help with fire season.

After overdoing the walking yesterday,:( I re-evalutated. I’ll just do 2 rounds tomorrow and see how that is for a day or two. I did swim this morning and it felt really great. It was raining a little but I’m in the water anyway so…

Well, I ended up going to Winco after the pool and it was not frugal. I spent about $125. But I pretty much got what I needed for the week ahead. Some salad stuff, fruit, almond butter, rye bread, cheese and misc. But other than that, I haven’t bought groceries. I think so far for the September budget I’m at about $275, and that was the Costco trip. I could put that back on August’s budget but I think I’ll leave it in September.

We didn’t have any lunch dates or coffee dates this week. Next week we might do a lunch date but I’ll wait and see how the week shapes up. I have my oncology appt Wednesday so that day is out. I’m hoping we can come up with my chemo plan for October. It depends on my next labs and what he thinks. We’ll see.

Last night I made a yummy chicken parmigania and spaghetti with some of my canned tomato sauce. Boy, was that sauce delicious. I did pick another big bowl of tomatoes so I may have enough to do another batch. I did another jar of refrigerator jalapenos. I must have 6 jars now:) I’m not sure what we’re doing for dinner but it won’t be a pizza. Maybe I’ll pull a jar from the pantry.

I just finished a library book “ The House in the Pines‘ by Ana Reyes. Yikes what a nail biter. Very scary and suspenseful. Not sure about the ending it seemed to unfinished to me and I don’t like that. I picked up 6 books to read, 3 of them are part of the Lincoln Lawyer series. Right now we’re watching the TV show on Prime and it’s very good.