Category Archives: books

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:)

Menu Monday

Posted in books, California, cooking, Gardening by

Here’s the new cookbook I ordered a while ago. I did use Amazon which I guess for some things like this, I will. This book was from a third-party seller though but still. I just heard about Feb. 28 as a nation wide no buy anything day so I hope you’ll join in.

It has some good recipes and the recipes are the way and what I cook. She also has a new cookbook coming out in June. I made the fried chicken pieces last night and it was a good recipe. She started as a youtube channel and I guess got pretty famous quickly. I plan on making some new recipes this week.

So, last night we had the fried chicken from this book and we had a packaged salad on the side. B had a quiche from Trader Joes.

Tonight, I think I’ll do tofu burgers because I have several packages of tofu. I don’t have any fries or potatoes so when I go to Costco I’ll pick up some of those baby potatoes.

Tuesday- I think something with beans. A bean bowl with rice, avocados, sour cream etc.

Wednesday- soup of some sort, ?

Thursday- a recipe in the new book for roast chicken with garlic. Probably salad on the side.

Friday- Pizza. I haven’t made homemade in quite a while so I think I’ll make a batch of dough. The recipe I use makes 4 dough balls.

Saturday-TBD

Our daffodils are coming up and it’s starting to look like spring. I picked a nice bouquet yesterday. My daughter has started all the tomato seeds and some other things. She got the onions in the raised beds too.

Menu Monday on Tuesday

Posted in Blood test, books, California, husband, Political things by

I had to leave early yesterday(7:15) to get my labs, so I didn’t get to this. Then, I headed down to the pool and had a good swim. After that, I had to do a return at the Galleria Mall, so that took some time. All in all, after I got home, I was still dealing with changing my dental appt to a morning. I think I have everything squared away. Then B got an appt for the CT scan Dr. Lee wants in Sacramento, so he had to leave right after I got home. So I was pretty fried by the afternoon.

Last night, I just did a brinner of waffles, scrambled eggs, and veggie sausage. I had put on pinquitos in the crock pot but they weren’t quite done by dinner. We’ll have them tonight.

Tuesday: Pinquitos with cornbread

Wednesday: protein of some sort, probably chicken/tofu with baked potatoes from the freezer.

Thursday: I think I’ll make a homemade mac and cheese. I have a salad pack to use up.

Friday: Pizza of some sort. We haven’t had takeout in like forever so maybe that.

Saturday: some kind of soup

Sunday: Salmon from Alaskian Wildfish Co. with quinoa and?

My meals are not set, and I often change the day of things to fit what we feel like. But like Flylady, it’s good to have a basic outline of what to eat or do.

It’s still raining a LOT!! But tomorrow looks like a break. We need it. I might go to the gym /library, but I feel like it might be nice to stay home if the weather is nice.

I have a few things to tidy up, but the house is in good shape overall. The kitchen could use some tidying up. I went through the fridge and repackaged some stuff for the freezer(cheese) and threw away a few things. I might go do a little more of that.

The news is so depressing. I mean, RFK for health and human services when he’s against vaccines? These Republicans are spineless jerks. Just wait till there’s a full pandemic of bird flu, then what? Will he tell us all to inject bleach?? good grief, charlie brown.

that’s it for me today. Oh, I just finished 2 books. One is the classic Robin Hood that I have in Easton Press.

And then the new Evanovich, which is a real hoot!!

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, California, cooking, Walking by

A very rainy, simple Sunday. It now feels like we should be building an ark with all the rain we’ve had. At least it hasn’t been very cold although later in the week it is supposed to drop way down to freezing! So maybe snow?

I did a fair amount of things yesterday. I made a sourdough boule that had raisins, walnuts, and some cinnamon. It came out nice. Very hydrated, so quite moist. Then I also mopped floors and dusted some. For dinner, we had two kinds of soups. A minestrone from the freezer for B, and My daughter and I had a Greek lemon soup from Costco. It was good, but I’m not sure I’d buy it again. It was a two-pack, so there’s another one left. My daughter(S) liked it a lot, though. I made cheese toasties on the side with the homemade cheddar jalapeno sourdough.

I rearranged my desk, but it’s still not how I wanted it. I think I’m going to get an Ikea little cabinet to put my extra office stuff in. Right now, the one I want is out of stock, but they have it in a grey finish, so I may get that. ( I wanted the white finish). Basically, I keep my office stuff in a wine crate that has a hinged lid. It works good, but it takes up most of my ‘desk area, which is really my Heywood table.

I slept terribly last night, I think, because of coming off Dex. I’m not planning on going to the gym unless I totally change my mind. With all this rain, we’re not doing our morning walk, so I really should go, but I am not too motivated right now. Oh well, hopefully, I can go use the treadmill in our studio. My daughter has done a great job changing the studio( which was my son’s room) into an exercise space with a treadmill and bike. Plus, her piano is out there now, so she can play with some privacy. She has headphones, but still, it’s nice to get out of the house. We still need to paint out there to freshen it up.

Our new little stray ‘Tux’ is hanging around more and sleeping in the sunroom. We made him a bed so he’s warm and dry. He’s a real cutie, but we will need to get him spayed and shots.

Tonight, I’m planning a new recipe using some of our delicata squash. It’s baked with some spices and maple syrup, and then the salad part is apple, lettuce, and goat cheese, which I do not have any of. I’ll stop at the store later to get some. I’m not sure what I’ll have with it, but I’ll think of something.

I can’t even begin to express how upsetting it is to read the news about Trump banning all celebrations for Black History Month, MLK Jr. Day, etc. I just finished reading John Lewis’s graphic novels,” March”( it’s a 3 volume set) on his early civil rights days.

It is truly amazing what all of those people did to get the voting rights bill passed. It’s stunning to me that we are going back to such blindness and discrimination against blacks, LBGTQ+, and everything it seems we have worked so hard to overcome. Where is it going to go? What are the next 4 years going to bring down? It’s horrifying to me, really, and scary. I would highly recommend buying the 3 set Volumns and read and pass on to everyone you know. It’s eye-opening and shocking the hate from whites in the South. Bull Connor, Wallace, the list goes on. Truly awful.

Well, I’d better get a move on if I’m going to town.

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, bread, budgeting, budgets, California, decluttering, freezer cooking, frugalism, simple foods, velcade by

The week was overall frugal. I didn’t need gas yet in Santa Fe. I’ll fill up at Costco next week.

I went to the gym and library before my Velcade shot. Gettting books at the library always saves me from buying some random cookbook( a weakness(. I looked at two already, and there’s nothing I’d cook from them. They’re pretty books, but not how I cook. For instance, last night, we shared a steamed artichoke, and I made an us omelet to share with sprouts, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. We eat fairly simply.

I went to Costco after swimming on Wednesday and spent $250 or so. Some of that was snack/foodstuff for my daughter to take to work. She doesn’t get a full lunch break because of her hours, so I bought some beef sticks, egg bites (Kirkland brand), and something else I can’t remember. The two kinds of beef sticks were expensive, grass feed. I’ve actually never had one, so I can’t tell you if they’re any good, but as a high-protein snack, I could see it working. Organic eggs were 7.99 for 2 dozen.

Today is a home day because of Dex, but I feel pretty good this morning. I plan on vacuuming, dusting some, and doing a bit of decluttering odds and ends. I also have a pack of Kirkland I need to use, so I’m thinking of some meatballs I can freeze. We( my daughter and I have decided to mostly cut beef out of our diets. We don’t eat it often, so it shouldn’t be hard at all. But I have this to use and one other in the freezer, and I don’t want to waste it. If we go out together, we definitely would think about an In an-Out burger, but that’s pretty rare for us to do.

The rain is supposed to come by noon today, and it looks nonstop for days. I think I’ll plan on some soup dinners with homemade sourdough.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, California, cooking, Gratitude, library, peritoneal mesothelomia, Political things by

First, what a tragedy about the AA plane and the Black Hawk helicopter. Very sad indeed. I listened to part of what trump said, and at first, he was somewhat consoling and then spiraled into his usual blaming of Obama and Biden. Geez, give it up, just be with the victims here and not political.

I’m very thankful to get the Stanford call, and at least we can get this part done. Today, he has a video call with the anesthesiologist, and tomorrow, a video visit with Dr. Neal, who is the mesothelioma oncologist at Stanford.

I’m thankful we’ve had a nice period of no rain. Tomorrow starts a long period of lots of rain. I’ll have to see how the walking will go.

I’m thankful to feel like myself again after that awful night. It’s the simple things, right?

I’m thankful I got to the gym before my Velcade. It was nice because then I came straight home.

I’m thankful for the library and the huge bag of books I checked out. Three cookbooks which were new, so that’ll be fun. Reading cookbooks is like a hobby. I don’t often make the recipes, but I like looking at them.

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, California, cancer, cooking, home stuff, reading, swimming, Walking by

Wow, 2024 is coming to a close and Wednesday is 2025. I still need to write a few goals for the year. Nothing monumental, just things like keep walking, keep swimming, and up the number of times a week. Stuff like that.

A very very rainy morning. No walk again, so I’ll use the treadmill. I might try and walk tomorrow but I’ll wait and see. I was planning on going to the Roseville gym and the library. I have some books to return and a hold to pick up. The rain is supposed to stop later and tomorrow looks sunny so that may be the deciding factor.

Despite the rain, B and I went to Costco. He needed the protein drink and he wanted cereal too. We bought some of the sale items, dishwasher pods, and Swiffer dusters, and it seems there was something else on sale. We got a rug for the entry way as we’ve been using a towel and that gets old. I picked eggs, tofu, milk, bananas, and salad mix and they had microgreens which I love. This was a new item. Oh, we picked up the vegetable barley soup for an easy dinner.

Yesterday, I did most of my house chores, so today is an easy day. For dinner, I made brown rice, sweet potatoes, grilled tofu, and broccoli, and there’s enough for lunch today or even dinner if I add something extra.

I started reading another Baldacci series, the Camel Club. So far I like the characters and the plot. My son gave me a great Christmas present of 6 or 7 Baldacci hardcovers he got at the thrift store. They are in almost new condition. What a great gift. He always zeroes in on the right gift for people. Plus he said he didn’t want to buy anything new but used/thrifted. Very Cool. He found the graphic novel, “March” by John Lewis and others at the thrift store too, and that made a great gift to B.

We’re halfway through Hanukkah and I only did a card and cash for each person. The cash was only a $2 bill which believe it or not are very hard to find. So I’m definitely winding down the gift-giving which is my goal.

We finished the “Astrid” series and it was really good. Now we need to find a new series to watch. Does anybody have a recommendation?

Well, off to read.

Winter Solstice

Posted in books, budgets, California, Walking by

Winter begins.

Finally, the shortest day of the year. And the longest night but then we shall start to see more light. Already the afternoons are showing a bit more light around 5pm so that’s a big plus.

We had a nice walk this morning. It wasn’t too cold at all. The rain is supposed to start around noon. Today is just a home day. Yesterday I went to the gym and the library. I got the newest Baldacci book so I’m excited to start that today.

I didn’t go to Trader Joe’s so I may stop in there Monday. I still need a few things for Christmas eve and Christmas dinner. If I don’t I will go down to Holiday which I may do today anyway as we are out of half and half and milk. No one drinks or uses milk except B but since he’s really trying to gain weight milk is important to have.

I realized I didn’t have any Hannukha candles left so I ordered some from Amazon. After Christmas, I hope to only buy necessities from Amazon. Some things I just need to get from there like Simple human garbage bags. I buy these in a 4 pack. But I still want to try and not support Bezos.

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.

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.