Category Archives: California

The week ahead.

Posted in California, Political things, reading by

After the gym yesterday, I went to Bel Air for a few things, mainly sauerkraut and some natural hot dogs for dinner. Then I went over to Goodwill, all in the same shopping area, and found a few things. A couple of books and two enamel trays. I had store credit, so I used that. I still have some left over so I’ll maybe go again next week.

Today is a holiday. Indigenous peoples day, so I’ll not go to the pool. Holidays are hit and miss and the last time I went on a holiday it was way to busy for me.

I’m re-reading Shogun. I finally found a set at the pet bookstore and it’s a nice copy. I checked using google and it is a bookclub copy but a very nice one that sells on ebay for @ $50 so I got a good deal. I’m still holding out for the original one that is actually one book not two. Maybe I’ll get lucky.

I also watched the first Harry Potter as that takes place around Halloween. I haven’t found any new shows to watch. I started the ‘East of Eden'( I think that’s what it was called), and didn’t like it. It’s based on Steinbeck’s book. Anyway, it wasn’t my genre. Any recommendations?

I was able to use the democratic guide to the measures and filled that out according to their recommendations. I mostly had what they recommended but there were 2 that they suggested no on. So I’ll finish that up today.

I plan on one swim and one Mahany trip this week and I have Velcade on Thursday. I’d like to add one extra thing with my daughter as she has the week off. Maybe go out for lunch someplace new?

I sure hope this election brings a blue wave across the country. If that happens maybe we can stop tRump from doing the horrible things he’s doing. The latest is cutting 500 trees from the golf course in DC. Where’s Treebeard when you need him? It’s beyond despicable what he’s capable of. But it’s peoples $ ( or lack of) that will do him in because at $6 + for gas is going to get even magas riled up.

Saturday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, home stuff, Walking by

Well, I’m sitting here at 6: 30, and it still seems too dark to go for a walk. I’ll wait another 10 minutes or so. I’m not into getting there in the dark anymore. At one time, walking in the dark was one of my favorite things. Now, though, the path has lots of uneven places and holes, so for safety, I’ll wait. Update:/ I got there at 6:45 and it was fine.

Our weather has turned and it’s going to be cool and maybe even some rain. I think we’re ready. My daughter got all the wood stacked which was a big job. Since my son left the truck here while he’s gone we are planning at least one trip to the dump. Mostly it’s leftover junk wood that I’d like out of here. Frankly, I ‘m amazed at the crap still here that wasn’t taken care of. So my goalis, all of it gone by mid November.

I decided to go to TJ’s yesterday as it had more things I wanted on my list. It was busy for some reason. Maybe because it was Friday? I checked whether they had the fall mini bags but they are long gone. I did pick up the french fries and their has browns that we like because they are unseasoned. I also got some frozen meals of chicken chow mein and their fried rice for a easy dinner. TJ’s is so great for getting interesting things. I want to plan a trip when I have some extra money to get some Christmas things like chocolates and cookies. But not now.

A couple of my vintage Halloween things. Plus pumpkin boy and apple girl.

I’ve been doing some Sashiko on some linen blend napkins. I got the designs off Etsy and they stick to the fabric so it makes it easy to do them. I need to get more thread though. The sashiko thread is a bit silkier than embroidery thread. I’m planning on giving these to my son for christmas, at least that’s the thought now.

I have a few house things to do today and then I’d like to get back out to the garden shed. I had decluttered some but it’s a mess again so that’ll be my first priority today. Now that it’s cooler I get a bit more ambitious.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, freezer cooking, Gratitude, Pantry by

Well. I’m not too thankful that the bear came and knocked over the very full garbage pail this morning. He did it last week too. So I got up at 6am and decided to go look with the flashlight, and sure enough, it was strewn everywhere. We don’t have bear proof garbage pails here and besides it’s garbage day so it’s out on the driveway. Not sure if there’s a solution to this except maybe a bungee cord and then go get it when I get up?? I don’t think a bungee cord is going to keep a 500 lb bear out of the garbage.

Well, I am thankful I got out there before the truck showed up because if they see it strewn around they won’t stop. These new trucks are all automatic lifts so the guy doesn’t get out of his truck at all.

Another appt today, and I’ll be thankful when it’s over. But with this shot I’ll have to expect tomorrow the side effects won’t let me go to the pool or gym if it’s like last week. Fortunately, I did feel better by Saturday so hopefully this will be the same. My schedule has been very messed up with these shots and then side effects. I’ll be glad to get out of October. I have Velcade next week so that’s 3 days out. UGH!!!!

I made sole meuniere last night with some cheese raviolis on the side cooked with cherry tomatoes and olive oil, it was good. The raviolis were from the freezer and that’s one more thing out of there. I have one more serving in the freezer to use. I think from now on I’ll get the TJ’s pack and not Costco. Easier to get through.

The big freezer is emptying out nicely. I’m going to defrost it once it’s a little more cleaned out. I like having the chest freezer for extra things but not when it’s crammed full and there’s only two of us. I need to go get some chicken to defrost, so I’ll check on what else can get used. The raviolis were near the bottom and that’s why I used them. It’s been a challenging process learning to cook for basically just me and my daughter. We don’t eat all that much especially at dinner time. ( ok, then why am I overweight?? ha ha!!!) Well, for one, I am definitely not as active as I was even a year ago. I’m not walking as much and even with swimming, I dont get there as much as I’d like especially when there’s these appts. Plus, right now with gas over $6 a gallon, it’s hard to justify moe than 2 trips a week. Oh well, age catches up to us all.

Midweek things

Posted in books, California, decluttering, home stuff, plants by

I had a good dentist appt yesterday. Still, OOP was expensive, but I don’t have dental insurance, and Medicare doesn’t cover dental things except, I think, surgeries and stuff. Oh well, it had to be done, but at least it all was good- no cavities, etc. She did recommend I go back to the electric toothbrush. I had an Oral B somewhere but when I got home I couldn’t find it so I ordered a Sonicare. It was on sale for Prime so I got a good deal.

Before the dentist, I went over to the pet bookstore and dropped off 3 bags of books. Some were cookbooks that I bought there but really haven’t used. It’s cheap entertainment for me to read cookbooks.

Monday I did a house rest and got through the kitchen zone. That always feels good as it is my biggest zone to do.

Today, I plan on tidying things up and I need to find some different places for my sunroom plants. I have a very large fiddle leaf fig ( over 5 ft) but it’s not liking the sunroom going from very warm to cool at night. So I need to rethink where to put that plant and 2 others. I don’t have a lot of space in the house which is why they were in the sunroom. I’ll google or AI what fiddle leafs like. The spider plants can really tolerate temperature changes so I’ll leave them out there.

Other than that, a day at home. I think this our last hot day too. Fortunately, as I mentioned, with the angle of the sun this time of year, our house is not getting direct overhead sun but more south eastern, so the house is staying cool as long as I close the windows.

Simple Sunday/Monday morning catch up.

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cooking by

I decided not to go to the Auburn gym this morning. I’m feeling a bit tired and my stomach feels a bit off. I’ll just do some house things and declutter some areas that could use a look-through. Update: I didn’t find much to declutter, but I did add to my book pile to bring to the pet bookstore.

I did wash most of the inside windows yesterday, so all I have left is the sunroom. Update: Nope, didn’t get them done; maybe today.

That was yesterday. It was a mellow day and so pretty with bright blue skies and puffy clouds. It was a Tahoe-feeling sort of day.

Today I need to go to Costco to stock up. I need eggs, flour, coffee, and some non food items as well.

I wrote up a meal guide for the week and plan on spaghetti, burgers, some kind of soup, and a night of rice and spring rolls. The other nights, I’ll probably just come up with an easy something.

I called about the firewood, and I think he’ll deliver this coming Saturday. It’s crazy expensive at $475, but he mentioned that his delivery truck is diesel, and then I understood. Diesel here in N. Ca is almost or even over $8 a gallon, so I don’t begrudge him charging that at all. I just hope it’s nice wood. I’ll need to go get that cash sometime this week.

I made some whole wheat bread. This is just with the KitchenAid mixer, not the Zojirushi.

I froze one loaf and sliced the other up to use.

I’d like to get some rye flour and try rye again. Rye is difficult because it is a dense bread, but it’s worth trying.

I am going to get my flu/covid shot this week, so I need to work around that. I think I can get one swim in, but that’s it because I always have a down day after my shot. I’m also meeting my library friends for coffee this week. I have a bag of apples from our tree to give to one of them who still cans applesauce. We had an good crop this year but I still have applesauce from the apples I froze in the spring. If anything I’ll cut some up and freeze those for later use.

My daughter plans to go back to work this week. She still tested positive on Friday but didn’t test yesterday, so I’ll see if she does that today. I guess you can test positive for a while and you’re not contagious. I’ll probably do a test today as well, just to be sure.

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, home stuff, knee injury, Walking by

I’m in the process of canning tomatoes. I ordered a flat of Roma tomatoes from a local farm. They were 2.50 a pound, so a very good price. I did half the lug and have half to do tomorrow or Tuesday. I have 8 pints in the water bath and 2 more ready to go when these are done. I’ll add some jars filled with water so it fills the canner. I didn’t add any seasoning, just citric acid and a little salt. I’ll do seasoning when I open and use them. I’m a little tired from standing but I’m almost done.

I did go for a walk, and it was quite nice. A few other people, but not bad for a Sunday. My left knee (torn ACL and meniscus) seemed to tweak a few times, so I’ve been really careful, and I’ll probably put my knee sleeve on to help with stability. The only thing I’ve done differently is that I’ve added my PT exercises back into my workout, so maybe that tweaked it. So today I’ll back off since I’ve been on my feet a while now.

This is a busy week for me, which, as you know, I really dislike a lot of appts, but they must be done. That includes my Velcade on Thursday. I did change my dentist appt from Monday next week to Wednesday, as Monday is my labs and dex crash day. It doesn’t always happen, but I figured it would be better to change it if I could.

I also finished Calamity Club, and it’s as good as everyone says. Really, such insight!

I moved most of my cookbooks into B’s office bookcase.

I’ll see if I like them there or not. The other picture is the little fire pit I bought a while ago. I had a few nights of fires outside when it was cooler. Now with our temps dropping, I’ll sit outside again. Today’s high is supposed to be 75, so quite lovely.

Midweek and the freezer challenge

Posted in budgets, California, cooking by

So, following Kristen from Frugal Girl, I pulled almost everything out of the fridge freezer. There were lots of ziplock bags of one meal type things that I tossed. Some had been in there since last December. I don’t feel bad about clearing it out. But the lesson learned is: don’t try to save random 1-serving leftovers because we won’t eat them. an example is one serving of split pea ssoup from last winter, really? Now if Barclay were here, he probably would eat it> Ha ha.

anyway, I have 3 small bags of blueberries so I’m going to use them in pancakes, a small bag of leftover French fries ( using this week), some leftover meatballs, and other random stuff. It looks better and less cluttered/stuffed!

Yesterday, I went to the gym and the library. I finally got the Calamity Club book, which has been on hold forever. So I’m excited to start it. I also got another Sashiko book with patterns. I ordered some transfer paper from Amazon. I had tracing paper, which I guess in my mind was the same thing ( it’s not). So when that comes, I can transfer the pattern onto fabric.

Today, I’m going into Auburn to go to the bookstore and finally drop off the books, and then over to AAA to figure out how to add my son to the motorcycle title. It’s easy enough; I just want to go in and make sure I have the stuff on the right lines. Hopefully they won’t be too busy.

Then home, and some regular chores and then read.

Menu Monday

Posted in California, cooking, meal planning, Uncategorized by

I’m going to follow Frugal Girl’s lead and do a kitchen refrigerator freezer cleanout. It’s kind of funny that I just asked AI (ChatGPT) about some leftover chicken and some coconut milk I had in the freezer and got a recipe for chicken curry soup. This was especially nice since I wasn’t feeling great, and the warmth of the curry was nice. So after reading her blog, I thought I’ve never taken everything out to see what’s lurking so that’s my plan for today.

I still have some of the curry left for lunch, and there’s some leftover quiche from last night that my daughter heated up. The quiche is the 2-pack from Costco, which is very good and a good price. The other one I’ll freeze.

Not in any order of when I make these:

  • Hot dogs from Costco with beans( pantry)
  • brinner with scrambled eggs bacon and waffles
  • freezer surprise
  • freezer surprise
  • Frozen pizza
  • Breaded fish with french fries

My son is planning to come up and work out in the barn today. I’ll need to look around and see what I can have him do. I know there’s some wood to move to the splitter.

I might go into town to do a few random errands, but I’ll see how I feel. I do feel better today, for the most part. My errands include stopping at the auto store for antifreeze for Buggie (VW), dropping batteries off at Staples, and little things like that. I also have a lot of cardboard to take to recycling. But that’s tricky, as it gets filled up super fast. That may have to wait, although I could get it loaded in the Santa Fe. So I’ll see how the morning goes.

I watched the movie Mayday, with Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh. It was good. It had a lot of “Deadpool-type” humor, which I love. Other than that, I need to find something to watch tonight.

I’m still checking LLS daily, but no luck. It’s been almost 2 months, but almost 5 months since I had funds in my grant. I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering when they’ll open funding for Myeloma. Just have to keep checking.

Well, what’s on your plate this week? Any new recipes?

Friday Things

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, frugalism, home stuff by

My appointment went well even with him being late( as usual). I thought of stopping at Costco for those non food items I still need but didn’t feel like it. I prefer to use the executive time only, which is at 9 a.m. when they open.

When I got home, I made a sandwich and called it good. I was starving since I hadn’t eaten before I left for Sacto. I thought about going to Costco this morning (Friday) and haven’t decided if that’s what I want to get done. Probably I’ll wait.

We got some rain!!! Very unusual for September in the Sierra Nevada foothills, but very welcome.

The only shopping I did was at Holiday on Monday for about $ 50. That was for deli meat for sandwiches, milk, and some salad stuff. I try not to go there too often, as it is more expensive than WinCo. But it is just right down the driveway. (Well, you still need to get on the main road and then make a right turn in.) I also spent $106 on the oil change.

Today, I’ll wait for the chimney guy to show up and give me his assessment. I wasn’t sure if he was planning on cleaning it today or just telling me. He wasn’t very clear. After that, I plan to go into Auburn and return a T-shirt from Old Navy that I ordered online and don’t really like.

Before the oil change, I dropped off the Goodwill stuff, so that’s out of the car. But think I’ll see about loading up our cardboard and take to the cardboard bins the county provides for free. It’s kind of a pain to do, and again, this was all the stuff Barclay did. UGH!!! I’ll have to check how wet it all got before I load it up.

I pulled some things out of the chest freezer: some bacon, the cannellini beans in the Souper cubes, bagels, and tortillas. I have quite a few avocados from Costco to use, so I’ll make some quesadillas and use them. With the cannellini beans, I might make a soup and add them. I did see some random containers of chicken broth in the chest freezer that I should get out.

Well, I just got a text from the Chimney guy, and he’s sick, so I will go down to Costco this morning at 9am. I’m sure the chimney will be fine.

The fires of Mordor!! Ha, just kidding. This was my last fire.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, camping, Gratitude by

I actually felt like going for a walk this morning. Still, it’s busy with the Pilates class and people. But I did my one round and called it good, so I’m thankful for that. With sunrise later now, it’s only getting light by 6:15 or so; that means people usually start coming later. the Pilates class I’m sure will stick to their 6 am time as that is a class.

I got the oil changed in the Santa Fe. I’m thankful I didn’t have a time limit, as it took 2 hours. Speedy was very busy.

I’m thankful the car is still going strong. No problems, fingers crossed.

I scheduled my flu shot and COVID shot for right around my birthday at the end of the month. Last year I did them the same day, one in each arm. So that’s what I’ll do this year. I was sore last year in both arms, and I spiked a fever that night, but then it was over, so I’m thankful for that.

I am very thankful for the cooler weather. I even ordered an outside firepit thing to actually burn wood in. I have the gas one we used for camping, which is great, but there’s nothing like a real fire.