Category Archives: California

Menu Monday

Posted in California, cooking, home stuff by

We did have the Di Fara pizza last night.

It was quite excellent. I was surprised. I will definitely try another one. I got this at Bel Air, but I think Safeway has them too.

Menu ideas, not in any order of when I’d make.

Tonight, I have some Dover sole to make. Costco had them in stock, and so I picked up a pack. It’s a nice, mild fish. I have a bit of salad stuff to use so I’ll do that.

I have some taco shells in the pantry box that I want to use, so either taco meat or beans.

I plan to defrost some chicken, so I’ll do something with that. I have brown rice I need to use as well, so I’ll put that in the Zojirushi. This brown rice is at least a year old so it needs to get used up. I had it in the freezer so that does extend it’s shelf life.

On the nights my daughter gets home late, I’ll probably do grilled cheese or something easy like that.

I have quite a few eggs also, so maybe a scrambled egg/ breakfast for dinner thing.

We did get to Home Depot and bought the garden soil and the smart light bulbs, and my daughter picked up a few bags of rocks for their rock garden.

Today, I think we’re going to try to get to the bookstore since I have 2 bags of books to go. It’s Monday, so I need to do a house reset for the week. Mostly, just tidying up and being sure the kitchen is tidy and clean. I did clean the stove and stove hood the other day, so that’s done. The Flylady zone is the entryway. I’ll do a sweep of both. I did change out my faux flowers for the fall ones.

The flash flood in the Grand Canyon looks devastating. Phantom Ranch and the campgrounds are all damaged. Mother Nature does it’s thing and it can be shocking. Also, the mudslide in Nepal is devastating. The loss of life is huge and very sad.

Simple Sunday

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, decluttering, garden shed, Walking by

A very nice cooling trend we’re having. Fall is in the air. We might be able to take out a cooler or two earlier than usual. We usually wait till the end of September, but the forecast looks coolish for the next while.

I didn’t go walking yet (6:30) and woke up with a headache, so I’ll see how I am in the next 15 minutes or so. No walking; finally took an Advil!

We are planning to go into Home Depot for a few things, so that will also nix my gym time. That’s ok; I’m, if anything, flexible because I can be. We want to get some potting soil, some smart light bulbs, and check out a gate. OUt old wooden gate is the last remnant of the redwood fence and now it’s sagging and not quite opening. I’ll defer to what my daughter wants to do. It does need to open wide so if we have a delivery, it can come in through that gate.

They have been working on raking around the house and generally clearing debris like grass and leaves. They also set up an AI image of some plants away from the house, and it looks good.

I finally finished all 3 extended versions of LOTR. 12 hours!! I just started the extended version of The Hobbit. I guess that will take a while.

Last night we had some Udon noodles with chicken in soy sauce. Basically, I marinated the chunks of chicken in soy sauce, rice vinegar, and some hoisin sauce. It came out good. Tonight, I’m not sure, but I’ll check out the freezer. I do have a frozen pizza I’d like to use up.

I’m enjoying doing the Sashiko again. It’s basically a type of embroidering but I like to do it. I have a few patterns to trace from a library book. I like doing it on my Levi’s too; it makes a fun extra thing.

My goal for today, besides Home Depot, is to go out to the garden shed and clean it out. There are our iMac boxes, which can go to recycling, and my bin of children’s books I want to bring in and put on eBay. There’s a collection of Elsa Beskow books. Very darling, and I love them, but they should be read and loved, not stuffed in a box. I also have 2 small bins from the RV that I think I’ll relocate. So, I’ll see how far I get.

The week ahead includes my doctor’s appointment, at least a gym/library day, and a swim. I’m going to try to get back to Costco for some non-food items they have on sale, like Swiffer. And the Dawn Power Wash. That stuff is great if you haven’t tried it.

Well, since I’m not walking (headache still), I’m going to go download my Sleep HQ and see how my CPAP is doing.

Frugal Friday

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

Overall, my budget is going well. I haven’t really gone out most of this week, so that makes a difference. I’m making headway on my CC bill, so that’s encouraging. X amount of dollars can only go to X amount of places.

Today, I’m heading to the pool, then going to Costco to return the pants I bought online. I’ll pick up coffee and olive oil as well. My grocery budget for August came in a bit higher than I wanted, at $500 approx. Of course, some of this is LTF for the freezer/pantry, so even though it’s high, some things won’t need to be bought for a while. I’m going to try to stick to $400 this month and see how it goes.

I’ve got most of September’s bills in. Almost all are on autopay, but PGE is not, as it is on the balanced pay program, so it averages out over the year and is different each month. Other than that, except for annual bills, all are on autopay. Actually, some of my annual bills are on autopay like my Costco membership.

Finally, our weather is turning and will be much cooler next week. I’m ready to not have coolers going all day.

September brings my dentist appointment, eye doctor appt, Flu and COVID shots. I read that the new COVID shot will be available soon, so I’ll wait to get that.

Next week, I have my oncology appt. My labs came back good. No real big change, so I was very happy about that. My platelets are still a bit low due to Velcade, but nothing alarming- just below low normal. Overall, they were good. I’ll see what he has to say next week.

We’ve been moving all the plants near the house to a different spot. It’s suggested to not have anything within 5 feet of the house. We had 4 different bamboo pots near the house, so my daughter moved them out. I’m pretty sure our California Fair Plan insurance is going to have an increase, which I hope isn’t too dramatic. But I did hear/read that it’s likely going up.

We also scheduled a chimney cleaning for the wood stove. There are just some things Barclay always did that we just don’t want/can’t do now. The same with getting the firewood. He pretty much handled that, and now one of us needs to. sigh:(

Well, I’m off to go swim.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgets, California by

I did get quite a bit done yesterday. I only went out to recycle and then home. It’s close by and didn’t take too long to do. I’m not sure recycling is worth the effort. It’s not a lot of trouble to do it; it’s just one more thing to do. I think I’ll keep on with plastic and aluminum but not glass. I find the glass is too much trouble and there isn’t much of a money return. So those will go in our regular garbage from now on.

Speaking of which, today is our garbage day, and I’m thankful we have garbage service here. Their vehicles are all electric now so it comes and picks up the can without anyone getting out of their truck. It didn’t used to be like that, that’s for sure.

RIP Dolly. What a truly amazing person she was. We can all try and be like her, so kind and generous.

Today, I’m loading up the Goodwill stuff I culled yesterday. I don’t think I’ll go do it today, but next time I’m in Roseville.

I also got out the paint and did touch-ups and will continue today. I got out the Simple White to paint over the drywall patches I fixed. Yesterday I used the semi-gloss, so this paint is the eggshell for the walls. I’m thankful I can still do some of this.

My daughter suggested getting the wood stove pipe cleaned by a service, so I was able to get a recommendation and schedule an appt. There were a few other things that also needed attention. I also need to order firewood soon. Firewood runs around $400 a cord, so maybe in September I’ll plan that.

After today, it looks like our temperatures are dropping into fall weather. I saw mostly 70-degree temperatures. Before you know it, we’ll need that firewood.

I do need to return some pants I ordered from Costco online. I might go down there today and get that done. I also need coffee and olive oil so I could get that too. There’s not much else I need that I can think of right now.

Midweek Musings

Posted in budgets, California, cooking by

I had a good day yesterday. My energy was good and overall I felt good too. Nice. I do value these days of my life!!

I had the energy to go to the gym, library, Goodwill drop-off, and Winco. As I was coming out of Winco, it was almost 11 so on a whim I decided to go in to Nugget and get one of their pizzas. I’ve wanted to do this since they opened 10 years ago. Ha HA! Supposedly they are one of the best thin crust pizzas around. So in I go and order a plain cheese,as that is alway the gold standard to judge by. I waited a while and wasn’t too happy about that. So I get the pizza and decide I’ll eat one in the car before driving home. The crust was good and folded( like a NY pizza,) the cheese good ratio, the sauce , TERRIBLE!!! I was like WTF?

So I get home, I have a second piece, and then proceeded to write to that Nugget and comment. I said just what I said above and posted it. Within 30 minutes, the manager emailed back with an apology and offered a reimbursement. I wrote back that it wasn’t necessary, but they might want to have their food team go over what makes NY pizza unique: the sauce is a simple tomato but full of flavor. I suggested the brand Full REd, which comes in #10 cans and many pizzerias in NY use that. I also have bought it and and it’s full of tomato-ey flavor and the right consistency. Sigh, I was disappointed. Oh well, at least I know.

Today was a toss up between the pool or getting more things done around here. I opted to do stuff here since my energy is good. #1 is go do recycle. #2 is sweep the patio. # go out to trailer and start cleaning. ( that may not happen, as it’s supposed to get really warm again today. Since Dex is wearing off and I feel good, I plan to do some painting too. I have some touch-ups to do.

Last night I just had a turkey sandwich as my daughter was at work. I’m watching the original Forsythes. Quite excellent!

Tonight I have a baked potato and some kind of protein. My daughter is home late again so I’ll eat by 6:30. I’ll probably watch some more Forsythes.

Menus and misc.

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, Sashiko by

A few pictures. The champagne was delicious. And the Superiority Tofu burgers came out really great.

Last night we had nachos with home-canned beans. It was ok, and it used up some stuff. Tonight I have some potatoes to use, so I’ll figure out what to have with them. I have some chicken broth to use, so maybe a small pot pie or soup? We’ll see what inspires me later.

I’ll check the freezer and see what needs to be used up. The freezer is about half full, so I’m making progress for sure. I’m pretty sure I won’t get rid of it unless it stops working) But I do want to completely defrost it before winter.

I got my labs yesterday and came straight home. I didn’t have the energy to go down the hill to do anything. I did some house chores and tidying, but that’s it. I slept really badly last night, so today could be iffy. It’s early yet, so if anything, I’d go to the gym because I could do the treadmill. It’s too hot to walk later in the morning right now. I also have a Sashiko book to pick up at the library.

I hope I can get the Goodwill done today, as it’s sitting in the back of the Santa Fe. So I think that’s my goal today, plus the gym. I also need to do a recycle run this week.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MY DAUGHTER!!

THEIR BOOK WON GRAND PRIZE OUT OF 2000 ENTRIES!! I’m really proud of them. Now for an agent to sell the book.

Simple Sunday

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, husband, Walking by

Happy 56th anniversary to me. Even though Barclay is not here physically, he is here with me forever in my heart. We had an extraordinary life. Having met so young, having a special Quaker wedding, going to college together, traveling, camping, and then finally having one child after being married for 15 years, and then our son was born 2 weeks before our 24th wedding anniversary. What a life!

I went for a nice walk this morning. I’m definitely walking slower these days. I guess my knees are still weaker than I’d like, so I don’t try to walk fast or even moderately fast. I just go at a slow speed. Oh well, it was a beautiful morning. Dex also causes muscle problems, so that’s an issue too.

I haven’t decided on the gym this morning as I’m just coming down from dex. I’ll decide before 8am. At least my sleep has been ok even with dex. A little restless but not too bad. ( It’s almost 8am, so I guess I’ll skip the gym and do some stuff around here.) On dex days, some stuff just gets put off till I feel better.

Today, I plan on making the Superiority tofu burgers for our dinner. It’s a bit involved since you marinate the tofu in dill pickle juice for a number of hours, and then the batter is not an egg batter but a slurry using mustard. Sounds strange, but it is delicious.

I’m working on my next month’s budget. I’ve been checking LLS every day, as that is what’s going to really help me with the insurance payment. I’m hoping it opens up in September. It will make a big difference.

I think September doesn’t bring any annual bills, but October will. I know our house/auto with AAA will come in. I need to check that date. Then the California Fair plan house insurance will come in. That comes separately from the AAA rider. Then finally, property taxes will be due.

I have labs tomorrow, so I may go to the gym after that, but I’ll see. Sometimes Monday after dex is my crash day, so I won’t commit just yet. After that, the rest of the week is open, so I’ll swim at some point.

I started watching the new Forsythes show on Prime. What a disaster. Whoever wrote it for this show should at least pick up the book and read it. The characters are all mixed up. Soames is not who he is in the book, and all the characters are not portrayed accurately. I’ll watch one more episode because the costumes are beautifully done and it’s a period piece, which I do love. But geez, the writers really messed this up. I have the original on DVD so I may start that. I think it was either PBS or Acorn?

This week I have a load to go to Goodwill, and I want to do the recycling. Neither is a lot, but I’d like to get it done. I’ll do the Goodwill in Roseville as it’s right on the way to the gym and is a very easy drop-off center.

Well, that’s my week. How’s yours going to be?

Mid-week Musings

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, sleep apnea, social security, swimming by

Here’s the polenta and chickpea recipe. I used fresh tomatoes from costco because they weren’t tasty enough for sandwiches. I would advise against that and use the can of tomatoes. After I cut up 4 big tomatoes and cooked them down, it didnt add much flavor so opened a can of san Marzano and added about 1/2 a can. also, I didn’t have fennel seeds( who keeps fennel seeds on their spice rack?). Anyway, it was a good way to use chickpeas. I added a few shrimp for protein after it was done.

I love polenta so that was a win. I had leftover polenta for dinner last night!!

I’ve had PGE looking at a tree to take down. But the new supervisor( some kid practically) decided it didn’t need to come down. I was a little pissed as this tree has a serious lean toward the lines. I told him I disagreed with his assessment. Well, there’s not much I can do about it.

My budget ends this week and my last bill coming out is water. After that the coffers are a little low till my SS comes in. Fortunately, I don’t need any groceries and I have enough gas so I’m set. My budget was well set and all the bills paid.

I had a nice coffee and bagel with my son yesterday. He works nearby the cafe I went to so it was nice to catch up. Today, I’m meeting my library friends for a coffee too. It’s been a while since we could all meet.

I finally got the Sleep HQ to upload. It took half a dozen tries and then it was yesterday about 4pm that it finally did it. I haven’t checked it all but there’s a few hypopneas and some Rera’s which are probably when I might be adjusting my mask. Who knows? Overall it looked ok. I didnt look at all the days yet and will today. What’s good about the app is that it tells how your pressure was and when it changed and mask leaks. It helps to see that data.

I had a good swim yesterday although the guy in the lane I shared was kind of a PITA. I hadn’t seen him before and he was a splasher which I really dislike. Also, when I got in to share the lane( he was there first), he looked at me like I was crazy to share. sigh:(

Well, off to do some things before I go out.

Saturday catch up

Posted in California, cancer by

It’s been a slow few days. I went to the pool and had a nice swim. I did a Costco run, mostly for coffee. My energy has been low, and I’m feeling a bit off-center. Not too sure what it is. At times in the past, when I’ve felt off, it’s because my cancer is more active. So next week is my Velcade, and then the next Monday is my labs, so I’d have an idea then. I might just be reading into things, which I do tend to do.

I’m also super sensitive to my body’s ups and downs. It could be just an off biorhythm. My CPAP has been going well so it’s not that. I do still have some 02 dips but it’s very minute. I suppose it could be that. But according to the RingConn my 02 is within range.

Anyway, I had a nice walk this morning. Our temperatures are just wonderful. The high yesterday was 81. I’ve been sitting outside and enjoying that. I’m out of books but could reread something I have.

My son came over after work yesterday and he and my daughter moved out the white couch and brought in the smaller gray one I had on the sun porch. The white one was pretty much at the end of it’s life. The covers were ripping and the main cover(which went over the frame) was not worth washing again. The gray one was on the sun porch where B and I would sit in the afternoon. In the summer, it’s too hot out there. I’ll use the smaller gray one till I can afford a new one probably from Ikea.

So today, I need to find places for some misc. stuff that was behind the couch and under it. I had stored our down bags behind the couch as it was an easy place to stuff them. So, I’ll also dust out in the sun room and clean up out there.

Hopefully, my energy will bounce back.

Also I haven’t felt like blogging much. And there doesn’t seem to be that many bloggers out there I’m interested in. I like Frugal Girl and Katy at the NC but that’s about it. Well, maybe taking a break will help.

Midweek musings

Posted in budgets, California, cats, pets, Uncategorized by

Gus was a very bad boy yesterday. I was just finishing up Anne of Avonlea on Netflix, and my daughter says “Have you seen Gus?” So no Gus in the house. Somehow he got out, and now it was 9:30pm and I was freaked. Gus is a real scaredy-cat, so I was freaked out. We got flashlights and called and walked all around (well, my daughter walked all around; I walked near the front yard). I went to bed finally at 10:15 and was crying. Finally Gus came up to the gate and my daughter got him. I was near hysterical. I’m not sure what triggered me getting so upset but it did. Well, so I couldn’t sleep and finally took an ativan which I haven’t since I threw up the last one. But I was fine and fell asleep. I feel a bit groggy this morning, so I’m skipping the pool and will just go to Costco since I need coffee. Not quite what I planned ,but that’s life. Weirdly, all my CPAP stats were good. 02 was good and mask seal good. My Apple sleep score was lower because I didn’t fall asleep till way later than normal.

So Costco’s list is coffee, dishwasher pods, fruit, TP and I’ll see what else I need.

Last night we had the TJ’s precooked steak slices. It was better than I expected. Convenient for sure. I cooked up some potatoes to go with it. I had planned to use this for sandwiches because I had read about someone doing that on the TJ’s facebook page. There’s some leftover so maybe we can use that for lunch.

This week we also had some veggies spring rolls and potstickers.They were delicious and will do that again. Tonight I have some defrosted Rao’s sauce and some leftover ground beef, so I’ll make a spaghetti sauce. I also have some romaine lettuce to use. In the past month, I’ve gotten much better at cooking portions for just the two of us. We don’t eat a lot of leftovers so I’ve been cooking smaller amounts at dinner. I feel as if I’m making progress.

My son made it over after work the other day. So he got his birthday gifts. I had stopped at Paris Bakery after the gym and got 2 slices of cake. So it was a festive moment. Paris Bakery goods are not overly sweet which is why I like them. Barclay and I liked to go sit in the cafe and have our treats there. I miss that.

I stayed home yesterday and really got a lot done and was proud of myself. I walked out to water the bamboo by our south fence. It’s quite uneven ground so I don’t usually like to do it but they needed water. I need to go back out and cut out the dead bamboo and bring a new pot out for one. I’ll do that today and maybe see about getting a bag of soil too. Then I took all the recycle out to the recycle area. Also took the trash out. I need to gather up some more yard trash to fill the bin as tomorrow is garbage day. Then I hosed off the trailer. I couldn’t get the top so I’ll need done of the kids to do that.

These days my energy comes and goes in cycles. I try to do extra stuff when I feel a bit energized. Also, it was cooler yesterday and that makes a huge difference. Today is the beginning of our cool down so after I get back from Costco, I’ll try and do one extra thing.