Category Archives: camping

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, camping, cooking, swimming, Uncategorized by

We were both on Reserve America at 6:59 to get a spot in Tahoe. Barclay won the lottery and got spot 12 which has a nice view of Lake Tahoe!!! I didn’t get the one I wanted but since we got one, it’s all good. That takes care of June camping. We might still try for something else but not Tahoe. Tahoe in July and August is not where I want to be. Too many people!!!

My swim yesterday was really nice. The pool was surprisingly empty and I got the lane near the steps, which right now with my knee is good. The water was also really nice. I may have overdone it as I felt pretty wiped out when I got home. 😦

On the agenda for today is cooking up some baby potatoes I have(from Costco), baking a sweet potato, and making some brown rice for the week. I still plan on using pantry items this week. Last night we had one of the quarts of the lentil soup I pressure canned and it was delicious. I’m also thawing the Diestal turkey I have from last year and I will roast that in a few days. I wanted that out of the freezer and cooked. Dinners will be sliced turkey, leftovers, soup and then I’ll make some broth.

That’s ice on the fish pond!!

Gus looking cute for Christmas!! That’s Bean getting squished behind him.

Giant Gus is outside on a leash which is a little small for him!

Tomorrow I plan to go to the library and hit the gym too.

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 California, camping, Lake tahoe, Multiple myeloma, travel, Walking by
  • the beautiful weather here in Tahoe and there are no crowds. Driving down to the Y was easy and relatively quick.
  • Excellent camp food. This morning I used up the last 2 bagels and the last 2 eggs and made egg bagels with cheese.
  • B’s work on getting the 2 new batteries hooked up to Rubi, so now we’re holding a charge overnight.
  • That there’s an Anytime Fitness gym right here in Zephyr Cove.!!!
  • For being able to walk over 3 miles yesterday and not have my knee hurt. OK, maybe a smidge.
  • I am grateful to be up here in the Fall, with no kids running around( a few couples with babies, which I don’t mind). Or riding bikes through camp spots!!! Really annoys me. Plus no parties because it’s darkish by 7pm and chilly. We had booked the last days at the end of the season but because of starting Velcade the days won’t line up.

This was this morning around 7:30 am. Look at that blue!!!!

Checking in from Nevada Beach, Tahoe

Posted in California, camping, Lake tahoe by

It has been really lovely here. Quiet and lots of empty spots but the reservation list still shows no availability. I guess people just don’t show up or bother to cancel.

We may do that too as on Saturday the day we’re supposed to leave it’s calling for rain. I’m not too keen on driving the RV in the rain unless we have to. We’ll keep checking the weather.

We’ve had nice morning walks and afternoon walks too. Yesterday we went up to the gym and did some weights. It really helps to keep at the weights and not let it go by. Since Anytime has a gym right here it works out well.

Our spot looking out into the woods.

We love having this propane fire pit.

We’ve had lots of good food and wine too.!!

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgets, California, camping, cancer, cooking, freezer cooking, husband, Myeloma, Pantry, swimming, Walking by

It was a frugalish week. After swimming on Tuesday I stopped at TJs for a few things like eggs, sandwich bread, odds and ends, and wine. I need to go there tomorrow and pick up some stuff to take camping. There’s not a TJs in the whole of Lake Tahoe. There is a Grocery Outlet though. I spent just over $100. Other than that no grocery shopping. I think the way to save money(and it is working) on groceries is to stay out of Safeway, or even our Holiday Market is pretty high priced. Of course, sometimes I need something and it makes sense to get it here rather than driving out to get it. So I think I’m going to plan regular TJs, Winco, and then Costco for the bigger bulk items like coffee.

Today is B’s birthday so we’ll all celebrate with some cake and take out pizza. Another turn around the sun!! Happy Birthday to the love of my life.

We had a nice walk with only a few people there. It does really bug me though when people do not use a flashlight when it’s still dark-ish out.

Then I came home and made a loaf of pumpkin bread to freeze. I had enough pureed pumpkin left to make a batch of pumpkin muffins too.

Later I’m heading into town to go to CVS to hopefully pick up my dexamethasone. There’s been some confusion about where to send it and now I’m not sure if it’ll be there. I figured I’d better go in and check rather than call. The infusion center called and I have all my October dates scheduled. He wants 4 weeks on and 1 week off. Not sure why but in the long run it probably doesn’t matter. We canceled our mid October camping trip because we were going to leave the day I have an appt with the Dr. and then infusion after. There’s no sense going if I’ll have just gotten the shot and then Dex. We had a reservation for 4 nights so 3 of those days wouldn’t really make sense as those are the days I’m not 100%. That’s ok. We’re keeping the Napa reservation in November. I’ll start my next cycle that week so it’ll just need to be later in the week as we’re booked Sun- Thurs. Although, I think we’ll probably leave Wednesday so I can get the appt on Thursday.

Our fall weather is definitely here. Very cool mornings, nice days with warmish temperatures.

Here’s how the pantry is looking. I haven’t done another pressure canned meal as I don’t have a lot of room. When we get back I’ll make something to add. just look at the color of those tomatoes!!! The applesauce is from our tree this year. I still have half a box to do. All the rest of the tomatoes even the green ones I’m putting in a box in the closet to ripen. As they ripen I’m just bagging them and putting them in the freezer to process at a later date.

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.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, bread, California, camping, cooking, decluttering, Flylady, freezer cooking, Lake tahoe, minimalism, Sashiko, simplicity, swimming, Uncategorized, Walking by

A lovely walk this morning with a few people there. Sundays are my favorite day to walk as usually there is no one. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when the weather turns.

Yesterday the pool was quite busy and I shared a lane. I noticed more of the ‘regulars’ there so it must be the news is out that the pool is open. It was still great. This week will be different as I have 2 days of doing other things and then next Sunday we’re off to Tahoe for the week. We do plan to use the gym at least 2x and walk when we can.

Here’s a sample of the Sashiko I’m doing on a pair of old jeans.

I got these 2 books from the library. Both are quite good with patterns. I liked the one on the left more.

Working with the denim was more difficult but it’s just a patch so I’m not concerned about even stitching. Just random running stitches.

Here’s a picture of the sourdough rye I made. It had good flavor and it did a fairly nice spring for being rye. Rye is hard to do but I’ll do another loaf eventually.

I’ve been playing around with sourdough focaccia too. I still haven’t gotten the top all crispy like the YouTube channel showed. I’m thinking the oven needed to be hotter?? Not sure, but I’ll keep trying. I wanted to perfect a bread that we could use for sub sandwiches and the focaccia seemed like a good option.

This morning, I plan on going to the gym for just weights, no treadmill as I walked this morning and I don’t want my knee to be overworked. Then I have double-stuffed potatoes to make and freeze. Yesterday PGE had our power off all day so I couldn’t use the oven.

Flylady zone is the bedroom. If you follow along a tip I read from Peter Walsh was ‘ask yourself what the room in question is for’, so like the bedroom is to sleep, rest, etc. So remove anything from the bedroom that doesn’t support that. No electronics for instance. After having done Feng Shui for years, I do think what you have around you does affect you on some level. I don’t do FS anymore but the principles of FS and minimalism are quite similar. Keeping things harmonious and uncluttered is key, along with subdued color palettes.

I get my labs tomorrow so I should know by Friday what we’re going to do with treatment.

Friday things

Posted in Blood test, California, camping, Lake tahoe, swimming, travel, Walking by

I decided to not go down to the gym today and just do home stuff. I do plan on swimming tomorrow though. Next week will be a little different because I have labs on Monday and then my eye doctor appt. That will be dilation so no driving except straight home. Then Tuesday is probably a swim day. Wednesday is lunch out with my daughter at the High Hand Nursery. Then Thursday probably the gym.

We leave for Tahoe next Sunday, the 24th. The weather looks very fall-like. Cool evenings and warmish days, so nice. Barclay got the 2 battery system set up so we’re hoping that will give us the backup we need.

Barclay had to go down to Rocklin so he went to Costco and Winco. Costco ended up $100 and Winco $60 and that included some wine. I think we’re set till we get back from Tahoe. Any groceries we need, we get up there at the Safeway.

We continue to enjoy beautiful fall weather. The mornings are actually not that cold and walking has been nice. I’m a little surprised at the number of people walking early. We get there close to 5:50 and then by 6:15 there were 5 other cars there. Kind of weird. I don’t really remember previous years being quite so busy. Hopefully, most will fall away. There is one lady ( quite nice) who walks very early 5:15-5:30 and uses a headlamp. She’s been very dedicated to her exercise program and walks for over an hour. She does have a walking buddy so she’s not out there alone which is good because we have had homeless people sleeping in cars and vans occasionally. ( That is not a judgment on homeless people at all, it’s just best to be safe). Plus we do have mountain lions in our area too. Best to be careful.

We started our annual LOTR movie marathon. I can only get through about an hour a night so it’ll take a while.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, camping, cooking, Flylady, home stuff, Lake tahoe, seasonal things, Uncategorized, Walking by

I made it around the park 3 times so that’s a big improvement. My knee is definitely improving. I didn’t use the treadmill though at the gym as I thought that might be too much. I did the weight machines twice.

We’ve been having supper out on the patio all week and even had 3 evenings of a fire in the fire pit before we come in to watch Bosch. I only watch TV for an hour or an hour and a half is pushing it. Even movies, we split into 2 nights. We watched Otto this week for 2 nights. It’s a good movie, maybe not a great movie, but still enjoyable.

After the gym, I put the bread in the oven. This is a new sourdough recipe from ‘Everyday Sourdough’ and it uses whey from yogurt making. Since I had just made yogurt I saved the whey. It uses a Pullman pan which sadly I do not have yet. So we’ll see.

Then I did the bathroom zone, vacuumed, tidied the bedroom, and dusted the LR zone. That’s about it for zone cleaning.

My daughter harvested most of the basil and I made four 4-ounce jars of pesto for the freezer.

The next batch of tomatoes you see behind the pesto, I will freeze till I have enough for sauce.

This coming week looks light. No appts, but we may go to Costco. I’ll wait and see what I need. I know I’ll go before our Tahoe trip so I have 2 weeks.

Simple Sunday

Posted in budgets, California, camping, canning tomato salsa, home stuff, Uncategorized, Walking by

I finally got to go out and walk yesterday and this morning. I walked slowly and with my walking stick. It was ok. My knee is still a little sore and the back of my calf is a little sore too. Yesterday no one was there at all which was great. Today, no one was walking but there were people there setting up for an event.

I plan to go to the Auburn gym and just do arm weights, no treadmill. I haven’t figured out my swim schedule for the week yet. I do need to drop some books off at the library so I can pair that with the gym as the library opens at 9 a.m. MTW.

The mornings are much darker at 5:30 a.m. I think sunrise is @ 6:30 now. Evenings are getting darker earlier too. Well, it does happen every year. We have a Tahoe trip in September and I think it’s going to be a little different. I’m not sure what we’ll think about because we’ll be in the trailer earlier in the evening even if we have a campfire. Maybe it’s time to start checking out campgrounds more south like we had at Refugio. That was in November and it didn’t seem like the early sunsets or late sunrises affected us that much from what I remember.

I finished the budget for September and it looks good. We have a few added expenses like 2 new batteries for Rubi, and the shelf brackets for the kitchen shelves. Plus just everyday stuff that comes up. I won’t be able to pay the full dentist bill for Barclay’s crown but I’ll be pay a good chunk. So all in all, ok.

I don’t have any canning to do today. I think we’re going to get one or maybe two last big tomato harvests so I’ll wait and then do a large batch of plain tomato sauce. I also still want to can a few different meals in a jar but haven’t decided what yet. The Happy Homestead vlogger was pressure canning a chicken corn chowder which looked good. Of course, you wouldn’t do milk or flour but just the core ingredients and, then when you cooked it you would make a roux and then add the jar to the roux mix.

I played around making the Caco de Pepe recipe again and watched a couple of YT channels on making it. First, to get the cheese not to clump, grate it with a micro planner. Second, cook the pasta in a saucepan so the starch from the pasta is more concentrated. Third, toast the freshly ground pepper in another pan and then add some olive oil and butter. Then you add the boiling water to that and then add the pasta. I can say, this worked and it was delicious. The recipe was from Serious Eats, if you want to try it.

It’s hard to believe August is almost over and September will be here. September is both of our birthdays. It’ll be time for flu shots and the next Covid booster if it’s out by then.