Category Archives: Flylady

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, Flylady, library, plants, swimming, Walking by

Flowers from around the yard.

This is one of the original Camilla bushes that were here when we moved here. The other, a red one, was cut down as it was too near the house. This one is really a tree now.

This is a redbud which is native, I think, to California.

This was just a twig when we planted it( first in a pot). It was one of those free trees from the Arbor foundation. BTW, the Ponderosa tree you see in the background in the middle is the one we’re taking down as we can barely squeeze Rubi through. When we first moved here those trees were half this size.

Here are the ruffled daffodils out front.

The Flylady zone is the living room and I did that this week. Actually, there’s never much to do as it stays tidy and uncluttered generally. But I decided to add the kitchen zone as I skipped it last month when we were in Napa. The other regular zone is the entry ways since April 1st is Friday. We got the flowers all planted in pots out there this week so that’s done except for just a tidy up.

Here’s the first Ooni pizza of the year. The leopard spotting( the charred part) was perfect. I didn’t get a picture of the sausage one as it got eaten quickly.

There’s not a lot this week on the table and I’m glad of that. I’ll swim 2x and I might go down to the library one day too. Tonight I’m making a recipe from the youtuber’ Rachel cooks with love’. She’s hispanic and a terrific cook. She has a pretty big following too. I’m making her latest recipe, crispy chicken tacos. I’ll make a crispy bean for Barclay. Well, that wraps up things for me this week.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, Flylady, Uncategorized, Walking by

After a cloudy Saturday, today is bright and sunny. The rest of the week looks fabulous with temperatures in the 70s. I think I see BBQ this week.BTW, the series on Netflix, High on the Hog, how Black American cuisine changed America, and how we eat is truly phenomenal. So much history. If you have the chance watch it.

We had a nice walk this morning with no one around. We didn’t try to get there too early being Sunday I like to take my time.

Today is sheet day for us. We only have one set of sheets for our bed so we wash and put it back on. These linen sheets are about 4 years old and still wonderful. I’d definitely recommend linen sheets. I think these were only about $130 but lots of high-end sheets are way higher. IKEA has a nice set that we have out in Rubi.

I’m feeding my sourdough and think I’m going to do a nut one next. Walnuts, pepitas, and maybe sunflower if I get some unsalted ones. I’m averaging 2-3 loaves a week. One day to make the dough and then refrigerate overnight, then bake and enjoy for a few days. Then when that one is almost done I start the dough for the next one. Of course, this is now. Once summer hits I won’t be baking as it’s too hot to use the oven generally.

Tonight I plan on doing a stir fry with some leftover veggies. I need to get some tofu at the store though. This week is the bedroom zone and I finished that already.

Barclay has a busy appt week but I don’t so I’ll see what I get up to. I know doing some garden stuff and tidying up the garden shed. But I think I’ll plan a trip to the pet bookstore and maybe the library. Well, that’s a wrap up for today.

I thought you’d enjoy a picture of me after I got out of the hospital. This was dated March 26, so i’d been out of the hospital about a week. Heidi was with us for 2-3 weeks helping with everything. You can see my wig in my hand. My sweet boy was 10 and my daughter was 19 even though she looks younger.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, Bone marrow transplant, bread, budgets, California, camping, cancer, Flylady, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma, travel, Uncategorized, Walking by

We had a nice walk this morning and wow, Venus was right above the crescent moon. Very beautiful. Nobody was there initially and then the Le Foret guy( he comes out of the woods, honestly), showed up and then 2 others later. But we were done by that point.

This morning I’ve made the olive sourdough bread, a chocolate cake is baking, and I have a turkey breast in the crockpot. I’m just about done with the living room zone which BTW is just today and tomorrow and then Tuesday starts the entry zone. I would like to go to the nursery and get some kind of flower, like maybe some pansies. Our violets have gone crazy this year and are all over.

A week from today we’re heading to Bodega Bay. My son and daughter will hold down the fort. Both have to work so they’re here anyway. The weather looks nice enough with some wind which isn’t unusual. There are no hookups at Bodega so it will be l or solar.

I have my labs later this week and then I’ll get my results next week. I see Dr. L in mid-March. I would be pretty darn happy if my numbers stay about the same. Speaking of which, March 1st is my 16th re-birthday. Hard to believe, I was going in today and then getting Melphalan, and then on the 1st was when I got my stem cells. It’s really the melphalan that does you in It was hands down, the worst episode of my life. I remember we had terrible storms and looking out the window from the BMT unit over to the freeway and watching the rain and wind go sideways. That part of Sutter hospital has all been redone since then and actually the whole building I first got my chemo in was torn down and is now the Children’s Hospital.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, budgets, California, cooking, Flylady, simple foods, travel, Uncategorized by

We had a nice walk this morning. The sunrise was all pink and orange. No one else there but the guy who comes out of the woods( it actually used to be a Christmas tree farm when we first moved here in 1995.)

I’ve tidied the house and the bedroom zone is done. I washed and ironed the closet curtain( an old Ikea canvas one). Then I made the sourdough bread that had done a slow rise in the refrigerator. This one is just sourdough, no jalapeno or olive.

Then I put a chicken in the oven to roast and now that’s done sitting on the counter. I also have cut up 2 delicata squash that I bought at the farm last fall, russet potato, and sweet potato. Then I washed all the dishes and put them away.

This week is again not too busy. We need to get buggie( the VW) smogged this week. I plan on swimming Tuesday and then going to Winco. I do need a few things but not a huge amount. My menu for the week includes the roast chicken, tortellini with Rao’s sauce, potato and sausage bake with scrambled eggs, pizza night, and the rest will be ‘fill in the blank’.

I’ve been using my daughter’s old Coach bag as my purse and decided to buy a Coach wallet. I doubt I will replace my Louis Vuitton. I’m just in a different place now than I was then. Even though I never thought of it as a status symbol or anything like that because I dress in jeans and T-shirts. But I loved it and because it was the monogram one it always was discrete. Plus no matter how the settlement goes, a new Louis is @ $2,500. So I really doubt I would/could justify that. When Barclay bought that for me, I was 6 months out from my SCT and it was kind of a life reaffirming gift. I think he paid less than $1000 for it then. It has gone to many places including Florida, Hawaii, all our camping trips, Seattle, and lots more. Now unless I can find a used one, I sort of doubt I would buy anything new. Unless I win the lottery, which I don’t play, … so??

My sister had a number of LV’s but of course, they are all probably going to the daughters as they should. Although, I used to joke with Heidi to ‘bequeath’ me her LV wallet which I did love.

I’m working on another small load for the hospice thrift store. It worked out great to drop off the Fiesta ware there and they were very friendly. I plan on giving them my two vintage fans and my original Waring blender circa 1985( which still works great).

some cherry blossoms from our tree.

On a Monday…

Posted in books, California, cooking, Flylady, meal planning, Uncategorized by

I just got back from my labs and gassing up Bugs. So now to do a few things.

I have a sourdough loaf of cran-walnut in the oven baking. I’m totally into this sourdough bread-making right now. Maybe a little too obsessed but it is fun for me. So far, the olive loaf is in first place with cheddar jalapeno a second. I don’t have any more Castelvetrano olives left but I do have the kalamata left so I’ll use them. Safeway has the Castelvetrano ones so next time I’m in there I’ll get them. The best place to get them is Costco but it seems that it is more of an annual thing. The year before I got the giant jar in the fall and then never saw it again till this past winter.

I got the entryway door wreaths done with the faux apple blossoms and white blossoms. I might go get some pansies or violas for the entry too.

Tonight I’m making some spring rolls I have in the freezer, jasmine rice, chicken satay, and some crispy tofu. I need to get some cilantro from the store and that’s it. I need to marinate the chicken and then make some rice later.

I need to do a Monday morning house reset and my weekly Monday things, like wash mirrors, and dust. FL calls it home blessing, I try not to use blessing as it has a religious connotation but it doesn’t matter really in the long run.

We’re watching a series from a Harlan Coben book. It’s called Safe. It’s a little intense but quite good and has Michael Hall ( Dexter). He’s a great character actor.

Well, that’s all I got this Monday.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, Flylady, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

Another week of beautiful weather. I’m sure glad I don’t live in ‘snow country’ back east. Having grown up in NY, I remember snowy roads, ice storms, etc. But at 18, I left for Arizona and that was that.

The sourdough olive bread came out delicious.

I am having tons of fun trying these new bread recipes. I’m slicing and freezing about half of each loaf. I may need to experiment what’s the best way to freeze. Double wrap? aluminum foil? Not sure. Any bread bakers out there with suggestions? Up for today is cran-walnut sourdough!

I plan on dropping off Goodwill this morning and then hitting up Target for a wastebasket for the laundry room. I also want to pick up a faux sprig of apple blossom for the front/side door grapevine wreaths since I’m in the entryways this week. I think the week is split with the kitchen zone on Tuesday the first.

My favorite Youtuber, Minimom, in New Zealand was trying out a new cleaning system from Clean Mama. She’s very popular and has a huge following. I copied some PDFs for cleaning weekly and thought I’d try it but after writing it down, I felt it wasn’t going to work for me. Basically, she does have daily tasks and weekly ones. But for instance, once a week it’s the bathroom, once a week vacuum, etc. She also has monthly ones. I think it’s a good system if you have a large house and or family. For me, I felt it was over-complicated. here’s the link Clean Mama. Funny, you open the page and it says “cleaning doesn’t need to be complicated.” I think she has a good method, just not for my house.

Tomorrow I have my labs so I should know by the end of the week how much of a rise my Kappa light chains go. I hope it’s just small. If it follows the previous pattern it took, the rise is slow at first and then picks up and rises more quickly. I have a pretty good sense of how my body feels so that will also be an indicator. I don’t think it will be as long as last time since I’ve come out of remission so much faster( 6 months as opposed to 4 1/2 years. ) Oh well, it is what it is.

Simple Sunday

Posted in cooking, Flylady, Lake tahoe, meal planning, Walking by

A lovely walk with just the two of us. 🙂 Sundays are usually quieter anyway but the dog walker was always there regardless. I’ve come up with two scenarios: either he moved??? or has had some surgery/illness prevention him from walking. Being that he walked 5 miles a day (I’m guessing) not walking just doesn’t seem an option. It doesn’t matter, he’s not there and we are truly enjoying the park again.

This morning we had a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs with Boursin cheese, rolls that my daughter made, and some bacon. ( no veggie bacon today:( ) Right now I have the sourdough bread in the oven on its last 15-minute bake. This one is jalapeno cheddar. The asiago one was quite delicious. Last night we had stuffed peppers in the crockpot with brown rice, cheese, walnuts, and onions. I cooked them in a tomato base. Quite yummy. Tonight I’m making some grilled chicken, potatoes and a big salad. I’ll probably grill some tofu too. The rest of the week is undecided but I am going to start my pantry challenge early( this week) and see how it goes.

We had a couple of spectacular sunrises and sunsets the last few days because of the wind stirring up so much dust/particles in the air. Reds, oranges, yellows.

We’ve been debating the wood stove thing again vs gas fireplace. We know down the road we will need to do this as B will not be able or want to keep up with firewood. Plus firewood is messy and the dust isn’t good for the air quality esp. since my daughter is asthmatic. I guess we just need to go into a fireplace store and find out how much they are and installation.

Oh here’s the bread, I just took out of the oven. yummmmm….

I plan on two swims this week and we may drive up to Lake Tahoe to see the snow.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, Flylady, minimalism, plants, swimming, Uncategorized, Walking by

Another great walk this morning with a pretty sunrise. Nobody else there, not even the AH which we’re not sure why or what’s up with that but still it’s great not to have him stomping by us.

It looks like a cloudy day but the temperatures are really ok with high @ 60-65. Not bad for this time of year at all. The next 10 days actually look quite nice and I think we’re going to plan a drive up to Tahoe.

This week is the bedroom zone. I’ll wash the windows and tidy up but most of it is already done as this room is very minimal. I did wash the linen cover the other day. I may or may not iron it. I do like the look of linen without ironing it. The only thing I’ll probably do is tidy the closet some.

I made some sourdough pancakes this morning from the discarded sourdough and I have a batch ready to go for bread. The pancakes were good. I’ll bake the bread tomorrow after letting it do a slow rise in the refrigerator.

Just look at that beautiful starter. Except for it sort of exploded.

Here’s one of the amyrillys blooming. I bought the 4 pack of bulbs(Costco) and one didn’t come up. The other 2 have buds and this one is blooming. They are strange plants and I don’t think I will do them again. I love orchids though and usually buy one every time I go to Trader Joes.

This week is quiet for me but B has 3 appts. , two dentist and his port flush and blood draw. I plan on swimming at least 2x but that’s about it.

My second favorite Youtube vlogger, Beneta Larsson, has a 6 part series on decluttering if you’re interested. She is a minimalist that walks the talk. Her apartment is a beautiful example of minimalism and I love her cats. I’ve definitely been inspired by her.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, cooking, Flylady, Uncategorized, Walking by

We have sunny skies and crisp cold air. We had a lovely walk this morning and I noticed that sunrise is now 7:22. So it’s starting to inch back slowly. Only one person trying to jog in the park( looked like a new years resolution). But hey, we gotta start somewhere. Then after some toast and coffee, we headed down to Costco for our monthly shop. My printer has died so I needed to check there for one and they had the inexpensive one I was looking at online. So that’s ticked off. I have to have a scanner for my LLS stuff although my daughter showed me how to do it with an app. We were in and out in under an hour.

I haven’t heard from Heidi’s family but imagine that they are planning the funeral. Being very Catholic I’m sure there’s some kind of mass being done. I got off some flowers and they should arrive early this week.

This week is the bathroom zone and I plan on doing that later or maybe tomorrow. Depends on how motivated I feel.

For dinner, I have white bean soup with brown butter pasta on the side. Growing up as poor as we were, my mother would make brown butter bow tie noodles. I kind of doubt it was butter but maybe it was. I’m not sure margarine would do the same. I know when my grandmother would come up from the Bronx she always brought a pound of unsalted butter to go with the Jewish rye. Anyway, I love noodles and brown butter.

Other than that, I need to go out to the prepper pantry in the barn and put away the canned tomatoes and coconut milk I bought. I need to make a current list of what’s out there as I’ve taken out quite a few things.

The update on my kappa light chains is that it went up a point to 20.6 so now out of normal range. 1 point is not a big increase so I’m not too concerned,yet. Next month , who knows??

In happier times!

2022

Posted in California, camping, covid-19, Flylady, home improvement, home stuff, Retirement, swimming, travel, Uncategorized, Walking by

I’ve said before, I never do resolutions anymore but I do set some goals as benchmarks to move toward. The top of the list is to keep doing things that are healthy for me/us. That would include walking almost every day, swimming 2x -3x a week, eating good food( which we do anyway), keeping positive( which I think we do anyway, but always a good reminder. I’m pretty disciplined with menus, budgets, groceries, Fly lady routines, and other chores.

Other goals would be for projects. The entryway windows where B has his desk are not doing well. They were wonderful old windows from a library in SF someone gave us. But now the wood is in bad shape so probably the first project will be taking them out and replacing them with a vinyl-type window. the footings under that part of the room should be done better too. The next 2 windows are in the sunroom. These shouldn’t be as complicated as the other ones as the wall is straight and not at an angle and it should be fairly straightforward. Other outside things are a fence along the nasty neighbor’s border. We hoped to do a privacy fence but I think that will be too expensive this year so we decided to put up 5-foot fencing to make the boundary more designated and we can even plant some things along it to create a barrier. Fencing and poles shouldn’t be more than $150 maybe and it’s a start. Right now it is the original (since 1950) 3-foot hog fence that has 4inch gaps. So this will be a good start. I’m pretty sure we are going to budget for the one tree to be taken down. I’m hoping the bid is @ 2500.

We’ve got 4 RV trips planned and I hope we can get reservations for at least 2 more maybe 3. I’d like to find one more new place to go. Last year was great with discovering Refugio State Beach and then the Wine Resort RV Park in Paso Robles. We definitely enjoyed full hookups.

My sister’s health is very precarious right now and she will go into hospice care soon. With Omicron, I won’t fly but we could drive back if she makes it into spring. We just don’t know and the details are somewhat sketchy. It’s been hard to deal with as she’s only 4 years older than me. What her husband said was, she was having difficulty breathing( she is on 24hour oxygen due to the Interstitial lung disease . Other than that , like why? I don’t have the details. It sucks really.

This week I have my 6 – month eye check for the macular pucker and I have Dr. Laptalo as well. I’ll swim at least once and probably call that good.

Last night I made a loaded baked potato soup and it was very good. Tonight I’m roasting a chicken and I’ll do some frozen nut loaf for B. Not sure what else, a salad and ? Then later in the week, I plan on making Beef bourguignon. I saw a recipe for mushroom bourguignon and I might do that for B.

Most of the week is supposed to be nice but there is rain tomorrow and Tuesday. I don’t think we’re supposed to get snow though.