Category Archives: frugalism

Five on Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, frugalism, Gratitude, Uncategorized, velcade by

I slept ok last night, but at least it wasn’t the Dex sleep, which is where I sweat. Also, I don’t have the super red Dex face. Plus, I feel fairly normal. So the big question will be how my numbers will respond. 🙁

I have to drop off a return to the post office. It was a pair of sandals I thought my feet would like. No, they didn’t. I have terrible feet in that I have a high arch and need extra support. I guess I’ll just keep to Birkenstocks.

Sunday time changes, and the evenings will be nice, but mornings will be darker at 6:30am. That’s ok for now. I do just wish they would pass legislation to end daylight savings.

I plan on meeting up with my library friends for a quick coffee. I don’t want to be there too long, as there are some things I want to get done around the house. My one friend is going in for breast cancer surgery next week, so I want to say hi. Fortunately, it’s a lumpectomy and not radical. I think it’s been a bit of a shock as she is over 80, and honestly, you’d think by then nothing like this would happen.

Our warmer weather is back starting today. All next week it looks to be in the 70’s, so very nice. I may get out webi the BBQ and do something.

I’ve been having fun getting my orchids to rebloom. I usually toss them after they dry up or look awful, but this time I watched some YouTube channels on getting them to rebloom. I ordered some orchid mix to try and repot them, too. I have a few buds on some, so I’ll be excited if it actually works.

I guess that’s six!

Frugal Friday

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

This month has been good for the budget. My grocery bill came in at a little over $300, so using stuff from the freezer/pantry did pay off.

My daughter and I got sandwiches at Sourdough and Co. They were ok but pricey. I think 12.99 for a sandwich is a lot. But I had been wanting to try them for a while, so I’m glad we did, and I doubt I’d do it again. I’m trying to do/go to some places that I said I wanted to when B was alive and never did. Next, we’re planning on going to a fancier Asian place called Fats. It’s quite a beautiful restaurant, and the food is outstanding and not inexpensive. We’ll have lunch sometime soon. It’s down in Roseville, so I’ll need to plan that.

The only shopping I did was at Winco for a few things, and that came in at $80. I also bought a photo album from Amazon, but I am returning it as it smells terrible. I’m not sure if it was the leather or what, but it gave both of us headaches. I plan to do that today and then check the Goodwill for a photo album.

I might pop into Bath and Body Works, which is a recent store in Auburn, for a candle. Most of their stuff is too perfumy for me, but I did get one I like that was a ginger/orange.

Other than that, another beautiful day here. I have a few house chores to do and then just hang out on the patio. I plan to start a sourdough loaf, and this time I’ll try kalamata olives. The last one, which was rosemary Meyer lemon, was delicious.

Friday Things

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

My budget month is coming to a close, and overall, I did well. Groceries came in at a little under $400, so that’s really good. Other bills were just normal things, I think. Most of my bills are on autopay and are generally fixed or close to it. The water bill varies by season, and so does PGE.

Today is a home day, and I’m doing another loaf of sourdough. It’s so weird that after not baking bread for a good while, it’s like starting over. But I did get my starter nice and active. The other trick I started using was to turn on the oven light and put the starter in there at first to double in size, and then later for bulk fermentation. It worked brilliantly. I guess there’s always something new to learn.

I had my first real-life experience with AI. I had a message about reordering some of my CPAP stuff. So I called the number, and it was an AI named Brenda. It asked all the pertinent questions. It was both weird and ok. I didn’t have to talk to anyone, so that was positive. On the other hand, this was not a real person, and there was no option to do so. I guess the future is here.

I do hope there’s a special place in HELL for the ICE agents that murder innocent people and use children to trap others. I’m not religious and am an atheist, but there has to be a HELL for them in some shape or form.

I do need to work on next month’s budget and see how far I can get with that. I started our taxes, but not everything comes in till the end of the month. I felt good about starting it. February has another Allstate payment and the Fair plan installment too, so that will be a challenge. I think that’s all the unusual stuff. Also, keep trying to get the last CC finished. We shall see, or maybe I should start singing” We shall Overcome”. ???

What things are any of you up to? What about that huge storm heading East? Are any of you in the storm’s path? It sounds awful.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, frugalism, garden shed, Uncategorized by

Overall, it was a good week. Bills got paid, and the budget looks ok. A few more bills are coming out next week, the garbage bill and the water bill.

I only went to Winco this week, and mostly that was for veggies for salads. I’m motivated to eat more salads since I’ve been using the mandolin. It’s fun to cut up the radishes and cabbage with it. I spent $55 at Winco, so that was an inexpensive shop. We still have a lot of stuff to use up in the freezer. But that’s ok, that’s why I buy food at Costco, so it’s there. Last night we shared a chicken pot pie and had salad. My daughter suggested we go back and watch Stranger Things from the beginning, so we’re doing that.

Around Christmas, I ordered a food saver called Chef Preserve. It’s a handheld vacuum sealer that takes the air out of the bags it comes with. I’ve had the other kind of vacuum sealers, and they are big and bulky and kind of a pain to use, but this one is small and handheld.

I only used it on shredded Brussels sprouts, so I don’t have an opinion yet, but I think it will be a food saver, especially for veggies. Today I’ll try the radishes and cucumbers. I’ll keep you posted. The bags are reusable as well. You can also purchase glass containers.

I checked my LLS and discovered that only part of what I submitted actually showed up in the download. I guess I used a JPEG, and only one picture showed, so I had to go back and figure out what I did wrong. I noticed that each scanned item was a separate JPEG, whereas the PDF displayed all four. I have to show the bank statement and my amount on the insurance form. I resubmitted it, but that delays it by a few weeks. I guess I never checked before that the dropdown when sending to a file was on JPEG instead of PDF. I’ll check in a few days to see if they got it. sigh:)

I’ve only had a few people interested in the Ball canning jars( no takers), so I’ll drop them off at the Goodwill with my next load. I don’t need that many jars hanging around, taking up space in the garden shed.

Today is another beautiful day. Yesterday the high was 69, and it was glorious. I think today is a few degrees cooler, but still really nice.

On a political note, I find it odd that Machado gave trump her Nobel Peace medal. The title is non-transferable, so what kind of ass-kissing gesture was she trying to pull off? Yes, of course, she want strumpy’s approval in Venezuela, but still, what good is it going to do him? If anything, it’s a meaningless token since he did not ‘win’ it.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, California, frugalism, Uncategorized by

I suppose it’s been a frugalish week. I paid a little more on the lingering cc’s, so that felt good. I got a notice that my WordPress account will be charged in February. I’ll see what envelope I can pull some of that from.

I went to the Holiday Market to purchase a few items I needed for the spinach soup, such as gruyere cheese to add to it. It’s a creamy soup, and the cheese is a nice touch. I spent @$50.

I actually had the cash but forgot to bring it down with me.

I submitted my LLS, so that should come through by the end of the month. I so appreciate LLS and the grants they offer blood cancer patients. I could absolutely not stay in the budget without that assistance.

I ordered my prescription refills and was so shocked that from one month ago to now, with this new plan(Health Spring, which is part of Cigna), my costs have plummeted. For instance, my levothyroxine was coming in at $20 something, and now it comes in at $1.27. WTF !! I mean, it’s great for me, but why would they be charging so much just last month, December, as to now?? Totally strange. And it wasn’t just one, it was all of them dropped.

Did anyone else have a weird price drop??

Here’s Gus chilling!

Friday Things

Posted in books, California, frugalism, Uncategorized by

I’m off to get my Velcade shot this morning. Then to the library to return books. I’m not planning on going to the gym, even though I should. Well, maybe I’ll wait till I’m there and then decide.

Updated: I dropped off books, but the library was closed, so I didn’t go in.

My shot went well. Vicki, one of the nurses, is retiring, so I said I’d miss her. She’s a great nurse.

Then I need to go to Winco for veggies and a few things. I also need to stop in Costco for coffee, so I’ll see how far I get.

Updated: Skipped Winco and just went to Costco. I wanted to get there when it’s only open to Executive members, so that worked out perfectly.

I bought a lot of veggies as one of my intentions for 2026 is to eat more veggies, fruit, and fish. I also got the coffee, some wine, eggs and bagels, and a few other things.

I’m just finishing up and putting things away in the freezer. I have the iRobot vacuum going, and that will clean the floors. I do need to mop still though.

I did manage to get rid of the desk and chair. The person came right on time, so that was nice. I have a load to go to the thrift store, but didn’t get there today. I’ll try for Sunday after the gym.

Last night I made homemade pizza. It was ok, not great. I also shredded Brussels sprouts and sauteed them with mushrooms. That was quite good.

Frugal Friday

Posted in California, frugalism, Uncategorized by

I had lots of plans for what I was going to do after my doctor appointment, but that all went by the wayside. As soon as I walked into the lobby, I could see it was packed. Usually, there’s one or two people, but this was packed. So he was 40 minutes late because of a biopsy that hadn’t been scheduled correctly. I’m pretty chill about that stuff because there are cancer patients in there worse off than me. So all my plans just evaporated, and I just cancelled going to do what I was going to do. My 10 am appt didn’t get finished till half past 11, so I just came home. I have plenty of days before Christmas, and most of this stuff is just Christmas prep. For instance, I need Gift cards from T.J.’s, but I can do that another day after swimming. I also need to go to Costco for one last small shop for Christmas dinner. So all that can roll over to next week.

Hanukkah starts Sunday night at sundown, so we’ll do latkes and applesauce(homemade) and breaded chicken/tofu. If I’m inspired, I’ll make the Superiority tofu, which is deep-fried. It’s a recipe that is involved and takes time. Someone asked about the recipe for polenta lasagna, and really, it’s very simple. I make the polenta in the Instant Pot( very easy this way), then chill overnight. Then I cut slices of the polenta and layer with tomato sauce, cheese, and then bake. It’s a delicious meal that doesn’t use pasta.

I’m not really doing any gifts for Hanukkah, at least as of today. Barclay always bought lottery tickets ( scratchers) for everyone, so I may do that. Otherwise, it’s just lighting the menorah and enjoying that. Oh, I will do some Starbucks gift cards, as that is always welcome and used.

I went to Winco after the pool and got some Christmas stuff, but not all, as I didn’t have my list.:( So I’ll see about hitting it up again next week.)

I’m staying home today and just doing some odds and ends. I finally got around to cutting up the box of Pink Lady apples someone gave us, so that’s tucked away in the freezer. I need to mop the floors today and just do a general tidy up.

Here’s a picture of our lemon tree that is much fuller than this shows, and blue skies. Sacramento is in Tule fog!

Friday Things

Posted in California, cancer, frugalism, home stuff, plants, Uncategorized, velcade by

My shot went well yesterday, and afterwards I went to WinCo. I spent $83 on food and paid in cash. I specifically wanted Taco sauce and a small jar of peanut butter. I don’t think buying the 2-pack at Costco is worth it for just the two of us.

Today is my dex day, and so far I feel pretty good, not too crazy:) I’m still a little sinus-y, but that’s it.

Some Christmas stuff and a totally funny New Yorker comic. B and I would always joke about this from “What About Bob ” and Siggy saying that.

I need to figure out my day but I know I need to:

clean the stove and hood

vacuum

do 1 load of laundry

look at the budget for the next 2 weeks

water some plants

???

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, frugalism, Uncategorized by

So far this week, I spent grocery money at Winco, Safeway, and today, Trader Joe’s. Winco was $60 for food approx.

Safeway was $34 for food, approx.

Tarader Joe’s was $83 approx with quite a few freezer items for next month.

At TJ’s, I picked up some Christmas gifts for the kids: some snacks and 2 of the new micro bags, which are very cute. I was glad to get some as there were only a few left.

So not bad, and I’m coming in so far for the month at a little over $500. That includes long-term food items stored in the freezer. My budget runs til the 24th, so I’ll need to keep it low or 0 next week.

The pool was nice and not super busy, which is always a treat.

The VW is getting the brake lights checked, so I’ll probably need to go back out later when my daughter gets home if it’s ready. They’re not open on the weekend, so it’s either today or Monday.

I’m not sure what the weekend is like. I think the weather is ok. After the deluge of rain yesterday, we need a break.

Friday things

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, cash envelopes, frugalism, Multiple myeloma by

Yesterday was quite busy. I decided since my Velcade was rescheduled for 10am, I would go down to the gym first and then the library to pick up my hold. (Shogun) Then I went back to Winco for salad stuff, wine, oat milk, and yogurt. I spent about $60 and then got $40 cash to put into some cash envelopes.

Infusion was very busy, and I guess that’s why they needed me to come later. All 5 chairs were full, and some of these chemos are ALL day, and mine is only 20-30 minutes. They are always so nice, and oncology nurses are truly special people with the knowledge and skills they possess.

Finally, I stopped at Taco Tree for some tacos for myself and my daughter. She was almost out the door for work, but it all ended up ok. I took my Dex around noon, so hopefully I would get some sleep. Ha, no luck, I woke up at 2 am, and that was the end of sleeping. But I’m home today, so I can just chill.

I’m halfway through the budget month, and things are ok. There’s not a lot left over, but at least I’m not waiting for SNAP to come through. What a horrible thing these Republicans are doing to the people of this country who need it the most. Shameful. Even more shameful, throwing a Great Gatsby party at the gold mansion. Rump has probably NEVER read The Great Gatsby. Shameful, while millions of people are going without food or close to it. And then more shamefully, blaming Democrats for it because of the shutdown. Democrats are trying to save the ACA before rates skyrocket next year. Who cares about ordinary people? Certainly not rump.