Category Archives: Gratitude

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, books, California, cancer, cooking, Gratitude by

Yesterday was lots of fun with my son going to see Deadpool 3. For some weird reason, I just love his character and it’s really quite funny, well if you don’t like heads flying I wouldn’t recommend it. The theatre was empty except for us and that made it even better. After that we went up for pizza and it’s my favorite NY pizza. I’m grateful and thankful for such a great son. He’s very thoughtful and knows me well.

I’m thankful the days are moving along till our Stanford appointment.

I’m thankful the weather is so beautiful and fall like. Both of us, are born in September so maybe that’s why I love the change of season so much.

I’m thankful( actually so grateful) that my labs came back still in the normal range. I’m definitely nervous that somethings going to happen and then I won’t be able to keep up with B’s appts. So far, my daughter has the PET scan covered, and my son will pick up his Dad after his first chemo. That chemo will potentially be ALL day so I’ll do the morning and then he can come after work.

As always I’m thankful for the small things in life that give me so much joy like reading, cooking, walking, and even daily chores.

My son found me a pasta maker at the thrift store. It’s practically new so I’m making some pasta for tomorrow. I don’t have the wood drying pasta thing but I’ll check on Amazon how much it is and how soon it would get here. You can also just make little stacks of the pasta and let it dry on a cookie sheet. He’s a very good cook so he wants to try it after I do.

So I have a question for those of you who read other people’s blogs that have advertisements. I’ve thought of monetizing my blog but every time I start to do it, I’m just kind of turned off by it. Any thoughts? I know when some blogs have ads flying all over I don’t even read the blog and just close it. Frugal Girl’s blog is monetized and the ads seem to just be in the middle of paragraphs and not too intrusive. I think she just mentioned though on her blog that the ads don’t really bring in the money. So how does she earn from the blog? Does anyone know how that works?

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cancer, decluttering, Gratitude, Walking by

We are hanging in there waiting for the appts. It’s frustrating, to say the least. I am grateful that it’s getting closer at least. I hope we’re going to get some answers at next Wednesday’s UCD appt.

B sent an e-message to the internist who did the diagnosis and I am grateful she responded in very positive way. She said she would reach out to Stanford and see if it could be moved up from the end of the month. She also indicated that age probably won’t be a huge factor as much as how healthy he is for the Hipec.

I’m grateful that fall is in the air even though it’s going to be 98 degrees today. The light is different and even the heat feels different, so I’m grateful for that.

Even though we are both having a hard time emotionally right now we still find things to laugh at. It’s tough right now but sticking to everyday routines is helping some. I guess trying to keep things ‘normal right now seems important to me.

We had a nice walk this morning even with the lady who shows up right after us. (This person is definitely annoying to me for a few reasons, such as: 1. There is a WHOLE parking lot empty and she has to park next to me. 2. She is not using a flashlight when clearly it’s still semidark out.) 🙁 Still, I’m grateful to be out walking.

I finally took the huge load in the back of the Santa Fe to Goodwill. I was surprised that it filled up one of their carts. It felt good to finally drop that stuff off. Decluttering feels good once the whole thing is done and not sitting in the back of the car for 3 months:)

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, California, cancer, cooking, Gratitude, Walking by

I am thankful for a beautiful day. The early morning walks have been so pretty. The predawn sky is like a Maxfield Parrish poster.

I’m thankful that I had a good Dr. visit and there’s nothing new with my labs. My kappa light chains went down a whole point. So that’s great. When that happens though my ratio goes up so that is higher than normal right now. But I’m not too concerned about that at this point. The ratio between kappa and lambda is important especially when the Kappa goes high.

I’m thankful the budget looks good for September but it will be another close month with money. There won’t be much if any leftover. Plus we will need to book a room in Palo Alto by Stanford to spend the night. I guess we’ll figure it out.

I’m grateful we have the 2 appts for B set up although we are concerned about the Stanford one. The treatment( Hipec) is a tough surgery etc and it may be that he’s too old to qualify. So now, I’m worried about that too.

I’m thankful I repotted my plants yesterday. They were very root bound so I think they will do better, especially the Ficus. I plan on going around and seeing how many more I need to do. I think probably 3 more.

Tonight I plan on making a frittata for dinner. I have a lot of spinach to use up and a Boursin. The Boursin adds a nice creamy texture to the frittata.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cancer, Gratitude, home stuff, husband, Walking by

First for our great weather. Nice temperatures and we’ve been able to eat dinner on the patio again. So nice. Plus we’re sitting outside at wine time too.

Next, walking at the park and enjoying the fresh morning air. A few people are showing up but we’re generally almost done by then.

Finally, we have the appointment at Stanford set. It’s the end of September which seems very far ahead but that’s the best they could do with the specialist we’re seeing. He only sees patients Thursdays that’s that. We did ask to be put on a cancellation list. Our plan would be to drive to Palo Alto do the appointment and then spend the night in a hotel. There is no way I could drive 3 1/2 hours back and forth on the same day.

I’m not sure how the surgery etc will play out and how we will afford me staying somewhere but I’ll worry about that when the time comes.

Today is a home day for me and I just need to do house chores. I might make a loaf of bread in the bread maker. Not sourdough just regular sandwich bread but I’ll see how I feel.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, Gratitude, velcade by

Even though I slept terribly, I still got up at 5:15 to walk. I’m thankful I have the energy to do that. We got to the park at 5:40 and the two ladies were there. They are nice and don’t bother me. By the time we were almost done 6 more people had showed. I’m not sure what the story is about more people early as the weather is not hot and the sunrise is almost 6:30. I guess this will change soon as it gets darker. However, the one older lady that I’m not super fond of is the one last year that came at 6. It was dark and she never used a flashlight even when I asked her to because you can’t see people. oh well, people:(

I’m thankful my drive to infusion was uneventful. The other day on Hwy 65( the one I take) there was a horrible accident with a pedestrian. I’m glad I didn’t see it.

I’m thankful that I have some extra money in my cash envelopes because we need it till the end of the month.

I’m thankful I’m not losing hair like I was. I probably lost half my hair. So now when I comb it there’s a normal amount of hair. I think it was Dex, but it may have been Velcade too or both.

There’s a lot going on with B’s cancer and I’ll do an update soon. I’m still a little shell shocked so I need a day or two to get a grip. But I am thankful the doctor pursued a long shot and she was right. I’ll explain later in a separate post.

I’m thankful our kitties are safe and bring us joy. It is sad when cats go missing and I’m sure the neighbor is upset.

I’m very grateful Mr Owl left me this. B found it!!

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cancer, Gratitude, Retirement, Walking by

I am thankful to be walking and getting in almost 2 miles. It’s still busy though and today there were 12 people. That’s a lot when normally it’s us and maybe 2 other people. It’s summer so there’s that.

I’m so grateful my son came up on his birthday and we had a good time. 3o yo. A milestone. We had Angus burgers on the grill with corn on the cob, and Wills potato salad from Costco. Then I ordered the Paris Baguette chocolate cake. It was quite yummy. His partner, A, came up to celebrate too.

I’m grateful my daughter was able to drive B for his PET scan last week as it was in Sacramento. I had some time home alone.

I’m grateful I passed my driver’s written test and eye test. I guess when you’re over 70 in California, you have to take the exam every 4 years? maybe’s 5, not sure. It was a pain to do but it’s over.

Anyone want to share what you are thankful for? I guess we all live different lives and are at different stages of life too. I think that’s what I like about blogging and reading blogs, that it takes you places you won’t ever go. Some bloggers I don’t read anymore because I don’t relate to their opinions or where they are in this journey we call life. But the ones I do read are interesting and appreciated.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, Gratitude, home stuff, knee injury, Political things, swimming, Walking by

Still no biopsy results. My guess is someone dropped the ball as to who was going to call. Tomorrow is his NP video appt so we’ll know then. Still, I hate to go into the things uninformed. Because he doesn’t have the oncologist yet, and his PC didn’t do anything, I’m guessing the results are just sitting there waiting for someone to release them.PITA>

I’m grateful at least he has the appt tomorrow. I’ll sit in and hear what is being said.

My doctor is on his way to Croatia so I think my labs are going to be stuck in cyber space too. He’s gone for 2 weeks. I may call down there and ask that another doctor release the labs.

I’m thankful our temperatures are finally dropping out of the 100’s. since we just had the 2 hottest days on record, I think heat waves like this will be the norm:( But wait, Republicans think climate change is a hoax. Remember the movie ‘Day after tomorrow’, when it’s too late, it’ll be too late.

I’m grateful my sourdough starter is working perfectly. I had made at least 3 loaves that didn’t bake right and looked up why. First, the starter needs to be robust and second, the bulk fermentation phase is the most important. So I was underproofing the dough. I’m quite pleased with the loaves I’m getting.

I am thankful I had a good swim yesterday. I got there a little later than usual, and it was mellow. I still shared a lane but that’s ok.

I’m grateful my daughter loves gardening and right now I’m processing another pan of tomatoes for sauce. Since this is a water bath process, I don’t worry too much about exact quantities because it’s just tomatoes. If this was a meat sauce or a pressure canned recipe exact measurements are necessary. I like the baking of the tomatoes as the skins come right off.

I’m grateful to be walking in the park. It’s been almost a year since my torn ACL and meniscus. So I’m really happy to just be walking. It’s still not a lot but that’s ok. On any given day I do between 2-3 miles. So I’m good with that. If I could do more I would.

Here’s giant Gus and his momma, Ciri.

Finally, I’M INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL THAT KAMALA HARRIS IS THE NOMINEE. I THINK WE CAN BEAT THE ORANGE GUY, WHO NOW IS THE OLD MAN:)

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, bread, California, cancer, cooking, Gratitude, husband, velcade, Walking by

No reports back on the biopsy. I thought for sure, we’d hear something yesterday. So waiting, waiting. Not that I’m expecting anything but bad news but at least we’ll know what the official diagnosis is. 🙁

After that, no doctor appts until next Friday and that’s with his NP from his transplant team so I’m not sure how that will play out. The new oncologist appt isn’t until the week after that so it’s definitely a waiting game. Wait, Wait, Wait.

Things to be thankful for though:

We are getting LOTS of tomatoes and I plan on having my favorite tomato and mayonnaise sandwich later today.

I have Velcade this morning and I am always thankful for efficient and knowledgeable nurses. After that, I will go down to the library and pick up my hold.

I’m thankful we had some days of cooler weather but we’re on an upward swing again. It was nice and cool this morning walking. There were LOTS of people walking even at 6am. I guess it’s the summer crowd.

I’m thankful my son has a nice apartment and is staying cool especially since he just down with covid. It’s the first time he’s had it. I miss him being here so I can hover over him!!!:) But he’s a grown man and knows what to do.

I’m thankful the sourdough boule I made yesterday came out perfect. The last two were dismal and I had to throw them out. I read on the problem and I wasn’t letting my starter mature enough. So I’ve been feeding twice a day and it’s very active now. I plan on doing another one soon. Also, with the heat, proofing time and bulk fermentation are different because it’s warm, so that was a factor as well.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, bread, California, cooking, Gratitude, home stuff, simple foods by

We finally have a cooling off period so I’m thankful for that. Unfortunately, next week looks worse than this week with Wednesday being 110. Yikes! I’m supposed to go to Sacramento to see Dr. L but I’m going to reschedule this morning after they open. I’m not driving into Sacramento when it’s that hot.

I’m thankful for a day to just potter around and do some extra things. I want to steam-mop the studio and vacuum. We moved the Ikea sofa out to the studio so I want to vacuum that too. Plus the windows need washing. I may not get to it all but some.

I’m grateful for my swim yesterday, It was not too busy so that made it nice. After that I went over to Winco for strawberries. I think Winco has the lowest prices so I bought 5 containers. They were $1.48 ea. I have seen them as low as.99 but not yesterday.

I’m thankful I was able to come home from that and still have the energy to make strawberry jam. I used 4 containers, so that was $5.96. I ended up with 10 half-pint jars plus 3 quarter-pint jars. So overall a good savings. I don’t plan on any other jam-making so this will last the year.

I’m thankful that B has his medical things organized and is going for a CT scan to see if his weight loss is related to something intestinally. He’s actually eating much better so that’s an encouraging thing.

I’m not so thankful that the bathroom now has another issue. We thought the floor would be done yesterday but when B pulled up the tiles, the floorboards had water damage around the toilet. So we are now in stop, regroup, plan phase again. He’ll need to take the toilet out and repair the floorboards. All I can say is Fuck, it’s always something. At least it was discovered now instead of 10 years from now. The area is pretty small so hopefully, it’s an easy fix. Still, it means removing the toilet, putting in a new ring, etc.

I plan on making my sourdough bread this morning. I added more flour to my starter so it should be ready around noon.

Here’s one of our dinners this hot week. Scambled tofu with spinach.

This was an interesting book with lots of recommended reading.

this is little Cherry Rat. She’s the only girl besides mama cat.

Here are pressure canned beans, Rancho Gordo pintos, and Marcellas.

Two of the 10 half-pint jars. I skimmed as much foam off as I could but there’s always some left. Any canners out there with hints. I seem to remember something about adding a teaspoon of baking soda??

Thankful Thursday

Posted in bread, California, cancer, Gratitude, knee injury, Walking by

I’m thankful to be walking fairly normally now. I suppose the torn ACL/meniscus will always be a factor, but at least for now, I’m walking. This morning I did 1.5 so by the end of the day, I’ll be over the 2-mile mark.

I’m thankful for the cooler weather and I’ve been baking sourdough again. When it’s hot, bread-making is out.

I’m grateful to have been swimming twice this week and it feels like that too, is getting back to where I was. I like getting there later as the die-hard swimmers are mostly gone.

I’m heading down to get my Velcade shot this morning. I plan on going to the new Costco afterward. It is nice it is that much closer and a beautiful store. The layout is different than the other one. I think this might be the way they are doing them as a couple of other newer Costco’s have the same layout. I am thankful that it’s right off the freeway and on my way home.

This was the random leftover garlic from last year that got planted. Really nice big bulbs.

I read somewhere to cut the scape off and the bulb will get bigger. I think it worked as these are the biggest garlic I’ve ever grown.