Category Archives: Lake tahoe

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, California, Lake tahoe, Walking by

We had a nice walk in the park. We were the only ones there again so quite nice. It was already 70 at 6am so it’s going to be another hot one.

We went down to see my son’s apartment and it’s very nice and fits the 2 of them well. Nice layout and all the used furniture he bought before had fits it well. We stopped at TJ’s to buy some flowers and prosecco and a few goodies. He had Noah’s bagels ready so that was sweet. He’s a thoughtful young man.

We are home now and I just started the pressure canner to make chicken broth. It’ll take about 75 minutes. This week I plan on pressure canning the white beans too.

I’m coming down off of Dex so feeling tired. But overall, I’m pleased with how it went. Of course, the true test will be my counts but I do feel these labs won’t really reflect it since it’s so close to when I took it but we’ll see.

The traffic coming down from Tahoe was horrendous. All I can say to Bay area, Sacramento, and Valley People is STAY HOME. Don’t clog up Tahoe simply because you want to dip in the lake. The roads are clogged, too many people on and on…

The infrastructure and really the lake itself can not handle so many people and cars. Be considerate. Just my 2 cents.

I finished the new Chris Bohjalian book, it was a very interesting read and I enjoyed it. His books are generally dark but complex characters.

My son is planning on coming up in the next few days to help clear out the studio. His mattress needs to go to the dump and the bed frame dismantled. Then we can paint and freshen it up. I’ll still get a bed for out there so if he and Alia come to stay they can use the studio. When I had the Norovirus it was very pleasant to be in and it stayed remarkably cool. this Tuff Shed has had a lot on incarnations. We put it up 2000 as our home school room. I lazzured ( a type of Waldorf painting using a watercolor base and it’s brushed on using two brushes)all the walls rainbow colors. In Waldorf school each grade has a color starting in kindergarten with peachy orange, then yellows, greens and finally eighth grade violets and purples.

Dinner is unknown as it’s hot so maybe another cold dinner??

More caulking done in the bathroom and the lights are up. Yay!!

Frugal Friday on Saturday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, camping, cooking, frugalism, home stuff, Lake tahoe, LLS by

I drove home yesterday after my daughter drove up to Tahoe in the Santa Fe. Traffic flowed along and the usual construction stops were non-existent which was great. Unfortunately, the camp host wouldn’t just let her drive in without paying the $10 extra car fee, so for 15 minutes we had to pay 10 bucks. I was definitely pissed.

It was windy up there when I left and it was windy here at home too. But it was much cooler overall. I was really tired for some reason, so I took a nap, a shower and read some. The beach was overrun with people and I definitely will not go back next year at this time. It may have been somewhat circumstantial due to it being so hot but still.

The new shower head is very nice but it seemed to take an awful long time for the hot water to come out. I’m going to turn it on again this morning and time it. B and my son are planning on moving the electrical outlet and putting up the lights tomorrow. B ordered the grab bars so we will the helper to drill those in place. We don’t have a tile drill so that needs to be done. Then finally the flooring and paint. I think I’m going to look at paint on line this morning and see if I can find a soft gray color.

Since we were camping all week there was little spending except for basics. We treated ourselves to a lunch pizza and that was fun.

I need to peruse the freezer and fridge to gleam what menu I can do for the week and write a list. I know I need salad stuff and some veggies. I haven’t been very food focused lately since my norovirus hit. Plus the weather being so hot, it’s hard to cook. This week is much cooler so maybe I’ll be more creative.

My LLS ended so I have to wait now for funding for Myeloma to open. Last year it took 2 months so I’m expecting it to be at least that long. We would definitely be short of money monthly without my grant covering Medicare and UHC. It’s a huge gift that this organization provides for thousands of people like me. Back when I was first diagnosed(2005) LLS didn’t exist so all my co pays and extras put us in huge debt at the time. So for now, LLS is a real blessing.

I’m planning on doing some tidying this morning before B and S get home probably 2 ish. I also need to do the camp laundry.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, California, camping, Gratitude, Lake tahoe, Myeloma, travel by

So thankful we can enjoy our RV and be at Lake Tahoe. It’s like winning the lottery to get a spot. I checked for the whole rest of the season and there’s nada, zip nothing available. I am really surprised at the amount of people though, probably it’s because it’s so warm and the lake is inviting. Probably, though it’s just there are too many people. I just read, while here, that Sand Point will only be available by reservation. I’m glad really as it will curtail some people. The problem is people parking on the road making it very dangerous to drive.

I’m thankful for the beautiful weather here. We’ve had a campfire every night and haven’t even sat in the trailer in the evening.

I’m thankful that my doctor always answers when I e-message as I did after my labs came in. He said it was a small increase and essentially not to worry. I value that he respects my input. Of course, I’ll still worry and see what the next round brings.

I’m very grateful my daughter is off work for the summer and can be home to take care of things. Especially when it’s this hot at home the gardens need water every day. And the kitties need someone there too.

I’m grateful we have the lifetime senior pass and it allows us to camp here( US Forest Service) for 1/2 price. The California State beaches and parks don’t use that pass so it’s more to camp there.

Lake Tahoe

Posted in Blood test, books, California, camping, cancer, Lake tahoe, Myeloma by

This is around 8 am. Calm lake.

The difference in 10 days is quite noticeable. Lots more people at the beach and more kids in the campground. The camp hosts are very friendly and keep a tight ship. Very clean bathrooms and they keep the trash off the beach.

It’s nice here with a high of 77 which is very pleasant. We’ve had a fire each night and also BBQ stuff. Tonight I have leftovers from last night so I’ll see what I put together.

In other Myeloma news, my kappa did go up 7 pts. So I’m a little upset but I knew something probably was going to be different without the dex. Next week I have Velcade and then labs the following week. It’s a short time between labs so I guess I’m leaning towards not taking it and seeing the results. Dr. L’s take was that it was a very small increase. But it still was a jump in my book.

I’m enjoying the new Longmire, First Frost. Excellent!!

Sunset.

Friday things

Posted in budgeting, California, camping, cancer, frugalism, home stuff, Lake tahoe, library, swimming, travel, Uncategorized by

Frugal-wise all pretty good. After infusion yesterday, I went to the nearby Noah’s Bagels and bought 6 plus a schmear. Most mornings we like a bagel but it’s usually Costco’s or Trader Joe’s. This was a nice treat.

I went to Trader Joe’s and spent close to $200. There was a case of wine in there and the rest was food. That’s a lot of meals. Since we’ll be gone next week there won’t be any shopping except at the Safeway in Tahoe in case we need something. I do need to buy coffee at Starbucks because I’m not going to go in to Costco before Memorial Day. Our new Costco just opened yesterday and I’m sure it was a mad house. We will be going to this new one from now on as it is closer to us so that’ll be nice.

My daughter asked for a Nutribullet for her birthday and Costo had the Ultra one on sale. She likes to do smoothies and this one does ice and veggies. We have a Vitamix but sometimes it’s just too bulky to get out. I don’t keep things like that on our counter so it’s in one of my Heywoods. On our counters I only keep the toaster oven, my kitchen aid mixer and, the Brita water pitcher. Maybe I’ll see if my son wants it for his new apartment.

I was planning on swimming this morning as it’s my first time off Dex(whoo hoo) after Velcade, but since I’ve been out 3 days in a row, I think I’ll skip it. That does mean no swimming till after we’re back so that’ll end up over a week. Sometimes, you just have to call it. I did go to the gym and library after Velcade so that took some time. I only did a 20 minute weight workout but that was good enough.

In Tahoe, we’ll go to the gym once and do at least that workout plus we walk a lot when we’re there.

Last night I BBQed that trip tip and it was good. We’re not big meat eaters but this was a nice small piece and the flavor was good. B had roasted veggies, beans, tofu and, coleslaw. Tonight is a pizza night, no take out just a Trader Joe’s dough and I’ll do some toppings.

Overall, not a spendy week and next week will also be low spend in Tahoe.

So far this morning I feel good and my blood pressure is good too. I just hope being off dex doesn’t negatively impact my numbers but for now, hurray for not feeling crazy this morning. Since I’m home this morning, I will do some tidying up and I need to dust. The pine pollen is everywhere! I’m not planning on any bread making or batch cooking. Just using up what we’ve got.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, camping, cooking, Lake tahoe, Myeloma, simple foods, Uncategorized by

I guess my daughter brought home a cold from work this week and now I have sniffles and a runny nose. It’s not terrible but still, my head feels like it has cotton in it. I’m not sure I’ll go to the Auburn gym then. I did walk this morning so at least I got some exercise in. This is probably the first time I’ve had a minor cold in maybe 3 years. I do get seasonal allergies which is what we all thought my daughter had but then by the next day you could tell it was more like a cold.

I want to swim tomorrow so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how I feel then. I have Velcade Thursday so I don’t want to push it.

Yesterday I started drying oregano in the dehydrator, which still needs at least another day. I plan on doing a few batches as I use quite a bit of oregano in cooking. Then I’ll move on to thyme. I wish there was a way to keep cilantro but it doesn’t dry with any flavor, I’m not sure why exactly. I just looked up drying cilantro and it says you can and it will keep its flavor so I think since we have so much I’ll do ie batch to test it out. I recall I dried it in the oven and not the dehydrator so maybe that was the problem.

I decided not to go to the gym since I don’t want to be blowing my nose and then using weights:( I really dislike seeing people do this so I don’t want to be one of those people.:)

Yesterday I made a pot of minestrone for dinner it was quite good except the reason I was making it was to use up the zucchini we had and of course, I forgot to put in the zucchini. So maybe I’ll make a zucchini bread. My son brought up a dozen Noah’s bagels and they are delicious. He lives right near one so that will be fun for him. ( and us).

Our cooler weather is moving in and today looks like temperatures in the 70’s so we won’t need to use coolers. I think it’s supposed to be like this for the next week or so. Tahoe may end up cooler than we thought but we’ll be fine. We have the heater in Rubi. This is a shorter trip than we’re used to, only 3 nights but it’s a start. Then in June, we’re there for a week.

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, budgets, California, cancer, frugalism, Lake tahoe, Myeloma, travel, Uncategorized, Walking by

This week was fairly low spend. We did go to Paris Bakery one morning down in Roseville. It has delicious croissants and other baked goods. Also beautiful cakes. So that ended up $30 because we had fancy coffees which we almost never do and I brought home a pastry for my daughter to enjoy.

I did fill up the Santa Fe on Monday at Costco gas. That is the lowest price anywhere.

I popped into Winco and got a few groceries and some wine. Winco’s wine prices are the best around too. I like the Bogle chardonnay and Smoking Loon unoaked chardonnay. I think my total for wine and food was $57.

I think we’ll need to go to Costco next week as it’s time for more coffee. I plan on keeping that shop low spend as I don’t need a lot and I’m still working on eating down the freezers. With my son moving out food costs should go down although he will still be coming up here 2 days a week to work remotely and go into the office. So he’ll eat here when he’s here.

I’ve worked up the budget for June although I didn’t add in travel $. We’ll be in Tahoe twice. The end of May and mid June so I need to allow for gas and some food things. We generally don’t eat out in Tahoe because of the expense and we haven’t found a super great pizza place or Mexican. We do love Sprouts for sandwiches though. It used to be one of B’s accounts up there and has been around a long time. Great organic food. The Safeway is just up the road from the campground so we usually go there.

Tonight we’re going to do take out pizza so that’s pricey but we’ll only get 1 large as my son is still moving stuff to Sacramento and is down there tonight.

In other news, Dr. Laptalo said to drop the dex completely and let’s see what happens. I totally agreed. Of course, if my numbers go up substantially because dex helps boost the chemo then I’ll just have to consider the options. So I have 2 chemos scheduled before I see him again so that should give us a more accurate picture. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Today was a no walk day, a no gym day and, a no swim day. So I want to go over to the pet bookstore and look for a few books. They’ve moved so it’s in a less convenient location than it was before. Speaking of walking, we haven’t had for months now, other people coming early to walk and then pow, yesterday we had 3 other people and OMG, AH showed up. It has been almost a year since he was there. I just about fell over. If you’re new to this blog and wonder what AH stands for, use your imagination. One thing though, he hadn’t gotten out of his car yet and previously he’d jump out and drag the dog out. So we wondered if the dog had died or was just too old now. I guess we’ll know next time we see him. Weird though.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, cash envelopes, Gratitude, Lake tahoe, library, swimming by

I am very thankful this was a week with NO appts and no Dex. Boy, did that do me in last week. I guess I’ll go back to taking dex after I get home and not in the evening. maybe that’s the difference or the BP spike has been there all along and I just didn’t take my BP and notice. We’ll see.

I’m thankful we had a beautiful day in Tahoe with picture-perfect weather.

I’m thankful that all the month’s bills are accounted for and are in the budget. Slowly, I’m getting more envelopes set up for the annual bills. Even though I didn’t have the full amount, I did have something and that helped. As I think of different line items for our budget I add an envelope. I also bought on Amazon a binder that is for the 100 envelope challenge. Lots of cash envelope budgeters on You Tube have this as a way to do an extra savings. It’s not a quick thing as each envelope is numbered 1-100 and you put that amount in each one. I do like having these little challenges to keep me focused.

I’m thankful I got to swim on Monday but it was one of the few times it wasn’t pleasant. First, the pool was packed which I thought odd but then realized that it was a holiday. Second, I don’t circle swim( when there are more than 2 in a lane), but some woman plopped into the lane I was sharing with 1 person and proceeded to circle swim. I was not a happy swimmer. I go too slow and at some point, she cut in front of me and almost kicked my face. Anyway, at least I got my 30 minutes in.

I finished all the books I got from the library (8 books) so today after the gym I’ll go in and see if I can get a few things off the shelves to take to Capitola. The new Kellerman book ” Ghost Orchid’ is okay. I like his writing and the 2 main characters are well developed. So far all the Craig Johnston Longmire books have been great. Definitely worth reading the series although I haven’t read them in any order.

Lake Tahoe in early April

Posted in Lake tahoe, travel by

We decided if we wanted to see Tahoe before all the snow melted we’d better get a move on. So off we went and it was really great.

We were not disappointed. Tahoe has a.lot.of .snow. still. It was very encouraging for the snowpack. We decided to head to Tahoe City to go to Tahoe House Bakery. They have the best coffee in the area. The pastries are delicious plus their breads and bagels and ready-made meals are quite nice. Pricey, but worth it. It was pretty empty as were the main roads. Tahoe, off-season is really a lovely place to be. I-80 was also pretty empty of traffic except for lots of semis. ( going too fast).

From there, we decided to go around the lake by way of Tahoe City, Carnelian Bay and basically, it’s the north side of the lake.

The story behind me standing with my Louie is many years ago we took this exact same picture with my old Louie. That’s the one that was stolen in the smash and grab. So for the insurance company to pay me for the loss, I had to have a picture of me with my LV and that was the one. So that’s why we were taking this picture.

From the lakeside, which is in Kings Beach, we headed down to Incline so B could go to Nuleaf for some gummy things. He picked up a tin of that. Again, hardly any traffic at all through Incline, which was pretty f*cking amazing. We thought of going down to Sand Harbor and then walking on the new lake trail but decided not to. Maybe next time.

I wanted to get a light lunch out so we headed back to Kings Beach to White Cap Pizza. It was busy with locals and a few tourists but not many. I had high hopes for the pizza and it fit some of my expectations. It was very thin crusted and the ratio of cheese to sauce was good. But the dough had no flavor as it seemed the cook had forgotten to add salt. A big no-no if you’re making pizza dough or even bread. Then the sauce was pretty flavorless too. The crust had been cooked a little too long and was slightly burnt , not charred which is totally acceptable, but more like burnt. So I’d only give it a 2 out 5. Still, we had a nice time there and I’m glad we went.

This was looking out at the patio seating.

We headed for home and unfortunately, a big rig had gone over one of the embankments so traffic was backed up. Trucks go too fast down these big inclines and lose control. We were not in a hurry so for us it was fine. After that traffic again was very light and at times, we had no one behind us or ahead. So amazing.

All in all a fun date day and well worth it.

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!!!!