Category Archives: swimming

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:)

Menu Monday

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, meal planning, swimming by

Now that this week is going to be cooler, I’ll try and plan a regular menu.

When I do menu planning, I don’t always do them in order or as listed for a day. I might switch Taco Tuesday to Wednesday but the dinner is still the same.

Monday- I’m going to make a pie crust and do a quiche. I have spinach to use and gruyere cheese to add.

Tuesday- I have beans, RG, in the freezer so I’m going to pull them and do nachos. I still have 2 avocados from Costco in the fridge. Did you know that as soon as they are almost ripe( slightly press on them) if you put them in the fridge they will literally last for weeks. The ones I have in there are close to 3 weeks from when I bought them.

Wednesday- I have a piece of steak to use for the meat eaters and I’ll do tofu for B. A big salad too and maybe something else on the side. Corn on the cob would be good.

Thursday- I think I’ll try an IP recipe of some sort. I saw a lasagna that looked interesting. I’d have to go buy the cheese but have noodles and the sauce.

Friday- pizza of some sort. I’ll either make one or we’ll do takeout.

Saturday- If the weather stays coolish, I’ll use Weber for a BBQ night. I’d probably do chicken and more tofu. Plus salad of some sort.

Sunday- Unknown at this point. I’d like to go through the chest freezer and use something that’s been in there a while. I know I have a piece of pork roast lingering in there so maybe that. Pulled pork sandwiches would work.

Today is a pool day and then home. I don’t think I’ll go over to the library today but probably soon.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, swimming by

I had to get gas this week so that was $53 at Costco. Not too bad. The other cars, buggie and the truck are fine so I don’t need to fill them.

I’d gone over to Wino after swimming and spent about $100. Some wine and food combined.

Yesterday after infusion, I stopped at Costco and spent more than I wanted but I’m going to move some of it over to July’s budget since things like shampoo and conditioner will last months, Qtips were on sale, and they too last about 6 months if not more, mayo was on sale and I put that in the pantry so that will last months too, flour, and a bunch of other things that will definitely be more than a months grocery shop. Maybe I’ll try and separate it out if I am sitting at my desk.

All the monthly bills are done so I have July’s budget ready. The only extra this month is the truck registration and I’ll do that next week.

Our hot weather is starting again today, so I need to close the windows and curtains. It looks to be hot till Tuesday. My son was going to come tomorrow but now with that being the hottest day he may wait till next week. We need to get the floor down so we can get the sink in so it is a bit of a hold up.

Today we’re going to try and paint some if not all of the bathroom. It just depends on how our arms hold up. Getting old, huh?? I used to paint entire rooms myself. Heck, I painted the outside of the whole house once. Not anymore. I can do a wall or two and then that’s it. I think my daughter will be my backup today. 🙂

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, home improvement, Myeloma, swimming, Walking by

Today is our town’s annual Pioneer Day. There’s a parade and lots of booths in the park. We live in town so we always walked down with the kids when they were young. Back then the firetrucks threw candy to the kids. They don’t do that anymore. It should be a nice day for everyone, not too hot.

Our heat wave starts Tuesday with temperatures about 100. Yikes. All our window coolers are in so we should be good to go.

Friday, my labs were canceled by Quest due to a glitch closing down the lab. I had to reschedule and the earliest was Wednesday. So I won’t know my kappa numbers till probably next Monday. Kind of a bummer when I’m anxious to know how not taking Dex affected my numbers.

We’ve lined up a handyman to come and put the plumbing in the wall for the shower. Hopefully, it’ll all be good. We will need to have the water off for a few days so we will use Rubi’s shower and bathroom. I might even sleep out there.

After swimming yesterday, I went over to the Paris Bakery and bought a mini strawberry cake for my daughter’s birthday.

Wow, it was delicious.

Not too much on the docket for today. I plan on going to the Auburn gym and then to the store to have my other knives sharpened. The butcher will only sharpen 3 at a time. Plus I wanted some cottage cheese and wine for the week.

I need to go into the new Costco this week to get coffee. We always buy Starbucks ground for camping then bring the rest home. That bag is just about gone so that needs to get done. I need to check my list and see what else we need but right now I can’t think of things, maybe some English muffins or?? Fruit?

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.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgets, California, Gratitude, swimming, Uncategorized, Walking by

Whew…I’m so glad my cold is over or whatever it was. It was a virus but only in my head. No coughing and no chest involvement. Kind of odd really.

I’m always grateful for the Mike Shelito pool and how wonderful it is maintained. I’m going later than I used to and it’s quite nice. I did always enjoy the 6:30 time but later is definitely more mellow. I plan on swimming tomorrow. And next week, while we’re in Tahoe the pool is closed for maintenance so I won’t be missing out.

I’m always grateful for walking in the park and today it was only us again so very nice. Well, and the Canada Goose families. The sun was just coming up over the horizon when we left. We did 1.4 so a nice walk. This weekend I want to try for the 2.0 mile again. We did it once so I think I can do it again. My knee is so much better and I’m so thankful for that.

I’m thankful my son has moved into his new apartment with his partner and they seem happy to be together. They, non-binary, ( Alia) is a really nice person and as I’ve said they are well suited.

Today I have Velcade and Boy Howdy( a reference from Longmire) am I glad I can skip dex. Of course, if my numbers go up I won’t be so glad but for now it’s a relief.

I’m grateful the budget is set for June although money is tight this month due to 2 DMV registrations. It sure adds up. Well, everything is more expensive, that’s for sure.

I’m so thankful for my daughter, who lives with us and is so helpful. Her birthday is next week. It’s hard to believe it was 39 years ago when we were waiting for her to arrive. Barclay’s dad had come out to the Dixieland Jazz Festival that used to be held in Sacramento every year back then and he got to meet her. At that time we were living in Foresthill and in a trailer with a room built on. It was Grandpa who gave us the initial money to start building the house. We are forever grateful he did that for us.

THE MOST IMPORTANT: UPDATE

YESTERDAY WAS B’S 5TH REBIRTH DAY. IT WAS 5 YEARS AGO WHEN HE HAD HIS BROTHERS STEM CELLS INTRODUCED. SO GRATEFUL!!! GOING THROUGH AN ALLO TRANSPLANT IS NOT EASY, BELIEVE ME.

Almost back to normal

Posted in California, cancer, home stuff, meal planning, swimming, travel by

I am feeling much better and actually plan to go swimming today. The cold was mostly in my sinuses and didn’t go into a chest thing. I’m grateful for that. My eyes bothered me because they were watering so much but that’s been happening anyway and I think it’s a dex side effect. Still, I’m glad it was all relatively short-lived.

Tomorrow I have my Velcade but won’t be taking dex. I figure if I do 2 rounds of Velcade and my numbers are increasing I’ll need to add dex back in but at least for 2 months I’ll get a break. I guess it’s the luck of the draw.

Yesterday, I picked up my yarn at Joannes and then went to Trader Joe’s. I wanted some new cotton yarn for my millionth washcloth.:) Really, I just like knitting as it is meditative.

Meals have just been whatever is easiest to put together. I do plan on a BBQ tonight because I have a tri-tip from TJ’s to use. It’s one of the ones that comes all seasoned. I have a veggie burger for B and I’ll make a salad to go with it all. At TJ’s I picked up a few ready frozen meals for camping. One is the gnocchi cacio de pepe. That should be tasty. I might do a soup night and maybe a spaghetti night. We do keep it pretty simple when we’re camping. We plan on leaving later on Monday as we’re not sure if all the campgrounds are cracking down on early arrivals. We usually get there at 12:30 and we’ve always been allowed access but after New Brighton, we figure if we get there @ 1:30 then we’ll know. Either they’ll let us in or say no it’s 2pm. I’m guessing that the early arrivals were abused by people and now it’s something they have to deal with. Who knows?

In other news, we’ve had zero luck finding a plumber. I think because it’s such a small job it’s not worth their time. We’re still checking and I guess maybe B will have to watch some YouTube plumbing videos. 🙂

Middle of May already

Posted in books, bread, California, cooking, library, swimming, Uncategorized by

May is moving along and it feels like full-on spring!

Everything in the yard is blooming and very green. I think it must have been that last rain we got that really pumped up the flowers and everything. The Iceberg roses are all in full bloom. They are my favorite overall. I wanted to buy some David Austen’s this year but time and money got away from me. We do have other roses in the backyard. There is a yellow peace rose, a beautiful red rose, and another yellow.

B got me 2 pots 0f carnations for Mother’s Day and those need to go in the ground near the birdbath. Carnations winter over here fairly well. My kind of gardening is perennials that spread. I love Shasta daisies as they spread and are very cheery flowers.

Today I plan to go to the pool as I want to get to twice a week minimum. Since I have a doctor appt tomorrow, I won’t be able to get back down for a few days and I need to do a gym day. So we’ll see. I’m planning on going out to the library after the pool as I have 2 Longmire books on hold.

I made some jalapeno cheddar sourdough baguettes.

I’m also trying a new recipe from my new favorite old cookbook. This is a sourdough rye bread. I added sunflower seeds and some pumpkin seeds. I didn’t have any caraway and since I don’t use them often didn’t want to buy any.

I just punched it down and am now doing a second rise.

The baguettes are very good.

And here’s a cute cat picture.

This is Smudge, or smudgy or wormie or noodle. He’s very sweet and very attached to Sachi. That’s their cateo that goes to their back yard which is cat proofed.

Simple Sunday and Happy Mother’s Day

Posted in California, home stuff, knee injury, Myeloma, swimming, Uncategorized, Walking by

It’s a beautiful day here in N CA. The weather is just great. We just got back from our walk and the park was empty except for the many Canada goose families. Yesterday I did 1.6 miles so I’m getting close to my 2-mile goal. My knee did feel a little stressed after that but it seems to pass more quickly now. I’m also wearing my brace less and less.

A Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there of human kids or furry kids.

My son plans to do a lunch BBQ for us all and then head off to Sacramento to move more stuff into their apartment.

The week ahead looks good. I have my doctor appt on Thursday and I will want to discuss the dex stuff and my thinning hair from either dex or Velcade. I’ve lost almost 40% of my hair and it’s quite upsetting. I’m not sure if it’s dex or Velcade or both. I checked on the Facebook myeloma group and a few people did say it was a side effect of Velcade. But a couple of people said Dex. And then I vaguely remembered going to my primary care doctor years ago when I was in treatment(2015) for hair loss and I remember him saying probably dex. The biggest problem with dex is raising my blood pressure so that’s what I’ll focus on. Either lowering the dose or dropping it and see how my numbers go. Of course, I’ll see what his expert opinion is.

Other than that I plan on swimming and the gym and the library.

We haven’t heard from the people who were going to do the bathroom so I guess we’ll need to start over looking for someone to at least get the plumbing done. sigh:(….

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, Gratitude, swimming by

I do appreciate and am thankful we live in such a beautiful area. I’ve traveled the country numerous times(driving) and I don’t think there is a more beautiful area than the Sierras. Of course, every area has beauty. I loved living in Tucson in the 70’s with the saguaros, ocotillos and, the native American vibe. I also loved Santa Fe with its amazing architecture. Having grown up in NY, I did love the woods behind our house where I spent many hours but overall, to me, the East Coast is weathered and old and the towns seemed so close together. Of course, we have LA and San Francisco in California but where we are we have lots of national forests and space. I need space. I need space around me.

I am thankful then for being able to drive to Roseville( lots of people) to go to the pool but then in 20 + minutes be back home with space around me.

I’m so grateful that my children are happy and have good jobs which they love. They both found ways to pay for their educations and were lucky to get good jobs. My daughter won a full scholarship to UC Santa Cruz. And for her Library Science degree, she did some student loans. My son cash flowed his degree at CSUS and is now employed by the state. I’m very proud of them for their accomplishments. Nothing was just handed to them but we didn’t have the money anyway. I’m sure if we did we would have paid gladly. We did help where we could with buying books, and other things we could swing.

I’m grateful for a supportive husband who does so much around here. He just finished most of the weed eating and it’s a lot. Two of our neighbors haven’t done any weed eating and their grass is 1 1/2 ft high and a fire danger. Hopefully, they will get to it.

Having gratitude for the small things in life, I think, makes all the difference in the world. Yes, when the big things come along it’s easy to be thankful for those but it’s really the everyday small things that make all the difference. Watching the sun come up at an earlier time every day, the way the light is changing in the evening to that Maxwell Parish blue this time of year, and a thousand other ways to appreciate the life we’re given.

On a political note, I’m thankful that the judge in tRumps trial is fair and ruling with the law on things such as the gag order. Anyone else would be sitting in jail for contempt of the court.