Category Archives: swimming

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, Pantry, swimming, Walking by

Yesterday was just glorious. Our temperature almost reached 70. It was so nice to sit outside. Alas, we are now headed to some really cold weather. Oh well, soon enough.

I had a great swim on Friday but the pool was packed with the high school team so that wasn’t too great. But I had an end lane so I was fine. It is going to take a while to get back to what I was doing but so far the swimming hasn’t negatively impacted my knee. Next week with Dex/Velcade it will be hard to get a swim in.

After swimming I went over to Winco which is across the street and bought what I needed for the week. Also, we’re planning on Costco because last week I had to go buy coffee at Starbucks. So coffee will be the main reason to get to Costco. I think after that we will go down to the library and pick up my holds and drop off my books. Maybe we’ll go to Paris(Bakery) for a coffee and croissant.

Yesterday, I watered all the house plants and moved a few around. As the sun gets higher it comes in certain windows more and plants need to be moved from direct sun. I also washed a few more windows.

Today after we walk, I will get the sourdough boule in the oven. I made turkey chili yesterday so we’ll have that with some homemade bread and a salad. I have a can of vegetarian chili I can make for B. I want to use up all the stuff that was bought in the pandemic or after. For instance, yesterday I opened a bbq sauce that was best by last year. Normally that wouldn’t bother me, but the seal inside looked suspicious so I tossed it. That’s the kind of thing I want to toss or use.

Overall, I think February’s budget went well. The cash envelope system is working although there are some tweaks I need to make. I didn’t get enough cash for groceries so I used the debit card and need to adjust that amount in the budget. I think it works well if you’re putting accurate amounts in the envelopes. Amazon is tricky because that’s more of a virtual envelope and it goes on a cc. So I might start budgeting $100 a month and then move that to the CC. It’s tweaking these few things that will make it work. Plus, you have to be willing to work with cash and lots of people don’t want to. Also for annual bills, since we’re on a fixed income, there is only so much I can put in the envelopes and probably it won’t add up to the full amount. I’m hoping by fall, I will be able to get some of these fully funded. Another thing people do ( from Youtube) is when they start getting a lot of cash for some of these envelopes, they take the cash to the bank and put it in a high yield account. I think that’s something we need to do by fall as well. I might check with our Credit Union as I think I just saw on their website a high yield savings account. It’s amazing what some people have in cash envelopes but of course, they are usually 2 income people and getting regular paychecks from jobs.

Well, I need to get the bread in the oven before I go to the Auburn gym.

Thankful Thursday

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

Admittedly, I’m feeling a bit stressed this week by a number of things. Mostly due to some medical stuff that still needs sorting and of course, my increase in Kappa light chains in one month. I try to take some deep breaths and tell myself this too will pass. I’m grateful that I’m usually able to change my attitude towards things but this week there were number of things that just added up. I’m hoping by next week things are clearer.

I’m very thankful to walk without my walking stick and I’ve increased my steps too. The PT does seem to be strengthening my knee. I have 2 more sessions. My leg does ache occasionally but I’m still trying to power through and walk and swim.

I’m so excited and grateful to be back in the pool. I’m going later and it’s a whole different crowd than the 6:30 one. It’s ok for now because I’m still only in the water 20 minutes or so. Next week I’ll try and increase to 30 minutes.

We have sunshine!! It’s chilly but after all the gloomy days the sun is nice to see and it does cheer me up. Plus the daffodils are all up. I picked some and filled 2 vases with them for the table. I can also see the flowering cherry is budding and soon will be blooming.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, decluttering, Flylady, freezer cooking, simplicity, swimming, Walking by

I was able to walk the .5 mile today again. So that’s some improvement. I’m taking it slow but still, I am thrilled just to be out there. I hope to get to 3/4 mile this week.

I went and did the Auburn gym this morning for the upper body. I’d like to get to the Roseville gym once this week as the weights are much nicer and there is more variety.

Last night we had a pressure canned vegetable soup with canned kidney beans and some sourdough garlic toast. Quite delicious. I’m planning on pressure canning lentil soup this week as that was one of our favorites. I might try canning French onion soup but not sure yet how much we would use that.

I pulled some random food items from the freezer to use in the next couple of days. There’s 1 ready meal of mushroom crepes, 1 chicken enchiladas, 1 pulled pork, and one rice casserole. So there are some choices for everyone.

We had quite a bit of rain overnight but today is mostly dry till this evening. It’s not that cold though so that’s a plus.

With Monday a holiday, I have PT on Tuesday. I need to figure out how I want to plan the rest of the week. I definitely want 1 swim day, 1 gym day and ? I also need to get to Trader Joe’s for a few things or Winco. I think one of us is going to have to hit Costco because we will need coffee.

My friend suggested watching the Longmire series on Netflix. But we don’t have Netflix so I checked the library and they had all the seasons. So far we really like the characters and the storyline. It’s certainly not a new series but in the same line as Dark Winds ( Hillerman series).

The Flylady zone is the bedroom if you’re keeping track. I just have some dusting to do and that’s about it. I may go through a bin under the bed and see what can be consolidated. Ideally, I’d like just one bin of things to save for the kids if they ever want them down the road. Neither of my children are sentimental about stuff like that but there are a few things I’d like to keep just in case. (haha, just in case).

Friday Things

Posted in cancer, cash envelopes, frugalism, Myeloma, swimming by

I plan to go down and swim today. I’m going to go about 45 minutes before the pool closes and try to do 15 minutes or so. I was going to go to the gym but decided that working out in the pool swimming would give me a ‘whole’ body workout.

Out internet is down. The modem stopped working yesterday( I think ATT was working on the lines and screwed it up). So this is courtesy of my hot spot. What a PITA and they won’t be here till Monday:(

I’m trying to work through being depressed about my Kappa numbers. It’s difficult to handle and even though I know ‘this too will pass’, it’s a bummer. There’s not much I can do until the next cycle and labs because we don’t know what they will do. But I will ask Dr.L to go every 2 weeks and see what that does. Still very disappointing.

Frugal wise, not much new. I need some new clothes but am holding off till I have more in my cash envelope. Probably in March, I’ll get what I need which is a new Polar fleece, 1 pair of Levi’s ( that’s pretty much all I wear besides my workout leggings), a new pair of Hokas, and a couple of T-shirts.

I went down to the Holiday and spent 60 on food. Mostly this was odd stuff like Bubbies pickles, rice noodles, greek yogurt, and a sourdough loaf from Truckee Sourdough. There must have been a few more things but I can’t remember now.

B got gas at Costco so that saved some money. We’ve been doing this regularly and it’s at least .50 a gallon cheaper there than Auburn.

Most all the money bills are done except water which is later in the month. So no extra spending overall. I used a gift card to get a coffee at Starbucks but that’s about it.

Here are the 2 books I got at the FOL Roseville.

This added up to $5 and I used personal spending money. The Linda McCarthy book was interesting to look through.

Well, I’m off to get ready for the day plus figure out what we’re doing for dinner.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, frugalism, minimalism, swimming by

I think we’re on track with no spend/low spend even with groceries. With me not going out 3 days a week, it cuts down on driving/gas and I don’t go to the store.

I know we bought some wine for Christmas but I think that was it. B went into Target to buy 4 different sliced cheeses as we were out and Target’s brand is quite good and the price very good. Plus I needed Weimans stainless steel wipes too. I think that added up to $42. Since those are essentials they don’t count as extra buying.

I added a few more dollars to some cash envelopes, like $20 for car maintenance, $50 for DMV registration, and some other misc. ones. So I’m quite pleased with how it’s going. It may take a while to fully load these as our income is limited so no extra is coming in.

I wrote up as I always do our Minimalist Christmas dinner and gifts. I think I did really well not overdoing anything. Each person got 4-5 gifts and nothing too expensive. B got his garden Berkies and my daughter got a nice organic cotton PJ set from Garnet Hill. I got my son a Burberry scarf from eBay. I was concerned it was a knockoff but it’s pretty nice and doesn’t have any of the telltale signs of a fake. ( I guess the red stripe is blurry on the fakes.)

Today is another home day on Dex for me. I’ve done my morning routine, swish and swipe the bathroom, LR zone with windows washed, everything tidy and I’m making an apple pie filling crumble with oats so S can have it instead ofminimal pastry. The apple pie filling is what I made at the beginning of the month with apples a friend of my son gave us from their trees.

Tomorrow I plan to swim although it will be shortened as I don’t want to be set back again with my leg. I need to get gas at Costco and then stop in TJ’s for gluten-free bread for S. I had bought her the gluten-free madeleines and she said they were very good so I’ll get them again too.

Gus sitting in the cat tower on the winter solstice.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, camping, cooking, swimming, Uncategorized by

We were both on Reserve America at 6:59 to get a spot in Tahoe. Barclay won the lottery and got spot 12 which has a nice view of Lake Tahoe!!! I didn’t get the one I wanted but since we got one, it’s all good. That takes care of June camping. We might still try for something else but not Tahoe. Tahoe in July and August is not where I want to be. Too many people!!!

My swim yesterday was really nice. The pool was surprisingly empty and I got the lane near the steps, which right now with my knee is good. The water was also really nice. I may have overdone it as I felt pretty wiped out when I got home. 😦

On the agenda for today is cooking up some baby potatoes I have(from Costco), baking a sweet potato, and making some brown rice for the week. I still plan on using pantry items this week. Last night we had one of the quarts of the lentil soup I pressure canned and it was delicious. I’m also thawing the Diestal turkey I have from last year and I will roast that in a few days. I wanted that out of the freezer and cooked. Dinners will be sliced turkey, leftovers, soup and then I’ll make some broth.

That’s ice on the fish pond!!

Gus looking cute for Christmas!! That’s Bean getting squished behind him.

Giant Gus is outside on a leash which is a little small for him!

Tomorrow I plan to go to the library and hit the gym too.

Simple Sunday

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

It was a cold morning walk with lots of frost at the park but no one else was there. 🙂

Yesterday, I baked 6 of the small sugar pumpkins and then made puree to freeze. I have 3 small ones left and I may or may not do them.

Then I made ‘Goldies Spinach Soup’ from the mystery book series by Diane Mott Davidson. It’s a great soup although she doesn’t puree hers and I do. No cooking today so I’ll just pull something from the freezer. I have a curry to use and some jasmine rice I froze so I think that’s what I’ll do.

Today, I plan to go to the Auburn gym and do upper body weights. After that, maybe put up some Christmas decorations. We’ll see.

This week has only my Velcade appt, a Roseville gym/library day, and one swim day.

We watched ‘Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, a classic Thanksgiving movie. Then the other night we watched ‘Knives Out’ which is one of my favorite Thanksgiving movies. It’s not really about Thanksgiving but it’s fall back East and looks like how it did when I was growing up.

We’ve finished all the leftovers from Thanksgiving and I made up 2 freezer meals. I’ve made some notes for next year to further simplify the meal.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, Credit cards, meal planning, swimming by

I have the budget set for December and it all looks good. I do need to order propane next week so that will be an added expense. Plus we will have property taxes to pay.

We had to buy a battery for the VW as it the cold mornings were taking a toll and the battery was 3 years old. So that too was an unexpected cost. I used cash from my home EF for that.

I have one more cc payment for Barclays crown and then that will be done. Crowns are so expensive( it was $1800) and we do not have any dental insurance. We were paying for California Delta Dental but then almost all the dentists here have stopped taking it including ours, so everything is OOP.

We’re set with food for at least a few weeks except for salad stuff and some fruit. I’ll probably stop at Winco for that when I swim next. I plan on using lots of the freezer/pantry meals to use things up.

Today is still a home / dex day so I plan on doing some tidying and putting away fall stuff and maybe get out a Christmas box or two. It seems like the dex is hitting me harder on the day after ( like last night) and my face is pretty red still. But it is what it is so onward I go.

Thanksgiving was lovely and the Diestal turkey breast was perfect. I’d highly recommend ordering from Diestal to get it. It was shipped with ice packets and was still frozen when I got it. They do a very good product and it’s not factory farmed.

Well, off to start my day.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, cooking, swimming, Uncategorized, Walking by

We had a ton of rain yesterday but this morning is clear. We had a lovely walk in the park and I did a mile. I’m not back up to 2 yet with my knee.

The pool was quite busy yesterday and will be closed all week. Maybe that’s why it was so busy. I got in and out ok but did ask the guy in the lane closest to the stairs whether I could share as I didn’t want to try and crouch down to get in over at the far lanes. So that worked out well.

This morning I have my mammogram, I know on a Sunday?? But they had an opening so I thought that’ll work out ok. I’m not sure whether I’ll go to the gym or not. I also want to bake some brownies today and then I have some more reorganizing in the kitchen I want to do. I also want to bake a loaf of WWW sandwich bread on the dough cycle of the bread machine and then bake in the oven.

This will be a different week with Thanksgiving on Thursday. My infusion is Wednesday and I’m hoping traffic won’t be too bad.

Friday Things

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, frugalism, meal planning, Pantry, swimming, Walking by

It’s been one of those up and down weeks. Overall, a good week but still some down time. Maybe because my routine with swimming and walking being interrupted, I felt out of sorts.

We did a walk this morning and it was very nice. No one there and it was just light so no stars to speak of. I got around twice so I’m pleased with that. Tomorrow I plan to swim although it will be short, I’m thinking 20 minutes to see how my knee feels after that. Next week being Thanksgiving will also change things up.

Frugal-wise, I’ve been home more so less gas in the cars being used. Plus we’ve doubled up going to Costco with my infusion shot so that saves gas too.

Costco was $400 but that included B’s case of Sierra pale Ale and about a $100 in nonfood. So actually pretty good. I bought extra holiday things like smoked salmon, biscotti on sale, extra butter, and a lovely English cheddar that I plan to make Welsh Rarebit with, and I can’t remember the other stuff but it was a good haul. I also went to Winco to get 2 gift cards for my son and his friend for Christmas. Food wise I spent $18 on some ramen, chocolate, and boxed stuffing for Thanksgiving.

Other than that no other shopping. B and I are going out this morning to get a few plastic pots so I can repot some houseplants, and then to Target to get shower curtains, and then over to Panera for a coffee date.

I’m planning on making a pizza tonight and then the rest of our meals this week will be out of the pantry or freezer to make room. We have a lot in there. On Tuesday I used one of the shelf stable chicken chili verdes for burritos and it was delicious. I aslo had Ranch Gordo Pinquitos on the side. The food pantry is getting used and that’s a good thing.

We have rain on the way tonight and for all tomorrow but I think we’re ready for fall to kick into high gear with cooler temperatures and rain. So far it has been a glorious fall.