Category Archives: travel

Simple Sunday

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

Somehow Frugal Friday got away from me as I went down to the gym and when I got home other things needed doing.

I did a small Winco shop after swimming yesterday. $109 including some wine. It was salad stuff and some pantry/frozen items like hash browns. The pool was amazing again with lanes even open. Maybe some of the die-hard swimmers are doing their other exercises outside I it’s been pretty nice out. Anyway, I sure appreciate having my own lane.

This morning we had a nice walk and once again we seem to be the only predawn walkers right now. Yay!!! It was cold but nice.

Then I put the sourdough boule in the oven which I had preheated while we walked so it was ready to go. After the bread was done I headed into the Auburn gym. Again, there seemed to be fewer people than last week so maybe the nice weather has everybody going to Home Depot for gardening stuff?

Once I got home, I made up a batch of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies which are still baking. I froze two logs of cookie dough for later. I also am soaking some Rancho Gordo beans(Marcella), and a white bean as I plan to pressure can them tomorrow.

This coming week is just regular stuff. Next week I have both my labs and doctor appt. My eye scan showed my macular pucker about the same. I’m still on the fence about the surgery but when the time comes and I need cataract surgery, then I will need to get it done. I guess I’m just scared to do it.

Well, nothing new here. Oh, after a week of trying for camp spots in Tahoe, we finally got one for the end of September. Geez, such an ordeal to get spots.

Another storm rolling in.

Posted in camping, cooking, swimming, travel by

Today was going to be our travel day. With the rain forecast and high wind warnings both here and in Capitola, I’m glad we decided to forego our trip down there. Now tomorrow looks quite nice but flooding just doesn’t recede overnight. In light of all this, I do think it was the right decision.

Today is a home day and I’m glad to be doing some home things. I plan on pressure canning pinto beans and that will take most of the morning. I want to reorganize my canned goods in the wine crate pantry and pull things that might be close to expiration so they can go to the food bank.

Now that I have the Ivar system for the canned goods complete, I can start to do more pressure canning. It’s great to be able to see what I have left and it’s all organized. I did use my raw silk curtain as a cover when I don’t necessarily want to see all the pantry items. I had B put up a small curtain rod on the top edge to hang a rod. Usually, I keep it open but I like the option of the visual of the raw silk. After this, I plan to pick one recipe to do like a ready meal. Probably a soup of some kind. I do have some split peas I need to use so maybe that will be first up.

I went to the gym yesterday and I plan on swimming tomorrow. The pool sent out an email that it will be closed for most of June and maybe July as they plan to resurface it. Their other pool is competition size and is used for swim lessons. I’ll need to check how they will do lap swimming and the times.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, home stuff, meal planning, travel, Uncategorized by

Going over to Napa and spending relatively freely wasn’t frugal by any means. But we ticked off the boxes of what we wanted to do and it was fun for us. Since we generally do not go out to eat or buy expensive wines( ok, expensive to us is like $15 a bottle) it was an adventure.

It’s SNOWING right now. We decided to walk anyway and it was magical. Big fluffy snowflakes, the park all white, the white crane against the snow. Magical. Of course, that means no swim or gym day. But that’s ok, it is what it is. I’ll try for tomorrow. If it’s just raining, I’ll go. Right now I-80 is closed in both directions so if it opens up the freeway will probably be busy.

That’s the grey heron. The white one flew off across the pond.

One good thing is won’t have to go for any groceries except half and half. Both our containers of cream went off before their buy date. Weird. Plus I bought them both down at our Holiday Market. I have some milk so that’ll work for now. I’ll probably plan a Winco trip or Trader Joe’s for next week after a swim morning.

I started a big batch of pizza dough and will use one ball tonight and freeze the rest. I think I need to make some sauce though.

I’ve got March’s budget done. Everything looks about the same. I might pay the property tax just to get it done since I have the money in our annual bills account.

The (hoarder ) neighbor’s house has had some activity with a junk removal truck there at least 2x’s that we saw. I really do wonder what happened. I know she was quite unwell physically but to live in that garbage that we saw all over the floors is pretty awful. Would it be an eviction if the house was condemned? It’s sad really. I think that her home health aide, that was there at least 3x a week if not every day, would have called a family member or something so she could have gotten the help she needed. Years ago when she was an oxycodone addict we tried to help and offered to clean out some things and she refused. That was over 10 years ago or so.

Well, it’s still snowing. I swished the bathroom, started the sheets in the washer, did the pizza dough and am having the Eufy (the robotic vacuum) an inexpensive version of the Roomba vacuum the floors. I saw this on the Non Consumer’s advocate’s blog. And if she bought it she must have thought it a good thing as she NEVER buys anything if she doesn’t have to. I will say it does do a darn good job. It runs about $140. I think she got a sale and bought it for $99.

Friday Things

Posted in books, California, camping, meal planning, Pantry, reading, travel, Uncategorized by

Well, our trip to Napa has been on /off again till this morning when we checked the weather again and it looks ok. My concern was for the rain/snow here. But now it seems like that will hold off till Thursday. I guess we’ll see what it is tomorrow because you need 48 hrs cancellation. So I think that will be ok. It’s saying rain here Tuesday but not in Napa.

The gym was good although it seemed there were some new people I hadn’t seen before. I chatted with one of the guys from the pool and it seems he goes to the pool almost every day. The traffic wasn’t too bad for a Friday.

I just finished rereading for the hundredth( okay maybe 10th time) time Mary Stewart’s “The Crystal Cave’. I happened to see this in the Free Little Library at the park. Those books were a huge influence on me. I loved all things Arthurian especially Merlin. I guess I always have had my head in the clouds. As matter of fact, it was around the time when I was pregnant with Sachi that we called the baby “Em” which was short for Emryus, Merlin’s name was g Ambrosius. Fun fact. I’m going to hit the bookstore and see if I can get the second in the trilogy, ‘The Hollow Hills”.

I’m not planning on a pizza tonight so I’ll need to figure something out. ???? The whole pantry challenge has been great to do and we really used up stuff. There are still a few more random things and I still have lots of shelf-stable soups and meals. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do this summer /fall for food storage. Some things worked great and others I won’t do again. It’s a bit of trial and error really.

I did come to the conclusion to NOT get a meat/bread slicer or electric knife. I guess it really came down to not wanting another appliance. So it took a while to process but I’m there now.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, camping, Flylady, travel, Uncategorized, Walking by

A quiet Sunday. We walked and it was lovely in the park. No one there but us and the Canada geese.

I did the bathroom zone and then spent more time(wasted) looking at reviews on meat slicers for bread and whether an electric knife would be better. I’m undecided. I baked another sourdough and this one was some whole wheat. I timed cutting the other boule with my Mercer bread knife, which came in at under 4 minutes. Most of the slices were even. I guess one advantage of the bread slicer is it’s doing the work for you and not your arm.:)

After that, I went to the Anytime fitness gym. It wasn’t too busy today. Today’s Superbowl so maybe lots of people were doing other things.

This is another just the normal stuff week. I always appreciate the ‘normal’ weeks. Next week we’ll be in Napa so that’s exciting. I think we’re going to drive up to St Helena maybe to a winery. It’s only two nights so I know I want to go to the Rancho Gordo bean store and also back to the Public marketplace we liked so much. And there’s the river trail that we only did part of.

This week I’ll do a recheck of our taxes and then get ready to pay the little we owe and send it off. I suppose I could wait but not sure I need to. I’d rather they be done and gone.

Well, that’s it for this week.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, budgets, California, camping, Flylady, meal planning, Pantry, travel, Uncategorized by

Another rainy Sunday.

I went to the gym in Auburn(Anytime Fitness) and did the treadmill and weights. Then I went to Safeway for some groceries to tide us over till we do Costco.

So far the menu planning for the pantry this week is:

Cheese/chile tamales from the freezer( used up the last 4) with refried beans and salad

Beer Brauts from the freezer( the last pack) with peppers, sauerkraut, canned baked beans( my shelf stable beans I canned, and Boca burger for B.

Chickpea curry over brown rice with broccoli( using up broccoli)

Tofu burgers

Chicken noodle soup/ lentil veggie soup

I’ll see what else is in the freezer and add a few more meals. I probably can’t get thru all February but I know I can do another week at least.

I’m back making some sourdough and have done a few loaves already. I plan to freeze 1/2 of each loaf so we have bread ready for toasting or grilled cheese.

I’ll see what else is in the freezer and add a few more meals. I probably can’t get thru all of February but I know I can do another week at least.

I’m back making some sourdough and have done a few loaves already. I plan to freeze 1/2 of each loaf so we have bread ready for toasting or grilled cheese.

There’s nothing on the agenda this week so It’ll just be normal stuff. B did book us a reservation at Napa RV in a few weeks. There are full hook ups which is always a treat and that’ll give us a chance to take Rubi out for the first time this season. It’s only 2 nights but it’s also only an hour and a half away. Maybe with towing. We really enjoyed our stay there last time and knew we wanted to go back. Unless there’s a really terrible storm we’ll go even with a little rain.

The Flylady zone is the kitchen if you want to do Flylady. Just set a timer for 15 minutes and declutter, wipe and clear counters, be sure there are no dishes in the sink or drainer, tidy shelves too. Just do what you can in 15 minutes and then do it again tomorrow. I have a laminated sheet that has my chores for the kitchen and I off each one when I’m done.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, camping, cooking, travel, Walking by

A lovely walk this morning with NO ONE there. Definitely unusual these days. Still, it was lovely and the stars and Jupiter were very bright.

We are having the most beautiful fall weather. It’s perfect. Cool at night and then the days are golden and warm.

So, I researched why there was some ‘siphoning’ with the Vegetable soups I pressure canned and the reason was the jiggling ( the weighted gauge)was going too fast and I didn’t reduce the heat. They are still safe to eat but did lose some liquid. So yesterday I got the pressure canner up to 10lbs of pressure and did that on high heat. Then when the gauge started jiggling( that’s what it’s called), I moved it to the middle burner which is a lower heat factor. I measured the jiggles at 4-5 a minute and that’s where it should be. So I wrote all that down in the pressure canner book. I also got a new book that is quite excellent with lots of recipes. The next one I’ll try is called white bean ragout. It has bacon in it but I’ll leave that out. There’s also a lentil soup with sausage but again I’ll, leave the sausage out and add that later if the meat eaters want that. Most of the time everything we eat is vegetarian.

You can see the reduction of liquid. It’s been fun to learn about all this.

Here’s a picture of us going over to Apple Hill. This is Sutter Mill where gold was discovered. We did our Rosh Hoshanah thing with the bread crumbs in the river. That is the South Fork of the American river behind us. Oh, and there were APPLES at all in Apple Hill because of the frost we had back in April.

I made zucchini bread in the new Lodge. The Lodge loaf pan is a real star for crisping up the edges.

Well, I have to go get food and stuff ready to take out to Rubi, and then we’ll leave for Tahoe. Trailering does take longer and usually, it’s about 1 hour 45 minutes to South lake but with the trailer, it takes well over 2 hours- 2 /12 hours.

September 30th and another turn around the sun.

Posted in budgeting, California, camping, cooking, home stuff, simple foods, travel, Uncategorized by

I’ve got to say it is VERY Weird to turn 70. I’m not sure if that means anything at all since you can’t stop time unless you’re dead and gone, I suppose. Well, I’m at a good place in my life. I’m swimming and doing the weights(although I’d like to be at the Rec center more), walking, and going out with the RV whenever possible. We have our SS and that covers most of what our monthly bills are and our 2 children pay us ‘rent’ and that covers the incidentals. I feel very grateful to have what we need at this point in our lives. Down the road , who knows really.

Yesterday I used the pressure canner again and made vegetable soup. For my birthday, my daughter bought me the ALL-Clad stock pot which is 16 qts and needed to make large amounts of prepared food for canning. I also got from her the new Alexa which is fun. My son got me a Lodge loaf pan which looks great. Very sweet of him. He really always thinks of the greatest gifts. I’m terrible at coming up with ideas.

I’m getting more comfortable with the pressure canner. This recipe made 7 qts and processed for 85 minutes. I bring a chair into the kitchen and keep an eye on it although nothing seems untoward. This morning I’ll wash the jars and label. I had one jar ‘siphon’ a little which is some seepage. It doesn’t make the canned product unsafe just slightly lower liquid in the jar so I’m planning on using that in the next few days. I’m really excited about learning this new skill. The Mirro canner seems to be working fine. I went and checked out the All American but still not ready to do that. Maybe next year. I ordered another pressure canner book so maybe they’ll be some new recipes to try. Ball has a few in their book and online but it seems limited.

B bought me some lovely flowers too.

On to Frugal Friday…

We went to Costco last Sunday and stocked up with coffee, bagels, bread, and lots of other stuff I can’t remember and,non food stuff like AA batteries, laundry soap, dish soap, TP etc. This all goes on October’s food budget. I decided to up our budget to $800 and I think that will be the right amount. We’ll see:)

We took Buggie in for that alignment that was needed but the mechanic( a different garage) couldn’t do it because he couldn’t get the bolt or something undone. So I guess we’re going to just leave it for now. He said it would be @ $900. After the expensive other garage stuff, I’m kinda done for now. I only use Bugs to go to Auburn and maybe drive 1500 miles a year at the most. So I’m not too worried. We did get the 2 new front tires though.

We were able to get a reservation at Nevada Beach for next week so we’re heading up there for a few days. The weather looks perfect. I also booked New Brighton for March. It might a little early to go there but you never can tell with March weather.

Simple Sunday on a Monday

Posted in Blood test, California, camping, covid-19, Lake tahoe, meal planning, swimming, travel by

We left Tahoe in the smoke and came home to smoke. Ugh….One day the AQI was 500, which is pretty bad. Today is also not looking good. Our weather is cooler so hopefully, that will help the firefighters.

My daughter went and picked up my VW on Friday and didn’t notice the fan was on full blast, and when I went to turn it down it wasn’t working. I tried a few times and then just decided I would need to confront the garage because it was working fine when I brought it in. So I went in this morning, a little defensive, and said this was working when I left my VW here and now it’s not. She said, we didn’t work on that and I said that may be but my fan control is not working now and it was when I brought it in. I said I would like it fixed. I haven’t heard back from them; hopefully, it is a minor thing. I better not get charged. And there was a diagnostic charge I said don’t bother with and they have it on there so another confrontation, which I do not do well.

I canned BBQ sauce yesterday with the last of the tomatoes. It’s way early for them to be done but this summer has been so weird that it’s just one more thing. It’s thinner than I wanted so I wrote on the lid to add ketchup to thicken it.

Yesterday was my sister, Heidi’s birthday. She would have turned 74. It is so strange how she just had a flare up of the interstitial lung disease and died. She had been coping with it for a number of years with no flare ups. Well, I guess when it’s time, it’s time. ( that’s just me rationalizing).

Tomorrow I have my labs and so I should have my kappa light chain numbers by Friday. I see my doctor next week. Then I scheduled my omicron booster for Friday. I didn’t have any reaction last time so fingers crossed this time. But each time is probably different so who knows.

We’re still on the fence about going to Southern Ca next month. I guess we’ll just keep sifting through our feelings and fiances about it.

My son is off on a cool adventure staying in a fire lookout up in the McCloud district( way Northern Ca). This can be booked like a camping spot and is fairly hard to get a reservation. Back in the 70’s we often went to the Duncan Peak fire lookout especially since our friend Shelley was the lookout person. I haven’t been in years and years and my son said all that’s left is the foundation as all lookouts are done with remote viewing.

I just looked outside and everything is a weird yellow color from the fire. I’m sure the air quality is awful. I was going to swim today but the pool is closed also due to the AQI.

I still need to plan some meals this week and write a grocery list. I need salad stuff so maybe I’ll do Winco for organic spring mixes. I did see a recipe on a youtube channel for a green soup. Lots of veggies and spinach and then blended. Green soup is one of my favorites and this one also had cauliflower and broccoli.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, camping, cooking, Lake tahoe, swimming, travel by

It’s already hot out so I started one of the coolers on low. Today is only 103! haha,, but Tuesday still looks like the worst at 108. There’s a big fire up near Mt Shasta, in the Weed area. That is a lot of cattle/ranch land. I saw that some structures burned:( What a difficult weather pattern we’re in with global warming. I hope it’s not too late to reverse some things.

Our walk was very nice with only us and the stray kitties. That doesn’t happen very often anymore. I’m not sure if we’ll walk tomorrow or just wait till we’re settled in camp and then go for a walk up there. B has Rubi ready to go. Tomorrow I’ll put all the food in and clothes and prescriptions etc. No hurray as we won’t leave till @ 9:30-10am.

I’ve done a quick go thru go all the zones so my daughter just has to keep up on swish and swipe and vacuuming. She takes care of the litter boxes anyway. Food is up to them although there is plenty in the fridge and freezer. The only night she works late is Tuesday but my son will be home to take care of kitties and things.

This morning I made the brown rice to stuff the peppers. The peppers are from Costco, the organic ones. So the mix is brown rice, some tomato confit, sauteed onions,( I forgot garlic), a bit of grated cheese, some green hatch chile sausage crumbled and sauteed, and finally some chopped nuts. The veggies ones are the same minus the bit of crumbled sausage.

So this is in the crock pot with some San Marzano tomatoes. In camp, I will use the Staub and simmer for an hour.

I finished another dishcloth,#3. It’s gray and my favorite so far.

Here’s the ecru-colored one.

I’m planning on taking my knitting camping and also my embroidery. I bought a kit from Walmart ( very inexpensive, like 4.99,) and it’s a cat so that’ll be fun.

We watched Jaws last night. Such a great classic summer movie. We haven’t watched the new Amazon Tolkien one yet. Maybe we can stream it up at Tahoe.

Well, that’s a wrap for today. I’ll have a full week off from swimming and the gym. Then it’ll feel like I’m starting all over :(. We will walk a lot in Tahoe but that’s quite different from doing weights and the pool. When I get back I have labs on Tuesday so I won’t swim that day( Tuesday is my regular swim day). The pool is only open for lap swimming till 9:30 so it’s too rushed to go down after labs. I’ll go Wednesday.