Category Archives: Uncategorized

A very sad passing.

Posted in Death, Uncategorized by

I ,along with the many many others, are reeling from the passing of Teresa Kasner. She passed away quite suddenly and frankly, it’s a shock. I’m sure her husband Dayle is numb with grief. Her wonderful children and grandchildren too. I’m sure her little beloved Cairn terrier , Mocha, is lost without her.

She was an excellent blogger with posts that were always interesting. I was inspired by many of them. I bought lavender soaps from the farm across her road when she said how terrific they were. Aslo, I loved those little violet bottles from England so I went on Ebay and bought one too. She really was talented for bringing in her home life, Dayles cooking and lots more to all of us.

Life is precious.

We will miss you Teresa.

Friday news!

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This has nothing to do with being Frugal friday or no spend.

We bought the Coleman Rubicon RV. it’s not in yet but we got to see one at the dealer and it is really nice. It’s 16 ft. The weight is more than I would like(38OOLBS dry weight) for the Santa Fe but it should do the job adequately. Barclay actually called the Hyundai dealer and checked. Remember this is a 2014 so not new. If it becomes a problem then next year we’ll have to look at a used truck of some sort. The biggest challenge would be going up to Tahoe or any big steep climb. We are paying to have anti sway put in and the whole new hitch.

I’m actually not to freaked out at dropping our savings down but it still is scary. The main thought I’ve had is “if not now when? ” . All trailer sales are off the charts and I think waiting a few years would change that, but it doesn’t change our age and we want to go out and do things while we can. Life can change in a moment and we ,of all people, know that.

We still need to actually do the money transfer , sign final papers etc. They set up a class for you and they go thru everything you need to know. I generally get pretty wiped out by those things so it’ll be interesting to see how it goes. I know I can’t do Velcade day or dex day so,….it’ll need to be a different day.

I’ll post some pictures when I see it at the dealer again.

WE ARE FREAKING EXCITED!!!!!

Kitchen zone

Posted in Flylady, home improvement, home stuff, Uncategorized by

I did the kitchen zone this morning. I actually timed it and it took an hour. I still need to water the plants and do the overhead lights but basically it’s all done. The bread stuff usually fits in the one bin but since we’d just been to Costco there was an overflow of ummm, danish things.

The new stove hood is great and I can reach the buttons/functions so that’s a big plus. We’re still hoping we can re do the counters with Ikea cabinets this fall but right now nothing is in stock. When we go in next time I’d like to ask the sales person if we can order and just wait.

This area will stay the same as it’s functional and we don’t need it different.

The top shelves you see will be replaced with boards and the same brackets I bought for the Ball jar shelves. I’ll also have B dropped them a few inches so the tops are more accessible. The shelves will also come all the way to the window.

This area will stay the same too as we just added that bottom shelf.

I wouldn’t mind a bigger window but probably that won’t happen. We will get a window though that opens up instead of sideways.

This is some of my All Clad. Barclay bought me a set when we finished building our house in Foresthill in 1988. If you ever need pans to last a lifetime, All Clad is it. I also have 2 frying pans and large stockpot.

The stove hood is a nice improvement.

As I’ve said the kitchen zone is my biggest zone mostly due to the work area. There’s the stove, hood, shelves, cabinets etc. so it definitely takes some time. I plan on getting a new stove sometime in the next year too.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, cooking, frugalism, Uncategorized, Walking by

The sunrise on our daily walk.

It was a frugalish week. No major expenses came up except buying the paint for the garden shed and the fence( redwood stain) but my daughter paid for these as part of her monthly rent. It worked out well especially since paint is so expensive.

I did do the Trader Joe’s shop but that will carry over to May’s food budget. So far the month looks good on the food budget. I’m definitely under $600. Separating wine/beer and non food has given me a better picture of what is just food. Of course, there wasn’t a big Costco shop this month. We are planning Costco on Sunday as the coffee is almost gone. So I suspect that will come in @ $400. We have our rebate to use so that will reduce the cash flow out.

Here are some of the lilacs blooming.

We both submitted our LLS copays and we should be getting that refunded as part of our grant with them. I’m absolutely sure we would not be making ends meet if we had to pay the medical copays. So the LLS grants( done yearly) are a big savings for us.

Tonight is pizza night and I’m doing a homemade one with TJ’s dough. I have to say the pizza dough is one of their best deals at $1.19( I think) it may have gone up. But you get 2 pizzzas out of one dough and the freeze really well.

I’m still debating getting the outside pizza oven. I think we’d get our money’s worth out of it but still it is a one use thing which I don’t normally like to do. But we calculated 10 pizzas at $30 would pay for it. Since we have pizza almost every Friday night it would pay for itself pretty quickly. The big advantage is it heats up to 925 degrees in 15 minutes. You’ll never get a conventional oven to do that.

Simple Sunday

Posted in cooking, Flylady, home stuff, simple foods, Uncategorized, Walking by

A lovely walk in the park this morning. It’s suppose to rain but it still hasn’t. We really do need some rain so I’m hoping later.

Today was a catch up day with taking care of some Flylady things. Swish and Swipe the bathroom, vacuum, mop floors, do the windows in the front room and my office area. Flylady has 2 zones again this week, the living room and then the entryways. I finished both but probably will tidy up around the 2 doors sometime this week.

My daughter bought a new desk that fits her better since she is still working remotely so we moved the Heywood Wakefield desk to the living room. I thought it looked to over powering by the one window so I had B move the other Heywood cabinet down to my office area and put the desk where that one was.

Both of these pieces I bought on ebay years ago and actually had them shipped across country.

I think the Heywood Cabinet will be more useful down in my space. The desk probably won’t be used as a desk but it does have a file drawer so that may be useful. Plus I love the shelves on the side. both pieces should have the tops refinished but I doubt I’ll get to it in my life time and really it’s not a priority to me.

I’m not sure I would buy any Heywood again but since I’ve never seen any out here, I guess I’m safe.:)

I feel pretty good this morning not too Dexed out. I have the week off from Velcade so that’ll be nice. I still need to see the doctor this week but that’s ok.

I talked briefly with my sister in Connecticut. Her small cell carcinoma has re-emerged as another nodule on her lung so she will need to start chemo in a few weeks. Fortunately, the scan showed her brain clear as that’s always a concern for small cell carcinoma. She has a huge support system with all her children and their families right near her. It seems a little odd to me not one of her children(5) ever moved more than 5 miles from her. But who am I to say. both my adult children still live her at least during these pandemic times.

I made a spaghetti sauce for dinner and we will have salad and spaghetti. One of my favorite youtubers, Ivy Kitchen, just did a vlog on some new dish ware she was promoting called Denby. It’s from England and really really beautiful. The prices are way out for me but I did go look on ebay and you can pick some random pieces at a good price. She was given at least 3 sets of these dishes in different colors. She does an amazing job with her food photography plus she has 350,000 followers so I guess that’s when the promos start coming in. She does have a great channel if you want to check her out.

Friday Things and back from Capitola!

Posted in Blood test, California, camping, cooking, travel, Uncategorized by

We had a great trip to New Brighton State Beach.

The weather was picture perfect too. Lots of sun and temperatures in the high 60’s and low 70’s.

The ride down took about 4 hours and the only real traffic was near Los Gatos going over Hwy 17.

We thought it an accident but turned out just tons of people going to Santa Cruz. All in all a nice drive down. We got there and set up in out spot.

We did both realize that we really are going to have to get a new/used trailer as this one has seen better days. But we do still love it and it has taken us lots of places. At New Brighton, there are showers and bathrooms so a tent trailer works fine.

The view from the upper cliffs in the campground.

We had lots of good food. The first night was beans, macaroni salad and hot dogs. The next night we had BBQ chicken/tofu, twice baked potatoes from Gayles and salad. We had a pizza night order but it was terrible. Do NOT go to Village Pizza in Capitola. The last night we had bean tacos with trimmings. A lodge dinner would have been fun but I hadn’t really planned it out.

Another view from the bluffs.

Tuesday we drove over to Santa Cruz and walked the lighthouse trail.

This where the surfers go in the water to catch waves.

Nope, not a surfer:)

Gayles was great and I bought a bunch of treats to bring home including a loaf of their Capitola Sourdough sandwich bread. Delicious.

Today is my last shot of this round. Velcade Round 4, shot 3. I plan on putting together a falafel dinner so my son can cook that up later. I’ll take Dex after lunch.

The weekend will be low profile as I’ll be out of it tomorrow. Sunday I’ll do my Flylady chores.

Frugal Friday

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

It was kind of a frugal week. I did the Walmart pick up for groceries which did include ice cream. I hardly ever buy ice cream but for some reason did so. I rarely eat ice cream but sometimes I like a spoon full. Anyway, groceries came in @175 including some Rose wine thrown in. I’m hoping to have the food budget come in @$600 this month. I’m not including alcohol in the food total this time just to get an idea. Non food I am including.

Going down to Capitola will cost gas, food and that’s it since the camp spot was paid for back in December. We tend to be fairly loose with food as it is our vacation getaway. And we like going into Gayles or Nob Hill for dinner items.

The last bill of the month is our water bill and that’s next week. The only extra bill we’re dealing with is the UCD medical one from that one month(August) after transplant for Barclay.

I did buy the 2 orchids and clay pots this week. That ended up $38 at Walmart too.

Oh, good news! Both the electrical issues are resolved and the bathroom fan is working again.

Here’s a view:

The window was originally on the outside as B’s office/entryway was a deck. We left the window for air circulation and light.

Tonight is a mix of leftovers, pizza, ravioli and sauce. I didn’t feel like cooking much so these things will get used up.

Velcade, Round 4, shot #1

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Here we are at the beginning of Round 4. It all went well and I was in and out in @ 20 minutes.

My daughter came along and afterwards we went to Green Acres Nursery. The parking lot was packed so I was a little unsure of how , it would be. It was busy but most stuff is all outside and ALMOST everyone had masks . A few with their noses hanging out, like dude, that doesn’t really do much if your nose is out!!!

Anyway we got the tomato starts she wanted and a bunch of herbs, a mock orange, which I’ve wanted for her garden forever, some other stuff like geraniums, plus a sun hat for me that has the UV protection. It was fun and nice to go out and do something.

This morning is Dex morning so I didn’t walk due to the shortness of breath and just general kinda out there feeling. I will resume tomorrow. It’s hard to miss a morning but I need to be flexible. I won’t be on Dex forever so now is the time to respect my body and do what I can. Plus, I don’t drive as your judgement can be off. Oh, and I don’t use sharp objects( ha Ha)…

I’m going to tidy up around, swish and swipe the bathroom, and work on a grocery list. B is going to do the shopping at Safeway and that should get us thru the weekend.

I am so excited that in 2 weeks we’ll be down at New Brighton. It will be so nice to use our old tent trailer again and just set up camp chairs and look at the ocean. Plus our favorite bakery in the world, Gayles, is high on our list of visiting( masked up of course).

That week, we get back on Thursday so I will get my Velcade shot on Friday. I didn’t want to skip the week, although I could have. I’d rather stay on schedule.

The garden shed is almost done and I’ll get some pictures on the blog. I think it will be a great addition. the yard is looking so pretty with all kinds of green and flowers. The wisteria is just getting ready to bloom too.

Tonight is my son’s night to cook so I need to check the freezer for something. My daughter did an outstanding BBQ chicken and tofu, and asparagus dinner last night on the Weber. She’s a better Weber cook than me as I usually (sort of) burn everything. It was perfect. She cut the tofu into little squares and then put BBQ sauce on. It was delicious.

Japanese simplicity

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It’s no secret that I love most things Japanese. My daughter has a Japanese name. I actually tried to find one for my son, but nothing really fit him. So he ended up Zephyr which does fit him.

I love rice paper, tatami, japanese dishes etc. My house doesn’t really reflect that so much but the concept of simplicity , does. Also the functionality of many Japanese homes with built ins. I love the look of wood and the idea of Wabi Sabi. Probably it’s more ‘old’ Japan I love but it doesn’t matter really. Also being a lay Zen Buddhist for 10 years influenced me too. Practising breathe meditation, and trying to live by Buddhist principles.

Of course, all that is part of my past and now ,as an atheist, I can see the progression of how I evolved. Although, the interesting thing about Buddhism is that you’re not worshipping Buddha per se, but the Eightfold path or ideas to help live a more conscious life. Probably that’s what drew me to it in the first place.

So all that leads up to:

I just finished reading ” Simplicity at Home”by Yumiko Sekine who is the Founder of Fog Linen Work. Their linens are beautiful but somewhat expensive for me.

A really lovely book with lots of great ideas for caring for the home, using linen and many Japanese concepts. She goes through the seasons, which I like too and different ideas pertaining to each one. I am very much a seasonal person. I also adore linen. Ever since buying the linen sheets for the bed, I wouldn’t sleep on any else now. I like the crinkled look although sometimes I do a quick iron. I just bought some linen kitchen towels to try out. Usually, I just use Ikea’s towels which I do love since they are only .79 and I recycle them to rags once they are done. Last time I bought 10 and am now just putting them in the rag pile.

It’s not likely I’ll visit Japan but I can still use what is relevant to me in my small life.

Simple Sunday

Posted in cooking, Flylady, home stuff, pets, Uncategorized, Walking by

A nice walk in the park @ 6am so not dark but predawn. The jerk was still there but then left @ 6:15 so we had the path to ourselves. Nice!! The Easter christians were there for their annual sunrise thing but we avoided them.

The first iris are blooming now and so is the white camellia tree.

When we moved here almost 26 years ago there wasn’t much salvageable. But there were 3 camellia bushes. These were most likely heirloom from the 50’s. The only one to survive is this white one which is now more of a tree.

Under the camellia tree is buried Ollie and Finwe. Gosh, I still miss them everyday!!

This week is the kitchen zone. Because of all the painting and moving things, I don’t need to wipe a lot of shelves. Plus, I’ve been keeping up on some things I normally do in the K zone week, like the windows. It shouldn’t take too long to do.

For Easter/ Spring dinner( we don’t celebrate Easter), I’m making Southern Fried tofu which is just like it sounds. Like fried chicken but tofu. I dip the tofu( be sure it is pressed for a few hours) in an egg wash then coat with a blend of parmesan and bread crumbs.Then I fry. I serve it with a homemade tartar sauce made up of mayo,green olives, parsley and stone ground mustard. I usually make potato salad but I think I’ll do macaroni today.

The painting commences today and hopefully we will be done till we tackle the bedroom which was,as I said previously, kind of a mistake to start. Now we will need to finish it. That’s okay we’ll do it soon. I guess I didn’t realize the touch ups I was doing were so dramatically different even though it’s the same paint. It’ll look fresh and bright when it’s done.