Category Archives: velcade

Menu Monday and a BIG shout out to Frugal Girl!!

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, camping, cancer, cooking, Death, home stuff, Lake tahoe, travel, Uncategorized, velcade by

Frugal Girl has a huge blog following and deservedly so. But she never speaks of politics till now, and I am very Thrilled she has stood up and spoken out against the horrors of this administration, especially with the murder of Alex Pretti, a fellow nurse. I’m sure it was difficult for her to do, especially as she is an evangelical Christian. Although we are as far apart as can be on religion, I respect her immensely for all she has gone through and accomplished. She is an exceptional person, and thank you, Kristen, for using your voice.

I’m just a small blogger, but I will not shy away from speaking up about the wrongs this administration is doing. AND THE LIES!! You can see with your own eyes what went down, and to have them disgrace a wonderful human being is sickening. May Karma catch up to them in the end.

On to mudane things in my life.

The menu changed up a bit as one night we had ramen because we felt like it.

Last night I baked some chicken, and we had that with baked butternut squash and salad.

Monday- I think I’ll try to do the baked fish with something. I really want to empty out the small refrigerator freezer, and the fish is in there.

Tuesday- Mexican something. I have beans frozen, so I could do beans and something. I don’t have any enchiladas, but I could buy some if I get to Winco. We do love Amy’s cheese enchiladas.

Wednesday- I have some Trader Joe’s orange chicken to use up, and I could make jasmine rice to go with it.

Thursday- ?? Maybe a curry, as I have tofu to use. We really like tofu curry with rice.

Friday- Pizza of some sort. We finished up the last Costco one for lunch the other day, and it was pretty bad, so I won’t buy them again. The frozen pizza that we liked the best was Home Run Chicago Pizza, and I think only Safeway carries that.

Saturday-? TBD

After e-messaging my oncologist, Dr. Laptalo, he suggested half an Imodium for the IBS. So I’ve been doing that, and so far it’s been fine. It’s been about a week with no issues, so I’m happy about that. I went to the gym and library the other day, and no surprises. I’m not sure what triggered it, but I think the body remembers certain things, and with the Velcade, it responded to that. Dr. L thought it could have been Velcade, as the timing was right. I don’t know, and all I want is not be ‘surprised’. I’m planning on going to the pool this week at least once, so that will be sort of my marker. I overcame this before, and I will overcome it again.

I’ve had zero luck with getting a spot at Nevada Beach. My only theory is that because it is such a beautiful camping spot on Lake Tahoe and there are so few spots, getting one is getting harder. Reservations are now into the end of July, and I think I’ll skip those for now. Tahoe in the summer is not my favorite, as it is overrun by tourists.

And I’m still not sure what I would camp in. I still have Rubi, but I will try to sell it this spring. I do have the one night booked at Tahoe in June, but I can handle one night in a tent. Any more than that, I doubt I’d want to do. This probably is one of the hardest for me to accept with Barclay gone, that certain things, like camping, can’t be the same. The question is still, how do I want to go forward?

Well, this has gotten quite long, so that’s it for now.

Midweek Musings

Posted in books, bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, reading, velcade by

I started reading Clavell’s Noble House. I read this back in the 80’s, but he is such a good writer, I wanted to reread it. The books are hard to find(any by Clavell is), but my son, who frequents thrift stores, found a first edition for me. Whereas Shogun takes place in ancient Japan, this is set in Hong Kong. I have a library book to pick up, and it’s one that’s been on hold for quite a while, Dan Brown’s Secret of Secrets. Have you read it? I’m curious about it and whether I’ll like it. I did like the action in his other books, so we’ll see.

I’ve had a flare-up of my IBS, so I haven’t been to the pool or down to the Roseville gym. I have walked and done the Auburn gym, but I want to keep track of what foods may be triggering this( pizza? dairy?). I checked with Dr. Laptalo, and he thought it might be connected to my Velcade. (Remember my chronic diarrhea started way back with Revlimid, like in 2010. Most of that is over with, but occasionally I get a period where it seems to flare up. He suggested some OTC Imodium, so I’ll check that out. I do have Lomotil, which I take when needed, and that was an absolute game-changer for me, so I could go out to eat, travel, etc. But these flare-ups make it hard to go out. Todays Wednesday, and I’ve been fine the last few days, so I’ll see how it goes for the rest of the week. This is a common side effect of chemo, but with Velcade, I haven’t noticed much. On the other had I didn’t develop IBS with Revlimid for 3 years, and then the last 2 when I was on it were truly awful.

So, as such, I haven’t decided if I want to get my book or not. I plan on making another sourdough loaf as I fed my starter. The whole wheat loaf didn’t have a very good rise, so I think my starter was too weak. I did get some organic flour to use as opposed to the whole wheat I had used. Whole wheat is great for a yeasted bread, but much harder with a sourdough starter.

I need to work on next month’s budget, too. I have Allstate as an extra expense and part of the house insurance, too. I need to check if there’s something else too. Property taxes are coming due, so I need to figure that out.

That about sums it up!

Friday Things

Posted in California, cancer, frugalism, home stuff, plants, Uncategorized, velcade by

My shot went well yesterday, and afterwards I went to WinCo. I spent $83 on food and paid in cash. I specifically wanted Taco sauce and a small jar of peanut butter. I don’t think buying the 2-pack at Costco is worth it for just the two of us.

Today is my dex day, and so far I feel pretty good, not too crazy:) I’m still a little sinus-y, but that’s it.

Some Christmas stuff and a totally funny New Yorker comic. B and I would always joke about this from “What About Bob ” and Siggy saying that.

I need to figure out my day but I know I need to:

clean the stove and hood

vacuum

do 1 load of laundry

look at the budget for the next 2 weeks

water some plants

???

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cancer, meal planning, Myeloma, velcade, Walking by

I woke up at my regular time, and the clocks were back an hour. Based on the light, I went out to walk at 5:50, which yesterday was 6:50. I liked it as no one else showed up. It’ll be this afternoon that I won’t like it at 4, when yesterday that was 5. But every year we go through this and adjust.

My son visited yesterday and took a big load of wood to the dump. He thinks maybe 2 more loads and it’ll be gone. A good accomplishment. I went to the store and picked up sandwiches for us all and that was nice.

Today, I’m not going into the Auburn gym because my daughter and I are going down to my son’s place to visit and go to the farmers’ market. He has a lovely park that is right near the American River, and it’s quite nice, so we’ll go over there too.

This week I have Velcade and then my new lowered Dex. I didn’t notice a big difference, but maybe the Dex wore off sooner. Dex affects my breathing, and I did notice that the night I took Dex. It’s just a matter of getting through it. 😦

I need to go to Costco too this week. I wanted to get some of their sale items. The chicken pot pies are on sale, which are good for an easy dinner. The Starbucks holiday coffee is on sale, too. Buying stuff when they have their sales is definitely a big savings.

Because of Velcade this week, I’ll probably only get to the pool and gym once. Also, I need to make an appointment for the Santa Fe as the service light switch isn’t working( it’s a computer chip, apparently.) I got it to scroll once, but then it stopped working again. So I need to do that this week. At least I don’t have any other appts.

We’re in for another beautiful day here in N Ca. The wet weather is expected to arrive by Wednesday. Also, I hope Prop 50 passes so we can redistrict some of these worthless Republicans.

I need to write up a menu plan for the week and what house chores I need to focus on.

Friday Things

Posted in Blood test, books, bread, budgeting, budgets, California, decluttering, Myeloma, swimming, velcade by

It’s been a busy week. I’ve done tons of decluttering. The back of the Santa Fe is full, so I’ll go to Goodwill, maybe even this morning.

I emptied 2 binders of recipes I had saved and only kept the ones that were really favorites. Most of them can be gotten from the internet anyway. I went through the last two vintage suitcases that have my kids’ Waldorf toys and got rid of a few little things, but mostly just consolidated them into one, so the other is going to the thrift store.

It’s a strange place to be, but I’m determined to whittle things down to just the bare bones and keep the poetry. I have two empty shelves in the closet now. The bread maker is in there on a shelf and I haven’t decided on the bread maker yet. I think I’ll plan a sandwich loaf over the weekend, and then that’ll help me decide whether it’s a keeper or not. Good bread is easily bought at Costco and then frozen.

It’s raining this morning, and it’s wonderful to have everything watered.

We had a fun (expensive ) lunch with my son this week, and it was worth it. It was only burgers for all three of us but now a days that’s $20 each for a sit down meal. I also went to Costco after my labs on Wednesday. Something was off this week because I went in twice, and both times my lab orders were NOT there. Fortunately, I thought to get a PDF copy, so they did do the labs minus one (the SPEP). I scheduled it for next week but I think I’ll just cancel it and get it next month. My kappa Light chains went up another point. So now it’s at 21.5 . If the trend continues I’ll need to do something by January. I see Dr. L in October and see what he says. I can only hope it drops again next month but who knows.

All the bills are done for the month, so that feels good. It’s a good feeling to know it’s all taken care of for now. I’m still waiting on the Allstate bill to activate, and then my only choice at this point is to make the partial payments.

I’m planning on going down to the pool this morning and then straight home. I do need to get water at Costco, but it’s too heavy for me to get alone, so I’ll see if my daughter can pick some up after work.

I haven’t been reading much, although I did start my annual rereading of The Hobbit and LOTRs. I have books to drop off at the library, so I’ll check what’s new.

I scheduled my flu shot and COVID-19 booster for next week, so I’m sure I’ll be down for a few days. That’s usually what happens.

Update: all dropped off!

Friday Things

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, home stuff, travel, velcade by

I’m not sure if there’s much to share frugally. It was a crazy week with appointments, which I do dislike immensely. But today is my home day on Dex, so I should be able to get some stuff done and chill. All I have next week are my labs and a fun lunch date with my son, which is his belated birthday present.

After my Velcade shot, I stopped at Noah’s and got the dozen bags and one free one. I also got a free coffee. Most of the bagels I froze for later mornings, but kept some out for today and tomorrow.

I listed the Triumph, but no inquiries. I’ll lower the price next week and see if that prompts anyone. I’m sure motorcycles are a bit of a luxury right now, so who knows if it might sell. If not, it’ll just stay where it is.

This morning I sorted all our important papers into folders, so that’s one job ticked off. A while back, I bought a fire-safe file box, and that was for these files. I also finally made the appointment to go to the bank with my daughter to add her to the account. Slowly, a few more things are getting done.

I decided to not book a hotel for Tahoe on my birthday and B’s. I just don’t want the added expense right now, so I do plan on a day trip, which is totally doable, and B and I did that often. So I’ll see who wants to come, either S or Z. They have work, so I may just drive alone. We’ll see how it turns out. I also finally came to the realization, I don’t have to do anything right now so that eased my self pressure.

I dropped off all the thrift store stuff at both thrift stores. I also got my LLS paper from the bank and $ for the firewood. Firewood is quite expensive. If you go pick it up yourself, it’s less, but I can’t do that, so $$ it is. But one cord should see us through he winter with what I have already.

Other than that, not much.

Five on Friday/Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, Credit cards, frugalism, husband, knee injury, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma, velcade, Walking by

Frugal-wise, I’m not in the Cotswolds like Mavis over at $100 a month. She probably should change the name of her blog. But she’s got the money, so why not enjoy it? Plus, she loves England.

Here in my neck of the woods, N. Ca, it’s been too hot to do much outside. The temps are much nicer in the coming week, but still some 90’s, and I saw it gets in the low 80’s, so that will be much nicer. I miss sitting outside in the mornings and afternoons.

Money-wise, just paying bills, and I had to pay the overpayment from SS. It’s ok, I’ll deal with it. It’s done, and I’m going forward. I just need to work the budget with the SS I’m getting. I’m still working on my credit card bill because I put the cremation on there. But I should be able to knock it down next month. I hate having a balance. But needs must.

After my Velcade shot, I stopped at Costco to pick up some lox for the bagels I bought at Noah’s. I also picked up some rose wine( my favorite) and a Gloria Ferrier champagne-type brut. I wanted Mumm rose, but they were out.

I gave my daughter $100 in cash to buy the paint for the studio. She’s really done a great job clearing it out and rearranging it to suit her. We might go get that today as long as she drives, since I’m on Dex. I don’t sleep well on Dex nights, and last night was no exception.

I also have a food bank donation to drop off and some more stuff for Goodwill.

I’ve almost finished most of my list of things to do related to B. If something comes up, it’ll be an outlier I don’t know about. I may take care of a few things today or not. It depends on my focusing on which Dex does affect. So we’ll see.

I’m still debating getting the next steroid shot for my knee. Mostly it’s ok. When I try and do a little extra walking or swimming, it acts up, but then I seem to recover the next day. The shot did help quite a bit, so there’s that.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, velcade by
  • Very thankful B’s hemoglobin was fine. But his platelets continue to drop, so that may mean a transfusion. Still grateful we don’t need to do that this week. We also had a good video visit with the Dr.
  • Grateful for my daughter and all the hard work she is putting into the yard. She’s doing the mowing and weed-eating.
  • I am thankful that my son is also doing all he can and is stopping by to check in on his Dad.
  • I am thankful that I still love pressure canning and my All-American. I made 4 quarts of vegetable soup and 2 pints of Ranco Gordo Marcella cannellini beans.
  • I’m thankful that I’m getting around a little better with my knee. My plan is to wean myself from my cane as much as possible. I’m also rotating doing PT exercises and the gym/and walking.
  • Very appreciative of the oncology nurses who give me my shot. Always kind and professional.
  • What are you folks thankful for in your lives? big or small?

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cooking, Gratitude, velcade by

I’m thankful for the beautiful weather here in Northern Ca. Our daffodils are up and the flowering cherry tree is blooming. Today is supposed to hit 70. nice!!

I’m grateful B is recovering so well from the laparoscopy and he can pretty much do what needs doing. We have a date now for the surgery and Hipec. It’s April 14. So the plan is to arrive Sunday and he will need labs. Fortunately, the lab is open on Sunday. Then Monday is the surgery although we don’t know the time yet. The surgery is where the surgeon(Dr. Lee) goes in and basically scrapes any cancer areas he sees. Then he is closed back up except for tubes that will administer the chemo. That part I’m not sure how long it will be but it could be quite long. At this point, I am NOT staying in the hospital but will go back to the hotel. After last time sitting in the waiting room just about did me in. Then the plan is I will go see him on Tuesday and check in about how things are. The last time Dr. Lee called me after the surgery was over so I suspect he will do that again. Then B will be in the hospital for at least a week. We haven’t figured out part 2 of getting him as I do not plan on staying all week.

I’m thankful for good food that I cook and feel good enough to do that. Last night we had a piece of the Halibut I got from Alaskian Fish. I think it was the first time I’ve had halibut and it was very good.

I’m grateful I can get my Velcade shot today in Rocklin and not drive into Sacramento. That is a real time saver and emotional one too not having to deal with Sacramento traffic.

I’m not so thankful for Dex overall, but it does do the job so I guess I am grateful for that.

I’m thankful ” to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world”. What else can I say? Our democracy is in serious danger of falling apart thanks to tRump and mUsk. What a bunch of assholes.

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, bread, budgeting, budgets, California, decluttering, freezer cooking, frugalism, simple foods, velcade by

The week was overall frugal. I didn’t need gas yet in Santa Fe. I’ll fill up at Costco next week.

I went to the gym and library before my Velcade shot. Gettting books at the library always saves me from buying some random cookbook( a weakness(. I looked at two already, and there’s nothing I’d cook from them. They’re pretty books, but not how I cook. For instance, last night, we shared a steamed artichoke, and I made an us omelet to share with sprouts, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. We eat fairly simply.

I went to Costco after swimming on Wednesday and spent $250 or so. Some of that was snack/foodstuff for my daughter to take to work. She doesn’t get a full lunch break because of her hours, so I bought some beef sticks, egg bites (Kirkland brand), and something else I can’t remember. The two kinds of beef sticks were expensive, grass feed. I’ve actually never had one, so I can’t tell you if they’re any good, but as a high-protein snack, I could see it working. Organic eggs were 7.99 for 2 dozen.

Today is a home day because of Dex, but I feel pretty good this morning. I plan on vacuuming, dusting some, and doing a bit of decluttering odds and ends. I also have a pack of Kirkland I need to use, so I’m thinking of some meatballs I can freeze. We( my daughter and I have decided to mostly cut beef out of our diets. We don’t eat it often, so it shouldn’t be hard at all. But I have this to use and one other in the freezer, and I don’t want to waste it. If we go out together, we definitely would think about an In an-Out burger, but that’s pretty rare for us to do.

The rain is supposed to come by noon today, and it looks nonstop for days. I think I’ll plan on some soup dinners with homemade sourdough.