Category Archives: Walking

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, freezer cooking, simple foods, swimming, Walking by

A nice walk this morning, although a few people showed up. Still, nice enough, and it was not really cold. The rain is expected this afternoon and looks like it’ll be all week. It’s supposed to get quite cold, too.

I’m not going to the gym this morning either. I’m pretty stiff from my swim, so I’ll rest up. The pool is open on Monday, but I don’t think I’ll go down. I’ll have to see how it goes.

My son is coming up to deal with a garbage run and work on the barn some. Most everything in the barn now is his tools and stuff. I think he’s been getting rid of things, too. Yay for that!

Last night we watched the season finale of Stranger Things ( season 4). Geez, that show is intense. I may need a break for a few days. We had fondue with veggies and some bread. The fondue was an extra that I bought for New Year’s Eve. We also had some rosé prosecco. Yumm.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do today. I have the bathroom zone to do and maybe water my plants and ?? I do need to go drop stuff off at the thrift store, so I may do that because they don’t take donations if it’s raining. It’s not a lot of stuff, but I’d rather get it out of the house and back of the car.

I do want to freezer dive and see what I’m using this week. That’s a priority since it’s jammed packed. I might need to toss some things like bananas that I froze, as they’ve been in there a while. I had been doing that so B could have smoothies, but that’s now 8 months ago, probably time to toss. I could make some banana bread, but my daughter doesn’t really eat that kind of thing, so then I would, and I don’t need the extra calories. 😦

Here’s a view from my bedroom window.

Friday Things

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, Flylady, Walking by

Since I didn’t walk yesterday, I decided to go out this morning, and I’m so glad I did. It was a nice walk, with no one around except the people who use the community center stairs for a workout. There was a crescent moon, which is my favorite.

Yesterday was a nightmare driving to Sacramento. Apparently, there was a terrible accident, and it was stop-and-go from Roseville all the way down to the I-80 split, which is quite a ways. I barely had time to check in for my appointment. And of course, my blood pressure was high. Even after waiting a bit, it was still higher than my normal. UGH, I guess I’ll talk to my PCP when I see him for my annual wellness appointment. I’ll start tracking again, which I do as a record for him to see.

Dr. Laptalo suggested I go off DEX because it could be contributing to weight gain. It could be, but I think I’m just not as active as I was with both knees having torn meniscus and my left a torn ACL. I forgot to mention any of that, but going off DEX will certainly be nice. I guess I’ll just have to take my chances with my numbers going up. Most people on maintenance don’t do dex, so that’s a positive.

After the doctor’s appointment, I went to Costco. For a moment, I thought of skipping it as I was pretty stressed out, but then I thought, no, it’ll be good to get that done, and walking around Costco would help. It did help to calm me down. So I picked up the non-food stuff, including TP, allergy pills, dishwasher pods, Lysol wipes, and a few other things. Most of that was on a coupon, so that was nice. Food-wise, I bought coffee, eggs, and their new Hawaiian ready meal. We had some for dinner, and it was tasty, but I don’t think I’d get it again. It’s a large serving, and there’s quite a bit left over, so I’m not sure how well that will freeze.

Today, I plan on cleaning the kitchen and doing my Flylady stuff there. That includes wiping all the shelves and the stove hood. Plus, using the stainless steel wipes on the appliances.

We’re heading into rain on Sunday, and the temperatures are going to get cold. We still need rain, and the ski areas really do need snow, so it’s ok. If it’s too awful out, I won’t go anywhere.

What frugal things have you done lately?

Monday menus, And Simple sunday late.

Posted in Blood test, bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, cooking, home improvement, home stuff, library, meal planning, Walking by

The day got away from me yesterday. I was doing some house chores, baking a sourdough loaf( jalapeno cheddar), and sitting in the sun. It was a very nice day.

I had a nice walk in the morning. Sunrise is now 7am, so I’ve been getting to the park at 6:30. Since sunrise is going to keep getting earlier, I’ll have to decide what my cutoff is for getting out. In the past I’d jump out at 5:30 am but I’m feeling too old for that.

Last night we had a frozen pizza and watched some more of Stranger Things. This season(4) is really intense, and the episodes are quite long. Still it’s keeping my interest.

Tonight, I might make a chicken tortilla soup as I made broth the other day. I also have chips I can use on top along with avocado.

Tuesday- this is my daughter’s later night at work, so usually I do something easy. I might do a grilled cheese. I also have leftover curry from the other night, I froze.

Wednesday- I need to look in the freezer and check what should be used. I know some pot stickers could be used with rice. I also have some tilapia I can grill up.

Thursday- Spaghetti and meatballs,salad

Friday- I might get takeout, tacos?

Saturday- Something from the freezer. I think I have some other soups frozen, so I’ll go check that out, plus I have lots of Souper cubes frozen of beans, chili, etc.

My son was here on Saturday and built the railing for the stairs off the sunporch. He’s been working on making sure I have handrails and grab bars for safety. It looks good. I just need to have him buy a piece of lattice to make it more attractive, and I can plant a vine of some sort to make it even nicer.

I went to Ace and had them match the house trim paint as the one I had saved must have deteriorated, as the color was definitely off. I haven’t opened it yet to see, but from the color on the top, it looks like a match. It looks like we have rain coming in so painting will have to wait anyway.

I have my labs this morning, and then it’ll be too late to get to the pool, so I plan on going to the gym and then the library. I have a few books to drop off and a hold to pick up.

I also see Dr. L this week, so that will change my routine as to the pool. I think I’ll plan Costco after I see him on Thursday. As usual, it’s coffee that I’ll need, plus some non-food things like toilet paper, paper towels, etc. I might pick up a ready-made meal there.

Here’s the jalapeno loaf. It looks good. I haven’t cut it yet, but I will slice it up this morning.

I finished the taxes, and it all looked good, and we didn’t owe, so that’s a win.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, cooking, Flylady, simple foods, Uncategorized, Walking by

A cold walk this morning. The temperature is 36 degrees, but it’ll warm up to about 65 today, so still nice.

Today is a gym day in Auburn and then a few errands. I need to get gas in the VW, drop off a package at UPS, and stop and do a propane exchange down at the store. I’m sending my old MacBook to Apple to recycle. I had put in a request to send back a monitor, but I can’t find a box big enough, so I’ll have to find another way to recycle that or try giving it away on Pay it Forward.

I’ve been doing my FlyLady zones a little differently. Instead of just one zone, I try to do 2 and then just do a quick tidy of the other zones. Today, I’m doing the bedroom zone and bathroom. Both are very minimal, so it doesn’t take very long. Of all the zones, the kitchen is the biggest to do. But even that is timely because I’ve decluttered so much, it’s just essentials.

I try to do a check of each zone to see what can be decluttered. This time, in the bedroom, it was some ribbon I hadn’t used. Plus some Ball jars that are the regular mouth. I’m only keeping wide-mouth jars, as they are useful for pantry items.

I have another loaf of sourdough in the oven before I head out to the gym. It should be done shortly.

It’s getting there!

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, bread, California, camping, home stuff, Walking by

A night of not sleeping well got me off to a slow start. I’ll see how I feel in an hour or so. I started my sheets in the laundry and watched a clip on YouTube on how to revive your sourdough starter. I got my starter out of the fridge and did the measurements. She suggested 15 grams of each, but I had 18 come out of the jar, so I used that. But I did follow through with all 3 measurements the same. So water, flour, and starter all were all 18 grams. I’ll see how that works when I go to feed it later this afternoon.

I’m heading out to the gym, and I’ll use the treadmill since I didn’t walk in the park. Mostly, I want to keep to my regular Sunday schedule, which is the Auburn gym.

Update: back from the gym. It was really empty, weird. I did use the treadmill for .5 mile and then my regular weights.

From there, I went into BelAir for some salad dressing, bread, and wine. After that, I went to the Auto Zone store for antifreeze for the VW. So now I’m home and finishing this up before I get going on other stuff.

My son is off camping on the coast as he has MLK Day off from work. It should be nice over there. He wanted to get out his camping stuff and see how it all is, so this was a good opportunity. He has a big canvas tent, but I’m not sure that’s what I want to sleep in when we have our camping trip( if I ever get a reservation). I was able to get a spot at New Brighton, but it’s still iffy whether he can come with me on that.

I mostly need to do a sweep around the house and tidy things. The kitchen needs some attention, too. After that, I’ll probably read and maybe take a nap! I plan to stay home tomorrow.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cancer, seasonal things, swimming, Uncategorized, Walking by

I took down most of the Christmas stuff and labeled the boxes. Since I did do a Snoopy tree this year, I labeled those ornaments in a box so next year I can pull them out if I decide to do a separate tree. I kept up the Ikea tree but took the bird ornaments off and put them away. I’ll probably take down the Ikea tree tomorrow or at least sometime this week. It always feels good to get a fresh start, although I do love looking at the different trees and their ornaments.

My daughter got me a compact waffle maker to replace the bigger one we have, so we had waffles last night. I might make some more this morning. Yumm.

This was our Christmas morning bagels and lox. I didn’t get a picture of dinner, but everything turned out delicious.

The pool was insane the other day. All the college kids were there. I forgot that this was winter break between semesters. I’ll have to see if I want to brave it next week. I finally got a lane with one of the college kids, and twice I got mouthfuls of water as he was kicking so hard. It wasn’t fun.

A very cold 36 degrees this morning, but the walk was lovely. The park was all frosty.

Today, I’m planning to go to the gym and then home. I might go back out later if my daughter wants to go to Home Depot. We need some things for the house.

This next week is a repeat of Christmas with New Year’s on Thursday. I have Velcade on Friday, which will be a little weird. I usually go on Thursdays. So my Dex day will be Saturday.

Other than that, I’m looking forward to the next year and hope it’s not as awful as 2025. I’ve had no luck getting a camping spot, so it’s been close to 10 days of trying every day. I’m almost at the first week of July, and I never go to Tahoe in July or August unless it’s a day trip. Too many tourists.

menu for the week and misc.

Posted in Blood test, books, budgets, California, library, meal planning, Walking by

I finally got my early am walk with my new Merrills. They are definitely a stiff boot that keeps my foot from moving too much. I can see why Chat recommended them for a foot fracture. Overall, my foot is better, and I do wear my Hokas in the house all day, and I think that helped. I haven’t worn my Birkies in a while because I think they didn’t support my foot enough.

I did a menu plan for the week so i have a rough idea of what I want to make.

Last night I made chicken enchiladas with green (verde) sauce. We had a salad on the side.

Tuesday- I’m going to make tomato bisque soup( from Costco) and some cheese sliders.

Wednesday- I have some mac and cheese I want to use up. I might add some tuna for protein.

Thursday – I think I’ll make a tofu scramble with veggies and nuts.

Friday – I’m not sure we’ll do pizza, so I’ll wait and see what my daughter wants.

Saturday- ?? TBD. maybe a burger of some kinda and fries.

Yesterday, I dropped my books off at the library and recycled batteries there, too. The gym was busy, but I found my way around without any delays. From there, I went up to Costco, mostly for coffee and a few other things. I think the food part was @ 100. I paid cash.

Today is a home day, and my son is coming over after work to visit. I don’t have any big chores for him to do, so it’ll just be a catch-up on what’s going on. Although he could put the cardboard in the recycle bin for me. Since he has the truck, it would be easier for him to do.

Simple Sunday on Monday

Posted in California, cooking, Walking by

I started this but got sidetracked so here’s an updated version.

The week ahead looks sunny but not very warm. I think the highs are only around 60 degrees. Still, it’s such a pretty time of year. Barclay loved this time around Thanksgiving when all our oak trees turn golden and the light is filtered. I miss sharing it with him. I suppose that’s one of the hard things that he’s not here to share little tidbits with. 😦

The day was so pretty out. I went into the Auburn gym and did my usual 30 minutes. I also went to the park and walked, although more slowly, and my foot did ok. I only walked 15 minutes and wasn’t limping, so that was good. I did ice it later in the day just for safe measures. Hopefully, my Merrills will show up tomorrow. My foot is a little sore this morning, but not terribly. Maybe a 3 on a pain scale.

I then popped into Safeway for a few random items: celery, carrots, whipped cream, and? I checked out their turkeys, figuring if the deal was good, I’d get one for the freezer. But I didn’t see any sales, or at least where I was looking. The prices seemed pretty high to me.

Today, my daughter and I are going down to Costco, which is probably crazy, but I need her to get 2 cases of water. I can’t lift their cases, so that’s the reason. Plus, I figured, while I’m there, get a wreath for the door.

Menu Plan for the week:

Last night we had hot dogs, sauerkraut, beans, and macaroni salad.

Monday- I might try the nut loaf piece I made to see how it cooks up ,with some instant mashed potatoes.

Tuesday- beans in the crock pot,tortillas,

Wednesday- Maybe breakfast for dinner, pancakes, scrambled eggs.

Thursday- we’ll eat dinner @ 1pm. Organic Diestel Turkey breast, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green beans, plus the nut loaf and gravy. I usually do an olive plate, but I think I’ll skip that. No one really eats it except me:) or B .

Friday- Leftovers or eat what you want.

Saturday- chicken of some sort and baked potatoes.

Do you have a traditional Thanksgiving or something unusual? I’d love to try, next year, something totally different. B and I always thought we’d go away at Thanksgiving, but then I’d feel bad for the kids. But they have their own stuff now, so?

It’s always something.

Posted in budgets, California, seasonal things, swimming, Walking by

Yesterday, I went for my early walk, and the top of my foot started bothering me, like it was painful. Now, I have had a stress fracture of the metatarsal before on my right foot, so I know what it feels like. I was like WTF?? So, I nixed my plans to go to the pool and Costco. I used ChatGPT to ask some questions. It was quite helpful. I iced my foot 3 times and kept my Hokas on all day. It also suggested wearing a hard-soled shoe like a hiking shoe to keep the foot from bending too much. I only have my Hokas, so I went to Amazon and ordered the shoes I used to wear, Merrills Moab. Why does it always have to be something??

Anyway, it feels better this morning to some degree. I don’t really want to make an appointment with my PCP because if it is a stress fracture, there’s nothing really that can be done except let it heal and don’t do anything to aggravate it. If it gets worse, I’ll call; otherwise I’ll stick to my plan of icing and wearing the Moabs when they get here.

So with that, I won’t go down to the pool or gym today. I did read on Chat that swimming is ok, so I’ll do that once I know what’s going on. If it is a stress fracture, it will continue to be painful, but this morning, like I said, it feels somewhat better. The last time when I saw the podiatrist, it wasn’t very productive except to wear the foot brace. Stress fractures take about 6-8 weeks to heal. I can only assume that repetitive behavior like walking every day can cause this, plus age is a factor.

On a positive note, my daughter and I went out to lunch at a new place to us yesterday. It was quite delicious. It’s a burger place that does smash burgers. It’s not a chain, just a local place.

My Diestel turkey breast is being delivered today. It’s frozen, so I’ll just put it in the freezer till next week. If my foot feels better, I plan on going to Costco tomorrow, and that’ll be the last shop before Thanksgiving. I don’t do any big store shopping the week before the holidays. If I need something, I just go down to the Holiday Market.

Quick update: I went back and checked when I had the stress fracture before, and it was 2018, so 7 years. It was the same left foot. So obviously, I have a weak spot in that foot. sigh:()

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, budgets, cash envelopes, home stuff, reading, Walking by

We’re back in the rain again. All.Day. Oh well, I won’t walk but may still go to the gym. Since that’s only in Auburn, I don’t mind. (Auburn is about 7 miles, just for reference.)

Friday, we went and picked up the VW. He fixed the brake light and the low beam headlights that had been out for like forever. sigh… $300 out the window. I pulled cash from my envelopes to pay. So now I need to go back and refill them when I can.

I plan on washing the couch covers today. This Ikea couch has held up so well, but now it is starting to show wear. I am hoping to buy a new couch sometime after the first of the year. It’ll be Ikea. The one I have picked out is grey and mid-century looking. I’ve loved my white couch, which was the Ektorp. But they don’t make that one anymore, but replaced it with another that looks similar.

I will also put together a meal plan and see how the week shapes up. I have some library holds, so I know I’ll go to Mahany and do the gym and library. I’ll see when I want to go to the pool. I may switch it up this week and go on Tuesday.

I have my Diestel turkey breast being delivered this week. I have some other things like green beans, cranberry sauce, and stuffing already. I’ll make the nut loaf and freeze it this week, too. I’ll probably buy the Costco pumpkin pie and freeze it till Thanksgiving. We’re not big dessert eaters at all, so I don’t worry about having 3 different pies. As I’ve said, this year I want to keep things like they were when B was here and not change the routine. Next year, who knows? My daughter and I talked about going to the coast for Thanksgiving, but not this year. I guess I want the continuity.

I’ve been reading Shogun again. Such a great story. I’m looking for a copy at the thrift store, but no luck so far. The new reprint was released this year, so I borrowed it from the library. Funny, how much back in the 70s this book influenced me. I suppose it is the traditions and simplicity that spoke to me.