Category Archives: Walking

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, home stuff, Uncategorized, Walking by

I went to the gym this morning. I did about 30 minutes of weights and 20 on the treadmill. From there I went to Goodwill to get 2 champagne glasses. I found 2 that matched. They’re kind of cheap but that’s ok. We need 2 so we have a total of 6 for Christmas.

I’m home now and plan on tidying up. I think I’ll do a 10-minute tidy in each zone. Yesterday I re-did the entryways with cedar boughs and red berry faux flowers. I need to clean off the patio table as it is just a catch-all for gardening stuff.

My son is going to spend the night after he visits his friends. I plan on making spaghetti with Rao’s sauce. I have some beef so I can make a beef sauce also. The lettuce in the garden didn’t freeze with our last frost so we have lettuce still, kale, and chard. So I’ll make a salad. I need to plan next week’s menu so I’ll do that later too.

It’s cloudy today but quite a bit warmer. We had a nice walk in the park and no one was there. Maybe because it’s Thanksgiving weekend.

We got our Ikea tree up and lights on it too. I think I’ll wait to put on some ornaments till later this week. I put out the little Christmas houses and I put a battery-operated candle in each one. I doubt I’ll do too much more but I’ll check my bins.

Well, that’s about it at mi casa!

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, Walking by

A very nice walk this morning. It’s getting light by 6:15 which is fine. One person was there and then he left. He must live down the road from the park because he turned left from the park which is not toward town. Other than that, it was just us.

I just got back from the gym I did some weights and some treadmill. My knee tweaked out some yesterday which was weird since I haven’t had any trouble with it for months. I think I might have twisted the wrong way. It’s better today.

My son drove his Dad to infusion and home yesterday. It took about, in total, 3 + hours. So not too long. We’re all hoping it’s an easy week. Fingers crossed:)

I don’t have much to do today. Most of the house stuff is done although I could vacuum. Plus I need to do a menu for the week. I have my monthly one but I think I’ve done most of the dinners I had written down. Tonight I plan on shrimp scampi with some pasta and broccoli.

Just a short blog today. Not much else going on which I’m very glad of:)

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cancer, Gratitude, peritoneal mesothelomia, swimming, Walking by

Thankful we had a good doctor visit and she was very apologetic about all the lack of communications. She said she has all the orders in and somehow, whoever isn’t quite getting it together.

I’m thankful we were on the same page about Chemo next week, which will be postponed until November 27. That is the day before Thanksgiving but his numbers don’t get affected till about day 10 so we should be fine.

I’m thankful she also reduced chemo even further but not by a lot. But some may help. today he has more platelets, and my daughter will take him to Rocklin at 1pm and then I will drive down to get him at 4. I thought of getting a pizza for dinner but I think we’ll just get something out of the freezer. That’ll save money and time.

I’m thankful driving hasn’t been too awful except for the lunatic right here in town speeding past me on a double line. I beeped my horn and then he was up at the light I beeped again and wow, that was some angry person. In hindsight I shouldn’t have engaged him(the beeping at him) the second time as road rage is a very real thing. Lesson learned.

I’m thankful I’m flexible where swimming and the gym are concerned. I haven’t been to the pool in a week with all the other stuff going on. I haven’t been to Roseville gym in over a week too. It’s frustrating to say the least but it’s just what needs to happen right now. Hopefully next week things will be back to some normal schedule.

Thankful Thursday( late) and Frugal Friday

Posted in Blood test, books, budgets, California, cancer, frugalism, Gratitude, husband, peritoneal mesothelomia, Political things, Walking by

Yesterday was busy so I didn’t get anything written. I had to be down at infusion by 8:30am so needed to leave early. I did get my walk in first thing and that was nice. I’m thankful, I am still walking even though B isn’t. With his numbers so down he doesn’t have the energy.:(

I’m thankful infusion went ok. They are great nurses for sure. I noticed though there weren’t curtains to pull around the chairs which is odd for infusion rooms. All the UCD infusion chairs have some kind of curtain for privacy.

After infusion, I went to the library to pick up my holds. I am thankful for the Martha Riley Library as it is a wonderful community space.

I didn’t really have any enthusiasm to go to the gym. After that, I went back down to Winco. I finally saw where the new Trader Joe’s is and funny, it’s right down from Winco. But you can’t see it right off as the gas station blocks the view. It looks to be a bigger one than the Rocklin one so I’ll check it out next time I swim.

I’m thankful this fall has been colorful with leaves turning all shades of yellows, golds and some reds. Other than that, this week is really a downer if I’m honest.

Frugal-wise, it was ok. I didn’t really do a whole lot. All of the first-of-the-month bills are paid. There’s a little left over to get through till the end of the month. There’s Thanksgiving and so I’ll need a few more groceries for that. I ordered the Diestal turkey roast to be delivered on Nov 21. They are not cheap, but local and I’ve had good luck cooking them.

I spent $125 at Winco, $25 was on wine, so $100 was on food. I also filled the car up at Costco gas so that is a big $$ savings.

Today is a Dex day so it’s home for me. Barclay’s platelets have tanked so he’s going in for more labs this morning and hopefully scheduled for infusion. this is day 10. so we’re starting to hit the real downtime (days 10-15). He’s much better this cycle but still, there’s the platelets dropping. His hemoglobin is doing ok, but I think this is the period too where that started dropping. Fingers crossed it doesn’t.

My son is coming up today to work on a few things. If B needs an infusion tomorrow he could take him and my daughter go get him. We need the labs to come in till we know and the doctor says his platelets need to be under 50 for transfusion. I guess what she was saying is this is UCD policy. What a crock of shit. If it’s only going to keep going down and that means an ER visit, he knows he’s at 90 so why wait??? Doesn’t make any sense.

I’m still committed to not watching the news, it’s kind of a relief really. I know how I am with stuff that upsets me so much, so I feel this is a good thing for me right now. For how long? Who knows??

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, cancer, cooking, Halloween, peritoneal mesothelomia, Walking by

We got home yesterday around 2:30. Everything went well and now we just have to see what his hemoglobin is with tomorrow’s labs. Especially if he has the chemo on Wednesday, his hemo has to be up. What we discovered though is the infusion is open on Sunday. No one has told us this and it would have saved us from going to the ER.:(

Yesterday I walked over 3 miles at the UCD campus so I was pretty achy this morning so I only walked a little over a mile. Also, I’m not going to the gym as I need to do my morning house reset. I’m also planning on going to the Roseville gym tomorrow so it’ll cover doing weights.

So far, I’ve got the sourdough in the oven, swished the bathroom, and checked what I need to wrap the few presents I have for Christmas. Next is dusting and then steam mop. I’ve slowly finished the garden shed except for that box of extra jars which I’ll go out and do today.

This is one of our resident bucks. quite handsome!!!

a few Halloween things. I don’t put out all my vintage Halloween anymore, just a few pieces.

This jack-o-lantern is probably 1950s.

Frugal Friday on Saturday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, cooking, frugalism, peritoneal mesothelomia, Walking by

Well, guess where we are?? The UCD infusion center. B’s platelets went way up,244, but his hemoglobin went down:(

So he’s getting a blood transfusion. It’ll probably be 3-4 hours but it’s nice here and quiet. I went for a long walk over to Kiwanis house and wow it’s all different. Well, not the Kiwanis house but all around it is construction.

I’m back now and since we have a while I thought I’d get this posted.

Then Monday he’ll get labs again.

So Frugal wise, I went to Winco this week and that’s about it. I think my groceries were $150. So okay really. I am planning Costco at some point next week but we’ll just have to see how everything plays out with chemo and labs.

I made the cauliflower soup last night from The Soup Sisters cookbook. Everyone loved it. I thought it was just ok. I did like it blended in the Vitamix so it was very silky.

I have some sticky rice to use up, so I may cook that like fried rice, and then I have some TJ’s orange chicken to use up, too.

I finished the budget for November so all the numbers add up and are accounted for. Most of our bills come out in the first 10 days of the month, so that’s good timing.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, books, California, cancer, Gratitude, husband, library, Walking by

First, the biggest is B’s numbers went up enough that he didn’t need the transfusion. Today is his labs so we should know if they increased. The doctor will reduce the chemo by 25%. Also, we’ll know what to look for this time. Dr. Lee from Stanford doesn’t want to go down too much more otherwise the chemo is really for naught. So he thinks he’s still a good candidate for the Hipec so that’s what matters here.

I’m thankful to still keep walking at 6am even though it is very star-filled. I like it early but I have to admit I am feeling somewhat less motivated. Maybe that’s an age thing too or just that I need to find my why again. Right now I’ll just stick to what I’m doing which is 5 days a week sometimes 4( when I’m feeling lazy:))

I’m certainly thankful my daughter can take her Dad for labs etc. This morning I’m meeting up with the library friends so I can’t do it till later and it’s better to get them done early so the results come in.

I’m thankful to be able to swim at the pool even though it’s been hit or miss. With everything going on if I get one swim a week in that’s good. Yesterday, made it twice this week( hurray) but the pool was crazy busy. I had to wait 2o minutes for a lane and then because the pool closes at 9:25, I barely got a swim in. There seemed to be a lot of people there I hadn’t seen before. It’s odd how it is that sometimes it empties out at 8:30 and other times people were NOT giving up their lanes even though they had been swimming over an hour. I wonder if Roseville P and R could put an hour limit on lap time. ?? I doubt it but it does seem unfair when some people are swimming an hour and a half when there’s 3 people waiting. And that’s 2 to a lane. I won’t do circle swimming( that’s where there is another person who follows you and you swim in a circle. Last time I got kicked in the head. Oh well, it is what it is.

I’m grateful for our beautiful fall weather. We’re having a wood fire in the mornings to take the chill off the house. It’s very cozy.

I’m thankful we’re near the end of the whole campaigning thing. I’d just like to be over. It’s going to be very tense that Nov 5 and beyond whatever happens. I voted early and just got the notice my vote was counted!

I’m grateful for the Roseville Public Library. It’s a welcoming place and I love getting my books there.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, budgets, California, cancer, cooking, swimming, Walking by

I feel mostly back to normal after our 2 days at Stanford. I was quite tired yesterday but today felt good enough to go to the gym. I did weights and some treadmill.

I also got some sourdough going and I’m trying a new baking method using a Pullman Pan. Everything in preparation is the same, fold and turn, bulk rise, but then you place the dough in the pan and put it in the refrigerator overnight. The pan has a lid that you put on to bake and it gives you a square loaf that is great for toast or sandwiches. I’ll post some pictures and give an evaluation. If the sourdough doesn’t work out I’ll just try a regular yeast bread.

I made up an apple tart using apples from our small tree. The big apple tree had lots of apples but the bugs got into them so most of them went to the deer. I have to go check the Rhode Island Greenings because I think there were a couple of them. Those trees are still fairly young so it’ll be a few years before we see any crops.

We have a few hot days coming up and hopefully, we can close all the windows and it won’t get too hot. I think I saw 99 and 97 so fairly warm:( Well, it is that time of year when it can be cool or hot.

We had a good walk this morning and I plan to keep walking my regular days even when B starts his chemo. I figure the first week he won’t feel like it but by week 2 he should be able to.

I plan on swimming tomorrow and then maybe going over to Winco for a few things. I don’t need a lot but would like to get some Bubbly water and that’s the cheapest place to get it. Depending on how Wednesday shapes up, I could go to the library and the gym while B is in chemo. We need to find out from the nurse how long she/he thinks it’ll be. the doctor seemed to indicate that it’s a fast infusion but the pre-drugs can take some time. That’s like Benadryl and saline.

I scheduled my flu and covid shots for this week too so I’ll be glad to get them done.

I’ve cooked some baked potatoes for dinner and I will make a spinach salad to go with that. I’ll have to check what kind of protein I have because I know I used the tofu up. I need to make up my menus for the month tomorrow so I can plan out what to use up or what I may need to buy.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, books, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, cash envelopes, cooking, decluttering, Flylady, minimalism, reading, Uncategorized, Walking by

We had a wonderful walk this morning with very cool temperatures and it was quite breezy. We were the only ones there except for the one runner who we like a lot. Very nice woman and a beautiful runner. She has a great pace.

I could feel the Dex drop of energy though so I was tired and knew I wasn’t going to go to the gym. Taking the 4 mg of dex on Friday and Saturday is good and keeps my energy pretty good but it’s still a tax on my system. So today, being Sunday, I’ll do my morning routine and then chill.

I decided to finish the kitchen zone so that’s done. And I did a quick swish and swipe in the bathroom.

I’ve been re-reading ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear because a YouTube I watched did a review of his book and I didn’t really get what his premise was initially but she explained really well so I got it from the library. Basically, so far I get, that he’s saying it’s the system of how to get to where or what you want not so much the goal. So on reflection, I thought about how the Flylady system and regular decluttering( like one in and out) is really the system I use to maintain a clean and tidy, and uncluttered home. I only started the book so I feel there might be more thoughts about all this to come.

B’s had a few good days and a few bad days with energy. He did go on the Mayo clinic site to read about the drug he’ll be taking and a lot of people had input and comments. That is the best way to really find out about some of these things are from real people taking that chemo. He was encouraged.

We had a fun night last night with my son, his girlfriend, his other friend who’s transmale( a wonderful person BTW), and my daughter. My son got out the OONI and I had made pizza dough so he manned the OONI handmade 4 pizzas which all came out great. Then he set up an outside movie screen and we all watched Alien!!! It was fun!! They left about 10. All in all a fun night.

Tomorrow I get my labs and then I plan to swim if my energy is good. I’ll just have to see how I wake up. I also need to get into Costco for eggs and coffee. I might add a few other things on, but not too much as the food budget is almost gone.

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, California, cancer, cooking, Walking by

A nice walk at 6am. It’s predawn and still slightly dark. I saw a few stars.

I went to the Auburn gym and did some weights. There were quite a few new people that I hadn’t seen on a Sunday. Usually, it’s pretty empty which is why I go on Sundays.

Then I went to Target to get the Murphy soap I use on the floors. I also picked up some Method Cleaner for the new bathroom tiles. Also a candle for a gift.

My son spent the night because he went over to his friends last night. So this morning he put up the new screen/security door on the Studio. It’ll be nice in the fall when we can keep the door open.

We’re watching the Rings of Power on Prime and it’s good. Quite well done. This goes back a long way from when Galaridal was still like an elf warrior. Also, Sauron is coming back to life. I think they’ve done a good job going back before LOTRs. I usually try and reread LOTR every September/October so I guess I better get started. Tolkien isn’t the easiest to read but once you find his pace it is truly a brilliant literary work.

My daughter is cooking brown rice for tonight’s dinner and I think she plans to do some kind of bowls with it. I have some broccoli to use too.

Well, just an ordinary day, simple and slow-paced.