The moon landing. B and I were on one of our first dates that summer. His mother and stepfather were staying at the farm he inherited in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. From where we lived, that was about a 2-hour drive. It was a beautiful old farm that I really fell in love with. Later, he sold all that, and it’s probably all developed now.
But back to the story. So we were falling in love, and it showed. I’m sure his mother (WASP) was mortified. But she didn’t really enjoy cooking, but Bill( the stepfather) made burgers, and Lee( his mother) made artichokes. I’d never had an artichoke and didn’t know how to eat it. Funny story!!!
Anyway, it was the moon landing!!!!. So while they walked on the moon, we were kissing on the couch. Quite a memory. We’ve always had these cool links in our relationship!
I haven’t slept well on Dex these past few nights, so I feel like I’m running on empty. Hopefully, a nap today will catch me up. I go for my labs tomorrow and should have some results by Thursday. Fingers crossed it’s about the same. I felt so low, I didn’t even walk this morning, which is my favorite morning to walk.
Our weather is finally going to cool down, and next week looks super nice. I’d like to get back to eating out on the patio again. Plus, we can get more watering done if it’s not crazy hot.
We had a busy day yesterday with chores in town. We dropped off a load at Goodwill, went to the car wash, then down to the paint store. My daughter has a keen eye for color and picked some lovely shades of green for the studio. I picked up some misc we needed, like bee traps.
Then my son came over and did the metal load to the dump. He thinks there’s one more load of junk, and then the old wood would be the final trip for this year at least. I’m going to walk out there later and survey the situation. He hung around long enough for my brother to show up with tacos for us all. My brother needed my daughter to help him with some computer stuff. So all in all, a nice little family gathering.
I have my trip to the coast booked, and I’ll be bringing some of B’s ashes with me to scatter. It won’t be much, it’s sort of a token gesture. He loved that part of the coast, so it’ll be nice to be over there in his memory. After that, it’s still the Tahoe trip, but it’s completely undecided how we are doing it. I have the reservations(of course, because you have to book 6 months out), but I don’t really want to trailer with Rubi. We’re tossing around a few ideas, but nothing solid yet. I’m fairly sure I’m going to sell the trailer, but when is the question? Frankly, it’s too much for me to handle maintenance etc. Plus, I can’t drive the truck to even pull the trailer, and I have no desire to learn that. I don’t want the trailer just sitting there and not being used. So we’ll see. The thought has crossed my mind to see about a trade-in for something else, but I’m not sure what yet, so?? I guess these are the adjustments you just have to make when someone dies.
I’m staying home today and doing a once-around-the-house tidy up. I’ve washed inside windows and dusted. I have some brown rice cooking for dinner and plan on making a small rice chicken casserole. I have chicken shredded from the freezer that I want to use up.
I ordered a pair of compression socks from Bombas, and I hope they will help my legs. My knee seems to be doing ok, but my legs do get a sort of tired syndrome, so I’m hoping compression socks can help that. I guess that’s what nurses wear for their 12-hour shifts. I’ve decided I am going to get the next steroid shot, so I’ll call and see when I can get that. Does anyone wear compression socks regularly?
Other than that, not much else is happening. What’s happening in your neck of the woods? It’s always interesting to read about how other people live and the weather they have.
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.
This heat wave we’re having is doing me in. 96 yesterday and the same for today. Ugh. I think a bit of a cooling trend starts on Tuesday, but it’s not huge. I read all my library books, so I picked from my shelf some old Hillerman and looked through some decluttering books. You know I’m desperate when that starts happening. I do plan on going to the library tomorrow so I can get my hold and a few others as well. I was planning on going on Thursday after my Velcade shot, but my hold expires by then, so I need to get it before that.
Menu planning is still hit or miss these days. I still have the basic menu plan going of using things from the freezer and fridge, but I’m not super motivated. It’s probably a combination of the heat and just finding a new ‘normal’ balance. My daughter bought an air fryer on Prime Day, so she’s been experimenting with that. So far, she’s made sweet potato fries and wild cod in panko. Both excellent.
Sunday- used up a bag of Trader Joe’s chicken chow mein with added chicken.
Monday- Tofu something as I have 2 containers to use up. I also have some broccoli to use.
Tuesday- I’ve been feeling like crock pot pintos, so I think I’ll do that with tortillas and avocado if they’re ripe. I bought the bag(6) from Costco. It takes a while for them to ripen, but as soon as they start to ripen, I put them all in the fridge and they will last weeks in there.
Wednesday- I think we’ll do spaghetti with marinara and maybe some meatballs.
Thursday- Freezer meal of some sort. I need to go out to the chest freezer( that’s in our outside laundry room) and check.
Friday- I’ll make a pizza if it’s not too hot.
Saturday- ?? TBD
Today I’m going to meet my library friends for a coffee. They have been very supportive, and the one gal is the one whose husband died of Myeloma a few years back. His Myeloma came on very fast, he was in his 80s, and Sutter really didn’t address his issues or treatment till it was too late. It was very sad.
All in all, things are ok. I’m still cleaning out B’s desk of odds and ends, like pens and notebooks. Nothing major, just a little at a time.
I have my Velcade shot this week and then Dex days. Actually, the dex isn’t too awful when I do it between 2 days. It’s still Dex no matter what, but it’s less intense. Then I’ll go get my labs next week.
I’m still processing things from Barclay’s death. It’s very weird, honestly, to be the person left to keep on going. I take some comfort in that he lived a good life and got to be 74, almost 75. Look at those poor kids in the Texas flood who didn’t get past 10. Very sad. The last year has been so hard watching his decline, and the last 3 months were pretty awful. He really didn’t have a chance with peritoneal mesothelioma. It’s just one of those cancers that you don’t get over and go into remission. I got the letter already from SS, which I’m happy about, so I don’t have to go into the office. I’m losing over $1000 a month, so quite a hit. I’m sure there will be ways to figure it out. I cancelled his UHC, so that and his Medicare covers almost $500. Insurance is outrageous. The rest, I don’t know. I do plan on selling the Triumph in a few months, so that will, if it sells, generate a few dollars. The totally weird thing was when I called Allstate to take him off as a driver, she said our insurance WILL GO UP ANOTHER $125. WYF??? After talking to our local agent, she got it to go up only $65, so half. The issue is his good driver discount being taken off. JFC, really? Oh well, done is done.
I’ve gotten through most of my list of things to do. There’s still the bank where I need to take him off our account, but I’ll get to it eventually.
As I said, very weird to deal with this stuff. We all miss him so much.
My daughter ordered this from Shutterfly. We hung it out on the upper patio where he spent the last 4 months of his life sitting when the weather was nice.
Frugal wise, I haven’t been spending too much. I did order a new Speedo from Amazon on Prime since I need a new one. I go through a swimsuit about once a year, with the chlorine from the pool. It was 30% off, so it was a good deal. I also bought some black frames for some watercolor pictures my daughter has done, and some that B did too.
I signed my daughter up as a user on my Costco card, so she went in after work and did some shopping. I appreciate the effort. Mostly it was flavored waters, olive oil, coffee, and some wild cod. She’s very susceptible to histamine attacks, so she’s been on a low-histamine diet, hence the fish purchase. The total came to a little over $100.
Our weather is very hot, and the coolers are running most of the day. If I close everything up, I can usually wait till 11 am, and I always turn them off by 8pm, even if it’s still hot out.
I started going to LLS every morning to apply for my grant, but so far, there’s no luck with funding. I’m hoping the wait isn’t too long, as I depend on that money for my insurance.
My son is using B’s truck since his car( older Subaru) is leaking oil. So he got off work early yesterday and took a load to the dump. There are still 2 more to go with metal stuff, and then the old wood from the chicken coop. It was hot yesterday, so I appreciate him doing it and getting it done. I’m pretty sure we’ll keep the truck, but unsure about Rubi. I just don’t know if I can emotionally handle going out in the RV without him. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see when the time comes, and we can plan something. My daughter has volunteered to be the driver, which she can totally handle; it’s more me dealing with it. Plus, Rubi is really designed for a couple, not 2 people. It’s one bed, and the couch does fold down, but it is very uncomfortable to sleep on. So another decision down the road.
I am enjoying my new iMac. It’s so pretty and nice to work on. It was such a thoughtful thing my daughter did.
Yesterday, we ventured out to the pet bookstore. I picked up some old Hillerman, in which I always enjoy being immersed in the Southwest. After having lived in Tucson for 5 years and then a small stint in Santa Fe, the southwest does get into your being. I wouldn’t ever move there again, too many people, too much congestion, too many people using water that isn’t really there, etc, but we did love it when we were there. The smell of orange blossoms lining the neighborhoods is a favorite memory. Plus, riding our bikes all over town. Back then, you could still drive through campus, but that changed a number of years ago.
I also picked up a Japanese lifestyle book called Wa. I looked through it yesterday, and there are a few interesting ideas.
After the bookstore, we went and had some tacos.
I’m trying to stick to my routines as much as possible, but some days I just sit and do nothing. Today, I need to write my list for the week and figure out what I’m doing and when. I pick up Barclay’s ashes this week, so that day will be hard. I’ll probably just go down and straight back home.
I know I want to swim at least once. During my last swim, I felt much better, so I think I can catch up soon to where I was. Additionally, I want to go to the Maheny gym and the library.
Meal planning has gone out the window for now, and my daughter and I just figure out dinner daily. I do have lots of freezer stuff, so I am working with that. We did have a small BBQ on the 4th of some steak bits. That was yummy. We had a Cobb salad on the side. Mostly, I’m looking in the fridge, staring blankly, and then figuring out some game plan. Also, my daughter has been cooking meals up, which has been nice.
My son is coming up today to do some more dump run stuff. I hope he can get rid of all the metal stuff. ( old pool frames, carport frames, etc.) There’s still a load of old wood that needs to go too. In the past, B would just have a burn pile in the winter for the wood, but none of us want to do that. So to the dump it goes.
I gave away a few dozen canning jars for free the other day too. I’m not planning on doing a lot of canning so I figured someone could use them. They went very quickly and I will do another box soon.
Other than that, just hanging in there.
What wonderful things are you guys up to? I hope making the best of it.
I dont really need to go into it any more than that as I’m sure you are all aware of how awful that bill is and how many 17 million people will lose health care. What a travesty. History will tell the tale of this being the worst administration in history. It’s cruelty, racist, white nationalism, harming LGBTQ+, and on and on and on.
I managed another swim so I feel like I’m slowly getting back to some routine. The pool was glorious as it was not busy. I feel I’m floundering with my schedule so I would like to try and figure out a ‘new’ one going forward. I’m also somewhat depressed so I’m not feeling very motivated but hopefully this will pass.
After the pool, I went across the street to Winco and spent $75 some of that was wine for the week ahead. Then I crossed the parking lot and went into Trader Joes. I spent about $100 there but got lots of our favorites. I picked a few frozen meals, hatch chile and macaroni , and their green chile tamales too. I also got eggs, milk, bread and some other basics.
I’ve had some very touching cards from a few people about Barclay but the 2 most endearing were the two people who donated to a tree planting in B’s name. We too are going to plant a tree this fall for him. He loved trees and his BA was in forestry so there’s a link plus all the years he worked part time for the Forest Service were important to him. He was a firefighter for a number of years( starting in 1974) with the Forest Service and we kind of think that may have had a link to him getting the mesothelioma, although know can ever really tell. I think our best guess is it was just a break down of DNA like him getting MDS, a blood cancer. Unfortunately, meso, is a tumor load cancer and therein lies the difficulty with treatment.
I’ve gotten through quite a bit of tasks to be done but there are still more to do which I hope to finish next week.
He was on KVMR radio for 25 years as a broadcaster with his show being all about Dylan. So he has quite a few CD’s of his show so I plan on buying a CD player so I can listen to some. Of course, we had an old CD player that we used for camping but got rid of that when we got Rubi.
My daughter surprised me with this the other day. I was a bit shocked as my older AirMac still worked.
Still it’s lovely, although some stuff didnt quite migrate because of how old my other computer was but she figured out most ‘of it for me.
It’s still quite hot here,mid 90’s. I supposed it’s better than 100 degrees,sort of.
I went to the gym yesterday and then dropped off my library books. I didnt need any groceries so I came straight home.
We had a huge bag of power greens from Costco so I made our favorite ‘green’ soup. I’ve done different recipes in the past but used the one in Tassajara Recipes yesterday. It used nutritional yeast and it did give a depth of flavor. I froze the left overs in the nifty souper saver container.
Today is undecided. I was up around 5:15am and haven’t decided if I’m going down to Roseville or not. Traffic on I-80 will only get heavier as the week goes on with the 4th. I’ll see how I feel in an hour or so. I do have some house chores to do so that may decide it.
We’re experiencing a bit of a heat wave. Mid-90s all week. I’ve closed all the windows and that keeps the cool in for a while. I think after this week it drops back down to the 80s. We are trying not to water too much, but just enough to keep things going. Our water bill always skyrockets in summer.
I finally got to the pool and loved spending 30 minutes swimming. Although I am definitely sore from doing it. With the 4th of July next week, I need to look at what day I can get a swim in without being stuck in ‘vacation’ traffic.
On a positive note, my kappa light chains came down a point to 19.6. High normal is 19.4, so all good there. I don’t even see Dr. L till August sometime. My LLS grant is used up, and so hopefully next month there’ll be some funding for myeloma. I haven’t heard that any funding has opened in quite a while, so I’ll just need to be checking daily.
My son came and took a load to the thrift store. That got rid of some old exercise equipment. I doubt he’ll get to the next dump run till after the 4th.
My daughter made a delightful black bean chili for dinner the other night. I froze 2 portions for later lunches. I’m using the Souper Saver cubes. They are really great, and if you freeze leftovers, check them out. I first saw them on Facebook, where Steve Sando( Rancho Gordo) was cooking basic beans and showed them. After the beans are frozen, you pop them out and store them in a ziplock or other reusable baggie.
Here’s a picture of a cholla cactus blossom.
You don’t want to get too close to these.
The news coming out of the white house and all the departments is so discouraging. It’s also so alarming. I’ve got my NYT sub, and I also do The Hill and The Atlantic. Some of the op eds are truly scary to read about where this administration is going. It’s hard to imagine where we’ll be in 3 more years.
It’s been a week since B died. I miss him every minute.
I’m very thankful for all the work my daughter did to keep up with the meds, etc. At the end, it was quite intense of very 2 hours, so she did a great job.
I’m thankful to the hospice nurses as they were right on everything and so quick. When we needed the hospital bed, it was here in 3 hours and set up.
I’m thankful for the outpouring of love from his friends/coworkers on Facebook. He was much loved by his peers. There have been such nice comments about Barclay.
I’m thankful we are not under that heat dome like back east. Our temperatures are going up this next week, but still in the low 90s. So not too bad. We’ve had the coolers running, but that’s expected.
I’ve worked through some paperwork about B, but not all. I have to go get the physical copy of the death certificate, and I’ll do that next week. I’ve cleared off some things from his desk, but there’s still more to do. I also packed up some clothes for Goodwill, but there’s more to do there as well. I haven’t turned off his phone yet and will do that next week. That’s a hard one.
I got a nice phone call from Dr. Singhal about B and how sorry she was about it all. She is an extraordinary oncologist, and I know she did all she could. I did ask her to contact his BMB team from before when he had MDS, and she said she would. I’m sure they would want to know.
Well, that’s all the updates for now. Although, in other news, the tragedy on Lake Tahoe was just awful. We’ve seen squalls come out of nowhere, and those boaters shouldn’t have been out on the lake. Sad. And it was a birthday cruise for his mom. What a tragedy.
I've been married for nearly 20 years to a wonderful husband and I'm a mom to three great kids ages 17, 16 and 14. Oh, and I just happen to have cancer. Multiple Myeloma is a cancer of the blood that is currently incurable but IS considered highly treatable! My goal is to make people laugh, cry or feel a little less alone whether you are a mom, cancer patient or BOTH!
Tahoe Girl 