I was grateful to get to the gym on Monday and the library. I truly appreciate both facilities and that they are right next to each other. I picked up 3 cookbooks none of which had any recipes I was interested in.
I’m always thankful to be able to walk even if it is half of what I was doing since my knee mishap. 😦 We’ve mostly had the park to ourselves and yesterday and today the 2 nice ladies that used to walk were there again.
I’m grateful my Velcad shot went easy and I’m on shot 1 cycle 3. Today I see Dr. L so it’ll be interesting to get his take on when we will go to maintenance. Barclay is driving as I never drive on Dex. Some people have wondered why. It’s because on Dex your sense of judgment( like car distances) etc is off. Plus you’re very hyped up on Dex for the first few days and jittery too.
I had to go into Costco to return an online order and get some vitamins for my daughter. I was in and out very quickly. I used the self-checkout for the first time, which was easy and quick.
Tomorrow is a home day and I’ll probably just do some tidying and read.
It’s been one of those up and down weeks. Overall, a good week but still some down time. Maybe because my routine with swimming and walking being interrupted, I felt out of sorts.
We did a walk this morning and it was very nice. No one there and it was just light so no stars to speak of. I got around twice so I’m pleased with that. Tomorrow I plan to swim although it will be short, I’m thinking 20 minutes to see how my knee feels after that. Next week being Thanksgiving will also change things up.
Frugal-wise, I’ve been home more so less gas in the cars being used. Plus we’ve doubled up going to Costco with my infusion shot so that saves gas too.
Costco was $400 but that included B’s case of Sierra pale Ale and about a $100 in nonfood. So actually pretty good. I bought extra holiday things like smoked salmon, biscotti on sale, extra butter, and a lovely English cheddar that I plan to make Welsh Rarebit with, and I can’t remember the other stuff but it was a good haul. I also went to Winco to get 2 gift cards for my son and his friend for Christmas. Food wise I spent $18 on some ramen, chocolate, and boxed stuffing for Thanksgiving.
Other than that no other shopping. B and I are going out this morning to get a few plastic pots so I can repot some houseplants, and then to Target to get shower curtains, and then over to Panera for a coffee date.
I’m planning on making a pizza tonight and then the rest of our meals this week will be out of the pantry or freezer to make room. We have a lot in there. On Tuesday I used one of the shelf stable chicken chili verdes for burritos and it was delicious. I aslo had Ranch Gordo Pinquitos on the side. The food pantry is getting used and that’s a good thing.
We have rain on the way tonight and for all tomorrow but I think we’re ready for fall to kick into high gear with cooler temperatures and rain. So far it has been a glorious fall.
That my knee is 95% better after the cortisone shot. I hadn’t even considered that option so I was pleased the doctor offered. The x-ray only showed minor arthritis which at my age is expected.
I am so grateful to be able to walk yesterday even though it was only 1/2 a mile. I planned on walking this morning but it’s raining. Normally rain does not stop me at all and in fact I love walking in the rain. But with pampering my knee, I don’t need the extra factor of slippery leaves on the path.
I also walked through Costco yesterday and as you know Costco is a big store and I did fine. I was grateful B was there to push the cart and get the heavy stuff. It was another expensive shop with laundry soap, TP, Swiffers, and what else was on the list. But shops like this do keep my grocery bill way down as most of this stuff is not just for this month but at least the next 3 months or more. I suppose I could try and work that out in the budget but it seems like that’s too much work. Plus I know that laundry soap is going to last at least 3 months and same with Swiffer dusters.
I’m grateful my shot went well and this time I was in and out quickly. Maybe 20 minutes at the most. I came home after Costco and took the 16mg of dex instead of 20 which he thought would make it a little easier. So far it does seem slightly less dexy.
Today is just a home day and I plan on going through each zone and doing one or two things. Like in the bedroom zone, get under the bed wipe the bins, and see if anything can be decluttered. In the living room, wash mirrors and dust. Just a few little things to keep the momentum going.
I started to read the new Ann Patchett book” Tom Lake” and couldn’t find the rhythm in it and found it boring so I put it back in my library bag to go back next week. So now I don’t have a book to read so I may need to look on my Kindle for something I’ve read or buy a new Kindle book.
Costco was not frugal but necessary. We stocked up on oatmeal, coffee, protein bars, cheese, butter, eggs, and who knows what else. Oh, there was a cheesecake involved:) Still coming in at $400. Yikes. Overall our grocery shopping has been pretty restrained and mostly at Winco or Trader Joe’s which saves a lot of money.
We filled the truck up at Costco and that too saves quite a bit as that is the cheapest gas around.
We had a nice starry walk this morning and only one guy was there. He shows up occasionally. The one older lady who doesn’t use a flashlight( my pet peeve) showed up just as we were almost done. A nice way to start the day.
We’ve had homemade meals all week except the Costco chicken which was still eaten at home for dinner on my infusion night. There are lots of leftovers so I made up one chicken dinner for the freezer and later plan to make chicken enchiladas with the rest. I have my pressure-canned enchilada sauce I made last year so I’ll use that.
Our electricity bill came in at $188 which is the lowest it’ll go. We didn’t need coolers running or heaters so it’s the break before the winter bills start going up. We use the balanced payment plan though that PGE provides so it basically evens out your bills for the year. It works out well.
Next week I have a dentist’s for a cleaning and since we don’t have dental insurance anymore that will be OP. I think cleanings are @ $130 now.
I plan on swimming tomorrow and then at least once next week on my week off from infusion. Plus, I also have labs to do.
Last night I made a quiche with things from the fridge that needed using, mushrooms, peppers, spinach and, some cheese chunks. It came out nice. Tonight I plan on using a frozen pizza I have to get it out of the freezer as I need the room. I’ll make a spinach salad on the side.
Overall, a good week spending-wise. I went into Costco after the gym and bought berries, avocados, bagels, and other misc stuff. I like going a little later after they open and not having an overflowing cart. It was busy but not overwhelming.
I didn’t need to get gas this week but will need to next week so that’s good. Next week I plan to only go down to the gym and the pool one time each. I want to make next week a lighter workout week.
All the monthly bills are done but I still need to get next month’s budget done. Basically, it’s the same every month but we do have to add in project money or misc spending like clothes. August’s project is B’s office windows. We bought the windows back in May, so that cost is done but we’ll need the wood to frame it out.
We haven’t had any takeout or gone out for any meals in quite a while. I guess since I put a lot of effort into grocery shopping and cooking I really don’t like to spend for food out. I think I will plan a coffee date with B though.
There wasn’t any Amazon spending or misc spending this week. Overall, a low spend week. August doesn’t have any big bills but by October annual bills will start coming in. I’m a little concerned about our house insurance and how much it might go up. We have our insurance with the Ca Fair plan attached to AAA since Allstate left California. Hopefully, it’s not a shock.
I decluttered 2 bags of books at the library yesterday. I’ve been hemming and hawing at should I let certain ones go and finally decided that although I like to look through them I rarely use them for recipes so I let them go. Now I have 3 shelves empty and waiting to be repurposed. I have a few more to donate. My thinking is along the lines of Swedish Death Cleaning, that when I’m gone, are either of my kids going to want this. It definitely helps me see what I can let go of.
B did the small Costco run and that ended up @ $125. that included non-food items as well. I don’t plan on going to the store until I need produce. Right now I have lots of tomatoes, avocados, spinach, and a small bag of salad mix. I have a free coupon for a salad mix and olive oil at the Holiday so I’ll go down and do that today or tomorrow.
I thought about ordering a pizza but decided to make up the large batch of dough. It makes 4 big balls and even those can be cut in half. I have all the toppings I need so I set to go. If it’s nice I’ll have B get out the Ooni. The Ooni does take some adjusting to so I may need a few dough balls to try. Plus you don’t put a lot of toppings on because it’s a fired pizza and it makes it too heavy. ( I know it’s happened a lot in the past).
The budget is going well and all the bills are accounted for. We had an emergency money need as our 12 yo water heater gave up the ghost and we had to buy a new one at the tune of $800. So that sucks but now we know we’re set( I hope for the next 12).
This was one of the wines we bought in Napa. We probably wouldn’t have bought it except the wine clerk said it was his favorite. It was delicious!!! I will get more.
Today, I headed out to the garden shed to organize my canning jars. I need to put quarts,pints and half pints together instead of thrown together.
Yesterday was nice enough to open windows and I got out our rug shampooer and did the rugs. Sometimes I wonder how I get thru a day since the last time I used it( the only time as it’s new) I didn’t see that you’re supposed to go back over the area with hot water so I just had shampooed:( Still it looked good and was nice and clean). This time I did it right and it looked better:) Oh well, I guess it all works out somehow:)
This week has been relatively frugal since it’s the end of the month and all the bills are done and I didn’t need anything from the store.
I have next month’s budget done and there are some extras on there like more garden soil. Since we have the truck now, we can get a yard of garden soil and it’s way cheaper than getting bags. The weather looks really nice for the next couple of weeks so I’m sure my daughter will want to start getting garden beds ready. She already has lots of tomato starts in the greenhouse.
Today, I’m going to skip the gym and go to Costco. I want to get salad stuff, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, etc. I don’t have a big list but I’m sure it’ll add up. I might add on a few pantry items but I’ll have to see what I need. Then after Costco, we’re going to get an early lunch of some sort. Panera is always a good choice for us and I do love their broccoli cheddar soup.
I’m thrilled that trump has been indicted no matter where it ends up.Finally, something to show he’s not above the law. But regardless, I plan on doing a media break in April. Not a complete break, but very limited like reading the WP for 15 minutes in the morning and that’s it. I feel like I’m somewhat out of balance with something and feel like it might be a good place to start in limiting news, and other media things. I don’t do much with Facebook or Instagram but I still do some and I’ll cut that out too. Maybe it’s I feel out of control with what’s going on in this country, with AR, killing of children, teachers, the insane GOP esp. people like Boebart and Greene. Of course, I know I personally can’t do anything to change what’s going on but I know I am definitely affected by all this tragedy. All the Shit with trans rights, and LGBTQ stuff, book bans just sort of freaks me out. Where as a country are we headed? I know this stuff affects way more than it should so maybe stepping away from reading about will help me gain some perspective. I guess it’s worth trying.
I may also consider not blogging during that time too. April marks my 11th year blogging Tahoe Girl.
We are still getting clobbered. Right now it’s been raining here nonstop and there’s some wind. There are flood warnings everywhere for N Ca, specifically the Sierras and the Bay area. At this point, I’m guessing we’re canceling New Brighton because of the flood dangers in the Santa Cruz Mtns. Plus we’ll be right on the coast so I’m not too comfortable with the whole idea. Also, the day we leave it’s raining nonstop all day in Capitola. Reserving something in March is always a gamble, so we’ll be flexible. I do hate to give up the spot because it was an electric one. Oh well, that’s life.!!!
This week was busy but not too bad. I swam on Wednesday and that was lovely. I went to the gym on Tuesday and the library. We went to Costco on Thursday( yesterday), and holy cow was it busy. We didn’t have a clue as to why. It seemed just a regular Thursday. Weird. Anyway, I got lots of things to bulk up the freezer and pantry. I plan on going back in soon to get a few things more that we need like AA batteries. I didn’t want to add them to the cart yesterday.
After Costco, we went to our favorite pizza place, Celestino’s which is the closest to a NY pizza I’ve ever had out here. Although I left NY in 1970, thankfully, NY pizza has always been near and dear to me since I grew up right next to Pepe and Eddies. Now that might seem strange since I grew up on Quaker Rd in Highland Mills which back then was VERY rural. But right up the road, actually, the end of the road was this Italian family who ran the restaurant. There was the grandmother, Nonnie, Eddie, Pepe, and 2 children, Barbara and Johnny. Johnny was a few years older than me and we did play together occasionally. Anyway, their pizza was the best, ever.
We also spent money at Ikea but I brought cash for that from my ‘home’ money. The Ivar shelf is absolutely fabulous. I wish I had room for a second one. Maybe if I look at the space closer, I may be able to fit it in but that would mean using most of the wall and I’m reluctant to do that. ( at least for right now).
I should have bought another shelf and actually when I did my calculations I had the extra shelf in there but Ikea sells the Ivar as separate pieces. I had figured the 5 shelves( as shown on the website were all together but they weren’t. I got 6 shelves instead of the 7 I had planned thinking that was all I’d need but I can see I need the extra one for pint jars and half pints. I love that I can see what I have left in the canned goods and what I need to do this summer.
This is such a clever system and the total was $115. So a fabulous deal.
Today is a home day and with the rain and wind, I’m glad to be home baking and tidying things up.
Overall, an expensive week but since it’s all stuff we don’t normally do, I’m ok with it.
My labs came in with another 6pt increase. 😦 so now I’m at 36.7mg/L for kappa Light chains. It’s a bummer but as I’ve said,” your blood is your blood and it is what it is”. I did go back and looked at the graph for my increases in 2019 and they really started doubling at about 55mg/L. So in one month they went from that to almost 100. And then the next month almost to 200mg/L. So that’s what I don’t want to happen this time. The Myeloma cells are clearly on the increase and why wait till I’m at 600mg/L to start treatment. We don’t even know if Velcade will be effective since this will be my 3rd time on it. Lots of unknowns.
We went to Costco yesterday and spent just under $400. That included clothes for B( sweatpants and sweatshirt), and lots of nonfood items, like my Krill oil pills( expensive even on sale) $20. The regular stuff of coffee, bagels, cheese, veggies, bananas, and some frozen food. All in all, it was a good shop. That’s probably all I’ll do for a few weeks with exception of milk, half and half, and wine or maybe something nice for Valentine’s Day.
After Costco, we had our Date Thursday and went to our favorite Mexican restaurant. We hadn’t been there in at least 6 months. So that was fun to do. I’m using a cash envelope for ‘dates’ and that’s how we paid.
Today I’ve been pottering here and there around the house. I moved my Ficus Tree to the LR where it can get more light. I started another sourdough loaf. Tidyed the kitchen and swished the bathroom. I’m trying to figure out a different way to slice my boules. I looked up a bread slicer and saw a few under a hundred that could also slice meat and cheese. It seems like it would certainly save money in the long run. When I buy deli meat it’s usually turkey or ham and since it’s Boars head it runs $17 a pound so it’s pricey. When I was in Costco I looked at their turkey breast (cooked) and it came in at About $17-20 for 4 lbs. So that would be a huge savings. I am also going to check the price of a turkey breast that I could cook myself. I just don’t want something with lots of sodium.
Tonight I’ll make a homemade pizza since last week we ordered takeout. That’s probably all that I’ll do this month. When we’re in Napa we will go out to eat but that comes under travel.
I plan on looking at our taxes again this weekend. I guess the middle class refund we got last year is confusing. It won’t be taxed by Caliornia but for the federal government it isn’t decided or something like that. I plan on just putting it under the 1099 and see if it affects our taxes. I kind of doubt it but I’ll put it in and see.
If anyone has any suggestions about a meat/bread slicer let me know or cooking just a turkey breast to slice up. I was also looking at an electric knife which some bread makers suggested so that’s an option too. An electric knife would be cheaper than a slicer. Does anyone have an opinion on an electric knife for cutting sourdough bread?
Our fall weather continues to be beautiful but changes are coming this week with rain Tuesday and Wednesday. Hurray for some rain! I guess we’re ready. We still need more firewood but have enough for the immediate future.
Yesterday, I made the pressure-canned enchilada sauce.
I ended up with 6 pints so I’m happy about that. I kept one out to use this week in a recipe and test it out. Last night we had one of the white bean ragouts I canned it was delicious. Overall, I am very pleased with trying pressure canning. This morning I prepped some onions, celery, and B peeled carrots and potatoes for a beef stew. I had two packages from Costco in the freezer that needed to get used up. So I got everything into my new All Clad stock pot and heated up. I had to wait to actually can it because I wanted to check out going to the gym on Sunday. So that’s what I’m doing now. The canning time is 90 minutes and you really don’t want to walk away from the canner( at least too far).
There wasn’t a lot of traffic on I 80 and the gym was basically deserted until 10:00am when I was leaving. So I might consider this more often. I’m all about going to the gym( or anywhere) when there are no people around. Introvert here! 🙂
We’re planning a Costco trip this week to get a bunch of things but mostly coffee. I think it’ll end up on the more expensive side as we need batteries, coffee, organic chicken, dairy, etc. Just the basics but everything is so expensive now. 😦 Increasing our food budget to $800 though has made a difference and I had both kids add some extra on their ‘rent’ to cover food costs( and everything else).
This week I have my annual mammogram and that’s it. Just my regular routines.
This week Flylady is in the Living room and then the entryways since it’s the beginning of the month. I need to tidy the patio anyway because there’s left over garden stuff all around. It’s time to get it all put away. I have some garlic to plant too. I read up on it and so you use your biggest bulbs that you had harvested and that’s what you plant. The ones I picked are so nice I hate to use them but I want garlic next year.
On a political rant, I read in the WP that Musk was contributing to the right -wing conspiracists that Pelosi’s husbands attack was all staged. I mean how sick is that. They even went so far to say he was drunk and this was his male prostitute. Such evil thinking. And to think now Musk owns and controls Twitter is down right scary. I have never used Twitter although I think I set up an account years ago. I probably should see about completely deleting that. It really makes me wonder where it will go or end. Misinformation is rampant about everything. Voting fraud, this attack on Pelosi, everything seems so out of control. Well, I voted and I’m very glad I live in California even if I do live in a very red county.
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 