Tag Archives: covid-19

Five on Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, covid-19, home stuff, Political things, Uncategorized by

I think I will just abandon Friday for now as nothing we’re doing is very frugal. But five on Friday does highlight that.

  • So we went and did the Costco and Trader Joes trip on Tuesday. We went early and TJ’s was still fairly busy. But we were in and out at a mere $167. Some snacks, tofu, frozen veggies, salad stuff, tea, wine, and who know what else. Costco was busy but again we made it thru pretty easily although by the time we left it was getting packed. I had one woman run in front of me almost knock me over( not really, just imagining) to get to the Clorox wipes. Geez, lady.  My son wanted some Knobb Creek whiskey? so that was expensive. But it was a giant bottle. Anyway, we got out of there under $200 with $100 being the whiskey, his Captain Morgan Rum, and B’s Sierra Pale ale. All of which I do not imbibe.
  • Our windows finally arrived so we went and got those from Home Depot.
  • We were back at Home Depot to get wood for the windows and insulation. There is some dry rot that needs to be fixed. More $$$.
  • The weather is heating up to 100 degrees + this week. Not my favorite thing.
  • I made three new recipes this week. Organic Turkey meatballs. They came out pretty darn good. Then I made on the BBQ a seasoned Tri-Tip from Costco I had bought back in March. I watched a YOu Tube to see how it was done and I actually followed the directions and it came out great. Then I had bought some fresh Ahi Tuna at Costco. It was pricey but again I watched YouTube and got the timing down as it’s a quick sear. It came out really good and there was enough for all 3 of us meat-eaters to have lunch the next day. So $17. for 2 meals for 3 people. It’s not beans and rice but we eat that a lot of the time anyway.
  • My daughter bought a ceiling fan for her room and the wiring is too sold to reuse so B will need to go get the right wiring for that too. This old house was really not built very well and then when we had the wiring redone when we moved in the guy who did it, did the worst job possible. He totally screwed what circuits do what and it’s really a mess but to try and prefix that would just be too expensive. So we’ll do what we can.

California along with many other states is seeing an increase in COVID -19 cases. Honestly, this whole thing with people NOT wearing masks is getting out of hand. If it saves lives and keeps the virus from spreading why would you think it’s political. It’s science, folks. Plain and simple facts of how a virus spreads.

Now we’ve got idiot in chief, planning this rally tomorrow with his idiot, science deniers, all together. Good grief, Charlie Brown.

Friday Stuff, not Frugal

Posted in Blood test, budgets, cooking, covid-19, Uncategorized by

We have baby chicks. They just showed up this morning. We ordered 10 Leghorns. I wanted Bardrock but they weren’t sexted. If you get them non -sexted you will end up with some roosters. Roosters are kind of a PITA really.  Anyway, since we’ve decided to not do the camping trips at least till August, I figured we would be here at home and we might as well get chickens. I really like chickens and they are interesting birds. Plus they do keep bugs at bay and also snakes. Of course, you don’t get eggs for 4-5 months but that’s ok.

Then, let’s see, yesterday was Barclay’s IVG infusion. We got there by 10:30 and the parking lot was pretty empty and the freeways were not too bad at all. I waited in the car reading on my iPad, looking at the news, sending a few texts and trying to nap. He was done by 2 pm so long but not bad. We were home by 3 pm.

My son cooked us a nice dinner of homemade mac and cheese and roasted asparagus. It was nice not to cook. Tonight is pizza night and the dough is in the fridge doing a sow rise.

I ordered 25 lbs of flour and it should be delivered today. This is Central Milling which I usually get at Costco but they are out and I’m not going there anyway for quite a while.

I’ve had yeast in the freezer and when I went to use it it didn’t really puff up so I may have to track down some fresh yeast but in the meantime, the pizza dough was doing an ok rise.  The yeast is supposed to be good for a year in the freezer so maybe it’s just been in there a little too long.

I have spent A LOT OF MONEY on supplies. I’m just going to call this emergency food stores.  Since March 3 when I went to Winco/Costco I’ve spent over $1000 in bulk foods, pantry foods, regular store stuff and more. Most of it will last a long time as it can be used over the coming months but still, it’s a little frightening to see what I’ve spent.  Next week I will go early to our local store for milk and some fresh stuff and wine if we need it.   I did check out some of the wine delivery services but it’s more expensive than I want.  I also was checking out Instacart for delivery but so far I wasn’t that impressed.  Maybe I look at it next week. For now we at set.

 Next week starts almost a month of being home and honestly, I don’t see it changing up soon. I’m certainly not going out to just be out.  I have my labs next week and then both my dental appts are postponed and my eye exam. I haven’t canceled my oncology appt yet and that’s not till he end of April but if my labs aren’t shocking and it’s still just going up I’ll message him and say how bout next month.

Be safe and stay home!

Like an episode of ‘Survivors’

Posted in California, covid-19, Flylady, home stuff, Uncategorized by

If you’ve never seen the BBC show ‘Survivors,’ you should. It’s a group of people that find each other after a pandemic that has wiped out almost everyone. They are all very different and the story is interesting.  But this morning the one scene I’m remembering is when some of them go out to find any grocery store to get stuff. Well, my son and daughter drove out to go to Grocery Outlet this morning. It was weird. I said be careful, wear your mask, don’t talk to anyone….. slightly paranoid right?  I hope they make it back.  ( Just kidding):)

We did a nice walk and no one was there this morning. I have to say reading the WP about people going to NParks and the beaches just totally gets me upset. What is wrong with people? This is a pandemic, not a time to invade coastal towns so you can walk on the beach.

This week Flylady has 2 zones the Living room, and then the entryway. Both are relatively easy for me and I’ll do the LR zone this morning. I did get my beeswax candle order. Yes, it is a necessity as I light these every night. The order is 4 pairs for $40. I also got a Thai soup order( sort of like ramen). My daughter and I both like ramen for breakfast so this will be nice.

I think my Costco order for laundry soap is supposed to show up tomorrow. Definitely not 2-day shipping but more like 7 days out. Still, I will need laundry soap so we’ll be set.

Barclay is outside doing a burn pile of leaves and twigs so that should keep him busy for a while. Plus it is nice to get those outside chores done.

Keeping on…

Posted in California, cooking, covid-19, Myeloma, prepper pantry, Uncategorized by

Things are still in lockdown in California, for which I am grateful. Gov. Newsome is doing a great job of keeping ahead of things with basically shutting everything down. I honestly don’t get the Trumpers hating him so much when all he is doing is trying to take care of California. The negative comments on the local the newsfeed on Facebook are nuts.  Crazy!!

Since I’m an introvert and don’t go out to movies or things often it hasn’t bothered me to be home except maybe going out for coffee.

The park has posted signs to walk 6 feet apart and the playground is now taped off. I’m guessing the park is getting overwhelmed with people trying to just get outside. Since we walk early there is only the new dog walker guy and he walks very fast and not near us. He’s been coming for about a month now. Many people over the 8 years I’ve walked there have come and go. It changes with the seasons too. Lots more people as the weather gets nice. So we always start backing it up and going earlier. In summer even 5am is not too early.

I made some more oatmeal chocolate chip cookies yesterday and they are almost gone today. Humm…rationing  next??  We had fun individual pizzas last night although my son said each person was supposed to top their own. I did it because nobody was coming in to do it.

Tonight I’m making some chicken tenders with pasta on the side. I  think I even have some Quorn chicken tenders for B. I don’t have any salad stuff but I do have chard in the garden I can use.  Oh, BTW, Amazon prime has Julia Child’s the French cook original on and it is so fun to watch. It’s in black and white which is too bad since you can’t’ see the browning and sauteing she describes. I’ve actually learned a thing or two and I wonder how much I saw originally as her style of cooking is similar to mine although she is maybe a little more strict. Anyway, check it out as it’s fun.

I haven’t really started any projects except working on notes for a “prepper” pantry. I was trying to move away from stockpiling but now, no way.  If anything I’m going full throttle. Yesterday, I ordered from Mountain house which does freeze-dried stuff.  They didn’t have the #10 cans I wanted( all sold out) but they did have some servings of 2-3 available. I bought some to try and of course, they really last forever probably.  I’ll give an update when they arrive. Also, I’ve ordered from Costco, but they are sold out on most things and some they are not shipping to my zip code right now. I wanted a case of Rosarita’s beans but that’s not available as of yet. I’ll do a write up down the road when I get it together.

I need to schedule my labs for next week or maybe the following week. I don’t see Dr. Laptalo till the end of April and even then if things are only the same( my numbers going up but still not starting treatment), I’ll ask to just pass on seeing him physically.

BTW, Finnie seems to be doing better and eating a little more. I’m still not sure how long he will last but at least there has been an improvement.

Oh, and I think we are going to get some chicks as we know we’re not going traveling anytime soon so we will be home to take care of them.  I may order online so as to avoid the feed store though.

Well, I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

 

Simple Simple Sunday

Posted in cooking, covid-19, Uncategorized by

Well, life certainly has slowed down for most everyone. It’s such an interesting phenomenon that I’m sure sociologists will be studying this period of time for many decades to come.

We’ve been taking our morning walk and in the afternoon just walking around the property. I’m planning on walking down our hill to the mailbox or even the post office when I get up the gumption to tackle the hill coming back up. It’s about a 45degree angle so quite steep.

This week is the bedroom zone. I took down the velvet curtains and put up the light white ones from Ikea, washed the windows, dusted and watered the plant in there. I think I’m going to hang out the quilts in the sun today too.  It is supposed to rain again but today is sunny and nice.

Some meals I’ve been making:

  • turkey chili with white beans plus some cornbread and a big green salad
  •           pizza that was a sourdough crust(and quite good, I might add) with sausage, mushrooms, peppers, and pineapple
  •         buckwheat crepes with fruit
  •         penne pasta with chicken sausage,  spinach, and cheese.
  •         Next week:
  •         Brinner
  •         Grilled chicken with potatoes and a vegetable
  •         Tofu burgers
  •         ????

Well,  all in all, a nice day.