Tag Archives: hot weather

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, Gratitude, home stuff, swimming, Uncategorized by

I’m thankful it’s been a good week without any appts apart from my lab appt. I did that early yesterday (7:30), and then went to the pool.

I’m thankful the guy who does my draws is quite good and this time he left NO mark, so that’s a win.

The pool was wonderful and I had a lane to myself the whole time. I’m a little stiff this morning from swimming but that happens if I haven’t been for 6 days. I am very thankful for this pool and how well it is maintained. It’s been 5 years since I started back swimming. I plan to go one more time this week. That may then exclude going to the gym as I do need to be conscious of time and gas $.

The weather is hot, that’s all I can say and it looks like this is hot and next week is hotter. Not my favorite at all. I did a little outside watering yesterday and will do some this morning. We’re not trying to keep any grass green, just watering lavender bushes etc.

I’m thankful my daughter did the Costco trip for water. We do use plastic bottles, mostly I do at night when I wake up and need a drink and also I use bottles to track how much H2O I drink. Not ideal with the plastic, but it is what it is and I have to choose my battles.

After the pool , I went across the street to Winco and got a few things. Mostly, I wanted some veggies and although not organic, they do have wonderful produce. They do have organic veggies though. I bought a cabbage for coleslaw, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, and romaine lettuce. I picked up some corn tortillas to make enchiladas. I also picked up a pre seasoned tri tip so I might make that tonight. I don’t usually buy meat at Winco, just Costco so I’ll see how the quality is.

Today, I plan on decluttering some in the bedroom and clean out the fridge some. I think I’ll put a pot of beans on too. Later, I’m going to pop out to Ikeda’s for more tomatoes. I kinda feel like going to the bookstore but that’s on the other side of town. We’ll see, maybe my daughter will want to go.

I am thankful to have started recycling again. It’s kind of a pain to do but I’m keeping it manageable. It’s in a convenient location so I like that. I only had 3 bags, so I got back $8. Not bad. I think next time I’ll wait to have a bit more.

Simple Sunday

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

Well, it’s officially hot and getting hotter. I saw close to 100 next week. Yikes. Coolers will be going.

I woke up early around 5 and decided to get up instead of lying there for half an hour. I checked my ResMed, and it looked good. Good mask fit and .2 events, which is almost perfect.

I did find a cancellation for my labs on Wednesday morning at 7:30, which is better for me than 11:40. I’ll keep checking, and maybe one will open up on Monday or Tuesday. Because of forgetting to do it, I went ahead and scheduled my next labs for after my August Velcade, so that’s done.

We’ll see how the labs are. It takes 3 months of a trend to be sure of something, so I hope it goes down slightly or at least stays the same.

The gym was a bit busy, but I did my usual weights and a little treadmill. Since I walked already this morning, I only did about 12 minutes.

After the gym, I went over to Goodwill and found a few things. A new Gap T-shirt in navy, which is always a hard color to find for some reason. Then a cool Starbucks cup that is a mini coffee press. It looked brand new. That’ll be fun to try.

I have chicken for dinner, as we had the cheese chile relleno last night. My daughter did it in the air fryer, and I’d definitely recommend that way to cook it.

The rest of the day is probably spent hanging out inside, as it’s too hot already to go sit outside. I’ll send iRobot around to vacuum and maybe mop. I’ve been doing some embroidering on napkins, so I might keep doing that.

Friday Things

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, camping, Lake tahoe, Uncategorized by

It was a semi-frugal week because of not being home for a few days. But we did spend some money on coffee and pastries, and of course, gas. Today I do need to go to the store and get some salad stuff and maybe some assorted veggies. I’m still not planning to go down to Roseville yet. Maybe tomorrow.

We had grilled chicken for dinner last night and potatoes. I have chicken left over, so I’ll either make a chicken salad or slice it for sandwiches.

I did a small Costco trip earlier in the week, so that filled in a few things. I’m trying not to buy Costco salad stuff, as we don’t finish the big packs. I did see their spinach salad, which I would try if it’s there next time.

I also need to go into the AAA office to deal with the non op motorcycle registration. I figured I could do it online, but apparently you need to show insurance. So I’ll do that first and then go over to Safeway.

We are in a heat wave again, temperatures in the 90’s. I closed all the windows early yesterday, and that helped. I also have blackout curtains on the windows that get the most direct sun. The heat is supposed to be here through the next couple of days, then drop a bit, but be back in the 90s again next week. By the end of next week it’s back down in the 70’s and 80’s.

Midweek Musings

Posted in Blood test, books, budgeting, California, cancer, library, Uncategorized by

Well, of course, things wouldn’t go as planned. B didn’t get his labs in time for his immuno yesterday, so they are pushed over to today. We should have realized Monday was a holiday and gotten them on Friday. UGH!!!

Then, on top of that, he needs a transfusion of blood and platelets. We’re guessing the cancer is progressing(sigh) and the blood is being diverted. I am having a hard time keeping it together.

After I drop him off, I plan to go down to Maheny to do upper body weights and pick up my holds at the library. Then, I need to go to WinCo and stop and get gas at Costco.

We are headed for some very hot temperatures, like 99 degrees on Friday and Saturday. My daughter has put in 2 A/C’s in the LR and in the entry way. Next will be our bedroom and the sunroom. After the brief heat wave, it’s supposed to drop back down in temperature.

I’m back from Roseville, and it did get long. By the time I was getting gas, I was really tired. I’ve just put groceries away and am going to lie down and rest my back. At least tomorrow is a home day. Next week I plan on going to the pool. I feel I’m ready to do a little like maybe 15 minutes. They do have leg buoys to use that go between your legs so you’re not kicking. I may try and use one of those.

Saturday, hot and hot

Posted in Blood test, books, California, Myeloma, reading by

That’s it. It will be hot. I have all the windows closed and the thermal blackout curtains closed too. I have one cooler running on 78 so some air is circulating.

As I mentioned, I was planning on taking the 8 mg of Dex and I did that evening. I slept ok so I don’t know if my BP went up but I think not. I took it when I got up and it was in perfect range. I checked all day and it was fine. So I decided to go ahead and do 4mg Friday. And today I did 4mg so that takes me up to 16mg. My BP has been in perfect range so maybe that’s the ticket. I’m still unsure how the efficacy of doing it over a few days will be and I will ask Dr. L when I see him next. I get labs Monday so it may be too soon to tell with these labs. I guess we’ll just wait and see.

I’ve been busy this morning and even with the 4 mg of dex, I feel pretty good. So I put back a few baskets on the bathroom shelves and hung my Japanese block print back up. I love Japanese block prints but really only like the ones with water or Mt Fuji. I’ve checked eBay and they are out there but pricey.

I hardboiled some eggs so B can have extra protein. He’s lost way too much weight and so we’re trying to figure out if it’s serious or just that he’s burning more calories than he’s taking in. So far all his labs are in the good range so no surprises. He has a CT scan scheduled to see if there’s some obstruction and he’s called his UCD transplant team to check in. Hopefully, it’s just calories in calories out.

Then I’m making chicken broth in the crock pot to either can or freeze. I still want to replace my instant pot but it’ll have to wait till we have some spare $.

I made a pesto noodle salad for dinner and added some olives and mozzarella. It’s so hot we’ll want to have something cold I think. We even ate at the table last night because it was too hot outside. We had a shrimp scampi, a big tomato, fresh mozzarella, and bibb lettuce. then I pan-toasted some homemade sourdough with garlic and olive oil. Very tasty.

I think my daughter will drive me to the pet bookstore to check if any Longmires came in. I doubt it though, I scoured Goodwill in Auburn and not one. I guess if I really want them I’ll have to buy them used on Ebay but there not cheap! I guess people keep them as they are very re-readable.

Guster in a small dog harness!!!

Friday things.

Posted in Blood test, bread, budgets, cancer, Myeloma by

I had my consult with my PCP about my slightly higher LDL #. My HDL was very good and the ratio was good but he wanted/needed to tell me to try and cut out some higher fat foods like butter. 🙁 I love butter but I told him I will do my best and he said we can test in another year. So that’s that. I will try to cut back on butter and cheese and some carbs. I cook with a lot of butter but usually in combination with olive oil. I’ll just try and be more conscious of using butter like on toast and bagels etc. Also, my thyroid numbers came back normal. Last time when my LDL was slightly high it must have been about 6-7 years ago, I started eating oatmeal for breakfast 4-5 times a week and within 6 months my cholesterol dropped 60 points.

My Myeloma labs came back almost the same as last month. So hurray on that. Another month of freedom so to speak. All my other labs were normal and the same as before. So all in all, it’s good.

Our anniversary is next week and B said I should go buy the Louis Vuitton. I said I’ll think about it. It’s not a cheap purchase and I’m quite happy with my Coach bag I bought that is similar in size to the Neverful. Still, a Louis is a Louis. I think my obsession( sort of) is that it’s French (although not many are made in France anymore) and the quality of workmanship. I only love the LV monogram and the black ones. The others are really quite gaudy in my opinion. Well, I’m certainly not getting younger:( That purchase would definitely NOT fit into Frugal Friday!!!

Today is a home day and I’ve done my morning reset, bathroom swish and swipe, and kitchen tidy. I plan on going to the farm this afternoon for a few things. I also am feeding my sourdough starter and plan on putting it into one jar instead of 3 1/2 jars. I might make some sourdough bagels this weekend. If I’m cutting out some carbs I might make bread with whole wheat as that is better on the glycemic scale.

Tomorrow after swimming I’m planning to go to Trader Joe’s for a few things. I know they have Ezekiel bread which is good and whole wheat tortillas too. I’m certainly willing to switch things up a bit. Besides, I always like a challenge.

Our hot weather continues. It’s very depressing after what seems like forever of 100 degree days. The nights aren’t cooling off hardly at all. Next week temperatures are all in the mid 90s so maybe that will be a little better.

I’m waiting for the next batch of tomatoes to ripen so I can process them. I’ll probably just do the tomato sauce again. I don’t think there’s too much else I’m interested in doing except getting some corn to quick freeze. Last year I did about 12 bags of corn and we used them all. Safeway usually has the best prices. I’ll check their flyer later.

On the spending side, I put an order into Rancho Gordo for 8 bags(1lb). Since they are in Napa they arrived in record time. If you haven’t tried their beans, you should. They are all heirloom and absolutely delicious. I ordered a new one to try called Whipple bean. I also added on a jar of Mexican oregano. When I opened it, it didn’t smell too much different from my oregano. So I’ll have to see how it is in recipes. Let’s see, I ordered falafel mix from Amazon because TJ’s doesn’t carry it in their stores anymore and finding it in the regular grocery store is a PITA. I bought some salad stuff from Holiday Market too. Even with cash envelopes, I’m still spending @ $700 a month on food. I guess that’s just the norm. At Costco, I did mostly cash and then the rest on the debit card. Costco is always more than I think it will be, of course!! Well, B did buy Sierra pale Ale beer but it’s really the best price for it if you drink beer. I also picked a few bulk items like sugar and some more flour.

Hot Weather continues

Posted in California, cooking, Uncategorized by

Today we are 100 degrees. It is really getting old that it is just day after day of heat. The mornings start off nice and then by noon it’s hot.

It looks like this will continue for at least the next week. I mean it is July/August in California but still…

The NP, in the video conference, did tell B to lower the Jakofi to one a day till we see how the hydration is going. I’m pretty sure she talked with Dr. Abedi and voiced my disapproval/concern about the creatine being linked to when he started the 2nd Jakofi. So I guess we’ll see.

I haven’t been too inspired to cook( too hot) but I did make a nice brown rice salad last night for dinner. It was brown rice, carrots, green onions, a few olives, a nice zucchini from the garden, tomatoes from the garden and some parmesan cheese. It was good.  I also made kinda a green dressing with parsley, basil, and a little thyme. I put it in the Vita-mix with lemon and olive oil. I had tried it in the food processor before and it didn’t seem to pulverize it. I’m wondering if the food processor just doesn’t do that. If that’s what you have happened let me know.  So I think my son is planning on cooking some fish tonight( mahi-mahi).  Not sure about the vegetarian option but the rice salad and maybe a beyond burger. No one seems especially hungry at dinner time so maybe we should do a few YOYO nights.

I ordered a few used cookbooks to purview.  One is actually one I gave away years ago. A vegetarian cookbook from Ananda.  I found it on amazon used so with our pet bookstore closed I decided to get it. I had ordered a book on eBay about southern cooking but then it was not in stock even though I paid for it so now it’s hanging out there to be refunded. Oh well, not good communication on the seller’s part.

0EA75C1C-8663-4BAB-8DF2-C2F03AECCD4D

I offered up some sourdough starter on our Nextdoor neighbor site. I have way too much starter. So I had one person interested so I gave them 2 jars. I still have a quart in the fridge.

 

Simple Sunday and the best $15.00 I spent this year.

Posted in California, cooking, husband, Uncategorized by

Hot!

A hot week in Northern California. I guess we will need the coolers all week. Fortunately, we can and do turn them off by 9pm. I got out in the pool on the floatie yesterday and it was nice.

Happy Father’s Day to B.

I made pancakes, scrambled eggs, and some veggie bacon. Plus fresh coffee. It was pleasant to sit out on the patio.

This week is the bedroom zone for those that follow  Flylady. I want to declutter the closet some and wash the bed covers. I do the sheets every Sunday but the covers only once every couple of months. The linen sheets from Ikea have held up well( they are a year old) and the cost is very reasonable for linen.

 

The best $15 I spent this year was for the Lodge crepe/ low side griddle pan.

6F0A89CA-E598-485F-B49C-33B56C6DAB1B

I bought this at Target so I could make crepes this spring. Now I use it for almost everything I used the other two cast iron pans for. I still use my vintage cast iron that I’ve had for 40 years.  When I was given these they were already antique. So I’m guessing they’re @ 80 years old.

It’s not at Target right now but at Amazon

It is a great pan for crepes, pancakes, chicken, tofu, and lots of other things that benefit from a small edge.

 

Tonight I’m going to make the Impossibe burgers with all the trimmings. Safeway has just started selling the block( looks just like beef). I’ll let you know how it is.

 

Simple Sunday

Posted in cooking, Flylady, MDS, Myeloma, simple foods, Uncategorized by

Wowza, it is hot!

We’re hitting the 101 mark today and I have the coolers on already at 75.

I just finished the LR zone and am deciding whether to go to the gym. I don’t want to aggravate my rib pain. Plus, I’m trying to decide whether this merits an x-ray.  If it’s a pulled muscle then it’ll slowly get better. If it’s a rib fracture, the question would be why? So, I think I’ll wait and see how it is tomorrow. I told my husband, that I’m pretty sure this happened last year but can’t find any notes relating to it.

I’m making a new recipe tonight ‘Roman Chicken’ that’s from Food Network. Mostly it’s just chicken, peppers, capers, onions and tomatoes. Not sure what makes it “Roman” but I’ll try it.

I finished a good mystery by Baldacci; ” The Fix”. It was a good spy mystery. Now I don’t have any books left so I may need to go down to the pet bookstore and see if there’s anything there.

It’s now later, and I decided NOT to go to the gym. Sunday is my favorite day there as all the regulars aren’t there. Plus there are no jump around classes although there is a yoga class.

B has two appts this week. Getting his orthopedic boot on Monday and Tuesday is clinic. His counts all went down a little but I guess that’s to be expected.

 

Simple Sunday​

Posted in cooking, simplicity, Uncategorized by

Boy, it is still hot, hot, hot!!!

Actually, it’s only 98 degrees, .maybe 99, so not over 100 but it feels hotter. I’ve been out in the pool daily with my glass of wine and float around for an hour or so. That’s where I’m headed now.

I went to the gym this morning and did weights.

Tomorrow I head down to Roseville to see the podiatrist FINALLY. How ridiculous is waiting 4 weeks and being referred to 4 different ones till finally, this guy could see me?

But my foot is feeling better so that is a good sign. I’m hoping to get back to walking at least .5 mile a day this week.  🙂 We’ll see…..

It’s too hot to do much but the zone this week is entryways and dining room.  We don’t have a dining room per se, just a table and chairs in the living room area.IMG_1432.jpg

So that’s always an easy zone. The entryways have geraniums and both look good so that’s done too.

The entryways have geraniums and both look good so that’s done too.

It is supposed to cool into the 80’s so I’ll probably get out to the barn for some tidying. It is coming along and I think we may get it pretty well sorted out this summer. There’s a back room in the barn and that needs clearing out and I’ll wash the windows. It’s a hot room as there are windows on the one wall.  But I’d like to move all the extra stuff out of there and just start fresh.

Dinner is unknown except for a salad….