Tag Archives: labs

Frugal Friday

Posted in Blood test, books, bread, budgeting, California, cancer, cash envelopes, cooking, frugalism, Uncategorized by

I stopped at Trader Joe’s after the infusion and spent$70 on food. Mostly it was bread, some chicken shwarma( TJ’s has this all seasoned in the meat section and for a great price)my son wanted, pita bread, and a few things I’d been looking for. One was Harrisa and I found it on a bottom shelf. It’s used in some vegan dishes in the new cookbook I got a while back,

Also, the YouTuber Vegan channel, Madeline Olivia, made some black bean meatballs with Harrisa and she said that’s what gives their kick, so I thought I’d try that.

Here’s my copycat Panera Broccoli cheddar soup we had for dinner. this was before I blended it in the Vita-mix. I used most of the leftover Costco bag of broccoli I had in the freezer. It was quite good with this loaf of sourdough. My starter is doing really well after a few days of feeding.

The rain is back and so is the wind so no gym or anything today. Plus Dex is still in my system and my face is still a little red. Boy, I looked like a beet yesterday:)

I bought a pair of Levi’s on eBay at a good price. NWT and only 29.99. On the website, they’re $60 so I thought that was a great deal. Right now I only have one nice pair of Levi’s I use to go out on dates etc. And then only 2 sort of beat-up ones for going to the store or around the house. I never sweat pants at home, only right after getting up and we walk, otherwise, I dress in jeans and Bombas T-shirts or my yoga pants to go to the gym. So I will take that cash and put it back in the bank when I’m in town next.

Next week I have labs so that will give us another picture of what the myeloma cells are doing. I have one more infusion at the end of March before I see Dr. L, so I guess ,depending on this one, I’ll decide to either wait or message him about adding in the second dose. Other than that I have PT on Tuesday and then no other appts. I really do prefer my schedule open and flexible but medical appts are necessary at this point.

I don’t have any meal prep to do today so I think I’ll concentrate on the kitchen zone.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, California, cancer, cooking, knee injury, Uncategorized, Walking by

Yay, I walked one round in the park. This week I plan to try and walk 3 times. It’s slow going but I need to build up to my regular walking schedule. Hopefully, I can at least get up to a mile.

I plan on going into the Auburn gym this morning. I haven’t been there forever. After that just come home and do Sunday things. I want to meal plan the week and I want to do the bathroom and bedroom zones.

Okay, back from the gym. It went ok. I’m glad to be back to my Sunday routine. Once home, I prepped the stuffed peppers and got them in the crock pot. I’m pretty sure I’m going to buy another instant pot. The one I like is the new version that’s more oval. I haven’t seen it physically but the pictures look good. Maybe in March. I did check marketplace but they all seemed overpriced for used.

Tomorrow, I have PT and my monthly labs. This is the first month on monthly Velcade so hopefully, all is good. Dr. L wasn’t too worried and that’s why he scheduled a follow-up for the end of March.

Today is Super Bowl and we are not watching. We don’t have the networks that play it so I guess unless we subscribed we’re out of luck. That’s ok, I’m really not into football although it is the SF 49ers:)

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, California, cancer, cooking, Myeloma, Walking by

A nice walk this morning with fairly warm temperatures. My knee has flared up again so I took it slow. Somehow I think the flare ups are corresponding to after I take dex for some reason as this happened a while back too. It seems I’m just about done with it and then there’s a back step and it bothers me again. I’ve never had a knee injury so maybe it will come and go for a while yet. The cortisone shot did really help and I suppose if in 2 more months I need another one I’ll go back to the doctor.

Yesterday B peeled apples and I sliced them and canned them for apple pie filling. A fairly easy process. This morning I pulled a package of puff pastry out of the freezer to make apple turnovers. For dinner, I made turkey wild rice soup. There’s enough for lunch today. For dinner tonight…??? not sure but probably a freezer meal of some sort.

I did weights this morning. Tomorrow I have my labs and plan to go down to Roseville afterwards. We’ll see. I know I want to swim on Tuesday because I have the dentist on Wednesday.

On Thursday, some of the women from the old FOL are getting together for coffee so I’ll join them. They are always fun to get together with. One of the women’s husband was diagnosed this summer with myeloma. He’s in his 80’s and it’s been rough. Because of other issues, he’s in an assisted living home so that makes it even harder to keep track of how he’s doing.

Well, I’m off to finish the apple turnovers.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, bread, cooking, home stuff, minimalism, Myeloma, simplicity, Uncategorized, Walking by

Beautiful weather this morning , cool and refreshing. Our walk was nice except, once again, after 4 months the AH showed up. He doesn’t look at us just drags his dog beside him. Actually, my guess is he had some kind of breakdown as he’s gained a lot of weight and is definitely NOT manic like he was. Now he’s playing music on his phone sans headphones. What is with this guy?? Anyway, we just ignore him and go on our way. He’s left before and will probably leave again. We’ve been walking in the park since 2008 or thereabout, so we’ve seen lots of people come and go.

I’m going into the Anytime gym this morning and then to Target for some stainless steel wipes, hand soap, and bar keepers. I’m sure something else will jump out.

I’m not planning on any cooking today. Yesterday I did crockpot fiesta chicken, and made up meatballs for either sandwiches or spaghetti. I did just feed my sourdough starter so I’ll probably make that up this afternoon.

Tomorrow I have my labs. We’ll see how it goes. I was so thrilled last month to only have a one point increase but I don’t want to get too invested in it staying that way when I know it won’t. Still, it was pretty nice to have that happy feeling that my myeloma was somewhat stable.

After my labs, I might go down to Roseville to the Rec Center. I’ll wait till tomorrow and see how I feel.

Wednesday stuff

Posted in Blood test, bread, cooking, decluttering, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

The pool was busy again even though there was a sign about Spring Break. I still had a nice swim. It will be a challenge to go over to the outdoor pool but I’ll just have to wait and see how that goes in June.

I’ve been going through some decluttering again and have posted my tortilla press and some houseplants on our Pay it Forward group. I used the tortilla press maybe half a dozen times but it’s not really my thing. The houseplants are not thriving where I had them( the sunroom) and I’m not into just having plants stuck around anywhere. So I thought I offer the 3 to someone who can make use of them.

I’m feeling the urge to go to a new level of decluttering things that aren’t absolutely necessary. It’s, to me, just levels and layers of decluttering and simplifying. What was important even a few years ago, just isn’t anymore. I want the simplicity of useful items and that aren’t just single purpose appliances. I haven’t put on the bread maker yet but it is on my to do list. Also, I really want to pare down to the ‘poetry’ and only have what is essential. That may include getting rid of any duplicates or things that are just lying around. I don’t have a lot of that but there is always something.

A fresh loaf of sourdough.

Some honey in a new honey Ball jar. So cute!!

Here’s the flowering cherry tree. You can’t really see where the top broke off but it’s in the middle area.

Well, tomorrow is my doctor appt. Not much to really talk about except once again when we might start treatment. As I’ve said my limit is when my kappa light chains get to 100. Right now they are at 46.1 mg/L so that was another 6 point jump. Normal high is 19.4, so it is increasing. 🙁 I’m not sure what his assessment is but I’m not waiting till they are over 600 like last time. As long as the increases are small it’s ok, if they start doubling then it’s time. It does suck but what can you do?

Wild California Weather or Frugal Friday

Posted in Blood test, bread, budgets, California, camping, home stuff, ikea, Myeloma, Pantry, swimming by

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.

Five on Friday

Posted in Blood test, books, California, camping, Pantry by
  1. I went to the gym yesterday and that was good. I plan on swimming tomorrow but we have another winter storm coming in. There was a bazillion truck on the freeway this morning. There were also 3 CHP’s out there too.

2. I plan on going to Winco after the pool too. The only groceries this week were from the Holiday market and it was to fill in stuff before a more extensive shop. I saw in the Costco ad that coffee is on sale so we will plan a Costco trip next week.

3. I have the freezer almost empty which is sort of amazing. I’ll start restocking the freezer with this next Winco and Costco shop. I know for sure we need more frozen veggies, hash browns, fries, and stuff like that. Plus I need to make some ready-to-eat meals like mushroom crepes as they do freeze well. Plus tortillas which freeze well and English muffins.

4. This week from the pantry I used my canned salsa, white bean ragout, veggie soup, and a jar of black beans. These were all pressure-canned and shelf stable. This year my goal is to make 6 new pressure canned recipes.

5. My labs won’t come in till next week so I’ll just have to see what they bring. The week of March 15 we have reservations at New Brighton but it’s a BIG??? depending on the weather. We really don’t want to trailer in rain if we can help it.

This is 6 but I thought I mention a new to me author, Phillip Margolin. I like his Robin Lockwood series. Quite enjoyable.

Simple Sunday on a Monday

Posted in Blood test, California, camping, covid-19, Lake tahoe, meal planning, swimming, travel by

We left Tahoe in the smoke and came home to smoke. Ugh….One day the AQI was 500, which is pretty bad. Today is also not looking good. Our weather is cooler so hopefully, that will help the firefighters.

My daughter went and picked up my VW on Friday and didn’t notice the fan was on full blast, and when I went to turn it down it wasn’t working. I tried a few times and then just decided I would need to confront the garage because it was working fine when I brought it in. So I went in this morning, a little defensive, and said this was working when I left my VW here and now it’s not. She said, we didn’t work on that and I said that may be but my fan control is not working now and it was when I brought it in. I said I would like it fixed. I haven’t heard back from them; hopefully, it is a minor thing. I better not get charged. And there was a diagnostic charge I said don’t bother with and they have it on there so another confrontation, which I do not do well.

I canned BBQ sauce yesterday with the last of the tomatoes. It’s way early for them to be done but this summer has been so weird that it’s just one more thing. It’s thinner than I wanted so I wrote on the lid to add ketchup to thicken it.

Yesterday was my sister, Heidi’s birthday. She would have turned 74. It is so strange how she just had a flare up of the interstitial lung disease and died. She had been coping with it for a number of years with no flare ups. Well, I guess when it’s time, it’s time. ( that’s just me rationalizing).

Tomorrow I have my labs and so I should have my kappa light chain numbers by Friday. I see my doctor next week. Then I scheduled my omicron booster for Friday. I didn’t have any reaction last time so fingers crossed this time. But each time is probably different so who knows.

We’re still on the fence about going to Southern Ca next month. I guess we’ll just keep sifting through our feelings and fiances about it.

My son is off on a cool adventure staying in a fire lookout up in the McCloud district( way Northern Ca). This can be booked like a camping spot and is fairly hard to get a reservation. Back in the 70’s we often went to the Duncan Peak fire lookout especially since our friend Shelley was the lookout person. I haven’t been in years and years and my son said all that’s left is the foundation as all lookouts are done with remote viewing.

I just looked outside and everything is a weird yellow color from the fire. I’m sure the air quality is awful. I was going to swim today but the pool is closed also due to the AQI.

I still need to plan some meals this week and write a grocery list. I need salad stuff so maybe I’ll do Winco for organic spring mixes. I did see a recipe on a youtube channel for a green soup. Lots of veggies and spinach and then blended. Green soup is one of my favorites and this one also had cauliflower and broccoli.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, books, California, cancer, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma, Walking by

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday it was 93 and hot. Today it is overcast and 70. We even had a sprinkling of rain. How cool is that and we really need it.

I had a good walk this morning and almost no one was there except the one runner who happened to be walking. At first, I didn’t recognize her not running, and then on my second round I said” oh you’re not running, I didn’t recognize you”. She laughed. So all in all a nice walk.

I had a bit of a setback yesterday from doing the weights on Thursday. I guess the lactic acid build-up or exercise flu hit me pretty hard. I felt pretty lousy all day and figured out it must have been the weights even though I hardly did more than 20 minutes. So when I go next, I’ll need to hydrate and do less. I’m very careful with anything I do physically but I guess it was more than my body could handle. The last time I did weights at the gym was February of 2020 right at the beginning of all the lockdowns. So perhaps even the small reps were too much. I guess there will be an adjustment period.

Today I’ll do the bathroom zone and quick house tidy. Mostly just putting things back where they belong. Since I didn’t feel like eating much yesterday my daughter put together some ravioli and salad. I’m not sure what I’ll do tonight as I still don’t feel like food much. Maybe breakfast for dinner.

I started reading ‘Maus’ by Art Spiegelman and geez, wow, If you haven’t read go buy it, get it from the library. It is brilliant. Tragic, but brilliant. I’m not sure what the ‘banned book’ thing is about as the story is about his father in Nazi Germany and how he survived in Poland and then eventually was betrayed and was sent to Auschwitz. Maybe the White Supremacists don’t want the truth out there. ( I just looked up the banned book deal. Apparently, it Tennessee that banned because of language(damn) and nudity( I guess the naked men when they were stripped in the concentration camps). WTF, those horrors and so much more beyond our comprehension happened. The world CANNOT forget what Hitler did and was doing to eradicate and entire race of people.

I went to the farm stand Friday and picked up some early zucchini, radishes, lettuce, spinach, and some delicious peaches.

All good news with my labs. No increase and staying almost where they were right above high normal. So I made it to my goal which was to stay out of treatment for a year. Everything else will be icing on the cake. BTW, June 15 is my anniversary of my diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma. 17 years later here I am. Hopefully for a while longer.

This coming week should have much cooler temperatures except Wednesday which looks like a 90 degree day.

Back to our routines.

Posted in Blood test, California, Flylady, home stuff, Uncategorized by

Since Sunday we’ve been slowly getting back to our daily routines. B has been outside nonstop with cleaning out Rubi( the RV) and cleaning it (which it doesn’t need much). He’s getting the pool ready to fill which is always a process and he’s doing endless outdoor chores.

I’ve been catching up with my Flylady routines and seems like today I’m mostly done with everything. I might do a kitchen deep clean later this week.

I like routines and I do better with daily lists and that sort of thing. I always prioritize what is most important to do and get that done first. Today, I have on my list to get out the dehydrator and start drying herbs that are in the garden like oregano, lemon thyme, regular thyme, and tarragon. I think there is some parsley too that can be harvested. We are going to have a bumper crop of garlic and that’s exciting. I guess planting in containers works best for some things and then the earwigs and other things don’t eat the seedlings so they have a chance to grow. The garlic is in 4 barrels so that’ll be a big harvest. I planted the onions around them so once the garlic is done I’m hoping the onions take off. In the 2 big galvanized tubs( they are 2×6), we have tomatoes, peppers, dill, parsley, fennel and I’m not sure what else.

The asparagus we planted last year don’t seem to be doing very well. Only 10 have come up and we planted at least 24. Maybe the soil conditions aren’t quite right. B has already harvested some radishes that he’s growing in an old clawfoot tub that he’s converted to a planter.

I haven’t done any decluttering as of late because where the house is now, seems good. I’m still debating getting rid of some canning jars but since canning season is just starting I think I’ll wait and see what I actually use. I plan on canning salsa, pickles, tomato sauce, and, a few other things. No jams this year as we don’t eat a lot of jam and I still have some marmalade and pepper jelly to use.

Tomorrow I go down to Sacramento to see Dr. L. My numbers came back just slightly over high normal at 19.9mg/L high is 19.4mg/L. last month I was at 18.3/L so a fairly big jump. 1.6, but I’m not too worried yet.