menu for the week and misc.

I finally got my early am walk with my new Merrills. They are definitely a stiff boot that keeps my foot from moving too much. I can see why Chat recommended them for a foot fracture. Overall, my foot is better, and I do wear my Hokas in the house all day, and I think that helped. I haven’t worn my Birkies in a while because I think they didn’t support my foot enough.

I did a menu plan for the week so i have a rough idea of what I want to make.

Last night I made chicken enchiladas with green (verde) sauce. We had a salad on the side.

Tuesday- I’m going to make tomato bisque soup( from Costco) and some cheese sliders.

Wednesday- I have some mac and cheese I want to use up. I might add some tuna for protein.

Thursday – I think I’ll make a tofu scramble with veggies and nuts.

Friday – I’m not sure we’ll do pizza, so I’ll wait and see what my daughter wants.

Saturday- ?? TBD. maybe a burger of some kinda and fries.

Yesterday, I dropped my books off at the library and recycled batteries there, too. The gym was busy, but I found my way around without any delays. From there, I went up to Costco, mostly for coffee and a few other things. I think the food part was @ 100. I paid cash.

Today is a home day, and my son is coming over after work to visit. I don’t have any big chores for him to do, so it’ll just be a catch-up on what’s going on. Although he could put the cardboard in the recycle bin for me. Since he has the truck, it would be easier for him to do.

A surprise!

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.

Midweek Musings

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.

Frugal Friday

This has been mostly a frugal week. All the bills are paid for the month except Verizon, which comes out at the very end of the month, and that goes on next month’s budget.

I did hit up WinCo for a few things. I needed baker’s yeast and didn’t want to get the giant one at Costco. I also picked up curry powder, which I was out of. And then just some misc. like milk and aluminum foil. It totaled at right above $100. So not too bad.

Today is a home day since I’m on Dex. I plan on doing a few house chores and figuring out what pizza I’m having tonight.

I got my holds at the library on Tuesday and just finished reading Anne Tyler’s Three Days in June. I loved it. You have to like character-type books, as this focuses on a woman in her sixties and her daughter’s upcoming wedding. It’s a great read.

Then I started ‘Enough’ about a woman’s journey as a mountain guide and her journey to Mt Everest. It’s quite compelling. If you like personal life stories, you’ll like this.

I bought an early birthday present for my daughter off Amazon:(. A BBQ set by Cuisenart . That’s one thing she asked for. I would like to get her a preloved LV wallet, but haven’t quite found the right one on eBay. Her birthday isn’t till the end of May, so I have a little time. I can’t believe she’ll be 40. I remember it like yesterday.

Thankful Thursday

I’m thankful I can be flexible when I need to be because:

I woke up grumpy this morning and decided to NOT walk. That’s kind of a big deal for me not to do something when it’s planned. but I figured Fuck it, I’m not walking. I will go to the gym after Velcade and call it good.

I’m thankful the library is such a wonderful resource. I’ll get my holds after the gym.

Last night, we had homemade lentil vegetable soup with the Tartine baguette. The baguette came out very well, and I’m pleased. As I’ve said, his recipe seems to always work. It may be that his hydration is spot on. I used the instant pot for the lentil soup and it was done in 20 minutes of pressure time.

I’m over the moon that Barclay is doing so well. No nosebleeds and his energy is good. Today he’s getting labs so I’m hopeful they are still above the 100 mark for platelets. So grateful for this round being so much easier.

I’m grateful, most of what I wanted to get for Christmas is done. I feel like this is the last year of doing presents even though I didn’t do a whole lot this year. It still adds up and we’re definitely towing the line with money. I think I’ll formulate a plan and write it down so I can reference it for next year. Like maybe Amazon gift cards? Plus be more diligent with the budget.

I’m thankful it’s only 16 days to the Winter Solciste.

Thankful Thursday( late) and Frugal Friday

Yesterday was busy so I didn’t get anything written. I had to be down at infusion by 8:30am so needed to leave early. I did get my walk in first thing and that was nice. I’m thankful, I am still walking even though B isn’t. With his numbers so down he doesn’t have the energy.:(

I’m thankful infusion went ok. They are great nurses for sure. I noticed though there weren’t curtains to pull around the chairs which is odd for infusion rooms. All the UCD infusion chairs have some kind of curtain for privacy.

After infusion, I went to the library to pick up my holds. I am thankful for the Martha Riley Library as it is a wonderful community space.

I didn’t really have any enthusiasm to go to the gym. After that, I went back down to Winco. I finally saw where the new Trader Joe’s is and funny, it’s right down from Winco. But you can’t see it right off as the gas station blocks the view. It looks to be a bigger one than the Rocklin one so I’ll check it out next time I swim.

I’m thankful this fall has been colorful with leaves turning all shades of yellows, golds and some reds. Other than that, this week is really a downer if I’m honest.

Frugal-wise, it was ok. I didn’t really do a whole lot. All of the first-of-the-month bills are paid. There’s a little left over to get through till the end of the month. There’s Thanksgiving and so I’ll need a few more groceries for that. I ordered the Diestal turkey roast to be delivered on Nov 21. They are not cheap, but local and I’ve had good luck cooking them.

I spent $125 at Winco, $25 was on wine, so $100 was on food. I also filled the car up at Costco gas so that is a big $$ savings.

Today is a Dex day so it’s home for me. Barclay’s platelets have tanked so he’s going in for more labs this morning and hopefully scheduled for infusion. this is day 10. so we’re starting to hit the real downtime (days 10-15). He’s much better this cycle but still, there’s the platelets dropping. His hemoglobin is doing ok, but I think this is the period too where that started dropping. Fingers crossed it doesn’t.

My son is coming up today to work on a few things. If B needs an infusion tomorrow he could take him and my daughter go get him. We need the labs to come in till we know and the doctor says his platelets need to be under 50 for transfusion. I guess what she was saying is this is UCD policy. What a crock of shit. If it’s only going to keep going down and that means an ER visit, he knows he’s at 90 so why wait??? Doesn’t make any sense.

I’m still committed to not watching the news, it’s kind of a relief really. I know how I am with stuff that upsets me so much, so I feel this is a good thing for me right now. For how long? Who knows??

Thankful Thursday

First, the biggest is B’s numbers went up enough that he didn’t need the transfusion. Today is his labs so we should know if they increased. The doctor will reduce the chemo by 25%. Also, we’ll know what to look for this time. Dr. Lee from Stanford doesn’t want to go down too much more otherwise the chemo is really for naught. So he thinks he’s still a good candidate for the Hipec so that’s what matters here.

I’m thankful to still keep walking at 6am even though it is very star-filled. I like it early but I have to admit I am feeling somewhat less motivated. Maybe that’s an age thing too or just that I need to find my why again. Right now I’ll just stick to what I’m doing which is 5 days a week sometimes 4( when I’m feeling lazy:))

I’m certainly thankful my daughter can take her Dad for labs etc. This morning I’m meeting up with the library friends so I can’t do it till later and it’s better to get them done early so the results come in.

I’m thankful to be able to swim at the pool even though it’s been hit or miss. With everything going on if I get one swim a week in that’s good. Yesterday, made it twice this week( hurray) but the pool was crazy busy. I had to wait 2o minutes for a lane and then because the pool closes at 9:25, I barely got a swim in. There seemed to be a lot of people there I hadn’t seen before. It’s odd how it is that sometimes it empties out at 8:30 and other times people were NOT giving up their lanes even though they had been swimming over an hour. I wonder if Roseville P and R could put an hour limit on lap time. ?? I doubt it but it does seem unfair when some people are swimming an hour and a half when there’s 3 people waiting. And that’s 2 to a lane. I won’t do circle swimming( that’s where there is another person who follows you and you swim in a circle. Last time I got kicked in the head. Oh well, it is what it is.

I’m grateful for our beautiful fall weather. We’re having a wood fire in the mornings to take the chill off the house. It’s very cozy.

I’m thankful we’re near the end of the whole campaigning thing. I’d just like to be over. It’s going to be very tense that Nov 5 and beyond whatever happens. I voted early and just got the notice my vote was counted!

I’m grateful for the Roseville Public Library. It’s a welcoming place and I love getting my books there.

Thankful Thursday

So thankful chemo went well. No problems at all; it went way quicker than we thought it would.

I’m thankful I had lots of books on hold so I can read today. One was a LP so I have to return that and get the regular one. I have been reading ‘The Two Towers’ and am about a third of the way through.

I’m thankful I do not have to drive to Sacramento today to pick up B’s specialty prescription. This is one that is very expensive and has to go through the grant process. It’ll probably be ready Monday or Tuesday. He is supposed to start it tomorrow but that’s not going to happen.

I’m grateful that the heat wave will soon be over and we’ll be back in normal October weather. It’s not too unusual to have higher temperatures in October just not 99 degrees. I think today is supposed to be 94.

I’m making a loaf of whole wheat bread in the breadmaker but I think the hydration is off. It seems too stiff. I’ll still bake it but next time I’ll do a bit more water. With the bread maker, it’s harder to adjust the ingredients as the machine is doing the mixing and kneading. So when I checked it later I could see that it was a little stiff but by then it’s too late to add water. I’ll see how it turns out. Whole wheat is always a little tricky anyway.

Simple Sunday

Finally a walk in the park at 5:30. Very nice and cool. All the Canada Geese babies have grown up except one family and they were the last ones born. They grow up so quick. We did 1.5 miles so I felt good about that.

Today we’re going to Costco so that will add more steps to the day. We don’t need a whole lot but it adds up, Toilet paper is 20, coffee 15, etc. Adds up pretty quickly. We also need to gas up the Chevy and get cash from the teller.

Once we’re back home my son will help B put up the shower curtain holder on the ceiling. The one contractor we had come check it out said his bathroom was just as small and he put in the hotel-type rod on the ceiling. So it’s a band that then has the hooks attached. Think of the hospital-type curtains in the ER or in a room. I ordered the extra long curtain so it should go all the way to the shower pan.

Here’s my well-loved claw foot tub. It took 3 people to move it out. I’m still very sad to not have it in there anymore but I know it’s for the best. I just wish there had been a way to keep the bathroom the way it was and add a shower somewhere else. But alas, that was not to be. Our future selves will thank us, I guess.

It’s been a rough week with norovirus and the handyman doing the bathroom, part one. As with most things, there were some snafus and it took a whole day longer. The grout has to now dry for a few days. We will still need him to install grab bars(they will need to be installed with a special drill because of the tile) and we’re not sure if he’ll do the flooring or B and my son will tackle it. The floor should be an easy project but we can’t do anything till we’re back. We still need to look at painting in there too. I think I have some of the original color left but not sure how much. I think I’d like to go to a very light grey as the grout between the white subway tiles is gray.

Since we’re gone all next week we can think about it. My daughter has some appts next week but otherwise, she’ll be here most of the time. She’s been working on cleaning up the chicken yard. Of course, Big Brownie is still using the coop but doesn’t go very far. Like I said, chickens are flock animals and I’m guessing she’ll go in a few months or less. We’re in for another few days of excessive heat next week, and that might do her in. Chickens don’t do well in the heat.

So yesterday, I drove to Roseville to pick up my holds so I’d have them for Tahoe. I’m excited about the new Longmire book. I didn’t go to the gym even though I wanted to. I still don’t feel quite up to working out. I stopped at Noah’s for bagels to bring with us and for here.

Things are still chaos in the living room that is now housing all the bathroom things. I really hate disorder so it’s been challenging. I guess I just need to get over it for now. I haven’t even done Flylady this week partly because I was sick and the contractor kid here( Well, he’s not a contractor per se, just a licensed handyman). It’s ok, it’ll all still be here to get done.

We’re back home from going to the new Costco in Rocklin. Wow, it’s really nice. It’ll be such an easy on, easy off from the freeway. I can see going more frequently and doing smaller shops.

Last night we had a BBQ and it was nice enough outside to sit outside. The temperature had dropped quite a bit to the mid-80s. I’m not sure what’s on the menu for tonight but probably I’ll BBQ some burgers and tofu.

Thankful Thursday

I am grateful that my husband put the coolers in most of the windows as the house is getting warm with this heat wave. Today it is cooling off so that will help. Our neighbor( Leo’s son) who somehow wrangled into a very low mortgage on Leo’s house, just put in a whole house heating and air unit. I sure wish we could do that. But I’m guessing that to be around $15,000 although with him you never know as he is quite miserly and had a relative doing the work.

I’m thankful for such lovely walks and even though I’d like to get there just a tad earlier, it’s still nice. My knee seems to be much improved. I’m not really doing the PT exercises at this point although I probably should be.:) I don’t think my knee will ever be totally healed( torn ACLs don’t heal, you just strengthen the muscles surrounding the area.)

I’m so thankful for the Roseville Library. It’s such a nice space. I picked up my 2 holds plus another cookbook to look through. Does anyone have ideas on new cookbooks? This one has some good recipes and is similar to the way I cook. I aked the library to purchase a cookbook that a youtube person recommended. It sounded good and the soup she made did look delicious. The book is Garlic, Olive Oil and everything else.

I’m thankful we saved the barn kitties and they are now house cats!! They’re still not the friendliest cats(no lap sitting) but they are sweet and they have a home. Chester though, who just showed up one day?) loves to snuggle and sit on our laps and will even sleep next to us on the bed. The mama cat still counts the kids to be sure they are all there. She’s a funny cat.

What things are you grateful for?