A nice morning. It seems a bit cooler, and there are some high clouds. My walk was nice. There were a bunch of cars parked, but I only saw one other person, so it must have been a meet-up spot.
Today is my Auburn gym day. I can’t say I feel very motivated, but I will go anyway.
Ha, update: I left my key fob at home. I was not thinking, and it wasn’t in the VW, where I always keep my gym bag. So I got to the gym and looked under my TJs bags, and there was no gym bag. For some reason, I had brought it into the house. Oh well, I went and got the oil changed, a car wash, and filled buggy up.
Now that I’m home, I’ll regroup and see what I need to do.
I made a homemade pizza last night. Didn’t come very well. I used fresh mozzarella and overcooked it. Well, it has been a very long time since I’ve made a pizza. Not sure about tonight, I’m sure I’ll figure something out.
The new season of Patience is out if you’ve watched it before. I don’t think it’s as good. I’d give it a B-.
Anyone watching anything good? ideas?
The new show Ride or Die is good so far. I like the actresses.
I have nowhere to be and nothing big on my calendar, so I’ll be home doing what I always do.
We used to take the kids to the parade and watch fireworks every year. At some point, I guess maybe they were a bit older, we stopped because the traffic was insane afterwards, and there were too many people. Now, and over the last 20 years, it just doesn’t interest me. And now that I’m old, I just don’t do something if I don’t want to. Not worth it.
Frugal-wise, Costco was $200, with some of that being my favorite wine for this weekend and then lots of proteins for the freezer. I’m calling that part of the LTF storage as it was a bag of shrimp, another bag of salad shrimp, ground beef(3 packs), and some other sale stuff.
I went to Holiday here in town after getting back up from Sacramento. It’s easy and not crazy busy. I needed the cheese sticks that I forgot at Costco, and some salad things(broccoli, mushrooms, ?. I also got a jar of Hoisin sauce to make some stir-fries with. That’s it for me till next week, which is nice.
My appointment went well, and he did say that with these low numbers, kappa light chains can vary a lot. He said if it was a huge increase( like before ), we’d change up treatment. So onward! I do feel very lucky that my numbers and Velcade have kept me in near remission for the last 3 years. It’s a small price to pay. 🙂
Last night I made up a taco bowl, and it was tasty. I still have some ground beef left, so I may look up some other recipes to use it with. I’ll ask AI, which is fun to do.
I was finally able to upload my Sleep HQ data from my ResMed machine. It took trying like a dozen times till It finally went through. I think the problem was on their end, not the SD card. Anyway, it looked good. Some leakage (pressure), but not anything alarming like my mask coming off. Overall, I was pleased. My events have been around .5 which is statistically non-significant. Events need to be under 5. (AHI) . This is all CPAP lingo, but you get the idea.
Hope you all have a nice 4th, and share what you’re doing if anything. It’s always interesting to see how other people celebrate or not. Well, I guess different times of our lives are, well, different. With young kids, the parade and fireworks are cool; older now, not so much.
Miso soup for breakfast. an interesting recipe from that Japanese cook book I got. It uses tahini which I’ve never done.
A nice walk this morning. It’s Memorial Day weekend, so the town is quiet. I saw so many RV’s on the road coming home from the pool yesterday. Camping season has begun for sure.
Speaking of Memorial Day, a pause to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. My brother, Philip, was killed in action on January 7th 1968. He was only 21. Sadly, my mother never overcame her grief and died 10 years later.
Today, I plan on going to the Auburn gym and doing my weights. I probably will do some treadmill too. Then once home work on the menu ideas for the week. Last night we had tilapia and brown rice with the roasted vegetables from Costco. The veggies were subpar, so they may get tossed.
It’s back to watering the yard, and things are drying up quickly. My daughter wants to keep watering to a minimum this year. We also are not planning a garden. Times change, and there’s so much outside stuff to do that it’s hardly expected to do one. I think the only thing I’ll get is some parsley, basil, chives, and maybe a cherry tomato, and I’ll put them all in a barrel so it’s easy for me to water.
OOps!!Some Gus this is Chester, not Gus, portraits and cactus flowers. He must have been a cute kitten.
What plans do you have for Memorial Day?
My son is going to come over and spend the night so he can go into the office on Tuesday. That saves a trip for him and gas. I might do a BBQ with some chicken and make some potato salad.
I’m thankful all my appts are over for this week. Next week I still have the dentist for a cleaning, but that’s all then till my next Velcade.
I’m thankful, though, both appts went well. My retinal scan showed the same as before, so that was good. I mentioned again to him that I have very teary eyes, and so he tested my tear ducts and they were fine, so he’s going to try an eye drop( prescription and see if that helps.)Today
I’m enjoying this great weather by BBQing and just sitting outside for hours. I did get a bit of pruning of the wisteria done and will do a bit more today.
I’m thankful that my bills are paid for the month. Still not much left over, but I make do. Of course, with that said, I just got the renewal for car insurance that’s due in April, so it just keeps going. sigh:(
Today, I plan on staying home and then tomorrow swim. I miss the pool this week, but it just didn’t fit in at any other time.
All of our cats have had a virus that Mama cat brought in. They’ve been sneezing and sniffling. I’m hoping that it’s mostly over, but Chester seems like he’s been hit hard. They’re still eating and drinking, so that’s a good sign. My daughter is the one who would deal with the vet if necessary, but she said as long as they were eating, it was ok for now.
Well, that’s it for now. What things in your life are you grateful for? As we age, I think being thankful for good health( or as good as it can be) and mobility, and just being alive, is a good thing.
Frugal Girl has a good post on her blog to read. It’s about not comparing where you are in life to others, especially when we are all in different seasons of our lives. It helped me reframe some of where I am. Especially when it comes to traveling, money, and lots of other small things. I’d love to keep traveling like I did with Barclay in the RV, but I can’t trailer the RV. So, after I sell it this spring, how can I create a traveling vehicle? Also, I have a very small fixed income that got smaller after Barclay died( by 1/3 less). I am, though, very grateful that what I do get from SS pays the bills. So comparing myself to people still working and earning is a thief of joy and results in only negative thinking. It makes no sense to do those comparisons, as, like I said, we are all in different seasons of our lives. I will accept where I am and my limitations as well. I say limitations, as that is a fact of getting older. I can’t walk as far as I once did. I can’t do lots of things that even 5 years ago I could, such as getting down on the floor to clean corners or the floor. Nope, it’s not happening, and I accept that. ( maybe begrudgingly):)
I am only going to focus on what I can do as FG suggested. I am going to focus on my own internal process and do what I can to still live my best life. I can still do some traveling, it’s just how I can add that in and afford it. I can still do moderate walking, which is something I love, plus always reading and cooking. Those things don’t cost money and add joy to my life.
Yesterday, I went to the Roseville gym and library. I had about 5 books on hold that were due to come off the hold list. From there, I went to TJ’s to get a couple of gift cards to give my kids. I’ve been struggling with the whole gift-giving this year, especially with Barclay gone. I like giving my kids gifts and have always gone somewhat overboard. Nothing crazy, but still more than I can do now. So, in addition to the TJ’s card, I’m giving each some cash, for my son a dinner out with his partner, and my daughter to go and use at the nursery. It’s all a big adjustment, but necessary since money-wise, I can’t really do much more. I’m sure I will adjust and, in time, be ok with it. Since this is the first Christmas/Hanukkah without B, I’m quite emotional about it all. Time is a great healer, and I’m sure things will get easier as time goes by.
It’s finally raining here in N. California after a very beautiful fall break with lovely sun( at least here in the foothills, the valley has been socked in Tule fog). I’m not sure if I’m going down to the pool or waiting till tomorrow. It’s only 6:30, so I have time to get a sense of the day. I have some decluttering to do with some books and some of the Christmas things my son didn’t want.
My son took us to Grass Valley to see the Christmas decorations. It was lots of fun. He makes quite an effort to do things with me. There they are side by side. My lunch was delicious. A turkey green chili sandwich.
Our weather has been cold but not rainy. The highs are at 58, and the lows are at 42. It looks to be the same for the next week at least. I’ve been using the space heaters some and the wood stove is used daily.
I had a nice swim this week and also went to the gym and library. Overall, a good week exercise-wise. My replacement Merrills are on the way, but it’s still about a week out. I’ve been wearing my Hokas in the house, and that helps some with my foot. My foot, at least, hasn’t gotten worse and is somewhat better.
We had a very nice Thanksgiving. The dinner turned out well, and it was nice. Of course, without Barclay here, it was different and sad but we all raised a glass of champagne to him:)
I’ve been writing out small lists of things to do each day, only 2 or 3 things, and it’s helped me stay on task. Nothing major, but things like wiping down the shelves, dusting the Easton Press books. Just little things. What I don’t get to, I put on a list for the next day. So far, it’s been good for me.
I made a turkey wild rice soup from leftovers yesterday. It was very good, and I put some servings in the Souper cubes to freeze. I need to do a menu for the week sometime today.
I plan on going to the Auburn gym this morning, and then I need a few things from Safeway. Mostly, salad stuff and fruit.
My son texted me yesterday with a picture of one of the truck’s tires, and Whoa!!! It looked like it had hit a pot hole or something and had a big gash in it. He’s taking it in for tires today. I’ll give him some $ for most of it from my EF, which will leave it quite low, but that’s what it’s there for.
This coming week is my Velcade shot and then Dex. I see Dr. L next week, so I’ll have new labs by then, I hope.
We ended up having a lot of rain!! But now it’s blue skies and the temperature is lovely. We should be having day temperatures in the 70s. We have some outside things to do, so that’s perfect. I need to paint the new gutter that S put up and tidy the patio up for winter.
I have a small pile to go to the thrift store and will probably do that on Sunday after the gym. I’m still going through different areas to find more things to add to the pile.
My son and his partner came over on Wednesday afternoon, along with the partner’s parents. They are lovely people, and I wish B could have met them. But they were here for the dad to check out my son’s Subaru. The dad is very mechanically minded. My son is giving( with my permission, as it is my name) the Subaru to him for free. They checked it out and will take it hopefully soon. As soon as that’s done I can take it off the insurance and that is going to save me over $700. I’ll call allstate as soon as it’s signed over.
My daughter and I went to Costco yesterday to finish shopping for the stuff I didn’t get last time. Most of it was non-perishables like the smoke alarms( wow, they were expensive even on sale), TP, and laundry soap. water, and a few other things. From there, we went to my favorite pizza place for a slice of New York pizza. It was fun. I also got the car washed since Quick Quack was just across the street. Costco ended up a little over $300 but I need to break down non food and also long term items and see what the total was.
My food budget for the month came in at about $350, so I’m really getting the hang of not buying so much. The Costco trip I’ll be putting on next month’s budget, which starts next week.
In not-so-happy news, my labs came back with a 4-point increase, so myeloma is definitely on the move. I checked in with Dr. L, and we decided to go one more month and see what the next increase is. I’m disappointed, but it was to be expected at some point. I just wish I could have had at least some period of time with things ‘normal’ after B died. Well, at least I’m asymptomatic which is good. Also the ratio of kappa / lambda was the same so that’s good. The plan will be to try to do biweekly,depending on how next month goes, and if that doesn’t work switch to darzalex fast pro. I’ve made it 20 years with Myeloma and know I’m one of the lucky ones. Still reality sucks that I have to deal with this. 🙁
The transient and ever-changing nature of things. As with Wabi Sabi, impermanence of things and the beauty in the imperfect.
Mono no aware, Mono no aware (物の哀れ): This term translates to “the pathos of things” and is an aesthetic appreciation for the transient nature of life. It involves a gentle sadness or wistfulness at the passing of things and a deep sensitivity to their ephemeral nature. That’s exactly how I feel inmy life. It feels somewhat ‘unreal’ Barclay is not here with me to laugh with, joke with, travel with and everything in between. But I do take comfort in he’s not suffering anymore. It was a very difficult painful last 3 months of his life. Well, now to fall.
Fall is in full swing, here in N. Ca, I get the feeling of Mono no aware and Mujo, and wabi Sabi all rolled up together. We’ve had rain and cloudy days, as well as Tahoe-like days with big, fluffy clouds. I’ve had a few twinkly fires already, since the house stays cool even if it’s nice outside.
Just to back track a little here:
Barclay and I practised Zen Buddhism for many years after our Quaker roots seemed to fade away. However, Quakerism and Buddhism are very similar in fact. Both embrace simplicity and a WAY of life. Of course, Quakerism is rooted in a Christian context, and Buddhism in Eastern philosophy as taught by Buddha.
Right now, the impermanence of life is very real for me and maybe somewhat depressing. I am trying to embrace the Mujo concept because it does help me get through the day and realize that life does go on, and it will for me what whatever time I have left. Some of that is on my mind because of my rising kappa light chains and thinking about having to change treatments by January if they continue to go up.
I know that things will change, and I need to change too. But for now, I’ll try and take comfort in Mujo and mono no aware.
On a brighter note, my kids put together a very nice birthday for me. My son came and took a huge load to the dump( which I wanted done). We got a Round Table pizza, and my daughter had gone to Safeway for some small squares of cake to share. I didn’t have any champagne that day to celebrate, but I will soon.Turning 73 is not much different than 72 for me. The real change for me was at 70. Then I felt like I was getting old. Now, I’m old and just keep trying to do the things I love like swimming, walking, the gym and I hope some day in the near future doing some camping again. If i could afford the camper type van that’s what I’d do. We still ( my daughter and I) are going to check things out sometime in the spring. A small tent trailer is very doable, but I like the idea of self contained. Time will tell. Also, If I got one I’d get a loan so that the payment would be what we were paying for rubi. And we’d have the trailer as our trade in.
Well, I’ve rambled on a bit here, so that’s it for me. I do have the day home today after going to the gym yesterday, so I’ll do some tidying and make some sourdough bread.
I am continually having problems with our credit union accounts since I took Barclay off as primary. Everything has been screwed up, and I need to call again for the 6th time because my cc still says closed, and it’s not posting transactions. Geez, just give me a break. Hopefully, they can figure it out today because I am really irritated.
Anyway, I had an ok swim this week. The coast guard men are still using 3-4 lanes, so it’s difficult to get a lane. But I did eventually, but the pool closes for laps early a few mornings a week, and that happened to be one of them. Hopefully, next week, I can start back to some regular days.
After the pool, I went to WinCo for some salad stuff. From there, I had to go to the library because my books were due. But then I wouldn’t have to swing in there after my sleep doctor appt, and that’s the reason I did that. My appt went ok. He put the order in for the CPAP and I just have to wait for them to call. If I dont hear relatively soon I’ll call them. I’m not thrilled about it but if it’s what I have to do, I will.
I plan on getting my COVID/flu shot today, so I’m sure I’ll feel lousy tomorrow. But I planned it that way for the weekend. I do have a few things to do after my shot, but that should be ok since its effects usually happen later, after 12 hours or so.
I’m almost done with the first LOTR book, Fellowship of the Ring. I’ll keep reading, but I did get a few books from the library to read in between. One was Jean Carroll’s book, Not My Type. I just thought I’d browse through, but I really enjoyed it. Of course, she is a writer, so it is well written.
I’m trying not to be too sad about not going to Tahoe. I miss going with Barclay, and this was the weekend and all of next week we had booked. I did try to figure out a way to still go, but it was all too expensive. Renting an RV, even a small one, was generally $200 a night. So that was out.
Update: was on the phone forever, and they can’t figure something out, so it’ll need to go to their IT department. But at least the CC is working, so I can use it.
I’m pretty sure that’s a spoof on her ‘author’ moniker.??
I wondered what I still had that was not really worth keeping. Or was it now something no longer needed? I’ve gone through a lot of shelves, drawers, closet ( we only have one closet) and took a hard look at things. Some things are left to deal with later, but a great deal was eliminated.
The author asks, “How do you want your home to ‘feel?’ “and then this is your why. I really want things to be simplified. It’s that simple. I want things to be uncomplicated and simple. Simple meals, simple house chores, simple maintaining the house, etc.
One of her tidbits was to go around your house and identify what irritates you or bugs you, and toss or throw them in the goodwill box. I like that idea.
This is part of the latest pile. 🙁
Of course, having my husband just die is a motivator. Some of the things to let go of are those that I have no use for. Half-used notepads, a zillion pens, old T-shirts. ( I have saved some of his T-shirts like Grateful Dead, for now. I don’t know how I’ll feel in 6 months. Here I thought we had really prepared for his passing by getting rid of things, but honestly, it’s a shock what’s there. We have been on our minimalism journey for over 15 years, and here I am scratching my head going”why”?
As I’ve always contended, life is about change and trying to be in the season of your life as it is. I’ve never been here before, so I have to make the changes.
I’m not planning on canning in the near future, for example. So I don’t need a bizillion canning jars. I’ve given away on our Pay it forward group over 3 dozen jars. Now, of course, I’m holding back getting rid of my water canner and my All-American. Why? I don’t know, except I like canning, and I still might in the future. That is too early to tell, because this year, with Barclay dying, we didn’t have any garden. So time will tell on this one.
Even the yard stuff has been a lot. My son has done 3 trips to the dump already. And we still have at least 2 more that are mostly old wood. All this should have been done long before now. We’ve lived here 30 years, and well, stuff does accumulate, especially old wood from projects, scrap metal, old coolers, etc. I’m seriously thinking of hiring someone who does junk to get rid of it.
I suppose all things change as our attitude, circumstances, and perspective change. I’m glad mine is continuing to evolve and change with my current circumstances. I just wish Barclay were here to do this with me. 🙁
