Tag Archives: swimming

Midweek Musings

Posted in Blood test, budgets, California, cooking, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

I plan on going to the pool this morning. I actually woke up and felt like going, which, based on how I felt this last week, says something. So, I’ll head down around 7:30 and be in the water by 8:15 after parking and going in.

After that, I plan on going to Costco. At least that’s the plan. I do have to go to Sacramento tomorrow, so I could go after my doctor appt. I don’t need a lot of things, but I wanted to get some turkey burgers and a few other proteins. We’ll see, that’s optional right now.

My kappa light chains came back with the biggest increase yet of over 9 points. Which puts me in the low 30’s. Exactly at 34.4, which is my highest yet. I’m bummed about it, but whatcha gonna do? He doesn’t seem to concerned when he sent me them over the portal and said ‘stable’. Well, sure it’s stable but a big increase. There’s not much I can do til we see next month. So far, the trend has been increase, slight decrease, increase, etc. So until it is continually going up and shows a pattern, it’s just hang in there. Sigh, I hate this shit.

Anyway, last night I cooked up some salmon and made a feta cucumber salad. It was good. I miss my after-dinner popcorn or snacks, but I am trying to hold strong. I’m having some nuts(protein), and that seems to help.

A few of my orchids. I still don’t have any new spikes on the other plants, so I may have to YouTube it and see what I can do.

I’ve made up my July budget. Looks ok for the most part. I’ll keep whittling away at the cc and hopefully make some progress there. Since I have no other income, I guess it’ll still be a few more months till it’s done. That’s ok, overall, as long as I feel like I’m making some progress. July, August, and September don’t have any annual bills( at least that I know of), so that will help. I think the annual bills will start again in October, with auto insurance, house insurance, and property tax(Dec).

After I’m home, I need to do some dusting and putting things where they belong!!

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, Gratitude, ikea, swimming by

I’m thankful for a nice swim yesterday and that the pool was so nice too. It was a little busy when I got there, but then it emptied out some. Waiting to go just a smidge later is the key. The pool closes for lap swimming at 9:25. They are pretty strict, as the pool is used for a big water aerobics class. So even if I’m there at 8:45, I’d still get my 30 minutes in.

I’m thankful for the AC unit in the window my daughter put in last week, knowing it was going to get warm this week. I held out until about 4pm and then it was too stuffy and warm in the front room, so I turned it on for a while. Today is also a warmer day, so I’ll probably turn it on for a while.

I’m thankful for a fun trip to IKEA with my daughter. We had fun looking at kitchen stuff and couches. The couch I had planned on getting down the road wasn’t as comfortable as I thought it would be, but the upgraded Ektorp was, so I’ll probably go with that down the road. We didn’t stop for lunch, as neither of us felt like anything.

I’m thankful that my new settings on my CPAP machine are helping keep my SP02 higher at night. I’m still seeing a dip into the high 80’s, but I’m not going to stress about it. Last night it said my score sleeping was 87 -93. But I was only down for a short period, and if I’m rolling over or moving, it can give a lower reading. Overall, I think the pressure change has made a difference. I did have an awful night sleeping, though, on Monday night. Not sure what was up. My Airsense score was still high, 98, but it was not a good night, and I think I’m guessing that it was still DEX doing its thing. I’m also guessing that if I really wanted to get supplemental oxygen, I’d do the in-lab test. I think since I will see him in 6 months again, I’ll leave it as is for now and revisit the whole thing then.

Today is a home day unless we decide to go over to the pet bookstore.

Friday things

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, frugalism, swimming by

It’s been a nice week without any appointments, which is always nice. Next week is busy with the sleep doctor and Velcade, then Dex. So most of the week is gone, plus Monday is Memorial Day. In the past, B and I never planned to do anything on major holidays. Too busy, too many people.

I was able to download an app called Sleep HQ, which is for sleep apnea. I took the SD card out of the Airsense and used an adapter to plug it into my Mac. My overall scores were excellent. 100%. It doesn’t track SP02, though, which is my main concern, but you can see where, during my REM sleep, there is a drop, and that’s probably where the 02 is dropping. I can buy an 02 ring and that will track the oxygen, but it’s not cheap, so I think I’ll wait to see what he says. The graphs were interesting and showed me in .01 %, so that was good. I’m really dreading going to this appt, but will do it. I don’t really have a choice. I do have a choice in what test I’m to do and the in lab is still off the table.

Today is open, and I might go down to the pool. I have to weigh how busy I-80 will be with traffic, as it is Friday, and that I want to swim. If I go, it’s not till 7:45, so I have time to decide.

I washed the new sheets yesterday, so I’ll put them on today. The old bottom sheet, which now has too many holes, I can use for rags, but the top sheet I may be able to use for something else, maybe a curtain?

Frugal-wise, not much is going on. My new budget starts next week. I’ve done up my preliminary one, and it looks ok. Not much wriggle room, but ok. It looks like groceries for May are going to come in around $500. I think that’s too high, so next month, I’ll scale back, especially buying stuff for the freezer. I’ve done a good job of emptying the refrigerator freezer, and it’s not packed. Sticking with meal planning is helping. Tonight we might have a pizza. It depends on what we feel like. If not, I could do some BLT’s again or even grilled cheese.

Well, I’d better get a move on if I’m going to the pool.

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Friday Things

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, swimming by

A good furgal week overall.

I got gas at Costco, which was $5.65 a gallon, so it ended up at $40.( I usually fill up at half a tank).

On Monday, we took a fun day trip to Empire State Mine to walk the grounds. I wanted to use my Poppy Pass, but since it is a historical mine, they didn’t take that. So it was $5 for each of us to get in, and worth it. We stopped at Taco Tree for lunch, and that ended up $18. It wasn’t very good this time. Taco Tree is definitely a hit or miss.

Tuesday, I went down to Holiday Market here for romaine as I planned a grilled chicken Caesar salad. I also got some ham for sandwiches and sliced cheese. I spent $36, I think. I also went to the pet bookstore as I had books to donate. Then I found some books and a Poirot(DVD) set unopened. Total was $23.

I went down to the pool on Wednesday and then straight home.

Yesterday was a no spend/no drive day.

Today, I’m undecided if I’ll go to the pool. It’s only 6:30 right now, so I’ll think about it.

So, I’m pleased with the low spend week overall.

These are some pictures from the Empire Mine. This is the mansion; the mine area is in a different area. There is the shaft opening you can see, and the equipment. It’s amazing to see it and think men went down there to work. A bit of a dichotomy between the mansion life and where the miners were working.

The rose campion is in our yard.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, decluttering, swimming by

I woke up with a headache. I think it was because I had some ice cream last evening. I rarely eat anything after dinner, so I think it threw my metabolism off. Anyway, I took some Advil, and it’s better.

I wasn’t going to walk, but then I powered through and did it. I really need to up my walking, too. Right now, I do about a mile, so I think I’ll try for 1.25 and see how that is. I haven’t decided on the gym yet, but I will soon. I went to the pool yesterday, so I got that workout in. If I’m going to Mahany gym this coming week, that’ll get my weights in.

Update: I decided not to go to the gym today and have a home reset day. 🙂

After the pool, I dropped off my Goodwill donations. That felt good as it’s been in the back of the car a while now. Besides misc stuff, I gave away 2 space heaters we weren’t using. It always feels good to declutter stuff.

We’re supposed to get rain tomorrow and Tuesday. My son was going to come up and weed-eat, but that won’t happen if it’s raining. He might just come up and work out in the barn. He’s done a good job organizing his stuff out there and getting rid of a lot too.

My starter is quite active now, and this was a kalamata garlic loaf. It came out really nice. Today, I’m going to make a cranberry-pecan one. I’ve been using my Krups slicer to slice the bread, then freezing about 6 pieces in a zip-lock bag. I plan on giving some to my son. The slicer is one of my better thrift store finds.

Simple Sunday

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I went down to the pool and swam yesterday. Saturdays are hit or miss there. It can be busy or not so busy. I was lucky it wasn’t a super busy day, and I had a lane to myself almost the whole time. Today, though, I am feeling it. I guess I just need to get down there more, although last week was different with the snow and rain. So I decided not to go for a walk this morning, and maybe I’ll walk a little later after I loosen up a bit. 🙂

I have a meet-up with someone I’m giving our recycling to. I just don’t have the motivation to go to the recycling place, but a lot of people still do. Barclay, of course, did all that. But I hate to just toss it in with our regular garbage, hence, I’m doing this.

I also have my sourdough to bake. This time I tried rosemary and Meyer lemon. I’ll see how it comes out. I also want to figure out the menu for the week. Last night we had a Souper Cube of roast chicken and stuffing. I made some corn on the side. It was good. The freezer is looking better. I’ll pull some stuff from the chest freezer for the week. I know I’ll do some ground beef for burgers, and I still have quite a few veggie burgers too. So maybe it’ll be a burger week!!!

My son did a stained glass workshop and made this for me. What a sweetheart!!

The week ahead looks good with the temperatures going up. We’ve used a lot of firewood this past week, so I’ll be glad when it’s not so cold.

A blogger I followed closed her blog. She’s in Australia and had a huge following, but I guess felt it wasn’t viable to keep it going. I guess she didn’t leave the posts up because AI will tap into things like that, which I know nothing about. Does anyone know if that’s true? I guess, after blogging since 2012, I still just see my blog as my own journal of what’s going on in my life. Plus, I think it helps me to write things out. I still do a daily budget in my notebook, recording what’s been spent or bills due, and I write a daily list of what I want to do/accomplish. I get my notebooks from Michaels, so they’re not expensive. I usually buy 3 or 4 at a time.

Do you do a daily list? I think it does help.

Going Forward

Posted in Blood test, books, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, home stuff, library, swimming, velcade by

This week is my Velcade shot. I got an extra week(5 weeks instead of 4), so I could get back to my normal Thursday appt. I’m still having some neuropathy in my feet, even after that length of time. Next time I see Dr. L, I’ll mention this. Then Friday will be my Dex day at home. I’m curious if my numbers go higher with the extra week. I guess I’ll find out.

The pool is closed for 2 days for maintenance, so I’m not sure if I’ll go down there today. Since I’m driving down tomorrow, I sort of hate to use extra gas. On the other hand, I just don’t seem to be getting ‘ahead’ in swimming. My weights I keep up on regularly, so that is all good. Maybe going forward means accepting what I can do and what I do. (sigh) Who knows, right? It seems as if this is a recurring theme for me at this stage of my life. But, hey, I’m very grateful for what I can do!!

Going forward, I’m working on trying new things. It’s hard to do some stuff alone, but I’m determined to try. I did go out by myself for a burger, so that was a tiny thing. I didn’t sit in the car either but went in, so again, a tiny thing, but…

I wrapped up my taxes and submitted. I guess it’s next year that my tax status will change. The year a spouse dies, it’s still married filing jointly, but then it changes the following year. Hopefully, it will stay easy.

Here’s a picture of the upper patio around 3 pm yesterday. And a picture of the firepit on around 4 pm.

The book is from the library, and I was very impressed. Barclay, of course, was hugely influenced by Dylan and had a radio show for 25 years(KVMR) specifically devoted to Dylan. He would have loved this book. His last show was called Jewels and Binoculars after the line in a song.

Yesterday I made the Rancho Gordo King City Pink beans in the crockpot and had them for dinner. I may just do another bean bowl tonight. There is quite a bit to freeze in the Souper Cups. Rancho Gordo just moved into a new building in Napa. I’m curious what it looks like. We always had fun going into the other store, even if it was a little hard to find.

Well, I guess I’d better figure out the day.

What about you? Do you ever feel you should be doing more? Sometimes just accomplishing the smallest thing feels huge. 🙂

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cancer, seasonal things, swimming, Uncategorized, Walking by

I took down most of the Christmas stuff and labeled the boxes. Since I did do a Snoopy tree this year, I labeled those ornaments in a box so next year I can pull them out if I decide to do a separate tree. I kept up the Ikea tree but took the bird ornaments off and put them away. I’ll probably take down the Ikea tree tomorrow or at least sometime this week. It always feels good to get a fresh start, although I do love looking at the different trees and their ornaments.

My daughter got me a compact waffle maker to replace the bigger one we have, so we had waffles last night. I might make some more this morning. Yumm.

This was our Christmas morning bagels and lox. I didn’t get a picture of dinner, but everything turned out delicious.

The pool was insane the other day. All the college kids were there. I forgot that this was winter break between semesters. I’ll have to see if I want to brave it next week. I finally got a lane with one of the college kids, and twice I got mouthfuls of water as he was kicking so hard. It wasn’t fun.

A very cold 36 degrees this morning, but the walk was lovely. The park was all frosty.

Today, I’m planning to go to the gym and then home. I might go back out later if my daughter wants to go to Home Depot. We need some things for the house.

This next week is a repeat of Christmas with New Year’s on Thursday. I have Velcade on Friday, which will be a little weird. I usually go on Thursdays. So my Dex day will be Saturday.

Other than that, I’m looking forward to the next year and hope it’s not as awful as 2025. I’ve had no luck getting a camping spot, so it’s been close to 10 days of trying every day. I’m almost at the first week of July, and I never go to Tahoe in July or August unless it’s a day trip. Too many tourists.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, frugalism, Uncategorized by

So far this week, I spent grocery money at Winco, Safeway, and today, Trader Joe’s. Winco was $60 for food approx.

Safeway was $34 for food, approx.

Tarader Joe’s was $83 approx with quite a few freezer items for next month.

At TJ’s, I picked up some Christmas gifts for the kids: some snacks and 2 of the new micro bags, which are very cute. I was glad to get some as there were only a few left.

So not bad, and I’m coming in so far for the month at a little over $500. That includes long-term food items stored in the freezer. My budget runs til the 24th, so I’ll need to keep it low or 0 next week.

The pool was nice and not super busy, which is always a treat.

The VW is getting the brake lights checked, so I’ll probably need to go back out later when my daughter gets home if it’s ready. They’re not open on the weekend, so it’s either today or Monday.

I’m not sure what the weekend is like. I think the weather is ok. After the deluge of rain yesterday, we need a break.

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, California, home stuff, swimming, Uncategorized by

Overall, except for the coast trip, it was a low-budget week. This week is an in-between; August’s bills are coming out, so it’s just basics.

After the gym, I went to Winco and spent $ 55. I bought wine as well, but that doesn’t go on my grocery bill.

The weather is turning hot again, so no eating on the patio, and dinners have been lighter. I made a brown rice salad with chickpeas, red onion, and cucumbers with some feta. I’ll have that for lunch today as well. I made some tofu in the air fryer, so I can use some of that for dinner tonight.

I’m planning on swimming today, and then I won’t go down to Roseville till next week. I need gas, so I’ll do that at Costco. I’m still waiting for my LLS to get finalized, and then I can submit my insurance premium. I’m very grateful for LLS’s support for patients.

Nothing new with books. I finished Fever Beach by Carl Hiasson. Funny and provocative to say the least. I don’t have any holds, so I need to go to the catalog and place some on hold.