Tag Archives: swimming

Midweek…

Posted in bread, California, cancer, cooking by

We had another video visit with the doctor and it was somewhat productive. She requested that a team of oncologists, and radiologists review B’s scans, biopsy, etc. There were lots of ideas floating around but again nothing too conclusive except that it may be peritoneal primary cancer which is exceedingly rare. One pathologist was going to do a few more tests on the biopsy tissue for something. We should know something about that today. If there’s anything conclusive the Friday Biopsy would be cancelled or postponed. The one positive thing was she was going to make the referral to a medical oncologist for discussion of treatment. That’s good news as the tumors aren’t going away on their own. We haven’t heard anything as of today though.

I’m off to the pool this morning. I figured I better get a swim in since I’ll be taking Dex tomorrow and the next 3 days.

Other than that, no canning or bread-making for a bit. I’m caught up and I don’t need bread today. So when I get home the only thing I need to do is vacuum and I might have someone else do that while I’m gone. Later I’m meeting my library friends for a coffee at our cafe. I won’t stay too long as it’s busy down there and usually loud. Both of which I’m sensitive to. Still, it’s nice to get together for a coffee or probably iced tea by then.

We actually sat outside for dinner last night. The first in months. The weather is finally cool enough and quite nice actually. It’s been a tough summer.

I made a new recipe from Budget Bytes of Honey Garlic Chicken. I liked it because yo cut the chicken up in smallish pieces. Then the sauce was a honey sesame with some garlic. It was very good. Then I tried something new which was I did the same recipe but with frozen tofu chunks I had and Whozze! We all liked that better than the chicken. ( well, the chicken eaters anyway).

Our neighbor’s cat is missing and presumably eaten by a coyote. I hate coyotes for doing that. The cat was a very pretty all gray cat. We called him Little Smokey. We have lost a number of cats to coyotes here. It’s just part of this landscape. When we moved here we had no idea of this because in Foresthill we had 13 cats at one time and NEVER lost one cat to coyotes. Now all the cats we raise are indoors unless monitored outside except for Chester ( he’s the one who showed up one day and Mama Cat who is the mama to the 4 we have inside). They do go out unsupervised but there’s not much we can do about that. They are used to being out. But it’s still sad when a cat goes missing and with coyotes, there’s never any trace. Sad:(

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, home improvement, Myeloma, swimming, Walking by

Today is our town’s annual Pioneer Day. There’s a parade and lots of booths in the park. We live in town so we always walked down with the kids when they were young. Back then the firetrucks threw candy to the kids. They don’t do that anymore. It should be a nice day for everyone, not too hot.

Our heat wave starts Tuesday with temperatures about 100. Yikes. All our window coolers are in so we should be good to go.

Friday, my labs were canceled by Quest due to a glitch closing down the lab. I had to reschedule and the earliest was Wednesday. So I won’t know my kappa numbers till probably next Monday. Kind of a bummer when I’m anxious to know how not taking Dex affected my numbers.

We’ve lined up a handyman to come and put the plumbing in the wall for the shower. Hopefully, it’ll all be good. We will need to have the water off for a few days so we will use Rubi’s shower and bathroom. I might even sleep out there.

After swimming yesterday, I went over to the Paris Bakery and bought a mini strawberry cake for my daughter’s birthday.

Wow, it was delicious.

Not too much on the docket for today. I plan on going to the Auburn gym and then to the store to have my other knives sharpened. The butcher will only sharpen 3 at a time. Plus I wanted some cottage cheese and wine for the week.

I need to go into the new Costco this week to get coffee. We always buy Starbucks ground for camping then bring the rest home. That bag is just about gone so that needs to get done. I need to check my list and see what else we need but right now I can’t think of things, maybe some English muffins or?? Fruit?

Friday things

Posted in budgeting, California, camping, cancer, frugalism, home stuff, Lake tahoe, library, swimming, travel, Uncategorized by

Frugal-wise all pretty good. After infusion yesterday, I went to the nearby Noah’s Bagels and bought 6 plus a schmear. Most mornings we like a bagel but it’s usually Costco’s or Trader Joe’s. This was a nice treat.

I went to Trader Joe’s and spent close to $200. There was a case of wine in there and the rest was food. That’s a lot of meals. Since we’ll be gone next week there won’t be any shopping except at the Safeway in Tahoe in case we need something. I do need to buy coffee at Starbucks because I’m not going to go in to Costco before Memorial Day. Our new Costco just opened yesterday and I’m sure it was a mad house. We will be going to this new one from now on as it is closer to us so that’ll be nice.

My daughter asked for a Nutribullet for her birthday and Costo had the Ultra one on sale. She likes to do smoothies and this one does ice and veggies. We have a Vitamix but sometimes it’s just too bulky to get out. I don’t keep things like that on our counter so it’s in one of my Heywoods. On our counters I only keep the toaster oven, my kitchen aid mixer and, the Brita water pitcher. Maybe I’ll see if my son wants it for his new apartment.

I was planning on swimming this morning as it’s my first time off Dex(whoo hoo) after Velcade, but since I’ve been out 3 days in a row, I think I’ll skip it. That does mean no swimming till after we’re back so that’ll end up over a week. Sometimes, you just have to call it. I did go to the gym and library after Velcade so that took some time. I only did a 20 minute weight workout but that was good enough.

In Tahoe, we’ll go to the gym once and do at least that workout plus we walk a lot when we’re there.

Last night I BBQed that trip tip and it was good. We’re not big meat eaters but this was a nice small piece and the flavor was good. B had roasted veggies, beans, tofu and, coleslaw. Tonight is a pizza night, no take out just a Trader Joe’s dough and I’ll do some toppings.

Overall, not a spendy week and next week will also be low spend in Tahoe.

So far this morning I feel good and my blood pressure is good too. I just hope being off dex doesn’t negatively impact my numbers but for now, hurray for not feeling crazy this morning. Since I’m home this morning, I will do some tidying up and I need to dust. The pine pollen is everywhere! I’m not planning on any bread making or batch cooking. Just using up what we’ve got.

Middle of May already

Posted in books, bread, California, cooking, library, swimming, Uncategorized by

May is moving along and it feels like full-on spring!

Everything in the yard is blooming and very green. I think it must have been that last rain we got that really pumped up the flowers and everything. The Iceberg roses are all in full bloom. They are my favorite overall. I wanted to buy some David Austen’s this year but time and money got away from me. We do have other roses in the backyard. There is a yellow peace rose, a beautiful red rose, and another yellow.

B got me 2 pots 0f carnations for Mother’s Day and those need to go in the ground near the birdbath. Carnations winter over here fairly well. My kind of gardening is perennials that spread. I love Shasta daisies as they spread and are very cheery flowers.

Today I plan to go to the pool as I want to get to twice a week minimum. Since I have a doctor appt tomorrow, I won’t be able to get back down for a few days and I need to do a gym day. So we’ll see. I’m planning on going out to the library after the pool as I have 2 Longmire books on hold.

I made some jalapeno cheddar sourdough baguettes.

I’m also trying a new recipe from my new favorite old cookbook. This is a sourdough rye bread. I added sunflower seeds and some pumpkin seeds. I didn’t have any caraway and since I don’t use them often didn’t want to buy any.

I just punched it down and am now doing a second rise.

The baguettes are very good.

And here’s a cute cat picture.

This is Smudge, or smudgy or wormie or noodle. He’s very sweet and very attached to Sachi. That’s their cateo that goes to their back yard which is cat proofed.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, California, cooking, Gratitude, library, reading, Uncategorized, Walking by

I’m thankful B was with me to do the Costco shopping. The cart was fairly full so it made it tricky. Mostly because we added TP, paper towels and bleach all of which are bulky. We bought a lot of fresh veggies, salad paks, fruit, and mostly food items. Oh, we picked up the 3 pack of geraniums which were a great price. ( 13.99)

I’m thankful swimming is almost back to normal. I’m doing around 35 minutes so I have to add another 5-10 to be back where I was. Actually, I’m fine with doing just the 35. I also like the later time. It’s more relaxed. By 9 am there are even lanes open, so I may try and push out getting there to 8: 40.

I’m thankful my son’s upcoming move is progressing. He and his partner are making their final decision about an apartment this weekend. Apparently, the rental market in Sacramento is very competitive and they have missed out on a few. It’s exciting for him and a big step. He will keep all his tools, crafts, etc in the barn, which is fine. I’ll miss him though. 🙁

I’m thankful for all the small things in my life that help keep it simple. Routines I enjoy daily, always getting up early (5:30 or earlier), cooking, meal planning, and walking. I’m thankful for those small things.

I’m very grateful for the public library system. Roseville’s library is exemplary. I’m going today to pick up my holds. I think I have 10. Yippee!!!

Thankful Thursday and Frugal Friday

Posted in budgets, California, camping, Gratitude, home stuff, swimming, travel, Uncategorized, Walking by

I’m certainly thankful we had an uneventful and safe trip down here to Capitola. Overall traffic wasn’t too bad even through San Jose. We arrived to find traffic though completely backed up going into Capitola. So from Santa Cruz to New Brighton, it took forever to go 2 miles due to construction.

We made it still a little after one only to be told the new regulations were no checking in before 2pm. I told the guy( park worker) that we had always been able to check in early. His response was so rude, he turned to get our plate # and said” Why are people always lying to me”. I was pretty shocked. So we drove down to the beach parking and waited till 2pm. Then we, along with 6 other RVs, checked in and then we still had to wait for RVs to back into spots. Terrible system and not efficient.

Regardless, I’m thankful it was a beautiful day and we got set up and relaxed.

We love our little ‘Rubi’. And I’m so grateful trailering has gone easy and we have a bathroom.

We headed out on Tuesday to go to Gayle’s for a croissant and coffee. I also bought a loaf of their Jewish rye bread which is one of my favorite. Then we went to the local Anytime gym for a workout. I’m grateful it is free to us and gives us a chance to strengthen our muscles. From there we headed to Trader Joe’s in Capitola, not Santa Cruz. We were surprised there was one on this side of Santa Cruz and boy, was it nice. A really beautiful store, big and well laid out as most Trader Joe’s are. We loaded up on food, a plant for outside Rubi, and some candles I’ve been wanting. Not too frugal but not much more than a regular weekly shop. Overall, a fun morning. Then we came back to camp and just relaxed.

Wednesday we discovered the Simpkins Swim Center. Oh my, it was wonderful. I was really ecstatic to swim. It’s a huge outdoor pool heated. What a find. I’m so grateful for cities that provide these amazing places. We paid $5.00 to swim.

Overall, we have been frugal where we can. We decided to do a day trip up to Half Moon Bay which is about an hour from here. We’ve actually never seen that part of Hwy 1. It’s quite beautiful with loads of State Beaches along the way. We had a nice lunch at the very well-known fish place, Sam’s. It was good but not as good as Fishetarian in Bodega Bay. From there we just took our time getting back to Capitola and once again hit the traffic snarl in Capitola.

We’ve kept our meals simple. Last night we had scrambled Mexican tofu on tortillas with salad. I’m not sure what we’ll do tonight but I’d like to get a pizza night in.

Sadly, on the home front, we had raccoons get 2 chickens because no one was home. They were in their yard but it wasn’t closed so there it is. Raccoons are always looking for opportunities and there it was. I feel really bad for the girls because we have been so careful and here it is just one night and this happens. My daughter who was working late just missed getting them in. She got home right after and I’m sure felt awful. Well, we know we don’t want chickens again but still it makes me sad.

This is Half Moon Bay. You can see that rock barrier if you look carefully. There were numerous ones on each side of the Bay.

Today, we’re going to walk and then go over to Gayles for a bit. The weather has been picture perfect. Today though, we’re in for a 20 degree drop in temperature and some rain overnight.

I don’t think we’ll go back to the pool as we’re both a little tired, so a day to rest sounds good.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, cash envelopes, Gratitude, Lake tahoe, library, swimming by

I am very thankful this was a week with NO appts and no Dex. Boy, did that do me in last week. I guess I’ll go back to taking dex after I get home and not in the evening. maybe that’s the difference or the BP spike has been there all along and I just didn’t take my BP and notice. We’ll see.

I’m thankful we had a beautiful day in Tahoe with picture-perfect weather.

I’m thankful that all the month’s bills are accounted for and are in the budget. Slowly, I’m getting more envelopes set up for the annual bills. Even though I didn’t have the full amount, I did have something and that helped. As I think of different line items for our budget I add an envelope. I also bought on Amazon a binder that is for the 100 envelope challenge. Lots of cash envelope budgeters on You Tube have this as a way to do an extra savings. It’s not a quick thing as each envelope is numbered 1-100 and you put that amount in each one. I do like having these little challenges to keep me focused.

I’m thankful I got to swim on Monday but it was one of the few times it wasn’t pleasant. First, the pool was packed which I thought odd but then realized that it was a holiday. Second, I don’t circle swim( when there are more than 2 in a lane), but some woman plopped into the lane I was sharing with 1 person and proceeded to circle swim. I was not a happy swimmer. I go too slow and at some point, she cut in front of me and almost kicked my face. Anyway, at least I got my 30 minutes in.

I finished all the books I got from the library (8 books) so today after the gym I’ll go in and see if I can get a few things off the shelves to take to Capitola. The new Kellerman book ” Ghost Orchid’ is okay. I like his writing and the 2 main characters are well developed. So far all the Craig Johnston Longmire books have been great. Definitely worth reading the series although I haven’t read them in any order.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, camping, frugalism, library, swimming, travel by

It was a spendy week at Napa, but I don’t count that as our normal spending but more in travel/camping. Still, groceries were expensive in Napa, more than here and it was noticeable. I can see why Trader Joe’s was so busy. Raley’s was ridiculously costly. For example, we usually buy a piece of cake or something for dessert, and the cake we normally get ( 1 slice of tiramisu) was 11.99 whereas here it is 6.99. I didn’t notice the price till I putting away the groceries and was slightly shocked:(

We ate out twice and got Model’s Bakery twice. Model’s was only $15, so not bad for 2 coffees and 2 pastries.

In planning for our next trip which will be Capitola in April, I’ll have more cash for things than I did for this trip. We don’t go out to eat in Capitola but do go to Gayles for things. Plus we do hit up the grocery store at least once. It’s easier for me to get some groceries when we get to our camping destination than to load everything into the RV.

We’re still trying to get September booked for Tahoe, but B slept in this morning and spaced it out. I’m almost maxed out on reservation dates( you only get 14 days a year), so I didn’t do it even though I was up. Oh well, we’ll get something eventually.

I don’t plan on going to the store until next week unless I need some salad stuff. Next week we do need to go to Costco since the sale stuff comes off the following Sunday. I need toothpaste and some other things on sale, mostly non food items.

Today, I’m planning on swimming and then picking up my holds at the library. After that, just home and doing some house tidying. Everything is pretty well done but I want to tidy a few areas.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, Gratitude, home stuff, ikea, travel, Walking by

This has been a super busy week for me with appts. I don’t like so many appts but that’s what had to happen.

I’m thankful my macular pucker is still the same and stable(Monday’s appt).

I’m thankful that the gastro appt was fine( Tuesday’s appt) and she scheduled my overdue colonoscopy. Of course, the wait time is crazy far out but she found a cancellation in May. Oh, joy:(

Tomorrow is my ortho appt(Friday’s appt) and I’m assuming that’s all they can do?? Not sure really but I’ll find out. She mentioned the cortisone shot but I’m not sure I want to add that in.

I’m thankful swimming has gone so well. I overdid it the other day because I forgot to look at the clock and time it. But it was over 30 minutes. My knee feels a little stressed but not too bad. Today I’ll do my PT exercises.

I’m always super grateful to walk and this morning, the first after daylight savings change, and the stars were out. That’s one of my favorite things, starlight.

So far this morning, I’ve swished and swiped the bathroom, washed a few windows, cleaned my office, and moved stuff out. I’m planning an Ikea trip to get a cabinet for my office stuff so it’s not on my desk and scattered.

I’m grateful the sun is out and our temperatures are warming up.

Today, I have a phone appt with Allstate to go over our auto insurance since the premium went up $500. That’s for the exact same coverage on cars that are 10 years old and my son’s 2006 Subaru. Something is really wrong with our insurance system. Honestly, I doubt she’ll find anything to change.

One of my last vintage tablecloths. I used to have so many and now only a few have made the cut. I probably should iron it later.

Two old people!!

This was taken on the new to us trail in Roseville. I was hoping to get back there this week but with everything else, it doesn’t look likely. We leave Sunday for Napa, so that’s all the time there is.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, budgets, California, cash envelopes, Gratitude, Walking by

I am thankful I got a good swim in yesterday despite the asshole in my lane that was not moving over and ran into me:( I sort of yelled, get on your own side!!! I think he was new as he didn’t know how to swim very well. Oh well, it doesn’t happen very often.

Then I went to Costco and am grateful I had almost the full amount in cash. I actually did have it all but it was in another envelope and I didn’t want to be rummaging around for it..’

Buggie is in the shop as the water pump went out. That’s going to cost us $1000+ . I’ll have to put that on a card and then pay off in 2 installments. I might be able to do it all if I skimp on other things. We haven’t done a lot services on the VW so I guess it works. Plus buggie is 24 years old so something is going to go. Plus it needs a smog and registration in April but we’ll do that once she’s fixed up.

Today I’m going back to Roseville to pick up books at the library and then B and I are going to walk one of the trails down there. Hopefully, the sun will come out. After that, we’re going to get some lunch somewhere.

I’m grateful the PT was effective and although my knee is not back to where it was, it is much improved. The PT said I could do 1 more session if I wanted but also clarified that it would just be doing the same exercises so I declined. I see the ortho PA next week so I’ll see what she says about it all.