Tag Archives: tahoe

Friday Things

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, home stuff, travel, velcade by

I’m not sure if there’s much to share frugally. It was a crazy week with appointments, which I do dislike immensely. But today is my home day on Dex, so I should be able to get some stuff done and chill. All I have next week are my labs and a fun lunch date with my son, which is his belated birthday present.

After my Velcade shot, I stopped at Noah’s and got the dozen bags and one free one. I also got a free coffee. Most of the bagels I froze for later mornings, but kept some out for today and tomorrow.

I listed the Triumph, but no inquiries. I’ll lower the price next week and see if that prompts anyone. I’m sure motorcycles are a bit of a luxury right now, so who knows if it might sell. If not, it’ll just stay where it is.

This morning I sorted all our important papers into folders, so that’s one job ticked off. A while back, I bought a fire-safe file box, and that was for these files. I also finally made the appointment to go to the bank with my daughter to add her to the account. Slowly, a few more things are getting done.

I decided to not book a hotel for Tahoe on my birthday and B’s. I just don’t want the added expense right now, so I do plan on a day trip, which is totally doable, and B and I did that often. So I’ll see who wants to come, either S or Z. They have work, so I may just drive alone. We’ll see how it turns out. I also finally came to the realization, I don’t have to do anything right now so that eased my self pressure.

I dropped off all the thrift store stuff at both thrift stores. I also got my LLS paper from the bank and $ for the firewood. Firewood is quite expensive. If you go pick it up yourself, it’s less, but I can’t do that, so $$ it is. But one cord should see us through he winter with what I have already.

Other than that, not much.

Frugal Friday

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, camping, cancer, decluttering, Walking by

My new budget starts next week. So far, groceries have come in under $400, so I think I’m getting the hang of buying less.

I went to Costco this week and spent $233 on food. Freezer and pantry stuff brought it down to @150. For the pantry, it was granola, which lasts months, butter for the freezer also will last 3 months, pulled pork will be for at least 4 dinners over a few months, tamales, the same as they will be used over the next 3 months, and coffee, which will be about a month. Non-food came in at $70, about for batteries, hair conditioner, TP, and paper plates were on sale, so I picked them up for easy clean-up dinners. All of that will last for months.

For wine, I bought my favorite Juliet Rose and a fancy bottle of Sonoma-Cutrer wine. That was around $40.

Overall, I was pleased. Then I bought 2 pizzas for the tree crew that were here. I’ll show the pictures below.

We just got our Allstate car renewal, and it went up $1000 ( fuck Allstate) because of the claim that the scammer did, saying my car door scratched his. It’s a long story, but suffice to say, my door did not scratch his, but it did touch his passenger door, so Allstate had to favor his claim. It was a scam to begin with because then he got the money, and of course, didn’t go to the body shop. I tried to explain the setup because he was extremely aggressive verbally, and never even got out of his car, but took a picture ( or someone did) of my license plate. My guess is someone else was waiting with him in the parking lot. Oh well, done is done, but that is going to cause me extreme stress trying to pay that. I guess the best I can do is do the payment plan at this point.

On a positive note, the tree crane was here and took the tree. It was quite the job, as you can see. It took all day and then the next to deal with it all.

I’d had other plans to meet a friend for coffee, but that went out the window dealing with this. I hate dealing with this stuff, but I don’t have a choice. The other tree, I guess we’ll just have to wait on because it wasn’t in their system, but I’m going to try and convince them, but that will also take a crane( I think).

It would have been too much to do both anyway. All the wood is gone now, and it looks good. They did a good job.

Today, I’m going to Auburn and will drop off a load at Goodwill. It’s mostly stuff from Rubi that I know I’m not going to use if we get a tent trailer eventually. I still have the bathroom in Rubi to sort out, though.

It’s been a stressful week with my ortho appt, labs, the tree, etc. BTW, the shot hurt like hell, and my knee was really sore from it, but yesterday it started feeling a lot better. So hopefully in the next two weeks I can increase my walking. It takes about 2 weeks for the steroid to take effect.

Also, on a positive note, my labs came back about the same. Kappa went up to 20.5ml/g, so a slight increase from 19.8. Really, in the big picture, that’s not much. My ratio, though, did go up a bit because the lambda went down. If the Kappa goes up, Lambda down, then the ratio goes up.

The heat is back, and 98 * is hot for us. I think today it’s supposed to go to 99*. I’ll have to turn the coolers on by 10. Our PGE bill did go down some, though, so there’s that, I guess.

On a sad note, it’s our 55th anniversary soon. It makes me sad. We did have a wonderful life, even with the ups and downs of it. I’m planning a day trip to Tahoe soon, just not sure when. Burning Man is happening, so the freeway has lots of crazies, which also means the Tahoe area has some overflow. I’m hoping next week sometime.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, California, camping, Gratitude, Lake tahoe, Myeloma, travel by

So thankful we can enjoy our RV and be at Lake Tahoe. It’s like winning the lottery to get a spot. I checked for the whole rest of the season and there’s nada, zip nothing available. I am really surprised at the amount of people though, probably it’s because it’s so warm and the lake is inviting. Probably, though it’s just there are too many people. I just read, while here, that Sand Point will only be available by reservation. I’m glad really as it will curtail some people. The problem is people parking on the road making it very dangerous to drive.

I’m thankful for the beautiful weather here. We’ve had a campfire every night and haven’t even sat in the trailer in the evening.

I’m thankful that my doctor always answers when I e-message as I did after my labs came in. He said it was a small increase and essentially not to worry. I value that he respects my input. Of course, I’ll still worry and see what the next round brings.

I’m very grateful my daughter is off work for the summer and can be home to take care of things. Especially when it’s this hot at home the gardens need water every day. And the kitties need someone there too.

I’m grateful we have the lifetime senior pass and it allows us to camp here( US Forest Service) for 1/2 price. The California State beaches and parks don’t use that pass so it’s more to camp there.

Friday Things

Posted in Blood test, books, California, camping, cancer, home improvement, Myeloma, travel by

I’m feeling almost back to normal. Still slightly off but definitely better and I ate something yesterday. My daughter thinks I may have picked it up at In and Out Burger but she( a science nerd) says it can really be on any surface. So probably we’ll never know.

So today I was lucky to get a lab appt at 9am. A little later than I like with fasting but I’ll make it. I’m really anxious to know what my numbers are doing. Even if there has been an increase, I’ll go another month without Dex just to see. Sometimes, living with cancer is very tiring. With Myeloma, it just doesn’t go away or get ‘cured’, well I think if you have an allo it does. Oh well, I’ve made it this far.

The positive news is we’ve had a young man working on the bathroom. He’s only 30( my son’s age) but seems to know what he’s doing and is doing a great job so far. We need the shower at least functioning for my daughter next week because we’ll be in Tahoe. If it’s not, then I’m not sure what the alternative is. Hotel? outside shower? We’ve been using Rubi for bathroom stuff and B bought a new shower head which is divine. The one the trailer came with was pretty lame so this is a nice improvement.

We’re not going to have it all done before we leave as I don’t think the flooring will get done so B won’t be able to put in the Ikea vanity but that’s ok it’s mostly the shower. I’m not sure what we’ll do if there are leaks while we’re gone. I guess call and have him come over when my daughter is here? Well, it is progress and on such a small budget I think we’ve done ok. If we had lots of money I guess it would be a no brainer to have someone come in and redo the whole thing and build a second bathroom but alas that isn’t our destiny.

B has been going in and out to Home Depot and all over getting little bits of things and has been very busy. It helps he is organized that way.

The Oregon sparrows are migrating and are flocking in the bamboo. They are fun to watch. We turn the sprinklers on the bamboo and they love to drink the droplets. Often they hang upside down and are cute. We call them popcorn birds because they pop so quickly around.

The heat has been oppressive. I think today we’re about 10 degrees cooler so that should help some. We’re back to watering daily and the water bill just went over $100 and will definitely go higher. B filled the pool and that takes 10,000 gallons I think. This will be the last year of the pool. We’ve gotten our money’s worth that’s for sure but I can’t see investing in another pool next year. This is probably year 7 and think we paid around $1000 for it so I’m sure it is way more than that now. Plus there’s all the maintenance to take care of it and that cost. B is the only one that uses it daily. I go in once in a while to float and that’s about it.

I’ve been hanging out in the trailer all day and it’s been nice. I turned the AC on and it worked fine one day and the second day it blew the fuse so when it gets too hot I go out to the studio( my son’s room) and hang out there. He’s got a cooler and I’ve had that on. His studio is almost cleared out and sometime this summer we’ll paint in there. He’ll still come up to work in the barn and sleep over so I want to keep a bed out there. Also, he built a beautiful desk and bookcase out of birch plywood so that will stay too. His move has gone well and I’m happy for him. It’s very nice area very near the American River trail and lots of green space.

This week is a total wash with swimming or the gym but tomorrow I plan on going to the library as my holds are in. That’ll give me something to read in Tahoe.

On a sad note, our big black lady chicken, big mama, died yesterday. She was quite old for a chicken, maybe 10, and the heat was too much for her. So now there’s only big Brownie and I’m guessing she’ll be gone too soon. they were from the same batch and have lived an extraordinarily long lives. Maybe’s it’s the water? this is the end of an era of over 25 years of having chickens and with these gone, that’s it. The coup will come down and the area cleaned up. Rhonda over at Down to Earth talked about how she finally gave up chickens when her husband was ill and dying. She talked about how important it is to really check in where you are in life and what you’re capable of. We could keep having chickens as my daughter does live here but then it’s just one more thing to have to deal with, buying food, checking water, etc. So I’ll buy farm eggs when I can. There are tons of people around here who raise chickens.

On that note, she also talked about physical limitations as we age. She has a non malignant brain tumor which affects her balance so she doesn’t bend over. Because of that, she bought a steam mop so she could mop standing instead of with a bucket on the floor. Because of my macular pucker in my right eye, my balance is off sometimes so I just bought a very cheap steam mop for $59. I’ll try it out for a while if I really like it I’ll buy a more expensive model. This one just steams and there’s no on /off so I’ll give it few months

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.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, camping, cooking, swimming, Uncategorized by

We were both on Reserve America at 6:59 to get a spot in Tahoe. Barclay won the lottery and got spot 12 which has a nice view of Lake Tahoe!!! I didn’t get the one I wanted but since we got one, it’s all good. That takes care of June camping. We might still try for something else but not Tahoe. Tahoe in July and August is not where I want to be. Too many people!!!

My swim yesterday was really nice. The pool was surprisingly empty and I got the lane near the steps, which right now with my knee is good. The water was also really nice. I may have overdone it as I felt pretty wiped out when I got home. 😦

On the agenda for today is cooking up some baby potatoes I have(from Costco), baking a sweet potato, and making some brown rice for the week. I still plan on using pantry items this week. Last night we had one of the quarts of the lentil soup I pressure canned and it was delicious. I’m also thawing the Diestal turkey I have from last year and I will roast that in a few days. I wanted that out of the freezer and cooked. Dinners will be sliced turkey, leftovers, soup and then I’ll make some broth.

That’s ice on the fish pond!!

Gus looking cute for Christmas!! That’s Bean getting squished behind him.

Giant Gus is outside on a leash which is a little small for him!

Tomorrow I plan to go to the library and hit the gym too.

Frugal Friday, and the heat is coming:(

Posted in California, camping, canning tomato salsa, Lake tahoe, travel by

The heat is on its way.

Today is around 103 degrees; by Monday, we’re looking at 108. That’s pretty much unheard of in the Sierra foothills. We get 100-degree days, maybe even 103 but I don’t remember 108. We’ll be leaving for Tahoe Monday morning @ 10 am so we can get up there by 12:30. Checkout is noon so we don’t want to get there too early. We’ve never had a problem with early check-in but it does depend on the camp hosts.

Even in Tahoe, the temperatures will be in the 80’s, and for September that’s hot. I’m looking forward to just getting up there.

I have most of the meal ideas planned and will make a list of what to go buy at the store. This week was another lower spend week with B going to Costco but that was only $85 and $20 of that was champagne to bring with us. But he filled the truck at Costco gas and that was the main reason for going. No extras from Amazon or Winco this week. I stopped at our market yesterday to pick up cilantro for the salsa I was going to make this morning.

We had a nice walk at 5:40-6:20 am and then I came home and started chopping stuff for the salsa. The recipe calls for chopped onions, tomatoes( peeled and cored), bell peppers, and jalapenos, cilantro, and garlic. After all that I cooked it down for 30 minutes and then put it in the jars. Processing was 20 minutes.

That was 10 lbs of tomatoes. I think probably I’ve done @ 50 lbs so far. There’s not a lot left on the plants but if there is I’ll just do some quick sauce and maybe freeze that.

Except for the excessive heat, it’s been a nice week.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, books, California, cooking, Flylady, reading, simple foods, travel, Uncategorized, Walking by

A lovely walk this morning although with the cloud cover it was muggy/ humid. Our temperatures are 10 degrees higher than Sacramento which is crazy but they are getting the delta breezes and we have none.

A busy morning when I got back. It’s sheet day so the sheets have come off and are in the laundry and I did a bathroom swish and swipe.

Then I started on the canning I planned on doing this morning. I decided to do pickled beets and another 2 jars of bread and butter pickles in the water bath canner. My canner is on the way out as it is rusty and the rack is rusty. But it works fine for boiling water. Nonetheless, I just ordered a stainless steel water canner with a rack from Amazon. I had ordered a stainless rack for inside the Ball canner but canceled the order after looking at the condition of the Ball canner overall. So the other one is a good deal with 35% off so it ended up at $53.00. So the pickled beets made 2 jars and the pickles 2 jars. Next week at the farm stand I’ll buy 2 bunches of beets and that should get me 4 more jars. I’m going to open one of the beets in a few days and check out the taste. This recipe was from a Youtuber ( Wyse Guide) who has a farm.

I finished the Anne Hillerman book and started the Jacqueline Winspear latest. Both are excellent writers.

This week is still a light week for me and then next week I have my fasting labs and regular labs and I’m going to get my new eyeglasses ordered. I’m using my Lindberg frames so that will cut some of the expense. I’ve had these frames for over 5 years and they are remarkable. They are rimless and quite light. There I’m thinking they are a titanium frame. It’s the progressives, and the no line bifocal, that cost.

It’s hard not going stir crazy this summer but our Tahoe trip is about a month away now so we have that to look forward to.

Flylady zone is Entryways. My favorite blogger, Minimom, is going back to using Flylady after trying the SHE method. She is a great example of how minimalism works for a family and she has adapted Flylady to her needs. I think that’s the ticket with Flylady, is to use the basic concepts and then adapt them, which is what I do. But I do think you have had to declutter first which is always included in her weekly tasks on her website. Granted it’s not a very sophisticated website but it does show what to do each day if you need that. I do my zone all in one morning usually Sunday or Monday morning. Then each day I do a house reset and tidy and usually always do a bathroom wipe down.

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, bread, cooking, Flylady, reading, Uncategorized, Walking by

It’s a lovely morning with cool temperatures. The next week does heat up but not till Wednesday.

We had a nice walk in the park although it is noticeably darker at 5:45. We may need to start going just a bit later.

Today is a gym day and then I need a few groceries for some recipes. I’ve really used most all the meat in my freezers and lots of misc. A few quarter bags of veggies got tossed. So it’s looking good in there. I made a slow cooker pineapple jalapeno pork roast and it was quite tasty. I also pulled out my bread maker and made the dough for some bread. Then I baked that in the oven.

 It’s also the bathroom zone which I’m just about to do. Other than that it’s sheet day so I’ll get those in the washer soon too.

The coming week isn’t too busy. Clinic and B’s labs on Tuesday. So we may plan an excursion to Tahoe for the day. A nice picnic or something for a few hours. B can’t be in the sun so we’d need to find someplace that has shade. Meeks Bay on the East side has nice big trees so that may be an option.

I went to the pet bookstore this week and got a good selection of books. I’ve finished 3 of them. One of them called”Dirt” is a funny compilation of different authors takes on housekeeping. It was entertaining.

Dinner is grilled chicken and a salad with some noodles on the side.

Catching up

Posted in Blood test, Multiple myeloma, Political things, travel, Uncategorized by

We’re still at Tahoe for a few more days. It’s lovely here with fewer kids running around and therefore quieter.  Mostly retired folks.  There are a few families here and there but even the beach is dramatically less busy. Of course, this is the weekend, so it’ll get busier.

We celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary here and planned to go to a fancy place for lunch. But the menu wasn’t impressive and it turned out not to be fancy but order at the counter. This was The Ridge if you’re interested.  So we decided to make fancy cheese and avocado sandwiches in camp and it was perfect. We’ll do something special out sometime. I’m not one to hold to ‘it has to be’ this way so it was easy.

We’ve had 3 Lodge dinners and last night was a pizza again. So much fun to cook with the Lodge.  But tonight we’re thinking a soup or quesadilla. Just an easy meal.

We had fun going to Goodwill and then we’ve been at the grocery store almost every day for either ice or whatever.  But since Safeway is just up at the corner it’s convenient.

We also have been to the gym twice and that was good to do some weights. I need to ramp up my workouts.

OMG, I forgot, the best news of all my LABS came in the normal range. I’m going on 14 months. Pretty amazing!!!!! I see my oncologist the first week of September so it’ll be just a touch base with him. So relieved and obviously, happy.

On a political note, it’s just amazing Trump would pardon Arapio(sp?) . I mean can we go any lower. And now banning transgender going into the service. We are going backward.  Geez, hard to really comprehend how low Trump can go.

Oh, and how bout it’s okay to leave up the Confederate statues to represent oppression because the civil war was about taxes(which I’m sure was part of the picture) and slavery was legal( so it wasn’t about that)?. So we need to keep them as symbols of respect…Well, I’m obviously being facetious and referring to another bloggers post about the whole statue thing so I’ll leave it at that.  This is my blog and I’ll write what I want just as she can write what she wants. We’re all entitled to believe what we believe as long as it doesn’t oppress or hurt others. I’m pretty sure that’s what neo nazis and white supremacists want to do.

Anywho…. it’s a beautiful day in Tahoe. I hope the hurricane in Texas didn’t cause too much damage.