Tag Archives: thankfulness

Thankful Thursday and a reality check.

Posted in budgets, California, cancer, Gratitude, Retirement, social security by

I’m thankful that most of the things I’ve had to deal with, like changing me to primary, have been met with support and graciousness from the customer service people. Even changing the AARP was easy enough, and they even sent a sympathy card which was very sweet. Verizon was a challenge, and I didn’t end up changing much because it started to get way too complicated.

I still need to go to the bank to take him off the account, but I will make an appointment to do that. When I talked with them yesterday, the teller was very kind and told me what I needed to bring.

I’m sure there are a few outliers that still need to be dealt with, but that can come later.

I’m so thankful my LLS is back and I can give a sigh of relief that my UHC insurance will be covered. They increased my premium because it’s only me now.

The reality check is at our ages,72 and 74, there was no life insurance, no CDs to fall back on, no IRAs, no massive savings, just SS. The reality is we were never in a position to be able to have that kind of money. We really just got by. After my myeloma diagnosis in 2005, I couldn’t work at anything major, but when I got my little library job in 2007, that boosted my SS points, and that was the reason for doing that to some extent. Besides, I loved that job.

Fortunately, even with still having a mortgage, SS was enough to get by on. The reality of losing almost 1/3 of SS is tough, but I’ve mostly figured it out, and some bills are lower. This summer we’re watering way less and don’t have a vegetable garden( Barclay was starting to go downhill in the spring), and no one felt like gardening. So our water bill is less. Ditto with our Verizon bill because I cancelled his phone. Since my son is using the truck for now, he’s giving me money for that, which helps.

Thankful for what is.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, California, cancer, Walking by

I’m grateful for a sunny day. We had our first walk in quite a few days because of the rain. It felt good to get out and walk.

I’m thankful my labs have come back great. Kappa in normal range, lambda in normal range, and the K /L ratio normal. Yes!! I’ll take it.

I’m grateful we’ve gotten through B’s video appts, and nothing was said about cancelling the surgery so we can only assume it’s a go. The only hiccup could be his CT scan of his chest that he still needs to get. They somehow didn’t add in the chest when he got the other one.

I’m thankful for the pool and how Roseville P& R keeps it so clean and immaculate.

I’m thankful for a nice visit from my son the other day. He does make an effort to visit us. Now that he has his own apartment with his partner, he could choose to not visit as often so it’s so nice he does. Plus, he’s a good emotional support for his Dad.

What kinds of things are you grateful for? Usually I’d say for me, it’s about the little things of everyday life. The bread making, the tidying up the house so it’s clean and tidy, sitting in the sun enjoying the warmth and things like that.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, Gratitude, peritoneal mesothelomia, simple foods, swimming, travel by

It’s been a week since the surgery and B is doing fantastic. He’s doing mostly his normal chores just being more careful. So I’m so thankful he has a great response.

I’m thankful the drive to Palo Alto and back were uneventful (except for a few assholes) but mostly it went smoothly.

I’m very grateful for the Sheraton giving us a discount that was probably half of what the room rate was. When we’re down there next, if it’s a week that’ll add up but we don’t really have an alternative. An Airbnb would probably cost more.

I’m thankful my dentist appt went well too and is over.:) I do have a cleaning coming up so there’s that. 😦

As always I’m grateful to be able to swim and go for walks. I’d like to ramp it up some but honestly, it feels like this is the best I can do at this time. So I’ll take what I can do and not worry about adding to it.

I made the garlic confit yesterday but cooked the garlic too long and some burned so I just drained the olive oil into a jar to use and threw out the garlic cloves. It tasted good. ( the olive oil).

This is the homemade butter I made using heavy cream I had frozen. I made it in the Kitchen aid.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, California, cooking, Gratitude, library, peritoneal mesothelomia, Political things by

First, what a tragedy about the AA plane and the Black Hawk helicopter. Very sad indeed. I listened to part of what trump said, and at first, he was somewhat consoling and then spiraled into his usual blaming of Obama and Biden. Geez, give it up, just be with the victims here and not political.

I’m very thankful to get the Stanford call, and at least we can get this part done. Today, he has a video call with the anesthesiologist, and tomorrow, a video visit with Dr. Neal, who is the mesothelioma oncologist at Stanford.

I’m thankful we’ve had a nice period of no rain. Tomorrow starts a long period of lots of rain. I’ll have to see how the walking will go.

I’m thankful to feel like myself again after that awful night. It’s the simple things, right?

I’m thankful I got to the gym before my Velcade. It was nice because then I came straight home.

I’m thankful for the library and the huge bag of books I checked out. Three cookbooks which were new, so that’ll be fun. Reading cookbooks is like a hobby. I don’t often make the recipes, but I like looking at them.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgets, California, cancer, cash envelopes, Gratitude, Myeloma by

It’s a chilly morning here in N. Ca. I hope the fires are under control in SoCal. what a thing to go through. We live in a high fire danger area and so many insurance companies have dropped policies. What is going to happen with the cost of policies now? I’m sure everyone’s is going up.

I’m thankful for a warm house and we have enough wood to get through. I think next year ( this coming winter) we’ll need to buy wood. I don’t see B getting the wood splitter going and going to get wood. We could take some more small oaks down in the woods, so maybe that’ll happen.

I’m thankful we’ve all been healthy( of course that is somewhat relative with cancer) but still no colds or flu here. Although I do have some sinus stuff going on but hopefully that’s just seasonal stuff.

I’m thankful, as always, that we can pay our bills with our SS. We don’t have ‘extra’ but we have enough! Of course, I’d love to re do the kitchen and fix our foundation but it is what it is.

Speaking of money, I’m very grateful to LLS that gives me a grant for Myeloma and pays my insurance. Without that, we would be struggling. Insurance adds up.

I’m thankful for this time in my life. It is hard getting older. It is a gift though to reach 72. Lots of people don’t. So I try to do the best I can and I’m thankful for that.

The VW should be done today or tomorrow. The mechanic said it needed lots of things fixed, hmm, yes, we know that) but we said just do the starter, battery, and an oil change. It’ll come in @ $ 1200 I think. I have $300 in my auto repair envelope and then I’ll put the rest on my card. Not ideal but needs must.

I plan on going to the gym this morning. Then we have the video visit with Stanford. Plus I’m soaking pinto beans to can so I’ll try and get the canner going after I get home.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, Gratitude, home stuff, Political things by

I am thankful for the sunny days we’re having. It’s not warm but it has been in the 60’s. I’m definitely a sun person.

I’m thankful that the gym was not busy yesterday and I spent 30 minutes on the weight machines. The regulars I know were there and maybe 1person seemed new.

I’m thankful for these days when Barclay is feeling good enough to go do chores. He got the cat food yesterday and went to the bank. Next week is the video visit so we should know what the next step is by Friday.

I rolled up the LR rug the other day because I wanted to see how much the vacuum picks up without this rug. It seems this rug always has some sort of fiber that comes out with vacuuming and I wonder if it’s because it’s a cheap rug.?? It wasn’t that cheap but I had gotten it on a Prime Day about 3 years ago. Anyway, I was done with it. I’m not sure what I want to get, maybe a Ruggable. Costco has a special Ruggable deal so I may do that. For now, I’ll see how it is. I plan on offering it on Facebook Market place free.

I also moved the little grey couch out of the sunroom and put it in my office area. I’m going to leave it there for a while. We don’t sit out in the sunroom this time of year because it’s too cold. I’ll leave it here till spring.

Today is a home day unless I run out to drop books off. I still haven’t gotten to that.:(

I’m thankful we’re all healthy right now especially with flu season happening.

In the political arena, I’m thankful President Carter was honored by so many people. He was really a good person and lived his values. It was weird seeing frump there though as he is the exact opposite of everything Carter was.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cancer, Gratitude by

As always there’s always something to be thankful for.

It’s been 1 year since I started monthly Velcade shots. I’m thankful that it’s quick( I’m in and out in 30 minutes), not too painful( it is a very long needle going into my abdomen), and I tolerate it well. Plus, it has kept my kappa light chain numbers at normal or near normal. I am so grateful that it’s allowing me to live as normally as possible and with these last 6 months with B, I’ve been able to take him to appts, chemo, and ER visits. My energy level is ok. Maybe not great, but I can do what needs to be done.

I’m thankful we’ve had some nice walks in the early morning. It’s been cold but we bundle up and it’s fine. I’ve used one walking pole a few times and it seems to add to some stability. I haven’t had anything like a fall but my knee( the ACL tear, and meniscus tear) are always in the back of my mind.

I’m thankful Barclay is having a very nice period of good energy, no chemo problems and he’s out and about. He can drive to get his own labs and do errands if need be. So that’s so great. He will have a video visit with DR. Lee in mid January so we’ll know then what the next step is. Age is a factor in this surgery so I’m a little concerned but I figure, don’t worry too much yet.

I’m grateful both my kids are healthy and doing well. My daughter does have immune issues but so far she knows what to do if a flare-up occurs.

Going forward into the new year, I’m grateful we have a safe warm house and plenty in the pantry. This year I want to be more intentional with food and not buy larger quantities of things at Costco. Here’s looking at you, giant bag of cheese-its!!! I see these things on sale and impulsively buy them. So I want to be more intentional. I can go to Winco and buy a small box of cheese-its if that’s what I want.

I’m thankful for each morning to wake up and look forward to a new day.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, bread, budgets, California, cancer, cooking, Gratitude, instant pot recipes, velcade, Walking by

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

Posted in California, cancer, Gratitude, Myeloma by

It’s Thanksgiving Day so lots to be thankful for:

For B doing well after Chemo. It’s early days yet but still, it’s nice to feel things normal. It’s around day 10 that the drops happen. The chemo was reduced some so maybe he’ll not have as big of a drop. Still, I’m thankful for the chemo working even though it’s a very difficult drug. (Cisplatin).

I’m thankful my 2 children are healthy and happy. They both help us so much. S is around to do extra stuff we need done and I’m beyond thankful for that.

I’m thankful my cancer is staying steady with my light chains in the normal range. My ratio is slightly out of range but not by much.

I’m thankful I can walk in the mornings and enjoy the early morning sunrises.

I’m thankful that we have SS and it pays our bills. Since we still have a mortgage that’s a big deal. We probably couldn’t afford to live somewhere else unless we rented and then that would just be using money from selling this. We don’t want to do that at all so here we stay. My son is putting in some railings by our deck and the sunroom for safety.

I hope this day finds you as well as can be and what are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, books, California, cancer, cooking, Gratitude by

Yesterday was lots of fun with my son going to see Deadpool 3. For some weird reason, I just love his character and it’s really quite funny, well if you don’t like heads flying I wouldn’t recommend it. The theatre was empty except for us and that made it even better. After that we went up for pizza and it’s my favorite NY pizza. I’m grateful and thankful for such a great son. He’s very thoughtful and knows me well.

I’m thankful the days are moving along till our Stanford appointment.

I’m thankful the weather is so beautiful and fall like. Both of us, are born in September so maybe that’s why I love the change of season so much.

I’m thankful( actually so grateful) that my labs came back still in the normal range. I’m definitely nervous that somethings going to happen and then I won’t be able to keep up with B’s appts. So far, my daughter has the PET scan covered, and my son will pick up his Dad after his first chemo. That chemo will potentially be ALL day so I’ll do the morning and then he can come after work.

As always I’m thankful for the small things in life that give me so much joy like reading, cooking, walking, and even daily chores.

My son found me a pasta maker at the thrift store. It’s practically new so I’m making some pasta for tomorrow. I don’t have the wood drying pasta thing but I’ll check on Amazon how much it is and how soon it would get here. You can also just make little stacks of the pasta and let it dry on a cookie sheet. He’s a very good cook so he wants to try it after I do.

So I have a question for those of you who read other people’s blogs that have advertisements. I’ve thought of monetizing my blog but every time I start to do it, I’m just kind of turned off by it. Any thoughts? I know when some blogs have ads flying all over I don’t even read the blog and just close it. Frugal Girl’s blog is monetized and the ads seem to just be in the middle of paragraphs and not too intrusive. I think she just mentioned though on her blog that the ads don’t really bring in the money. So how does she earn from the blog? Does anyone know how that works?