Tag Archives: thankfulness

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?

Thankful Thursday

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

I am thankful for a beautiful day. The early morning walks have been so pretty. The predawn sky is like a Maxfield Parrish poster.

I’m thankful that I had a good Dr. visit and there’s nothing new with my labs. My kappa light chains went down a whole point. So that’s great. When that happens though my ratio goes up so that is higher than normal right now. But I’m not too concerned about that at this point. The ratio between kappa and lambda is important especially when the Kappa goes high.

I’m thankful the budget looks good for September but it will be another close month with money. There won’t be much if any leftover. Plus we will need to book a room in Palo Alto by Stanford to spend the night. I guess we’ll figure it out.

I’m grateful we have the 2 appts for B set up although we are concerned about the Stanford one. The treatment( Hipec) is a tough surgery etc and it may be that he’s too old to qualify. So now, I’m worried about that too.

I’m thankful I repotted my plants yesterday. They were very root bound so I think they will do better, especially the Ficus. I plan on going around and seeing how many more I need to do. I think probably 3 more.

Tonight I plan on making a frittata for dinner. I have a lot of spinach to use up and a Boursin. The Boursin adds a nice creamy texture to the frittata.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cancer, Gratitude, home stuff, husband, Walking by

First for our great weather. Nice temperatures and we’ve been able to eat dinner on the patio again. So nice. Plus we’re sitting outside at wine time too.

Next, walking at the park and enjoying the fresh morning air. A few people are showing up but we’re generally almost done by then.

Finally, we have the appointment at Stanford set. It’s the end of September which seems very far ahead but that’s the best they could do with the specialist we’re seeing. He only sees patients Thursdays that’s that. We did ask to be put on a cancellation list. Our plan would be to drive to Palo Alto do the appointment and then spend the night in a hotel. There is no way I could drive 3 1/2 hours back and forth on the same day.

I’m not sure how the surgery etc will play out and how we will afford me staying somewhere but I’ll worry about that when the time comes.

Today is a home day for me and I just need to do house chores. I might make a loaf of bread in the bread maker. Not sourdough just regular sandwich bread but I’ll see how I feel.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, Gratitude, velcade by

Even though I slept terribly, I still got up at 5:15 to walk. I’m thankful I have the energy to do that. We got to the park at 5:40 and the two ladies were there. They are nice and don’t bother me. By the time we were almost done 6 more people had showed. I’m not sure what the story is about more people early as the weather is not hot and the sunrise is almost 6:30. I guess this will change soon as it gets darker. However, the one older lady that I’m not super fond of is the one last year that came at 6. It was dark and she never used a flashlight even when I asked her to because you can’t see people. oh well, people:(

I’m thankful my drive to infusion was uneventful. The other day on Hwy 65( the one I take) there was a horrible accident with a pedestrian. I’m glad I didn’t see it.

I’m thankful that I have some extra money in my cash envelopes because we need it till the end of the month.

I’m thankful I’m not losing hair like I was. I probably lost half my hair. So now when I comb it there’s a normal amount of hair. I think it was Dex, but it may have been Velcade too or both.

There’s a lot going on with B’s cancer and I’ll do an update soon. I’m still a little shell shocked so I need a day or two to get a grip. But I am thankful the doctor pursued a long shot and she was right. I’ll explain later in a separate post.

I’m thankful our kitties are safe and bring us joy. It is sad when cats go missing and I’m sure the neighbor is upset.

I’m very grateful Mr Owl left me this. B found it!!

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, California, Gratitude, husband, Uncategorized by

First, our washer broke. Well, I’m not thankful for that but I am thankful we can afford to buy a new one and have B put it in. B went and got the right parts but that didn’t solve the problem and it all was too complicated for a relatively inexpensive washer. So I went online to Lowes and the same one we have was on sale so I got that. It’s been a good washer used daily for at least 5 years. Both kids use the washer with their laundry almost daily too. I wanted the Samsung, which was on sale too although more, but it wasn’t in stock and we’d have to wait, so that wasn’t an option. It’s ok, just that it seems it’s always something. I did tell both kids to fork over something to pay for the washer since they use it too. Otherwise, try going to a laundromat. We never had a washer until 1985 after S was born so that’s 15 years of laundromats. So I am thankful for washing machines.

I am thankful to have had Leo as our neighbor all these years. He died last week after being confined to his house for the last 4 years. He was always a good neighbor, quiet and helpful. We’re definitely concerned as to when it sells and who will move in. We are planning another privacy fence along the property line but not sure how soon we’ll get to it. After seeing all the people for the services over there and kids and cars, I shudder to think about new neighbors.

I’m thankful our weather is not overly hot. We’re still in the 90s but it’s ok and we’ve even sat outside on the patio for a while.

I’m thankful we are getting tomatoes!! Yay!! I made the first round of salsa the other day. I’m going to open one jar to test it out. The tomatoes are the first round so I’m sure as we get more Romas the flavor will improve. I used the water bath canner and boy does that take a lot of water. I’m thinking of looking at the Amish steam bath canner( also used for things like tomatoes, sauce, salsas,) and it is designed differently. It only takes a few inches of water and there is a bigger lid that comes down to seal it.

I am thankful I can go to the gym and get a good workout in with weights. It’s so important to keep muscle mass as you age.

Lastly, I’m grateful for the library right next to the gym. Perfect.

Thankful Thursday, Frugal Friday and Saturday sum-up.

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, camping, cooking, LLS, Multiple myeloma, Myeloma, pets, travel by

THANKFUL THURSDAY

  1. I am thankful we had a safe drive home from Capitola and traffic was not too bad at all. We made it home in 4 hours with a stop for gas and something to eat.

2. I am grateful that B does the driving and set up and take down of Rubi.

3. I am thankful the weather was beautiful and we had some lovely days in our camp spot. With the influx of kids, bikes, and loud people, we left a day early and I’m grateful we have the sense to do that and not just say” Oh, we paid for the night, we should stay”. We do not enjoy it when kids are throwing balls in front of the trailer, riding bikes, etc, while their parents are loud with partying.

4. I am very grateful to my daughter for taking care of the house and yard. With the chickens and cats, it can be a lot.

5. I am so incredibly grateful that LLS opened funding for Myeloma and I got my application in. It’s pending, waiting for my doctor to fax his form.

FRUGAL FRIDAY

We spent very little this past week while camping. We didn’t eat out except for Gayles and that was just coffee and a danish. We ate the rest of our meals in camp. We went to the grocery store for a few things and that was it.

If you figure a week almost in Capitola, and we had just the cost of gas and some food, it’s a low budget getaway.

Overall, the budget has been good this month. But some things have caused some alarm. I’ll describe that in Saturday Sum up.

All the monthly bills are done. I’m working on keeping a zero balance in the bank account and it’s right where I want it for now.

It’s a huge savings for me to have my LLS grant since it covers all my insurance costs. I’ll be able to have a look back of 90 days so for reimbursement.

SATURDAY SUM UP

Well, that was the frugal stuff.

The night before we left my son notice some water(moisture) on part of the kitchen foundation. Of course, I freaked out and had B use the giant flashlight to look under there. There was a slow drip from the kitchen water pipe that will need to be fixed. Now part of the problem is our house foundation is not that great and as you go from the back to the kitchen area it gets very small to access. When we had this work done the person had to use a very long something to put those pipes in place. So now we’re facing a difficult challenge of getting a plumber to go under there. B is going to suit up and go in to try and clear some old pilings of dirt. But he isn’t a plumber that can weld the copper pipes. We put a call in to someone while we were in camp and we will try and set up an appt for next week to have him check it out. I tremble to think of this added expense.

The good news is the truck will go in next week to fix the AC and it’s covered by the extended warranty we bought. That expires in August so right in the nick of time.

Today, I’m going to pick up a Walmart order that has some camping stuff( toilet paper, and small propane bottles for the Weber). Plus I need to dust as the pine yellow pollen is coating everything in the house.

While we were gone a red fox chased and almost caught Ciri the cat. It was caught on Arlo and it’s scary to watch. It actually jumped the gate and chased her into the laundry rooms. We’re guessing it has a litter of kits nearby and that’s why it was so aggressive.


Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, California, Gratitude by
  1. A beautiful sunny day with everything green and lush. The park is very pretty now with the trees coming out. We now have 3 Canada Geese families.
  2. That I have wonderful adult children that I get along with so well. My daughter and I hit up our local nursery, Green Acres, to get some pony packs of tomatoes and some other veggie starts. She had sprouted an entire tray of tomatoes but that last frost got them even in the greenhouse. She picked out a bird bath that was her early birthday present.
  3. For the lovely indoor pool that is kept so perfectly by the Roseville Parks and Rec staff. I’m sure it’s a lot of work to keep an indoor pool at the right temperature and chlorine level.
  4. Even though we have a ( relatively) low income, it’s still enough to take care of our needs even with a mortgage for now. I still have some concerns about when one of us dies and that lower SS will go. We need both to make it so that is going to take some adjusting. But I’m confident life will find a way.
  5. For books and libraries. In spite of my very bad end of working at the library experience, libraries have always been important to me. Starting from when I could read, which was around 5 yo, books have held magic for me. Books have transported me to places I’ll never see. It is abhorrent that there is book banning going on in this country. If you don’t want to read a certain book or don’t want your kids to, fine, that’s your choice but don’t tell other people what they should read. Most of these ‘Mothers for Liberty’ have their heads up their asses and are just pushing their far-right Christian views on others.