Tag Archives: writing

Am I a minimalist??

Posted in books, California, Death, decluttering, home stuff, simple foods, simplicity, Uncategorized by

After reading the latest book,

I’m pretty sure that’s a spoof on her ‘author’ moniker.??

I wondered what I still had that was not really worth keeping. Or was it now something no longer needed? I’ve gone through a lot of shelves, drawers, closet ( we only have one closet) and took a hard look at things. Some things are left to deal with later, but a great deal was eliminated.

The author asks, “How do you want your home to ‘feel?’ “and then this is your why. I really want things to be simplified. It’s that simple. I want things to be uncomplicated and simple. Simple meals, simple house chores, simple maintaining the house, etc.

One of her tidbits was to go around your house and identify what irritates you or bugs you, and toss or throw them in the goodwill box. I like that idea.

This is part of the latest pile. 😦

Of course, having my husband just die is a motivator. Some of the things to let go of are those that I have no use for. Half-used notepads, a zillion pens, old T-shirts. ( I have saved some of his T-shirts like Grateful Dead, for now. I don’t know how I’ll feel in 6 months. Here I thought we had really prepared for his passing by getting rid of things, but honestly, it’s a shock what’s there. We have been on our minimalism journey for over 15 years, and here I am scratching my head going”why”?

As I’ve always contended, life is about change and trying to be in the season of your life as it is. I’ve never been here before, so I have to make the changes.

I’m not planning on canning in the near future, for example. So I don’t need a bizillion canning jars. I’ve given away on our Pay it forward group over 3 dozen jars. Now, of course, I’m holding back getting rid of my water canner and my All-American. Why? I don’t know, except I like canning, and I still might in the future. That is too early to tell, because this year, with Barclay dying, we didn’t have any garden. So time will tell on this one.

Even the yard stuff has been a lot. My son has done 3 trips to the dump already. And we still have at least 2 more that are mostly old wood. All this should have been done long before now. We’ve lived here 30 years, and well, stuff does accumulate, especially old wood from projects, scrap metal, old coolers, etc. I’m seriously thinking of hiring someone who does junk to get rid of it.

I suppose all things change as our attitude, circumstances, and perspective change. I’m glad mine is continuing to evolve and change with my current circumstances. I just wish Barclay were here to do this with me. 😦

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, California, camping, cancer, decluttering, Lake tahoe, library, Uncategorized, Walking by

It’s been so hot again. Today is the hottest at 99. The coolers go off and on all day. I always turn them off by 7:30, even if it’s still hot out. We have two more days of heat, and then it drops back into the 80s.

I’ve had fun reading this book,

It’s quite funny, although if you’re offended by the word fuck, then this isn’t for you. It’s quite motivating. I bought it as a Kindle book.

My walk was nice this morning. Only one person was showing up as I was leaving. My legs still don’t seem to be recovering as well as I’d like, and my app for iHealth still shows my walking steadiness as low. I’m guessing my right knee is still causing some lagging in my gait. Of course, that’s just a guess.

I picked up my holds at the library, and one was chair yoga and pilates. So far, I like it and may buy my own copy. I have it for 3 weeks, so I can give it a bit more time to see if it’s worth it.

The week ahead is Dr. appt in Sacramento, and Velcade in Roseville. That pretty much covers the week since Friday, I’ll take my Dex. My daughter starts back at her college job this week, too. We talked about maybe doing a day trip to Tahoe. Just the West Shore, as it is closer to Tahoe City. I’ll have to see how motivated I am to do that.

I still haven’t canceled one of the Tahoe trips in September. I guess I’m procrastinating. I’ll do it soon. We had booked 2 reservations that overlapped, so one will have to go, and even the one that’s left is questionable. I’m still not sure how we could pull it off without Rubi, and that is not an option. I suppose my son’s huge tent is an option, but not really a great one. I’d have to buy an air mattress and some other things, and I’m not sure I want to do that. I guess I’m waiting for some inspiration to show up. Kidding:)

My daughter has finished painting the studio, and it looks really nice. A pale green with a cream trim. We gave away the Ikea cabinet yesterday on Facebook Marketplace. Fortunately, the guy coming was nice and prompt. He had a van, so my daughter and he were able to slide it in. It was a brand-new hybrid Pacifica. Wow, it was quite nice. I checked the price and they run around 55K.

Well, off to do some stuff as I’m not heading out to the gym this morning.

Friday Things

Posted in budgets, California, cancer, Death, frugalism, husband, peritoneal mesothelomia, Uncategorized by

I’m still processing things from Barclay’s death. It’s very weird, honestly, to be the person left to keep on going. I take some comfort in that he lived a good life and got to be 74, almost 75. Look at those poor kids in the Texas flood who didn’t get past 10. Very sad. The last year has been so hard watching his decline, and the last 3 months were pretty awful. He really didn’t have a chance with peritoneal mesothelioma. It’s just one of those cancers that you don’t get over and go into remission. I got the letter already from SS, which I’m happy about, so I don’t have to go into the office. I’m losing over $1000 a month, so quite a hit. I’m sure there will be ways to figure it out. I cancelled his UHC, so that and his Medicare covers almost $500. Insurance is outrageous. The rest, I don’t know. I do plan on selling the Triumph in a few months, so that will, if it sells, generate a few dollars. The totally weird thing was when I called Allstate to take him off as a driver, she said our insurance WILL GO UP ANOTHER $125. WYF??? After talking to our local agent, she got it to go up only $65, so half. The issue is his good driver discount being taken off. JFC, really? Oh well, done is done.

I’ve gotten through most of my list of things to do. There’s still the bank where I need to take him off our account, but I’ll get to it eventually.

As I said, very weird to deal with this stuff. We all miss him so much.

My daughter ordered this from Shutterfly. We hung it out on the upper patio where he spent the last 4 months of his life sitting when the weather was nice.

Frugal wise, I haven’t been spending too much. I did order a new Speedo from Amazon on Prime since I need a new one. I go through a swimsuit about once a year, with the chlorine from the pool. It was 30% off, so it was a good deal. I also bought some black frames for some watercolor pictures my daughter has done, and some that B did too.

I signed my daughter up as a user on my Costco card, so she went in after work and did some shopping. I appreciate the effort. Mostly it was flavored waters, olive oil, coffee, and some wild cod. She’s very susceptible to histamine attacks, so she’s been on a low-histamine diet, hence the fish purchase. The total came to a little over $100.

Our weather is very hot, and the coolers are running most of the day. If I close everything up, I can usually wait till 11 am, and I always turn them off by 8pm, even if it’s still hot out.

I started going to LLS every morning to apply for my grant, but so far, there’s no luck with funding. I’m hoping the wait isn’t too long, as I depend on that money for my insurance.

My son is using B’s truck since his car( older Subaru) is leaking oil. So he got off work early yesterday and took a load to the dump. There are still 2 more to go with metal stuff, and then the old wood from the chicken coop. It was hot yesterday, so I appreciate him doing it and getting it done. I’m pretty sure we’ll keep the truck, but unsure about Rubi. I just don’t know if I can emotionally handle going out in the RV without him. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see when the time comes, and we can plan something. My daughter has volunteered to be the driver, which she can totally handle; it’s more me dealing with it. Plus, Rubi is really designed for a couple, not 2 people. It’s one bed, and the couch does fold down, but it is very uncomfortable to sleep on. So another decision down the road.

Well, that wraps up what’s going on here.

How’s things in your world?? Summer plans?

Simple Sunday

Posted in budgets, California, cancer, Death, husband by

First, I want to thank subscriber T for a generous donation to help us through our rough times here. I’m always so humbled that people would consider this at all. Maybe it has to do with feeling insecure about my value or even this blog. But T, thank you for thinking of us.

Another warm day here in N. Ca. I’ve been closing the house down by 8am so the cool stays inside. We turned the coolers on a little earlier yesterday and will again today.

I walked yesterday and today in the park. I’m still not quite up to the .75 mark, but close. I got to .68. No one has been there, which has been very nice. Just me and all the Canada goose families. I’ve done really well this week, not using my cane and trying to walk steadily. I’ve done my PT exercises every other day, and I do think, especially, the ones on the massage table are helping. I just need to keep it up and not think that if my knee feels better to stop.

Now, for some recapping of the situation. B’s doctor said there’s nothing more to do. The PET scan showed disease progression, so the immunotherapy is not doing anything. She was very compassionate about it all. Now we wait for hospice to call us, which should be tomorrow or at least early next week. It is incredibly sad and feels a bit surreal. I’m sure those who have lost a spouse can relate. My son is taking it particularly hard, and I hope he feels he can talk to me. All in all, it really just means waiting, which is also incredibly hard.

We had reservations to go to Tahoe for Father’s Day week, and that will be tough to realize we won’t do that anymore. I haven’t cancelled the reservation yet, probably because of denial. But I will do so this week.

I’m trying to do my ‘normal’ stuff to keep things normal, I guess. Once we meet with hospice, we’ll know more about how to proceed. I don’t have a clue, really.

I hope you out there in blog land are having a Simple Sunday. If you want to share what you’re doing today.

A picture of the coreopsis and a cactus

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, cooking, Flylady, home stuff, Myeloma, simplicity by

It’s warm out but cloudy right now. It’s supposed to clear up and be in the 80s, so that’s a first this year.

I might go to the Auburn gym to do weights, but I’ll decide in a few hours. It depends on what I want to get done today. I vacuumed yesterday, so it’s maybe a quick mop. Flylady is the living room zone. Usually, that means in my LR, dust the Easton Press books and the ceiling fan, and wash the mirror. So not too much overall. Most of that I do anyway on Monday mornings when I do my house reset for the week. I need to start on the sunroom windows so I may do some of them.

I have some sourdough starter ready to use, so I’ll get that together. Last night we had the Costco chicken burgers on the BBQ and they were delicious. I think I’ll put together a chili tonight since I defrosted some ground turkey. I’m still working my way through the freezer, and this was the last pack of Costco turkey. I’ll probably cook that in the Le Creuset on the stove instead of the IP. I have my pressure-canned beans to add, so I don’t need the IP to cook the beans. I’m still contemplating the electric pressure canner. Does anyone reading use the Presto one? They are not cheap, but from the comments in the Facebook group, most everyone loves the convenience. Mostly because you set it up and there’s no watching it, etc, like the All-American. Like I said, it’s expensive, so not something I’m rushing to do.

It should be a quiet week, no appts, unless B ends up needing a blood transfusion, which I certainly hope not. He gets labs tomorrow, so he’ll know by Monday afternoon. I have nothing but need to call the sleep place to arrange getting the home test, and I need to call Ortho, as they should have reviewed the MRI by now. Mostly, from Ortho, I just want to get the PT referral to start doing that.

I do plan on going down to Roseville to the gym at least once. I think I’ll try and coordinate either WinCo or Costco with that.

How does your week look?, Do you have routines you follow, like Flylady? Some people really like Clean Mama ( I think that’s her blog name), but I tried it and it seemed way too involved for me. I’m always interested in minimalism, especially in older people, and how that helps with daily stuff.

Oh!!! I forgot my labs came back just a smidge above high normal, so all good. 19.6 kappa light chains, high normal is 19.4. It does tend to fluctuate, but this is still excellent. Boy, I am always so relieved that Velcade is working because I couldn’t handle one more thing right now. 😦

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, bread, California, cancer, cooking, simplicity by

Another cloudy, rainy day yesterday, and it looks like that again for today. We can always use the rain, so I can’t complain really. I think we’re back in the sun by evening, and then it looks nice the rest of the week.

I drove B for his transusion yesterday. This is probably the one thing that is frustrating me. Well, one of many things, but it is a big question mark why it is his hemoglobin is dropping. I suppose the simple answer is that the cancer is affecting his blood levels, but I’m not a doctor. He has his next immuno on Tuesday, so hopefully that will start to improve the hemoglobin. A very good thing, though, is he’s had a bit of an appetite and has eaten pretty well the last few days. I hope that’s a sign he’s doing better.

Today is a home day. Normally, I’d be at the Auburn gym, but I want to hold off till I get an official diagnosis on my knee. I had the MRI, so I should know by Monday or Tuesday. It didn’t take long, partly because there was no contrast involved. The one oncology nurse, Vicki, who usually does my shot, said that using a stationary bike is one of the best ways to build knee muscles. She had a torn meniscus a few years back due to a skiing accident, so she really went full on rehab and now is a committed bicyclist and goes out every morning at 4:30 am. Now that’s dedication. i will start on the bike once I know what’s up.

I’m making sourdough bread this morning. I thought I’d try something different, so I’m trying cheddar and olives. We’ll see how it comes out.

Friday night, I was able to use that frozen pizza that was languishing in the freezer, so one more thing gone.

Last night I made the Greek lemon chicken soup, Avogolimeno. It’s a simple recipe, but so delicious. I made B tomato soup and he ate it all!!!

I think tonight, I’ll do rice and the TJ’s Kung Pao chicken that I’d like to use up.

I made reservations for the 5 of us to go to brunch at one of our favorite places, High Hand Nursery and Cafe. It’s very popular and reservations are hard to get, but I got a brunch on the Sunday before my daughter’s birthday. I’m sure it’ll be pricey, but since we rarely eat out, I’m ok with it.

I finished the book “Enough’ about the Everest climber. It was an interesting read, but I would have liked more about what the camps are like. How many people climb in a day? Things like that. But a good read.

Then I’m working my way through the Harry Potter books for the 3rd time. I just finished #2. They are fun to read. It’s too bad JK Rowling has become such a jerk and anti LGBTQ+. Weird.

Tomorrow I have my labs, and I might go into Target( which I’ve been avoiding) to check out some PJs. I’ve been looking for just some cotton ones, and most, like from LLB, etc, are too expensive. I saw some online at Target for $20, so I want ot check them out.

This week, Flylady is the LR. So I’ll do a few extra things. I dusted all the Easton Press Books already, so I may just need to wash the inside windows.

How do you do house chores? All at once or break it up like Flylady?

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, decluttering, husband, peritoneal mesothelomia, Uncategorized, Walking by

I miss my morning walks. I miss the morning routine and being down at the park with no one there. It’s quite difficult to not be able to go out early. I’m hoping once I know what this is, I can make a plan. I have the MRI scheduled for next Saturday. So hopefully by the following week, I can get into PT or at least have an idea of the timing on healing. If I remember, my torn ACL and meniscus on my left knee took at least 2 months before I was back walking and swimming. Because there was no trauma to my knee( like the last time falling off the step ladder), I’m hoping it’ll be quicker. I guess, like everything right now, it’s wait and see.

Today I plan to make what has become our Easter tradition. We don’t celebrate Easter, but I like the idea of a special meal, and for us, that is Southern fried tofu. It’s really just breaded tofu, and I make a tartar sauce to go with it. I will make a potato salad, and I have some asparagus to use up. I’ll do some ham for anyone who wants a meat option. I have a Mumm Champagne too. That always makes things festive.

I didn’t even put out my Spring decorations this year. I have some ceramic bunnies and chicks and a few other things. I guess with B being so unwell, I’m finding it hard to do extra things. I think I’ll go get them today and put them out at least for the next week or so.

I did go and drop off all my vintage Pyrex at the Assistance League thrift store. They do good work locally, and I like to support them with good donations. They seemed excited to get them. For me, that’s one less thing to wash and keep clean on a shelf. It was interesting that I had just watched the YouTuber, Minimal Mom, and she was talking about reducing inventory when you’re stressed. I think she was quite right about it. So in that light, I’m really looking hard at what I have around me that takes up space and that I don’t use.

Things are difficult right now, but I’m hoping that next week things improve. B has his next chemo at the end of the month, so maybe after that he’ll start to feel better. We can only hope.

Where we are now.

Posted in books, California, cancer, husband, peritoneal mesothelomia by

After the shock of Stanford canceling, we’ve moved on to the next phase. Barclay had to cancel all the hotel reservations, and both of my kids had to rearrange the time they had taken off. They did so, and it wasn’t a huge problem as they both have flexibility at their jobs. My anger was at Stanford for waiting to let us know. Dr. Lee had seen his CT scan weeks ago. That’s what upset me the most. Anyway, I’m over it now. ( mostly!!)

After we got that news, the next day he had a video visit with his UCD, and she set up the immunotherapy appointments. Barclay had the first one yesterday. Side effects can be nausea, thyroid problems, and skin issues, but it shouldn’t take down his hemoglobin to the point where he needs transfusions. ( At least I hope so). He will be going every 2 weeks for this. We can only hope it gives him some reprieve and he gets a little more time. He is still not eating very much, and of course, that’s a problem.

On top of all that, I had my right knee go out on me, so I’m wearing a brace and will need to get an MRI to see what it is. The doctor didn’t think it was any kind of fracture so until I get the MRI, ice, and ibuprofen. The only thing I can come up with is 4 days before I did an extended swim, and maybe I overworked my knee. Still, it may be an age factor too, with knees wearing out:(

We’ve had beautiful 70-degree weather, and everything is in full leaf and bloom, including the wisteria. Today, I plan on being home and hobbling around to take care of the house chores. My daughter has been doing the bulk of it for us. My son is going to stop by and do some chores as well. I’m grateful they can help.

I’ve read a few books from the library and including the new B. C Beaton’s ‘Death of a Smuggler’. It was fun to read Hamish Macbeth again. Also, we’re finishing ‘Dark Winds’ based on Hillerman’s Leaphorn and Chee characters. It is excellent. We finished ‘ Reacher’ and I wasn’t too impressed. The actor is a good Reacher, but the adaptation of the story just doesn’t quite fit.

Well, that’s about it. Life goes on. The sun will rise, and today is a new day.

Saturday

Posted in California, camping, cancer, canning tomato salsa, freezer cooking, peritoneal mesothelomia by

Frugal Friday got sidestepped by other things.

But I did go to Winco once after swimming and spent $58, although $15 of that was a bottle of wine. So $43 for food. I also got gas at Costco, which is always a savings. Other than that, nothing was spent.

Today, I have to take Barclay down to Infusion in Rocklin. I was going to do a Trader Joe’s stop, but nothing is urgent, so I think I’ll wait. This will take about 4 1/2 hours, so my daughter will go down to get him at 2:30 or so.

The video visit with Dr. Neal was a waste of time. He really didn’t say anything of importance except that the one spot on his spleen was concerning. But I’ve read on the Facebook group that people will have their spleen removed during the surgery if it’s impacted. So now we wait again till we hear from Lee. Honestly, at this point, I think it should be our call. He’s the one taking the risk, and if this can remove tumors, then that’s what we want. So I think I’m going to be hopeful that it will go forward.

After I get home, I plan on processing the rest of the tomatoes from last summer I froze. So I have 3 bags to do. I think I’ll cook them down, then run them through the food mill and can them tomorrow. I also am planning to make chicken broth but will pressure can that. Does anyone use the Presto pressure canner that’s automated? Lots of people swear by it because there’s no waiting for the All-American to come up to pressure, then juggle at the right time, etc. I’ve looked at them on Amazon, and they run around $350, so a big investment.

We’ve booked a spot in Tahoe for September, so that’s exciting. Belived me that’s like winning the lottery to get a spot. It took us 6 tries to get a spot, so if you’re trying to do anything in Tahoe, beware of how long it can take and plan accordingly.

Simple Sunday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, home stuff, Uncategorized, Walking by

A clear morning walk with the waning moon above. No one was around but us and the new hire for the park. We don’t know what happened to the other guy but it’s been around 4 months since they had a regular maintenance person there.

We drove the Santa Fe down to the park because the VW’s flywheel went the other day. This is what the mechanic, who fixed the starter, said would eventually happen. I guess we figured it would be a bit down the road. Unfortunately, we don’t have the money to fix her right now so buggie will just have to sit until we’re done with Stanford. After it’s fixed I guess we’ll need to decide to keep her or sell. Maybe it’s just time to let it go. I wouldn’t want to decide till after it’s fixed.

Today I am not going into the Auburn gym. I think my daughter and I are going to the nursery for some soil and maybe a few flowers.

Today is going to be sunny and the first real day of almost 70 degrees. I plan on getting the Weber out so this week I can BBQ at least once. I have some chicken burgers and Boca burgers too. Tuesday is supposed to be the warmest day.

This week is B’s CT and I have Velcade on Thursday. My appt is at 8:30 so I should be out of there by 9am and I’ll go over to the gym and library. Then Friday with Dex will be a home day.

There haven’t been any changes with my sleep apnea app on my Apple watch. It’s generally right above the elevated line. In April I see the sleep dr so I guess that’s when I’ll know more. I’m pretty sure I would not use a CPAC machine but who knows. Never say never, right??

Next week starts our new budget and I have most everything in. I still need to check my Allstate bill and find the due date. I think that’s the only bill not on auto-pay since I’m paying a different amount each time.

Well, off to start the day! What’s new in your world? anything? I think the reason blogs are so interesting to read is other people’s lives are different than mine and I do enjoy peeking into them.