Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A New Tomato

Wednesday: (05/30) We were off toward Home Depot first thing this morning. We stopped in at the Me Pueblo market for breakfast. We shared a shredded beef and eggs breakfast with rice and beans and fresh corn tortillas and added a port tomale. Very good. I picked up some plywood and hardboard panels and a few other things, When we returned home I tinkered in the backyard doing some work on the walkway some storage shed organization, and some gardening. Lou went to the laundromat to wash some big things, a bed spread and a rug. Lunch was a chili size. For dinner we went out to the Sweet Tomato restaurant A new one opened up closer to home in Mountain View about 5 miles from home.

Thursday: (05/31) Leftover banana craisin muffin with yogurt, honey, and blueberries for breakfast. I started to morning by pruning the wisteria. The fronds were poking out all over threatening to take over the yard. I started dinner in the crock pot, pork chops with sauerkraut and potatoes. Other than that I just waited for the gardener to come and finish before I started digging again. I had a fairly productive day, as evidenced by the growth of the dirt pile. No lunch for me. Lou met Dawn and they went to Armadillo Willie's BBQ. And of course, dinner was the stuff in the crock.

Friday: (06/01) Leftover rice pancakes with our olallieberries for breakfast. I spent the day digging and finished the area in front of the greenhouse. Now my dirt pile is quite big. Leftover chowmein for lunch. Zucchini with onions and sausage for dinner. The zucchini was from our garden and our neighbors garden. The neighbor, Meili joined us for dinner.

Saturday: (06/02) I used the leftover potatoes and sauerkraut homefried potatoes served with sausage patties and eggs for breakfast. I was back at it digging in the yard today. Not too much to do today, just some trimming around the greenhouse. Of course, I found a sprinkler pipe with the maul and caused a little flood. I also managed to finish completely breaking the bucket of my wheelbarrow and I noticed that I'm about to have a blowout as well. I took the frame apart. I had to grind off the rusted bolts. I then welded it all back together. There is also a split in the tire so it's time to get a replacement. It still works for now but will probably fail anytime. The wheelbarrow is 38 years old so maybe it is time. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. I noticed harbor Freight had a special on replacement wheels so I browsed their advertising flyer and made a shopping list. I took a trip to the store and was able to get everything except the wheel. They were sold out. Their price is so much less, and I'm so cheap, that I'll wait until they get more in. BBQ ribs with Spanish rice and a green salad for dinner. After dinner we went to the movies. We went to the Stanford Theater downtown and saw a couple of Howard Hawks movies. Red River and O. Henry's Full House (1952). We were a little late thinking to go so we saw the 7:30 show so the last film didn't finish until midnight. We like the theater because the pipe organ is played during intermissions.

Sunday: (06/03) More leftover potatoes and sauerkraut homefried potatoes served with sausage patties and eggs for breakfast. I didn't do much outsie but i did repair the broken sprinkler line. Popcorn for lunch. We took Lou to an appointment and stopped at Carrow's for dinner. Lou and Dawn had prime rib while I had a pot roast sandwich and Ernie had a pot roast dinner. A slice of Ernie's berry pie for desert.

Monday: (06/04) We were up early and took a walk around the neighborhood before I took Lou to her appointment. I returned home and picked up Dawn and we went to breakfast at the Country Inn in Cupertino. I had the CFS with potatoes and eggs. Dawn had maple syrup sausage with potatoes and ham and we both had their Swiss pancakes. Too much and too good. We picked up Lou and returned home. Lunch was grilled cheese and hotdog sandwiches. The day started out nice but it rained mid morning and was windy all the rest of the day. I spent some time watching a contractor for the city replacing some sewer laterals a couple of house down the street. They have some neat tools but still were defeated by some troublesome roots they couldn't clear from the line they were connecting to so they ended up leaving that house with no sewer tonight. Now that could be a problem. I prepared Swedish meat balls with fresh green beans, sauteed mushrooms and baked potatoes all with some gravy.

Tuesday: (06/05) Yes, we had too many bananas, so that was breakfast. Lou's tomato, pepper and ham salad for lunch. Papa John's pizza for dinner. Today was a relaxing day with nothing accomplished.

Wednesday: (06/06) Banana for breakfast. Home fried garlic potatoes with Italian sausage and eggs for lunch. Dawn's Basque vegetable soup with Hawaiian rolls for dinner.  Another relaxing day of little accomplishments.

Thursday: (06/07) Potatoes sausage and eggs for breakfast. leftover pizza for lunch. Italian beef noodles and broccoli for dinner. Another relaxing day of little accomplishments.

Friday: (06/08) Sauerkrauted potatoes with eggs and sausage for breakfast. I plucked a pale of our olallieberries and baked a couple of pies. Leftovers Italian shredded beef and noodles for lunch. Spaghetti squash with meatballs and some green beans for dinner. Otherwise another relaxing day.



Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Rancho San Antonio Park

Tuesday: (05/29) Leftover coconut French Toast  with sausage for breakfast. I started the day with a 0930 hike at Rancho San Antonio Park.

Rancho San Antonio Park PGE Trail Mid-Week Hikers Group At Rancho San Ant
I hiked with the Mid Week Hikers Meet-up group, my first hike with this group. There were seven of us, all retirees or near so but all energetic enough for this ambitious hike up the PGE Trail, 4 miles and 1600+ elevation change.

Mom Deer and Fawn At Rancho San Anto Rancho San Antonio Upper Wildcat Canyon Trail Snake
The total length of the hike was 8.35 miles. We were back to our cars right after noon. Along the way we saw a group of five wild turkeys, a five foot king snake (right), and a mother deer with two fawns (left). Lunch was a chili size.

Wilton Walkway Dirt Pile Wilton Walkway Phase Two
I worked in the afternoon digging around the greenhouse for the walkway.

Lou had a class today. Dinner was some chow mein Lou made.

Monday, May 28, 2012

A Relaxing Memorial Day

Monday: (05/28) Oatmeal with blue berries for breakfast. I relaxed all day, Not so for Lou and Dawn. Thaye were busy cleaning and organizing. The house is starting to look great!. I wasted the whole morning myself, actually busy recovering from the walk yesterday. We had our holiday meal about 2pm, BBQ ribs, macaroni salad, and corn on the cob. Desert was cherries. More of the same filled the afternoon. Dinner was a chili size and some apricot pie. Our cool spell continues.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

San Francisco Carnaval Grand Parade

Sunday: (05/27) I caught the train to San Francisco at 0730. Today was the San Franciosco Carnaval Parade. I got off at the 22nd Street Station and walked up and down Protrero Hill to the Mission District. I arrived about 9am for the 930 parade. Breakfast was a couple of donuts at the Jelly Donut Shop on 24th Street.

San Francisco Carnaval Grand Parade San Francisco Carnaval Grand Parade
It's a rather short parade starting at 0930 and ended at 1415. Very energetic participants.

San Francisco Carnaval Grand Parade San Francisco Carnaval Grand Parade
The weather wasn't too bad but it was overcast until just as the parade ended. After the parade I stopped at a Mexica-tessen for a burrito for lunch then walked downtown and returned to the train station for a ride home. I had considered going out to the Golden Gate Bridge for it's birthday party but was too worn out already. Dinner was a chili size at home.

Lou and Dawn were busy working on cleaning and organizing  the house and doing some shopping. They had some of Ernie's apricot pie for breakfast and went to the IKEA store for a meat ball dinner.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Memorial Weekend

Friday: (05/25) Not much done today. I setup our replacement printer and tested some of it's new features. I stayed inside most of the day working in the office. Apple strudel for breakfast. Dawn made banana craisin muffins for lunch. Lou served smoked salmon with rice and grilled zucchini for dinner.

Saturday: (05/26) Lou made coconut French toast and sausage for breakfast. I spent the morning digging out for the base rock for more walkway. A little after noon we went out on errands. Tap Plastics for a new window for Dawn's gardening clock, the pet store for a muzzle for Wolfie, Walmart's to pick up our Walmart.com delivery of our new bedroom TV. We stopped at the LUU Noodle House and had Pad Thai for lunch. I also had an avocado smoothie. i installed the new TV and tested it's operation. It includes a DVD player which we used to watch the movie Gran Torino. Lou mad roast beef for dinner. She puts it in an oven bag with a half bottle of Italian dressing and cooks it all day in the oven. So nice. It was served with baked potatoes and a green salad.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Plaskett Creek Campground

Wednesday: (05/23) Scrambled eggs and potatoes with ham for breakfast. We relaxed in camp all morning except for a visit to the arboretum shop and a few short walks. We departed camp at noon. Lou headed off home in the car and Dawn and I are head North a bit lower along Highway 1. We looked around Morro bay and Cambria on our way. We had lunch at the Cambria Cafe about 3pm. I had the burrito supreme and Dawn had a salad. We stopped for the night at Plaskett Creek Campground in Paradise Valley about 30 miles North of San Simeon.

Plaskett Creek Campsite
The wind was reasonable when we left camp at noon. When we left Morro Bay it was getting stronger and continued that way until we stopped at Plaskett Creek.

Plaskett Creek Beach Plaskett Creek Beach
We took a walk down to a lookout over the beach but decided not to go down to the beach because of the wind. Maybe another, nicer day. For dinner, Dawn had leftover oatmeal with a wiener and I had ramen noodles with a wiener. Hopefully the wind isn't around tomorrow morning.
(GPS:35.91760108, -121.46725275)

Thursday:
(05/24) We ate our bananas as we took a walk around the camp. Along the way we enjoyed seeing a buzzard sunning his wings on a rock above the camp. We were on the road fairly early and stopped in Carmel By the Sea for breakfast at the Village Corner Mediterranean Bistro. Dawn had a Denver omelet and I had pancakes. They were both excellent and much cheaper that the other restaurants we checked. We continued on and the winds started getting stronger. We stopped in Pacific Grove for a walk about then continued on home arriving about 1430. Ernie took us all to dinner at the olive Garden tonight.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

An Unpleasant Task

Saturday: (05/19) Lou made open faced English muffins with summer sausage, eggs and cheese for breakfast.The day didn't start out well. We noticed a leak from under the toilet riser. I drove down to RV World in Grover Beach again and bought a new gasket. While I was gone Lou did a through cleaning of the pot. Hopefully that is the problem. After very through showers we were off again to Grover Beach to visit some thrift stores before lunch.

Lunch was at the Pismo Fish And Chips Restaurant. Of course, Lou and iI had fish and chips with coleslaw. Dawn had clam chowder.

Otter Swimming With Surfers By Pismo Beach Pier Vintage Trailer Rally At Pismo Coast Village
An otter plays in the water near a surfer that never notices him. I think, if I surfed, I'd pay more attention. Traffic was really bad coming it to Pismo beach from either direction possibly due to a vintage trailer show at the Pismo Dunes RV Park. We missed it so didn't get to tour any but they do look nice.

On our way home we stopped at Rite Aide for some Thrifty ice cream. Dinner was stewed chicken and peppers.
(GPS: 35.3336443, -120.72987153)

Sunday:
(0520) Breakfast at Francesco's Restaurant In Arroya Grande. Lou and I shared a Corned Beef Hash and Eggs, Dawn had oatmeal. We stopped at a thrift store then went to the beach. We walked up Pismo Beach to the end then took some stairs up the cliff. At the top we found Marie Callendar's restaurant so we had some pie an called it lunch. I like their pecan pie ala mode. Lou and Dawn had banana cream pie. Dawn stopped in for a visit at Nan's Book Store in Grover Beach while Lou and I inspected the nearby hardware store. Lou made salmon with rice and peas for dinner.

Bottle Cap Snake At SLO Arboretum
After dinner we walked out to the golf course where we heard some of the wild turkeys then we went down to the arboretum for a look. One of the pieces of art in the arboretum that was interesting. A snake made from bottle caps, a hose nozzle and the handle of a welding hammer.

This evening I finally posted some photos from the past month or so. They do make the blog more interesting.

Monday: (05/21) Cheerios and bananas for breakfast. We headed downtown and started visiting thrift stores. For lunch we stopped creekside at the Creeky Tiki across the creek from the mission. I had a Monster Burrito while Lou and Dawn eac had Cobb Salads. By late after noon we had completed visiting all the local thrift stores and a few other shops downtown so we headed back to camp. Dinner was leftovers. I had salmon rice and pancakes with peanut butter and jam. Lou and Dawn had quiches with with cheese and crackers and some apple strudel. In the evening we watched the final episode of House, one of Lou and Dawn's favorite shows.

Tuesday: (05/22) Gluten free pancakes with strawberries for breakfast. We relaxed all morning at camp. We did enjoy the turkey flocks stroll through our campground. About 2pm we finally left camp. First stop was for more fish and chips and chowder at Pismo Beach Fish and Chips for lunch. After lunch we went to Arroyo Grande and explored the antique shops there. Since it was hot, we stopped for ice cream at Rite Aide on the way home. Stir fried vegetables with tofu and hotdogs for dinner.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Pismo Beach Camping Trip Attempt

Breakfast At Rudy And Angie’s Mexican Restaurant in Grover Beach
Friday: (05/18) I was up and on the road a little after 7am. I stopped at Rudy And Angie's Mexican Restaurant in Grover Beach for breakfast. Huevos Divorcia? Two tortillas with eggs one with rancheria sauce the other with chili verde served with hashbrowns (choice of rice and beans or home fried potatoes as well) and warm tortillas (or toast). Very good. Part of the reason I stopped for breakfast here, besides being hungry and deciding on Mexican food, was the RV World shop in the same center. I needed to replace the broken door latch on the RV. The door can't be latched open without it.

I then stopped by the Pismo Beach North Campground to see if there was a space. Nope, it was full. We don't reserve and this is the penalty occasionally. At Oceana Campground they had full hookup spaces but they ar like camping in a parking lot for $50/night. no thanks!.

Campsite At El Churro Regional Park Trail To SLO Arboretum
I then drove back up to the El Churro Regional Park campground between San Luis Obispo (SLO) and Morro bay. Lots of room. It's a warmer place but it also is by the SLO Arboretum. Full hookup is 33/night here. Much better but here we won't get Lou's State discount so it's actually more. Maybe next week we'll get in at Pismo Beach. Above left our campsite is at the back end with nice views and more privacy. On the right above is the trail down to the arboretum.

Ramen noodles for lunch. I cleaned up the RV some. It's been sitting a while and seems to become a mess when we aren't living in it. Leaves had collected in the vents, dust settled on everything, and the floor needed vacuuming. I also installed the new door latch.

Flowers At SLO Arboretum Flowers At SLO Arboretum
My day was completed with a nap and then  walk through the arboretum.

Flowers At SLO Arboretum Flowers At SLO Arboretum
  InterestingMediterranean plants give me ideas for our own yard.

Turkeys At El Churro Regional Park
Lots of wild turkeys rambling through the bushes near our camp.

Lou and Dawn arrived about 1840. We had smoked pork chops with brown rice and coleslaw for dinner.
(GPS: 35.3336443, -120.72987153)




Thursday, May 17, 2012

A Change Of Plans

Thursday: (05/17) I prepared home fried potatoes with sausage and eggs for breakfast. I cleaned the rest of the grass off the ground and moved some things out of the way for digging. I had tuna and cheese sandwiches for lunch. Lou and Dawn were out thrifting today. Our ever changing plans changed again. We had planned on taking a week away at Pismo Beach next week but realized today that would put us into the Memorial Day Weekend, not a good idea. So we moved our departure up. I washed the RV and Jeep in preparation to leave tomorrow. Lou has an appointment tomorrow afternoon so I'll leave tonight and check in at the park before the crowd arrives. That means the Jeep wont be going on this trip. The little car gets better mileage and there is the possibility of Lou returning for a short visit during our trip. No need for two cars so the Jeep can stay here. Of course that decision was after I washed it and repacked it. Lou and Dawn finished packing and I was off about 2000. I drove down to Camp Roberts Rest Area near San Miguel, about 60 miles North of Pismo Beach. I arrived about 2330 so it was mostly full with trucks stopped for the night. I pulled in to the side of the return ramp with some other trucks. Actually a benefit since almost all the trucks in the lot were running their engines but not a problem on the ramp with no trucks next to me, just one ahead of me.
(GPS: 35.85174, -120.77211)

Monday, May 14, 2012

Our New Bed Arrives

 Monday: (05/14) The first thing on the agenda today was to meet the truck. Lou arranged for our new bed to arrive this morning. It is a king bed with a dual control electric blanket. It included the box springs and frame and headboard as well. A pretty good deal for what looks like a new mattress all for $40. We removed our 38 year old waterbed, which is actually in good condition,  and modified the base to mount the new mattress on. The old base includes storage which the new frame and box springs wouldn't provide. It now looks about the same but doesn't slosh any more and is a little easier to get out of.  It also is very similar to the mattress in the RV where we always sleep better. We took advantage of the change to rearrange the bedroom as well. I hope I don't get lost tonight. We went out to breakfast at the Old Pancake House in Los Altos and had apple pancakes, a real treat. Lunch was leftover noodle soup. Dinner was Kentucky Fried Chicken. We had the Monday special chicken and corn, dinner for three for $11.

Tuesday: (05/15) Lou had a doctors appointment today When she returned home we went to Costco to pickup a few things and look for a new TV for the bedroom. The TV has to move to a new wall and might as well be upgraded from the old tube type. We  had breakfast there as well, chicken bake for me and polish dog for Lou. We also stopped by Best Buy, Target , and Walmart to look at TV's. None of them had what we wanted, a combo TV with DVD player. While at Walmart, we had lunch, hot fudge sundaes. I then checked online and found what we wanted at Walmart Online, a 32" LED TV with a DVD for $239. We can pick it up at the store in a week or so. For dinner we had artichokes grown by our neighbor with Spinach Alfredo lasagna that Lou made.

Wednesday: (05/16) I spent the day working in the yard. Mostly I cleared the grass off the area I'll be digging out next for the walkway. Lou was busy enjoying her day off. In the afternoon, Lou and Dawn went to Gunn High School to see a bunch of one act plays.  I popped some popcorn for breakfast. Dawn made quesodillas for lunch. we had leftover lasagna with broccoli for dinner.


Thursday, May 10, 2012

Sand Bagging It

Thursday: (05/10) Apple strudel for breakfast. I started with a trip to Home Depot for some sand. Chili sizes for lunch. In the afternoon I placed the first row of pavers, all of 10 pavers. Maybe tomorrow will be more impressive when I lay the rest of the area behind the edge I placed today. I fixed corned beef hash for dinner. Not just because I like it but mostly because it was my turn to cook and I didn't have much imagination. I like it in many forms. Mine is a real hash, pulverized corned beef, from a can, well cooked potatoes with onions and green peppers al dente and barely cooked garlic. My hash last night from the Crepevine was about a half pound of corned beef with some green and red peppers and onions topped with a couple of eggs and a little cheese, different.

Friday: (05/11) Dawn baked banana craisen muffins and bacon for breakfast. Chili size for lunch. Enchiladas for dinner. I tinkered inside until my work area was shady, about 2pm, then started laying pavers. I stopped at 5pm to shower and eat dinner. Dawn and I went to San Jose after dinner to the Kaucher Mitchell Event For Excellence In Oral Interpretation And Storytelling at San Jose State university. Always an interesting evening.

Previous entries about Kaucher Mitchell Event: Dec 2011, May 2011.

Finished Portion OF Walkway
Saturday: (05/12) I laid the last few pavers and finished the first section of the walkway today. Otherwise relaxed around the house. Lou and Dawn were busy visiting estate sales. They found a new mattress to replace our bed. It will be delivered Monday. Corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. Grilled hot dog and cheese sandwich for lunch. Corned beef and cabbage with potatoes for dinner.

Sunday: (05/13) Mother's Day. I fixed strawberry pancakes and sausage for breakfast. We went to LUU Noodle House for lunch, having our usual combination chow fun and some egg rolls. Dinner was chicken Alfredo with corn on the cob. We enjoyed the day at home except for the trip for lunch and a visit to an open house a couple of doors down the street. I tried to get our injet printer to work. its black jet is evidently plugged and won't clean up so I ordered a new printer from Amazon. Supposedly cheaper than local. It also does a few new things like prints duplex (two sided and prints DVD's. The only problem with ordering online is the wait for the truck to arrive in about a week. I finally applied to Social Security today as well.


South San Francisco Trek

Wednesday: (05/09) I took the 0830 train to San Francisco. I wanted a different path today so i got off in South San Francisco, which is in San Mateo County below San Francisco. I skirted the Southern base of Mount San Bruno walking through South San Francisco to Colma, the city of graves. I stopped and looked around the Serramonte Shopping Center and at Denny's for breakfast a little before noon. Pancakes for breakfast. I then walked up Mission Blvd through Daly City to the Ingleside District of San Francisco. A nine mile walk.

San Francisco Skyline View
A view of the San Francisco skyline.




View Larger Map

Golden Gate Park Fuchsia Dell Sign Golden Gate Park Fuchsia Dell Fuchsias
I then caught the Muni Train to Golden Gate park. There are lots of Dells in Golden Gate park. Guess what the feature of the Fuchsai Dell is? i also visite the Rhododendron Dell, The Tree Fern Dell, basically a walk around many of the trains on the North East End of the park.

Corned Beef Hash At The Crepevine Restaurant
About 5pm I got hungry so I stopped at the Crepevine Restaurant nearby on Irvington where I had their "Santa Fe" which is an excellent homemade corned beef hash and eggs. After dinner it was rather cool. I was dressed in my shorts and had no jacket and with no sun it had cooled off to almost uncomfortable. I caught the Muni train to the Caltrain Station and caught the 730 train home.


Monday, May 7, 2012

This is Really Draining

Placing Baserock For Walkway Baserock Ready To Place Pavers
Monday: (05/07) I worked in the back yard on the walkway. I cut some heavy weight geotextile cloth to line the hole and started filling it with base rock. More of that to do tomorrow. I also went to Home Depot and bought some drain pipe to drain under the walkway and new shed pad.  Lou was busy with the wash and cleaning. In the evening we stopped by and picked up a used mattress from a Freecycle listing. We're going to try out some new sleeping arrangements. Our waterbed may finally depart if it works out. It's going on 37 years old now.

PBJ toast for breakfast. Chili Relenos for lunch. KFC chicken for dinner.

Tuesday: (05/08) I worked on the walkway again today. I installed the drain line and palced all the base rock including mixing cement into the rock on the edge. It should be rady to lay the pavers text. Lou was busy with the laundry. Dawn made Dutch Babies (fancy pancakes) for breakfast. Chicken tacos for lunch. Tuna stuffed portobello mushrooms for dinner with rice and sliced cucumbers and peppers. Apple strudel for desert. Now for a day off. Lou usually takes Wednesday and Thursday off anyway but tomorrow I'll also be off, off to San Francisco for the day.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Alameda Pointe Antiques Fair

Sunday: (05/06) I fixed pancakes and sausage for breakfast.

Alameda Antique Faire
We drove up to Alameda to the Alameda Pointe Antiques Fair at the North end of Alameda Island near Oakland, Ca. It is huge. We arrived about noon and left after 3pm and didn't see it all. Everything there has to be over 20 years old. That doesn't seem too old and definitely not antique but it does keep all the stuff from China and Mexico out of the place. It's real junk like a really big estate sale. Lunch was kettle corn.

Nice Exploration Vehicle At Alameda Nice Exploration Vehicle At Alameda
A nice piece of equipment seen in the parking lot. Wouldn't I love to have one of these exploration vehicles!

We returned home via a couple of thrift stores and a visit to the Grocery Outlet market in redwood City. Lou made mashed potatoes and cauliflower with roast chicken and a raw vegetable plate for dinner.


Tuesday, May 1, 2012

What Got In To Me

Monday: (04/30) My first breakfast was one of Lou's mushroom omelets. She made up a bunch of mini omelets in a muffin pan. They taste good but were difficult to get out of the pan. Next time she plans on using paper muffin liners. Lou was off to a doctors appointment early. I fired up the old Volvo, which we've ignored for about a year now. It tends to not start on occasion. It fired right up. I went over to Home Depot in East Palo Alto. First I walked across the street to IKEA and  enjoyed my second breakfast. It's free on Monday's. After breakfast, I stopped by the neighboring Bet Buy for a look. To my surprise the store was more than half empty. I learned that it closes permanently in about  week. Must have been a poor performing store. Finally I returned to Home Depot. I had to check out a couple of carpet patterns. We had selected one and sent the tenant to look at it and see if they liked it. They suggested a couple of alternate colors for the type we selected. Either of their selections would be OK too. I also checked out some pavers in the garden department. I'm ready to started putting in some walkways in our backyard and hadn't decided on what I was going to use. I'd been leaning toward pavers rather than pouring concrete. Quicker and more immune to cracking, especially on our clay soil. They had some 12" pavers in an antique color and they were on sale. I bought a few to lay out and see how they look. When I got home I laid them out and they look good.  I returned to the store and bought about 35 more. That was all that I liked. Unfortunately the rest seemed miss colored. I needed about 70 to do what I planned to do. I was intending to dig out a section, install the baserock and pavers and then do another section, thus not tearing up the entire yard nor having to store a bunch of pavers. I decided to go to another store. First, i tried North to the San Carlos Home Depot. No pavers like i needed there. I stopped for Lunch In Redwood City at Chaves Market for a super carnitas quesodilla. Excellent! Then down to Sunnyvale to another Home Depot. They had plenty of the pavers. I bought another 35 thus having enough to do the first portion of the project. While checking out I learned that the pavers were only on sale until 5/2. Change of plans. I went back in and got another 35. 70 pavers at 15 pounds each is about all the car can carry. After unloading those at home I returned for another load. Enough for today. Dinner was KFC chicken.

Tuesday: (05/01) Subway sandwiches for breakfast  I returned to Home Depot and started to load up another 70 pavers but only got to 48. The rest were broken, blemished or discolored. There were two other pallets stored above. About 45 minutes later another pallet was in place and I completed by load. The assistant asked if I wanted to whole pallet. I should have said yes, but was pretty much committed to self delivery. There should be enough on the pallet for two more trips to complete what I need for the entire project. Ernie made potato salad and hot dogs for lunch. I made two more trips for pavers. Enough for the day. Lou made mashed potatoes mixed with mashed cauliflower, meatloaf, and sliced cucumbers.

Wednesday: (05/02) I mostly relaxed today, resting the back after all the brick moving. I did chip off the grass in the area I'll be digging out first. Lou was off today, working on her dolls. Dawn did all the cooking today. Pancakes for breakfast. Leftover chicken and biscuits for lunch. Split pea soup for dinner.

Thursday:
(05/03) My day to cook. I fixed home fried potatoes with onions and red peppers, ham and eggs. Lou had a doctors appointment so i went with her to Mountain View. I browsed at the library and we stopped at the Hong Kong bakery for lunch. A couple of pork stickers and an egg tart for me, baked pork bun for Lou. I also stopped off at tapioca Express for an Avocado smoothie with tapioca pearls. In the afternoon I started digging out the dirt in the walkway. Only did about 4 feet or about 5 wheelbarrows full but it was enough for the day. For dinner I warmed up some of Lou's smoked tri-tip steaks and baked some potatoes then added some green beans.

Friday:
(05/04) Cereal for breakfast. I spent the morning working on Dawn's desktop. Leftover split pea soup for lunch. Dawn and I visited a couple of estate sales and I dug another 4 feet of the walkway. Lou made ham super nachos for dinner.

Saturday:
(05/05) Donuts and a kale omelet for breakfast. Smoked tri-tip quesadillas for lunch. Dinner at LUU Noodle House. We had the combination chow fun with egg rolls. I spent the morning and much of the afternoon moving dirt. I finished digging the hole for the first section of the walkway. Lou put weed and feed on the lawn hoping to get rid of some of the weeds. After PM we stopped by an open house in the neighborhood. We really hope they get their price which seems high but, if received, cant hurt our comps. Then we went to downtown Mountain View and walked the street fair there. After they closed down the fair Dawn visited a used book store and found a complete set of the Rumpole Of The Bailey TV series. I bought it. She left without getting anything. Not the norm.

Super Moon Day. Our view of the biggest brightest moon of the year was unspectacular. Other have looked bigger and brighter. Possibly ruined by smog.

The photos below to be integrated into this post soon
Wolfie Protecting His New Turf, or Absence Thereof Hole For Baserock
Wolfie looks like he's protecting his turf, or the absence of it. On the right, the walkway/patio will pass from the rear clear to the front of this photo.

Dirt And Baserock Piles Arbor With Dirt Pile
Two views of the arbor. I'm trying not the tear up too much of the yard at once so we can continue to enjoy it during the walkway project.