Saturday, July 22, 2017

Change Of Plans

Saturday: (07/22) Lou made ollalieberry pancakes with sausage for breakfast. We lounged around the fairgrounds all day. There was a rock and gem how at the fair that we got free tickets to and took a look around. We also found the Sucullent Bliss shop and I found a nice cistanthe grandiflora. It is a suculent that I used to have in our raised flower bed but that was extremely prolific for one year and died. Hoping this one lives to a ripe old age and has a large family. We also visited the Humboldt Cider Company, another tenant at the fairgrounds. Great cider. Dawn had a Blueberry fermented cider, Lou had a honey cider and I had a Gravenstein cider. All very good. For dinner we drove up to Arcata to the Chinese buffet. This is one of the best buffets and fortunately still exists. So many have closed. On the way home we stopped at Winco Market to pick up some tings that are cheaper there. Wish they would come in to our area. While having our cide we learned that a close frind of the family had a heart attack. We canceled our stay here and will be heading home tomorrow. Lou and Dawn will speed down in the Jeep. I’ll tag along in the RV. 

 

Sunday: (07/23) Up early and preparing to leave. Lou and Dawn had granola and left for home in the Jeep about 0810. I finished disconnecting the RV and left the park about 0850. I stopped at Pierson’s hardware for a look around then returned to Winco. Dawn had called and said the liked the freeze dried garlic and were snacking on it. They wanted more. I got their garlic and also picked up my breakfast a sausage and cheese English muffin and a couple of donuts. I left Eureka about 0950. I stopped just North of Willits at a rest stop for a nap. I also had the second English muffin sandwich for lunch. I stopped again in Ukiah at Freidman Brothers. I found another succulent like the one I got at the fair yesterday but four times as big and really healthy looking for the same $5 price. I then drove the rest of the way home. Traffic was really heavy and intermittently slow the rest of the way home after Santa Rosa. It took about one hour to get across the Golden Gate Bridge and through San Francisco. I was home just before 6pm. I got dinner at El Grulense and called it a day. Lou and Dawn were at the hospital visiting Courtney.

Monday: (07/24) An unusual start to the day. I wasn’t sure what to do. I don’t want to get too involved so I can get out on the trail soon. We were supposed to be enjoying a week RV camping in Eureka but had to return suddenly. So I spent the morning trimming the wisteria and weeding the patio. Those darned weeds grow so well in the cracks in the bricks. After lunch i got busy on the front. I removed the final form from the driveway and backfilled it. I also vacuumed the concrete debris out of the lawn. I also cleaned out the debris that had collected in the walkway digout. And finally I made a bunch of form pieces for the front walkway. Tomorrow I’ll install the forms and move the baserock. Leftover pancakes and sausage for breakfast. Chilli beans for lunch. Grilled cheese sandwiches with pickle salad for dinner.

Tuesday: (07/25) We went with Dawn Hackman to breakfast at a Good Morning Restaurant. While Lou Dawn and Dawn H. went shopping I looked over a coupe of construction projects in progress near the shopping center. I took a bus home. Eventually I got to work out from installing the forms for the walkway. Later in the afternoon Ernie and I placed the baserock for the walkway. Some day probably in the fall i’ll pour the concrete. I’d prefer not to get involved with that now because My next order will be for three-four pallets of concrete and the paving bricks. The bricks can stand up to weather. The concrete can’t take heavy dew and rain so I want to pour it soon after delivery. While there is still a rock pile in the center of the driveway ramp, the Jeep can now be parked in the driveway. Chili for lunch. A chicken bake from Costco for dinner.

 

Wednesday: (07/26) Soft boiled eggs for breakfast. Ernie and i worked on removing the baserock top coat I placed 20 years ago on the area between the driveways. It’s as hard as concrete. It was four inches thick with clay soil beneath. We stacked the rock on the driveway next to the hole. The rest of the day was spent digging out the clay to 10 inch depth. All but 2 feet of the trench done. We now have another dirt mountain. It’s in the front yard. I didn’t get a dumpster because I only plan on this dig right now and then pouring the front walkway and this section of driveway before I go out hiking. I’ll still have the trench under the RV and Meili’s sidewalk to create even more dirt. A tuna salad and cheese sandwich for lunch. Lou’s stew for dinner. Weather wasn’t bad. Clear skies and a little breeze.

  

Thursday: (07/27) I was out early to do the final digging out in the driveway. Then I had Lou’s eggs and cheese breakfast. I made a shopping run to Home Depot to order to pallets of concrete. I also found some trench drain sections i’ll need in the backyard and haven’t seen for quite a while at any of the Home Depots or elsewhere. I also found the bricks I’ll need in the backyard. I will have them delivered with the next load of concrete later this September. Hopefully they are still available. I then went up to San Carlos to Lyngso to get some more fabric for the trench. Once i got home Ernie and I placed the fabric and and the base rock and tamed it. I ended up with about 12 gallons of extra rock. Nice to have the driveway clear of rock for a moment. At Home Depot a regular delivery would have cost the usual $79. For $10 more they could provide a 4 hour window but in either case the earliest delivery would have been next Tuesday. But for $20 more they could deliver it today. I paid the $99 delivery fee and it arrived about 1440 just a few minutes after the driveway was clear. I then headed back to Home Depot to get the rebar I forgot to get and need for the driveway. After Lou’s bean soup dinner I installed the rebar in the driveway. But oops, i then noticed i needed some for the walkway. Back to Home Depot to get more rebar. This time i wasn’t conservative. I got plenty to do the walkway and most of Ernie’s shed later this fall. Enough for the day.


Friday: (07/28) Granola and banana for breakfast. Ernie and I installed the rebar in the walkway and trimmed the corners of the fabric so it lays neatly. While discussing where I’d put any excess concrete bags I remembered I had 10 bags in the storage tent already. We brought those out to use first so we can store fresher bags. We finished all that fairly quickly. We had decided before we started that today as a day of rest so no concrete pour today. We all went to lunch with Ernie, Cecilia and Dawn H at Bill’s Cafe. In the afternoon we all relaxed. I binge watched a few episodes of Versailles. 

 

Saturday: (07/29) We were busy pouring the driveway concrete by 0800 and finished that by 1010. I spent some time finishing that and taking a break before we started the walkway. We poured six feet of the walkway before the mixer stalled again. It was fortunate to be six feet because the sections are scored at three feet so a little wait was no problem We let the mixer cool and moved it. The change of location may have been the main reason it worked OK for the rest of the pour. I tinkered with the finishing and cleaned up the yard. The hardest thing was moving the ¾ of a pallet of concrete bags to the back yard storage tent. The only thing that remained in the front was the dirt pile. After a shower, I walked down to get dinner. Nice to relax the rest of the evening. Lou and Dawn were out shopping in the morning and visiting in the evening. Granola and banana for breakfast. A late lunch of Lou’s leftover navy beans. Dinner was a nice super nachos from El Gruelense. 


Sunday: (07/30) A little Sunday morning TV to start the day. Mid morning we went to the California Avenue Farmers Market. We had tamales for brunch there. Lou and Dawn visited Courtney, I returned the pallets that came with the concrete. The deposits returned $98. It evidently was too hot for my wallet. I bought a new Ryobi battery powered hammer/drill and a high speed variable speed blower. They all use the same batteries as my present tools. My existing drill seems to stall too easily. I also needed some new batteries. I got three with the two tools. On the way home I picked up some dim sum for a late lunch. More relaxing in the afternoon after i tested the new blower. Nice and powerful. Lookout leaves. Lou and Dawn returned to visit Courtney. I prepared my enchilada casserole for dinner.

 

 

Monday: (07/31) I back filled most of the edge of the new front walkway. I then worked at the computer preparing my pack list and resupply quantities. Lou and Dawn were off shopping in the morning. In the afternoon I went over to Courtney’s and installed a new shower wand. In the evening Lou and I went out shopping for my resupply needs. Simple menu today. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were my enchiladas.

Tuesday: (08/01) A relaxing morning. Later in the morning we all went to Redwood City on my resupply shopping run. Visited REI, Best Buy, World Market, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target. Interesting how one has to search for some things. I got to socks at RI, lithium AAA batteries at Best Buy, hand sanitizer at BBB, sausages at World Market, and bacon jerky at Target. We also visited a thrift store in San Carlos. As we passed another thrift store in Redwood City Lou noticed a recliner couch in their yard. We didn’t stop. She did return later and decided to buy it. I had to go up and meet her and we loaded it into the two cars. In the afternoon we went over to Courtney’s and set up her shower with a curtain instead of doors. A little work in the evening preparing the resupply boxes. Enchiladas for breakfast and dinner. Lunch at a German Restaurant in Redwood City.

Wednesday: (08/02) We headed off toward Santa Cruz early. Made a stop at Lou’s Cafe in Los Gatos for breakfast on the way. Spent the day people watching in Santa Cruz while Dawn looked around book stores. Just milkshakes, pearl drink or tea for lunch. Soup at 99 Bottles Of Beer for dinner. We made our way to the Rio Theater for the 10,000 Maniacs Concert by 1800 in time to be at the front of the line waiting for entry when the doors opened at 1830. We got a nice seat and waited for the concert to begin around 1930. The show was opened by a singer named Cindy Lee Berryhill A little after 2000 the Maniacs started. It was a nice show, longer than last year at Yoshi’s. A nice venue. Good show we were home a bit after 2300.



Thursday: (08/03) I pitched my tent and inflated my mattress in the yard. I cleaned the tent and was testing the inflation of the mattress. I also was working on resupply boxes. Of course, I was missing some items so in the evening i went out shopping again. I don’t want to get too much but obviously need enough. Lou made Swedish pancakes for breakfast. Sausage and cheese sandwich for lunch. Hamburgers for dinner.

Friday, July 21, 2017

On The Road To Eureka

Friday: (07/21) We finished loading the motorhome and drove off to the gas station for gas and LPG at 1100. We had to return home again for Dawn to get something then were on the road North a little after 1200. Traffic was heavy all the way through Santa Rosa. We stopped for a break at Freidman’s Building Supply in Santa Rosa and stopped for dinner at a reststop in Laytonville. We stopped for gas upon entering Eureka and were settled into our space by 1010, too late to visit the cidery. Ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast. A roast beef sandwich for me and salads for Lou and Dan from Safeway for lunch. Leftover macaroni and cheese for dinner.


Saturday, July 15, 2017

Moving Rock

Saturday: (07/15) I was up at 0500 and outside to move some rock. It was supposed to be hot today so starting early helped. Ernie joined me after an hour or so. We filled the rest of the area for his shed. The remaining pile of rock will probably be a little short for the front walkway and for Meili’s walkway. Lou and Dawn were out at estate sales and called me to come and get some aggregate concrete flower pots. They probably weigh over one hundred pounds empty and they were all full of dirt which we had to take. I had help to load them by the sales staff but unloaded them by myself. Using a ramp to slide them makes it fairly easy. They will have to sit around for awhile until a home can be found for them. About 1500 Home Depot arrived with my three pallets of concrete. It was a 14 hour work day today. Lou made biscuits and gravy for breakfast, a salad for lunch and sausage and baked potato for dinner. Lou and Dawn made the sausages.


 

 

Sunday: (07/16) Leftover mexican omelet for breakfast. After the usual Sunday morning TV i finally got outside. Today was a 100 degree day so I started by erecting a 10x10 sun shade. I then tried to drill some holes to pine old concrete to new but had to go get more drill bits. I got the one that each of two Orchard Hardware stores had. While out i picked up some dim sum at King Dim Sum. The first bit of those seemed to melt too quickly. So I changed direction. I started installing the forms for the driveway. I made a run to Home Depot and got some 2x4’s and more drill bits. At home I cut a bunch of rebar to make the pins. So, really not a productive day today. Leftover pizza for dinner.

 


Monday: (07/17) Ernie and I got to work just before 0800. I cut the rebar and wired it together. I also drilled holes for the pins that attach to existing concrete. Ernie installed the dobbies (little blocks of concrete that raise the rebar about 2 inches.) We then made and installed some forms to section off the pour for easier control. I changed my original plan to pour three large sections in one pour rather than six sections on two days. If all goes well we should be able to finish the concrete pour over the next two days. Two ifs are the condition of my back and the amount of concrete on hand. Before quitting for the day we moved the mixer out front. Lou made ham, eggs and potatoes for breakfast, homemade sausage and ranch beans for lunch, spaghetti for dinner and pineapple upsidedown cake for dessert.

 

Tuesday: (07/18) Busy day. Granola and banana for breakfast. Ernie and I planned on starting the concrete pour of the driveway at 0800, the time we can begin making noise. We poured the three big sections of the driveway. The first section got away from me and dried a little too much before I finished it. It took some extra effort to get it good enough or at least to city sidewalk crew perfection but not to don’s normal standard. We poured 113 bags of concrete so I hefted over 3 tons of concrete into the mixer and Ernie pushed around the same. We had a late lunch after the second pour. Ernie went down the street to El Gruelense Mexican Restaurant while I continued to mix concrete. We finished up around 4pm. My dinner was leftover lunch. Lou and Dawn were out all day in San Jose.

 

 


Wednesday: (07/19) Granola and banana for breakfast. Ernie and i were out at 0800. We got the holes drilled, rebar and forms installed and were ready to start pouring around noon. I grabbed a burrito from El Gruelens which i shared with Dawn. After lunch we started mixing and pouring the concrete. We only got about 12 bags mixed when the mixer failed. It kept stalling and the motor started smoking. I couldn’t get it working so we mixed enough bags by hand to complete the first section of the three we needed to do. I did the finishing until I completed the last troweling. I then trotted off to Home Depot and bought some nuts and bolts, grease and a few bags of concrete. When i got home I disassembled the mixer and found nothing wrong. I lubed the mixer, added new bolts to the gearbox, made a little adjustment to the gear housing and the mixer tested OK. I guess it wanted the day off. Lou was off to San Jose to to try to get a San Jose parking permit and get the Jeep washed. Dawn made macaroni and cheese with wieners for dinner. Tomorrow we will hopefully get the pour completed after 1000 when I have my new tooth crown installed

 

 

 

Thursday: (07/20) Granola and apple for breakfast. Lou and I were off at 0700 to the Dentist. I had an appointment to get my new crown installed and a replacement filling as well. Lou had her previous crown checked. After the appointment we returned home. Ernie and I were starting the concrete pour by 1000. All went well and the mixr did a great job. We used my old antique wheelbarrow to transport the concrete. It’s at least 70 years old. As te last of the concrete was busy drying and i was doing the final finishing we cleaned up the front yard. The sunshade was moved to the backyard, debris removed, and tools put away. It looks pretty good now. I still have a deep hole where the new sidewalk will go and it was taped off. Sam for the hole in the backyard where the new flower beds will be. I then spent some time working on the RV trying to get the new inverter/charger to work. When I powered it up it didn’t charge and continually ran on inverter. I thought it had now AC to it. Still a possibility though i replaced the power cord to it. It seems the more likely cause was just a switch setting that told it to always run from battery. I also installed a jumper so i can bypass it if it gives any problems in the future. Since all power goes through it if it doesn’t work there would be no power for Lou’s CPAP even though we would be in an RV park with electrical hookup. All tested good by 1900. Lou got me a nacho supreme from El Gruelense for lunch. For dinner we went to the Corner Bakery nearby.

 

Friday, July 14, 2017

Pogonip Hike

Friday: (07/14) I drove over to Santa Cruz for a hike at pogonip Park. it was only 6.5 miles with 22 hikers. I stopped for breakfast at Jack In The Box on the way. The hike started at 0930 and ended about 1315. A little drizzle on the drive over the mountain but nice temps on the coast for the hike. We visited the stone garden and old country club. After the hike I stopped by the Pacific Cookie Factory for some great cheap cookies then went to lunch at Zachary’s downtown. I had an avocado tomato and lettuce sandwich with clam chowder. I drove home but had to stop about 2 miles before getting home for a nap. I’d already used my energy drink and didn’t have anything to crunch on. After the nap I got some cash at the bank where I stopped before heading the rest of the way home. A shower after a hike is always a pleasure. Lou’s chicken pot pies for dinner.

 


Saturday, July 8, 2017

Hot Time

Saturday: (07/08) Today was a hot day. My first task was to unload the recliner loveseat from the Jeep. To save work I jumped the curb and backed up to the front door. Next task was to check the error code on the Hyundai. The main problem was locating one of my two code readers. I eventually found it and found that the code was an error with the high fuel sensor. I cleared the error, car OK to drive. Next task was to go shopping for some pipe that I failed to get yesterday. Lou came with me so we took the Jeep. I decided go to Lowe's in Sunnyvale. I wanted to check the concrete price there. I also did a return run to Home Depot and checked the concrete price there as well. While Home Depot has a higher delivery cost, the concrete is 30 cents less per bag. HD wins. On the way home I picked up Chinese at the Wok On restaurant and stopped for quessodillas at Super Taqueria for Lou and Dawn. I napped in the afternoon. I didn’t feel well and the heat gave me another reason not to work. Granola and diced apple for breakfast. Chinese food for lunch. Leftover Chinese for dinner.

Sunday: (07/09) The usual Sunday morning TV shows to start. Lou made eggs, ham and potatoes for breakfast. I dug a trench and laid the gray water discharge pipe then dug out a little more to allow and angle base for the walkway. It was going to be a square corner. That left me with more dirt so part of the area I dug out for garden now has debris dirt. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. For dinner asparagus with pork and rice.

 

 


Monday: (07/10) I had a dental appointment in the morning to have a crown replaced. It was supposedly one of my Mexican crowns but i can;t tll. It just fell apart a few months ago. The metal jacket was OK, just no enamel. After lunch I got outside, eventually. I built the forms for the rear yard edges. Granola for breakfast. Soup with ham and cheese for lunch. LUU Noodle House for dinner.

 


Tuesday: (07/11) Ernie and i were busy all day. First we laid the fabric in the hole in the backyard and placed some baserock on it to keep it in place. I had to make a run to Home Depot to get some more cement to mix with the baserock for two retaining walls, one by the garden and the other by the new flowerbeds to be. When I got home we mixed and poured the concrete in the forms. Tomorrow we’ll move the last of the baserock into the hole and install the drain and sprinkler lines into the baserock. While at Home Depot I ordered three pallets of concrete mix to be delivered this Saturday. Lou made a choriso omelet for breakfast. I had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. And today was Two For Tuesday at Papa John’s pizza so we had pizza. 

 

Wednesday: (07/12) I installed the drain, water and sprinkler pipes. Ernie and I then move the rest of the baserock into the hole. After tamping it i took measurements and ordered another 12.5 tons of rock. It will be delivered tomorrow afternoon. Lou and Dawn were off shopping. Lou is looking for upholstery fabric. Lou made chicken fried steak and potatoes for breakfast. I had leftover pizza for both lunch and dinner. 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday: (07/13) Busy day. Today was brother Ernie’s birthday so we took him out to breakfast ab Bill’s Cafe in Midtown Palo Alto. Once home i drove up to San Carlos to Lyngso and bought some more fabric for my walkways. Next project was to install the new batteries and inverter in the RV. They’ve been sitting around over a month. I shut off the power at noon and re-energized the RV at 1430. The refrigerator should have been OK with that short outage. While i got the inverter/charger installed, I didn’t set it up or test it so it’s is still off. The solar charged then new batters to full in a couple of hours. I cleaned up the area when i got the call from the Lyngso driver saying he’s on the way. He dumped my 11.5 tons of baserock in the driveway ramp area about 1500. I moved some to the backyard to clear the sidewalk and street side. Ernie’s was busy enjoying his day off (birthday). Lou made more chicken fried steak with eggs and potatoes for a late 1530 lunch/dinner. I finished moving rock a little after 1700 then took a shower. Lou and i went out to the Mountain View Farmers Market in the evening. She had a mango pastry and i had a coconut pearl dring.