Friday, December 27, 2019

Almost Next Year

Friday: (12/27) Much of the morning was spent supervising the city crew installing a gas line for the new house down the street. I also made and installed the flag bracket on Lou’s wheelchair that we carry in the Jeep. I also finished the laundry. Pumpkin pie for breakfast. For lunch, we went to IKEA for a walk and lunch. A ham sandwich for dinner. I restarted working on the backlog of photos for the blog.

Saturday: (12/28) I worked in the yard for most of the day. I sawed up and burnt a pile of junk wood and some papers in our fire pit. I also chopped down the non producing avocado tree then chopped it up and put it in the compost bin. Granola and banana for breakfast. Snacked for lunch. We all went to Chili’s for dinner.
 

 

Sunday: (12/29) Granola and diced apple for breakfast. Lou and I went grocery shopping this morning. Walmart, trader Joe’s, Sprout’s and finally Whole Foods. At home, I relaxed in my man cave (RV). Snacked for lunch. For dinner, I made navy bean soup and prepared the scalloped potatoes and sweet potatoes. Lots of leftovers. It started to rain in the afternoon.

Monday: (12/30) It was a rainy day. I researched equipment and planned some mods to my solar and battery wiring. I ordered a new DC-DC charger that also has a solar MPPT controller. It will allow the RV alternator to charge the house batteries as well as the starter battery as well as charge the house batteries and trickle charge the start battery with solar. It won’t let the house drain the starting battery as well. Granola and banana for breakfast. A nice ham sandwich for lunch. Leftover bean soup for dinner.
 

Tuesday: (12/31) Lou had a couple of appointments in the morning. We dropped Dawn off at the bookstore. After lunch we stopped at the Walmart Neighborhood Market for some things. They have a better supply of canned goods and Lou needs some small cans of vegetables. At home I prepared a hike for the San Jose Midweek hikers group and announced it. It’s the first hike I’ve led other than my Pinnacles Hikes a couple of months ago. I scheduled one of my old hikes at Los Trancos OSP. I only expected a couple of people to join me but so far have 15. Waffles and sausage for breakfast. Lunch at the Country Inn on Saratoga Ave in San Jose. Leftover navy bean soup for dinner. We toasted in the new year at New York time because we are short hitters and will be asleep at midnight. We toasted with some homemade apple pear cider that my friend Alex gave us.

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Henry Coe SP, China Hole Hike

Thursday: (12/26) Granola and banana for breakfast. Signed up for a hike this morning and got on the waitlist. I decided to plan on being accepted. Because getting to Henry Coe State Park takes near 1.5 hours, I departed at 0800 for the 0930 hike. I got the message from the hike leader, Tara, as I got in the Jeep. There were only six of us on the hike to China Hole. The weather was clear but cold. The streams were flowing but manageable. A nice 10 mile hike. I stopped at Super Taqueria for a late burrito lunch on the way home. At home I did some laundry.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Christmas Time

Tuesday: (12/24) I drove Lou to Kaiser for PT. While she was busy, i wen grocery shopping. I visited the Walmart Neighborhood Market nearby. They are better stocked than our local Walmart. Mostly canned goods. After I picked up Lou she needed us to return the Walmart for a few more things. Then we were off to Lunch. I returned her home then went to Safeway to pickup our Christmas dinner. When i checked in they informed me they didn’t have the order nor any more of their ham dinners. In fact, they said the online orders are alway goofed up. Good to know, but? The deli manager fixed me up with lots of stuff from the deli and market that more than equilled what we had ordered. In fact, it’s now too much. I ended up with two big hams, all the fixings for a turkey dinner (Mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce) and the items from the market for what we would have gotten for a ham dinner (Scalloped potatoes, Mashed sweet potatoes and a huge fruit, nut and cheese plate). We’ll get by. After fitting all that into the RV refrigerator I was worn out and need a nap. Leftover Pepper and rice casserole and chicken for breakfast. For lunch we went to Applebee’s Grill. Chili Beans for dinner. I prepared a plan for preparing Christmas dinner since it’s on me this year. Not difficult to just warm things but it does require a schedule.


Wednesday: (12/25) I made grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast. At noon I started preparing dinner. Meanwhile, we enjoyed a fruit, nut and cheese platter and Ernie's deviled eggs and beef log. Cecelia and Courtney joined Ernie, Dawn, Lou and I for dinner. Ernie prepared the pies for dessert. This was my first holiday meal prep.

Monday, December 23, 2019

Calero County Park Hike

Monday: (12/23) Up early and off to a hike at Calero County Park. At 1000 I met my fellow hikers there and Neal led us on an 8.7 mile loop hike. We finished the hike about 1345. It was a nice day but cool and overcast. We didn’t see the sun until the end of our hike. Breakfast was leftover pepper rice casserole. I had a snack on the trail and after the hike I stopped at the Lucky Chinese Bistro for some chow fun noodles and black bean fish, my favorite.

 

 

 

Thursday, December 12, 2019

A Little Rain and Cold For The Holidays

Thursday: (12/12) Dawn and I dropped her new computer off at Best Buy for them to transfer the apps and data from the old to the new laptop. Lou had a PT visit. I tried to catch up on my sleep much of the rest of the day. Granola and banana for breakfast. I made home fried potatoes with smoked pork chop and fried eggs. Dawn made veggie soup for dinner.

Friday: (12/13) We had an 1100 appointment at Best Buy to pick up Dawn’s computers. They finished really quickly moving all Dawn’s apps and files from her old laptop. We also dropped a couple of boxes off at the Post Office. Back home, I prepared breakfast (lunch) of leftover potatoes and smoked pork chops with eggs. I did some cleanup in the backyard organizing my wood pile. It was disheveled due to working on the cottage roof. I also did some laundry.

Saturday: (12/14) Granola and banana for breakfast. Chili size for lunch Chopped salads from the Corner Bakery Cafe for dinner. Not much else accomplished.

Sunday: (12/15) Leftover home fried potatoes for breakfast. Lou and Dan had waffles. Since it was sunny much of the day, I took thee electric bike out for a spin. I stopped by Trader Joe's, Safeway, and Sprouts market and filled my saddlebags with some needed groceries. I picked up a chicken strip for my lunch. Dawn made beef stew over rice for dinner. I spent some time cleaning up my study today.

Monday: (12/16) Another relaxing day at home even though it was a sunny day and we have five or more stormy days to follow. I took Dawn to the Post Office to mail a registered letter and for some reason, the line was out the door, What is it Christmas? In the evening I researched and ordered some parts for the RV. Granola for breakfast. Hummus toast for lunch. Chilli size for dinner.

Tuesday: (12/17) Lou had an appointment for PT today, her first trip out. We stopped at Applebee’s for lunch on the way home. I got a text from Walmart that my new Roku TV was in at the Mountain View store. I took the grocery shopping list with me and picked up the TV and groceries from Walmart, Sprouts, and Trader Joe’s. The new TV is a UHD 4K Element Roku TV. All our TV’s except the living room are Roku TV’s. That means the same remote works for all and each remote is laid out the same. This is the first one that is UHD (Ultra High Definition). I intend to use it as a 40 inch computer monitor. My eyes aren’t as good as they once were. The TV is about half the cost of a 24” monitor. It works great. Granola and banana for breakfast. Applebee’s restaurant for lunch. Baked potato and sausage for dinner.

Wednesday: (12/18) We watched most of the impeachment debate and vote today. I moved out to my man cave (the RV) and I attended my regular Wednesday webinar at 1000 My new TV/monitor worked well for the webinar. I made home fried potatoes with sausage and eggs for breakfast. Hummus toast for lunch. Waldorf salad and refried beans for dinner. Our yard man came by in the afternoon and I helped him load our chicken and rabbit coops onto his little pickup. Quite a load for the little truck.

Thursday: (12/19) A second day with no rain and mostly sunny all day. We all went to breakfast this morning to A Good Morning restaurant. Lou’s first time out with no other purpose than to eat out. We stopped at Walmart to get some things then at a couple of Trader Joe’s as well. To get our preferred Red Rose decaffeinated tea, we have to order it online. Most of the markets don’t carry decaf or are usually out of stock. The Trader Joe’s were to try to get Lou some chocolate liqueur candies. Unfortunately they are already out for the season. I enjoyed a second day in my cafe.

Friday: (12/20) I took Lou out to get her hair cut before lunch. We stopped for lunch at Baji’s on the way home. In the afternoon I took a little neighborhood walk. Leftover home fried potatoes with sausage and eggs for breakfast. Lunch at Baji’s Cafe in Mountain View. Leftover bell pepper casserole for dinner.

Saturday: (12/21) Leftover Bell pepper rice and a banana for breakfast. I took a bike ride down to San Antonio Mall and enjoyed a chai latte drink. Since it wasn’t raining and only overcast, i did a little yard work. I weeded the walkway with the Weedeater.

Sunday: (12/22) A rainy day. Leftover pepper and rice casserole. I signed up for my first hike in a month for tomorrow. Lou is doing really well. I am enjoying another day in my man cave. More leftovers for dinner.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Another Pair Of battleborn Batteries

Wednesday: (12/11) I was off shopping in the morning. I stopped for a breakfast burrito at A Good Morning restaurant. I visited Walmart, Safeway and Sprouts to get all my shopping needs. At home I had to inspect the crew doing the asphalt repair on the driveway apron. A little chopped veggie salad for lunch. My new RV BattleBorn Lithium batteries arrived. It's my second pair to replace the two remaining AGM batteries. I installed the new batteries with no sparks. I also corrected a wiring error I made that displayed negative current when charging via the solar system. That was because I placed the negative of the solar charger on the battery negative not below the shunt. It worked correctly for one set of batteries but not the other pair. However, I still have to add a second battery monitor if I want seperate systems. So more to do.