Visiting Bakersfield Family

Tuesday: Dawn started the day by taking her final. With that out of the way, we headed toward home stopping on the way for a late lunch at Sweet Tomato's in Sunnyvale. Very good as usual.

It rained all morning and we even had a deluge or two on the drive over to Sunnyvale but it then started clearing.

After we got home, we started the final packing and prep to leave. I didn't want to drive during the commute so we waited until a little after 7pm to head out. We had to pick up something for Lou at Dawn's place on the way out of town. Traffic was light and the roads were drying out. We made really good time. Our route out of San Jose on Hwy 101 to Hwy 152 to I5 then Stockdale Hwy into Bakersfield. We arrived at Doug and Helen's about 12:15.

Wednesday: I fixed the Helen's garage light, one of the things that appeared on the todo list before Dawn and I arrived. We all went over to the hospital to see Doug. Helen's son Jay came as well. We all went by the Pantry restaurant for an early dinner.

Thursday: Lou fixed pancakes and sausage for breakfast.

Lou Dawn and I went shopping for some materials for some projects at Helen's. I needed to put a cable through the wall of their bedroom to allow use of their generator if they loose power. Doug needs power for his peritoneal dialysis machine. They lost power a few weeks ago for a lengthy period and have since acquired a generator. Helen is also reorganizing here sewing room and needed some additional wall shelves. And then Lou needs a hook for the bathroom ceiling to hang a doll from.

It's always a thrill to try to find materials for projects now that there aren't any real hardware stores, especially in an unfamiliar area. Neither Lowe’s nor Home Depot had everything we needed for the shelves but between the two, we made do. These aren't fancy shelves just simple wall brackets and vinyl clad boards to fit. Neither store either had all that was needed nor material of adequate condition to be usable. There is usually better quality material at Lou's thrift stores!

Aunt Mary and her daughter Maryjane arrived late in the evening and stopped by the hospital for a visit with Doug on their way into town. Helen was there as well. We all had a late chicken dinner at home.

Friday: Helen and Mary went off to the hospital to pickup Doug. He was released this morning. He had a couple of doctor visits on his way home including a visit to the dialysis center.

Lou Dawn Maryjane and I went to breakfast at Spencer’s restaurant on Rosedale highway. After that we all stopped at a nearby thrift store. It was quite interesting and large. It took a while to get them away from there. They dropped me off at Doug's place.
Lou Dawn` and Maryjane hit more of the thrift store trail.

I installed the outlet strip through the wall for hooking up the generator. I installed shelves in Helen's sewing room. Installed a swag hook in the bathroom for the doll that Lou bought the other day at the thrift shop. It's a cute little porcelain doll that looks like a pixie. It just needed some cleanup and a place to stay.

Doug finally made it home after his appointments late in the day. He doesn't look very good still but much better than he looked at the hospital.

Dinner was leftovers, a favorite.

Saturday: A little shopping and other misc tasks today.

Sunday: Lou, Dawn and I went over to the Ranch Market for breakfast. Lou had a chorizo and eggs burrito, Dawn and I had Torta Cubanos.

Mary and Maryjane headed back home. Dawn is made her vegetable soup for dinner.

Monday: Today was a get it done day. It looks like we'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon of early the next day.

We had a nice bacon and egg breakfast but developed problems during it's preparation. A circuit breaker for the kitchen tripped and that interrupted the toast. When i reset it the breaker failed. It will have to be replaced.

Dawn and i started the day with haircuts. Lou did a little grocery shopping. We all then went over to OSH to get the replacement circuit breaker. When we returned, Dawn andd Lou started some Basque soup (vegetable). Dawn makes good soups. I replaced the bad circuit breaker and setup Doug and Helen's new Honda EU2000i generator by adding oil and gas.

Lou worked on her dolls in the sunshine. it was quite nice today.

Dinner was soup, and it turned out excellent.

Merry Christmas: We had a nice breakfast here at Helen and Doug's. We tinkered around until it was time for dinner. Helen's Son Jay had us all over for prime rib dinner. Very good and Lou' and Dawn's favorite meal. We were back home by 6pm and prepared to leave. The road East had high wind warnings this morning but the Highway Patrol says it's OK now so off we go. Hate to eat and run, but, toddle-do. We wanted to get out while its calm. i took a couple of pictures of dinner which I post later.