Our weather has changed pleasantly to almost cold.
Saturday: (08/28) More breakfast burritos this morning. I finished putting up the fence boards though I had to just tack them up since I need more screws to complete it. i also started to back fill our side of the fence. This activity was interrupted by the need to clean up and go downtown to an art festival. It's a nice one because all the art is actually made by the vendors not China resales. Some quite creative stuff. There was also some chalk art again. The weather was very much like fall, windy, cool to cold and the leaves that had been on the trees were dried and blowing everywhere. This seems a little early. We had popcorn for lunch. All this strenuous activity caused me to need an afternoon nap. I could have worked all day with no problem but relaxing is tiring. Lou fixed baked potatoes with Swedish meat balls in gravy and a fig, fennel, Greek olives and cheese salad.
Street art under construction.
Sunday: (08/29) We went downtown to breakfast. Yesterday on our visit to the Art Festival I spotted a new restaurant, the Crepevine. Yes, it's the same place I've been enjoying on my visits to San Francisco. We didn't know it had opened here as well. Same great food. Lou and I shared an El Paso (corned beef hash and eggs) while Dawn had the Florentine savory crepe.
We looked around at a few things again especially at the Italian Street Art chalk drawings now finished and soon to be washed off. Seems sort of futile.
Such Detail.
I worked doing some more back filling on the fence and digging out the bad dirt in the garden filling up all my 5 gallon buckets getting ready for a trip to the dump. Lou made some couscous with peas and shrimp for dinner.
Monday: (08/30) Oatmeal for breakfast. Lou was off to a doctor's appointment. I started the day with a trip to the dump with a load of dirt from the garden spot. Just a couple of more and then we can refill it with good soil. After that I started to clean out and rearrange the green house to move the plant shelves away form the fence so i can rebuild the fence. On the way home Lou check a bunch of thrift stores and picked up some groceries including a chicken which we had for lunch with some cottage cheese and peaches. Then the real fun began. Lou Ernie and I cleaned out the garden shed and moved it away from the fence. It will be replaced after the fence is rebuilt. We succeeded it getting the shed moved but tomorrow we have to go through all the stuff we removed from it putting some back away in the new location and getting rid of most of the stuff (junk). For dinner we went out to LUU Noddle House for some Combination Chow Fun plate and some egg rolls, our usual.
Tuesday: (08/31) Bye bye August. We started with some Don McMuffin's for breakfast. i started by reinstalling the floor and shelves in the garden shed. We had some big piles out in the yard to go through and try to stuff in the relocated garden shed. We worked all day and made some progress but there is still some stuff to go through. This was quite like a delayed spring cleaning since it's almost fall. Of course, it's needed some cleaning for many, many years. We took a break for lunch and drove up to Redwood City to the Chavez market for a torta and nachos. There is a Goodwill drop there s well which we tried to utilize but, our luck, the door to the trailer couldn't be opened so we had to get rid of our load up the raod at St Vincente De Paul. We called it quitsa little after 5pm and I fixed some chili sizes. for dinner.
All the stuff from the garden shed filled the yard until the shed was moved and refilled.
The garden shed at it's new home. It used to stand next to the green house (above right).
Wednesday: (09/01) PBJ toast for breakfast. We finished putting things away and now have our lawn back and the garden shed at it's new home. I needed to visit the hardware store so we went over to lunch at the mi Pueblo market in East Palo Alto. I had a torta Cubana and Lou had some BBQ ribs. We then stopped by Home Depot for a new maul and some PVC pipe fittings. I broke the handle on our mattock this morning and I also need to move some sprinkler pipes. It was another HOT day so when we returned we didn't go back to work outside. Lou fixed some tuna stuffed tomatoes for dinner. After dinner i went out and did a little work but it wasn't very cool yet. I installed the temporary fence to keep the dogs in the yard when I remove the old fence that';s being rebuilt. I also braced up the green house roof. Part of the fence being rebuilt is one wall of the green house. Fortunately it got dark so i quit for the day.
Thursday: (09/02) maple sugar oatmeal, banana and yogurt for breakfast. I exposed some water and electric conduits that need to be relocated. Then I started removing the fence. Then removed some trees (weeds) that were on the neighbors side and in the fence line. The bay tree there has a thicket of little trees all along the fence. I removed all thta would be in the way and shredded them to put in the compost barrel. I'll remove the entire parent bay tree later. It's 3/4 dead and the only half living limbs hang over our yard. I was going to remove them but then there would just be a 20' tall stump remaining so the neighbor agreed to remove it all. Lots of small ones ready to take over the job. My new mattock that I bought yesterday didn't last long, five stocks and the blade was bent at a 90 degree angle. In the evening I returned the mattock to Home Depot and picked up some other things there, not another mattock though. I did stop by OSH and get a stronger looking one there. That's where the old one came from and it lasted 10 years.
A cheap mattock bent in half on the first blow.
Friday: (09/03) The day started with tea under the arbor in the back yard. I was heading to the San Jose house to meet the termite inspector. We have a maintnace contract with the exterminator and every so often they redo a full inspection in addition to their normal quarterly outside checks. I collected some things that I'd need for other tasks at the house. One task was to make a small pallet to keep extra salt pellet bags off the floor. Once all loaded, I was off. I stopped and picked up a chorizo breakfast burrito at La Victoria. I completed all my tasks before the inspector arrived. His fuil inspection took about three hours, more time than I anticipated. I then headed up to Newark toward Harbor Freight Tools store. On the way I stopped at a Walmart to get more screws for the fence. They have the cheapest screws but our local store was out and there doesn't seem to be such a thing as restocking the shelves at that kind of store. I also picked up a snack wrap and sundae for lunch. Then I spent a long time at the Harbor Freigh Tools store looking for a spade blade for my jackhammer. I knew they'd have one but the first couple of employees I asked had no idea and then I saw what looked like the manager and he had no problem directing me to them. Of course I found quite a few other things I needed as well. On the way to the store I noticed a Tapioca Express shop so i stopped and got an avocado ice bubble with perls (sort of an avocado milk shake or smoothie with tapioca balls). That completed lunch quite nicely. I then hurried home to beat the traffic. Lou Dawn and I then took a long walk. Lou had fixed pepper steak for dinner. Our neighbor Meile came over to join us for dinner. Since I hadn't done much work i worked outsite until dark rebuilding the doors on the old garden shed so it will last a while longer.
The garden shed is gone, the temporary fence in installed and there is a tree to remove.
Some things have to be relocated to make way for the rebuilding of the fence.
All the tomatoes are ready to be planted in the garden spot. The yard looks pretty nice even with all the turmoil.
The new water softener and water heater in San Jose.
Saturday: (09/04) Dawn and Lou were out at the mountain art festival in Woodside today. I went out shopping for some sprinkler system parts. Of course, being so choosy, I got some parts here and others there. Some stops were necessitated by the pitifully stocked Home Depot and Lowe's stores. Some had nothing that i needed and others i bought out for my little project. I also had lots of fun with the car. It isn't starting correctly. At mot stops, I started with just some extra cranking but when i stopped for lunch, it would start, at all. I enjoyed my lunch and fortunately PBS had some good shows on so my 35 minute delay wasn't too bad. Fortunately i tried a few times after the very last time and eventually it started. With it started, and since I had another stop to make further down in San Jose at another store trying to complete my material collection, i decided to head on down. If it didn't start, it wouldn't cost more to have the materials towed home in the car if needed. Fortunately, it started nicely and I made it home with my catch of the day.
I did only a little work relocating the water line from the green house.
Lou said the toad was acting up again. the temperature gauge said the engine was hot. Since they were in the hills, mountains to those on the East coast, It could be true but usually is a bad connection in the wiring. So now we are down to no reliable cars. Our older car is having a problem starting which appears to be the ignition switch.
Lou tuned the leftover pepper steak into a breakfast omelet. I stopped at the House Of Eggrolls for lunch. Their egg rolls are the best and I added some shrimp. Lou made hamburgers for dinner.
Sunday: (09/05) I took Lou and Dawn to the train station. They were off on to Belmont to a Greek Festival. They say it was great. Evidently the church is a work of art with all the interior walls finished glass mosaics. And they say the food was great especially if you like lamb.
I relocated the electrical from the green house. Then I was able to remove the rest of the fence that is being rebuilt. Then I blasted out one of the fence post bases.
For breakfast Dawn made cinnamon toast and we had some Italian sausage with it. I had a milk shake for lunch. For dinner Lou completed some chili beans with toast. I baked up a bunch of Italian sausage. Lou and Dawn sample some greak ethnic Greek food at the Greek Festival.
Monday: (09/06) Busy in the yard again. I installed the seven sprinkler valves that had been attached to the fence. They are now in pullboxes. Of course there were a couple of parts that weren't available and today is a holiday so no visit to the hardware store is planned for today due to probable crowds. A task for first thing in the morning to go to the store and finish the sprinklers. Another reason is that the area I'm digging out and breaking concrete gets shade after noon. The area where the sprinkler valves are has shade all day thanks to Lou's suggestion of using the unbrella so it can be done any time.
Lou made sausage gravy over toast for breakfast. For lunch Lou bade a Greek salad (red peppers, onions, and olives). Dinner was couscous with Mexican tomatoes and Swedish meatballs, and international dish.
Tuesday: (09/07) Lou was off to a therapy appointment with Dawn. On the way home they picked up Dawn's friend from Spokane, Andrea with her seeing eye dog O'shea. They also did grocery shopping on the way home. I made a trip to OSH Hardware for pickup some conduit and fittings. When I got home I took our neighbor to an appointment at Stanford. O'shea enjoyed his visit in the back yard off lease playing with Walter and Wolfie.
I trimmed some tree roots and blasted out the rest of the concrete fence base and post bases.
The new sprinkler valves in front of the green house
Cheerios with yogurt for breakfast. Chili beans for lunch. Reese's pieces pudding for an afternoon snack. Tuna blintzes for dinner.
Wednesday: (09/08) I bit the bullit and dug my 30 feet of trench for the relocated sprinkler pipes, installed the pipes and backfilled the trench. Fortunately it was cool with dark clouds and threatening rain all day with a few teasing sprinkles. Of course there was a trip off to the hardware store for a few things, a result of my excellent ever changing plan? Since i didn't have lunch i stopped to pick up a milkshake on the way home.
I fixed potatoes with peppers, mushrooms and sausage for breakfast. Lou fixed BBQ ribs with baked potatoes and steamed carrots.
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