More Work

Sunday: (07/28) After some computer time in the morning I went outside. I replaced another leaking sprinkler valve. That was followed by more time with the computer. I planned a hike for my hiking group in Portola Valley for a couple of weeks from now. In the late afternoon I started loading the Jeep. I pulled the second scaffold from the shop and tied it onto the Jeep. Each piece has to be tied down individually so they don't fly off on the freeway. After a late dinner I headed down to San Jose for the week. Lou made asparagus omelets for breakfast.Cheese bread and wieners for lunch followed with fresh strawberries. Baked zucchini casserole for dinner. Fresh peaches for desert.

Monday: (07/29) I started with a little walk to the bank ATM downtown for some cash then stopped by the La Victoria Taqueria for a breakfast burrito. Then I returned home and started stripping paint. Lunch was a cheese sandwich. I only have 3 more feet of the eves on the left of the fireplace to do, then some repairs to the siding, some sanding and I'll be painting this section to see how if looks. About 6:15pm I was through for the day, cleaned up and went to the market for a few things before stopping at the Super Taqueria for a burrito for dinner. Another Monday Mexican breakfast and dinner day. Apple pie for desert.

Tuesday: (07/30) I had a Dentist appoint in the morning to replace an old filling with a cavity creeping along side it. Always fun! I returned home and relaxed until after lunch. After lunch i got to work and finished the little bit of eve stripping remaining by the fireplace and started cleaning off the loose paint on the stucco chimney. Ham, egg and cheese Don McMuffin for breakfast. A chicken pot pie for lunch. Pork chop with Spanish rice for dinner. Apple pie for desert.

Wednesday: (07/31) A little prep to do some painting. Tat included a shopping visit to Home Depot for a few things. After lunch I did some paint shaving on the front of the house  and prime painted the replacement window sashes.  Another Egg, ham and cheese Don McMuffin for breakfast. Egg rolls and shrimp balls from King Eggroll for lunch. Roast beef with a baked potato for dinner.

 
Thursday: (08/01) I was busy stripping all day. I finished the wall where I tried chemical strippers before. Now it is down to bare wood using the paint shaved and heat gun. I still have the window fram and eves but progress has been made. I have several pieces of siding to replace on this wall as well. In the evening we all went to IKEA. Lou picked up a storage unit and ewe had dinner. Granola with a banana for breakfast. Tuna sandwich for lunch. I had Swedish meatballs with mashed spuds and soup, Lou had chicken and Dawn had salmon  at IKEA for dinner.

Big Basin Storytelling

Saturday: (07/27) Around noon we headed off to Big Basin Redwoods State Park for the Tales of the Basin Storytelling Event. Dawn was one of the storytellers. Lou and I were a couple of the listeners. We enjoyed a potluck dinner at the campground with the other storytellers and the rangers. On the right above is Dawn telling her story. Ham, eggs and home fried potatoes for breakfast. Car snacks for lunch. Potluck for dinner.

Monte Bello Ridge OSP Canyon Trail Hike

Friday: (07/26) Friday hike day. I picked up fellow hikers at the train station and park and ride an met the rest of our hikers at the trail-head at the top of Pagemill Road. There are lots of trail options at Monte Bello Ridge Open Space Preserve. On our last hike here we hiked up to the top of Black Mountain. That hike is rather exposed and on a hot day not a good idea, even for the great views. We stayed down at the bottom of the canyon in the shade and enjoyed a nice 7.7 mile hike down the canyon and then back on the same trail.overall 3400 feet down and then the same back up with an actual elevation change of just 840 feet. Lots of little hills along the way. This was another of the hikes I lead. All hikers returned to or start point in generally the same conditions as they departed. I'm always amazed I don't loose more hikers. As usual On hike day, I relaxed the rest of the day. Breakfast was a ham Don McMuffin. Lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich. A chili baked potato with fresh salsa for dinner.

Monte Bello Ridge OSP


EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in the Bay Area, California

At Work Again

Monday: (07/22) I did a little cleanup and cut some more sucker trees from the flower beads in the back yard.


Then I tried out the new paint stripper and sander on some of the siding at the back of the house. I stripped about 3"x4' in about an hour. It did take some learning to get it right so now I can start out front tomorrow. In the afternoon  I went shopping for another palm sander to get some areas the orbital sander can't reach. Granola for breakfast. Cottage cheese and fruit for lunch. Pastrami and rice for dinner.


Tuesday: (07/23) I started my day with a visit to La Victoria Taqueria for a breakfast burrito . On the way I spent some time watching a crew install a field of sod at San Jose State University. They were using a machine like a paving machine unrolling a four foot swath of sod. They also had a standard roller like used for paving. This crew obviously just does big projects. I finally continued on to breakfast. I usually eat it there but today I got it to go because I wanted to get back to the University to watch more of the sod installation. I spoke to the grounds manager who was watching as well. He said they had a problem with this spot becoming a mud hole. This crew was used at their stadium to repair a section of the field and a game was played four days later. It really is like carpeting. I did have to get back to the house to start work about 9am.

I used the paint shaver and removed most of the paint on a section of the house by the fireplace. It worked well. However, there wasn't much open wall space so there was a lot to strip on the edges. I used a heat gun and it all went quick finishing about 50 square feet today. There is more detail work to do around the window and the eves still needs to be done. I don't know if the paint shaver will help there to the tight access. Lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich. For dinner I returned to La Victoria for a chili relleno plate. Too bad they are so close. It's only a short walk across to the other side of the campus from the house.

I was told Lou and Dawn had smoothies for breakfast, ate at the Thai Bistro in Sunnyvale for lunch and had Mango ginger chicken with spaghetti squash and a green salad for dinner.

Wednesday: (07/24) I continued stripping the paint from the eves and around the window by the fireplace. I stopped about 11:30 to have lunch with Dawn downtown before returning to work in the afternoon. I almost finished the one side of the fireplace having only the last three feet of the eves at the top reaming before then beginning the other side of the fireplace. Ham, egg and cheese breakfast muffin. Lunch at Pizza My Heart, a slice of pizza with Dawn who had a chicken salad. Pastrami and a baked potato for dinner.

Thursday: (07/25) More work as a stripper today. I finished the right side and got a good start on the left side of the fireplace wall. Another day and a half may finish the left side. Granola and banana for breakfast. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Lou's Chinese stir fried rice for dinner.

A Nice Weekend

Saturday: (07/20) I pruned the apricot tree. Yeah, it's a bit early but the tree was rather misshapen by the apricot load and I hate to see it waste energy growing limbs that will just be removed in a few months. I also made myself busy doing some cleanup in the shop. Lou and Dawn visited some sales and were busy organizing and cleaning the house. Home fried potatoes with peppers and onions with sausage and eggs for breakfast. Leftovers for Lunch. sauerkraut potatoes and sausage for dinner.

Sunday: (07/21) We went on a shopping trip to Milpitas at the old Ford Motor plant now the Great Mall. We stopped at a couple of thrift stores on the way and had lunch before arriving at the mall. I found a bunch of cheap CFL lamps and a new XM radio which we'll probably install in the RV and swap device registrations when we are on the road from the Hyundia. After dinner i drove down to San Jose to get an early start on the paint project in the morning. Leftover sauerkrauted potatoes and sausage with eggs for breakfast. Lunch at the Black Bear Diner in Milpitas. I had CFS, Lou and Dawn had ham and eggs. For dinner Lou made Hawaiian pizza.

 

Los Trancos OSP Hike

Friday: (07/19) I was off early to meet my group for a hike at the Los Trancos OSP. We hiked about 6.6 miles down to Foothills Park and back up with a few side trips on loop trails. Los Trancos is a good site to observe earthquake activity. An old fence which is offset by 5 feet and two oak trees that fell but are still alive with horizontal trunks with new verticle trunks that per growth ring dating started in 1908. The trees and fence are a result of the 1907 San Francisco earthquake. Nice hike. Lou and Dawn were out shopping some today. i pretty much relaxed the rest of the day. Corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. Lunch at the LUU Noodle House, our usual chow fun and egg rolls. Leftovers for dinner.

Los trancos OSP

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in the Bay Area, California

Watching The Grass Grow

Saturday: (07/13) A nice relaxing day. Brother Ernie's birthday. A little tinkering in the shop.  Lou is cat sitting for spunky, Courtney's cat. Granola for breakfast. Lunch with Ernie at the Country Gourmet in Sunnyvale. Chinese stir fry noodles for dinner.

Sunday: (07/14) My focus today was to remake the window sash for the San Jose house. I've been procrastinating long enough. I replaced both side pieces and the bottom piece which involved hand cutting several mortises and also adding tenons. I also added a matching routed edging. It now only requires some routing for the window weight ropes and  final sizing, and replacing some glass and re-glazing and will finally be ready to reinstall. These unfamiliar tasks often are much more difficult in my mind that in actually accomplishing. Lou and Dawn had some garage sales to attend to today. Grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast. Tuna and cheese sandwich for lunch. Asparagus, rice and roast chicken for dinner.


Monday: (07/15) I planned on a little work in the shop today but never got to it. Instead I was busy all day cleaning up the shower, removing caulk and re-caulking it. It took so long because I disassembled the shower doors and cleaned up all the moldy caulk from on and under everywhere. For bad caulk it sure was hard to remove. Fun job but the shower tomorrow should be nice with no mold as company. I had hoped to receive my new HEPA vacuum for the paint removal but it wont arrive until Thursday so I have more time to re-glaze the window and prime the siding for San Jose tomorrow. Hotdog eggs and cheese breakfast sandwich. Chili size for lunch and KFC chicken and corn for dinner.


Tuesday: (07/16) I started the morning by getting out the router and adding the window weight grooves to the sides of the window. I also stripped the remainder of the paint and did some sanding. Lou made omelets for breakfast. Cottage cheese and fruit with toast for lunch. Leftovers with some fish for dinner.


Wednesday: (07/17) Not much accomplished today. I did install the glass in the rebuilt window sash. I also received my new HEPA vacuum so I'll have to get to work on the paint job again. Baked potatoes and gravy for breakfast. A visit to the LUU Nooodle restaurant for lunch. Stuffed fresh bell peppers from our garden served with baked potatoes, grilled squash, zucchini and tomatoes for dinner.

Thursday: (07/18) After breakfast, my first task was to take the RV out to fill the LPG tank. It also needed fuel. Normally I try to return with both close to full but both were near empty. In earthquake country it's best to have a nice well supplied RV in the ready. Next task was a bunch of deliveries. I returned excess materials to a couple of hardware stores. I then stopped by the house in San Jose and delivered materials for the project there. My final task was a visit to the dentist. Lou was busy doing some research on the computer, unusual for her. I fixed corned beef has and eggs for breakfast. Lou had cooked the corned beef brisket last night. For lunch I stopped by the Hometown Buffet. Lou made meat balls served over spinach topped with a stewed tomato sauce for dinner.

Sanborn County Park Hike

Friday: (07/12) I fixed roast beast with home fried potatoes and eggs for breakfast which we enjoyed in the back yard.

 
I was then off to meet my hiking group for a hike at Sanborn County Park above Saratoga, Ca. We enjoyed a 6.9 mile hike climbing up a total of 3379 feet to Skyline Road with a total elevation change of 1680 feet.


Nice hike along shaded trails.

After the hike I stopped for lunch at the Country Inn in Cupertino. I enjoyed a wild mushroom omelet with Swedish pancakes. After lunch i stopped by Harbor Freight Tools to get a cheap chain saw. When I got home I removed the rest of the tree stalk leaving only a 4 inch high stump. Lou and Dawn had a salad for their lunch and then took Courtney to the San Francisco airport. They then went to dinner at Neil's Cafe in Millbrea and did a little looking around the area. I had hot dogs with home fried potatoes, cottage cheese and fruit for my dinner.

Sanborn County Park


EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near San Jose, California

Cooler Weather And First Garden Produce

Saturday: (07/06) The first task of the day was a trip to dispose of a pile old chemicals stuff and batteries. I tried without success to stop the sprinkler leak to start the day with some frustration. I also started removing a Chinese pine tree that we planed over 20 years ago and i thought would be a nice tree. It was always a pest dropping worthless fruit all summer. Home fried potatoes with bacon and eggs for breakfast. Leftovers for lunch and dinner

Sunday: (07/07)  I finally got my sprinkler valve leak stopped. I also worked at the computer much of the day. Popcorn for breakfast. Leftovers for lunch. My lunch was a bacon and cheese sandwich with home fried potatoes. Chicken lettuce wraps and baked zucchini squash with onions for dinner.

Monday: (07/08) Leftover bacon eggs and potatoes for my breakfast. Lou made gluten free pancakes for Dan and herself. I worked on locating replacement siding for the house in San Jose. I got a quote from a mill in San Rafael and looked up several salvage material shops. Lou and Dawn joined me and we headed up to San Mateo to Whole House Salvage. They had some 4" beveled siding but it had a rounded edge not a square edged as needed. We then headed over to Oakland and visited the Habitat For Humanity surplus materials store. they had some cheap 6" redwood siding with a square edge so I bought some. I'll re-saw it to 4" with a new bevel and it should be better than using new "greener  " wood. We then devolved into a thrift store hunt. Lunch was at a Harry's Haufbrau location in Hayward. Stuffed peppers for me and pastrami for them. Dinner at our usual Monday spot, KFC.We finally made it home about 7PM.

Tuesday: (07/09) I did a little shop cleanup and also cut the 6 inch bevel siding I bought yesterday into 4 inch bevel siding. It isn't as easy as it sounds because the bevel has to be re-sawn in addition to the width. All done now. I also received the paint shaver today. Granola for breakfast. Tuna and cheese sandwiches for lunch. Shepherds pie for dinner.


Wednesday: (07/10) Breakfast at A Good Morning Restaurant. After breakfast I started to remove more of the poor Chinese pine tree. It took a little while to bring it down piece by piece to keep our neighbors windows in tact. Lunch at LUU Noodle House. Pad Thai and egg rolls with smoothies for lunch. Then the real work began, cutting it into tiny pieces so it all fit into about 110 gallons of compost container. Now only the 8 foot high trunk and the stripped bigger branches remain which I'll remove when I get my big chain saw back from San Jose. Pastrami with green beans and French fries for dinner.

Thursday: (07/11) I made scrambled eggs with our first green pepper from the garden, onions, olives, garlic, and hot dogs per Lou's request. I tinkered in the shop much of the morning. Then I went to Los Gatos to the County' Parks office to buy a lifetime Senior Parking Pass. It will pay for itself after a dozen visits or about a year. Next was a trip to San Jose to pick up my big(ger) chain saw. For lunch I stopped by the Hong Kong Bakery for a pork bun and egg tart. In the afternoon Ernie and I trimmed up the tree limbs to firewood sized pieces and I made a few cuts with the bigger chain saw until the bigger saw wasn't big enough. The bigger saw is only a 10" saw, the smaller trim saw is a 6" saw. It looks like it's time for a bigger "bigger" saw.  Dinner was rice with meatloaf and green beans.

Tarwater Loop Trail Hike

Friday: (07/05) The morning started with granola for breakfast and our tea in the back yard. I then went to pickup some of my fellow hikers. My first stop at the train station didn't go well. All trains were delayed due to single tracking necessitated by a death on the tracks. So, unfortunately I could wait for the late train and had to call to let that hiker know. Then I was off to a park and ride to pick up a couple of more hikers. Even with the delay we made it to the trail-head on time.

 
Unfortunately, again, we turned out to be the only hikers. We enjoyed our hike down to the Pescadero Creek where we met another of our hikers who had been 30 minutes late and came down the hill in the opposite direction for our loop hike.

 
After a little time at the creek we headed back up the hill stopping at an old shingle mill  ruins and by a very majestic grandfather redwood tree. Our hike was 5.9 miles in 3 hours. We were really surprised and fortunate to have a nice cool morning due to a high fog hovering at  the tree tops. A really nice change from our recent hot spell. Leftovers for lunch. I had pastrami, macaroni salad,and chili beans. I relaxed a little at home while Lou and Dawn headed out thrifting. I met them later at the Oakridge Mall in San Jose for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory Restaurant. They had lettuce wraps while I had a Shepard's pie. Of course, Lou and I started our dinner with a slice of cheese cake. I enjoyed most of it since Dawn is abstaining from both dairy and wheat foods and Lou from wheat.

Tarwater Loop Trail

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Portola Redwoods State Park