Saturday, January 30, 2016

The Hunt Is On

Saturday: (01/30) Lou and I started with a shopping run with our neighbor Meili. Dawn made some Mexican lasagna for breakfast. It was supposed to be made for dinner list night but was differed. We had a bunch of stale leftover corn chips so they were turned into a casserole with cheese, hamburger onions and spinach. After lunch we headed out in search of a replacement Jeep.
Jeep Candidate  0130161330e_HDR Jeep Candidate  0130161721_HDR
We had a good candidate (left above) up in Daly City next to San Francisco. It was a 2007 Grand Cherokee with everything on it and in excellent condition. Almost like new with it’s 90K+ miles. We confirmed it met all our needs and then took it for a test drive. It is now top of the list. it has only one fault. it’s another huge engine, a 5.7L so mileage would be less.  We’re considering it. We headed back toward home looking at a few other places and stopped for lunch in San Bruno at Neal’s Cafe. More research in the evening. I found some other candidates in the East Bay. I also did research on adding the tow bar base plates and braking system. Hard to decide. I’m also considering not replacing it at all right now and getting a tow dolly instead and bring the little car along. On the way home we stopped at a Costco in Redwood City and spotted a nice looking Jeep (Right above). Lou, being bold, asked the owner if they wanted to sell it. He said maybe. Another candidate.
Sunday: (01/31) Leftover  Mexican lasagna for breakfast. I spent some time upgrading and updating a couple of computers. Lou and I eventually  took off to Hayward to look at a Jeep there, then on to Pleasanton for more Jeeps. We found a good one at the Jeep dealer there with extremely low mileage but a rather high price. We may have to dicker on it? Only problem with it is it’s color. It’s bronze. White would be preferred but features and price may rule. Probably can’t get everything we want unless it’s new but it would be nice. Lou and i had lunch at Panera Bread. She had a Cobb salad and I had a sandwich and soup. Chili sizes for dinner.
Monday: (02/01) I had covered the Jeep with a tarp and we had a little rain over the last few days. With big gaps on most of the doors, I wanted to keep the water out of the inside of the Jeep. Evidently some was trapped on the roof of the Jeep and this morning was about a half inch sheet of ice. Lou and I delivered the Jeep to the body show for inspection at 0730. A nice toasted PBJ sandwich for my breakfast. Dawn made hot cereal for Lou and herself.  I did some research on a new Jeep this morning.  That included getting online estimates for three dealers. Of course none of the responses had much to do with the car I requested information on. We had Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch. Dawn was busy moving stuff into her shed from the house. I visited  REI and bought some more socks. i was also looking for large water jugs but the ones the had were not appropriate for storage in the RV so I visited Walmart and found them there. We had dinner at the Olive Garden with Ernie , Cecilia and Courtney.  Lou and Dawn went to a author talk at Kepler’s Book Store in Menlo Park after dinner.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Lazy Days Even With No Rain

Monday: (01/25) I caught the bus down to San Jose to Leale’s RV. The motorhome was supposed to be ready last Friday per my conversation last week with the  service rep. I was cautioned to call first before going but didn’t listen. A nice bus ride brought be to the shop  where zI learned that it wasn’t ready. Not only that but the parts weren’t even ordered yet. Evidently the power steering pump takes a week to get here from Workhorse. So now I can, possibly, expect it to be ready after next Tuesday. Nice day out anyway. I spent the rest of the day looking at all the used car lots along the way and visited the Jeep dealer to look at the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk as a possible replacement toad. They didn’t have one but did have the Jeep Renegade Trailhawk, a little smaller version of the trail rated Jeep. Nice looking but is much shorter than the Cherokee mostly buy removing rear storage area. Decisions Decisions. I made breakfast sandwiches for breakfast. Some chicken and fries from Safeway for lunch. Lou made gluten free pizza for dinner.
Tuesday: (01/26) I relaxed much of the morning but did eventually get out to work in Dawn’s shed. Nothing much accomplished. Lou had an appointment in Menlo Park this morning then she and Dawn were busy shopping and thrifting. In the afternoon we assembled the last of Dawn’s shelving and made the final placements of the shelving. I also went through  the recycle barrel and crushed a lot of cans and bottles. Lou made a nice sausage, eggs and potato breakfast. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Lou and Dawn had corned beef and cabbage at Ann’s restaurant in Menlo Park for their lunch. Leftovers for dinner.
Wednesday: (01/27) I worked on installing flashing on the base of Dawn’s shed. I also installed some paneling, all to make it more waterproof. We also made a run to Lowe’s to return materials and get some plywood. Without the Jeep, I had to have the plywood cut there so it would fit in the little car. I just needed 2′x4′ foot pieces for some shelves. They fit even with the three of us in the car. Amazing!  When we got home I installed the shelf pieces and added some 2″x2″ bracing so they will be nice and strong. PBJ on chibatta toasted bread for breakfast. Leftover BBQ ribs and a baked potato for lunch. Spaghetti and green salad for dinner.
Thursday: (01/28) I was out early to install a piece of metal flashing on Dawns shed and finished with the paneling of the base pedestal of the building. Should be nicely water proof and mouse proof after I do a little caulking now. Lou made a nice corned beef hash and eggs breakfast. About 0945 our insurance adjuster stopped by to look at the Jeep. I had a webinar from 10-12. Always nice to learn something. Lou was busy contacting the perpetrators insurance company. They arranged for a rental car and Lou selected a body shop with good reviews. Lunch was leftovers. We visited the shop and arranged for them to look at the Jeep next Monday to likely condemn it for totaling it. If that occurs, we’ll need another towable vehicle. Lou picked up the rental car.
Jeep Replacement Candidate 0128161632a_HDR Jeep Replacement Candidate 0128161740_HDR
We all took the rental for a trip North looking at thee used car lots and dealers for new and used Jeeps. Lou got to see a Renegade Trailhawk. Still don’t know if it is towable though. We also found two good used Jeeps in our search. A 2006 Jeep Liberty Sport Trail Rated looks really interesting. We enjoyed dinner at Jack’s Restaurant in San Mateo then visited thrift stores on the way home. More research is needed now on whether and what is towable.
Friday: (01/29) Dawn was busy moving boxes to her shed today. I was busy walking around the neighborhood and just being generally lazy.
Rental Car Replacement  0129161119d_HDR
Lou was busy getting a replacement rental car. The one she got had a really bad problem with the transmission and was jerky starting for each stop.
Jeep Replacement Candidate 0129161503a_HDR Jeep Replacement Candidate 0129161623a_HDR
In the afternoon we all drove down El Camino Real, the main street . We visited all the car lots and dealers along the way looking for a good jeep. None found but we tried. On the way home we got dinner. Interesting diet today. Breakfast from L&L Hawaiian, a sausage egg and cheese English Muffin, even though I didn’t take a hike today. Lou made peach blintzes for lunch. We enjoyed dinner at the Super Taqueria restaurant.  Lou and I shared a Super Nachos with carnitas and Dawn had a couple of tacos.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

A Prairie Home Companion Radio Show

Saturday: (01/23) We drove to downtown Oceanside for breakfast at the Breakfast Club Diner California (BCDC). Really nice breakfasts, great pancakes.
Oceanside Pelican 0123161033a_HDR
We then took a walk out on the pier watching the surfers. The above pelican was sitting on a fence rail by a shop. At first we thought it must be a statue because of it’s coloring. It was real, and a great model.
The Wood Family At The PHC Show 0123161438a_HDR Prairie Home Companion Show In San Diego 0123161659_HDR
We made it to downtown San Diego for the Prairie Home Companion radio show. Google Maps brought us right to the theater on the first try. We were about 2 hours early for the concert so we took a walk and visited a farmers market in Little Italy.
The show was great. Always good to see how something you enjoy is made. Garrison Keillor came out and sang with the audience about 15 minutes before the show actually went on the air. Probably a warm up for his voice and the band. Amazing how casually they can do the show, but, of course, they’ve been doing it for o many years. This is Garrison’s last season and likely the last time he’ll be doing the show it in California. We were also introduced to the new host of the show Chris Thile who is hosting the next two shows before the last few by Garrison. Chris Thile is one of the founders of the music group Nichol Creek. Here are links to a couple of Youtube videos from the show: Warmth of the SunWayside/Back In TimeSan Diego Serenade, and Lives Of The Cowboys.
After the concert we were back on the road toward Bakersfield. We stopped along the way for dinner at a diner we had visited before. Nice grub. We stopped in Bakersfield at Aunt Helen’s for the night arriving about 1030.
Pardon the incorrect date stamps on the photos. The were edited in Picassa to have smaller file sizes and the date stamps was added. The date of all photos in this post was 01/23/16.
Sunday: (01/24) We got up early to visit with Helen then went to breakfast at Milt’s Coffee show for some deep pit BBQ dinners for breakfast. Lunch at the Rice Bowl Chinese restaurant downtown. Both of these restaurants, and several more provide some of the best reasons to visit Bakersfield. We departed about 1330 and were home at 1942. Fun fast trip but nice to be home.

Friday, January 22, 2016

On The Way To San Diego

Friday: (01/22) We spent all day getting closer to San Diego. Breakfast in Gilroy at the Longhorn Restaurant. Dinner at Denny’s in Oceanside. We made it to Oceanside about 30 miles north of San Diego where we spent the night.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Change Of Plans

Thursday: (01/21) We were supposed to get the motorhome back today with it’s newly rebuilt transmission. Lou tried to get the Jeep washed yesterday evening but she was one minute late to the car laundry. So she was off early to get it washed this morning. About 15 minutes after she left I got a call from her asking where the insurance forms were. She had been rear-ended by a lady in a Merccdes SUV that was busy placing her coffee into the cup holder in the car. I came down to take photos. Lou wasn’t hurt but did have a stiff neck. I drove her home in the Jeep and parked it in the driveway. We then went to Kaiser to have here looked at. Just some whiplash so sore neck and headache for a while. We called the insurance company and made a report to the Department Of Motor vehicles as required. I looks like the body is pretty well tweaked with the three rear door severely damaged. More than likely it will be totaled. About 1400 I called about the RV. The service representative called me back later and said it was back from their transmission shop but the mechanic there had advised replacing the harmonic balancer on the engine so it won’t be ready today. We’ll pick it up Monday after we return from San Diego which we are headed to in the little car tomorrow. Ernie was busy getting a new toilet from Camping World for his trailer. He installed it with a touch of help from me in the late afternoon. Other than all this, I relaxed all day. Granola for breakfast. Tomales for lunch. BBQ ribs with backed potato and kale with bacon salad.
Lou's Accident Photos 0121160902a_HDR Lou's Accident Photos 0121160908c_HDR Lou's Accident Photos 0121160908_HDR
Our damage. May not seem like much but the whole vehicle is folded in the middle. Check out the door bulge.
Lou's Accident Photos 0121160904_HDR
Their damage.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Finalizing Projects

Wednesday: (01/20) No rain today. Lou was off to an appointment early this morning. I didn’t intend to do much today so I relaxed inside most of the morning. I prepared a late breakfast sandwich for breakfast. Outside I met Ernie and helped him a little repairing a leak in his toilet. I also worked on the new tent tying down the tarp flaps, moving a bush that ended up under the tent and trimmed another bush. Lou found that the carrots in the greenhouse were being eaten. It supposedly is enclosed enough to keep critters out. I never screwed down the end plastic panel next to Lou’s new shed so squirrels could come in from the roof so I secured the panel again. Hopefully that was the entrance. I also I hung a tarp on one end of the greenhouse to shield it from the sprinklers where the pots and planter mix is stored. I also fixed some drip system sprinklers. My final task was to put some screws in Lou’s readjusted shelving for Dawn’s shed. Lou and Dawn went to LUU’s Noodle House for lunch and returned with some eggrolls for my late lunch. An afternoon nap helped me prepare for dinner which was leftover chicken, potatoes and peas.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

National Popcorn Day

Tuesday: (01/19) My brother has done a daily blog category called “Today Is”. He did this for an entire year presenting information about each day. It is currently in reruns. I get notifications in my email for each post. While today’s Strange Brew post starting about potions was interesting, it became exciting when he mentioned it was also National Popcorn Day. I wonder if the banks are open? I love popcorn but can’t eat it later in the day. I’ve been craving some and we often have it for breakfast. So guess what breakfasts was. Yep!. We’re having a nice rain right now at 0900 but expect a nice afternoon. I finally got outside about 1100. I worked on the lights and power for Dawn’s shed. I ended up needing some more materials so I headed off about 1400 to Lowe’s. On the way, I stopped for lunch at the China Wok. On my return home I finished the electrical and powered it up. No sparks. Lou made a spaghetti squash corned beef hash. No potatoes. It uses fried spaghetti squash in their place. not bad.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Busy, Busy, Getting Ready To Leave

Tuesday: (01/12) We all headed down to San Jose early to meet the refrigerator  delivery folks and do a few other details.
San Jose Refrigerator Replacement 0112160835a_HDR San Jose Refrigerator Replacement 0112160835b_HDR
We arrived at 0730 for the 0730-1130 delivery window. The called shortly after 0730 and were en route with the delivery completed by 0830. Only one problem, it was a tad too tall. i’ll have to return tomorrow to trim the cabinet lip. We had breakfast at La Victoria restaurant across the San Jose State campus from the house. We then headed home.
Wilton Dawn's Shed New Floor 0112161240b_HDR Wilton Dawn's Shed New Floor 0112161510a_HDR
The weather was nice so I got to work on the shed. I setup some forming to  allow screeding the concrete against the wall. I also installed some rebar and was ready to pour. It was after noon so I won’t complete the final finishing until way late tonight. I had some lunch before starting the mix. The pour was complete by 1400. I then spent time cleaning up and doing finishing. We didn’t have any showered today but the are expected this evening so I’ll need to cover the concrete later. I enjoyed watching TV and checking the concrete all evening doing the final finishing about 0200 just before some rain.  It was finished and covered before the rain. Nicely cooperative rain. My lunch was leftover carnitas with rice and beans from Lou and Dawn’s breakfast. Dinner was a green salad to which I added some roast beef.
Wilton Dawn's Shed New Floor 0113160958a_HDR
Wednesday: (01/13) I started the day, after I awoke about 0900, by going outside and stripping forms and cleaning up the shed floor concrete. I also collected some tools to use in San Jose. I drove down to San Jose stopping at Payless Rockery to pick up some baserock, then deliverd some papers to Cecelia’s house and then arrived at Dawn;s house.
San Jose Refrigerator Replacement Wilton Dawn's Shed New Floor 0113161326_HDR San Jose Refrigerator Replacement Wilton Dawn's Shed New Floor 0113161326a_HDR
I read the refrigerator manual to see if there was some adjustment that might allow the refrigerator to fit under the cabinet above it. The refrigerator is the same maker and basically the same model as before and the specified height should have allowed for 1/4 inch clearance. But , It didn’t fit. The top had a dome bulge that went more than 1/4 inch higher than the outside edges, likely where the height dimension was calculated. The adjustments do provide some leveling capability but not enough to fit. So, I jury rigged some plastic sheeting to help contain the sawdust and sawed off the 1/4″. It took a lot longer to setup and cleanup than it did to make the cut. It now fits nicely. I then started to head hom but remembered i needed to stop by a shop in San Jose to get replacement tarps for a 10×20 tent we have for storage. It’s tarps have disintegrated. I then made a final stop at Home Depot for a few more bags of concrete to complete the walkway replacement in front of the shed. I then, finally got some lunch about 1500. When i got home I unloaded everything. Enough for today. Lou made a nice bacon and eggs with home fried potatoes for breakfast. Lunch was from the House of Eggroll in Santa Clara, eggrolls and fried shrimp. I enjoyed a nice toasted PBJ sandwich for my dinner while Lou and Dawn enjoyed their lamb chops.
Wilton Dawn's Shed Walkway Pour  0114160934_HDR Wilton Dawn's Shed Walkway Pour  0114160934b_HDR
Thursday: (01/14) The weather has been rainy and we expect a lot more over the next week or more. Today and tomorrow are both only expected to be half dry. I need to pour some concrete and these are the only days remaining to possibly do it so today I mixing concrete and dodging rain a not so good combination. I had granola for breakfast and got to work preparing the walkway in front of Dawn’s shed to be poured by adding baserock, tamping and drilling holes installing rebar pins to attach the walkway to the existing walkway. I finished the prep by 0950 and headed inside. I had a webinar on building mobile apps from 10-12. I enjoyed a ham sandwich for lunch during the webinar.
Wilton Dawn's Shed Walkway Pour  0114160948_HDR
I then headed out and poured the concrete, about 20 square feet of walkway. I had just completed the post pour cleanup adn the initial finishing when a really hard rain squall started. I hurried to cover the pock-marked concrete with plywood which I had planned to do anyway but not mandated by a squall. When the rain had passed, I removed the pock-marks and recovered it. I did the final about 1900. Then the waiting began with wait/check/finish and repeat. Lou prepared Shepherd’s pie for dinner.  Dawn was baking. Lou and Dawn were out to Stanford University for a presentation this evening.
Wilton Dawn's Shed Walkway Pour  0115160850_HDR Tent Tarp Replacement 0115161448_HDR
Friday: (01/15) Leftovers for breakfast. I enjoyed leftover carnitas, beans and rice. Today was nice and clear much of the day with no rain. I started by detailing the new walkway I poured yesterday. That involves cleaning the edge residue on the adjacent walkway. I also reset a few loose bricks next to th pour and grouted between the bricks and the new concrete. Done. Now I just need to wait for the concrete to harden more before reinstalling the shed’s front wall, With that done, I started another risky project, at lease in rainy weather. We have a 10×20 foot tent that protects a bunch of junk. Don’t want our junk getting wet. emptied the contents, removed the old disintegrating tarps, moved the tent frame 3 feet out and 2 feet to the side to get it further from the neighbors garage and closer to our playhouse. That should make it easier to clean the leaves from behind it. Ernie helped and we got it moved. reskined, and refilled just as it got dark. I’m glad these past two days allowed these past two projects for get done. Most everything else that needs to be done before we depart can be done while it rains. A nice ham and cheese sandwich for a late lunch about 1430. Lou made hobo chicken dinners tonight.
Wilton Dawn's Shed Reinstall Wall  0116161135_HDR Wilton Dawn's Shed Reinstall Wall  0116161206_HDR
Saturday: (01/16)  I reinstalled the front wall to Dawn’s shed. Mostly that involved shortening it about 3 inches, the front edge thickness of the new concrete floor.
Wilton Dawn's Shed Reinstall Wall  0116161226_HDR Wilton Dawn's Shed Reinstall Wall  0116161517_HDR
Just a few sprinkles today. It’s just 2×2 framing but good enough for a shed. Most of the effort was refitting to door to fit tightly.
Lou made a nice bacon eggs and potatoes breakfast. Chili sizes for lunch. Baked chicken with peas and potatoes, kale with bacon for dinner.
Sunday: (01/17) We watches the Sunday morning shows. Eventually I got outside and made and installed door trim on Dawn’s shed. A nice weather seal now. Next on agenda is lights and a power outlet. Lou and I  made a shopping run to get the materials. We stopped for lunch on the way home. With that done it was time  for a long nap. I awoke to good rain in the late afternoon. In the evening we watched the Democratic Debate. Granola for breakfast. Lunch at Super Taqueria in Sunnyvale. A nice chicken pot pie for dinner. Dawn and Courtney were out to the movies, sort of. They went to see the new Indiana Jones movie at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts. The musical portion of the movie was removed and a live orchestra provided the music. Interesting concept.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Busy, Busy, Getting Ready To Leave

Tuesday: (01/12) We all headed down to San Jose early to meet the refrigerator  delivery folks and do a few other details.
San Jose Refrigerator Replacement 0112160835a_HDR San Jose Refrigerator Replacement 0112160835b_HDR
We arrived at 0730 for the 0730-1130 delivery window. The called shortly after 0730 and were en route with the delivery completed by 0830. Only one problem, it was a tad too tall. i’ll have to return tomorrow to trim the cabinet lip. We had breakfast at La Victoria restaurant across the San Jose State campus from the house. We then headed home.
Wilton Dawn's Shed New Floor 0112161240b_HDR Wilton Dawn's Shed New Floor 0112161510a_HDR
The weather was nice so I got to work on the shed. I setup some forming to  allow screeding the concrete against the wall. I also installed some rebar and was ready to pour. It was after noon so I won’t complete the final finishing until way late tonight. I had some lunch before starting the mix. The pour was complete by 1400. I then spent time cleaning up and doing finishing. We didn’t have any showered today but the are expected this evening so I’ll need to cover the concrete later. I enjoyed watching TV and checking the concrete all evening doing the final finishing about 0200 just before some rain.  It was finished and covered before the rain. Nicely cooperative rain. My lunch was leftover carnitas with rice and beans from Lou and Dawn’s breakfast. Dinner was a green salad to which I added some roast beef.
Wilton Dawn's Shed New Floor 0113160958a_HDR
Wednesday: (01/13) I started the day, after I awoke about 0900, by going outside and stripping forms and cleaning up the shed floor concrete. I also collected some tools to use in San Jose. I drove down to San Jose stopping at Payless Rockery to pick up some baserock, then deliverd some papers to Cecelia’s house and then arrived at Dawn;s house.
San Jose Refrigerator Replacement Wilton Dawn's Shed New Floor 0113161326_HDR San Jose Refrigerator Replacement Wilton Dawn's Shed New Floor 0113161326a_HDR
I read the refrigerator manual to see if there was some adjustment that might allow the refrigerator to fit under the cabinet above it. The refrigerator is the same maker and basically the same model as before and the specified height should have allowed for 1/4 inch clearance. But , It didn’t fit. The top had a dome bulge that went more than 1/4 inch higher than the outside edges, likely where the height dimension was calculated. The adjustments do provide some leveling capability but not enough to fit. So, I jury rigged some plastic sheeting to help contain the sawdust and sawed off the 1/4″. It took a lot longer to setup and cleanup than it did to make the cut. It now fits nicely. I then started to head hom but remembered i needed to stop by a shop in San Jose to get replacement tarps for a 10×20 tent we have for storage. It’s tarps have disintegrated. I then made a final stop at Home Depot for a few more bags of concrete to complete the walkway replacement in front of the shed. I then, finally got some lunch about 1500. When i got home I unloaded everything. Enough for today. Lou made a nice bacon and eggs with home fried potatoes for breakfast. Lunch was from the House of Eggroll in Santa Clara, eggrolls and fried shrimp. I enjoyed a nice toasted PBJ sandwich for my dinner while Lou and Dawn enjoyed their lamb chops.
Wilton Dawn's Shed Walkway Pour  0114160934_HDR Wilton Dawn's Shed Walkway Pour  0114160934b_HDR
Thursday: (01/14) The weather has been rainy and we expect a lot more over the next week or more. Today and tomorrow are both only expected to be half dry. I need to pour some concrete and these are the only days remaining to possibly do it so today I mixing concrete and dodging rain a not so good combination. I had granola for breakfast and got to work preparing the walkway in front of Dawn’s shed to be poured by adding baserock, tamping and drilling holes installing rebar pins to attach the walkway to the existing walkway. I finished the prep by 0950 and headed inside. I had a webinar on building mobile apps from 10-12. I enjoyed a ham sandwich for lunch during the webinar.
Wilton Dawn's Shed Walkway Pour  0114160948_HDR
I then headed out and poured the concrete, about 20 square feet of walkway. I had just completed the post pour cleanup adn the initial finishing when a really hard rain squall started. I hurried to cover the pock-marked concrete with plywood which I had planned to do anyway but not mandated by a squall. When the rain had passed, I removed the pock-marks and recovered it. I did the final about 1900. Then the waiting began with wait/check/finish and repeat. Lou prepared Shepherd’s pie for dinner.  Dawn was baking. Lou and Dawn were out to Stanford University for a presentation this evening.
Wilton Dawn's Shed Walkway Pour  0115160850_HDR Tent Tarp Replacement 0115161448_HDR
Friday: (01/15) Leftovers for breakfast. I enjoyed leftover carnitas, beans and rice. Today was nice and clear much of the day with no rain. I started by detailing the new walkway I poured yesterday. That involves cleaning the edge residue on the adjacent walkway. I also reset a few loose bricks next to th pour and grouted between the bricks and the new concrete. Done. Now I just need to wait for the concrete to harden more before reinstalling the shed’s front wall, With that done, I started another risky project, at lease in rainy weather. We have a 10×20 foot tent that protects a bunch of junk. Don’t want our junk getting wet. emptied the contents, removed the old disintegrating tarps, moved the tent frame 3 feet out and 2 feet to the side to get it further from the neighbors garage and closer to our playhouse. That should make it easier to clean the leaves from behind it. Ernie helped and we got it moved. reskined, and refilled just as it got dark. I’m glad these past two days allowed these past two projects for get done. Most everything else that needs to be done before we depart can be done while it rains. A nice ham and cheese sandwich for a late lunch about 1430. Lou made hobo chicken dinners tonight.
Wilton Dawn's Shed Reinstall Wall  0116161135_HDR Wilton Dawn's Shed Reinstall Wall  0116161206_HDR
Saturday: (01/16)  I reinstalled the front wall to Dawn’s shed. Mostly that involved shortening it about 3 inches, the front edge thickness of the new concrete floor.
Wilton Dawn's Shed Reinstall Wall  0116161226_HDR Wilton Dawn's Shed Reinstall Wall  0116161517_HDR
Just a few sprinkles today. It’s just 2×2 framing but good enough for a shed. Most of the effort was refitting to door to fit tightly.
Lou made a nice bacon eggs and potatoes breakfast. Chili sizes for lunch. Baked chicken with peas and potatoes, kale with bacon for dinner.
Sunday: (01/17) We watches the Sunday morning shows. Eventually I got outside and made and installed door trim on Dawn’s shed. A nice weather seal now. Next on agenda is lights and a power outlet. Lou and I  made a shopping run to get the materials. We stopped for lunch on the way home. With that done it was time  for a long nap. I awoke to good rain in the late afternoon. In the evening we watched the Democratic Debate. Granola for breakfast. Lunch at Super Taqueria in Sunnyvale. A nice chicken pot pie for dinner. Dawn and Courtney were out to the movies, sort of. They went to see the new Indiana Jones movie at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts. The musical portion of the movie was removed and a live orchestra provided the music. Interesting concept.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Uvas Waterfall Hike

Uvas Waterfall Hike 0111161012_HDR Uvas Waterfall Hike 0111161023b_HDR
Monday: (01/11) Breakfast at L&L Hawaiian, my usual sausage egg and cheese English muffin and a maple bar. Not too much and enough to climb a mountain. This hike was way down in the South county. I’ve wanted to do this hike for a while but have never hiked here before. Above right would be a most welcome site on the PCT where water is a major concern.
Uvas Waterfall Hike 0111161024_HDR Uvas Waterfall Hike 0111161026_HDR
With our recent rain most of the waterfalls were working well for the hike. We had 19 hikers. It was only 6 miles but we saw some nice falls. None of the falls are very big.
Uvas Waterfall Hike 0111161027_HDR Uvas Waterfall Hike 0111161043a_HDR
This hike was led by  Neal, the first one of his hikes I’ve done.
Uvas Waterfall Hike 0111161008_HDR Uvas Waterfall Hike 0111161028_HDR Uvas Waterfall Hike 0111161031_HDR Uvas Waterfall Hike 0111161046b_HDR
Just seeing water flow in California is rare.
They also have a nice campground there which I checked out. Unfortunately  they have a 25 foot limit so we can’t use it. On the way home I stopped at a Vietnamese Buffet. I’ve never been to one before. It was interesting but not my type of food. When I got home I needed a nap, and took one. About 1800 I got to work. I emptied some concrete bags that were left in the Jeep then made two trips to Home Depot for a lot more. I stacked  the first load and the few that had been left in the Jeep in Lou’s shed, thee second load remains in the Jeep.  Everything is safely out of the rain and ready for tomorrow?  Though I may not get to pour concrete tomorrow because San Jose calls. The new refrigerator arrives tomorrow morning sometime before 1130. If I can pour it early Lou may cover the delivery and I can go down later. Lou made a green salad with pecans and pomegranates for dinner.