Saturday, February 27, 2016

That Darned Refrigerator

Saturday: (02/27) Lou and I were off doing the grocery shopping early this morning. I tinkered in the shop, did some cleanup of dryer lint around the dryer vent and tinkered in the office and on the computer. Lou and Dawn were off to Home Depot. She is working on a replacement refrigerator for the one we bought last month that still doesn’t work. Toasted PB&J sandwiches for breakfast. Pepper steak sandwiches for lunch. A pork, rice, beans, and tomato dish for dinner.
Sunday: (02/28) I worked a little in the yard moving plants from the greenhouse and burning some junk wood. We also transitioned back to the outside shower to start watering the lawn. Our weather has been nice for a couple of weeks and any chance of a freeze appers to be gone. Our apricot tree agrees and is in full blossom. Sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast. Leftovers for lunch. My pork, rice and black beans was even better as a leftover. Beef pot pies for dinner.
Monday: (02/29) Lead Day. Lou and I were off to Home Depot where we bought the Whirlpool refrigerator that still doesn’t work. We even bought  5 year extended warranty for it. The 5 year warranty is really only a 4 year covering the fridge after the one year manufacturers warranty. Even though we’ve had the technicians out for three service call visits and it still doesn’t work and is supposed to be replaced after three calls, Whirlpool won’t replace it because the three calls are considered one call by them because they haven’t fixed it yet? Never again Whirlpool. So now we’ll become a plague on Home Depot and Whirlpool. We stopped at Subway for a late breakfast sandwich. Lou had an appointment.
Wilton Backyard 0228161114a_HDR Wilton Backyard 0228161127_HDR
When we got home the baseplates for the Jeep to setup the towbar had arrived. No time to get to that for  a couple of days. I had another campfire to get rid of come more junk wood and a rotted roll of wooden wire fencing.We had Kentucky Fried chicken for dinner. Time to pack to leave tomorrow.
Wilton Backyard 0228161114_HDR Wilton Backyard 0229160826b_HDR
The apricot tree in bloom and the rhubarb sprouting.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Grant Ranch Hike

Grant Ranch Hike 0226160957_HDR Grant Ranch Hike 0226161038_HDR
Friday: (02/26) I met my fellow hikers at Grant Ranch on Mt Hamilton for a hike. Susanne led a nice hike through the park. it involved some good climbs. We made our way to the top of three peaks.
Grant Ranch Hike 0226161052_HDR Grant Ranch Hike 0226161352_HDR
On the last one there was a spur trail that went about .8 miles down before having to return back up. One fellow hiker and I continued on a couple of miles on cow paths and ridges making our way back to our start.
Grant Ranch Hike 0226161402_HDR Grant Ranch Hike 0226161403_HDR
Our path was about 3 miles shorter than our fellow hikers so we got to the cars an hour before them. We then waited even longer for two slow hikers to get back. Always hate to loose a hiker. Nice hike above the smog of the valley that existed today. There was a fire down in the city that crated a black column that rose perfectly strain up a thousand feet or so making it’s way above the smog then spread out in the wind that existed above the smog. Susanne provide cookies and cokes for an after hike shack. I hope that doesn’t become expected when I lead hikes but it was really nice of her. My usual hiking breakfast from L&L. Granola Bars for lunch. Lou’s pepper steak sandwiches for dinner.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Trying to get brakes on the Jeep

Saturday: (02/20) Computer time and a shopping trip today. Little accomplished. PBJ sandwiches for breakfast. Sweet Tomatoes lunch. Cheese and sausage for dinner.
Sunday: (02/21) The usual Sunday morning TV shows. Some browsing on the computer at brake system info. I examined the Jeep to see how to install a brake systm an whre the old one might fit. There is very little room in this new Jeep. In the afternoon I installed and rekeyed a deadbolt on Dawn’s shed. Leftover omelet or breakfast. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Pizza for dinner.
Monday: (02/22) Dawn and i were off early to San Jose. I dropped Dawn off at the library and went by the San jose house to get the data logger from the refrigerator. I dropped it off at the repair shop. Then I visited the San Jose Harbor Freight an returned the replacement wheel bought that doesn’t fit the hub on my dumping cart. They didn’t have the proper wheel so i found it online at Amazon and ordered it. Dawn and I also visited Fry’s to look at monitor table mounts. They didn’t have anything appropriate for a 32″ monitor. Leftover pizza for lunch. After lunch i tinkered with the jeep trying to figure out if I can do the brake and tow bracket installation and how best to do it. I think I can do it and have a couple of plans on where to mount things. Now to order parts. Lou made clam sauce spaghetti with asparagus for dinner. I did more research  on the installations and printed instructions in the evening.
Tuesday: (02/23) Another alarm clock start to the day. I had to run the jeep over to the dealer to get a key FOB for Dawn programmed. Quite weird that it takes so long and costs so much. Up until the 2014 models you could program then yourself. No longer.   I had breakfast a a nearby restaurant Lyon’s. They had a nice build your own breakfast so I had pancakes and bacon for $5. Much better than McDonald’s. I was busy doing research on the Jeep towing mods. Got to make a decision soon. Pizza for lunch. Dawn’s corn chowder for dinner. We stopped by Fry’s to get a monitor stand for Dawn’ new workstation. Unfortunately I need an adapter for the stand to attach to the monitor. It will arrive Thursday. Always something.
Wednesday: (02/24) Well, the thinking and deciding are over. I reviewed a response I got from the manufacturer of the towbar systems and decided I will be doing the installations myself so I ordered the materials I need that allow me to reinstall the towbar and brake system onto the new Jeep. They actually shipped in the afternoon and are on their way. We were all out much of the rest of the morning and early afternoon shopping. Nothing in particular. We had lunch at Harry’s Haufbrau in Redwood City. I spent some time tweaking keys to make them work in all our house, gate and shed locks. the new ones I got yesterday didn’t work in all locks. Granola for breakfast. Lou and I shared a pastrami dinner and Dawn had a Reuben sandwich at Harry’s Haufbrau. Lou made spaghetti with clam sauce and asparagus again tonight for dinner.
Cart With New Wheel 0225161655_HDR
Thursday: (02/25) I had a webinar about optimizing applications so they scale up efficiently. I received a replacement wheel for our dumping garden cart yesterday. I installed it today. Nice to have wheels for the yard again. I also received the adapter plate for Dawn’s monitor today and installed it at her new workstation.
New Jeep Before Tow Setup 0225161657a_HDR New Jeep Before Tow Setup 0225161704c_HDR
And finally, I received the license plates for the new jeep and installed the rear one. The front will have to wait a week or so since I’ll be disassembling much of the front to do the towing setup. Above are some before pictures. before I disassemble the vehicle for the towbar installation.
And then the day was gone. Lou made a nice Home fried potatoes, sausage and eggs breakfast. We had leftovers for lunch. For dinner we went to a new place at our nearby California Avenue restaurant row called Fire Oak and Barley. I had a chicken and bacon sandwich and lou and Dawn had salads. Cecelia (salmon), Courtney (salmon) and Ernie (burger) joined  us.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Arastradero Preserve

Friday: (02/19) The usual hiking breakfast from L&L. I decided to take a hike but the one scheduled by my hiking group for today was filled.  So I scheduled this hike yesterday morning, a late announcement.
Arastradero Preserve Hike 0219161026a_HDR Arastradero Preserve Hike 0219161116_HDR
I still had four fellow hikers for today’s hike at the Arastradero Preserve. Of course I didn’t spend enough preparation time and found that many of the trails on our route were closed due to too much mud.
Arastradero Preserve Hike_447012273 Arastradero Preserve Hike_447012277
We enjoyed a nice 7.5 mile hike where we could. The weather was very cooperative. Just a copy of drops of rain.
Arastradero Preserve Hike 0219161156_HDR Arastradero Preserve Hike_447013888
The flowers are starting.
We stopped at the Alpine Inn for lunch afterward. Lou and Dawn joined us. I returned home and they explored some shops in Woodside nearby. I spent some time in the evening binge watching Justified on Netflix. Lou and Dawn were off to a story telling event.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

It Seems Like Spring

Saturday: (02/13) Lou was off to an early visit to Walmart. Dawn was off to a storytelling conference. Lou and I headed up to Redwood City to the Talk Of Broadway Restaurant for breakfast. We did a little shopping on the way home. Hot dogs for lunch. later we went over to REI and Bed bath And Beyond to look for stainless steel cups for the new Jeep. Our usual mason jar cups won’t fit in the cup holders. We found them at BBAB. For dinner we had chicken sandwiches with avocado and cheese and topped that with asparagus to round out the meal.
Sunday: (02/14) I made a breakfast sandwich for myself, Lou and Dawn had homemade yogurt and blueberries for their’s. I started the slow cooker with pork, potatoes, and sauerkraut. Dawn was making energy bars, and Lou made pineapple upside down cake. Busy kitchen this morning. I spent the day relaxing in the yard, burning my junk wood as a campfire. Very relaxing and lightens the garbage load. Lou and Dawn had an event and a birthday party to attend.  The slow cooked dinner was excellent.
Monday: (02/15) Up early to get to San Jose for a service window of 8-12 for the refrigerator. When I got near I stopped at OSH hardware to get some spare keys for the house. Also stopped to get my breakfast at La Victoria. I do like their bacon breakfast burrito with their famous orange sauce. I was at the house by 0900. The service tech phoned about 0930 and arrived by 0945. He checked everything, found nothing wrong other than at max/max settings it was only 40 degrees in the fridge. he was supposed to return wit h a data logger later. I hung around the area so I could meet the tech to install the logger. I visited Harbor Freight to get a replacement wheel for my wagon. I otherwise controlled myself there. I stopped by an automotive locksmith shop but wasn’t impressed. It looks like I’ll just have to suffer the ridiculous 10x price at the dealer to get the additional FOB for the new Jeep.  The cost to program them seems to be the same. At least it will work. I visited Leale’s about 1100. Now another thing is bad, the idler pulley squeals. They think they can get one nearby and it may be ready this afternoon. I stopped by KFC for a chicken strip and fries snack cup for lunch. I got a call about 1400 that the motorhome was ready. I decided to hurry down before it got more sympathy pains from the other sick RV’s. It’s been there for about a month now. When I test drove it it seemed to be peppier and running good with it’s new transmission. The wallet is much thinner now though. Left the Jeep there and drove the motorhome back to the house. I vacuumed it and wiped the dust off everything. Nice and homey again. While doing that I got a call from the insurance company. They agreed to pay for the towing addons, not full value but a lot more than before. All in all we did OK except for the bother of replacement and the fact we moved up to new rather than used. I called the appliance repair tech about 1600 and he said they wouldn’t get out today to install the logger. They will be there tomorrow from 1000-1400. I walked back to Leale’s and drove the Jeep back to the San Jose house. I then drove the motorhome home. Dinner was leftover pork, potatoes, and sauerkraut.
Witon House Demolition  0216160907a_HDR Witon House Demolition  0216160907a_HDR-001
Tuesday: (02/16) Granola for breakfast. More about the house demolition down the street. On the right the monster is talking another nibble.
I caught a ride with Cecelia down to San Jose early this morning. I had to meet the refrigerator technician. The window was 10-2. I waited over at San Jose State university’s Student Center where I had some tea and used the WiFi. It’s only three blocks from the house. I had a sandwich for lunch from Subway then returned to the house to wait in the car. About 1315 the technician called and arrived about 1340. The logger was placed in the fridge  and then I thought to myself. Why didn’t I just pick it up this morning and place it in the fridge myself and save a bunch of waiting around. Though my tea was nice.
Jeep At San Jose House 0216161322_HDR
The new Jeep looks good in fromt of the San Jose house with it’s new paint.
On the way home I stopped at the Jeep dealer and bought an extra FOB for Dan and made an appointment to have it programmed next Monday. When I got home I started removing the tow braking system from the old Jeep. It’s not available anymore and I may install it in the new jeep myself or convince Leale’s to do it. The old jeep gets towed off tomorrow never to be seen again. We had BBQ ribs with fresh asparagus and fried sauerkraut potatoes.
TSA Meeting 0217161152_HDR
Wednesday: (02/17) Granola for breakfast. I went don to San Jose for a traffic Signal Association meeting at the Prospect Silicon Valley labs.
TSA Meeting 0217161159a_HDR TSA Meeting 0217161159b_HDR
This is a transportation laboratory for the next generation of vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to x systems. In the near future (2019) all our cars are going to be required to be equipped with these kinds of communications systems to help automate traffic. This is the opposite of autonomous cars like thee Google cars. In these systems TS2-1 traffic controller cabinets work with the vehicles..
A nice lunch from Pannera Bakery was provided.  We had cold cuts and cheese for dinner.
Thursday: (02/18) Lou made an omelet from leftover pork chops. I tinkered around home with some projects. First, I repaired Ernie’s macerater. It wasn’t working. Since it was dead, a fuse was suspected. Not a fuse. Darn. I disassembled it and found water and rust inside the motor. No broken wires anywhere so just what was it? I looked closer and found one of the brushes was cracked and frozen in place. In addition one of the motor bearings seemed to be frozen. After loosening things up the motor ran fine. One job done. Lou wanted me to vacuum the under bed storage compartment in the RV. That led to cleaning the vacuum and it’ filters. Lou and Dawn picked up a new TV for our backroom. I set it up and updated the apps in it. And my final project probably would have been better done on a day without rain. I cleaned all the accumulation of leaves on our playhouse, a two room shack in the backyard. That finished my work for the day and sent me to the shower. Lou and Dawn prepared pasta with mizithra cheese and a broccoli, celery and apple salad.

Friday, February 12, 2016

BART, Purisma Creek OSP to Alice’s

Friday: (02/12) Today’s hike started at 1000 so I had an easy morning. Of course, breakfast was from L&L Hawaiian, my usual sausage egg and cheese English muffin and a maple bar.  With the tank filled, i joined my fellow hikers at Alice’s Restaurant on Skyline Road in Woodside.  We grouped into carpools nd drove further North to Purisima Creek Redwood Preserve. We hiked the Bay Area Ridge Trail back South along the mountain ridge to Alice’s where we had lunch. This was about a 10 mile hike without too much up and down on a nice clear day. It seems like spring right now, a little early.
Purisima Creek To Alice's 2 Purisima Creek To Alice's 1
Nice ridge views and a nice mixed forest to hike through.
Purisima Creek To Alice's 446785553 Purisima Creek To Alice's 446785609
On left taking a break at a trail junction. I’m in orange. On the right above is our hiking group.
Dawn made artichoke blintzes for dinner. Lou and Dawn were off to San Jose for appointments and shopping.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

More Fridge Problems

House Demolition 0209161606_HDR New Jeep 0209161650a_HDR
Tuesday: (02/09) I unloaded all the stuff from Bakersfield out of the Jeep and loaded in my tools. A house down the street is being demolished (above left). It’s being munched on by the jaws of a big backhoe. I also took a picture of the two jeeps and the missing motorhome (above right). My how things can change.
After some record searches and preparing a letter to the insurance company I was off to San Jose. Our tenant complained that the refrigerator was too warm, again. Same problem as the old fridge? I was there about 1000 and checked the fridge. it was at 45 degrees. I adjusted to a cooler setting and went to breakfast at la Victoria. The temperature had dropped some when I checked it after breakfast. I then went to Leale’s RV to check on the progress. They expect the parts today. The windshield has been repaired and we discussed equipping the new Jeep. I then checked the fridge again and it was making some progress. I also adjusted the flow between the freezer and the fridge. I’ll check it tomorrow. I returned home and watched a neighbors house being torn down by a big backhoe. Another monster house on the way. The tenant called again about the fridge. I decided to get my power monitor and install it on the fridge to be sure it is getting good power? A second trip to San Jose is in order. Dawn mad macaroni and mozzarella cheese for dinner. In the evening we went to see the Gunn High School musical “Totally Gone With The Wind” with Courtney and Cecelia.  Great as usual.
Wednesday: (02/10) Granola for breakfast. I drove down to San Jose to check the refrigerator but had to return to get the key. I must like driving the new jeep. The freezer was 10 degrees the refrigerator 45 degrees. Not good. I called to schedule service. It will be next Monday (2/15). I returned home after a nice quesodilla lunch from Super Taqueria. A house down the street continued to be eaten by a big backhoe. A City Gas crew was busy digging up the rod to disconnect the service to the house being demolished. Seems like just in time service. We completed our loan papers signing them online. I then headed off about 1610 to pickup the check and deliver it to the dealer, all to save both another fee and to assure all is well so we can get out of here someday. Leftovers for dinner. I had pepper steak sliders for dinner. Our weather has been dry and warm these past few days and many of the trees are in full bloom already.
Thursday: (02/11) Leftover corned beef hash and biscuits  for breakfast. Lou and I did our weekly grocery shopping. I had a webinar to attend from 10-12. Dawn and i rode th bus down to Campbell. She wanted to visit a book store. The bus routes there were new to here. The 26 route goes past lots of interesting places to visit for shopping. Lou had an appointment then picked us up to return home. Chili sizes for dinner.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Writing A Wrong

Monday: (02/08) Leftover Chinese food for breakfast. We packed up our bags, collect a few things we collected and  went to the laundromat to wash our sheets and towels. We waited to meet Helen’s son Jay before we left town. He had been over at Pismo Beach this weekend. While we waited we drove up to Hillcrest memorial Park where my mom is buried.  Sad to say we don’t visit often because we don’t do funerals and the like but i did visit the place a couple of years ago and didn’t see a plaque on her niche. We check at the office and they had the order for the plaque still in her file. It should finally be installed in a month or so, only 25 years late. Better late than never. We then headed out toward Hart park trying the Jeep out on some dirt roads before we got the call that Jay was in town. After we loaded up and said our goodbyes, we headed over to Dewar’s Ice Cream parlor for a late lunch of ice cream. Dawn and I shared a  banana split and Lou had a sundae. We then headed out to Interstate 5 and North toward home. We made  a dinner stop at Harris Ranch on the way. Traffic was made much worse than it needed to be because of a bunch of bad truck drivers poking along in both lanes pacing each other. We were home just after 2000.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Off To Bakersfield

Saturday: (02/06) We were up early and packed the new Jeep for a road trip to Bakersfield. Dawn and Ernie are already there. My Aunt Helen passed away and here services were Thursday. We couldn’t go down due to Lou’s appointment yesterday. We stopped for breakfast in Gilroy at the Longhouse Restaurant. Since this is the inaugural run ffor the new Jeep, we took Highway 198 from San Ardo leaving Highway 101. It’s a nice winding mountain road heading into the San Joaquin Valley to Coalinga. On Highway 5 we were nearly hit by an idiot driver weaving through traffic. We were in the right lane another car was about 12 feet ahead of me and the incompetent driver turned into our lane, possibly thinking  his 16 foot car could fit and didn’t need any clearance nor even the length of  his car. This was accented by the fact he was going 20 mph faster than we were at our 75 mph. I stood on the brakes and swerved and no impact occurred. Obviously this is his normal driving method. Never look back and always wonder what the noise is all about behind him. Exciting. Along the way we  decided on a name for the new Jeep, Tigger. Fortunately Tigger was able to hop out of the way. We got to Bakersfield about 1710. We went to dinner at the Rice Bowl Chinese restaurant with my cousin Judy and her husband Don. Then we chatted much of the evening.
Sunday: (02/07) Breakfast at Milt’s. I really like the deep pit BBQ there so Lou and i shared  some scrambled with eggs. Ernie had a nice CFS and Dawn had an omelet. Dawn was busy going through photos from Helen’s albums. Judy came over and we visited all afternoon. Lou met her former roommate Anita and she and Dawn went to lunch at the Roadhouse. In the evening dinner was at the Golden Corral. There wasn’t much of a crowd either at the restaurant nor on the road due to the super bowl game going on at the time. Nice.

Friday, February 5, 2016

The Day After

Friday: (02/05) Leftovers for breakfast. Lou and I wasted most of the morning shopping. She had an appointment at noon which I dropped her off for. While she was busy I did other business related to the new car like getting insurance for it. I also contacted Leale’s RV about the motorhome. It still is not ready but the new estimate is next Tuesday. The word now is that the manufacturer of one of the parts needed had a delay in getting parts for the part. I also asked for an estimate to equip the new Jeep for towing. My lunch was at the Country Inn, a nice bacon avocado omelet with Swedish pancakes.
Lou's Hand After Surgery 0207161127a_HDR
I picked Lou up from her appointment about 1630. We had soup from our nearby Corner bakery Restaurant.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Our New Wheels And A Sore Point

Our New Wheels
Thursday: (02/04) Busy day today. I made an appointment with my kaiser doctor to have my elbow looked at. It’s been sore for the mast month and i finally decided to have it looked at since we’re home and since we don’t have non emergency medical away form Kaiser regions. It was a short visit. I have tennis elbow due to strain. Probably lifting all those bags of concrete were too much for my old muscles. It will get better in time. I got a brace for it that makes it feel much better. We then headed up to Redwood City to the Jeep dealer there to see if they could beat our deal in San Jose for a new Jeep. They couldn’t. After lunch we headed down to San Jose to Normandin Jeep and test drove our choice, a 2016 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. Of course it was a nice ride so we bought it. No more messing around, studying, questioning and dealing with salesmen. Our new Jeep is Mango/Tango colored (sort of orange) We finally drove away at 1615. Our first trip was to downtown San Jose to pick up Cecelia whose car had broken down. We returned to the dealer and Lou and Cecelia picked up our rental car and We all headed home. I went directly and they made some stops to shop along the way. There will be a lot to learn about this car. I have to get the modifications started for the towing and brake system so we can pull it behind the RV. I was actually considering doing the mods myself but now, with the excuse of my bad elbow, I’ll be letting others do it. Lou made a nice breakfast of chorizo and eggs. We had sandwiches for lunch. Dinner at the Black Bear in Milpitas.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

The Prey Is Near

Wednesday: (02/03) Ernie and Dawn were off to Bakersfield early this morning. Lou and I had breakfast at A Good Morning Restaurant. Nice to be able to share my breakfast with Lou. When Dawn is here she shares with her and I’m forced to eat my own whole breakfast. We headed down to San Jose to Our credit union, talked with their loan and car sales people and then headed out to see a couple of used jeeps. Neither was what we wanted but we did look at a new Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. We wanted to have the numbers to make a comparison to the used ones we are considering. The new won so tomorrow we will most likely buy a Mango/Tango(Orange) Jeep. We heard from the Insurance Adjuster on what they are paying for our old one. We won’t be able to say good bye to it until later next week due to other pressing maters. However, we will try to buy the new one tomorrow while it exists. Lou made super nachos for lunch. Lou had a meeting this evening up in Redwood City so I did some shopping near there. A sandwich for dinner.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Walk-About SF

San Francisco Hike 0202161205a_HDR
Tuesday: (02/02) Granola for breakfast then off to San Francisco on the train. I was out on a walk-about. Since it was hard to avoid, I looked around what they are calling Super Bowl City. They have closed down most of central San Francisco thinking that it will be of interest to all the Super Bowl fans. Judging by the “crowd” today, that may not happen. And if it does receive the half million people they expect, they’ll be stacked 10 high. It was too crowded for me today with maybe 500 people. That and there is nothing to see there anyway. There were as many police there as guests and half of them were carrying assault rifles. It all made me uncomfortable so I left. I had a combination lunch. Egg tarts from China Town, and pizza from North Beach.
San Francisco Hike 0202161546_HDR San Francisco Hike 0202161557_HDR San Francisco Hike 0202161701_HDR
I walked around ending up on top of Mount Sutro. You can see Sutro Tower in the left photo on the way into the neighborhood. At the end of one of the streets a trail (Center above) leads into the open space area and up to a closer look at the tower. (above right)
San Francisco Hike 0202161659_HDR San Francisco Hike 0202161705_HDR
Nice views from the top before I headed back down through the neighborhoods.The rain that started the day turned into a nice clear afternoon so some good views from up top.I had dinner at a little cafe and then caught the train home. A good stretch.