Back To The Wall

Monday: (04/24) Threat of rain but none appeared today. I started with a trip to Harbor Freight. I picked up a burrito at a taqueria next door. I got some cement finishing tools. I can’t find mine and the set was only $13. Of course, I found a few other things that I “needed” as well before I left. On the way home I stopped at Home Depot for some concrete mix bags. I also got a piece of rebar and some EMT conduit for a trellis. I returned three more times to Home Depot for more concrete increasing my stock to 36 bags to be used to pour the fence base. It’s 6-7” thick, 2 feet tall and 21 feet long. I should end up with too much concrete but never like to be short. In the afternoon I finally got back to the lat form and finished digging the trench and installing the form. Tomorrow I intend to remove the first one I installed because I’m not satisfied with its installation it has a taper getting thinner on one end. Cottage cheese and fruit for lunch. Lou’s clam chowder for dinner.

Tuesday: (04/25) Lou and I headed off shopping early. Breakfast at Walmart’s McDonald’s. Other stops were Trader Joe’s, Sprouts and Grocery Outlet. Once home I got busy on the fence. I reinstalled the first form I had been lazy with and was crooked. I also formed the little piece connecting the new base to the old base up front. I mixed and poured about 23 bags of concrete doing one fence section. My estimate was off and I didn’t have enough bags to do even one more section so I changed plans. I spent the rest of the afternoon making 4 more runs to Home Depot for 36 more bags of concrete. Should have enough for the other two sections if they consume similar amounts. Lou made a sausage sandwich for lunch and gnocchi for dinner.

Wednesday: (04/26) My birthday. I had granola and a banana for breakfast. I was outside about 0730 to get ready to pour more fence base. I mixed about 35 bags of concrete and placed it into the forms. I used my little red wagon to haul it to reduce carrying the buckets. I was finished about 1005 and took a shower and cleaned up and awaited the drying of the concrete to allow finishing.By 1700 I had done the final finishing. I seem to have a real problem estimating concrete consumption. I thought I had what I needed yesterday and was short more than ⅓ of what I needed. I bought way too much more and ended up with 14 extra bags of concrete. Then I had to put those away in a nice dry place in the tent. Leftover gnocchi for lunch. We all went out to the Los Altos Taqueria for dinner. Ernie joined us. I had a nice chili relleno combo. Nice homestyle Mexican cooking. My cake was a cheesecake thanks to Ernie.

Thursday: (04/27) Lou and Dawn had appointments this morning After those I met them for breakfast at A Good Morning. Once back home I got to work and stripped the forms to the fence base. Backfilled and cleaned up a little.Lou made clam chowder for dinner.

Friday: (04/28) I got out early and stopped by Orchard hardware to get the posts, rails, and hardware for my fence project. I managed to forget to get the fence board screws so Had to make a second trip later in the day. I installed the posts and rails, trimmed the fence boards and installed most of them. I have to trim some to fit and reinstall the neighbor's gate tomorrow. It’s going to be nice to have it finished but I may not get it done before heading out camping next week.I stopped at Super taqueria for a burrito for breakfast/lunch. Lou made beef stroganoff for dinner.

Saturday: (04/29) I picked up a breakfast croissant and maple bar for breakfast. Ernie and I did a little work on the fence installing the spacer boards on the end post to connect the short fence to the tall fence and also install the neighbor's gate. About noon I cleaned up and cooked some corned beef hash for the potluck tonight. I drove down to Morgan Hill in the afternoon for a potluck get together with the San Jose Mid-Week hikers at Chris Harrington's place.

Sunday: (04/30) I spent the day working on the fence. Installed the neighbor's gate and trimmed it to fit. Realigned some fence boards to make them vertical and also trimmed some to fit. Installed a permanent fence from our driveway gate to the new fence. Job now complete except for some concrete work when I get back next week. Leftover pancakes with strawberries and a sausage for breakfast. Leftover beef stroganoff for lunch. Dinner at Marie Callender's with Ernie.

Contemporary Jewish Museum

Sunday: (04/23) Dawn and I caught the train up to San Francisco for a tour at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. The two exhibits were the Cary Leibowitz art exhibit and the Roz Chast Cartoon Memoirs. Followed by a Disabled Comedy Show and panel discussion. We had a snack at Whole Foods Market on our walk back to the train to head home. Granola for breakfast. Pastrami sandwich, potato salad, matzo ball soup for lunch. Iranian chicken salad for dinner.

Goodbye Concert for Redwood Bluegrass Association.

Saturday: (04/22) I worked on the fence base forms all day. Dug out the remaining two sections and formed the second one. Just one more section to form. In the evening we all went to the last concert to be presented by Redwood Blugrass Association. They have decided to disband but had this one last concert. The 27 Strings started the show composed of Tom Bull (guitar), Greg Frees (mandolin, guitar), Howard Gage (acoustic bass), Rachel Gage (fiddle), and Hildy Licht (banjo). The Flatliners were the main act consisting of Paul Knight (acoustic bass), Blaine Sprouse (fiddle), Sharon Gilchrist (mandolin), Avram Siegel (banjo), and Keith Little (guitar) with special guests AJ Lee (guitar) and Sullivan Tuttle (guitar). Very good show lasting almost 3.5 hours. Leftover pancakes with Peanut butter and jam for breakfast. Lou’s Iranian chicken salad for lunch. Beef stew with cottage cheese and peaches for dinner.

Point Lobos State Park

Friday: (04/21) I made breakfast sandwiches for breakfast. I met Alex and Stephanie to carpool to Carmel for a hike at Point Lobos SP. We met our fellow hikers there for the 6.8-mile hike. Lots of flowers and poison oak. Lots of sea lions on the beaches and rocks, some otters playing, and a whale was seen. I don’t think I’ve visited this park before. Should have. Leftovers for dinner.

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Spring Break

Saturday: (04/15) I worked in the yard weeding and cleaning up. Usually, we have chocolate fondue on Easter morning. This year we can’t so Cecelia and Courtney made beef stew for dinner tonight. As often is the case, we celebrate when convenient rather than by calendar. We also enjoyed a campfire after dinner. Granola and banana for breakfast. Beef stew for dinner.

Sunday: (04/16) Official Easter holiday be for us, the day after. I made pancakes and sausage for breakfast. After breakfast, we visited Home Depot in East Palo Alto. Lou and Dawn needed some garden soil and I needed more concrete mix. We took both vehicles because the Jeep is clean and full of stuff and the little care is my haul vehicle now. But, it’s at max load with me and 8 bags of concrete and 2 bags of soil. I unloaded the everything as it was starting to rain. It rained the rest of the day. A nice ham and cheese sandwich with grapes for lunch. Lou made meatloaf, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob for dinner. I did a final review of our tax return and eFiled the returns. Then I relaxed the rest of the day.

Monday: (04/17) Overcast and occasional sprinkles all day. I got out about 0830 and started installing the sonitube forms for the fence post bases. First order of business was to set a line string for alignment reference. I then installed the forms and shaved the holes to allow the tubes to fit. I was just finishing as it started to rain about 1700. Lucky work day. Hopefully tomorrow afternoon I can pour some concrete. Leftover enchiladas for breakfast. Hot dog and cheese sandwich for lunch. Lou’s stew/soup for dinner.

Tuesday: (04/18) I took Dawn to an appointment in the morning. On the way home, we stopped at Home Depot for more concrete and the Palo Alto and the Los Altos libraries for deliveries. About 1430 I started working on the fence. By 1500 I was ready to pour except I couldn’t find my finishing tools. I dashed off to Orchard Hardware and picked up a trowel. When I got home I mixed and poured 23 bags of concrete for the three bases. Pancakes with peanut butter and peach jam for breakfast. Eggrolls and shrimp for lunch from House of Eggroll. Enchiladas and avocado for dinner.

Wednesday: (04/19) Enchiladas and avocado for breakfast. I went outside and stripped the supports from the forms and stripped the top of the sonitubes to allow finishing the top edges of the bases. I then headed off to San Jose to the City Maintenance Yard for a Traffic Signal Association meeting. The topic was safety harnesses and an aerial truck show. Nice to see some of the folks. I stopped at a Chinese food place and picked up lunch then headed home. After my lunch, I napped before heading outside to strip the sonitubes from the bases and clean up the area. Lou’s beef stew/soup for dinner.

Thursday: (04/20) Enchiladas for breakfast. I made a shopping run to Walmart and Grocery Outlet in the morning. I also stopped by the RV garage to check on the RV repairs. They seem to be on the right track to finding the loss of power problem. They say they should have it done in time for our mid-May outing to Dave’s ranch. .Some hot and sour soup for lunch. I spent the afternoon installing one of the fence wall forms between two of the post bases after digging a trench for it. In the evening I gave myself a haircut. Chili size for dinner.