Sunday: (07/23) Up early and preparing to leave. Lou and Dawn had granola and left for home in the Jeep about 0810. I finished disconnecting the RV and left the park about 0850. I stopped at Pierson’s hardware for a look around then returned to Winco. Dawn had called and said the liked the freeze dried garlic and were snacking on it. They wanted more. I got their garlic and also picked up my breakfast a sausage and cheese English muffin and a couple of donuts. I left Eureka about 0950. I stopped just North of Willits at a rest stop for a nap. I also had the second English muffin sandwich for lunch. I stopped again in Ukiah at Freidman Brothers. I found another succulent like the one I got at the fair yesterday but four times as big and really healthy looking for the same $5 price. I then drove the rest of the way home. Traffic was really heavy and intermittently slow the rest of the way home after Santa Rosa. It took about one hour to get across the Golden Gate Bridge and through San Francisco. I was home just before 6pm. I got dinner at El Grulense and called it a day. Lou and Dawn were at the hospital visiting Courtney.
Monday: (07/24) An unusual start to the day. I wasn’t sure what to do. I don’t want to get too involved so I can get out on the trail soon. We were supposed to be enjoying a week RV camping in Eureka but had to return suddenly. So I spent the morning trimming the wisteria and weeding the patio. Those darned weeds grow so well in the cracks in the bricks. After lunch i got busy on the front. I removed the final form from the driveway and backfilled it. I also vacuumed the concrete debris out of the lawn. I also cleaned out the debris that had collected in the walkway digout. And finally I made a bunch of form pieces for the front walkway. Tomorrow I’ll install the forms and move the baserock. Leftover pancakes and sausage for breakfast. Chilli beans for lunch. Grilled cheese sandwiches with pickle salad for dinner.
Tuesday: (07/25) We went with Dawn Hackman to breakfast at a Good Morning Restaurant. While Lou Dawn and Dawn H. went shopping I looked over a coupe of construction projects in progress near the shopping center. I took a bus home. Eventually I got to work out from installing the forms for the walkway. Later in the afternoon Ernie and I placed the baserock for the walkway. Some day probably in the fall i’ll pour the concrete. I’d prefer not to get involved with that now because My next order will be for three-four pallets of concrete and the paving bricks. The bricks can stand up to weather. The concrete can’t take heavy dew and rain so I want to pour it soon after delivery. While there is still a rock pile in the center of the driveway ramp, the Jeep can now be parked in the driveway. Chili for lunch. A chicken bake from Costco for dinner.
Wednesday: (07/26) Soft boiled eggs for breakfast. Ernie and i worked on removing the baserock top coat I placed 20 years ago on the area between the driveways. It’s as hard as concrete. It was four inches thick with clay soil beneath. We stacked the rock on the driveway next to the hole. The rest of the day was spent digging out the clay to 10 inch depth. All but 2 feet of the trench done. We now have another dirt mountain. It’s in the front yard. I didn’t get a dumpster because I only plan on this dig right now and then pouring the front walkway and this section of driveway before I go out hiking. I’ll still have the trench under the RV and Meili’s sidewalk to create even more dirt. A tuna salad and cheese sandwich for lunch. Lou’s stew for dinner. Weather wasn’t bad. Clear skies and a little breeze.
Thursday: (07/27) I was out early to do the final digging out in the driveway. Then I had Lou’s eggs and cheese breakfast. I made a shopping run to Home Depot to order to pallets of concrete. I also found some trench drain sections i’ll need in the backyard and haven’t seen for quite a while at any of the Home Depots or elsewhere. I also found the bricks I’ll need in the backyard. I will have them delivered with the next load of concrete later this September. Hopefully they are still available. I then went up to San Carlos to Lyngso to get some more fabric for the trench. Once i got home Ernie and I placed the fabric and and the base rock and tamed it. I ended up with about 12 gallons of extra rock. Nice to have the driveway clear of rock for a moment. At Home Depot a regular delivery would have cost the usual $79. For $10 more they could provide a 4 hour window but in either case the earliest delivery would have been next Tuesday. But for $20 more they could deliver it today. I paid the $99 delivery fee and it arrived about 1440 just a few minutes after the driveway was clear. I then headed back to Home Depot to get the rebar I forgot to get and need for the driveway. After Lou’s bean soup dinner I installed the rebar in the driveway. But oops, i then noticed i needed some for the walkway. Back to Home Depot to get more rebar. This time i wasn’t conservative. I got plenty to do the walkway and most of Ernie’s shed later this fall. Enough for the day.
Friday: (07/28) Granola and banana for breakfast. Ernie and I installed the rebar in the walkway and trimmed the corners of the fabric so it lays neatly. While discussing where I’d put any excess concrete bags I remembered I had 10 bags in the storage tent already. We brought those out to use first so we can store fresher bags. We finished all that fairly quickly. We had decided before we started that today as a day of rest so no concrete pour today. We all went to lunch with Ernie, Cecilia and Dawn H at Bill’s Cafe. In the afternoon we all relaxed. I binge watched a few episodes of Versailles.
Saturday: (07/29) We were busy pouring the driveway concrete by 0800 and finished that by 1010. I spent some time finishing that and taking a break before we started the walkway. We poured six feet of the walkway before the mixer stalled again. It was fortunate to be six feet because the sections are scored at three feet so a little wait was no problem We let the mixer cool and moved it. The change of location may have been the main reason it worked OK for the rest of the pour. I tinkered with the finishing and cleaned up the yard. The hardest thing was moving the ¾ of a pallet of concrete bags to the back yard storage tent. The only thing that remained in the front was the dirt pile. After a shower, I walked down to get dinner. Nice to relax the rest of the evening. Lou and Dawn were out shopping in the morning and visiting in the evening. Granola and banana for breakfast. A late lunch of Lou’s leftover navy beans. Dinner was a nice super nachos from El Gruelense.
Sunday: (07/30) A little Sunday morning TV to start the day. Mid morning we went to the California Avenue Farmers Market. We had tamales for brunch there. Lou and Dawn visited Courtney, I returned the pallets that came with the concrete. The deposits returned $98. It evidently was too hot for my wallet. I bought a new Ryobi battery powered hammer/drill and a high speed variable speed blower. They all use the same batteries as my present tools. My existing drill seems to stall too easily. I also needed some new batteries. I got three with the two tools. On the way home I picked up some dim sum for a late lunch. More relaxing in the afternoon after i tested the new blower. Nice and powerful. Lookout leaves. Lou and Dawn returned to visit Courtney. I prepared my enchilada casserole for dinner.
Monday: (07/31) I back filled most of the edge of the new front walkway. I then worked at the computer preparing my pack list and resupply quantities. Lou and Dawn were off shopping in the morning. In the afternoon I went over to Courtney’s and installed a new shower wand. In the evening Lou and I went out shopping for my resupply needs. Simple menu today. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were my enchiladas.
Tuesday: (08/01) A relaxing morning. Later in the morning we all went to Redwood City on my resupply shopping run. Visited REI, Best Buy, World Market, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target. Interesting how one has to search for some things. I got to socks at RI, lithium AAA batteries at Best Buy, hand sanitizer at BBB, sausages at World Market, and bacon jerky at Target. We also visited a thrift store in San Carlos. As we passed another thrift store in Redwood City Lou noticed a recliner couch in their yard. We didn’t stop. She did return later and decided to buy it. I had to go up and meet her and we loaded it into the two cars. In the afternoon we went over to Courtney’s and set up her shower with a curtain instead of doors. A little work in the evening preparing the resupply boxes. Enchiladas for breakfast and dinner. Lunch at a German Restaurant in Redwood City.
Wednesday: (08/02) We headed off toward Santa Cruz early. Made a stop at Lou’s Cafe in Los Gatos for breakfast on the way. Spent the day people watching in Santa Cruz while Dawn looked around book stores. Just milkshakes, pearl drink or tea for lunch. Soup at 99 Bottles Of Beer for dinner. We made our way to the Rio Theater for the 10,000 Maniacs Concert by 1800 in time to be at the front of the line waiting for entry when the doors opened at 1830. We got a nice seat and waited for the concert to begin around 1930. The show was opened by a singer named Cindy Lee Berryhill A little after 2000 the Maniacs started. It was a nice show, longer than last year at Yoshi’s. A nice venue. Good show we were home a bit after 2300.
Thursday: (08/03) I pitched my tent and inflated my mattress in the yard. I cleaned the tent and was testing the inflation of the mattress. I also was working on resupply boxes. Of course, I was missing some items so in the evening i went out shopping again. I don’t want to get too much but obviously need enough. Lou made Swedish pancakes for breakfast. Sausage and cheese sandwich for lunch. Hamburgers for dinner.
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