Busy Doing Little

Tuesday: (10/22) I installed the new tarp around the temporary tent that Lou and Dawn are using. It’ a full one piece wrap of the sides so it should be better protection for wind and rain. I then loaded the things I removed from the RV when it went in for service. I then went shopping. I picked up some water bottles at World Market. I like that the are strong plastic water bottles with a nice looking exterior. They are stronger than the usual one time use bottles and cheaper that my usual Smart Water bottles. At REI if found a new sun shirt with a pattern I like. I also picked up some sample GUU energy chews to see what I like. I’ll need some for my Pinnacles hikes. Granola for breakfast. Chicken and hummus sandwich for lunch. Hobo chicken, potatoes, onion, and apple dinner.

Wednesday: (10/23) Lou and I dropped Dawn off in Los Altos Village and went to a doctors appointment. On the way back we stopped for lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. After picking up Dawn we went grocery shopping. After dinner I filled the compost bins with leaves. We had a real backup on the garbage and recycle bins so I needed to be sure to get them out tonight. Granola and diced apple for breakfast. Lunch at Sweet Tomatoes Salad Buffet. Lou made chicken with corn salsa, rice and asparagus for dinner.

Thursday: (10/24) After the garbage pickup, I filled the recycle bin with a pile of boxes that remained from last week. I then spent the day cleaning the leaves from the sun room roof and also the house roof. That involved moving all the plants from next to the sun room and then cleaning up all the debris removed from the roof. I filled both compost dumpsters with leaves and could fill then again with just the remaining roof debris which I piled up until I have room. I made home fried potatoes with sausage and eggs for breakfast. A nice tuna green salad for lunch. Pot roast for dinner.

Friday: (10/25) Lou and Dawn were off to Pleasanton to a Holiday Fair. The also visited some thrift stores on the way home. I spent the morning cleaning the house walls in the backyard. We had another attack of the caterpillar cocoons, which, In addition to dirt, were cleaned off the walls. After that I relaxed in the afternoon. Leftover hash, sausage and eggs for breakfast. Leftover enchilada casserole for dinner.

Saturday: (10/26) Lou and Dawn were off to the Abilities Expo in San Mateo today. They explored some thrift stores on the way home. After I went to the Hazardous Waste Event to get rid of our toxic waste, I tinkered with the computer all day/ Granola for breakfast. Chili for lunch. LUU Noodle House for dinner.

Sunday: (10/27) Granola and diced apple for breakfast. Chili size for lunch.I intended to work on Ernie’s shed today. I did do some concrete grinding to adjust for proper drainage from the siding. That was it thought. The wind was too strong to be moving panels so I relaxed much of the rest of the day. About 1500 we drove back up to an Estate sale Lou and Dawn went to yesterday. Lou wanted to see if they were ready to sell a chair she liked at a price she liked. They weren’t so we didn’t get it. We did stop at Neil’s Cafe In Millbrae for dinner before heading home. It became quite smoky as we headed North to San Mateo. When we got home it was even worse. The air quality was at 135 (Hazardous) Our neighboring cities were only half as bad. Our fair city smelled like we had a neighboring camper who didn’t know how to make a campfire. Our smoke was likely coming across the bay from a new fire in Vallejo.

Monday: (10/28) I had a hike scheduled for this morning at Big Basin SP but our smoky air caused the leader to cancel the hike. So, I worked on Ernie’s shed. I installed the skirt siding and extended the bottom of the door that had been cut off to swing properly at it’s temporary location. It is now complete. A lot of dust was created cutting the cement board and grinding the concrete so I blew it all to the neighbors yards then hosed the walkway and buildings down. Granola and banana for breakfast. Chicken and hummus sandwich with a V8 and grapes for lunch. Dawn made buckwheat noodles then prepared a nice olive, tomato and onion sauce with them for dinner.

Tuesday: (10/29) I took a little shopping run to Redwood City in the morning. I dropped Dawn off at the library. At home I got the Honda generator out and exercised it. While we are gone Ernie may need it with these electricity shutdowns due to the winds. I also moved all the plants back to behind the house. I had moved them away to clean the roof and Lou needed them away as well to work on the window seals. Granola and diced apple for breakfast. A nice vegetarian burrito from El Grullense Taqueria for lunch. Dinner at Sweet Tomatoes Buffet.

Wednesday: (10/30) Granola and banana for breakfast. Lou and I went to A Good Morning for a late second breakfast. Dawn was off to a class. I took the bike for a ride and stopped at the hardware store for a door sweep for Ernie’s shed. Back home I installed it. Otherwise I relaxed today. Lou’s chicken chili for dinner.




Thursday: (10/31) I tinkered in the shop and RV much of the day. Granola and banana for breakfast. Chopped salads at The Corner bakery for lunch. Leftover corn salsa rice with chicken for dinner.

Henry Coe SP China Hole Hike

Monday: (10/21) Granola for breakfast. I was off to carpool with Alex to Henry Coe State park for a hike to China Hole. We med the other SJMW hikers there at 1030. It was a 10 mile hike with about 1700 elevation change. Nice oak forested hills. The stream was not flowing above ground most places but there was water in the pond at China Hole. We got to see some tarantula spiders in their mating season. One almost climbed onto my shoe. I got back home about 1600. Dinner was my leftover lasagna for last night at Harry’s. 

Annual Nerd Days, Silicon Valley Code Camp

Saturday: (10/19) I attended the Silicon Valley Code Cape at PayPal Campus today. This is my annual nerd event to see what is happening with software development. The Code Camp Sessions I attended today included: The History of JSON, You Can Count on Numbers, How to Defy Ageism in Software Engineering, Intro to SmartWatches Development and Design, The Algorand Blockchain - Decentralized and for Developers, How to Switch Your Technical Domain.
Granola for breakfast. A vegetarian sandwich at the Code Cape for lunch. Leftover enchiladas for dinner.

Sunday: (10/20) Another day at the Silicon Valley Code Cape. The Code Camp Sessions I attended today included: Artificial Intelligence: Potentials and Challenges, Scalability challenges for distributed video infrastructure, Hands On Cybersecurity, The Blockchain You Never Knew, Introduction to NR-5G and its challenges.
Granola for breakfast. A vegetarian sandwich at the Code Cape for lunch. For dinner we went to Harry’s Hofbrau in Redwood City.

The Big Backup

Monday: (10/14) Lou and I did the grocery shopping early. Back home it was time for breakfast. I had leftover pancakes and some chicken maple sausages from Trader Joe’s. I thought i might relax a little and watch the View but then was informed that the toilet was backed up and the tub full. I also had to drive Dawn to a book sale. I spent the rest of the day trying to get the drain cleaned. When we replumbed the bathrooms I installed cleanouts. They were covered up when we had the siding installed. I located one of them and exposed it . I’ll have to repair the siding later. My efforts to clear the drain were not fruitful. The clog appeared to be beyond the bathrooms and before the kitchen since the kitchen was not backed up. Even the drain bladder didn’t clear it. I gave up and called the professionals, Rotorooter. They were there within the hour and had it cleared in about 30 minutes. Thir big router did the trick. I’ll have to get one. I spent a lot more time putting tools and such away after cleaning them. That was it for me for the day. Tomato soup for lunch. Chopped salads from The Corner Bakery cafe for dinner.

Tuesday: (10/15) A banana for breakfast and I was off for the train to San Francisco. I arrived at about 0900 and caught a bus to ChinaTown. I got brunch at the AA bakery a chicken mushroom bun and a chicken pie. Too much. I walked out Columbus and to Fisherman's Wharf. I visited the Musée Mécanique, a penny arcade museum. I like to play the player pianos and other music makers. I walked out through Fort Mason to the marina district then over to Chestnut Street. I caught bus 22 on Fillmore Street that took me to the Mission District then on bus 27 to 24th Street. I stopped by the La Torta Gorda for a pepper torta. I then caught bus 48 over to the 22nd Street Caltrain Station. Unfortunately, not all trains stop there during rush hour. Three trains passed by before my train came. And even more unfortunately, that train doesn't stop at my destination the California Avenue ttion. I got off at Hillsdale Mall and looked around. They are remodeling and there new food court is open. I returned about an hour later to catch the first train ta=hat stops at my destination. I was home by 1900. A fresh peach with cottage cheese for dinner.

Wednesday: (10/16) I raised the garden sprinkler controller. It was down one foot off the ground I raised it to four feet high to make it easier to read the screen when programming and operating. I also loaded the compost bin with some limbs and leaves. Lou made turkey bacon with eggs and home fried potatoes for breakfast. Granola and banana for breakfast. Granola and a banana for dinner.

Thursday: (10/17) Lou and Dawn were off to the dentist. I rode my new electric bike over to Stanford University for a test of the all electric mode. No peddling today. It worked great. I stopped at the Coupa Cafe for a crepe for breakfast. When I left it was near 1130. I have never been in a bicycle traffic jam before. For this amateur rider it was a challenge. Back home I did a few tasks. I reworked the drip system for the garden. Now Dawns winter garden should water itself. I also filled the recycle bin and rubbish bin. They were just picked up today and are already full. And we still have more. Lots of cardboard to get rid of after Ernie’s house cleaning, my new bike and the RV’s new microwave. Lou made chicken burgers for lunch. I made enchilada casserole for dinner.

Friday: (10/18) I repaired the siding I destroyed working to expose the drain cleanout. I also did some other tool cleanup from that project. I measured the alternate battery space where the AGM batteries are in the RV. I want to replace them with a couple of more Battleborn lithium batteries. Unfortunately, I can’t fit two more GC2 sized batteries so I sent a message to Battleborn to confirm I can use the type 27 in parallel. They called back and confirmed I could. I then went shopping to resupply my granola, bread, banana chips and dates. I also stopped by Walmart to get some new genes. Enchiladas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

New Transportation, An eBike

Saturday: (10/12) Granola and banana for breakfast. I put on my new helmet and took a ride on my new electric bike. Wow was it cold out this morning. Obviously should have worn long pants. The new bike really goes. I need to get a lock for it then I’ll take a longer trip possibly out to lunch somewhere about 5 miles away. Back home, I relaxed and warmed up then got outside. I had to clean up my shop so I can fit the new bike there. I managed to throw away quite a bit of the junk that collected. Then I took another spin on the bike before retiring into the house to relax. A nice sausage hummus sandwich for lunch. Chili baked potato with a sausage for dinner.

Sunday: (10/13) I groomed and pruned the rear flowerbed and arbor in the backyard. I also checked all the drip irrigation emitters. I trimmed back some succulents and threw away my last thorned cacti. It has been around a long time having sat on my desk for 20 years but in a large pot and getting water, it was now two feet tall with lots of branches. I also took another stab at setting up the new sprinkler controller for the front yard. It failed to complete the first setup and was unresponsive after that. I reset it today and stumbled through the setup. The front yard planters will be happier now. I also installed some clip on lights in the tent for Lou. Lou made pancakes and sausage for breakfast. We had tomato soup and toast for lunch. About 2000 we went to the Mexican market and did some shopping. Back home, we had a seafood and green salad for dinner with some flan for dessert.

A Map Of Our Travels This Year

Here is a map of our travels around the country 1/19/19-10/1/19

Fixing Things At Home

Thursday: (10/03) Granola and diced apple for breakfast. I worked on the sprinklers to start. I completed the replumbing of the greenhouse sprinkler. I stole the feed that was used so i connected the ceiling sprinklers to use the new timer located in the greenhouse. I also installed the new Bhyve sprinkler timer in the garage to replace the old timer. The Bhyve timers are Internet connected. Unfortunately i could complete the setup. I also replaced a couple of emitters. After lunch I finally got to work on the shed roof. I completed installing the rest of the screws holding the plywood on and installed and cut some flashing. Leftover chicken with rice for lunch. Lou made chicken with artichoke over rice for dinner.

Friday: (10/04) Dry granola for breakfast. Lou and Dawn were off grocery shopping early. We were out of milk so a dry breakfast. I started by washing the roofing panels for Ernie’s shed. They cleaned up nice. Getting the tar paper down was a task due to the breeze. I managed to almost finish the roof but ran out of screws. I need another dozen to finish the last panel and the trim. Chili size for lunch. Dawn made an interesting salmon dinner in the pressure cooker. After dinner, Lou and I went to Lowe’s to get my screws.

Saturday: (10/05) I worked on Ernie’s shed electrical after finishing the roof trim. Granola for breakfast. A chicken hummus sandwich for lunch. Sweet Tomatoes Buffet for dinner.

Sunday: (10/06) Granola and diced apple for breakfast. I finished up Ernie’s shed today. I finished the electrical and energized it. And I raised the garden side and placed caulk on the bottom. All the other sides will have the siding go below the shed floor for waterproofing. Unfortunately the side that most needs that, the garden side cannot. So i added the caulk and will need to grind the concrete edge later to allow it to drain away from the shed. Lou made red peppers chicken soup with toast for lunch. Dawn made a fish stew for dinner.

Monday: (10/07) Lou and I were off to an appointment in the morning. After the appointment, we went to lunch at the Country Inn in Cupertino. Then Lou stopped by to look at new shoes and we did some other window shopping on the way home. At home, I relaxed the rest of the day. Lou and Dawn went to IKEA for a walk and dinner. I had leftover stew and a sausage for my dinner.

Tuesday: (10/08) Granola for breakfast. Leftover artichoke chicken and refried beans for lunch. Moin Moin for dinner. I have no idea what it is but Dawn made it. Interesting. I spent the morning doing tank duty on the RV. We are now ready for the next earthquake. Also ready for the coming PGE shutdowns due to high winds. Most of the day was spent researching how to fix the microwave in the RV. I ended up with a wiring diagram and determined if it wasn’t the door switch, it wasn’t worth fixing. It wasn’t the switch. I then searched for a replacement. I found one on Amazon. I found a better price at Best Buy and they had one in stock in Milpitas. After dinner, I made a return run to Lowe’s then went to Milpitas to pick up the microwave. May get it installed tomorrow.

Wednesday: (10/09) Up early for a shower before heading off with ernie to his appointment at VA. I waited around there and then after hs procedure we went to breakfast. We both had chicken fried steaks at A Good Morning Restaurant. I have to count two of my three healthy heart forgivenesses. At home I relaxed and napped for a while. Later in the afternoon I finished Ernie's shed electrical by installing his outside light. I had ordered the fisture and a couple of motion detecting dusk to dawn lamps. After installation Ernie had to wait until it got dark to see his new light work. I then worked on the RV microwave replacement. It wasn’t too hard to get the old microwave out. I just had to unscrew two 2” long bolts in blind spots with only1/5 inches of clearance. It took a while. I then compared the new unit to the old. It looks like I can use the old mounting plate. Tomorrow I’m going to get a couple of new bolts and fender washers to simplify reinstallation. Lunch and dinner were leftovers.

Thursday: (10/10) Granola for breakfast. I made a shopping run to several hardware stores and a bolt supply house looking for ¼”-28 hex bolts to replace the Phillips screw bolts that mount the microwave. Being able to use a ratchet would make installation much easier. No luck finding them. Lunch at Dim Sum King. Bak home, I tried to mount the microwave. It fit in place perfectly except for a new problem. The door on this microwave does not have a zero clearance door swing and needs an extra ¾” in width when the door swings open. Unfortunately, the left side is against the wall so it wont work. I packaged it all up and we all drove to Milpitas Bestbuy to return it. While there we bought another. This time it’s a Samsung instead of the LG. Dinner at Togo Sandwich shop. The new one seems to have little clearance needed. We continued to explore the nearby shops before heading home.

Friday: (10/11) Granola and banana for breakfast. I headed off for a hike at Calero County Park, Rancho San Vicente. 22 of us hiked 8.5 miles among the cows and tarantulas. Beautiful day and views. Thanks to our hike leader Tara. I’ve never hiked at this park before. Lunch at Super Taqueria in Morgan Hill. I headed don=wn to Gilroy since eI was more that halfway there. I stopped at Lowes and they had some drip edge metal that I hadn’t been able to find on my shopping run yesterday. I also visited SeeGrins RV to look at RV’s and at Camping World to look around. Back home I was just settling in for a rest after my shower when my new electric bike arrived on the porch. I had to get dressed to unpack and test ride my new toy. I had some refried beans with salsa and a sausage for dinner.

Alice's Breakfast Hike

Wednesday: (10/02) I woke up at 0520 to get ready for a hike. Alex picked me up at 0615 and we headed to our hike at Wunderlich Park near Portola Valley. We were joined by 6 others of the 12 others that had been signed up the evening before. The others cancelled, likely when the alarm went off. We enjoyed a nice hike up the mountain as the sun was rising and made it to Skyline Blvd and Alice's Restaurant for the once a month breakfast buffet. The food was excellent and plentiful and the place was very crowded with locals, Stanford Students, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. We were back to our start point by 1100. After the hike I intended to get to work on the shed but was redirected to be a chauffeur instead. We had lunch at the Coupa Cafe in Mountain View. When we did get home later in the afternoon I took a nice nap. Lou made a chicken, rice and broccoli dinner in the InstaPot.