Tuesday: (08/02) Started with morning tea in the back yard. I inspected the apartment building and the sewer line projects and got a call from the neighbor to look at her bike. After that I took a bike ride over to Stanford and had breakfast at Coupa Cafe. Nice ride, no rain occurred as it did as I was planning to take off yesterday. Back home I relaxed the rest of the day. I did get the last of the needed items to install the windows so no more excuses. Sandwiches for lunch and dinner.
Wednesday: (08/03) Leftover tater tots with chili for breakfast. After some project inspection, I got busy with the van window installation. I prepared the template on the inside of the van then drilled to hole to allow placing the template on the outside in the proper location. I then marked the outline with a permanent marker and added some masking tape on the outside of the hole to prevent scratching. I tried using my electric metal shears but they didn’t work as well as just using the jigsaw. Only a tiny bit of grinding needed to better fit the window. Then after some filing to ease the edge, I painted the edge. With everything cleaned up and put away I was through for the day. I took a shower to get ride of any metal filings that jumped me and then relaxed the rest of the day. Dawn made cucumber tomato and cheese sandwiches for lunch. We had pizza from A State Of Mind Pizza across the street for dinner
Thursday: (08/04) Granola for breakfast. After a check of the neighborhood projects, I got to work on the van. I installed the left window frame and then painted it in place. Of course, then I had to wait a while while it dried. I decided to paint the other frame to avoid the wait when I do the other window. They only needed to be painted on the ends that I replaced. When it was dry to the touch, I installed the window. It looks nice. Green salad for lunch. After lunch, I cut the opening for the right side window and painted the metal edge. Saturday, I’ll install the frame and window. I plan on a San Francisco walk-about tomorrow. Ham and cheese omelet for dinner.
Friday: (08/05) No breakfast. I decided to get up earlier than usual and I installed the frame and window on the passenger side. It was looking a bit like it might rain. Since I was going to San Francisco for a walk-about, I didn’t want to leave it open. Fortunately, the installation was really fast and Lou dropped me off at the train station at 0830. I was in San Francisco about 0945. I didn’t do my planned hike because this train didn’t stop at either of the stations closer to where I had planned to start. It went downtown. I decided to walk through downtown and Chinatown following the route of the under construction new underground light rail line. I had decided I’d get a slice of pizza for breakfast on this route but Golden Boy Pizza in North Beach ws permanently closed. Too bad. I continued on to the Marina area and ended up getting breakfast/lunch about 1130 at Mel’s Cafe. Great patty melt sandwich. I continued on visiting the Palace Of Fine Arts lake and Presidio’s new park over the top of a tunnel for Highway 101. I continued to the Golden Gate Bridge then along the bluffs to Golden Gate Park. It was a bad choice going to the park because this weekend there are 200,000 extra visitors there for the Outside Lands concert. I made it to the N train line and returned to the Caltrain station to return home. I managed to do this 13.6 miles on this hike. It was a pretty good test of my range with my recent back pain issues. Back home, we had shrimp noodles in white sauce.
Saturday: (08/06) Granola for breakfast. I installed the two van window blind and screen assemblies. The one on the sliding door is tight and touches the door rail when fully open. I can probably live with it. I put a piece of vinyl tape on the blind cover to prevent scratching it. I then studied How I should panel the wall and door now that the windows are installed. Lunch at MeiLi’s house. Nap time after lunch. About 1500 we went to Kohl’s department store. Lou and Dawn were there yesterday and Lou spotted a sale on mens shorts. I like shorts with stretch waists and short 6” inseam. Most inseams on shorts are 9-12 inches. Also I had an alarm from one of the sprinkler controller valves so I replaced five sets of batteries that were below 45%. The alarms are sent below for 25% but the others would have needed replacement in 2-3 weeks anyway. Dawn made vegetable soup for dinner.
Sunday: (08/07) Granola and a sausage or breakfast. I tinkered a bit in the garden and watched a couple of Youtube videos before heading off for a bike ride. I rode up to Redwood City, 10 miles North. I visited Kohl’s Department Store and picked up some more of my favorite shorts. They had a great sale on Croft and Barrel deck shorts. I also needed to pick up a permanent kit for Lou from a RiteAid drug store, our closest and they are one of the few places that carry Lou’s brand. It was located up the hill in Woodside. Shopping completed, I returned down to Redwood City and picked up a Veggie burrito from Tacos El Grullense then peddled home. Total about a 21 mile ride. Back home, I enjoyed half of my burrito for lunch.
Monday: (08/08) Granola for breakfast. I worked on the van cutting wood framing pieces. There aren’t many pieces of the van’s steel framing that are straight and level. I got the framing pieces cut for the driver passenger side and the sliding door. Then I painted them. Just as I was finishing painting, Lou called and said she was hit in the Jeep by a FedEx truck in the Grocery Outlet parking lot. I drove over and took some photos. Lou took Dawn to the hospital to be checked. I picked up their frozen treasures from the markets and put them in our freezer. When Lou got home we cleaned out the Jeep of all the broken glass. Leftover Chinese from Meili’s luncheon, Lou made chili rellenos with peppers from her garden and corn from my garden. Leftover burrito and salad for dinner.
Tuesday: (08/09) Scrambled eggs and pineapple sausage for breakfast. Lou dropped me off up Page Mill Road at Gate 2 for Foothills Nature Preserve. I hike downhill through the park into Arastradero Preserve and down into Stanford University. The gate is locked but open to hikers. I hike the Charlie Brown Fire Road, Toyon, Woodrat, Chamise, Panorama, and Coyote Trails. Then entered Arastradero preserve taking Arastradero Creek, Woodrat, Bowl Loop, and meadowlark Trails. I then exited the park and hiked down to Alpine Road into the University. When I stopped for lunch, I had hiked 10.25 miles. After lunch, I caught a Margarite Bus (Stanfords Transit) over to El Camino Real and then caught a VTA bus home. Lunch from Panda Express at Stanford University Student Center. At home I found the group including our neighbor Meili, Our friend Connie, with Lou and Dawn chatting under the arbor in the backyard. Later I installed some drip emitters in the front orchard for Lou’s squash plants. Leftover tofu over rice for dinner.
Wednesday: (08/10) Lou and Dawn were off early to appointments and to visit Dawn Hackman in San Jose. I picked up an Asada Ranchero breakfast from Tacos El Grullense down the street. Then I attended my Wednesday AlphaSoftware webinar. I also worked at filling boxes and other debris in the garbage. And that was it for the day. My nap consumed the rest of the afternoon. Leftover soup for dinner.
Thursday: (08/11) PBJ toast for breakfast. I installed the window wall framing and made a template for the door panel. The framing is just tacked in with VHB tape for now. I ordered some screws to more permanently install the framing. I’m trying to only use stainless steel screws. Grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches for lunch. The tomatoes came from Dawn’s garden and were sandwich sized. Pot roast beast for dinner.
Friday: (08/12) A ham, egg, and cheese sandwich for breakfast. We went to A Good Morning restaurant for breakfast for lunch. I got some information from AlphaSoftware on how to fix my license errors. Now works properly. I finally got out about 1600 and tried to install some Plus nuts to hold the bed to the wall. I didn’t think the Rivnuts would provide enough connection. I ended up changing my mind. The Plus Nuts and hand installation tool failed to be able to install the plusnuts so I changed back to the rivnuts and got all installed easily. The rivnuts just expand into the hole while the Plus nuts provide wings and a broader back support. I’ll see if the rivnuts survive. Squash Alfredo with meatballs for dinner.
Saturday: (08/13) I made ham, eggs and hash browned potatoes for breakfast. Lou made a tiptoe, cucumber, onion, and bell peppers salad with corn on the cob and steamed green beans for lunch. All but the onion from our garden, even though we do have onions. Baked potato chili potatoes for dinner. I worked on the van a little today. I received the screws I needed to screw in the framing for the windows I installed previously. I also installed some farming for under the bed wall and prepared two bed frame joists but had to order the appropriate bolts to be able to install them. I also pulled in some wire for the rear fan.
Sunday: (08/14) After a slow morning watching the Sunday morning shows on GTV, I finally got outside about 1100. I got the table saw out and cut the framing pieces for the rear of the van. Then I prime painted the pieces. Ready to install tomorrow. Leftover hash browned potatoes and granola for breakfast. Tomato salad and corn on the cob from our garden again today for lunch. Salmon and rice with green beans for dinner.
Monday: (08/15) I put the boards I painted yesterday in the van and walked off to the trail station. I walked by the two construction projects Wilton Court apartments and the sewer line replacement. They were installing window brows at the apartments and pulling the last pipe on Fernando St. I was entering the train parking lot when my train was arriving so I missed it while looking at my projects. All for the best really because that train only went to Downtown 4th and King station and I wanted the 22nd Street Station which the train 25 minutes later stopped at. I wanted to get my breakfast at El Torta Gordo. I got a nice milanesa torta for my breakfast/lunch at 1100. I then caught the 48 bus out to Portola Road to where my trail crossed it on a previous hike. I had seen a building that looked like a Tower Records store and they closed up a few years ago. Turns out the building shows what it was but it is now a Mollie Stone's Market. I continued down Portola to West Portal and walked the village street there. Then I headed down and walked through Stern Grove and past Pine Lake. I continued down Sunset Blvd to Lake Merced and circumnavigated it in a dumbbell shaped route. I had hiked about 12 miles so i caught the 29 bus to Fisherman’s Wharf and then walked a few blocks to Columbus and Green Streets where I got my dose of Golden Boy Pizza. I thought it had closed but Google said it would be open and it was, nice dinner. Then I caught the 30 bus back to Caltrain and took the train home. Nice walk-about.
Tuesday: (08/16) Granola for breakfast. Tomato from the garden with sausage for lunch. Chinese food from Lucky Chinese Bistro for dinner. It was a hot day. I did install the wood framing for the bed area. Only two errors. I had forgotten to paint four pieces and found them in the back yard after having installed other pieces where the belonged. Those other pieces belonged at the top and were installed at the bottom of the bed area. I had to remove them and now have extra holes in the metal. I determined what other pieces I need and intended to cut and paint everything but never got out after lunch. Did I mention hot. I did work on the motorhome door latch that has been jamming. I removed it and determined a better way to install it. I also ground about a ¼” off the latch bolt. That made it close properly. I also determined it was missing two screws so I went to the hardware store and got them. Now it seems to work better. On the way home I picked up dinner.
Wednesday: (08/17) Awoke to some rain outside, barely wet the ground several times today. Granola for breakfast. The Wilton Court project down the street was busy all day grinding the alley and end of Wilton Avenue in preparation to repave and regrade the street. I had to watch them work most of the day. I did have my saw out all night so it got slightly wet before I dried it off and sawed some more framing pieces. Most of the framing that I’m installing requires a beveled edge of either 10, 15, or 20 degrees, depending on where it goes. Later in the afternoon, I prime painted all the pieces so they can dry all night. We had Lou’s homemade chili for dinner. Lou and Dawn were gone all day for an appointment and shopping. Meili joined them.
Thursday: (08/18) A busy day watching the crew pact the street and alley by Wilton Ct. It is really nearly completed now. I installed the framing pieces I painted yesterday. I also made a run in the van to get more plywood, enough to do the floor and ceiling. My, my, that stuff is expensive. I prepared ham , eggs and hash browned potatoes for breakfast. Salads for lunch. Chili beans and toast for dinner.
Friday: (08/19) I moved the plywood from inside the van to under a tarp behind the RV. I set up my sawhorses and laid a piece of plywood on top ready to start cutting. Of course, then I realized I needed a plywood blade for my circular saw and couldn’t find one. So, I headed off to Lowe’s to get one. I also wanted to get some nice straight dry 2x4 boards which I forgot on yesterday’s trip. Lowe’s only had trash 2x4, wet, rough and crooked. They did have a blade for $8 but I decided to break my rule about not chopping at Home Depot, and see how their 2x4 were. Same trash. I left without getting anything either place. I knew I had some nice dry straight 2x8x10’ in the attic in San Jose. Dried for over 30 years. They were intended to be used for making an attic workroom. That’s not going to happen now. I had already brought 4 home before and used most of them already. I stopped by Harbor freight and bought a couple of saw blades for $6 each and went to San Jose and brought home four more boards. At home, I used the plywood saw blade and cut some plywood to use for the van ceiling framing. They needed to be able to bend and follow the curve of the roof. I also ripped up two of the 2x8’s into 2x2’s to make the bed platform frame. I then had to put everything away to provide room to park the jeep securely in the driveway and get my saw out of the yard because the sprinklers run tonight. Lou and Dawn were off to San Mateo for the day. Leftover hash browned potatoes and a banana for breakfast. Fried rice and coconut shrimp from China Wok for lunch. Lou’s homemade from my homegrown carrot soup and Dawn’s fresh tortilla quesadillas for dinner.
Saturday: (08/20) Leftover chili beans for breakfast. Leftover salad and a chili relleno for lunch. I picked up lunch from Tacos El Grullense relleno for me, tomatoes and plantains for Lou and Dawn. Dawn made fish hash for dinner. I started the day painting my van boards. Then I installed some drip emitters for Lou for some new plants in the front yard. Then a siesta during the heat of the day. I got back to work in the afternoon and assembled the van bed base and a few of the roof framing pieces.
Sunday: (08/21) Granola for breakfast. Chinese lunch from China Wok in Sunnyvale. Leftovers and soup from Meili for dinner. I made a run to Harbor Freight to get a new corded electric circular saw. I had tried to use my Ryobi saw then I had been using for a concrete saw before and it wouldn’t cut straight. I couldn't see a way to align the base to the blade so I did the easiest thing and replaced it. The new saw is great and even has a laser guide on it. I cut the base sheets for the bed. I also determined how to make the best use of the plywood sheets without having to buy three more sheets. Each board today used one third of the sheet but left nothing big enough to use for other needs. I decided to piece the lower panels together since they will be behind cabinets.
Monday: (08/22) I cut out the remaining three plywood panels for above and below the bed. It involved fitting to weird corner radii, odd notches and the wheel wells. I sanded all the panels and the bed platform in preparation to prime paint tomorrow. Granola for breakfast. Salad for lunch. Hamburgers for dinner.
Tuesday: (08/23) I dropped Lou off at Kaiser for a procedure at 0730. On my return home I picked up some things at Walmart Neighborhood Market. I returned with Dawn at 0930 to pick up Lou. We all went to breakfast at the Country Inn near Westgate in San Jose. We then dropped Dawn off for an appointment. Lou and I went to look at vinyl at Joann’s Fabric Store. Not much to choose from. Back home it was napp time and I never recovered. I wanted to paint my panels but the gardener was to come and mow the lawn today. They didn’t arrive until 1600 for the lawn. We also had a delivery of the motor assembly for Dawn’s four wheeled bike. I had ramen noodles for lunch. For dinner, I used the air fryer function of the new van’s microwave to cook some tater tots and Lou found some ribs in the freezer to go with them.
Wednesday: (08/24) I did my usual bean picking to start the day. Then I prepared some supports for all the plywood panels I need to paint today. I then attended my Wednesday webinar. After the webinar I prime painted all the panels on both sides. After a sower, I relaxed for the rest of the day. Lou made corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. Dawn made quesadillas for lunch. Lou made biscuits and gravy for dinner.
Thursday: (08/25) Picking more beans to start the day. Breakfast at A Good Morning Cafe. We all drove down to San Jose to a fabric store and I bought some naugahyde fabric to cover the bed wall panels. On the way home we visited several thrift stores and Lowe’s to get some paint. Back home, we had a late lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches. I painted all the panels that needed a color coat. The color is Ultra White from Lowes, an exterior semi-gloss paint. It’s stocked on the shelf so quick to get. About 0200 we awoke to no power. The AC circuit breaker to the inverter had tripped nd the batteries had exhausted themselves providing power for who knows how long. The Battleborn batteries had protected themselves by disconnecting themselves when they got too low, about 9.5 volts. I couldn’t easily restore them so I just bypassed the inverter to restore the RV’s AC circuits and keep the fans going. At 0400 the batteries were still dead. For some reason, at 0600 they had restored themselves but at a little over 9.5 volts. The Victron monitor ws sounding its alarm though it was extremely faint. I got up and reconnected the inverter so it would charge the batteries. Not much sleep tonight.
Friday: (08/26) I wanted to sleep in but Lou mentioned there was some activity down the street at the Wilton Court project so we all went down to see what was happening. They were unloading all the paver bricks that they will lay on the second floor patio. I painted a color coat on the van panels and the bed frame. Then I headed off for my required weekly walk-about. I walked up to University avenue and picked up some breakfast at Whole Foods Market. Then i caught a SamTrans bus North., destination still undetermined. I got off at the Hillsdale Mall and walked through it to see what was there after Covid and after their remodeling. I continued North and Walked 25th Avenue Village. More continuing up to Safeway where i got some water. Then on to Hayward Ave where I walked into one of the nicest neighborhoods ever. Nice Spanish style home on larger lots, close to B Street restaurants and downtown San Mateo. I walked around downtown then back through more neighborhoods before returning on the bus. I arrived home just after 2000. I had to put away all the plywood panels because the lawn they were on will water tonight. Lou and Dawn had dinner at Panera breaks and picked up some soup for me.
Saturday: (08/27) I spent the day assembling Dawn’s HitchHiker electric motor on her Surrey bike. It actually worked when I was finished. It will have to do as our Tesla. I also assembled the van bed panels to their frames. Peach blintzes for breakfast. Garden salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and ham for lunch. Dinner from Harry’s Hofbrau.
Sunday: (08/28) The usual slow Sunday morning catching up on the usual CBS Mornings and Meet The Press as well as some of my Youtube subscriptions. We toured a house down the street that is totally uninhabitable and a knockdown on a 25% smaller lot than ours with an asking price of $2.6M and already 5 offers. Looks like the Zillow estimates, that have been dropping, are lower than actual. Eventually, I cut and installed some of the insulation needed for behind my bed panels. Leftover blintzes and ham for breakfast. Dawn made a squash and crab casserole for dinner.
Monday: (08/29) I finished the insulation around the door slam vents in the back of the van. I did some research last night to see what I should do with those vents. The result was I simply cut round vent holes in my panels and ordered some vent covers for the holes. I also had to enlarge the wheel well cut out on the right side panel. Then I had to touch up the paint, again. I then shifted gears while the paint dried. I determined a route for the service entrance cable. I had to punch a hole within one of the van columns for the cable route and sawed a hole in the bumper for the connector. I had to go to the ACE Hardware store to get a cable bushing and a hole saw. The hole was larger than any of my existing hole saw blades. Leftover veggie lasagna and peas for breakfast. Broccoli salad for lunch. Onion soup with toast for dinner. The onions were from my garden.
Tuesday: (08/30) The van’s battery was dead again this morning. I jumped it and ran the engine a while. It was cool enough then the fans weren’t needed. I worked on the van running wires much of the day. I received the screws I needed to attach the under bed wall panels. One seemed to not fit well even though it looked like it did yesterday. I may have to remove it and trim a little around the wheel well. I then cleaned out the van so it can be used for freight tomorrow. Dawn found a wall bed system for free in Aptos so we’ll be heading over early tomorrow. I made a run to Harbor Freight to get a few moving pads and collected the car quilts and some blankets from Ernie to use for padding. On the way home I picked up some coconut shrimp and rice from China Wok Restaurant in Sunnyvale. Not for immediate consumption but for later use. Must maximize gas use. Granola for breakfast. Salad for lunch. Pork roast and rice for dinner.
Wednesday: (08/31) We headed off to Aptos, Ca early to pickup a wall bed bedroom furniture system that Dawn found. Free is nice, timing was also good since the van was still empty inside. It was located upstairs so fortunately the owner helped bring everything down to the van and even to get it inside. On the ay home my tie down proved less than perfect so all the counter tops and large cabinet doors flopped back and forth on the curves on Highway 17. Fortunately probably not harmed because of the moving pads between all of them. I stopped as soon as I could and added some more rope. Lou and Dawn stopped by a storage place and rented some space. Back home it was lunch and nap time. Hard boiled eggs for breakfast. Leftover rice and shrimp with ramen for lunch. Pizza from A State Of Mind Pizza for dinner.
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