November

Tuesday: (11/01) The usual hikers sausage, egg and cheese ciabatta sandwich for breakfast. I met 13 adventurous fellow hikers, members of the San Jose Mid-week Hikers Meetup Group, that dared to join me on today’s hike. The weather forecast mentioned about ½ inch of rain during the hike. Those pesky forecasters are getting really good with their predictions. The rain did hold off for 30 additional minutes so we completed most of our hike without heavy rain. Just the last trail, an uphill stretch, was in heavy rain making the water flow down the trail like a stream and lots of slippery mud. This turned out to be a nice day for a hike. Our tour of the Los Trancos Preserve was really pretty showing off the vivid green of the trees and other greenery, all washed clean. Actually, it's nice to see some rain on our dry hills. Back home, I did have to get out of my soggy clothes. I had leftover corned beef hash for lunch. Lou made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.

Wednesday: (11/02) A little rain showers today in the morning. Lou made strawberry pancakes for breakfast. I attended my Alpha Software webinar in the morning. We drove up to Costco in Redwood City. On the way there, we stopped at Harry’s Hofbrau for lunch. We all had pastrami. Lou and Dawn a dinner and myself soup and sandwich. I installed the new parts of the van bed support and tank box. Dawn made a squash and chicken stew for dinner.

Thursday: (11/03) I worked on the van cutting down the bed panels into smaller center boards and small cabinet doors for the ends. I had to make a run to Lowe’s for some screws and hinged so , of course, I picked up lunch on the way. I also picked up some things at Sprout’s and Walmart Neighborhood Market. When I got back home, I was able to cut the small cabinet panels to width. Their width depended on the type and placement of the hinges I got. Granola for breakfast. Chinese food from China Wok for lunch and dinner. My favorite pork fried rice, Peking pork ribs, and salt and pepper fish.

Friday: (11/04) Granola for breakfast. I worked on the van this morning, reworking some things I did yesterday. I decided that some of the wood pieces I installed yesterday may put too much strain on the tanks so I removed them and increased the space by trimming /4” off the pieces. After trimming I reassembled everything. Lou and Dawn had been out all morning with appointments. We had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. After lunch we all went down to San Jose with Meili to pick up her car from the transmission shop. She doesn’t like driving far from home so I was the driver of her car. Lou and Dawn continued on doing some thrifting on their way home. I made paper templates for some of the small wall panels yet to be installed by the rear doors. Lou made chili rellenos with peppers from the garden. They were served with roast chicken and Brussel’s sprouts. It was a fairly nice, no rain day but quite cold in the morning.

Saturday: (11/05) PBJ leftover pancakes for breakfast. Lou and I went to the Smart and Final store for a few things. They have my favorite granola and I was out. We also got some good meat from their manager's special bin. Later, we all drove down to the nearest Walmart that had a battery for the Jeep. Lou has had to jump start her jeep several times recently. It’s about 4 years old now so it has had a good life. I took advantage of the trip to return some molding I needed to return to the Floor and Decor Store there. We also took advantage of the fact it was a Super Walmart that has lots of things our local store doesn’t have. Afterwards, we had lunch at the Black Bear Restaurant in Milpitas. And of course, we stopped at a thrift store heading home. Kabob vegetables with roast chicken and pickled vegetables. Overcast and misty day today. I posted a hike for Monday.

Sunday: (11/06) Granola and banana for breakfast. The usual slow morning of TV news and politics. I spent most of the day cutting out small panels for around the rear doors. I also put a couple of coats of varnish on them. Salads with chicken for lunch. We had Dawn’s baked beans for dinner.

Monday: (11/07) I prepared my usual hikers breakfast ham, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. At 0900 I met 7 fellow San Jose Mid-week hikers at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve. We did a short 6 mile loop hike around the preserve. We had heavy rain last night and the chance of rain after noon is 45 % so that is the reason for the shorter hike. Nice clear skies, beautiful green hills, and nice fellow hikers making a good hike. I planned this hike for a new route through this preserve. It is a nice route. We finished before 1130 and I was home by noon. Salad for lunch. I painted a third coat of varnish on the van panels I’m preparing. Lou made sauerkraut with potatoes and pork chops for dinner. I had to also go out and by some PowerBall tickets because two billion dollars is two billion dollars.

Tuesday: (11/08) Election day and a heavy rain day. I spent all day inside. We all went down to the T-Mobile store to get apple watches for Lou and Dawn. I also, finally, set myself up for the military discount which saves us $30 dollars per month. Granola and banana for breakfast. Salad and grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. Ramen noodles and chicken for dinner.