Patio Puzzle

 Sunday: (09/20) The usual lazy Sunday Morning. Another good air morning but moved into moderate AQI in the afternoon. I tinkered on the computer in my man cave. Ham and eggs with toast for breakfast. Leftover artichoke chicken with rice for lunch. 

 

Monday: (09/21) Granola and banana for breakfast. Today started with marginal air and moved further into moderate but was good in the evening. Being barely bad, I still did a little work outside, I ran the tamper on the backfilled area under Ernie’s trailer tongue. Lou and I took a ride over to the Grocery Outlet, me on my bike and her on her scooter We bought a pretty good sized load and brought it home. All done without a car. A nice ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Spaghetti with meatballs for dinner. 

Tuesday: (09/22) I worked all day laying bricks for the patio for Ernie’s trailer. Granola and banana for breakfast. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Roast mini potatoes and veggies with sausage for dinner. 

Wednesday: (09/23) I made a run to Lowe’s in Sunnyvale for some sand. I removed more of the bricks for the old patio and walkway. Then laid more new bricks for the patio. Eggs and ham with Dawn’s coffee cake for breakfast. Baked beans and sausage for lunch. Tuscan soup for dinner. 

 

Stanford Arizona Garden Visit

 Saturday: (09/19) I took care of some tasks Lou gave me to start. I cleaned the garage window screen which is the exit for our cooler system. I also rearranged the hose for Ernie's sewer system service to the new faucet I installed. I adjusted the brakes on my bike. I took a bike ride around to see all the nearby construction sites to see how the buildings are progressing. I also visited the Stanford university Arizona Cactus Garden. Always nice to see the cactus blooming and many still are. I rode on up to Menlo Park then back home. Granola and a banana for breakfast. Chili beans for lunch. Roast sausage with vegetables with corn bread for dinner. 

 

  

 

 

Trailer Foundation

Thursday: (09/17) Leftover corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. Another good air day. I got outside and did some backfill by Ernie’s trailer. I set the pull box level and built a form for the tongue jack base. We all went to lunch at the Country Inn in Cupertino. Back home I poured the concrete for the base. I had to repair the shovel handle as well. After a shower I retired to my man cave (RV) and studied for my hopeful adventure van design. Leftover pizza for dinner.

 

Friday: (09/18) I spent some time removing the form from yesterday’s concrete pour and backfilling. I can’t tamp the backfill for several days when the concrete will have cured sufficiently. I also rode the bike over to Ace Hardware and bought a screw for the RV roof fan knob. I also installed the replacement light fixture above the dinette. I only bought one to confirm it was the right size to cover the huge hole that the previous fixture needed. I had to increase from the 3” light to this 5” light to cover it. At first I thought I got a dud fixture because the dimming was intermittent and the light would not remain off. It turns out the fan above the dinette and on the same wire added enough electrical noise to affect the light operation. So, having determined it was a good enough fixture to use, I tried to order more. I need another on the opposite side of the dinette and two for above the couch. Should have ordered then originally because I was only able to get one and can’t locate another source. Hopefully they get back in stock sometime later. Leftover omelet from yesterday’s Country Inn Visit. For lunch we went to the Cupa Cafe in Mountain View. On the way home we stopped at trader Joe’s for a few things. Lou made hamburgers for dinner.

 

Huddart Park Hike

 Wednesday: (09/16) A nice good air day. AQI less than 10. I stopped by Happy Donut for breakfast and drove up to Huddart Park for a hike. I made the big loop hiking out on Richards Trail, Lonely Trail, Raimundo trail, Back on Richards Trail and finally on the Campground Trail. I stopped for lunch at Chinese restaurant in Redwood City on the way home. Nice to have clear skies for a change. Leftover squash soup for dinner.

Preparing to Lay More Bricks

Saturday: (09/05) A mostly good air day. I worked in the yard. I dug a trench for a faucet under Ernie’s trailer for the utility service. I relocated a couple of pipes and installed the pipe for the faucet. I also energized it and then found a geyser. Seems one of the used PVC pipes I used had a hole in it. With that fixed, another task complete. Dawn’s pumpkin pie for breakfast. Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch. Chili for dinner.

 

Sunday: (09/06) Another really bad air day with really high temps. After breakfast I and some Sunday morning TV I finally got outside and to work. I installed the drain line extension. I did have to make a run to the hardware store for a 45 degree ell. I did a little backfilling as well. I also worked at setting the pull box level before Lou called me inside because of the bad air quality. She had already been complaining because it was 106 degrees but the AQI had been good. I relaxed the rest of the afternoon and evening in the RV with the AC on. It was really struggling to cool it off. Lou’s refried bean casserole for breakfast. Chili for lunch. DoorDash dinner from the Crepevine restaurant. 

Monday: (09/07) Leftovers from the fridge for breakfast and lunch. Another scorcher today plus the air is bad. Lou and I did go outside and try to fix the cooler. I determined it appears that the filters are obstructing the air flow too much, Lou did replace the filter material this spring and they appear correct. I removed the filter material from the frames and washed the filter material. It cleared the dirt on the outside and possibly broke any calcium deposits off. It did appear to work a bit better after the cleaning. Ernie said his trailer was about 95 degrees inside even with his cooler. We were around 79 degrees. A nice ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Leftover soup for dinner.

Tuesday: (09/08) Granola and banana for breakfast. I spent some time in the morning outside trimming the arbor. I filled a compost bin. Only about 10 more to do this fall. Lunch was Chili beans for lunch. Leftover soup and toast for dinner. 

Wednesday: (09/09) Granola and banana for breakfast. No sun today. The high smoke cover made the morning light dim and orange. Even with that, the air quality says it’s OK. On the high side of good and low side of moderate. We do have a lot of ash falling from the sky though. Dawn had her online class and I attended my Wednesday webinar. A nice ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. After lunch I did a little work in the yard. I rebuilt the piping for the drip distribution in the pull box by Ernie's trailer. It has been leaking. I determined it is because the drip tubing is ½’ not ⅝” and the slip fittings don’t latch well. Ernie also had me work on his shower. He replaced the shower hose but couldn’t get it on the valves. I got it on, eventually. The threads are crossed. But, the valve needs replacing as well because the valve assembly leaks now. I ordered a replacement. Dawn made spaghetti for dinner. The photos below look reddish because the sky was reddish due to the heavy smoke to to many forest fires nearby.

 

 

Thursday: (09/10) Granola and banana for breakfast. Lou had an online class this morning. After her class we went to Grocery Outlet market for a few things. Today is much different that yesterday. The sky is not orange like yesterday but the sky is gray and still no sun. Also the air is worse today. We had Subway sandwiches for lunch. Chili beans for dinner. Lou and Dawn had some German food from Redwood City. 

Friday: (09/11) Another really bad air day. I never got outside all day. Just computer tinkering and TV all day. A ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast. Shrimp green salad for lunch. Shrimp and grits for dinner. 

Saturday: (09/12) I slept in because I was “busy” watching movies into the late night. I had a ham and cheese sandwich for brunch about 1100. I get the bread from Lou and Dawn’s sandwiches from Subway and other restaurant bread. In the afternoon Ernie cornered me to complete his shower faucet replacement. Fortunately it is a nice day today but still the air is bad. We, at least, cast a shadow today. Lou made shrimp tacos for an early dinner. Avocados for desert.

Sunday: (09/13) Granola for breakfast. Lunch from Los Altos Taqueria. Lou made artichoke chicken over rice for dinner. Another bad air day. The air looked more clear but the reported air quality was still very bad. The flowers below were seen in the neighborhood an a stroll.

Monday: (09/14) Another bad air day. Around AQI 190 all day. We all went for a little drive through the Palo Alto and Los Altos hills to just get outside. We then stopped at the Walmart Neighborhood Market for groceries. Granola for breakfast. Leftover artichoke chicken and rice for lunch. 

Tuesday: (09/15) Bad air most of the day but it was good around 1600. I hunkered down tinkering on the computer all day working on websites. Granola for breakfast. Pizza from Chicago Pizza for lunch. Squash soup for dinner. 

Monte Bello Ridge OSP, Black Mountain

Friday: (09/04) Lou and I were off early to do our shopping at Smart and Final and at Nob Hill Market. On our way home we stopped for breakfast at the A Good Morning Restaurant. Nice to have a right sized breakfast by sharing with Lou. When there are three of us, I have to eat a complete breakfast myself. Back home I prepared to leave for a hike. I tried out my new fanny pack for this hike. I also tried using my stainless steel drinking bottles. The pack works well but the bottles need to go back to storage. The water was hot. My plastic bottles don’t do that. I Drove up to Monte Bello Ridge OSP and hiked to the top of Black Mountain. Fortunately all is still good at this park. I peeked over the mountain and fortunately didn’t see any of the fire damage. InstaPot dinner. 

 

 

 

Hiding Piping

Thursday: (09/03) We had pretty good air in the morning so we all took a walk, or in Lou’s case, a scoot. We stopped for breakfast at A Good Morning. I walked on home and came back to pick Lou and Dawn up at the restaurant. A ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Today is our lawn man visit. When he was through with the yard, I started to work because the air quality was still good. I managed to dig a little trench under Ernie’s trailer and install the drain line under the front of his trailer to the patio slab, then raised it and hung it from the trailer. Previously it just laid on top of the patio. So now I only need to extend the water line to a faucet under the trailer and relocate the storm drain to the right place for the drain trench. Then a footing for the tongue jack and then maybe lay some bricks. A baked potato and sausage for dinner.