Belmont Hidden Valley Open Space Hike

Friday: (11/06) Granola and diced apple for breakfast. I drove up to Belmont to Hidden Valley Open Space and Waterdog Lake Park. It was a 7.1 mile city-like hike. It was in open space but there were houses on the ridges and valley bottoms. The trail ramble up and down through the hills ending up at Dog Lake. I enjoyed my lunch of a ham and cheese sandwich with a sliced apple then hiked back. On the way home I stopped at Smart And Final market for a couple of things. Leftover soup and toast for dinner. 

 

 

 

 

 

Returning Extras

Tuesday: (11/03) I went to Lowe’s and returned some leftover materials from the San Jose conduct installation. I continued down to San Jose to see if the water faucet leak I fixed was OK. It wasn’t. The stem is still leaking. I stopped at Ace hardware and got a different stem cord but it also didn’t completely stop the leaking. I’ll need to return and replace both the hot and cold valves. I also returned some materials to Ace Hardware. PBJ toast for breakfast. Lunch from La Victoria Taqueria. They have a great chili relleno combo. Pepper steak sandwiches served like biscuits and gravy. The peppers, steak and toast diced in a bowl. 

Wednesday: (11/04) Watching more Election results (non-results) on TV until my Wednesday webinar. Lou came out after the webinar and invited me to lunch. After lunch I needed a nap and then because of the time change it was nearing dark by the time I awoke. I had planned on washing the RV and both cars but now that is on the list for tomorrow. Granola for breakfast. Lunch at Ann’s Cafe in Menlo Park. We all had BBQ beef hot sandwiches. Lou made broccoli mac and cheese for dinner. 

Thursday: (11/05) Lou made an oven mushroom omelet served with an avocado. I eventually got outside after 1000 and started to work. I washed the RV including the roof. Then I washed the Jeep and Hyundai. Lou made me also wash Ernie’s trailer. It’s only been 10 years since it was washed, assuming the dealer washed it. Lou made broccoli chicken soup for lunch. BBQ ribs for dinner.

Planting the New Orchard

Saturday: (10/31) I dug three big holes in the front yard for the trees. They were a big oversized. I mixed some of the loose soil with some compost as a base and backfill. All three trees look much better in the ground. But, after that effort I needed a late afternoon nap. Granola for breakfast. Leftover Shepherd's pie for lunch. Ham and cheese sandwich for dinner. 

 

Sunday: (11/01) I put some things away in my shop. I also looked in to repairing the flat on my bike. The front tire wasn’t round on the bottom. I couldn’t see any damage to the tube but i did find and remove a thorn from the tire. I decided to just buy a new tube but it won’t arrive until 11/9. I then made a shopping run to return some things to Ace Hardware. I also stopped by REI and bought some more socks. Back home a nice nap seemed best. Later the 4” staples I need to install the orchard drip tubes arrived. Tomorrow I’ll have to get to work. Granola and banana for breakfast. Lunch from Los Altos taqueria, a nice chili relleno combo. Leftover sauerkraut with potatoes and pork chops and some sausage added for dinner. 

 

Monday: (11/02) I installed the drip tubing for the new front yard orchard then moved all the wood chips from in front of the neighbors house to cover the tubing and finished the job. It does look nice. Granola and banana for breakfast. Shrimp and greens salad for lunch/ Dinner from Panera Bread.

 

 

Almaden Quicksilver OSP Hike

Friday: (10/30) I relaxed in the morning and watched TV including the Live with Kelly and Ryan Halloween show. Then I drove down to San Jose to Almaden Quicksilver OSP and did a 9.3 mile loop hike. Quite nice. Lots of fellow hikers, most really stupid without masks. Granola and diced apple for breakfast. Trail snack tuna salad and sliced apple for lunch. Chinese food for after-hike late lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

A New Front Yard Orchard

Tuesday: (10/27) Leftover hash for breakfast. I got busy on my new project, the front orchard. First, I relocated all the big potted plants, mostly trees from the usual dirt pile area. Only two of these trees will be planted in the new orchard, the loquat and the pomegranate trees. The plum tree in the back yard patio will join them. Then, Dawn will select about five more dwarf trees for our front yard orchard. Then it was time to start digging. I needed to remove about 2-3 inches of the dirt so that when I lay all the wood chips they will be easily returned to their home with a blower. I finished more than ⅔’s of the digging and even broke up the remaining area. Tomorrow I’ll finish moving the dirt then plant the trees and possibly move all the wood chips. Crackers, cheese and ham for lunch. A nice chopped salad from our nearby Corner Bakery Cafe. 

Wednesday: (10/28) I headed outside to before breakfast to move more dirt. I had loosened a bunch before I quit last night. I almost moved all that loosened dirt before breakfast. Lou made an oven omelet for breakfast. I did some more chipping to level the last section. We headed off a little after noon to go to lunch at Ann’s cafe in Menlo Park. It was meatloaf day, for me, and BBQ beef day for Lou. Dawn had a Reuben sandwich. When we returned after lunch it was nap time. I didn’t recover until about 1700. I finished the chipping and moving of the dirt. I also dug out the sprinkler pipe that will be used to water the orchard. It was captured by a bunch of roots and took some work to clear. I did manage to cut the pipe in doing so. Tomorrow I’ll repair that but I’ll need to wait a couple of days for my drip tubing to arrive. So I may be able to take a hike on Friday. I had a sausage sandwich for dinner.

 

Thursday: (10/29) I had a dental cleaning appointment this morning. I trimmed my beard and hair before I headed off. I relaxed most of the rest of the day. I did a layout of where the three trees we have will go. There will be room for three more. A little granola for breakfast. Dim sum from Dim Sum King for lunch. I made some sauerkraut with potatoes and pork chops for dinner. This time I added an onion and an apple because I only had one bottle of sauerkraut. It made it quite mellow. 

Driving To Escape

Sunday: (10/25) I made my favorite corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. We all took a drive through the side streets up to Daly city and I showed Lou and Dawn where I hiked last week at Mount San Bruno State Park. We stopped at Neal’s Restaurant in Millbrae for lunch. On the way home Lou and Dawn toured a thrift store in San Carlos while I looked over a couple of used Mercedes vans at a nearby car lot. They weren’t open so I’ll have to call for details tomorrow. Leftovers for dinner.

Monday: (10/26) Leftover corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. I spent the day in the backyard on cleanup duty. I emptied some unused pots into our stock potting soil bin and cleared the patio of several pots. I cut a new mat for the outside shower. I used the remnant for the second step in the RV doorway which has been just the vinyl floor. I hung cables and pipes under Ernie's trailer and removed some of the boards that were used to support the trailer during the patio build. I also rerouted the drain line from the washer. All these actions to make it easier to blow the leaves from under the trailer. Banana bread for lunch. Spaghetti squash for dinner. Our neighbor had a lot of oak tree chips leftover from eliminating his rear lawn. It’s enough for our front lawn replacement. To use it I had been considering changing my plans for a centered arbor in the front yard to an offset arbor. This allows the majority of the yard to be used for fruit trees rather than a few bushes and lots of succulents. I’ll need to dig out about 3 inches of the dirt, then add the chips.

 

 

Tinkering In The Shop

Friday: (10/23) Grocery shopping run to Walmart in San Jose and a stop at Lowe’s with Lou. PBJ toast for breakfast. Lunch from Lucky Chinese Bistro. Chili beans for dinner.

Saturday: (10/24) I worked in the yard all day. I cleaned up the junk on my workbench that has collected for recent jobs. I also cleaned up the leaves around Dawns cottage and cleaned and restacked the wood against it. I drove Lou and Dawn to the vegetable market. Waffles and bacon for breakfast. Chicken, fries and carrot salad for lunch. Tomato soup and toast for dinner.