1/2/2020: Got up at 7:18. Continued packing, current weight was ~35 lbs. Played 35 minutes table tennis, 15 minutes with Stephanie, 20 minutes with Kung. Received Google Fi SIM card from Fedex at 12:32 but retrieved it at 1:31. Began activating Google Fi on my Pixel, tried several times but all failed to launch the app to activate, the app simply kept spinning but no response, tried remedies from online to fix it, finally got one that works (force stop the app and clean cache and data but restarting the app) except some of the information required for Google Fi app to transfer my number from T-Mobile wasn't available to me (I could not find any paper work relating to my account), account number, PIN number, account name were some of the ones I could not be certain, tried all combination still failed, on a hunch I looked into the first T-Mobile phone I started the (408)228-7009 number with and found a piece of paper showed "7009" as my PIN number, used that number and tried "Tina Lin" as account name, the app's still still displaying"Number Transfer in progress" instead of the "Failed to transfer number" so far, keep my fingers crossed - the process may take from 15 minutes to up to a day as it indicates. Will likely try "Pei-Chen Lin" as account name if still getting failure result-no, the activation and number transfer was successful- I was able to call and receive calls now-yeah! Checked and discovered that "9458" will be Anita's PIN code used to transfer.
1/3/2020: Got up at 7:10. Leo started trimming the Oak trees at 8:30, as the driveway is kind of blocked, driving in and out may not be safe, will do so after he's finished the job sometime around 2:00 pm. I called off the table tennis as the driveway was totally blocked by the trimmed off branches. The task was finally done at 2:46. Cleaned up remnant trims left in the yard and picked up several relatively galls in good shape, plan to take them to Anita's mom for her to play with-maybe creating some artifacts.
1/4/2020: Got up at 6:45. Hiking day, Jason to drive, there were 7 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Jerry, Steve, Ching, Jason, and myself. Jason stopped by Marukai so I got one Rainbow Poki Bowl, and one Yakisoba set. Updated Macbook Pro Time Machine, put away wallet under the attic cover flat, put the two Seagate drives in the China Times box. Took my old wallet and inserted Explorer card and one twenty dollar plus 1200 NT in the wallet. Decided to bring Macbook Pro with me as it will make some tasks easier.
1/5/2020-1/6/2020: Got up at 6:50. Left for SJC at 8:50, got there by 9:10, passed security check at 9:28. Boarded flight NH171 on time but was delayed for nearly 40 minutes because one passenger did not show up for boarding and his/her luggage had to be removed before the flight could take off. We arrived at NRT at 3:05, actually 5 minutes ahead of schedule. The route of getting to connecting flight today was different-there was a separate path leading directly to international flight terminal instead of the usual rechecking passport and carry-ones, hope this will be a permanent solution-the old one was quite inefficient. Walked nearly 10 minutes to gate 42 and it looked unfamiliar to me, not sure where United Club was, but found it by checking the self service info kiosk although it’s another 8 minutes away. Had a couple of beer-one Asahi and one Sapporo. There were so many people in the airport as well as in the United Club, guess everybody travels now.
1/7/2020: Got up at 6:00. Did not sleep much due to jet lag. Wi-Fi password for PL is 780108GL. Stopped by PX Mart and purchased one bottle 750ml Kingman Gaoling, one pack (x6) Sapporo, one pack (x2) cucumber, one jar XO 干貝醬, and one jar instant coffee. Finished reading Amazon First Reads "Lost Hills", good read!.
1/8/2020: Woke up at 4:00, got up at 6:00. Went with Ahfen to pick up lunch at a food stand a couple blocks away, mine was rice noodle with fried chicken, not bad. Peilee help set up my haircut appointment for 9:30 tomorrow morning, it's about 6 minutes walk, luckily I made a trial walk just in case I have problem finding it tomorrow, it turned out I actually got lost during my trial walk, took me quite a while and with the help of Google Fi data enabled Google map, I was able to find the place. Turned in at 8:00, woke up at 11:30.
1/9/2020: Got up at 7:00. Had haircut at 立星理髮廳 (星雲15巷6號) 9:30 but I got there at 9:17, 小琪was still my hair dresser, NT$380 for the haircut and shampoo. Called Anita at 10:08 right after I got back.
Went to the Post Office near 碧湖 and withdrew NT$10000, will get more next week, available balance is~NT$94000. Circled around to 金龍路口and strolled to PX Mart, picked up one pack (x2 pairs) socks, one bunch bananas, 4 Neoguri spicy Seafood noodle, one bag almond and small dried fish snack mix, and one jar XO Scallop/dried fish sauce. Turned in at 9:30.1/8/2020: Woke up at 4:00, got up at 6:00. Went with Ahfen to pick up lunch at a food stand a couple blocks away, mine was rice noodle with fried chicken, not bad. Peilee help set up my haircut appointment for 9:30 tomorrow morning, it's about 6 minutes walk, luckily I made a trial walk just in case I have problem finding it tomorrow, it turned out I actually got lost during my trial walk, took me quite a while and with the help of Google Fi data enabled Google map, I was able to find the place. Turned in at 8:00, woke up at 11:30.
1/9/2020: Got up at 7:00. Had haircut at 立星理髮廳 (星雲15巷6號) 9:30 but I got there at 9:17, 小琪was still my hair dresser, NT$380 for the haircut and shampoo. Called Anita at 10:08 right after I got back.
1/10/2020: Woke up at 4:00, got up at 6:00. Visited PX Mart with Ahfen, got one bag rice, two 18 oz Taiwan beer, two pack (x2 each) cucumbers, dish gloves, ... Pondering on how to get to the temple to visit Jerome.
1/11/2020: Got up at 7:00. I-shin still insisted on going ourselves, I am not confident in doing so but understood why he wanted to have it that way. Casted my vote (the second time since reinstated as citizen) for the presidential election. Added NT$1000 to my 悠遊卡 at 7-11, really convenient, also for no additional fee. Took 文湖線Metro at 內湖站, got off at 忠孝復興捷運站, exit 3 was blocked, exiting at 4 instead, notified I-shin and met him a short while later, found 國光客運1815 across the street and waited for it, got on the second bus (the first one had ran out of available seats), we got off at 萬里橋頭 after a little over one hour, I-shin summoned an Uber which cam after 10 minutes and took us to 天祥寶塔禪寺. Checked with the front desk and other helpers before finding 繼開's resting cabinet, I-shin talked to 繼開 for a while before we headed out. Once again I-shin summoned an Uber which showed up after 15 minutes, too us back to the bus stop. Had something to eat at nearby restaurant before riding opposite direction 國光客運1815 back to 忠孝復興捷運站, I-shin had another dinner tonight for vote counting so we parted there, took 文湖線 back home. Got a small portion from Mom's and Peilee's benton (from 新東陽) for dinner as I was still full.
1/12/2020: Woke up at 4:30, got up at 6:30. Had one big sweet rice wrap (糯米團) for breakfast-yummy. Swing by PX Mart, purchased two bottles 750ml 58° Kinmen Kaoling liquor, one jar Wasabi sauce, one small bottle white vinegar, one pack (x14)烹大師, one bunch bananas, and one box (x6 can) sparrow nest drink (for Anita's Mom). Downloaded Photoshop Express on iPad, not sure how to use it though.
1/13/2020: Got up at 6:35. Called Anita at 10:00 for 19 minutes. Stopped by the Post Office, transferred NT$3000 to Caroline's account, withdrew NT$36000 for Mom's New Year red envelope.
Had my glass ordered at "小林眼鏡行" based on the original prescription from Dr. Kao's. Swing by Carrefour Grocery store and purchased one box roast salty pork, one pack (x4) Neoguri spicy seafood noodle, and one pack egg tofu-some of the items are cheaper than PX Mart, it will be an option to shop here plus they have more varieties of beer and liquor. Stopped by CityLink mall next to Metro "內湖站", not a big one but good for ~15 minutes walk, got some buns from the bakery on the second floor (they only occupied first and second floors, all higher floors are residential units), an option to take a walk there.
1/14/2020: Got up at 6:15. Called Anita at 8:00 for 4 minutes. Left for Yunho at 9:20, got there by 10:25, heading home at 11:40, got back to Neihu at 12:45, walked around trying to find a place to get lunch, eventually purchased 11 buns from the same place, had one plus leftover breakfast for lunch.
Found the following online for possible Google Fi data issue fix:
Basic fix was:
- Remove SIM
- Clear FI app data
- Power Phone off
- Fully power on (wait 30 secs after power up)
- Insert SIM
1/15/2020: Got up at 6:45. Called Anita at 10:00 for 13 minutes. Stopped by the Post Office and withdrew NT$10000, swing by Carrefour Market and picked up one bottle 750ml 58° Kinmen Kaoling, 6-pack Sapporo, one bag Almond and small dried fish snack mix, one bunch bananas, and 6 buns. Walked to 碧湖 and hiked one full circle before stopping by PX Mart and purchased one pack bacon, one can tea, and two jar scallop XO sauce.
1/16/2020: Woke up at 4:40, got up at 6:25. Called Anita at 10:00 for one hour. Hiked 碧湖 two rounds, took one hour (including the path to and from it), stopped by Carrefour and picked up one pack thick toast and several buns.
1/17/2020: Got up at 6:40. Cleaned the cabinet with microwave oven, the glass shelves looked OK so I did not touch them. Called Anita at 10:00 for 25 minutes. Took a walk along 成功路, 文德路, and eventually go to 碧湖, hiked about 75% of the circle as the location of my entrance was the result, but overall I spent about an hour-good one. Picked my eye glasses after dinner, total cost was NT$2100. Signed up for Steve Ramsey's Weekend Workshop class for $97.
1/18/2020: Got up at 6:30. Called Anita at 10:00 for 32 minutes. Visited Costco with Peilee, Ahefen, and Tina after picking up Tina at her office (Taipei City Government), had dinner at RT Mart (大潤發) before heading back to Costco for shopping, I got two packs rice mix snack (x30 each) plus one bag Macadamia for Mom along with other stuff.
1/19/2020: Got up at 6:45. Called Anita at 7:57 for 16 minutes for convenience. Stopped by PX Mart and purchased one pack (x2) Bell Pepper, one pack (x2) kitchen towel, one pack flat fish, one box (x4) fan clam, one pack (x4) natural soap, one bag Almond dried fish mix snack, 4 bags flavored pea crackers, and 2 (16 oz can) Taiwan beer.
1/20/2020: Got up at 6:40. Called Anita at 10:00 for 31 minutes. Scanned more photos from Mom's collection, some of them i totally forgot or never saw before. Stopped by 安品燒臘 and picked up lunch boxes, it is a better valued store. Walked two circles around 碧湖, one clockwise and one counter clockwise, took about one hour and 10 minutes, stopped by Carrefour and purchased 7 buns and one pack mushroom (big ones).
1/21/2020: Got up at 6:50. Heading out to法鼓山 at 11:00, got there around 12:00, had veggie lunch there, visited various chambers, learned some history of the place. Picked up Sharon at her work place at 瑞芳國小, she's quite petite, hard to picture her as a HR director for 3 schools.
We overcame several direction problem heading back home because the GPS device and my Google Map did not provide adequate directions, possibly wasted 30 minutes because of that. Had dinner at 博多拉麵 in Neihu, I ordered bean sprout/seaweed based one, a bit disappointed with the flavor.
(博多海豚湯底豆芽海帶拉麵)---^
1/22/2020: Got up at 6:35. Called Anita at 10:00 for 27 minutes. Cleaned kitchen cabinet doors, removed the dust on the front door glass frames. Stopped by PX Mart and purchased a half loaf of bread, one jar spread, two boxes (x4 each) of fan clams, and one can of pork sung.
1/23/2020: Got up at 6:35. Headed out to visit Dad's resting place in 慈恩園, surprisingly there were a lot more people in line for the shuttle at their office, we waited over 30 minutes for our turn, but the number of people in 慈恩園 were actually fewer than before-not sure why though. The shuttle line in reverse direction was also long, 20 minutes we waited. We stopped by SOGO at 忠孝復興站 and had late lunch at 鼎泰豐, 4 people for NT$1400-good price for a nice meal. Got back home at 3:30.
1/24/2020: Got up at 6:40. Prepared (cooked) mushroom (soy sauce flavored), flower mushroom (Wasabi flavored) and wooden ears (spicy), will place them in plate later this afternoon. Prepared shrimp, scallop, fish, clam and bamboo shoot for steam seafood, will add julienned ginger later, also prepared the fan clams, will use them as covers while steaming the seafood cups. Got a box of red envelopes, will prepare 12 of them which will add up to NT$18000. Finished reading "Last Day" from Amazon First Reads.
1/25/2020: Got up at 6:35.
Called Anita at 7:38 for 33 minutes. Tried to refill Anita's cell phone on Macbook Pro but simply could not continue as it always stuck at security check, used iPad instead and it worked.
Expiration date is now 1/24/2021.
1/26/2020: Got up at 6:25. Peilee dropped me off at 文德 station where I started my trip to 小妹/光華家, got there at 11:20. Had a wonderful lunch where all dishes were drinking friendly. Dinner was at a restaurant near the church where 勘序's father-in-law works. Anita's Mom was at times felt offended by people's chats (or simply imaging things), it appeared that she could (selectively) understood the conversation around her and interpreted according to her mood. Peilee and family decided to come home tonight as his mother-in-law had a fall yesterday and had to be put on cast. I got home at 8:55.
6 different kinds of sausages, all were very tasty--^
1/27/2020: Got up at 7:10. Called Anita at 7:48 for 28 minutes. Continued processing original dates for scanned phots. Talked to Mom as she's unhappy about Ahfen's attitude-or trapped in what she thought was her intention.
1/28/2020: Got up at 7:00, called Anita for 23 minutes. Stopped by PX Mart and got one bottle 750ml Kaolian, one bottle 300ml Kaolian, and one bag cooking seasoning powder.
1/29/2020: Got up at 6:35. Called Anita at 6:56 for 23 minutes. We picked up Sis and her one of her grand daughters from her home in 石牌, met her other children and grand children at 名㕑料理會館 in 竹子湖, had a so-called State banquet meal (國宴), it was OK but over rated by the owner/chef though. Handed out red envelopes: NT$200 for each of Dragonlet's two daughters, and NT$1000 for Dada's son and daughter.
1/30/2020: Got up at 7:30. Called Anita for 30 minutes. Had issue with packing-too much stuff to squeeze in the luggage, decided to find a tote bag to ease the problem, tried several places with no luck but finally found a small store in 湖光市場, got one for NT$790, sturdy with good size. went purchased more snack as I now have ample space:-)
1/31/2020: Got up at 6:40. Called Anita at 6:57 for 28 minutes. Spoke to Sis for 10 minutes, she's having a cold and would not come tonight as she planned. Got notification from ANA, manually checked in TPE to NRT but not NRT to SJC-ANA does not automatically checkin any more. Will need to get both boarding passes tomorrow at the counter.
2/1/2020: Got up at 5:50, got everything ready and headed out to the airport at 7:10. Traffic was light so we got to the airport at 7:50. Not sure if it's because of the Coronavirus or weekend, the airport wasn't crowded. Boarded flight NH824 at 9:43. Still flight-I only have my own seat 33H.
Flight took off at 10:27. We landed at NRT at 1:57pm local time. Called Anita at 2:32 for 3 minutes after passing through the international connecting flight security check (it’s back and took nearly 30 minutes). The United Club was just around the corner after getting to the third floor beyond the security check point, used the last free pass of the year (expires July), had a couple of beer before heading out to gate 55. Boarded flight NH172 at 4:38, we took off at 5:11, 11 minutes behind schedule but landed at SJC at 9:03, 12 minutes ahead of schedule. Slept through the day until 7:00, had dinner and watched some TV before going back to bed at 11:30 before having MB with legs and EJ.
ANA 171/172 787-8 169-passenger seating map:
2/2/2020: Got up at 5:10. Had breakfast with Anita at 7:30 after she got up. Took down all remaining Christmas lights rolled them neatly to put away in the attic. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Cancelled Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Video HBO channel (trial for Amazon Music Unlimited started on 1/5 for 30 days so no charge but trial for HBO started on 1/13 for 7 days and $14.99 was charged for renewal on 1/20) which Anita subscribed accidentally. Finished reading Amazon First Reads "The Tracker".
2/3/2020: Got up at 5:30. Played 45 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 25 minutes with Kung. Julienned kelp (the ones Sis gave 2019 Chinese New Year) and cooked up for cold dish-will add green bean sprouts and garlic when purchased. Called Mom at 6:00 for 20 minutes-Anita thanked her for the sweater and necklace.
2/4/2020: Got up at 6:00. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one box seaweed, one bunch bananas, one case Stella beer, two dozen organic eggs, one pack organic baby spinach, one pack (x12) Artisan Roll, one pack organic chicken thighs, and one bag small cooked and peeled shrimp. Since I don't have onion, tomato, and a few ingredients needed for the Paella dish, I had to improvise to make it acceptable. Had 15 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
2/5/2020: Got up at 8:00. Filled up gas for RX300 at Costco. Stopped by Marina Grocery and purchased one pack fried fish cake, one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one bottle 750ml Er Guo Tou, one pack (x2) Escolar steak, two pack (x4 each) thick bean curd, two red onions, 4 pickle cucumbers, 4 Roma tomatoes, one pack bacon, one string garlic, and two bag bamboo shoots. Played 45 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 25 minutes with Kung. Finished
2/6/2020: Got up at 7:05. Caught a cold again, bad boy, so absent minded! No table tennis today. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
2/7/2020: Got up at 7:08. Anita visited CVS again to see if new mouth masks supply has been replenished-only 6 units were delivered to them the past Monday and gone in 30 minutes, she did get one box alcohol wipe and one jar rub alcohol. Stopped by 99 Ranch Market and got one pack (x8) sesame rice ball, one pack peanut butter rice ball, one pack pork rib strip, and one head Cauliflower.
Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie.ANA 171/172 787-8 169-passenger seating map:
2/2/2020: Got up at 5:10. Had breakfast with Anita at 7:30 after she got up. Took down all remaining Christmas lights rolled them neatly to put away in the attic. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Cancelled Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Video HBO channel (trial for Amazon Music Unlimited started on 1/5 for 30 days so no charge but trial for HBO started on 1/13 for 7 days and $14.99 was charged for renewal on 1/20) which Anita subscribed accidentally. Finished reading Amazon First Reads "The Tracker".
2/3/2020: Got up at 5:30. Played 45 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 25 minutes with Kung. Julienned kelp (the ones Sis gave 2019 Chinese New Year) and cooked up for cold dish-will add green bean sprouts and garlic when purchased. Called Mom at 6:00 for 20 minutes-Anita thanked her for the sweater and necklace.
2/4/2020: Got up at 6:00. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one box seaweed, one bunch bananas, one case Stella beer, two dozen organic eggs, one pack organic baby spinach, one pack (x12) Artisan Roll, one pack organic chicken thighs, and one bag small cooked and peeled shrimp. Since I don't have onion, tomato, and a few ingredients needed for the Paella dish, I had to improvise to make it acceptable. Had 15 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
2/5/2020: Got up at 8:00. Filled up gas for RX300 at Costco. Stopped by Marina Grocery and purchased one pack fried fish cake, one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one bottle 750ml Er Guo Tou, one pack (x2) Escolar steak, two pack (x4 each) thick bean curd, two red onions, 4 pickle cucumbers, 4 Roma tomatoes, one pack bacon, one string garlic, and two bag bamboo shoots. Played 45 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 25 minutes with Kung. Finished
2/6/2020: Got up at 7:05. Caught a cold again, bad boy, so absent minded! No table tennis today. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
2/7/2020: Got up at 7:08. Anita visited CVS again to see if new mouth masks supply has been replenished-only 6 units were delivered to them the past Monday and gone in 30 minutes, she did get one box alcohol wipe and one jar rub alcohol. Stopped by 99 Ranch Market and got one pack (x8) sesame rice ball, one pack peanut butter rice ball, one pack pork rib strip, and one head Cauliflower.
2/8/2020: Got up at 6:40. Hiking day, my turn to drive, there were 10 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Ching, Ming, the other Ming, Cindy, Steve, Jerry, Jason, and myself. Stopped by Marukai and purchased one Rainbow Poki Bowl, one Yakisoba set, one Shrimp Tempura Roll half, one Bara Chirashi, and one Salmon Shioyaki bento.
2/9/2020: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure was 127/83/66 around 10:30, not bad. It's extremely windy the whole day, not going anywhere today. Watched 2020 Oscar. Checked in NCL, they now require a lot more info and their web site sucks, spent nearly one hour figuring out how to fill out and make them satisfied, eDoc will be printed when notified.
2/10/2020: Got up at 7:08. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased 4 bottles chewable vitamin C, one bottle 5000 I.U. vitamin D3, 3 bottles fish oil, one bunch bananas, one bag organic pine nuts, one bag Starbucks whole bean coffee, one box (x8) chicken pot pie, and one tub cream cheese. Played 40 minutes table tennis, 18 minutes with Stephanie, 22 minutes with Kung. Anita successfully changed her trip reservation to Taiwan to next Monday (2/17/2020), two weeks earlier to care for her mom, there was~$125 charge for this.
2/11/2020: Got up at 7:04. Cleaned up leaves and debris in the street, removed most if not all of the weeds in between concrete slabs and bricks. Played 40 minutes table tennis, 17 minutes with Stephanie, 23 minutes with Kung.
2/12/2020: Got up at 7:20. Played 40 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 20 minutes with Kung.
2/13/2020: got up at 7:08. Stopped by CVS where Anita returned the 91% alcohol, we also purchased one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4 bottles 1.5L Barefoot Pinot Noir. Anita's Mom seemed to in the state of last straw, very low oxygen percentage in her blood, because of her age, trachetomy (插管) and 氣切 were rejected by the relatives as they were too much for an old and frail lady, instead a concentrated oxygen was used to help increase her blood oxygen level, hoping for the best.
2/14/2020: Got up at 7:08. Anita was able to check in her flight for tomorrow, and there was only a single seat left for her to choose-30K, last row, which actually was a good one as she could rest her head on the window and sleep and there wouldn't be anyone traffic. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Placed a dinner order at Koja Kitchen for 5:15-a combined Valentine and my upcoming Birthday celebration.
2/15/2020: Got up at 6:30. Dropped off Anita at SJC airport, the parking garage was unusually crowded, I had to park at third level, this never happened before. Waited until she passed the security check before leaving, parking fee was $4.00. Anita called at 9:39, she'd walked one round around the terminal gates and waiting at the boarding gate. Flight NH171 took off at 10:52, 3 minutes ahead of schedule.
2/16/2020: Got up at 6:50, alternative hiking day, Jason to drive, there were 9 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Jerry, SL and wife, the other lady, Shingkuo, Jason, and myself. Leveled all short composite boards between the 2' walkway next to the Cherry tree and the brick slab, walking through will be easier now.
2/17/2020: Got up at 7:00. Stopped by Costco and got one bottle 1.5L Johnnie Walker, one box Bibigo steamed dumplings, and one pack (x6) Romaine lettuce. Prepared al 6 heads of Romaine lettuce and packed them into 3 bags, ready to consume. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung is off today. Tried several old RMs for MB but none worked well enough for any degree of comfort, maybe I've lost all interests. Made one riser board (top one) for the deck center stair, had to trim off back of the left edge for a better fit.
2/18/2020: Got up at 6:55 when Anita called, her Mom passed away at 7:50 pm (Taiwan time), funeral arrangements were being made. Played 50 minutes table tennis, 25 minutes with Stephanie, 25 minutes with Kung. Made another riser board (middle one) for the deck center stair, it also required some trimming, more than the first one, to fit better.
 |
| Back side trimming for a better fit |
2/19/2020: Got up at 7:10. Swing by Costco and picked up one case (x24) Corona, two dozen organic eggs, and one pack (x8) cream cheese Danish. Original decision to visit Target/Walmart and Marina Grocery was dumped as I really didn't need to things I planned to purchase there-Aloe Vera, paper towel, thick bean curd, and creamer. Played 35 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 15 minutes with Kung. Made the third riser board for the deck center stairs, this one was much easier as there was no need to trim off the back side of it.
2/20/2020: Got up at 7:12. Decided to make the remaining (x3) riser boards for the deck side stairs all at once-desired to finish the whole task sooner, trimming required for these 3 risers were easier which made the process shorter, the only thing was that I'll have to add a wedge to the right side of the lower level of the right stringer.
 |
| Need to add a wedge to right side of the back of the lowest riser before attaching |
2/21/2020: Got up at 7:00. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street-they were the waste from our neighbor two doors down which the collector dumped the garden waste bin content into the street before collecting them, what a moron! Applied a third coat of water seal to the front side of the risers, should be good enough now.
No table tennis today as many people were there preparing for event tomorrow. Attached the 3 risers to the center stairs. Added some more water seal to riser edges I missed, made one narrow and triangular wedge for the right side of the lower riser of the side stairs, glue it to the riser. Attached all remaining 3 risers to the side stairs, had to drill holes at non-grove locations as the supporting posts were not lined up, adding water seal (Autumn Brown) to the screw heads a few more times later should make the appearance natural.
2/22/2020: Got up at 6:50. Hiking day, my turn to drive, there were 9 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, jerry, Alex, Ching, the other Ming, Steve (Cindy's husband), Jason, and myself. Stopped by Marukai and purchased one Salmon Shioyaki Bento, one Yakisoba set, one tube S-B Wasabi family size, one Rainbow Poki Bowl, and Salmon fillet.
2/23/2020: Got up at 7:20. Stopped by Target and purchased one pack Bounty napkin, and 4 bottles 64 oz Hazelnut creamer. Swing by Marina Grocery, got two pack beef tendon, and two packs thick bean curd. Replaced some screws on the new riser boards, used flat head ones from the patio furniture bench sets, applied thicker water seal to them to blend in.
2/24/2020: Got up at 7:30. Used paint thiner to clean up the water seal spill on the composite deck board near the fake Cherry tree, seemed effective, why didn't I think of this when I was cleaning the spills near the end of deck project:-(. Cleaned up the bench next to family room sliding door, removed the cardboards underneath it, also removed the rain shields (the one placed on the bench seat and side. Repaved 6 walkway bricks near family room and the fake Cherry tree, did not want to continue with the remaining walkway as there's no where to end if I did.
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| Before |
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| After leveling the first 6 bricks |
2/25/2020: Got up at 7:31. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung's still out sick. Had 20 minutes MB with Rms, EJ. Redeemed $125 (ANA ticket change fee) from CapitalOne mileage (100 to $1).
2/26/2020: Got up at 7:25. Picked up one pack (x12) Artisan Roll from Costco. Trimmed off a couple of Oleander branches with Electric chain saw, took only 50 minutes. Played 20 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Went online and submitted 4 bill payments on Fidelity but had to remove two of them as Anita had already submitted them the other day. Explorer ~8110 for $1464.22, Explorer ~9981 for $458.25, CapitalOne ~2641 for $35, and Capital ~9019 for $137. Need to verify ~9981 did not change tomorrow as bill statement starts after end of today, also need to get PG and E bill for payment process. Called Anita at 3:13 for 50 minutes-this is a record.
2/27/2020: Got up at 7:00. Watered half of the roses on the right side of the backyard. Checked Explorer ~9981, the statement number changed to $460.85, $2.60 more than yesterday, edited the correct amount on Fidelity and resubmitted. The Iris in the backyard started blooming.
Played 20 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Brought back her screen window frame for new screen. Paid Francisco $70 for the month of February.
2/28/2020: Got up at 7:00. Glued several rubber pieces to the bottom of my exercise shoes, the one that had been with me for over ten years. Also glued back the head phone ear cover to its base, not sure if it'll last, will likely get rid of it if it breaks again. Started working to "restore" the LS400 Alloy wheel, plan was to sand away most of the chemical and flex seal (which I applied the last time), apply super glue to deep erosions and apply a silver color coating to see if it is acceptable by Costco tire service personnel. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, took nearly 20 minutes.
2/29/2020: Got up at 6:50. Hiking day, Jason to drive, there were 7 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Ching, Alex, Wayne, Jason, and myself. Worked on the wheel in the family room-dripped super glue to deep holes-the wheel was in even worse condition than I thought as there were many many deep holes after the clean up. Called Anita at 3:51 for 54 minutes.
3/1/2020: Got up at 7:30. Another flight change on our New York trip:
Stopped by Harbor Freight Tools and purchased two 2" paint brush, one pack (x3) super glue, and one spray nozzle, swing by Marukai and got one bunch banana, one Yakisoba set, one Unagi Futomaki, and one Rainbow Poki Bowl. Called Anita at 4:00 for 48 minutes-Her Mom's funeral is scheduled today at 1:30pm Taiwan time.
3/2/2020: Got up at 7:18. Stopped by Costco to see if they have the sale items I needed, to my surprise there were tons of patrons there, I had to park near the far end of the lot, not sure why the craze as if this was weekend shopping, I have never seen so any people on a weekday especially just 9:30 in the morning. I walked around but did not see anything I wanted so left without any purchase.
Played 20 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Filled up RX300 at Costco-$3.059/gal. Paid NCL gratitude $210 ($15.00x2x7). Called Anita at 4:00 for 42 minutes.
3/3/2020: Got up at 7:25. Had LS400 smog tested at South Bay Test Center at 1756 Houret ct, it's now $60, $10 more than the last time. The test took only 15 minutes but the traffic condition was really bad, spent 50 minutes on the road. Paid DMV registration $168 (plus $3.53 service fee-new) online.
Added some gas to LS400, discovered the gas cover disappeared, no idea what happened to it, could only guess it possibly fell off the holder while I was gassing up the last time and colse the outside cover without noticing it wasn't there, may have to buy a replacement. South Bay Test Center called, the guy forgot to put the gas cap back when he did one of the tests, I went back and picked it up, a little trouble but at least I now know I did not misplaced it during my last visit at the Costco gas station. Called Anita at 4:00 for 58 minutes, another record. Finished reading "The Drowned Girls" by Loreth Anne White-510 pages, a really lengthy book.
3/4/2020: Got up at 7:07. Stopped by Costco at 8:55, there were still twice as many people as usual, walked around nearly half an hour but did not find anything I planned to get, all durable goods such as corn and other can product did not exist, instead I got one bottle 1.5L Black Label Johnnie Walker, one case (x24) Stella Artois, two packs (x6 each) canned Sardine, one organic Cherry Almond Blue Chopped salad kit, and one box Madeleinnes. Swing by 99 Ranch Market and got one string garlic and two red onion. Had 10 minutes MB with RMs, EJ. No table tennis today as Stephanie visiting her late husband with Jennifer. Started working on the shade area just outside the family room, tons of ants. Called Anita at 4:00 for 48 minutes.
3/5/2020: Got up at 7:05. Stopped by Marina Grocery, got one bunch bananas, 2 pack (x3 each) Udon with soup, 4 pickle cucumbers, two pack thick bean curd, 4 tomatoes, one fried fish cake, one bag hot green pea, and one bag mixed rice cracker/nuts, no Taiwan rice wine and no spicy peanuts (the one I especially wanted to get, wonder if it's due to Coronavirus-unable to ship new ones??????). Started working on the "weed flower" infected area near the family room sliding door.
Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Called Anita at 4:00 for 47 minutes. Called Mom at 6:00 for 37 minutes, she's seemed to be in a foul mood-nobody's home and she could not go out herself......
3/6/2020: Got up at 7:08. finished repaving the side court next to the family room sliding door.
Put away tools and miscellaneous leftover in the backyard. Cleaned up weed flowers in the two planter boxes. Applied enzyme to the roses, expecting rain tomorrow. Called Anita at 4:00 for 60 minutes.
3/7/2020: Got up at 6:30, the rain started but subsided before leaving 1/4 in the receiving bucket, looks like hiking is still possible. Decided to go, my turn to drive, there were 4 people in the group: Ching, Wayne, Jason, and myself, Cindy and Steve joined us for coffee at Peet's. Stopped by Marukai and got one Rainbow Poki Bowl, one Yakisoba set, and one Salmon Shioyaki bento. Played nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes table tennis at Robert Chiang's garage, he has a serving machine, a bit too fast for me.
3/8/2020: Got up at 8:00 (it's 7:00 but daylight saving ended at 2:00am). There was a little more rain during the night, I was able to fill 3 white buckets and 3 litter box buckets, there are 3 litter box buckets, 2 litter containers, and 2 collecting buckets left to be filled-hopefully by late Monday. Adjusted the auto feeder time and refilled the bucket-Milly and Molly will have to eat one hour earlier. Had 30 minutes MB with RMs, EJ. Found out how to cancel NCL cruise.
3/9/2020: Got up at 7:28. Stopped by Lowes, got one can spray metallic look paint, one can black Flex Seal (their liquid version too expensive), and one general purpose garden soil, could not find the chicken manure advertised on their website-damn! A squirrel was spotted in the backyard, eating something collected from the rose bush next to the fence.
Called Anita at 5:00 for 57 minutes. Called Mom at 7:00 for 23 minutes.
3/10/2020: Got up at 7:27. Trimmed off a large Oleander branch near the front of our Korean neighbor, that's all for now. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Stopped by Costco but did not go in as the parking lot was nearly full. It showered a bit but did not enough to fill any collectable water. Called Anita at 5:00 for 48 minutes.
3/11/2020: Got up at 7:05. Stopped by Costco at 8:50, there were already 2, 300 people waiting, got one box (x12) Jimmy Dean Turkey muffin, two dozen organic eggs, one case (x12) sweet corn, one bag Tortilla, one dozen bagel, and one bag fish sticks. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Called Anita at 5:00 for 47 minutes.
3/12/2020: Got up at 7:10. Trimmed the front yard Oleander branches, Francisco did a quick job last month but left many uneven and ugly studs, also cleaned up dead oak leaves near the roots, there were also quite a few leftover Oak branches from previous Oak trimming by Leo.
Received LS400 registration sticker. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, helped bagging their quarterly magazine already bundled by other volunteers this morning. Called Anita at 5:00 for 53 minutes. Called Mom at 7:00 for 53 minutes. Completed 2020 online census.
3/13/2020: Got up at 7:28. Stopped by Marina Grocery, still no spicy peanuts, no Neoguri noodle, instead got 5 Nissin seafood noodle, 2 pack beef shank, one bunch banana, one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one pack Taiwanese sweet sausage, one pack (x3) Romaine lettuce, two thick bean curd, and one pack Escolar fish steak. Pulled 2/3 of the white flowers ground cover, thinking Anita will be pleased-but found out the opposite. Called Anita at 5:00 for 53 minutes.
3/14/2020: Got up at 6:45. Hiking day, Jason to drive, there were 5 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Ching (we did not see him on the trail though, he met his old boss and chatted, but he showed up at Peet's 10 minutes later), Jason, and myself. Stopped by Marukai and purchased one Yakisoba set, one Special bento, and one shrimp tempura roll, first time ever-the lines were long (at least 30 people each), we waited nearly 30 minutes before checking out. Had 20 minutes MB with RMs, EJ, washed all RMs, ready to put them away. The rain was pretty small but was enough for 4 yellow litter containers, should get more later tonight. Called Anita at 5:00 for 59 minutes.
3/15/2020: Got up at 7:25. Visited Marina Grocery again, long lines, at least 20 minutes wait but I managed to purchased two pack rice pin noodle, one pack Somen (壽麵), two pack (x3 each) Udon, one head Taiwan cabbage, and 12 Nissin Demae Ramen.
3/16/2020: Got up at 6:59. Arriving Costco 15 minutes before it opens, only 2/3 of the parking space was occupied, not bad right? no, instead of everyone waiting at the door, they now formed one single line around the building, it began at the left side and went all the way to Automation Parkway, a full circle, waited 30 minutes before getting in, they have another line inside for bathroom tissue and bottle water, I was planning to get cream cheese only but since I waited so long to get in, I decided to get more stuff and figured I won't come back for at least two weeks, so one tub cream cheese, one pack string cheese, two pack small Fuji apple, two tub organic plain Yogurt, one can seaweed salad, one bag Bibigo mini wonton, one bag large shrimp, one Thai Coconut Skillet salad kit, one Asian Cashew salad kit, and one box (x12) Jimmy Dean Turkey sausage muffin.
Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Six counties in the Bay Area will start "Shelter-in -place" beginning 12:01 am tomorrow morning until 4/7.
Called Anita at 5:00 for 55 minutes. Called Mom at 7:00 for 21 minutes, according to Mom, Tina's in the hospital, original diagnosis was the flu but thyroid was the next culprit, but now she's to have stomach problem (gastritis), fever is an on going symptom.
3/17/2020: Got up at 7:10. Anita's flight to NRT was cancelled, I checked ANA app and discovered all of their flights were suspended until 4/24, relayed this info to Anita so that she would not to get another flight any time soon, instead she ordered UA flight from TPE to SFO arriving tomorrow morning at 6:40.
3/18/2020: Got up at 4:30. Left for SFO at 5:50, got there at 6:30-the parking lot was pretty much empty. Got call from Anita while I was walking toward arrival exit gate, she's just got off the plane. After I spent 10 minutes in the restroom (for second relief of the day), I discovered she's waiting outside the gate, took less than 10 minutes-a record. Finished cleaning up range hood-3 hours in total.
3/19/2020: Got up at 7:30. Spend 30 minutes searching ANA website for refund link without luck, Anita gave up calling them after one hour wait. Fixed the middle loose riser of the center stairs, applied water seal to the back where I had to remove some wood section for a better and nicer fit.
Called Mom at 7:00 but Ahfen answered the phone as Mon's in the bathroom, checked Tina's condition-she's recovering from recurring thyroid issue. Called Mom again at 7:10 for 15 minutes. Finished reading Amazon First Reads "Death and Her Devotion".
3/20/2020: Got up at 7:18. Stopped by Costco with Anita at 11:25, surprisingly there wasn't a long line but we did have to wait in line for about 10 minutes to get in, purchased one bunch bananas, one bag Peet's coffee bean (Costco employee ground them for us-as required), and two dozen regular egg (they ran out of organic ones).
3/21/2020: Got up at 7:15. Shower in the morning, no place to go but staying home for the "Shelter-in-Place". Cleaned up spilled mercury from one of the old thermometer which Anita accidentally broke, luckily it wasn't in her mouth, Mercury was difficult to clean as it does not attach to anything, took me half an hour to do it, hopefully I did not leave large amount unattended.
3/22/2020: Got up at 7:18. Again stayed home all day.
3/23/2020: Got up at 7:06. Received the two exercise pants from Amazon, one day ahead of schedule.
3/24/2020: Got up at 7:05. Applied a little more Flex Seal to the LS400 wheel.
3/25/2020: Got up at 7:10. Received 30 lbs Meow Mix from Amazon, one day ahead of schedule.
3/26/2020: Got up at 7:10. Filled up the feeder even though it still had a few days' supply. Paid Francisco $70 for the month. Paid a visit to Costco with Anita, no line at all but they ran out of egg and bathroom tissue, we got one case (x24) Modelo, one bottle Kirkland B-complex, two bags coconut cluster, one bunch banana, and one box Yogurt chocolate chip bar. Called Mom at 7:00 for 30 minutes.
3/27/2020: Got up at 8:00. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, our Korean neighbor probably cleaned up some already and likely helped sweeping some on our side into one pile. Received a print order from Amazon photo which I have no idea how it happened, checked order on Amazon.com but could not find any information on this particular order, will wait to see if credit card charge reflect this.
3/28/2020: Got up at 7:15. Visited Marukai with Anita, similar to other grocery stores, it also limits the number of people inside the store, we waited 15 minutes before getting in, purchased one Rainbow Poki Bowl, one BerkShire Kurobuta Pork Spare Ribs, one bag Bean Sprouts, one Chicken Black Pepper, one Yakisoba Set, one Salmon Shioyaki bento, one Bara Chirashi, and one Spicy Tuna Roll. Freeways were nearly empty.
3/29/2020: Got up at 7:20. The "Burnt Almond cake" Anita purchased at Beard Papa's Bakery, next to Marukai, was delicious, had it for breakfast and mid morning snack. Finished reading Amazon First Reads "Where the Forest Meets the Stars".
3/30/2020: Got up at 7:09. Applied paint (the outside wall paint) to the old shade support hardware-divided into two sections separating 30 minutes as I did not have a drop cloth long enough to cover all of them.
Found the original holes in the outside wall of the kitchen sliding door, installed the two shade supporting poles.
Only the top screws were large and strong enough to hold, the bottom screws were mainly to make them stay in places.
3/31/2020: Got up at 7:20. Installed two hooks underneath the eavesdrop.
Discovered that the solar light I installed there no longer worked, the solar panel was still generating ~12VDC but obviously the batteries in the light fixture failed, took apart the solar light fixture, removed the batteries, tested with another multi-voltage adapter and, after half an hour, was able to make them work together, installed the new set on the right side of the garage.
4/1/2020: Got up at 7:15. Painted the two support cables before hanging them, cleaned the old wheel barrel wheel rim, applied paint to half of it, will do the other half after the paint settles. Completed the support cable construction-the other end of the loops.
4/2/2020: Got up at 7:25. Global Coronavirus Pandemic reached 1,000,000.
With Anita's help, we raised the supporting hardware into place, next step-adding wires to complete the mesh (semi).
Installed cross support wires. The wires were a bit too strong to stay straight,
Called Mom at 7:00, spoke to Peilee first on Amazon photo purchasing issue before speaking to Mom for 20 minutes.
4/3/2020: Got up at 7:15. Rerouted a couple of Passion Fruit vines onto the support hardware, hopefully they would grow into a nice shade for the deck.
Cleaned up weeds in the front yard-in between bricks, between concrete slabs, and in the two oval shaped planters, lots of dandelions.
4/4/2020: Got up at 7:30. Stopped by Marina Grocery with Anita, they also required customers to wait outside before getting in, plus no reusable bags allowed, got two packs (x8 each) thick bean curd, one bag small Gai Choy, 6 bags spicy peanuts, 6 Roma tomatoes, 2 white onions, one dozen eggs ($4.79-wow!), one Cauliflower, and two bags Rose apple-was waived off by an old lady inside the store as I was too close to her:-(. Swing by CVS on Berryessa and got 2 bottles 1.5L Barefoot Pinot Noir, 2 bottles 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2 bottle 750ml Barefoot Riesling. Added backup account for my Pixel phone, it'll be easier to switch phones in the future, also the backup data doe not count toward Google Drive quote.
Adjusted one of the Passion Fruit vines to clear low hanging situation.
4/5/2020: Got up at 7:30. Rained all day.
4/6/2020: Got up at 7:10. Rained all through 4:00 pm.
4/7/2020: Got up at 7:10. Finally cleared up, going to be a sunny day. Wrapped one more Passion Fruit vine to the shade support hardware.
4/8/2020: Got up at 7:20. Got rid of the bee nest growing under the eavesdrop just outside the kitchen window.
4/9/2020: Got up at 7:15. Stopped by Costco but decided not to wait in line as the line started at the entrance of the parking lot, instead swing by 99 Ranch Market, no problem getting in but it took over half an hour to check out. Got new Sling TV control info for Alexa.
Called Mom at 7:00 for 28 minutes.
4/10/2020: Got up at 7:10. Visited Costco at 9:30, looked like Google Map gave misinformation of 10:00am opening, there was a long line waiting beginning at the side walk, but actual wait time was less than 15 minutes before getting in-not too bad, was able to get one pack (x30) Kirkland bathroom tissue and two dozen organic egg, also got one pack string cheese, one case (x24) Stella Artois beer, one bag organic pine nut, one bunch banana, one Cranberry Walnut bread, one box organic baby spinach, one bag Asparagus, one bag organic Fuji apple, one pack large scallop, one pack Beef Chuck short rib, and ?????? (Kirkland Med Blend).
4/11/2020: Got up at 7:31. Left for my usual Saturday hike location with Anita, wearing masks and kept 6 ft distance with all other hiker throughout the hike, we finished it in 80 minutes.
4/12/2020: Got up at 7:05-heart problem persisted.
4/13/2020: Got up at 7:21. Called Mom at 7:00 for 30 minutes.
4/14/2020:Got up at 7:15. Filled up RX300 at Costco for $2.399/gal, in and out in 3 minutes. Checked sl's old green house hardware, decided they were all too short to use as Passion Fruit vine support structure, possibly need to procure them from Lowes.
4/15/2020: Got up at 7:10. Took the same hike as last Saturday with Anita, one hour and 20 minutes, stopped by Marukai, they allow seniors to go in without waiting in line, got one shrimp tempura roll, one Salmon Shioyaki bento, and one Yakisoba set, swing by Beard Papa's bakery next door and got two burned almond cake, and two small cookies.
4/16/2020: Got up at 7:17. Visited Marina Grocery by myself, no line to get in, little wait for checkout this time, got one bag small dried shrimp, one pack fried fish cake, two bags spicy peanuts, one pack pork sparerib, one pack Persian cucumber, one bag soy bean sprout, one can pork sung, two packs thick bean curd, one pack Bokchoy, and two carabi (大頭菜).
4/17/2020: Got up at 7:10. Found one of SL's old green house hardware, a 6 ft long flat steel bar, strong enough and easy to install, it was attached to the planter box support trellis, one end was also attached to the Cherry tree for a stronger hold. Filled cat food feeder-need to check every 3 weeks.
4/18/2020: Got up at 7:10. Walked to 99 Ranch Market and back, took about 40 minutes, we were going to visit their pastry department but would have to wait at least 15 minutes to get in so never mind.
4/19/2020: Got up at 7:19. Hiked our usual route in Saratoga, took one hour and 10 minutes, not bad, my heart condition was cooperating throughout. Stopped by 天才內廣場and purchased 6 chive wrap, one box egg plant, and one box green bean (四季荳), $29 was quite expensive plus the attitude of the servers there was simply too much to bear, will not go back any time soon. Received Wasabi sauce (x2) and vehicle dash/rear view cam kit from Amazon. Secured the conduit on the wall above the deck, tied up all 4 wires to their respective spots, rerouted several Passion Fruit vines onto them.
4/20/2020: Got up at 7:10. Tested the dash/rear view cameras, they seemed to work, the challenge will be wiring them professionally-making wires invisible. Further examination of the backup camera cleared my suspicion that it has to be implemented outside the back of the vehicle-the camera implementation hardware dictates the orientation and location, this means I had to drill holes in the body just below the license plate lights (had to stay shy of the back door latch) which is a bit off center.
4/21/2020: Got up at 7:30. Stopped by Costco around 9:40 - according to Google Maps, their store hours start at 10:00 but there were many shoppers already in the store?????? - waited only 5 minutes before getting in, got one bunch banana, one bag (x6) sweet Pepper, one bag organic Fuji apple, one Areds2, one box (x8) Chicken Pot Pie, and one pack (x9) spicy link. Hiked to 99 Ranch Market, waited 5 minutes before getting in and got 4 cup cakes and one nanny's pancake (老婆餅), the whole trip, including time spent in the market, was 47 minutes. Finished reading "Wall of Silence".
4/22/2020: Got up at 7:10. Rerouted one Passion Fruit vine from the other side of the Cherry tree. Prepared 12 cup with 4 different seeds-Okra, Passion Fruit (from Ying Wang), small cucumber, and large cucumber. Called Mom for at 7:00 for 24 minutes, she's feeling a bit better, will start taking new prescription today.
4/23/2020: Got up at 7:10. Applied metallic paint to the LS400 wheel rim, looks nice even if it can not be used as spare tire. Dry cleaned both cars, rid of dust and dirt. Cancelled United return flight from New York to SFO.
4/24/2020: Got up at 7:10. NCL cancelled our cruise for May and gave %125 credit for future cruises to be used by the end of 2022.
Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street. The flowers in the front yard are spectacular, huge and pretty.
4/26/2020: Got up at 7:15. Remounted the repainted LS400 wheel, it still did not resemble the real chrome rim but better than before.
4/27/2020: Got up at 7:10. Visited Costco at 9:30 with Anita, no wait at all, just like old times, but short line started to form when we got out at 10:00, purchased one Cranberry Walnut bread, one bag organic Fuji apple, one pack Kirkland organic chicken thigh, two dozen organic egg, one case (x24) fruit beer, one pack (x3) tire cleaner, one jar honey, one roasted chicken, and one pack Madeleines. Untangled a couple of the Passion Fruit vines from the eavesdrop as they were too close to the house.
4/28/2020: Got up at 7:12. Drilled two small holes underneath the license plate lights housing, drilled one larger hole next to the license plate (although it's higher up near the small holes, the attachment for the backup camera also needs super glue as the license plate light housing was plastic, afraid it's not going to be strong enough to hold the camera, checked Youtube for backup trigger wiring, it's not going to be straight forward but I got some idea how to proceed now.
Got United mileage back to my account, I now have over 90,000 miles.
4/29/2020: Got up at 7:10. Rerouted one more Passion Fruit vine to desirable location. Tested the red wire for backup camera, it seemed to work when connected to the backup light positive terminal-the display showed proper image when stick shift is at reverse gear, will figure out how/where to route the wires properly.
4/30/2020: Got up at 7:12. Stopped by Marina Grocery (walked right in) and picked up one bag ready-to-eat bamboo shoot, one piece fried fish cake, one pound lean ground pork, one pack Baby BokChoy, 4 bag spicy peanut, one bunch banana, one jar less salty soy sauce, 2 bag potato starch, one dozen Michelob Ultra, and one bag dried seaweed strips, swing by CVS and, surprisingly, found 5 bottles 750ml Barefoot Riesling, added one bottle 750ml ShoChiKuBy sake for 10% discount, the price had gone up 10% in the last few weeks though. Checked Target on Landers but failed to find any creamer or paper towel. Stopped by Target on Coleman, it too did not have any creamer-curses!
5/1/2020: Got up at 7:20. Cleaned up small amount of leftover garden waste in the street, pulled some weeds from the front yard as well. Finished installing the dash/rear view cam system, decided not to connect the red wire to the backup light as the only thing different was a parking assistant (stop lines displayed for safe backup), the rear view is now displayed constantly while driving or I could turn it off and use the mirror as usual, devised a way to hide most of the wires on the upper side of the vehicle which was relatively easy than removing all necessary trim covering-the one thing I am not 100% sure if I'll break some of them doing it.
Need to seal and protect the back camera wire as there's a hole drilled just for that purpose, covering it to avoid water getting in the car, also the wire wouldn't be damaged rubbing the side of the drilled metal.
5/2/2020: Got up at 7:42. Hiked with Anita at 10:05, finished around 11:20, not too bad. Called Mom at 7:00 for 12 minutes, she sounded a little weak but seemed OK.
5/3/2020: Got up at 7:45. Applied a small piece Flex Seal tape to the hole for the back camera, not a good job but appear to work. Visited 99 Ranch Market with Anita, got some dishes from their food department. The mini roses were doing extremely well, something we haven't seen for many years.
5/4/2020: Got up at 7:35. Trimmed Bird of Paradise withered flowers, watered the lawn and front yard flowers, fixed leaky hose-did not try it afterward though. Designing a new shade for the old patio umbrella with metal bars failed, I could not insert the shades into the hardware, and it probably won't hold once finished, decided to do without the metal bars instead, rounded the four corners-quarter circles.
5/5/2020: Got up at 7:25. After pondering over night, I decided to resume using the old hardware to join the two pieces of shade, but I first widen the gap that house the shades so that I don't need to punch them into place, instead they could be pushed into place, also drilled holes in the hardware as well as the shades (after they were positioned into proper position) and secured them with thin steel wires, applied the same spray paint as the feeder shade.
Anita producing rose essential oil.
Received all three Amazon orders, two were one day earlier and one was 4 days earlier. Finished building the new umbrella shade.
5/6/2020: Got up at 7:15. Stopped by Costco with Anita, purchased one bag coconut cookie, one bag organic Fuji apple, one tub cream cheese, one bunch banana, one pack Artisan roll, two case Michelob Ultra (x24 each but only 10oz per can), one tub organic Yogurt, one bag cheddar cheese snack, one pack farmed Alaskan Salmon, one Mediterranean Salad kit, and one organic Caesar salad kit. Anita dropped off the "Making the Cut" dress from Amazon at UPS near City Sports on Brokaw. Received Amazon e-mail stating the refund process has been completed-apparently they received notification from UPS, even though they have not received or seen the actual return item.
Correct 足三里 location.
5/7/2020: Got up at 7:25. Added several hooks below the new umbrella shade, this freed up much of the table space below for shoes.
5/8/2020: Got up at 7:14. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street. Updated MacBook Pro Time Machine. Applied Clear Flex Seal to the flower vase which was blown over by strong wind in the front porch the other day, hoping to keep water inside from leaking.
5/9/2020: Got up at 7:05. Hiked with Anita, one hour and 8 minutes, Stopped by Marukai, waited 35 minutes outside before getting in, but there were fewer people inside and virtually no wait for check out, purchased Today's Donburi, one Today's SP Bento, one Bara Chirashi, one Spicy Tuna Roll, and one Rainbow Poke Bowl.
5/10/2020: Got up at 7:10. My eyes were not feeling well, skipped reading Amazon First Read for the whole day, also skipped Sugar Smash.
5/11/2020: Got up at 7:10, had 5 minutes MB with legs, unsuccessful, no EJ. Trimmed off most accessible Cherry branch tips that were curling up and oily-looked sick. Reroute several Passion Fruit vines. Called Mom at 7:00 for 25 minutes.
5/12/2020:
5/13/2020: Got up at 6:45, sleepless night, pondering on how I allowed myself to get into this situation-blackmailed by someone out there, a likely hood my ugly MB video would be distributed to people I know, I would too ashamed to stay in this area. Continue modifying important passwords on my file, this is probably more important than the leaked video.
大頭菜-Kohlrabi (or simply Carabi)
5/15/2020: Got up at 7:15. Visited Marina Grocery by myself as Anita wanted to call NCL to clear up refund issue, purchased two head Kohl Rabí, 4 fast noodle (they have a lot supply now but still missing our favorite-Neoguri spicy seafood), one pack spice powder (滷包),two bottle 32oz Hazelnut creamer, one pack boneless beef shank, two pack beef tendon, two pack thick bean curd, one pack Escolar steak (鱈魚塊), one pack Persian cucumber, 4 Roma tomato, two red onion, 2 pound ground pork, one can salt, one bag dried shrimp, and 6 small bag spicy peanut.
5/16/2030: Got up at 7:15. Hiking day, got there with Anita at 9:35, finished the route at 10:42, not bad! There was another blackmail e-mail, damn! Visited Walmart with Anita after lunch, got 5 bottle Aloe Vera, 3 bottle 32oz Coffee Mate Hazelnut creamer, one bottle transmission oil, and one Oui yogurt.
5/17/2020: Got up at 7:25. Cloudy with very light shower. Kept myself busy to not bothered by the “blackmail”.
5/18/2020: Got up at 7:15.
5/19/2020: Got up at 7:15. Received powered USB hub from Amazon-delivered by USPS. 改了Notes PW-xxxxacyyyy!?pcl.
5/20/2020: Got up at 7:15. Decided to use thinner red wood to fix fence holes instead.
5/21/2020: Got up at 7:35. Attached the fence hole fix with glue, the one center meter thick piece was easier to make and install. Called Mom at 7:00 for 45 minutes.
5/22/2020: Got up at 7:55. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street-it’s more time consuming when the lawns were mowed, hard to sweep.
5/23/2020: Got up at 7:15. Went hiking with Anita, it wasn’t hot which helped quite a bit getting through it swiftly. Stopped by Marukai, the line wasn’t long but wait time was still 20 minutes, got one jar sweet pickled ginger, two Rainbow Poke bowl,Special bento, one Nasubi, one volcano roll, one bag bean sprout, one Yakisoba set, and one bunch banana. Received Amazon delivery-my AC wire tracer and Anita’s book “The Joy Luck Club”.
5/24/2020: Got up at 7:10. Received the 128GB micro SD from Amazon at 10:24, delivered by USPS. Inserted all remaining small cucumber seeds in warm water and place the container on the kitchen countertop, see if any of them sprouts. Replace the 32GB SS card in the dash cam with the new 128 GB one-should be able to record 6 hours of video before over writing over the very old.
5/25/2020: Got up at 7:10. Visited Costco with Anita at 9:30, entered directly as seniors-there we’re still many people (non-seniors) waiting in line to get in after 10:00. Purchased one Cranberry Walnut bread, one bag organic Fuji apple, one bunch banana, one bag organic pine nut, on box (x8) Angus burger, one tub Green Mountain Yogurt, and one set (x4) organic tofu.

5/27/2020: Got up at 7:08. Still hot but much better than yesterday. Discovered the Passion Fruit has started blossoming, current was 12 but suspected a few more had already withered. Registered Anita’s Jury duty online for the week 6/22/2020.

5/28/2020: Got up at 7:10. Visited Marina Grocery with Anita, purchased one bag beef tendon ball, one bag sugar, 6 small spicy peanut, 4 fast noodle, one string garlic, and two pack thick bean curd, also got two fried chicken drums and one Vietnamese snack. Stopped by CVS next door and got one bottle 750ml Barefoot Riesling, two bottles 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Pinot Noir, and one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot.

5/29/2020: Got up at 7:10. Checked the new water grew cucumber seedling I transplanted yesterday, realized that I put the root on top, which sjouke be at the bottom, it’ going to take more time for them to reverse. Hand pollinated 30 new Passion Fruit flowers (there were a dozen yesterday), they blossom so fast.
5/30/2020: Got up at 7:05. Started hiking earlier at 9:18, ran across Yung and Alice on the down hill hike, they took the other way recently, chatted for a while before going our own ways. Pollinated 32 new Passion Fruit flowers.
5/31/2020: Got up at 7:12. Pollinated 40 more Passion Fruit flowers-the most so far. Trimmed off some sick Cherry leaves. Refilled auto feeder, ordered two 22 lbs Meow Mix from Amazon, the 30 lbs package which I ordered last time is no longer available on Prime. Made a sand disk circular board (surprisingly good result without using a band saw) with Miter Saw and vibrating sander, drilled center hole for attachment.support.
6/1/2020: Got up at 7:05. Attached the disk board to the fan hardware.

Pollinated 28 Passion Fruit flowers.
6/2/2020: Got up at 7:10. Visited Costco at 9:10 with Anita, got one bag organic Fuji apple, one bag Bell Pepper, one case Mexican beer, two dozen organic egg, one tub Green Mountain Yogurt, and one pack (x4) lady’s Tank top-all done in 26 minutes. Pollinated 38 more Passion Fruit flowers. Transplanted 4 cucumber seedlings to the planter box next to the Cherry tree. Harvested 2 Cherries-at their prime. Received two 22 lbs Meow Mix from Amazon delivered by USPS at 4:03. Made 2 support pieces for the disk sander under construction.
6/3/2020: Got up at 7:00. New vehicle insurance ID from Geico are ready.

Pollinated 38 more Passion Fruit flowers under a scorching sun.
6/4/2020: Got up at 7:08. Made two wood pieces to attached the sand disk support boards, glued them and mounted the AC motor to make sure there’s no mismatch.

Pollinated 38 more Passion Fruit flowers, there were more but I had to hurry because it’s gardening day for Francisco. Called Mom at 7:00 for 28 minutes.
Made a 6-3/4 “ diameter sand paper from the square one, had trim off portion of the edge as I did not have exact template.

6/5/2020: Got up at 7:10. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street. Trimmed off Oleander branches that were hanging too low due to heavy flowers. Pollinated 60 more Passion Fruit flowers. Trimmed off most of the new vines on the Wisteria. Cut rabbet on the side of the disk sander working plate to expose more of the disk for use.
Attached the platform to the base.
Added a simple housing for the motor to protect it from dust.

6/6/2020: Got up at 7:15. Took the usual hike with Anita, one hour and 40 minutes. Stopped by Marukai, purchased one daily special, one Yakisoba set, one Shrimp Tempura roll, one Nigiri Sushi (10 pcs), one Shimesaba elf not, one bunch banana, one pack Kyuri cucumber, and 4 heads Baby Bok Chou, also got some pastries from La Patisserie Bakery. Pollinated 51 more Passion Fruit flowers.
6/7:2020: Got up at 7:25. Pollinated 68 more PFFs-a new record!
{Current count=465}
6/8/2020: Got up at 7:15. Started making a drawer for the disk sander, found a piece of lumber that could be used to crest the 4 sides of a drawer, however I am still pondering on how the front should look though, one possibility would be to make the front panel large enough to cover the entire frame...... Pollinated 31 PFFs, only half of yesterday’s count. Received the AC frequency controller from Amazon.
6/9/2020: Got up at 7:10. Prepared disk sander drawer bottom and front panels-they were all uneven rectangles.

Pollinated 55 more PFFs. Glued bottom as well as front panels in place, looking good until everything were put back together, the drawer was about one cm too long as it touched the disk while closed, I’ll have to trim off the end by that amount for the drawer to shut completely without affecting the sanding process, also not sure how/where to mount the speed controller since the locations of its plugs simply find no viable solution.

6/10/2020: Got up at 7:16. Visited Costco with Anita at 9:30, purchased one bunch banana, one Cranberry Walnut bread, one pack Artisan roll, one tub Green Mountain Yogurt, one bag organic Fuji Apple, one pack (x3) English Cucumber, one bag mix green, and one box organic Bella mushroom. Instead of trimming off the back panel of the disk sander drawer which is more challenging and may have unrecoverable result, I came up with a much better solution, adding thin pieces of wood in front of the disk sander so the drawer stays naturally away from the disk.
Pollinated 60 more PFFs. Glued all 4 extension wood pieces to the disk sander, need to add wood veneer to the up side of the drawer front panel to hide the ugly plywood center.

6/11/2020: Got up at 7:10. Pollinated 67 more PFFs, some of the pollinated PFFs fell off already, need to find out if this is normal or I need to do something such as applying fertilizer...... Added a narrow veneer strip to the top of the front panel, took a while to trim it to the exact size.

6/12/2020: Got up at 6:50. Stopped by Marina Grocery with Anita, purchased one fried fish cake, one bottle Heinz ketchup, 5 small bags spicy peanuts, one pack pork chop, 4 fast noodle, 4 Roma Tomatoes, 2 bunch green onion, 2 Carabi, one pack Escolar steak, one bag Mexican cheese, and 2 packs thick bean curd. Swing by CVS next door and, surprisingly, found 5 bottles 750ml Barefoot Riesling, purchased them along with one bootle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon. Pollinated 33 more PFFs, also found one PF evolving. Made a wedge and glued it to the disk sander, will use it to attach speed controller.
6/13/2020: Got up at 7:10. Hiked with Anita, stopped by TraderJoes’ and picked up one bag Brazil nut, one bag Cashew, one bag candied Pecan, one bag slivered Almonds, one bag Coconut strips, and one 6-pack Germany Henninger Lager. Pollinated 50 more PFFs-found out online that this kind (yellow PF) requires pollen from a different vine for pollination, looks like I have been wasting my time doing same vine pollination, damn!
6/14/2020: Got up at 6:55. Made another wood piece to help secure the speed controller to the disk sander base, glued it on before using an old fence repair aluminum hold-down and attached the speed controller, remaining tasks are fixing warped sand paper and another wooden disk.

Transferred all 7 PF seeds (only 3 of them had slight sign of germination) to small Yogurt cups, placed them on top of the feeder shield-give them more heat should help speed up the process.
6/15/2020: Got up at 7:10. Visited Costco with Anita at 10:30, got one case Dos XX Cerveza, one pack English cucumbers, one box organic raisin, and one pack beef short ribs. Decided to restore the old wood back plate to its original form for Anita to hang something she likes with, I’ll use other lumbers to make disk plate with.
6/16/2020: Got up at 7:20. Trimmed off a couple of Oleander branches and most young sprouts at the root, cut off one of the two branches of the no name dead tree next to the corner faucet. Made another disk from scrap lumber, using the Miter saw with my Innovative tricks, a nearly perfect disk was created.

Successfully installed Mac OS Catalina on my 2012 MacBook Pro, will use it with extreme care. Backed up Time Machine for the new OS on Seagate drive.
6/17/2020: Got up at 7:00. Finished installing the disk sander.

6/18/2020: Got up at 7:10. Stopped by Costco with Anita, purchased one bag Trident fried fish sticks, two dozen organic eggs, one tub Green Mountain Yogurt, and one box organic Kiwis.
6/19/2020: Got up at 7:20. Visited Valleyfair with Anita, this is the first time since Covid-19 Shelter-in-place started three months ago. Anita purchased (after returning one clothes she bought awhile back) one item on sale plus $20 off (because of her June birthday) from Anthropologie.

Got one order curly spicy fries from Potato Corner, it’s made after order was taken-we had it along with a 16OZ beer for lunch, great taste!!!!!!

6/20/2020: Got up at 7:12. Took the usual hike at 9:40. Stopped by Marukai and got one spicy Tuna roll, 3 heads baby Bok Choy, 2 bag Amanoya Himemaru, one white onion, 3 heads garlic, one bag baby cucumber, one bag bean sprouts, two Yakisoba set, one Bara Chirashi, one Salmon Shioyaki bento, one Aisugiri Choco Baumkuchen (chocolate cake), one and one cut watermelon. The store now has no purchase limit on bathroom tissue and other cleaning paper towel.
6/21/2020: Got up at 6:55. Transplanted all but one seedlings-equally distributes between the small planter beneath the satellite antenna and the planter beneath the Cherry tree. Found 4th PFs, the success ratio is about 0.6%.
6/22/2020: Got up at 7:15. Found several more new PFs, making a total of 8 as of today!

Called Mom at 7:00 for 27 minutes. Her Cataract surgery seemed to be good-seeing much clear now!
6/23/2020: Got up at 7:15. Checked one more time but could not find any more PF and 5 of total 8 are above the patio umbrella frame-it’s location seemed to make it an easier target for bees to transfer pollens from other places.
6/24/2020: Got up at 7:10. Labeling day, got there at 9:07, since Stephanie could not be here due to Alan’s pending Covid-19 test result, KG was in charge, finished 5 bags of magazines and helped bag all remaining ones after they were done.
6/25/2020: Got up at 7:10. Visited Costco with Anita, the all-weekday senior hour (9:00-10:00am) will last until 7/13, only Tuesday and Thursday will hold afterward, purchased one pack Asparagus, one bunch banana, one case Stella Artois, Two dozen organic egg, one pack string cheese, one pack Jumbo Tortilla, and one bag organic Fuji Apple. Moved table saw and Miter saw back close bean curd, and one pack lean irk ribsto the garage for now. Called Mom at 7:00 for 25 minutes, had to switch from 2Wire510 to ssc1746asus to get better connection.
6/26/2020: Got up at 7:12. Visited Marina Grocery with Anita, purchased one pack Persian cucumber, 4 Toma Tomatoes, 6 large bag spicy peanuts, 2 pack thick pork spareribs, Anita got one order of stir fried chicken and butter melon from the deli department. Stopped by CVS next door and got 4 bottles 750ml Barefoot Riesling and two bottle 1.6L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon. Discovered another PF, just over the Center path, this made a total of 12. Ordered one pack (x5) face mask from Nordstrom, to be delivered on 7/7/2020.
6/27/2020: Got up at 7:25. Hike with Anita, she slowed down a little easier today as she got tired after the hike last Saturday, took 5 minutes more.
6/28/2020: Got up at 7:15. Stopped by Target on Coleman and picked up 3 bottles 64 oz Hazelnut creamer, one pack bacon, one throw pillow, and two tubs Chobani Yogurt, swing by Marshall (had to wait until 11:00 for store open to get in, looks like they did not stock up during the closing period, not much to browse but Anita managed to find a small box to buy. Got to IN-N-OUT and picked up lunch- both drive-through and in store purchase were available, only out door sitting/eating was allowed though. Found another PF, high and hidden by leaves, it’s already quite large, meaning it’s been there at least one week.
6/29/2020: Got up at 7:15. Trimmed off some fake Cherry branches that were blocking sunshine to the Passion Flower vines, rearranged some Passion Flower vines to keep walking freely.
6/30/2020: Got up at 7:10. Started working on the tablet stand for the exercise bike, glued two scrap wood to make the stand panel.
Prepared more boards for the stand, still not sure how to safely make a stand base though.

7/1/2020: Got up at 7:15.
7/2/2020: Got up at 7:10. Called Mom at 7:00 for 16 minutes.
7/3/2020: Got up at 7:10. Trimmed Oleander branches, the more I spent time doing this the more I wanted to rid of most of them. Trimmed top branches of the fake Cherry tree, found possibly the biggest PF hidden by the fake Cherry leaves, there are possibly more waiting to be discovered. The photo could not show the actual size as there’s nothing meaningful to compare with, in fact it actually appeared smaller.

Trimmed more fake Cherry tree branches from upstairs windows, turned out more challenging.
7/4/2020: Got up at 7:30. Skipped hike today as Anita’s a little tired but visited Marukai directly, got one bunch banana, 1/6 of a water melon, one pack mung bean sprout, 3 heads garlic, 3 egg plants, two Yakisoba set, one Salmon Shioyaki bento, one today’s special, one Mochi soy, one pack raisin stickand 5 heads baby Bok Choy.
7/5/2020: Got up at 7:15. Trimmed off more fake Cherry top branches. Watched “Hamilton” from link sent by Alex.
7/6/2020: Got up at 7:10. Used the only small opening of the PF vines just outside the kitchen sliding door to reach and trimmed off several fake Cherry branches on the top, all remaining top shoots are less accessible as they are all in the center.
7/7/2020: Git up at 7:15. Stopped by Costco with Anita, purchased one case Big Kahuna beer, one box (x8) chicken pot pie, one bunch bananas, one pack organic Fuji apple, one box Cherry, one Thai Coconut skillet kit, one box mushroom, one pack Artisan roll, one bag Godiva chocolate, one pack Bibigo pork dumpling, and two dozen white eggs.
7/8/2020: Got up at 7:10. Redesigned bike iPad holder-ditching the use of old treadmill hardware, made 2 wider boards to serve as two of the three legs.

Tested the new hose with the old spot sprinkler, seemed to work, decided the old shower sprinkler pipe to the spot head, this should reduce the water splash when changing locations. Need to attach the hanger to the outside wall near the faucet.
7/9/2020: Got up at 7:20. Visited IKEA with Anita, got one non-stick wick and one 1000 lm LED light bulb, it’s not crowded and mask was mandatory, it appeared that people went through the display much faster than usual, COVID-19 played a major role there. Called Mom at 7:00 for 24 minutes.
7/10/2020: Got up at 7:20. Stopped by Marina Grocery, got one fried fish cake, two pack pin noodle, 4 Roma tomatoes, 2 pack thick bean curd, 2 pack beef tendon, one pack Persian cucumbers, one steel net filter, and 4 bags spicy peanuts. Swing by CVS next door and purchased three bottle 750ml Barefoot Riesling, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot, and one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon.
7/11/2020: Got up at 7:10. Went hiking with Anita, hot but we managed to finish it in one hour and 19 minutes.
7/12/2020: Got up at 7:30. Trimmed and adjusted the two upside down U-shape slots to fit the bike cross bar better, carefully drilled two holes in them to secure with screws, made a 12” bar for center support, glued it to the tablet board.

Found another PF while trimming fake Cherry, the total is now 16.
7/13/2020: Got up at 7:15. Trimmed several fake Cherry top branches. Received, finally, the masks I ordered from Nordstrom on 6/26, they are OK but a bit tight.
7/14/2020: Got up at 7:10. Filled up RX300 at Costco-$3.669/gal. Mom’s condition, according to Peilee, seemed to get worse, suspecting she’s in early stage of dementia, the symptoms she exhibited appeared to support this assumption, how to care for her is the big question.
7/15/2020: Got up at 7:16. Vistes Costco in the afternoon, purchased one bunch banana, one box royal Cherry, one box (x7) organic Kiwi, two dozen organic egg, one tub cream cheese, and one 27-gal storage container.
7/16/2020: Got up at 7:10. Found root growing stimulant replacement, honey and Aloe Vera are two best of the eight options, cut up 3 segments of PF vine, socked the cutting in honey water then planted in the clay pot under the Cherry tree. Called Mom at 7:00 for 24 minutes.
7/17/2020: Got up at 7:16. Visited Marina Grocery with Anita, got one pack (x6) preserved egg (皮蛋), 4 bag spicy peanuts, one head Cauliflower, one bottle 750ml rice wine, one pack frozen fried fish cake, two cans pork sung, one bag dried shrimp, one bunch green onion, and one bag oriental noodle (油麵). Stopped by CVS next door and purchased two bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot plus 4 bottles 750ml Barefoot Riesling. Cleared the master bathroom sink clog.
7/18/2020: Got up at 7:25. Hiked with Anita as usual except it was a bit challenging for both of us today. Swing by Marukai and purchased two bags mung bean sprouts, one pack Baby Bok Choy, two udon, one slice watermelon, two Yakisoba set, one Salmon Shiiyaki set, and one daily special (Tonktsu).
7/19/2020: Got up at 7:30. Exercised 2/3 of the Power Oxygen Yoga.
7/20/2020: Got up at 7:08. Planted 4 PF cuttings in two Yogurt container. Finished reading “Find Me”.
7/21/2020: Got up at 6:10. Stopped by Costco with Anita, got one dozen muffin, one bunch banana, one case Stella Artos beer, one plain Yogurt, one can B-complex, and one can Ardes 2. Trimmed off several fake Cherry top branches. Both Milly and Molly were napping in the backyard.

7/22/2020: Got up at 7:08.
7/23/2020: Got up at 7:10. Called Mom at 7:00 for 48 minutes-circling about things under her bed at night.
7/24/2020: Got up at 7:25. Went to ValleyFair with Anita after lunch, window shopped at Burlingame, a luxury store.
Called Peilee at 6:00 but he was with Mom at the hospital drawing blood, he called me back afterward.
7/25/2020: Got up at 7:08. We took the trail instead of our regular route, I forgot there was a steep dirt/step uphill, it took Anita quite some effort to get to the top, then decided to take the short path going downhill, 30 minutes was the time it took us, but Anita was able to regain her breath after a short rest. Stopped by Marukai, decided not to go in as the line was really long-our estimate was 40 minutes or more would be needed to get in-Anita got some pastry from La Patisserie next door.
7/26/2020: Got up at 7:05.
7/27/2020: Got up at 7:08. Visited Costco by myself as Anita’s not feeling well (asthma like symptoms), got one Caesar salad kit, one Thai Skillet salad kit, one bunch banana, one bag organic Fuji Apple, two dozen organic egg, and one pack (x12) Pineapple link. Called Mom at 7:00 for 30 minutes.
7/28/2020: Got up at 7:10. Trimmed off more fake Cherry branches on the edge so that I can access remaining top branches easier. Finished editing new UNPW file, also made a backup copy on Seagate drive. The auto feeder kept acting up-time/programming reset, unable to dispense food, this has repeated a couple times this week thinking the unit might be at the end of its life, then it dawn on me that the batteries may be low, checked the batteries and verified they were all below 1.2V which could be the cause of all it’s behaviors, ordered 8 Duracell size D from Amazon, hopefully this will solve the mystery when they come in Thursday (7/30).
7/29/2020: Got up at 7:08. Trimmed more fake Cherry branches on the top. The cucumber plants under the DirectV dish were doing great, current cucumber counts are 7.
7/30/2020: Got up at 7:08. Stopped by Marina Grocery by myself, got one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one pack (x6) preserved duck egg (皮蛋), 6 bag spicy peanut (2 large and 4 small), one string garlic, one cabbage, and 2 pack frozen fried fish tofu, also got 2 fried chicken drums with coupon. Swing by CVS and got 5 bottle 750ml Barefoot Riesling, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, and two bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot-neither Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir were on sale. Received 8 D size battery from Amazon. Setup auto feeder once again, hope it'll work tomorrow morning. Peilee called on Line, we discussed some of the possible actions we can take to help Mom's imagination issue. Called Mom at 7:00 for 23 minutes.
7/31/2020: Got up at 7:08. The auto feeder seems to be working-for now. Spent 40 minutes cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, also washed portion of the street as it was stained by various colors, not sure what though. Harvested the first cucumber of 2020, original seeds were from Kung's harvest last year.
Quickly diced and pickled them, will add garlic after draining the salt water.
8/1/2020: Got up at 7:10. Hiked with Anita, took the usual route as the trail was a bit too much for her. Stopped by Marukai but did not go in as the line was way too long.
8/2/2020: Got up at 7:25. Filled several more fence wart holes, it's been much easier with the make-shift disk sander. IShing called, we chatted for 30 minutes.
8/3/2020: Got up at 7:08. Visited Costco by myself, although it's still senior hour between 9:00 and 10:00, the doorman seemed to let every member in without checking at all, purchased one bunch banana, one bag organic Fuji Apple, one case Michelob Ultra, one case 21st Variety beer, one bag large frozen shrimp, one box (x8) Chicken pot pie, one pack baby Bok Choy, one pack baby spinach, and one seaweed salad. Ordered a replacement electric hair cutting kit from Amazon ($34.99 +$3.24 tax), delivery date will be 8/6/2020. Called Mom at 7:00 for 33 minutes.
8/4/2020: Got up at 7:11. Filled two more fence holes, this should be all I need to do except a couple gaps on the sides of one of the post-need to prepare thin wood pieces to fix them. Our neighbor across the street gave instruction to their delivery.
8/5/2020: Woke up at 3:30, read "The Last of the Moon Girl" until 5:00, went back to bed and got up at 8:05. Sent Jason link to social security benefits application-again (ssa.gov/benefits/retirement). Filled the gaps on two sides of the fence post in the backyard, this should restore the privacy we had. Found two more PFs near the patio umbrella frame, now we have a total of 18.
8/6/2020: Got up at 7:15. Visited Marina Grocery with Anita, purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, 6 small bag spicy peanut, one bag magic peanut, one pack Gailan, two pack beef shank, two pack thick bean curd, and 4 Tomatoes, Anita purchased one order bitter melon and half a roast duck from the deli department for dinner. Discovered one more PF on top of the Cherry tree, this made the total=19. Received Philips Norelco MG5750/49 hair trimmer from Amazon. Called Mom at 7:00 for 31 minutes.
8/7/2020: Got up at 7:20. Visited Nordstrom at Westfield Valleyfair, had to park at a different location to access its entrance near the Monroe street since the mall is closed, Anita found a pair of rain boots for working in the garden, perfect size and style. Trimmed off most of the withered branches of the Lavender in the front yard, also covered its exposed root with dirt and dried leaves, sprinkled water to smooth the appearance, it looked better now.
8/8/2020: Got up at 7:10. Usual hike with Anita, got in Marukai after waiting 30 minutes in line, got one Mochi soy cream mango, one Shimesaba wild Norway, one Sashimi Moriawase, one Hamachi Kama, one Salmon fillet, one Rainbow Poki bowl, one Yakisoba set, and one Futomaki (sushi roll). Swing by CVS with Anita after dinner, purchased two bottles 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Pinot Noir, and 5 bottles 750ml Barefoot Riesling. Discovered ants going into the house through one of the electric box under the eavesdrop, they used the steel cable holding the shade frame to access the wall, I need to either get rid of the access cable or use pesticide to block their access.
8/9/2020: Got up at 7:10. Stopped by Lowes withAnita after lunch, it was very crowded, guess everyone has to go somewhere and Lowes is one the few available, di not find turf builder or hose repair kit but I found ant killer, this is possibly more important than the other two right now. Sprayed the ant killer near the ant entrance to the house just above the backyard Arlo camera, it seemed to work, will check and apply more if necessary. Called Mom at 7:00 but nobody answered, tried again at 7:35, Ahfen answered but I wasn't able to speak to Mom right away for some unknown reason but was OK a little later, informed Mom I will be calling her every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00 Taiwan time from now on, hope she can remember.
8/10/2020: Got up at 7:22. Visited Costco by myself, got one bunch bananas, one pack Kirkland chicken thigh, one box (x15) chicken melt, one pack (x12) Artison Roll, one bag almond, one jar cashew nut, two dozen organic egg, one box (x6) Bibigo steam dumpling, one bag turkey jerky, one bag beef steak jerky, and one tub Green Mountain Yogurt. Trimmed off part of a large Oleander branch, also trimmed off several hanging branches over our Korean neighbor's fence. Harvested 5 more cucumbers, we now have 9 in the refrigerator, plus the one already consumed would be 10.
8/11/2020: Got up at 7:12. Thinned Bird of Paradise as its got too many branches robbing needed water and nutrition from possible flower stems. Cleaned up weeds in the front lawn, also removed withered leaves from the flower bed. Called Mom at 7:00 for 31 minutes-need to remember changing Wi-Fi to ssc1746asus before connecting.
8/12/2020: Got up at 7:10. Trimmed several Oleander branches hanging over our Korean neighbor's fence. Finished reading Amazon First Reads "The Last of The Moon Girls"-good read!!!!!!
8/13/2020: Got up at 7:08. Started building a simple table saw sled for my mobile table saw, components including front and back holder, bottom plate, and miter bars.
Water the lawn manually for 20 minutes. The fertilizer should be here tomorrow. Anita booked a trip to Pacific Grove for 9/1-9/3, the same place we visited in 2012.
8/14/2020: Got up at 6:50-got a light cold with windows opened during the night. Visited Marina Grocery with Anita, purchased one pack (x4) Neoguri fast noodle, one bottle sesame oil, 6 bag large spicy peanut, 5 bag magic peanut, one pack fish tofu, and one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, swing by CVS next door and got 6 bottle 750ml Barefoot Riesling and one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Pinot Noir. Received Mineral Supplement/Fertilizer from Amazon. The backyard temperature reached 42.1°C, another record?
Slept on the living room floor as it's too hot for me in the bedroom, woke up and went upstairs at 2:00 in the morning as it became chilly.
8/15/2020: Got up at 7:04. Applied the newly acquired fertilizer to the front lawn, water them thoroughly.
It's even hotter today, breaking yt another record.
Ordered a replacement mini blind for the kitchen window from Lowes, it won't be available until 9/3 though. The humidity in the house was really high and there was no wind to cool the house down, the bedroom temperature stayed around 88°F, unbearable for me so I slept in the living room again with the sliding door open about 4 inches, woke up at 5:00 by thunders, followed by rain, I quickly put away the table saw sled and other tools, also covered the table saw with tarp, the thunderstorm lasted a couple of hours, this was a first as long as I can remember. Had MB with hands and legs, EJ.
8/16/2020: Got up at 7:08. Harvested 2 cucumbers, the rate of new growth had drastically slowed, its season's probably near the end.
Stayed in the living room nearly all day as the heat was unbearable. Called Mom at 7:00 for 23 minutes-sitting in LS400 with small fan. The temperature dropped faster today but I still slept on the living room floor throughout the night.
8/17/2020: Got up at 7:10. Finished cutting the last portion of my table saw sled, applied furniture polish to the bottom to provide a smoother slide on the table saw, also applied WD-40 to the shaft that adjust the blade height, its the noise that lowing the blade I could not figure out a fix.
8/18/2020: Got up at 7:08. Visited Costco with Anita, got one case Tsingtao beer, two dozen organic egg, one jar washer liquid, one box Bibigo steamed dumpling, one box chicken melt, one box Laughing Cow cheese, one bag organic Fuji apple, one bag (x6) sweet pepper, one bag Caesar salad kit, and one box Kiwi. Called Mom at 7:00 for 20 minutes-did this in LS400 with the small portable fan blowing.
8/19/2020: Got up at 7:15. Filled auto feeder.
8/20/2020: Got up at 7:10. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Trimmed several Wisteria vines, they grew really fast. Visited Nordstrom (their Anniversary Sale) with Anita, parked right next to the entrance, Anita got a coverlet there, we were going to Macy's home department but did not know how to get there, after some thought I drove to Stevenscreek Blvd and after several failed trial to park (valet, Chase bank only,....) but finally got in the new parking structure and got to Macy's, made a queen/full size quilt purchase order with additional discount with new Macy's card application, upon leaving we discovered that we were right next to this parking structure when we visited Nordstrom, we'll just park here and visit both Nordstrom and Macy's the next time-make sure we got here through Forest Ave and not Stevenscreek Blvd.
Received Laura Ashley quilt from Amazon, one day earlier. Called Mom at 7:00 for 25 minutes.
8/21/2020: Got up at 7:12. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Had one more MB with hands and legs mid morning, no EJ. Had yet another MB with hands and legs, no EJ- all were based on the fantasy of revisited encounter with clothes changing ole, the only way I could get an E. Made a new stove back wall cover from the quilt cardboard box, also replaced the stove top cover with the new one I made a while back.
8/22/2020: Got up at 7:25. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Stopped by Misuwa to see their deli offerings, but the line was so long, we decided not to wait any longer after 5 minutes without any advancement, instead got a couple of protein burger and fries from IN-N-OUT for lunch, good decision. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Had another MB for 5 minutes with hands and legs after dinner, no EJ.
8/23/2020: Got up at 7:28. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Had 20 minutes MB with hands and legs after breakfast, no EJ. Had yet one more 5 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Had another MB for 10 minutes with hands and legs, no EJ.
8/24/2020: Got up at 7:15. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Had 5 minutes MB with hands and legs in the garage, no EJ. Had 5 more minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ, discovering hands could be more useful when hold on to the edge of the bed frame, almost like the real thing, I think. Had 5 minutes MB with hands and legs, partial at the edge of bed-more stimulating than anything else I tried. Walked around the block with Anita, took about 30 minutes.
8/25/2020: Got up at 7:15. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, almost but no EJ, guess I am at the critical point where a short stimulation would send me into EJ, think I'll finish it this afternoon. Had 3 minutes MB with hands, no EJ, but I almost could not hold the urge, so long movement is now unlikely, need to get the cycle over with. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ-the best I have in recent years. Finished reading "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", a lot of the details were missing in the movie. Called Mom at 7:00 for 41 minutes.
8/26/2020: Got up at 7:08. Swing by Costco with Anita, purchased one pack Artisan Roll, one bunch banana, one bag organic Fuji apple, one box Kiwi, one bag French bean, one box Bok Choy, one tub cream cheese, one tub Green Mountain Yogurt, one bag thick beef jerky, one bag turkey jerky, one bag Peet's coffee bean, and one bag Almond chocolate, also filled up RX300 with Costco Octane 87 at $2.899.
Removed the center boarders from the third level deck, examined work needed to reduce squeaky noice.
8/27/2020: Got up at 7:15. Made several wedges of different thickness for the cross beams support, attached them along with Gorilla glue, they were placed underneath the beams so that there'll be no movement of the beams when deck is used, also added one screw to secure one of the cross beams. Backed up Mac Book Pro on Seagate portable-Time Machine. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs in the garage, no EJ. Received Turf Builder from Amazon-one day ahead of schedule. Called Mom at 7:00 for 41 minutes.
8/28/2020: Got up at 7:15. Visited Marina Grocery with Anita, purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, 4 bag spicy peanut, two pack thick bean curd, 4 Roma tomatoes, one bag Mung bean sprout, 4one pack Neoguri spicy seafood noodle, and 4 fast noodle, did not find the spicy crunch chili with peanut, stopped by CVS next door and purchased 4 bottle 750ml Barefoot Riesling, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot, and one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Spent 15 minutes cleaning up leftover garden waste in the street-it appeared that the messy leftover in the street was from more than 3 different piles. Swing by Lion Supermarket on Dixon and N. Milpitas Blvd., they also do not carry spicy crunch chili with peanut, the only place to be checked is YonHo Supermarket, may try it tomorrow after the hike. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs after dinner, EJ.
8/29/2020: Got up at 7:15. Visited Marina Food in Cupertino and gladly found out they carrie香辣椒, we purchased 7 bags ($4.99 each, 60 cents more than Marina Grocery) plus one jar low sodium soy sauce, one dozen jumbo eggs, and two Mexican style corn. Anita's in a much better mood now. Removed the center composite boards of the level 2 phase I deck, the support beams did not appear to be too loose to create much squeaky noise, need to dig deeper to find out more.
Tried nails instead of screws to secure the cross beams to the beams, it turned out to be much more effective than screws and glue, reexamine the result in hour interval, seemed to be good, will reattach the composite boards back. Reattached the composite boards back, the squeaky noise has all but disappeared. I might redo the 3 level deck if it still has noticeable noise.
8/30/2020: Got up at 7:20. Added several nails and screw to strengthen the beams, reattached the composite boards afterward, the effect seemed obvious.
Started removing screws from level 2 phase II deck, this one flat is about 45% of the entire deck-a lot of screws. Walked the neighborhood blocks with Anita, took 32 minutes, stopped by the Vietnamese Tofu store and got $1.00 flavored tofu cubes on our way back. Checked RX300 engine oil, transmission oil, power steering oil, brake oil, coolant level, and tire pressure, looked OK. One of the composite boards had a screw stuck in it and would not come out, looks like I'll have to leave it as is, hopefully it would not interfere with enhancement work. Called Mom at 7:00 for 30 minutes.
8/31/2020: Got up at 7:13. Filled up RX300-about 2 gallons only. Had 8 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Fortified the beams with nails, screws, also tightened the screws holding the beam support hardware, seemed to be OK, will put the boards back this afternoon. Reattached all composite boards back, checked and there was still some squeaky noise but this is possibly the best I could do for now.
9/1/2020: Got up at 7:02. 2-night Pacifica trip today, we left around 1:00 pm, there was a delay of about 30 minutes due to accident, even though the Google map we used suggested a alternative route to reduce the delay but we did not dare to take it as we were too new on this, it turned out it was right, or well, we'll trust it next time, got to Asilomar Hotel and Conference Grounds around 3:40, checked in and got to our room 807 at Whitecap South, $200 per day with a partial ocean view, the rooms here have a very basic amenities-beds, bathrooms, table and chairs, patio table and chairs, no TV, although it did have Wi-Fi but the reception was location dependent even in the same room-the best reception in our room was near the table next to the sliding door, there was nothing on my bed which is also next to the sliding door. took a walk on the beach after dinner.
There weren't too many guests in the compound, which was good as we have more space everywhere we go, the Crocker Dinning Hall and gift shop were closed, and the Cafe shop had only coffee and a couple of pastries, this means every one will have to take of their meals themselves. Had beef, French bean, thick bean curd, and Merlot for dinner. Not sure why but I had problem falling asleep, and the sleep durations were short.
9/2/2020: Got up at 7:00, made coffee with simple tools, heated up the broiling eggs we brought along, also prepared fast noodle to go with-a strange combination but better than nothing. took a walk after breakfast, taking the paved walkway from the Hotel first, strolled to the beach again afterwards.
Our room on the second floor was much taller than the one we had on the first floor the last time (06/25/2012) we were here, no depressed feeling this time.
Took a short walk in the Hotel area, still pretty much the same.
Took a walk on the beach trail north of the Asilomar Conference Grounds entrance on Sunset/68, more rocks and tide pools to view.
Had French bean, chicken, thick bean curd and Riesling for dinner.
Still had problem falling asleep.
9/3/2020: Got up at 7:10. Took another walk through the compound walkway and beach, Anita collected a small bag of white sand from the beach for souvenir. Headed back home at 10:00, again, turned on Google map GPS route assistant, we missed the exit to 156 East because merging truck, luckily Google map lead us right back in a short time, got home at 11:32. Called Mom at 7:00 for 34 minutes.
9/4/2020: Got up at 7:10. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Stopped by Costco with Anita, purchased one bunch banana, one bag organic Fuji Apple, one box organic Kiwi, one pack Raspberry Crumble cookie, one bag organic pine nut, one case Hawaiian beer, one pack Duracell AAA battery, one pack (x8) Jimmy Dean breakfast bowl, two dozen organic egg, and one can Macadamia chocolate. Received the slipper from Amazon-for Anita's feet during cold winter. One, and only one, Epiphyllum blossomed. Had 5 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ.
Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ.
9/5/2020: Got up at 7:00. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, good EJ. Visited Marina Grocery with Anita, got one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one string garlic, one pack fried fish tofu, one head cabbage, 4 bag spicy magic chili/peanut, and one Celery. Did not get any wine from CVS next door as there was only one bottle Riesling available. Discovered 6 new PFs near the patio umbrella frame.
9/6/2020: Got up at 7:05. Had 5 minutes MB with hands, no EJ. Found 6 more PFs - a phenomena I have not anticipated. Received Pen Geometry Set from Amazon at 10:34. A record setting hot day, we have over 111.4°F around 1:45pm.
Trimmed hair with new trimmer, seemed to work better. Called Mom at 7:00 for 30 minutes, she slept well last night as there was no visitors, she hope it stay that way or at least end after the "Ghosh Month-from 8/18 to 9/16".
9/7/2020: Got up at 7:00. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Found 3 more new PFs making the total new ones 15. Trimmed hair again to rid of the loose ones I just found out this morning.
The temperature was. abit lower than yesterday but still at 3 digits.
9/8/2020: Got up at 7:00. Found 3 more PFs. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Hand trimmed some crabgrass, there simply were too many of them and some were deep rooted, may have to sek the help of special chemicals to rid of them. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. It's pretty cloudy today, the temperature did not exceed 85°F.
9/9/2020: Got up at 7:50. Found 3 more PFs, making the total 21. Had 7 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. The weather today was extremely strange, first time ever we had sky covered by smoke (not cloud), we had to turn on indoor lights throughout the day.
Found proper acupuncture points for healthy eyes.
9/10/2020: Got up at 7:06. Had 20 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ-nice. Found 5 more PFs, making a total of 26. Finished reading "Honeysuckle Season" by Mary Ellen Taylor from Amazon First Reads. Called Mom at 7:00 for 33 minutes.
9/11/2020: Got up at 7:10. Jason stopped by with 2 boxes of vegetables and fruits, we don't need to buy any of them for at least two weeks. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, most of it was small debris and dust, took nearly 30 minutes to finish.
9/12/2020: Got up at 7:10. Found 3 more PFs, making the total 29-although several of them seemed to have stopped growing (remained small). Transplanted 2 of the three PF stems I planted a month ago, they had since grown roots, one each in the large planter boxes, kept one in their original pot, I wanted to find out if they can grow up in different environments-one that had one died and the other did not have enough sun light.
9/13/2020: Got up at 7:42. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs (plus sound), no EJ. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Called Mom at 7:00 for 35 minutes.
9/14/2020: Got up at 7:10. Had 15 minutes Mb with hands and legs, no EJ. Harvested two small cucumbers, they did not appear to be growing any bigger. There were 6 or 7 new cucumbers showing up as if they were growing, will see if this is the case in a few days. Had 10 minutes Mb with hands and legs, no EJ. No more PF found-stayed at 29.
9/15/2020: Got up at 7:10. Visited Costco with Anita, picked up one pack (x5) organic Artisan Romaine lettuce, one pack string cheese, one tub organic Greek Yogurt, two dozen organic eggs, one bag roasted an salted Pistachio, one bag steak jerky, one bag Turkey jerky, one pack beef stew, and one box raspberry crumb cookie. Had 20 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Called Mom at 7:00, she asked me to call back 30 minutes later as she's not feeling well, I called Peilee on this and called back 30 minutes later, she said she's a bit weak, lost appetite (or lost taste for food), but other than that she sounded alright for now, I cut short the conversation so she could rest more.
9/16/2020: Got up at 7:15. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ-almost but probably should let it go soon. Spent 30 minutes trimming crabgrass in the front yard, did not appear to make much progress as there were simply too many of them, maybe we should redo the whole lawn and the sprinkler system?????? Walked the neighbor with Anita, stopped by the tofu store and picked up $2 worth of fried tofu before coming back, took 40 minutes (possibly up to 5 minutes in the store).
9/17/2020: Got up at 7:15. Had 15 minutes mb with hands and legs, EJ. Called Mom at 7:00 for 28 minutes, she seemed to be OK after the fall a few days earlier except remaining bruises on her arms.
9/18/2020: Got up at 7:10. Stopped by Marina grocery with Anita, picked up one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one pack unsalted butter, one pack (x15) fried fish tofu, one Hazelnut powder creamer, 4 bag spicy peanut, 3 bag red chili peanut, 2 pack thick bean curd, and one bag Mozzarella cheese, Anita also purchased half Pipa duck from their deli department, swing by CVS next door and purchased 6 bottle 750ml Barefoot Riesling, 2 bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Pinot Noir, and one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato.
9/19/2020: Got up at 7:10. Stopped by Marukai by myself and purchased one Salmon Shioyaki set, one Bara Chirashi, one Yakisoba set, one white bread thick slices, one S&B Wasabi family size, one Hamachi Kama, and one Bean sprouts, only waited 15 minutes before getting in. Had 10 minutes MB, after 20 minutes bike exercise, with hands, no EJ. Went to bed at 11:00 but woke up at 1:00, stayed downstairs until 1:45 before falling asleep again after some wine.
9/20/2020: Got up at 7:15. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Called Mom at 7:00 for 32 minutes, she's seemed to be ina better mood, sis, Dada, and Tigerlet visited her yesterday (Sunday).
9/21/2020: Got up at 7:35-I accidentally switched the alarm settings to #2 instead of both #1 and #2 yesterday when I vacuumed the phone set. Visited Costco by myself, purchased one pack (x6) sweet Pepper, one pack ham/Prosciutto, one pack variety cheese, two bag Pistachio, one pack (x2) Kirkland stretch-tite cling wrap, and one case Corona Extra beer. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. The Arlo base station hang again, installed the Arlo Pro base station/hub (very straight forward, took only a couple of minutes including firmware update), removed the driveway inside camera and added it to the new hub, accessing the camera attached to the new hub was about 40% faster, will probably move all remaining cameras to the new hub if the old hub ever hang again.
9/22/2020: Got up at 7:10. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Made a big pot of beef stew with carrot, onion, and potatoes, also squeezed some Ketchup in the soup. Bike exercise 25 minutes. Had 5 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Called Mom at 7:00 for 23 minutes.
9/23/2020: Got up at 7:15. Trimmed off new shoots from the bases of the Oleanders in the backyard. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Walked around the neighborhood for 32 minutes-taking a reverse direction than before but did not stop by the tofu store. Had 5 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
9/24/2020: Got up at 7:10. Trimmed a few more crabgrass bunch in the front yard lawn, sweep the cuttings to one corner so Francisco can easily dump them, cat poop smell was everywhere while working on it but I could not locate it.
9/25/2020: Got up at 7:15. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one bag Starbucks coffee (2.5 lbs), one container Kiwi (x7), two dozen organic/pasture eggs, one bag Bibigo mini wontons, and one box Raspberry cookies, Costco worker helped grind the coffee (fine). Had 10 minutes MB after dinner with hands and legs, no EJ.
9/26/2020: Got up at 7:10. Visited ValleyFair with Anita, the Mall opens at 10:00 but Macys open at 11:00, Anita spent 20 minutes in Anthropologie, got a hat and some hair wraps, ordered lunch from Bazille on the third floor of Nordstrom.
9/27/2020: Got up at 7:13. Harvested two cucumbers (one of them grew into unhealthy donut shape), both weren't bitter, also tender. Received the Pumice stone for feet from Amazon, one day ahead of scheduled delivery.
Jason called regarding Persimmon season plus problem with his phone, stopped by his house after lunch, downloaded a new camera app, moved some of the apps to the main screen for his convenience, got 14 Persimmons from Jason. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs in the garage, no EJ.
9/28/2020: Got up at 7:00. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Decided to rid of the red sofa, we took over it from the first house/condo we purchased in 1982, over this period we rarely used it, it mainly served as an area to put other stuff for convenience, Anita think we can get rid of it to free up some space in the living room, we also found out the remaining cushions may be used as bean bags.
Milly took a brief rest on the to-be-dismantled sofa.
9/29/2020: Got up at 7:00. Started disassembling the sofa, two layers of bottom cover were removed, lots of spring and supporting hardware were exposed, will be a challenging task.
Called Mom at 7:00 for 34 minutes.
9/30/2020: Got up at 7:05. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Tried to make better boiled eggs but failed miserably, will only make hard ones from now on!!!!!! Had 5 minutes MB with hands, no EJ. Placed order for reusable Keurig filter (x4) and one set mouth mask. Had 4 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Decided to work on the fabric portion of the sofa instead.
10/1/2020: Got up at 7:02. Had 5 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Had 10 minutes MB with hands, EJ. Continue with sofa fabric, lots of cotton.
10/3/2020: Woke up at 4:30, went down stairs and had a couple of sips of Taiwan rice wine before going back to sleep at 5:30. Got up at 7:00. Stopped by Lowes and picked up one bottle weed/crabgrass killer and one bottle liquid dish soap.
10/4/2020: Got up at 7:05. Peilee sent a message describing how the long weekend went with Mom, it's, once again, heart wrenching to know they suffered constantly because of Mom's emotion fluctuating freely. Continued with sofa disassembling, the huge amount of stables used to secure the fabrics made sure this sofa would not be disassembled easily.
Finished removing the backside of the fabric, it looked nice since it was rarely touched.
Updated Geico insurance renewal info online. Called Mom at 7:00 for 28 minutes, did not mention or ask about her weekend.
10/5/2020: Got up at 7:10. Stopped by Costco and got one pack baby Persian cucumber, one pack organic lettuce, one pack Artisan Roll, one box Kiwi, one case Modelo beer, two dozen organic egg, one pack (x12) Yogurt, and one Neilmed Nasal cleaner, filled up RX300 as well. Swing by 99 Ranch Market and purchased one bunch bananas. Filled the auto feeder-nearly empty. Played 35 minutes table tennis, 15 minutes with Kung, and 20 minutes with Stephanie. Had 5 minutes MB with hands, no EJ.
10/6/2020: Got up at 7:05. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Continued dismantling the sofa, took out a couple of large fabrics after attaching stables were removed.
Removed the sofa seat backrest fabric-in good shape.
Called Mom at 7:00 for 30 minutes.
10/7/2020: Got up at 6:58. Sofa disassembling continues, removed arm rests and all remaining fabrics, back supporting elastic bands, and arm rest panel support metal strips.
10/8/2020: Got up at 7:00. Finished disassembling the sofa, the only thing left would be the removal of remaining stables and dowels, put away everything for now as Francisco's coming today.
Removed the large stables from the two long bottom lumbers, also removed 50% of smaller stables from one of the long lumber.
10/9/2020: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco with Anita, picked up one hand bananas, one box raisin, and one bag organic Fuji Apple, this was a supplemental purchase for the week as we missed banana and forgot about raisin last Monday. Think I caught a cold during my morning exercise when I took off the light jacket feeling a bit hot, it got more serious while I cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street.
Jason called to inform me the Persimmons are now available for picking, I told him I'll go when I feel better. Removed some more stables from one of the long lumbers, the sheer number of stables used to make this sofa was unbeliveable, I have to take some photos to remember it.
Had to get back in house as I started to sneeze uncontrollably after 10 minutes. Resumed and finished the long lumber I had been working on.
10/10/2020: Got up at 7:35. Swing by Marukai by myself, purchased oneSalmon Shioyaki bento, one shrimp tempura roll, two Hamachi Kama, two Yakisoba set, one pack (x3) udon, one bag white bread thick slices, and one Tokyo Negi, one hour in total-15 driving over, 15 minute wait in line to get in, 15 minutes in the store, and 15 minutes driving back. Cleaned up the stables on the second long lumber, this one was much easier as it was not attached to the red fabric, estimated one third of the first one, also less messy since only one layer of plastic sheet was attached (the last one had 3 layers thus hiding a lot stables beneath second and third layer, making them very challenge to access).
10/11/2020: Got up at 7:15. Had 20 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Walked the neighborhood blocks with Anita for 25 minutes. Received the book "Up the Down Staircase" from Amazon.
10/12/2020: Got up at 7:10. Visited Westfield Valley Fair with Anita, she purchased one comfortable/loose pants from Anthropologie, we stopped by Nordstrom and picked up one cup size Crab Bisque and one Crab/Mango/Avocado salad from Bazille on the third floor, also got one small jar of Almonds Acacia Honey from Nordstrom at half price. Continued with sofa disassembling task, removed most of the stables (a couple of hundreds) from one of the two arm rest frames, also challenging although not the most.
10/13/2020: Got up at 7:00. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Removed all cucumber plants, cut them up into small segments and placed them in the planter, hope they can turn into fertilizer of some kind. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Removed all remaining stables from the arm rest frames, need to decide if dismantling these frames.
Called Mom at 7:00 for 30 minutes.
10/14/2020: Got up at 7:02. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Fixed the digging fork which had a broken holder. Transformed one more N95 mask whose elastic bands were too loose, replaced them with a couple of leftover bands from the regular masks I used for our new cloth masks.
Had 5 minutes MB in the garage with Mini, EJ.
10/15/2020: Got up at 7:12. Visited Costco by myself, purchased one pack (x6) sweet Pepper, two box (x8 each) Angus Burger, two dozen organic eggs, one bottle iron tablet for Anita, one pack Canadian bacon, and one pack (x4) assorted organic Jack cheese. Stopped by Jason's house and picked a load of Persimmons, it's just 1/3 of the whole tree but I had to quit as it got too hot for me, will continue a different day.
Peeled 72 Persimmons for sun dry, the remaining will be left for someone. Discovered a house on Springsong for sale which has exactly the same builder, configuration (only 180° reversed), and size, many of its new design/remodeling concepts may be copied here, made screen shots of their on sale photos.
Anita found her record of the old furnitures we purchased along with the first condo.
No recollection of the "throw rug" though.
10/16/2020: Got up at 7:10. Visited Marina Grocery with Anita, purchased one bag dried shrimp, one pack (x6) Taiwanese sausage, 4 bag HFH spicy peanuts, 4 bags HFH crispy spicy chili, two white onions, and one string garlics, Anita got half Hong Kong style baked duck for dinner. Swing by CVS and got 6 bottles 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, they were out of Riesling, will visit CVS on Berryessa tomorrow to get some. Paid RX300 DMV registration renewal online-$200+$4.2 fee.
Received the 128G U-drive and cheap digital multi-meter from Amazon.
10/17/2020: Got up at 7:10. Had 30 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ-while Anita's dancing with her TFGH classmates on Zoom. Had 5 more minutes MB with hand, EJ. Removed remaining stables and dowels from the lumbers of the arm rest, need to put away these lumbers for future use.
Stopped by CVS on Berryessa, got 3 bottle 750ml Barefoot Riesling, 2 bottle 750ml Fetzer Riesling, and one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, the Birthday card somehow did not go through the checkout but Anita did not realize it until she's out of the store, oh well, think I'll make my own along with other house photos, also returned the Keurig coffee filter to Amazon through the UPS store in the same plaza. Moved all lumbers from the sofa to the garage.
10/18/2020: Got up at 7:30. Stopped by Jason's house and picked 76 more Persimmons, there were probably over a hundred still on the tree but it was getting hot. Received Eddie Bauer down jacket (without hood) from Amazon, came 3 days ahead of schedule-was scheduled for next Tuesday. Peeled 16 Persimmons for sun dry. Called Mom at 7:00 for 40 minutes.
10/19/2020: Got up at 7:08. Went to Dynamic Foundation and picked up a bag of cooked chestnut from Stephanie. Had 5 minutes MB with hand, no EJ. Rode bike for 20 minutes, I needed this!
10/20/2020: Got up at 6:58. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one box Raspberry crumble cookies, one hand bananas, one case Hawaii variety beer, one AREDS 2, two box Noosa yogurt, one bag Bibigo beef dumplings, one box cream cheese poppers, and one pack Wild Pacific Cod. Mr. Kim, our Korean neighbor, placed one box (x32) Persimmons on our porch, Anita called Catny (his wife) to thank her, she's in LA with her daughter and grand daughter. Had 5 minutes MB with hands, no EJ. Called Mom at 7:00 for 36 minutes.
10/21/2020: Got up at 7:15. Had 8 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Stopped by Target on Coleman with Anita, got 3 boxes of assorted size Band Aids, a Birthday card for Mom, and one 22 lbs Original flavor Meow Mix cat food. Swing by Marshall and got two bags of Ghirardelli chocolate, one for our Korean neighbor. Attached the wire sheet to the bottom of the spring housing, moved it inside and covered the spring housing with one of the red fabrics then the new sofa is complete.
10/22/2020: Got up at 7:06. Had 10 minutes Mb with hands and legs, no EJ. Elle and Daniel stopped by to pick up the Persimmons, we chatted a little. Added $25 to Anita's T-Mobile account as it's running low ($4.8), this is the first time refilling before expiration.
Gave Francisco another bag of Persimmons along with payment of $70 for this month. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs in the shower, no EJ. Received American Express credit card for Lowes, activated online-although I had to find old UN/PW for my account from the old unpw file), put the new card with the old one in the attic under the flip entrance cover. Called Mom at 7:00 for 55 minutes, she's focused on the noise and image at night, also described the events around Dad's passing.
10/23/2020: Got up at 7:04. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street. Cleaned up another animal poop on the lawn, need to come up with a solution, no way doing this every day. Put away leftover fabrics from the dismantled sofa in the attic.
10/24/2020: Got up at 7:09. Visited Marukai and purchased two Salmon fillets, two Yakisoba sets, one Salmon Shioyaki bento, one Rainbow Poke Bowl, one Bean sprouts, one bunch green onion, two Broccoli crowns, and one Tokyo Negi, stopped by Harbor Freight Tools, got two 1" paint brush, one 2" paint brush, one set magnetic bulldog clips, and one pack 4-3/4" black cable ties. Received new RX300 license plate sticker. My driver's license renewal notification finally arrived, need to do this soon!
Took biker exercise photo to send to Mom.
10/25/2020: Got up at 7:10. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Got some Rosemary and Lavender and placed them on the front lawn hoping they'll do something to keep the animal poops away.
Called Mom at 7:00 for 42 minutes, she's in good mood.
10/26/2020: Got up at 7:10. Stopped by Costco and purchased one box regular Kiwi (they did not have the Golden ones we usually buy), one bag organic Fuji Apple, two pack thick beef jerky, one box seaweed salad, and two dozen organic eggs, filled LS400 with ~3 gallon Octane 91.
10/27/2020: Got up at 7:08. Stopped by the post office and mailed Mom's Birthday card along with several photos for $2.08. Decided to make the auto feeder rain shield stronger, with a couple of hardware enforcement, it should be able to hold with Miley's and Moly's abuse. Received Arlo essential camera from Amazon by UPS. Finished strengthening the auto feeder rain shield.
Called Mom at 7:00 for 43 minutes.
10/28/2020: Got up at 7:05. Consumed 4 PFs with Anita, delicious.
ot up at 7:10.
Filled auto feeder-it had only a handful left.
10/29/2020: Got up at 7:10. Cleaned deck with Shark steamer, Moved the folding card table to the backyard to be used as food table, cleaned up one of the patio chairs and moved it next to the deck stairs. ChiMing arrived at 11:45, IShin got here around 12:50 as he went and picked up a dish from 狀元樓, I prepared 4 Angus burgers and had them wrap on individual small plates. Also prepared some apple and Persimmon slices. Lunch went well, we chatted afterwards until 4:00 when Anita came back from City Sports after one hour treadmill workout. Called Mom at 7:00 for 40 minutes.
10/30/2020: Got up at 7:15. Visited Marina Grocery with Anita, purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one pack bacon, 2 pack thick bean curd, four HFH crunch chili/peanut, two Carabis, one pack small Gai Choy, one large bottle vinegar, and one pack spice powder, Anita also got half a roast duck. Swing by CVS next door and got 3 bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot, and two bottle 1.5L Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon. Dropped off Anita at San Jose Museum of Arts at 12:50, picked her up at 3:00.
10/31/2020: Got up at 7:05. Had 20 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Stopped by CVS on Berryessa with Anita, only two bottles 750ml Barefoot Riesling were there, added one 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, member discount was not qualified (6 bottles needed). Daylight saving ends tomorrow morning at 2:00am-Fall back.
11/1/2020: Got up at 7:05 (the old 8:05). Tried and some what successfully replaced the two layer concrete bricks as the base of the makeshift shade and tools cover, but had to use a couple of wood wedge to level it though. Called Mom at 6:00 (new time) for 28 minutes.
11/2/2020: Got up at 7:08. Stopped by Walmart to get Aloe Vera but could not find any, instead got one cabbage, one bag Parmesan cheese, one bottle creamy Caesar salad dressing, and one pack (x2) Bounty paper towel, need to find out if out Walmarts carry Aloe Vera. Installed the 128G Sandisk USB drive on Arlo Pro base station, hopefully videos from Arlo Essential Spot light camera (A-2) can be stored locally instead of the $3/month cloud. Had 8 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ.
11/3/2020: Got up at 7:00. Stopped by DynamicFoundation for quarterly magazine labeling, spent nearly 3 hours finishing even after all other volunteers had left, got one dozen organic eggs, 3 chayote/alligator pears, one jar jam, and some herbs. Had 40 minutes (2500 counts) MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Installed Arlo spotlight camera under the work bench, see if it can capture other animals accessing the feeder. Processed a couple of animal poops on the front lawn, still do not know how to handle this. Called Mom at 6:00 for 35 minutes.
11/4/2020: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one pack (x12) Artisan Roll, one case Hawaiian beer, one pack string cheese, one pack large raw shrimp, two Kirkland European cookies, one pack (x6 boxes) Macadamia chocolate, and one box Milk Chocolate. Trimmed off several branches from the "bush" trees near our back yard neighbor, they were getting too tall, will gradually trim them lower. Tried to start my driver license renewal process online, but ended up paying $37 for a renewal fee and a "complete" of renewal, not sure if this is just for one year extension because of the pandemic!?!?!?
11/5/2020: Got up at 7:00. Added $10 to Anita's cell phone as the election text messages from RNC were using up all her pre-pay dollars.
Trimmed off 3 more shrub branches. Called Mom at 6:00, she had some dizzy problem yesterday and had to be at emergency room where Ahfen and Sharon took her there, Peilee took off from work and joined them at the hospital later, the medication she took may be the cause-low (~40) heart rate and dizziness were the symptoms, Peilee and Ahfen will take her medication to 三軍總醫院 for dosage verification.
11/6/2020: Got up at 7:00. Cleaned up garden waste in the street, the piles were handled differently from all previous approach-two other piles lumped together and dump in the truck before handling ours-so there wasn't much left in the street and it only took me 5 minutes to finish the task. Had 10 minutes MB with hands, no EJ.
11/7/2020: Got up at 7:00. Stopped by Marukai by myself while Anita took Jazz on Zoom, purchased two Yakisoba set, one Rainbow Poke Bowl, two garden salad ready pack, one pack egg plant, one pack peeled garlic (I was getting unpeeled for $2.99 before I saw this for $0.97 of equal amount-there could be a mistake of the low price because the chedk item described it as green bean??????), one Salmon Shioyaki set, one white bread thick slices, and one pack pork baby back ribs. Had 5 minutes MB with hands, no EJ. Checked CVS on Berryessa with Anita, still no Barefoot Riesling.
11/8/2020: Got up at 7:06. Trimmed off quite a bit of the Passion Fruit vines over the kitchen window sun shield, I did not realize they were growing so fast. Stopped by Sprouts to see anything new, but realized why we hadn't been there for so long, all of their goods were at least 20% more expensive, so we left empty handed, swing by 99 Ranch Market and found out they do have pumpkin which we may purchase for Thanksgiving dinner, decided not to make a purchase today as the lines were long. Received the Wasabi sauce (x2) from Amazon. Tried to fix the rain gutter, which is bent over the master bedroom windows, I had to bang it with a long circular lumber to reduce the curvature a bit, see how this help the leak when it rains.
11/9/2020: Woke up several times during the night by the chipping smoke alarm, the battery was running low. Got up at 7:00. Stopped by Costco and purchased one pack (x8) 9V battery and two bags thick steak stripes. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
11/10/2020: Got up at 7:07. Installed Arlo spotlight camera on the right of the outside of the guest bedroom to serve as secondary view of the driveway, this will be the backup camera if the first gen Arlo base station fails, drilled hole in the windowsill to extend power line for the camera, sealing the USB port and provide. anew shield will be the next tasks.
Had 20 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Called Mom at 6:00 for 45 minutes, failed to convince her to take whatever medication the doctors prescribe, she's her own doctor.
11/11/2020: Got up at 7:08. Resumed camera installation, removed the camera from the wall and sealed the USB port/wire with Flex seal tapes and liquid, let it dry in the garage. Made a rain shield (a long one) for the new camera, with the USB port sealed , this shield should help prevent rain water damage.
11/12/2020: Got up at 7:00. Visited Marina Grocery with Anita, purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one pack (x8) Taiwanese sausage, two white onions, two pack thick bean curd, one pack frozen fish/tofu cubes, one pack pork baby ribs, and one Celery, Anita got half a Hong Kong style roast duck, swing by CVS next door and got two bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot, three bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, and one bottle 750ml Stella Rosa Tropical Mango. Almost got into an accident briefly absent minded, hit my head on the swing down hatch while unloading the wine bottles. Stopped by Lowes, looking for LED version of our ceramic light house light bulb, either they don't carry it or it does not exist since these bulbs were kind of ancient, got two pack of the original-Lowes was packed with people, even more than weekend crowds. Donated $21.84 for Wikipedia. Called Mom at 6:00 for31 minutes.
11/13/2020: Got up at 7:08. Leo came but asked for postponing tree trimming job to next week which we agreed as it is forecasted to rain this afternoon, he'll come next Tuesday instead. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one dozen muffins, one pack (x6) sweet Pepper, two dozen organic eggs, one tub cream cheese, one pack Canadian bacon, one pack (x4) Kirkland assorted creamy cheese, one bottle (plastic) chocolate (for Kim family), one box precooked Cioppino (seafood medley), and one bottle Extra Virgin Italian Olive oil. Filled up RX300 on our way back-$2.759/gal.
11/14/2020: Got up at 6:50. Visited Walmart, luckily got 3 bottles Aloe Vera (with white cap though), 2 bottles creamy Caesar salad dressing, and 5 bottles 1.5L Barefoot Riesling-this is the first time I run into1.5L of them-Anita's very happy. Had 8 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
11/15/2020: Got up at 7:00. Added $10.00 (plus $0.75 MTS fee) for Anita's T-Mobile phone, it ran down to ~$4.00 after she talked to Elena for nearly 30 minutes, also changed password (from xxxxMonica!? to xxxxMonica?!) per their request at the beginning.
Called Mom at 6:00 for 38 minutes.
11/16/2020: Got up at 7:00. Leo arrived at 8:35 to start the twin Oak trimming job. Trimmed off Passion Fruit vines near the kitchen sliding door, making it lighter to reduce load on the support, also add allow some sun light through. Leo also fixed the gutter and gutter guard, we found the missing gutter guard and he put them up, but I had to remove one piece (gutter guard) from the front yard gutter to fill in one last missing piece in the back, will see if the I can still find the same at Lowes. The total cost for his service was $650 (tree trimming) + $40 (gutter job) + $30 (tip) = $720.
11/17/2020: Got up at 7:05. Visited Marina Food with Anita, got 6 bags HFH spicy crunch chili/peanut and 4 bags HFH spicy peanuts, glad we did not go home empty handed. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Called Mom at 6:00 for 22 minutes, she's getting breakfast.
11/18/2020: Got up at 6:30-woke up by the rain. Stopped by Costco by myself, there were way too many cars for the date, but it could also because Thanksgiving Day is next Thursday plus (this is more true) the uprising of Covid-19 infection, there was a line for people purchasing bottle water and toilet paper just like 8 months before, I got one pack white mushroom, one pack (x4) Pomegranate arils, one pack Golden Kiwi, two dozen organic eggs, one pack mini cheesecake, one jar soy sauce, one bag Starbuck Winter coffee bean, and one box MoveFree. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs before shower, EJ.
11/19/2020: Got up at 7:04. cleaned up backyard fallen leaves (Oleander, Cherry, fake Cherry, and Passion Fruit). Received my freely renewed driver license, it has 5 years extension (expiration on 2/23/2026), luck me.
11/20/2020: Got up at 7:00. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, spent 30 minutes because a larger area had to be covered. Cleaned up Oak leaves around and under Lily of the Niles, removed most dried and withered Lily of the Niles leaves, took 50 minutes.
11/21/2020: Got up at 7:15. Visited Marukai while Anita does her Saturday Zoom workout, got two Yakisoba set, one Pork Loin Kushi Buta, one Salmon Shioyaki bento, one Amasu Sushi Shoga, one Seafood Mix, one Rainbow Poke Bowl, one Saba Fillet, one bottle 1.5L SCB Classic Junmai (Sake), one pack (x7) Raisin Stick, and one Cauliflower-the checkout lady short charged one Yakisoba set ($4.50). Had 10 minutes MB with hands, no EJ. Called Mom at 6:00 for 33 minutes.
11/22/2020: Got up at 7:08. Visited H Mart on Murphy Ave, it does have a lot of grocery selection and cleaner than others, but 90% of their product price is at least 30% higher, occasionally you can find some items at normal price, this maybe why I haven't bought anything from it. Rode 40 minutes bike playing Candy Crash. Had 15 minutes MB with hands, no EJ.
11/23/2020: Got up at 7:00. Trimmed off several fake Cherry branches that were sticking on top and at the center, fairly unreachable, decided to attack the rest of the branches from below instead. Backup Time Machine on Seagate drive for MacBook Pro. Trimmed off several more fake Cherry top shoots.
Called Mom at 6:00 for 45 minutes.
11/25/2020: Got up at 6:55. Spent nearly two hours trimming the fake Cherry tree and the Passion Fruit vines, thinned them well.
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Received my slipper from Amazon.
11/26/2020: Got up at 7:00, it's Thanksgiving Day. Cleaned up passion fruit and fake Cherry tree leaves in the backyard. Had 15 minutes MB with hands, no EJ. Called Mom at 6:00 for 30 minutes. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
11/27/2020: Got up at 7:00. Received Dyson DC44 replacement battery from Amazon at 6:41am. Moved all trimmings from Passion fruit vine, fake Cherry tree, and front yard Lily of the Niles to curbside for pickup tomorrow.
11/28/2020: Got up at 7:05. Visited Valley Fair with Anita, got a couple of Holiday Pins from Macys, got one ornament and one leggings from Anthropologie, picked up lunch at KoJa Kitchen.
Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Received Sandisk Ultra Fit 128G USB drive.
11/29/2020: Got up at 7:00. Stopped by Marina Grocery by myself as Anita has her workout, purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, one pack fried fish cake, two heads Kohlrabi, one Napa cabbage, two packs thick bean curd, one pack beef round flank, one pack pork sparerib, one bag dry sliced wooden ear, and one bag Gailan. Called Mom at 6:00 for 33 minutes, her night time saga continues.
11/30/2020: Got up at 7:31. Swing by Costco with Anita, purchased one finger bananas, one pack (x4) Pomegranate Arils, one case Hawaiian beer, one box cheese poppers, one box mini crab cake, one pack Dungeon crab (for Christmas dinner), two bag beef steak jerky, one bag Godiva Heart chocolate, one pack (x40) AA batteries, one bag Ghirardelli chocolate (Francisco's Christmas gift), and one can Nature Bounty Fish oil. Stopped by Marina Grocery and got 2 boxes of meat steam spice.
12/1/2020: Got up at 7:50. Walked to 99 Ranch Market and back, a total of 44 minutes including 4 minutes in the store. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Called Mom at 6:00 for 38 minutes.
12/2/2020: Got up at 7:41. Dropped off property tax payment envelope at the Post Office. Received Anita's UGG shoes from Amazon at 12.44pm. Small lights were arranged on several Christmas ornaments, they looked nice.
12/3/2020: Got up at 7:10. Cooked thick bean curd and soaked them in gravy for 3 hours before putting them in the refrigerator. Steam cooked sparerib with spice powder, should be good. Called Mom at 6:00 for 23 minutes.
12/4/2020: Got up at 7:52. Spent 15 minutes cleaning up leftover garden waste in the street. Received medical grade face shield from Amazon (via USPS) for Anita's trip to Taipei.
12/5/2020: Got up at 7:05. Stopped by Marina Food, purchased 6 small HFH spicy peanuts and 6 bag HFH crunchy chili. Swing by Marukai, got one string garlic, one bottle 1.5L SCB sake, two Yakisoba set, two Salmon Shioyaki bento, one House Oden Soup, one Hondashi (烹大師) Soup Stock, one white bread thick slices, one Spicy Tuna Roll, and one pack Baby Bok Choy.
12/6/2020: Got up at 7:10. Received CR2032 batteries from Amazon-these are used in the two small Christmas figures. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Called Mom at 6:00 for 23 minutes.
12/7/2020: Got up at 7:00. Received Kick Shuttlecock (毽子) from Amazon through USPS at 7:10 am. Stopped by Costco and purchased one pack (x6) Sweet Pepper, one Cranberry Walnut bread, one finger bananas, two dozen organic eggs, one bag extra thick beef jerky, one pack Canadian bacon, one pack (x4) creamy cheese, one pack sea food medley, one pack (x7) Golden Kiwi, and one Fig Brie. Checked the auto feeder food level, it still had about 20% but mostly stuck on the side of the container and would not dispense properly, filled the feeder to the brim.
12/8/2020: Got up at 7:00. Cleaned up back yard Oleander and Passion Fruit leaves, also picked up Wisteria and Oak leaves, put them in the trash bin instead of setting them on the curb side. Called Mom at 6:00 for 30 minutes.
12/9/2020: Got up at 7:08. Cleaned up back yard Passion Fruit, fake Cherry, and Cherry leaves. Tried kick shuttlecock a short while, this thing got me tired easily, maybe because my energy level had fallen badly.
12/10/2020: Woke up at 4:20, got up at 5:00, went back to bed at 6:20. Got up at 7:31. Cleaned up back yard tree leaves, it made. a difference if this is done on a daily base-it took only 10 minutes as opposed to half an hour the other day. Received Cross Style Black Ink Refill (x10) from Amazon, one day ahead of schedule. Call Mom at 6:00 for 25 minutes.
12/11/2020: Got up at 7:25. Visited Marina Grocery, purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, one bottle powder Hazelnut creamer, 4 bag HFH spicy peanuts, one pack pork spareribs, two Kohlrabis, one pack frozen clam meat, two box meat steam spice mix, one can Iodized salt, one bottle chili sauce, and one bag Mexican sugar, swing by CVS and got two bottles 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, two bottles 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot, one bottle 750ml Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling, and one bottle 750ml Stella Rosa Tropical Mango wine. Processed and transformed the Chili sauce into 4 bottles more flavorful and useable Chili sauce by adding water, soy sauce, grounded garlic, sugar, vinegar, also filtered out Chili seeds to make the sauce easier to consume.
12/12/2020: Got up at 7:05. Visited Walmart in Milpitas by myself as Anita attending Zumba on Zoom, purchased three bottle 1.5L Barefoot Riesling, 5 bottle Aloe Vera, one pack (x2) paper towel, and one bag (13.5 lbs) Meow Mix original cat food, the checkout line wasn't long, only 3 people ahead of me, but it took nearly 30 minutes for my turn. Finished reading Amazon First Reads "Open House".
12/13/2020: Got up at 7:18. Scooped up Wisteria leaves and placed them under the rain shield I made for Molly, hope she'll use it somehow. Called Mom at 6:00 for 33 minutes.
12/14/2020: Got up at 7:10. Cleaned up backyard leaves (Wisteria mostly) in 40 minutes. Visited Valley Fair with Anita. Not too much foot traffic, maybe it's because it's not a weekend, they have a new rule regarding food, the takeout order can not be consumed on the property but Anita still purchased coffee and a cookie from Starbuck and occasionally sip and bite them discretely. Massaged right foot thumb joint, it's painful while doing it but I have no choice-drinking lots of water, quit beer drinking, and massage the joint to see if some of the 尿酸 accumulated there (I think). Had 12 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ.
12/15/2020: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one bag organic Fuji Apple, one finger bananas, one pack (x8) Danish, one bag large frozen raw shrimp, two dozen pastured eggs, one pack (x12) Noosa Yogurt, one pack (x5) Artisan Romaine, one bag extra thick steak jerky, one Nature's Bounty Fish Oil, one pack (x12) Hot Link, and one bottle Kirkland Cognac. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Called Mom at 6:00 for 30 minutes.
12/16/2020: Got up at 7:00. Checked my SS monthly payment of $2256 (after Medicare deduction) per month-this is the 2020 amount. Cleaned up backyard, mostly Wisteria, leaves, piled most of them onto the planter boxes-took 45 minutes. Cleaned up back door neighbor's Apple tree leaves, dumped them in the garbage bin, Francisco can save some time in the backyard tomorrow.
12/17/2020: Got up at 7:08. Cleaned up backyard leaves, mostly Wisteria and some Oak, did the same job twice but the leaves kept on appearing from wind and withered leaves just came off, gave up the effort. Social Society payment will be $10 more per month sytarting next year. Called Mom at 6:00 for 33 minutes.
12/18/2020: Got up at 7:10. Spent 30 minutes cleaning up leftover garden waste in the street, since most of them was leaves, the area of coverage was large-again. Cleaned up backyard leaves, took 10 minutes. Printed 1040 form and Social Security Work Sheet. Walked to 99 Ranch Market (did not go in) and back, I really needed the exercise, took almost 40 minutes. Received the light fixtures from Amazon at 3:27.
12/19/2020: Got up at 7:21. Swing by Marukai by myself, waited 10 minutes before getting in as they re-started customer number control, purchased one Celery, one bottle 1.5L Sho Chi Ku Bai sake, two pack Salmon fillet, one Futomaki, two Yakisoba set, one Salmon Shioyaki Bento, and one Rainbow Poke Bowl. I had to take a detour to Hamilton before getting back to 880 as the North bound 880 on ramp was closed at 280/880 junction, an extra 10 minutes was wasted-I was planning to have MB but oh well. Seemed to have sprained my neck sometime yesterday, now it hurts pretty bad, had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
12/20/2020: Got up at 7:15. Cleaned up backyard leaves (Wisteria and fake Cherry tree), my neck hurts more than this morning, suspecting the sweeping motion was causing it, I should stop doing this for a couple of days to see if it helps. Called Mom at 6:00 for 28 minutes.
12/21/2020: Got up at 7:10. Visited Costco by myself (Anita isn't done with Hsian Kung), purchased one pack (x12) Artisan Rolls, one can Macadamia Chocolate, one pack (x8) Chicken Pot Pie, two dozen pastured eggs, one bag Extra thick beef jerky, one can Seaweed Salad, one tub cream cheese, one bag organic pine nuts, and one pack large Scallops, searched 10 minutes but failed to find baked Brie Anita wanted. Stopped by 99 Ranch Market and picked up several bags of sweet rice balls (with and without stuffing) for today-the first day of winter. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs (with help of s), no EJ. Rode 25 minutes bike.
12/22/2020: Got up at 7:31. Had 20 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Called Mom at 6:00 for 32 minutes, her mid night visitors are giving her some headaches.
12/23/2020: Got up at 7:48. Neck still felt bad even skipped sweeping leaves two days in a row.
12/24/2020: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco with Anita to pick up some missed items: one pack (x6) sweet Pepper, one finger bananas, one bag tangerine, one box cheese bread, and one pack (x5) Artisan Romaine Lettuce. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Started preparing Christmas Eve dinner (some small details had already done) at 4:00, only three dishes this time-Dungeness crab, mini crab meat ball, and scallop. Called Mom at 6:00 for 20 minutes.
12/25/2020: Got up at 7:10. Christmas Day, cloudy and occasional sprinkle, changed batteries for 3 of the small decoration lights.
12/26/2020: Got up at 7:30. Garbage day was pushed to today, the garbage bin was cleaned early but recycle bin wasn't picked up until 4:19pm. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ.
12/27/2020: Got up at 7:25. Visited Marina Grocery with Anita, purchased one bag dried shrimp, one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one pack Taiwan sausage, 2 bag HFH spicy peanuts, 8 bag HFH crunchy chili/peanut, one can Jasmine tea, two pack beef round flank, one string garlic, one small pumpkin, and two pack thick bean curd, Anita got half a Hong Kong style roast duck from their deli department. Called Mom at 6:00 for 29 minutes.
12/28/2020: Got up at 7:32. Spent nearly one hour clean up backyard leaves, the rain last night made them harder to sweep, left them in the garbage bin. Processed sweet Peppers (x6), made them into 4 groups-two for cheese/Canadian Bacon meal, one for scramble, and one for holding mini crab balls (for the New Year). Rode 30 minutes bike watching TikTok videos-this is quite effective since I didn't feel it at all.
12/29/2020: Got up at 7:12. Visited ValleyFair with Anita as the Nordstrom semiannual sale is going on. Anita got , she also purchased one large hamper made of wool from Anthropologie. Called Mom at 6:00 for 25 minutes.
12/29/2020: Got up at 7:12. Visited ValleyFair with Anita as the Nordstrom semiannual sale is going on. Anita got , she also purchased one large hamper made of wool from Anthropologie. Called Mom at 6:00 for 25 minutes.
12/30/2020: Got up at 7:00. Rode 30 minutes bike, had 10 minutes MB with hands, no EJ, took weekly (maybe longer) shower.
12/31/2020: Got up at 7:15. Stopped by Costco with Anita, there was a big crowd but, luckily, not huge enough to occupy all parking space, we got one bag organic Fuji Apple, one pack Golden Kiwi, one pack (x2) Lobster Bisque, one box cheese poppers, one can Nature's Bounty D3, 4 can MoveFree, 3 can Kirkland B-complex, one pack (x4) Danish, one bag Brazil nuts, one pack (x21) Scotch Brite heavy duty sponge, and one bag extra thick beef jerky, filled up RX300 before swing by 99 Ranch Market to get a can of soda to make bubbling wine but the waiting line was too long so I gave up and left. Filled the feeder, it had been more than 3 weeks since the last one. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
