1/1/2025: Got up at 7:00. Happy New Year! Blood pressure after 香功: 127/79/74-125/73/74-122/75/73.
1/2/2025: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco by myself, purchased one hand banana, one pack Mediterranean salad kit, one pack Chobani yogurt, and one Areds 2, swing by 99 Ranch Market and got one pack small Gai Choy, two Broccoli crown, and one pack 2-pound carrot. {Last EJ on 12/30/2024}. Called Kaiser at 1:35 trying to resolve One Pass member code issue, had to give up after on hold for over two hours. After finding out Robert and his wife were able to to get member codes from your one pass.com, I decided to try it one more time, for some reason, it worked this time.
1/3/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 136/82/78-122/81/78-127/79/78. Swept most Oak leaves away from the driveway (onto the lawn and under the Oak trees). Booked SAS flights for Baltic cruise trip.
Booked another SAS flight from ARN (Stockholm) to OSL (Oslo).
Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
1/4/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 130/81/80-134/77/79-111/79/82-121/81/80. Cleaned up most leaves from our backdoor neighbor, loaded them in the garbage bin.
1/5/2025: Got up at 7:15. Blood pressure after 香功: 118/76/82-115/71/83-111/67/83. Visited Valleyfair with Anita, since neither Macys nor Nordstrom opened at 10:00 as indicated on Google map, we had to visit Crate & Barrel first, came back around 11:00, Anita stopped by Anthropologie but did not get anything, headed home after getting Ahi Tuna salad and Umami fries. Booked two of four Slovenia optional tours.
1/6/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 128/81/83-111/77/82-124/76/80. Decides to dig up the soil near the sticking up brick edge as it was getting worse, turned out my suspicion that the tree of our back door neighbor was the cause.
Went to Kaiser with Anita, had my right eye fitted with new (larger model) non-power contact lens, putting on and taking it off was a bit different but the result appeared much better and I did not feel discomfortable at all, it may take up to two weeks for my contact lens to be ready, hopefully I’ll have it before trip to Taiwan.
1/7/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 136/76/76-125/76/78-125/76/76. Visited Costco by myself, purchased one pack organic Cherry Tomatoes, one pouch 3.0 L Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon, two dozen pasture egg, one Rustic Italian bread, two bag Pistachio, one box baked tarts, and one bag organic dried strawberry. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ (one of the best). Cut off several tree roots, the old chainsaw was working ok until 10 minutes into cutting, sharpening it proved useless, need to find some other means to continue.
With the reciprocating saw, I was able to removed last few roots, hopefully there wouldn’t more such intrusive ones in the near future.
1/8/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 133/78/75-125/80/78-123/73/74. Cleaned up and restored wood cover panels on the soil with over grown roots removed, cleaned up leaves in the backyard.
1/9/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 119/79/81-121/71/83-115/74/78. Walked 51 minutes in the backyard.
Paid LS400 registration renewal fee online per received e-mail notification, no smog test required this time.
1/10/2025: Got up at 7:00.
Blood pressure after 香功: 135/77/80-122/74/78-117/74/76. Spent 30 minutes cleaning up leftover garden waste in the street, also removed weeds in between concrete flats.
1/11/2025: Got up at 7:00.
Blood pressure after 香功: 117/74/76-124/82/81-116/85/81. Dropped off Anita at City Sports while I visited Lowe’s and purchased one can Easyoff, swing by H Mart, got one hand banana, one Chinese Radish, 4 Sugarbee Apple, one pack Bok Choy, one pack (x2) big green onion, one string garlic, one fish cake Sushi, and one Bibimbap. Renewed my City Sports membership, had to create another account, not sure why though. Used Easyoff 3 times to clean the frying pan, the result was disappointing as only the bottom showed its original color.
1/12/2025: Got up at 7:11. Blood pressure after 香功: 121/77/79-123/74/79-121/77/77. Visited IKEA with Anita, purchased one small bowl for Molly, one picture frame, and one pack (x10) clothes hanger. Trimmed some Wisteria withered stems until my right hand started cramping. Topped several high Wisteria branches.
1/13/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 131/76/78-142/78/73-121/75/71-128/78/71. Walked to 99 Ranch Market, purchased 4 carrot (they do not have bagged ones), one Cauliflower, one pack green onion, two red onion, one pack Chicken thigh, one pack cat fish fillet (Swai Basa), two pack clam meat, and one bag regular flour.
Trimming off some withered Wisteria stems, the remaining task was getting tougher as most of them were in hard to reach areas. Kaiser informed contact lens is ready, scheduled for 10:00 am Wednesday, 10/15/2025. Trimmed off more Wisteria stems. Ordered a 1000W portable power station from Amazon for house emergency.
1/14/2025: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco by myself, purchased one pack Grape Tomato, one bottle Coffeemate Hazelnut creamer, one pack short rib, two dozen cage free egg (missing pasture egg today), one box veggie spring roll, and one pack (x12) corn in cans. Filled 5 gallon 91 Octane gas for LS400 at $4.199/gal at Costco gas station. Not sure why but the eggs I boiled lately became extremely hard to peel, most if not all peeled eggs were terrible as a good portion of the whites also came off, this made me angry and frustrated…… Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
1/15/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 119/83/77-113/77/77-133/79/76-123/77/72. Anita accompanied me to Kaiser Optical Center to have my contact lens fitted, the result was nice, my right eye appeared to have better vision than my left eye now, it’s a bit challenging to use the new lens, putting it on as well as taking it off will take at least 5 minutes plus keeping it cleaned, I’ll need to refill the solutions every 3 months.
Found most contact lens solution and related gadgets on Amazon, will purchase them all except the wetting solution there. Finished Wisteria trimming, looks much smoother now.
Received floss pick and gum soft pick from Amazon at 7:02 (picked up at 7:25).
1/16/2025: Got up at 7:08. Had problem putting on my new contact lens, since this is the first time without help, I tried but failed 6 times before asking Anita to help it went on the first time with her direction, looks like I’ll need her to help several times for me to feel the right angle and location. Blood pressure after 香功: 125/86/82-129/80/81-122/79/80. Loaded all Wisteria trimmings into the garbage bin, also carefully shortened the garden waste in the utility bin to load them into the garbage bin. Almost missed the portable power station ordered from Amazon when our doorbell rang a couple of times which we usually ignore, caught the truck just in time just as it was leaving (checked security video and saw who was there), FedEx won’t simply leave shipments at the door, they need signature for this delivery, I guess another reason I did not pay attention was the scheduled delivery was tomorrow. Removed my contact lens at 2:00 after ~6 hours of wearing.
1/17/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 138/79/79-119/77/79-120/78/78-129/76/79. Played 50 minutes table tennis with Robert at Berryessa Community Center, the duty staff was mistaken to let us in as a special event was arranged to start at around 2:00, we finished removing all equipments back to the storage room at 1:40. Ordered a new hose to replace the one in the front yard as the leakage turned worse. Received the new hose from Amazon at 8:48 (picked up at 8:49).
1/18/2025: Got up at 7:05: Blood pressure after 香功: 134/82/83-131/81/83-123/79/80-123/74/80. Visited H Mart by myself, purchased one Taiwanese cabbage, one hand banana, 4 Sugarbee apple (the casher charged them as Fuji which is $1.49 instead of $2.99 per pound), two crown Broccoli, one bag bean sprouts, one fish cake Sushi, and one fried rice. Received new LS400 license plate sticker. Visited Great Mall with Anita, went in through Marshall’s and walked half of the mall before getting one pack clips and one 8 oz Manuka honey, stopped by Trader Joe’s and purchased one pack small Sugarbee apple, one pack organic carrot, one bag of pitted Prune, and one bag organic Thompson seedless Raisin.
1/19/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 132/81/81-132/76/81-128/79/80 (had to change batteries during the tests).
1/20/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 121/79/83-119/74/79-118/76/80. Started removing saw chain from the Remington chainsaw after watching a video on YouTube, brushed off dirt/oil from the screw/nut assembly area.
Ordered 4 led tube lights from Amazon. Received Remington replacement saw chain and oil cap from Amazon at 7:21.
1/21/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 143/83/78-127/83/78-125/82/76. Visited Costco by myself, purchased one pack Mediterranean salad kit, one rustic Italian bread, two dozen pasture egg, one pouch 3.0 L Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon, one pack Colgate tooth brush, one bottle Oyster sauce, one pack Strawberry, and one pack Spinach. Installed new chain and oil cap for the old Remington RM1015P chainsaw.
Had 20 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ (so-so). Received 4 led tube lights from Amazon at 5:49.
1/22/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 132/81/77-128/81/76-130/80/76-125/83/74. Filled feeder-only a handful remained. Went have my eye doctor at 10:45 after filling up RX300 at Costco gas station, my contact lens wasn’t giving me as nice vision as the last time I was here, it was 20/30 and barely 20/40 this time, the doctor suspected there was more tear in my eye that helped the vision, she’s going to order another lens for me and mail it to me, hopefully it’s before my trip to Taiwan. Visited Costco with Anita after lunch to see Chinese New Year style products, got one pack Chicken breast strips, one tub creamy Almond butter, and one bag Walnut & Date candy.
1/23/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 130/80/85-125/79/83-119/78/83. Visited Marina Grocery, purchased two pack sausage, one pack smoked bacon, one pack dried shrimp, one pack sesame pan cake, one pack green onion pan cake, one iodized salt, 4 tomato, one bottle Kimlan soy sauce, one lean pork loin, 2 green Bell Pepper, two pack boneless beef Shank, one pack Neoguri spicy seafood noodle, one pack Nissan Demae Ramen, and one pack Chili Bamboo shoot. Stewed the boneless beef shank. Had 15 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
1/24/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 132/86/79-134/81/78-126/82/77-128/80/76. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street. Replaced the last two fluorescent light bulbs in the garage with newly purchased Feit led lights, crashed all 4 fluorescent light tubes and dumped the in the garbage bin.
1/25/2025: Got up at 7:00. Visited Tokyo Central (originaly Marukai), purchased one pack Tokyo Negi, one tube Wasabi, one bag bean sprout, one Salmón steak, two Avocado ($2.39 dacha), Karaage (fried chicken), one Pork Katsu be to, one Unagi Futomaki, one Maruchan Nama Yakisoba, and one hand organic banana ($5.14 at $1.59/lb). Made photo copies of all deeds and certificates, added them to new Google drive folder 008-Home plus.
1/26/2025: Got up at 7:00. Walked 34 minutes in the backyard.
Ordered one 6.3 lb Meow Mix and 2-pack Clear Care Plus contact lens cleaning solution for Amazon.
1/27/2025: woke up at 1:30 and could not fall asleep for the next 30 minutes, had some watered Johnnie Walker Red and went back to bed around 2:40. Got up at 7:04. Received Meow Mix and cleaning solution from Amazon at 4:34 (picked up at 7.15). Ordered one pack contact lens inserted and remover from Amazon. Blood pressure after 香功: 158/92/77-145/90/76-149/93/74 (extremely high possibly due to lack of normal sleep). Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Made two contact lens insertion and remover stands.
1/28/2025:Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco by myself, purchased one bottle 750ml Hanna Sauvignon Blanc, two dozen pasture egg, one box Japanese Gyoza, one pack organic Grape Tomato, one jar of Kimchi, one bag snake Squid, and one bag sweet & spicy jerky. Stopped by 99 Ranch Market intending to get some green Onion and vegetables but gave up the idea as soon as I walked in the store, too many people in line. The refrigerator is leaking water again, the same as yesterday, it came to me that the exact situation occurred many years ago, need to clean up lower part of the freezer to allow proper water drain. After examining the freezer, I discovered a pool of icy water along with big chunks of ice were sitting at the bottom, it appeared that the freezer setting was not high enough to keep the large amount of food in there frozen, when water from melting food reached a certain level, out came the water, some water got frozen at the bottom as well, Freezer setting could have been altered when I moved stuff on the top shelf around, I’ll make sure the setting stay where it should be-at D. Received contact lens inserters and removers from Amazon at 4:06. Had a simple New Year’s Eve dinner plus the Kirkland XO Cognac we purchased 5 years back.
1/29/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure (high) after 香功: 145/85/85-143/82/85-139/79/82-129/79/80. Started painting garage side door, discovered the paint I bought many years ago was primer and base, unlike the ones I had used, this one is very watery, had to apply several coats to cover water marks on the door, finished the task by 1:15.
Before:
After:
1/30/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 140/86/80-137/72/78-128/79/78-134/79/77. Ishin and Robert arrived at 1:56 and 2:05 respectively for an afternoon tea snack and chat, we (mostly IShin and Robert) shared past experiences and old photos until 6:15. Ordered AO Office Pro for $19.99 from App Store, installed it on Anita’s iPad Air, printing appeared to work, made a copy (first copied it to my Google Drive, uploaded from my iPad Air <from Google Drive> to Airdrop destination it to Anita’s iPad Air) of current version balance sheet, opening it appeared OK, Anita will try editing the file tomorrow, hope it goes smoothly.
1/31/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 125/82/81-121/73/82-114/75/80. Played one hour and 10 minutes table tennis with Anita at Berryessa Community Center. Set AO Office Pro pw to “xxxxacyyyy!?”.
2/1/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after香功: 125/79/82-121/75/87-113/78/88. Stopped by H Mart, purchased 4 Sugarbee apple (looks like they have a fresh delivery), 4 Carrots, one pack (x4) pork dumplings, one pack Bok Choy, one pack mini Peppers, one spicy rice cake, and one hand bananas. Cleaned up backyard loose leaves (mostly from back door neighbor).
2/2/2025: Got up at 7:00. met IShin and Robert at iHop Milpitas for 9:00 breakfast, I did not order anything but shared some IShin’s pancake, ended up taking the remaining appetizer Chicken Quesadilla home, I paid with credit card but they insisted sharing and gave me $30 each.
Replaced yellow toner for Brother, it had stopped printing completely. Reserved Uber ride for 2/11 flight back to Taiwan.
2/3/2025: Got up at 7:15. Blood pressure after 香功: 132/83/85-127/77/86-121/74/83. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Ordered one set Egyptian Magic cream on Costco.com for Anita, it will be delivered on 11/7/2025.
2/4/2025: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco by myself, purchased one Rosemary Parmesan Cheese loaf, one pack (x4) Colgate Optic White Platinum toothpaste, one pack Tyson Chicken strips, one pack organic Cauliflower stir-fry rice, one pack (x12) Noosa Yogurt, and two dozen pasture egg, tried but could not find Sports Measure Omega-3 fish oil.
2/5/2025: Got up at 7:00. Filled RX300 at Costco gas station at $3.899/gal, picked up one bag Macadamia nut from Costco, swing by Post Office and dropped off the used “compatible” toner cartridge-free return.
Trimmed off several Duranta Erecta (金露花) branches to clear porch camera view, also view to our Korean neighbor driveway. Cleaned up backyard leaves. The Daffodil Anita transplanted to the front porch shined its vibrancy.
2/6/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 127/82/90-121/73/87-109/73/86. Finished reading “The Drowning Game” by Barbara Nickless.
2/7/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 134/84/88-140/76/87-128/75/86-115/75/82. Played one hour table tennis with Anita, Robert, and one other guy (Kim or King) at Berryessa Community Center. Ordered 2 year NordVPN for introduction price of $81.36 ($139.08 per year is current regular price).
2/8/2025: Got up at 7:00. The toilet downstairs had another pool of water near the back wall, turned out one of the screws securing the tank was loose, tightening it below with wrench made it worse, finally realized I had to use a screw driver to turn it from inside the tank while clamping the nut below to tighten it, it seemed to work for now, need to monitor it closely. Visited H Mart by myself, purchased 4 Sugarbee apple, 4 carrot, one hand banana, and one Fish cake Maki. Cleaned up backyard leaves, tidied up Passion Fruit vines for undisrupted walking underneath.
2/9/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 133/83/80-141/79/78-119/79/76. Filled feeder even though it was 2/3 full. Cleaned up the small rug we purchased from Macys 40 years ago, wiped it with steel rod then vacuumed it thoroughly. Disconnected LS400 batería and locked the car. Blocked garage side door with Mobile table saw.
2/10/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 141/84/80-136/81/79-127/79/76-134/79/78. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Had to reset and remove the Tapo camera as it was recording…., could not reconnect it back on, giving up and moved the one in the guest bedroom to replace it. Mánaged deleting all files (al through I could not find any of the specific files I was on) on the micro SD card with memory card reader connected through iPad power port. Received Anita’s Egyptian Magic crema from Costco through UPS at 1:01. Finished checking in at 1:53.
A good quote:
2/11/2025-2/12/2025: Got up at 7:00.
Blood pressure after 香功: 132/78/88-123/77/87-127/79/86. Uber picked me up at 9:55, got to SFO at 10:38, went through security check at 10:54. Decided not to have lunch at the restaurantes, insté and had a couple of soda biscuits to easy my hunger. Boarded flight 871 at 12:55. Flight UA871 took off at 1:47, 12 minutes behind schedule. Had 3 bottle (small~200ml) white wine with the first two meals (two for late lunch and one for mis-fligh snack), meals were more gaste than before. Arriving TPE at 7:28, 22 minutes ahead of schedule, zip through e-passport check point but waited 15 minutes for my lugareñas there were 3 concurrent flights on each of the 8 carousels. Peine picked me up just outside the exit gate, it rained all through the drive to Neihu. Chatted with Anita by drop-in to “bedroom” echo. Turned in around 10:50.
2/13/2025: Go up at 5:30. Called Anita with “drop-in” from the Echo Dot to Patrick’s Echo at 9:50. The efe galss store was not open for business today, had to come back another day. Turned in around 8:40.
2/14/2025: Called (drop-in) Anita at 6:10. Got up at 6:20. Washed socks, 32° underwear, and boxer in Peilee’s new washer, took nearly one hour, need to find out a much shorter cycle selection. Had my haircut by the same lady (Peilee always go to her for haircut) I had been going on and off the last 10 years, possibly as a result of my own bad trimings, se had to cut it short to make it presentable, I paíd her NT$600 (tip NT$200 included).
Stopped by PX Mart and purchased one pack cucú her, one pack Apple, one pack Cherry, half a loan of all wheat bread, one tub cream cheese, and one pack ham. Peilee accompanied me to get a new pair of glasses at 小林眼鏡行, it turned out I am far sighted (no wonder my old pair with far sightness correction bears opposite effect) with some astigmatism on my right eye and near sighted with some astigmatism on my left eye, I choose the least expensive frame with zero special glass features, the total was NT$2480, ready by Monday evening. Swing by Bihu post office and transfieres NT$3000 to 玉明 for Tzu Chi charity. Stopped by Carrefour market and purchased one bootle 750ml Smirnoff Vodka. 玉明acknowledged receiving NT$3000. Turned in around 9:40. To my surprise, the balance was over NT$300000.
2/15/2025: Woke up at 4:30, called (drop-in) Anita at 5:34, got up at 5:47. Walked through 湖光市場but día not but anything as I wasn’t sure hoy to buy there, insté and swing by PX Mart and purchased one Chinese Radish, one pack carros, two pack pork shoulder bone, one pack Bonito favor MSG, one can Kelp favor MSG, one pack Sugar Cane sugar, and one bag Soda. Walked toward Dani Park but turned around at the junction of section 4 and section 5, stopped by 楓采bakery and purchased 5 buns before heading back, total walk exercise was 77 minutes.
Rode bus with Peilee, Ahfen, and Sharon to 麵匡匡拉麵食堂in 東湖.
Final walk exercise for the day.
2/16/2025: Got up at 7:15. Called (drop-in) Anita at 9:05. Went with Peilee, Ahfen, Tina, and Sharon to 統一時代百貨, had lunch at 涓豆腐韓國料理.
Sis called at 3:13 for 7 minutes, will find time to get together.
2/18/2025: Got up at 6:30. Called (drop-in) Anita at 7:05 briefly, will call her when I got to 博愛街. Arriving at 10:05, examined the two cans of paint and evaluated how and what to tackle. Called (LINE call) Anita at 10:22 for 25 minutes. Headed out to 博愛街at 9:40, got there at 10:45, called Anita at 10:23 for 25 minutes, Kwang Hua came to show me the directions to 頂溪菜市場on behalf of my request, purchased two bento before coming back to 博愛街, she also tipped me on some of the necesites living there. Left there at 2:05 and got back to Neihu at 3:10. Stopped by 百利金and got several paint brushes.
Went to pick up my new eye glasses at 小林眼鏡, but was told it hadn’t come in, will call when it did. Stopped PX Mart and picked up Apple, 蓮霧, orange, one other fruit, two can of beer, 5 different kinds of crackers/snacks. 小林眼鏡called to notify the glass won’t come in until 12:15 tomorrow noon.
2/19/2025: Got up at 6:30. Called Anita at 9:22 for 21 minutes. Visited 慈恩園with Peilee, went in Peilee’s car as it was drizzling, paid respect to Dad and Mom. Peilee dropped me off near 小林眼鏡, picked up my glasses before walking home. Had lunch with Peilee at 涼盛吉食just around the corner, stopped by 歡田包子and purchased 10 plus 2 free ones, will bring 6 包子over to 博愛街tomorrow. Turned in around 10:15.
2/19/2025: Got up at 6:15. Headed out at 9:15, arriving 博愛街at 10:15. Called Anita at 10:21 for 21 minutes. Visited 小北百貨, got one peeler, one pair of rubber glove, and one spray paint, the shortcut to most of the stores was closed, had to take long route. Tried but failed to find newspaper in convenient stores, had to find other ways to protect the floor while painting. Picked up 4 cooked eggs at 美而社. Started with the cabinet below the kitchen sink, not sure if want to paint the side panel since there were door hinges. The white paint which felt full but was actually slightly used, some of the moisture must have escaped as I had to add some water to fully stir it to smooth texture.
Finished sink cabinet bottom plus its front trimmings.
Visited PX Mart, purchased one bottle 750 ml Yellowtail Moscato, one bottle Kinmen 58° liquor, and two breakfast buns, got one Chicken bento from 竹林雞肉.
2/20/2025: Got up at 6:30. Started painting kitchen walls. Called Anita at 9:41 for 30 minutes. Started painting family room walls, it appeared that the new paint blends well with existing wall color, no apparent difference. Attempted to spray paint toilet seat cover, the odor and the bleeding of paint made the task impossible, so I gave up. Took a break walking toward 石河濱公園but not sure where to enter and gave up. Finished kitchen and family room paint job-at least the part I could handle, will start small bedroom next. Will have lunch with Kwang Hua, Kwang Yao, and Showmen tomorrow, my treat. Finished small bedroom. Started master bedroom, most work will be on the left side wall. Picked up small order chicken drum and porched vegetable from 竹林雞肉. Finished master bedroom painting. Finalized all painting tasks. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
2/21/2025: Got up at 6:00. Cleaned up tools, paints, and recycle items.
Master bedroom:
Small bedroom:
Kitchen:
Family room:
Called Anita at 9:20 for one hour and 8 minutes. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Had lunch with Kwang Hua, Kwang Yao, and Showmen at 薩莉亞, my treat ($1655).
Left 薩莉亞at 1:20, got back to Neihu at 2:40.
2/22/2025: Got up at 6:45. Called Anita at 8:47 for 13 minutes. Visited PX Mart and purchased two small Kinmen Kaoliang, one pack cucumber, one Chinese Radish, and one Big Green Onion. Walked one circle Bihu park, a total of 57 minutes including the trip to PX Mart this morning.
2/23/2025: Got up at 8:45. Called Anita at 9:46 for 10 minutes. Visited Costco with Peilee and Ahfen, I got two packs of rice cracker snacks, a total of 60 bags. Had dinner at 壽司郎 (Sushiro), 南港Citylink, about NT$1240 for 4 people.
2/24/2025: Got up at 6:15. Called Anita at 7:17 for 17 minutes. Stopped by a bag store in Neihu market, found one shoulder bag that’s thicker than the one I have, but wasn’t sure if iPads can be easily fitted, decided to come back this afternoon with iPad to try it out, later decided against it as the empty bag is already very heavy. Visited PX Mart and purchased one pack pork, one can XO sauce, one Croissant (they ran out), and one pack 南僑水晶肥皂, swing by Carrefour and got 4 buns.
2/25/2025: Got up at 6:25. Called Anita at 9:22 for 23 minutes. Stopped by 百利金and purchased one pack range hood filter and one pack ear wax picks. Walked 2 circles around Bihu park, including morning visit to 百利金, a total of 71 minutes.
2/26/2025: Got up at 6:40. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Walked to Dahu park and back, good exercise.
Kwang Hua arranged a trip to Kaohsiung by high speed rail tomorrow.
2/27/2025: Got up at 6:30. Called Anita at 8:25 for 12 minutes. Headed out to 台北車站at 8:50, got to 台北車站高鐵B3入口at 9:36, Kwang Hua arrived at 10:25. Train 1217 left the station on time at 10:51.
It stopped at 板橋, 台中 and 台南 before reaching 左營 at 12:30. After 3 stops Metro plus 3 stops light rail, we arrived at Kwang Hui’s house at 1:25. Had late afternoon lunch at 金色三麥 with Kwang Huey, his wife, Kwang Hua, and Kwang Hui, had 800cc beer along with some delicious snacks.
Walked near 駁二大義港頭 for 40 minutes.
Purchased two bottle red wine from Carrefour nearby, finished 2/3 of them with Kwang Hua and Kwang Hui.
2/28/2025: Got up at 6:15. Called (drop-in) Anita at 6:40 for 5 minutes. Headed out to 衛武營國家藝術文化中心 at 9:15, several bus stops and 3 Metro stops and we got there at 10:02. It is a huge performing art center with 4 major event halls-歌劇院, 戲劇院, 音樂廳, 以及表演廳.
㨗運站出口
歌劇院
Headed back around 11:35, had lunch at 老爺美食館before getting back to Kwang Hui’s house at 1:25. Headed out to 高鐵左營車站 at 2:50. Got there at 3:30 after 3 stops of light rail and 3 stops of Metro. Got on train 140 at 3:38.
Arriving Taipei train station at 5:29. Got back to Neihu around 6:30.
3/1/2025: Called (Pixel drop-in) Anita at 6:14 for 21 minutes. Got up at 6:36. Headed out to 大安森林公園 with Peilee driving, took a while to find a parking space 10 minutes away from the park, walked 30 minutes then visited flower market nearby, arriving 鼎泰豐around 12:50, waited another 40 minutes before getting in, the dishes here are more tasty than what we had in the States.
Lots of Hydrangea (繡球花) on display in the park.
Got back to Neihu around 2:45. Sis and Slash stopped by and brought along a lot of snacks.
3/2/2025: Got up at 6:30. Called Anita at 8:33 for 20 minutes. Walked toward 大湖公園 and turned around at the old 松青grocery store, stopped by PX Mart and purchased one head Celery and one pack sausage.
3/3/2025: Got up at 7:00. Called Anita at 9:42 for 13 minutes. Dropped off two Kaoliang bottle in the recycle can downstairs.
3/4/2025: Got up at 7:00. Stopped by 歡田包子 and purchased 24 dumplings (12 椒麻, 8 蘿蔔絲, and 4 原味) with 4 of them free. Called Anita at 9:44 for 25 minutes. Visited PX Mart, purchased one bottle 300 ml 38° 金門高粱, 4 buns, and two bag deep fry mix (Karaage-chicken). Tested packaging all vegetable dumplings, it’s way below allowable weight but too bulky to handle, decided to leave the sweater and the vest plus my sandals behind.
Checked in UA852 at 4:09pm.
Cleaned up my drawer and put away most daily necessities.
3/5/2025: Got up at 6:40. Called Anita at 9:21 for 9 minutes. Stuffed all vegetable dumplings into my luggage, the decision to left behind a couple of clothes and the sandals was correct, my luggage weight was just below 22 KG. Peilee provided ride for me to the airport, left the house at 12:45, got to TPE terminal 2 at 1:25. Dropped off luggage, went through security check and passport control, had a bowl of spare rib noodle (NT$250) before waiting at gate D7 for boarding. Boarded flight UA852 at 3:10. Flight 852 left the gate at 3:38, took off at 4:02. Did not watch any movies, just read, on and off, book 7 of Detective Sophie Allen box set “Shadow Crimes”. arriving SFO at 11:12, went through boarder control smoothly, ordered Uber, it was driven by a young Asian, possibly new to this job since he went to some other places before getting to where I was waiting, he drove fast and changed lanes wildly, I wasn’t comfortable when he did this, got home at 12:31. Turned in around 8:30pm.
3/6/2025: Got up several times during the night, finally went back to sleep around 4:30, got up at 8:30. Sail internet outage at 12:15, sent service request and wait for their investigation. Network access restored around 2:20. Had 20 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Ordered one silicone flexible cutting board from Amazon, delivery was scheduled for Saturday. Received the sandals from Amazon at 6:08pm (picked up at 6:10pm, it appeared to be one size smaller??????
3/7/2025: Woke up at 4:00, went back to bed at 6:05. Got up at 7:15. Cleaned up backyard leaves. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, surprised to find just some loose stuff, a very first time.
3/8/2025: Got up at 7:20. Hand pulled weeds from the brick gaps in the backyard. Ordered a tripod for my phone.
Had 10 minutes MB, had to quit when I felt irregular heart beat coming up. Received new silicone cutting board from Amazon at 5:06 (picked up at 5:12). Visited Costco with Anita, purchased 2 Uber discount cards (value of $50x2 + $50x2=$200.00, costing $79.99x2=$159.98), one pack Blue Berry, one pack Prawn Hacao, one Cranberry Walnut bread, one pack spicy chicken strips, two bag Pistachio, one pack Cherry Tomatoes, one pack Spring mix, one bag unsalted mixed nuts, one ROC Hydrate+Plump Eye cream, and one Perricone MD Face Finishing&Firming Moisturizer, there were no egg in the dairy room, not even a single one. Tried to add Uber discount card through its app but failed entering any of the numbers on the cards, turned out I need to open the cards to reveal actual gift cards inside, scratch off the code cover and apply the codes under, stupid me.
3/9/2025: Got up at 8:30. Changed feeder batteries. Walked to 99 Ranch Market, purchased one pack (x2) big green onion (Daepa), one pack Clam meat, one pack fish tofu, one pack cat fish fillet (Swai Basa), one string garlic, and 4 Sugarbee apple.
Received phone tripod from Amazon delivered by USPS at 1:07 (picked up at 2:05).
3/10/2025: Got up at 9:15. Walked 44 minutes in the backyard.
Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
3/11/2025: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco by myself, purchased one pouch 3.0 L Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon, one hand banana, one pack rainbow carrots, one bag organic Pumpkin seeds, and two dozen pasture egg (so the empty egg shelf in their dairy section was just temporary). Dropped off Anita at 文教中心before visiting Marina Grocery, purchased one pack 出前一丁fast noodle, one jar chili sauce, one pack pickled mustard green, one pack sweet radish, one pack smoked bacon, two firm tofu, one bag chili bamboo shoot, two white onion, one pack small Gai Choy, one Chinese Radish, one pack beef tendon, two bag HFH spicy peanut, one pack bean thread, one pack beef shank, one pack lean pork loin, one pack chicken thigh, and two bunch green onion. Got 2 spring rolls from their deli department with $3 coupon plus some change I found in the car. Waited 20 minutes in culture center parking lot before picking up Anita at 1:07.
3/12/2025: Got up at 7:25. Processed pork, and chicken thighs, stored most of them in the freezer except some threaded pork and a ready to cook chicken thighs in the cold storage section. Cooked beef tendon and shank, a total of 3 hours and 15 minutes.
3/13/2025: Got up at 7:00. Slow jog in the family room for 20 minutes after warmup routines. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
3/14/2025: Got up at 7:05. Went with Anita and played 2 hours table tennis at Berryessa Community Center, second hour was spent playing doubles with mostly piss balls, but still got some exercise.
3/15/2025: Got up at 7:10. Visited 99 Ranch Market by myself, purchased one bento, one pack clam meat, one Taiwanese cabbage, one pack You Choy, three Sugarbee apple, two Broccoli crown, and two Avocado. Cleaned up backyard leaves and debris (from recent rains)-nearly one hour. Managed to login National Geographic magazine from my Pixel 6 Pro, login from my iPad was alive (previous tries could not bring up the keyboard to type anything, still not sure why though).
3/16/2025: Got up at 7:50. Ordered 4 pairs of sandals and one pack (x15) CR1225 battery from Amazon.
3/17/2025: Got up at 7:15. Had 15 minutes MB with legs, no EJ. Rode 15 minutes bike in the garage. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ.
3/18/2025: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco by myself, purchased two dozen uncaged eggs (there were nopasture egg), one Rosemary Parmesan cheese loaf, one pack sweet mini Pepper, one hand banana, one pack Cherry Tomato, one bottle Lee Kim Kee’s Oyster sauce, one pack Bibigo beef Mandu, one bag Macadamia nut, one bottle Hazelnut creamer, one pack Blueberry, one pack Spring Mix, and one pack Rainbow carrot. There was an unusually large shoppers for early Tuesday. Received Amazon delivery at
11:34, keeping CR1225 battery and Flarut sandals, returning Dr. Scholl’s and Dream Pairs sandals as they did not fit too well, completed online return procedure, will send them to UPS store on Berryessa later.
Dropped off Dr. Scholl’s and Dream Pairs sandals at UPS store (2530 Berryessa road) at 1:14.
3/19/2025: Got up at 7:13. Rode 20 minutes bike in the garage.
3/20/2025: Woke up at 4:05, spent nearly one hour downstairs drinking diluted Johnnie Walker Red before going back to bed. Got up at 7:50. Dry run 20 minutes in the family room. Sliced the Rosemary Parmesan cheese loaf and Anita loaded them in the plastic container, a perfect match.
Installed new NCL app on Anita’s iPad Air, her iPhone had already been updated a while ago. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
3/21/2025: Got up at 7:20. Blood pressure after 香功: 132/83/76-125/76/75-126/74/74. Spent nearly one hour cleaning up leftover garden waste in the street as well as removing weeds in between concrete slats and bricks on the sidewalk and driveway. Played nearly 2 hours table tennis with Anita and other players at Berryessa Community Center. Received Sketchers hands free slip-ins from Amazon at 12:52 (picked up at 3:21 right after coming back).
3/22/2025: Got up at 7:12. Visited Costco gas station by myself, filled up RX300 at $4.249/gal. Stopped by 99 Ranch Market and purchased one pack fish tofu, one pack cat fish fillet (Swai Basa), one Pork spare rib, one firm tofu, one pack Chives, one pack Okra, 3 green Bell Pepper, one pack big green Onion (Daepa), two Avocado, one pack Squid ring, one pack bamboo shoot, and 3 Sugarbee apple.
3/23/2025: Got up at 7:30. Stopped by 99 Ranch Market with Anita, where she went in and got a small order of fried rice noodle (合粉) for $4.25+tax ($3 coupon plus $1.65). Trimmed off most low hanging (the ones affecting walking beneath them) as well as over grown (the ones sneaking onto the eaves) vines. Cleaned loose leaves in the backyard hidden in between plants and shrubs.
3/24/2025: Got up at 7:05. Filled feeder and adjusted time of day, it was behind actual time by 6 minutes. Removed feeder and bench rain shields, cleaned the bench with spray bottle vinegar/baking soda mix and spray bottle water, also cleaned the feeder protecting container. Washed feeder and bench rain shield panels, cleaned and washed the mobile tool box. Received Meow Mix (2x6.3 lbs bag) from Amazon at 4:22 (picked up at 4:32).
3/25/2025: Got up at 7:02. Visited Costco by myself, purchased hand banana, one pack Cherry Tomato, one pack Rainbow Carrot, one Cranberry Walnut bread, two dozen cage-free egg, one pack Noosa Yogurt, one pouch Kirkland 3.0L Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle Kirkland 750 ml Malbec (product of Argentina), one pack Blueberry, one tub cream cheese, and one pack Spring mix. Had 15 minutes MB with mini, EJ.
3/26/2025: Got up at 7:05. Removed and glued one of the support wood strips on the swing bench. Cleaned up all the wild mushrooms near the fake Cherry tree, cleaned up leaves in the backyard. Anita saw our next door neighbor Farley sitting on the sidewalk and could not get up, She came to ask me to help, I was able to help her up with the technique video I watched yesterday, found her phone and she called her husband for help, I was able to come back home within 18 minutes. Reattached the fixed wood strip back to the swing bench.
3/27/2025: Got up at 7:10. Wiped clean both cars with damp sheepskin. Decided to throw away the sun shield on RX300 after I tried to reassemble the detached suction cup but one of the shield part fell off and I could not find it. Drilled two shallow holes in the Ulanzi tri-pod remote and glued a small steel wire to it.
Had 15 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
3/28/2025: Got up at 7:10. Played 2 hours table tennis with Anita, Robert and Frank at Berryessa Community Center. Removed electric blanket from our bed.
3/29/2025: Got up at 7:05. Received contact cleaner and soaking solution from Amazon at 6:24. Stopped by Marukai by myself (haven’t been there a couple of months), purchased one small Pumpkin, one Cauliflower, one pack (x3) Natto, one pack extra lean ground Pork, one tube Wasabi, one Yakisoba, one Unagi Futomaki, one Karaage, and one cut dried Wakame seaweed. Received messenger bag from Amazon at 1:04 (picked up at 2:01).
Cleaned up backyard leaves. Visited Trader Joe’s near Great Mall and purchased one pack Pepper Jack cheese, 4 Sugarbee apple, two bag pitted Prune, one organic Cranberry, one bag Thompson seedless raisin, and one Avocado.
3/30/2025: Got up at 7:05. Dropped off Anita at City Sports before visiting Lowe’s, purchased one garden faucet, one two-way restricted flow water shutoff, and one spray pesticide in my first checkout, went back in and purchased 6 small bricks and 6 long bricks.
There was a huge downpour while I sat waiting for Anita at City Sports parking lot, circled around several times before picking up Anita. Walked about 30 minutes in the backyard, a total of 75 minutes walking today including Lowe’s and front walkway brick trench’s near the fence gate.
Received Taza chocolate from Amazon at 5:05 (picked up at 5:07).
4/1/2025: Got up at 7:10. Visited Costco by myself, purchased one pack Cherry Tomato, one pack rainbow Carrot, one Cranberry Walnut bread, two dozen pasture egg, one box Hacao, one pouch Kirkland 3.0L Cabernet Sauvignon, and one bag unsalted mixed nut. From iMac upstairs, uploaded the latest (20250331 version) balance sheet file to my Google drive (007-backup). Had 20 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
4/2/2025: Got up at 7:05. Cleaned up backyard leaves. Made two 韮菜盒子for lunch. Picked out some withered Oleander flower stems. Found out I still have the 7-1/4” masonry saw blade attached to the saw, will try to trim off 1/4” from the extruding brick on the side walkway tomorrow.
4/3/2025: Got up at 7:05. Walked to 99 Ranch Market, purchased one pack Spinach, one hand banana, one pack Soy bean sprout, one pack Oyster mushroom, one bottle stinky fermented tofu, one Korean Radish, one pack clam meat, one pack cat fish (Swai Basa) fillet, one string garlic, one firm tofu, one pack fish cake, and two egg plant.
Removed our garden waste pile in the street (which I forgot to load them in the garbage bin) in the garbage bin, also swept up the lawn trimmings pile that was near our Korean neighbor’s driveway and loaded them in the garbage bin, this will save me some time tomorrow cleaning them as for sure they will be all over the street.
4/4/2025: Got up at 7:05. Blood pressure after 香功: 122/81/75-120/78/75-125/81/77. Visited Valley Fairwith Anita, as usual: Nordstrom->Macys->Anthropologie->Koja Kitchen->home. Anita purchased one pair of shoes at Nordstrom and 3 ceramic coaster from Anthropologie. Trimmed off several Birds of Paradise flowers and leaves. Adjusted gaps between bricks and wood fillers in between, the side extension now looked nicer, need to replace the wood fillers with wider ones soon.
4/5/2025: Got up at 7:05. Cleaned up backyard leaves and bird drops on the deck. Came up with an idea using the existing wood gap fillers by turning them side ways, fill the gap with dirt/sand to level the setting as the reused wood fillers will be shallower, made one replacement gap filler as one of them was a bit too long.
Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
4/6/2025: Got up at 7:30. Finished fence gate outside walkway repair.
Leveled repaired walkway edge with dirt and stones.
Charged our backup power station and charged a couple of devices with it-this is scheduled every 3 month.
4/7/2025: Got up at 7:05. Blood pressure after 香功: 138/76/80-119/79/79-125/79/78. Walked to 99 Ranch Market, purchased one pack Korean sticky rice cake, one pack beef tendon ball, and 4 Sugarbee apple, also purchased (with $2 coupon plus cash) one small order fried thick noodles.
Scraped several fading walkway gap wood filler and applied solid brown seal to them.
The wine glasses delivery was postponed to tomorrow by USPS, again.
4/8/2025: Got up at 7:04. Visited Costco by myself, the door wasn’t open when I got there at 8:50 but there have been two long lines forming already, almost like when Covid-19 was active, there were people talking about egg supply shortage…… got in at 9:05, purchased one pack Spring mix, one pack mini Pepper, one pack Cherry Tomato, one pouch Kirkland 3.0 L Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 1.75L Johnnie Walker Black (since the Red had been missing for a while, I suspect their deal with Johnnie Walker had ended, better get one while it’s still available), two dozen cage-free egg, one bottle Kirkland Extra virgin Olive oil, one pack large Tortilla, and one pack organic Blueberry. Received the wine glasses from Amazon at 10:16, delivered by USPS-one day behind schedule. Had 20 minutes MB with hands, legs, and mini, EJ.
4/9/2025: Got up at 7:04. Cleaned up backyard leaves, trimmed off some withered small Oleander branches.
4/10/2025: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco by myself (there were more people than when I visited this past Tuesday, mostly crowded in the egg shelf area), purchased one Rosemary Parmesan cheese bread, one hand banana, two pack Hacao, and one pack (x12) small pizza. Also added 3 gallon gas to LS400 at $5.079/gal. Cleaned up backyard leaves.
4/11/2025: Got up at 7:04. Cleaned up backyard leaves. Walked to CVS on Berryessa near the flea market with Anita, decided to buy hair dye for Anita on Amazon instead.
Ordered hair dye from Amazon for Anita.
4/12/2025: Got up at 7:05. Cleaned up backyard leaves. Dropped off Anita at City Sports before heading to H Mart, purchased 4 Sugarbee apple, one Celery, one pack Bok Choy, two Broccoli, and one Avocado. Picked up Anita at 2:00. Trimmed a lot of Oleander withered flower stems on the tree.
4/13/2025: Got up at 7:25. Started digging up near the fence where our backdoor neighbor’s huge tree were, the brick/concrete boarder was edging up more even after I removed several their roots. Did not find any new intruding roots that could have raised the concrete/brick flats near the fence, the only possible cause was the old one that I cut off, the ending roots still provide water to the more mature root and made it grow bigger and continued raising the brick/concrete flat, need to find a way to undo this……
The newly purchased wine glass was broken after just several days’ use, switched to the second one. Received hair dye and type F adapter from Amazon at 4:55 (picked up at 6:00).
4/14/2025: Got up at 7:10. Blood pressure after 香功: 136/82/80-140/79/83-120/74/78-122/76/76. Dug a hole on the other side of the raised brick/concrete boarder right next to the weak looking rose, discovered two extending roots, will cut them off later. Had 20 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ. Cut off all (at least the ones visible) extending roots in the new hole, need to figure out how to remove the remaining stumps below the brick/concrete boarder.
Reserved Uber ride for Ljubljana trip.
4/15/2025: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco by myself, purchased one pack Cherry Tomato, one pack rainbow carrot, two dozen pasture egg, one Areds 2, one pack (x12) personal pizza, one pouch Kirkland 3.0 L Cabernet Sauvignon, and one bottle 1.75L Johnnie Walker Black. Had 10 minutes MB with mini and legs, no EJ. Trimmed off one inch main root with chainsaw, this is the section visible from above, still not sure how to deal with the portion underneath the brick/concrete boarder.
4/16/2025: Got up at 7:10. Walked to 99 Ranch Market, purchased two pack (x5 each) 出前一丁fast noodle-one chicken flavor and one pork flavor.
Found and trimmed off several smaller but still annoying roots, no solution for the root beneath the brick/concrete boarder. Had 15 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Cleaned up backyard leaves. With the help of the Forster bit, I was able to break the roots apart and took them out.
4/17/2025: Got up at 7:20. Forgot to cover the hole on the rose side, so as a result, there were quite a few poops buried in there by Miley. Worked on the soil underneath the brick/concrete boarder, trying to remove soil that was holding the brick/concrete boarder raised, cut off several smaller roots during which, cover the open area with boards and tools.
4/18/2025: Got up at 6:50. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, it took much longer than I planned as most leftovers were small including a lot of dust. Hand cleaned dead as well as withered Lily of the Niles leaves. Went to Berryessa Community Center with Anita to play some table tennis, surprised to find out all (24) tickets were taken and it was only 12:45-maybe being Good Friday created the situation since schools were closed today??????
4/19/2025: Got up at 6:50. Cleaned up backyard brick/concrete boarder re-level area, cleaned and put away all tools. With Gorilla glue and glued two chipped brick corners back. Decided to bring “old” contact lens with me during the trip because the carrying case that currently housed the “old” one seemed to be leak free, will wear the “new” one tomorrow and Monday, will not wear let my right eye rest throughout the flights.
4/20/2025: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure after 香功: 124/74/81-118/75/81-116/77/81. With mixed sand and cement, I managed to fill the cracks in the brick/concrete boarder, Anita used the remaining mix to tidy up her garden artworks.
The mixture of sand and cement may not be accurate as the result did not look nice, need to research it more. Disconnected LS400 battery and locked both cars, stored car keys next to the dryer. 的忌日是4/21.
4/21/2025: Got up at 6:05, bowel movement #1 (lots of blood), went back to bed at 6:15. Got up at 6:55, bowel movement #2. Bowel movement #3 after breakfast. Turned off furnace-switched to pilot, turned off gas supply, and shut off activation switch. Changed feeder volume setting from 4-3-2 to 5-3-2, filled feeder. Watered backyard roses, trimmed several over growing bushes near the fence. Watered front yard plants, roses, and lawn, pulled some weeds as well. Started checking in United flights at 1:11, finished by 1:20.
Seat maps: United and Cityjet
HHad 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, no EJ. Put most tablets in the box in the attic, old phones and oone old iPad are under the attic flap.
4/22/2025-4/23/2025: Got up at 6:05. Had 4 bowel movements before and after breakfast. Had everything ready by 8:50. Uber picked us up at 9:20, got to the airport (SFO) at 10:21 (lots of commute traffic), dropped off luggage and passed security check at 10:50. Headed to United Club at domestic as the one at gate G was full-again. We struggled to access our pass to enter, took us over 10 minutes to find passwords to login our accounts, finally got in at 11:05. Had a small salad and a sandwich plus one cup of pure green tea (tried their coffee<Americano> but gave up as it was too strong for me even though it was good). Since the United club we rested at was in terminal 3 for domestic flights, we walked back to gate G area for our flight only to find out it is at F13 where the usual domestic flights were, had to walk back to where we started. Boarded (we were the first two in group 2) flight UA58 at 12:40. UA58 left gate at 1:09, took off at 1:24. We landed at Frankfurt at 8:38am. Shuttled to the terminal at 9:00, went through passport check area, walk 10 minutes before arriving at gate A4 for our connecting flight LH1460 at 9:15. The flight was late arriving, we did not get to shuttle ride until 12:30, finally boarded the flight at 12:40. Departure was at 1:06, one hour late. Arriving Ljubljana at 2:07. Got on a taxi at 2:32, everything about the taxi looks ok until we got to the hotel when the driver charged us €66, twice as much as online info indicated, curses……. Met our guide Ales and checked in the hotel, room 614. There was a problem with Wi-Fi, no internet service even though connection was ok, after some hassle I realized it is an issue with NordVPN, after several tries connecting and disconnecting various vpn location, all device were able to get online. Attended the group meeting at 6:30, there were 30 people in the group, three pairs are Asian, no black people though, had white and red wine plus lots of delicious hors d’oeuvre, also took some back to our room.
4/24/2025: Woke up at midnight, wasn’t able to sleep through. Got up at 5:50. Went for breakfast at 6:30, it was possibly the best breakfast in a hotel in recent years. Joined the group for a two-hour Ljubljana city walking tour. Had lunch in hotel room with leftover flight bread and sandwich. Revisited the sites we were this morning, Anita got some magnets and some small ceramic houses there. Stopped by the Mercator next to our hotel, purchased one pack sliced ham, one pack salad, and one bottle 750ml Yellowtail Cabernet Sauvignon. Dinner was one bowl of fast noodle, plus the stuff we got from the grocery store, finished the whole bottle wine. Turned in around 9:00, woke up at 12:00, did not sleep much the next 5 hours.
4/25/2025: Got up at 5:15. Had breakfast at 6:30, we are leaving for Bled at 8:30. Arriving Bled around 9:40, visited Bled castle, took ferry boat to Bled island, visited Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, took the same ferry boat back, Ales treated everyone a huge cream cake which helped us skipped lunch, wondered at nearby stores in the rain then sat down on a brick boarder to do some photo editing before taking the tour bus at 3:00 and got back to our hotel, stopped by Mercator after getting the shopping bag from our room, purchased one can Heineken beer, one bottle 750 ml Yellowtail Cabernet Sauvignon, one box salad, one box corn salad, and one pack Salami. Neighbor Grace borrowed our driveway for half a day to have their house worked on.
4/26/2025: Finished red wine and Heineken beer through the night. Got up at 6:00. Went to have breakfast at 6:20, only to find out they won’t open until 7:00. Anita had problem with her bowel movements. Headed out to Maribor at 8:15, arriving At 10:20, started local tour at 10:32, had a brief wine tasting at 11:40, stopped for lunch (included in this option tour) at 12:00. Walked at nearby streets after lunch and purchased one pack salad, one can Heineken beer, and one bottle 750 ml Vinakoper Cabernet Sauvignon at a local grocery store. Got on bus and heading back to Ljubljana at 2:30, got back at 4:40, met Ales’s family and enjoyed the tiramisu his wife made.
4/27/2025: Got up at 6:00. Had breakfast at 7:00. Headed out to Postojna at 8:30, arriving Postojna castle at 9:48. Left the castle at 11:10, arriving Postojna cave at 11:45, it was possibly the biggest we’ve ever seen, it even has a train taken visitors in and out of the cave, each takes about 10 minutes, it has a river flowing underneath the caves, the river can only be seen close to the exit train station. Since Mercator was closed due to holiday, we had to consume whatever was left in our possession, namely last fast noodle, remaining 1/3 of the Salami, one can of Heineken, and the nuts. Turned in at 9:00.
4/28/2025: Got up at 5:50. Had breakfast at 6:30. Headed out to Trieste at 9:00, we were delayed 30 minutes on the freeway caused by a 3-car accident. Had lunch at Eataly. Got back to the hotel at 5:40, stopped by Mercator and purchased one pack salad, one pack salame, one can Heineken, and one bottle 750 ml Yellowtail Merlot.
4/29/2025: Got up at 6:15. Had breakfast at 6:45. Walked to Ljubljana castle, took only 25 minutes but the uphill climb took nearly 20 minutes, we did not get into the castle as ticket cost €15 each. Visited Mercator by myself, purchased three chicken drum/thigh and two Heineken beer. Checked in both flights from Lufthansa app (could not do the first flight from United), check in also reflected on United app.
Had farewell dinner at our usual breakfast restaurant.
4/30/2025: Got up at 5:55. Had breakfast at 6:30. Got on reserved taxi at 10:25, got to the airport at 10:55 (taxi from hotel was a flat €45, we added €5 for his service), dropped off luggage at 11:00, passed security check at 11:10. The Ljubljana airport appeared to be the smallest international airport we’ve visited. Shared a sandwich with Anita for lunch, Bob&Cat saw us as they were looking for charging station, Bob’s charging cable appeared to not functioning so I offered my power bank with built-in USB-3 cable, his phone was charged from %39 to %55 before we had to prepare for boarding, learned that LH1461 was late for 15 Minutes. We boarded the plane at 2:00, departed gate A1 at 2:11, took off at 2:17, arrived Frankfurt at 3:24, just 4 minutes behind schedule. Bob&Cat were on the same flight and their connecting flight, although different, was also at gate Z23……Shared one hot dog with Anita, pretty tasty (possibly because we hadn’t had one since Costco stopped selling their Polish sausages. Boarded UA927 at 4:55. We departed gate Z23 at 5:38, took off at 5:54, landed at SFO at 7:23, 37 minutes ahead of schedule. Deplaned at 7:40, got through BCE (Boarder & Customs Enforcement) at 7:55, got on Uber at 8:07, got home at 8:46.
5/1/2025: Got up at 5:20. Visited Costco by myself, purchased one hand banana, one pack Cherry Tomatoes, one bottle 1.75L Johnnie Walker Black, one pack rainbow carrots, one pack Blueberry, one pack Spring mix, two pack Hacao, one seaweed salad, two dozen uncaged egg, and one pack mini Peppers. Swing by 99 Ranch Market, got two pack clam meat, one pack fish tofu, one string garlic, one pack big green Onion (Daepa), and 5 Sugarbee apple. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
5/2/2025: Got up at 6:50. Stopped by Costco by myself to pick up one Rosemary Parmesan bread, there were too many people when I got there at 8:50, long lines on both sides, the long lines were still there even after I waited in my car for 10 minutes. Cleaned up leftover garden in the street, took me 25 minutes to finish the whole scattered debris.
5/3/2025: Got up at 6:15. Trimmed a good number of withered Wisteria flower stems. Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ-not as promising…….
