–Rode the last of the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail with Tom Elken. Nice project!

–Made pizza with fresh basil and cherry tomatoes.

–Fixed Xeoleo grinder after stupidly breaking it.

–Took a shower. Shaved with vintage Gillette adjustable + Derby blade. Surprisingly close and comfortable.

–Took Grace on scouting run to Beals Point and parking lot near the trail around mile 22. Put gas in the Honda. Been getting a “service needed” alert, and today it added a “tire pressure” warning. I made both warnings go away.

–Took Cremina apart. Discovered a blob of silicone under the over-pressure relief valve, and (mind-boggling) what appeared to be a purpose-built, right-angle, blue silicone plug in the bottom of the sight glass. That explains why the sight glass didn’t work, but why did they plug it?

–Took a swim. Grace used the pool today for the first time, for exercises.

–Got some strawberries from Vai and corn/squash/peaches/tomatoes from Perry’s.

–Barbecued.

–Took a ride. Mostly quiet, but a little clicking when ascending, as is often the case. Need to remember to get off the seat to try and pinpoint the source.

–Took a shower.

–Played with noisy bike. After several hours, found the Park Tool video on rear derailleurs and adjusted mine. No change in noise. Finally re-re-re-lubed the seatpost (inside the split as well as outside), and all seems quiet now.

–Surprised to see that plants, which haven’t been hand-watered in two days, look fine.

–Went to Green Acres Nursery in Folsom for bird seed, barrel cactus, and 4 gph emitters.

–Walked to Bel Air for dessert and comet Neowise. Got dessert, not Neowise.

–Rode miles 9-15 of the JSMBT with Tom Elken. After all my efforts to quiet the bike, it made all sorts of noises.

–Roasted (charred) some caf beans.

–Took a swim.

–Replaced crystal on Rolex 5513. Not trivial, but worked out well.

–Discovered that the solar down-pipe trickle originates on roof fitting, not on the elbow that I so beautifully sealed. Crap.

–Spent a while trying to fix the tiny leak in the solar return pipe. No luck until (a) it stopped leaking with the pump off (and thus got dry), (b) I used some moldable epoxy. We’ll see tomorrow.

–Cleaned up fountain, which had started looking a little green. Doves and squirrels been at it all day (it’s hot).

–Took a bike ride. Easy out, less easy back (13.8 miles). It’s hot.

–Lubed the bike seatpost again (it was clicking again). Stuck some rubber pieces in cable housings to stop their noise. Bike seems quiet now, except for a muted whir while pedaling. Could be the derailleur is a little off; could be nothing.

–Got a free Red Vine pizza at Blaze (with coupon). Good, not mind-boggling.

–Picked up Sirrus at Roseville Cyclery. They Loctited some bolts.

–Took a swim. Mighty nice.

–Took Specialized Sirrus to Roseville Cyclery for recall service.

–Added water to pool, and chlorine.

–Played with Exilims a lot. Discovered I’m an idiot: the 1100 allows adjustment of focus and metering areas, while the 260 allows adjustment of focus area only. Similarity of terminology (spot, multi) led me to think that I was changing metering with no effect on the 260. Wrong. I was changing focus area only. The 260 shoots all photos in multi-segment metering. Oh well…

–Rode miles 0 to 8 of the Jedediah Smith Memorial Bike Trail with Tom Elken. Kind of a comedy of errors getting there because of construction, and the 1 and 4 mile markers were invisible.

–Took a swim and a shower.

–Took Grace shopping to The Farmer’s Wife and Safeway.

–Took a swim. Tried the kick board without fins. Went backward…….

–Roasted caf beans.

–Counted teeth on Specialized and InnerLight cogs. Looks like 4th (from high) on Specialized is closest to single-speed InnerLight.

–Cleaned up garage: brought bins of books and boxes inside, hung up the InnerLight, etc.

–Hand-watered plants (hot!) and put bird of paradise in the ground.

–Put some scuba gear together to try it out. Big tank was too heavy for me; used little one by carrying it (too small for tank pack strap). Things work okay, except Dolphin Scuba lost both tank valve o-rings. I have some spares, but they’re not great. Tested Oceanic, Tekna and Scubapro regulators. Scubapro blew the others out of the water–inhalation requires zero effort, the air is just there.

–Barbecued burgers and (for the first time from Bel Air, crappy) corn. Good stuff.

–Found some pitting on the Loveless knife. Sanded and polished a bit, to no great effect. Kind of amazing to me how that just knocks the wind out of my enthusiasm for the knife.

–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 8 AM.

–Loveless “double nude” hunting knife came in. What a beauty!

–Went to Green Acres Nursery in Folsom. Great place. Got gloves, bamboo supports, green tape, a “fogger” emitter, and a bird of paradise plant. Tomato now looks happy, supported rather than tied.

–Finally learned how to get the Exilim going: take it out of “silent” mode, which disables flash and timer. Since the various sounds can all be turned off anyway, that mode isn’t really needed unless you were at a funeral or something.

–Put tomato plant in the ground. Discovered more hidden emitters. This will never end.

–Still feeling a little peaked.

–Rode miles 16-22 of the Jedediah Smith Memorial Bike Trail with Tom Elken and took pictures of each mile marker.

–Took the Beemer to FedEx to drop off a mis-delivered box; get gas; look for plant tape again at Home Depot (website said they have it; they don’t); look for birthday dessert at Mirabelle Cafe and Bakery (slim pickin’s; got a couple little things).

–Noticed algae in the pool; added chlorine. Must do that EVERY DAY!!

–Went to Noah’s Bagels. Got 13 sesame for $8 (Monday special I think. On the soft side, but tasty. Bagel holder from Etsy makes slicing a breeze.

–Made pizza. Not my best.

–FINISHED the garden sprinklers. What a hassle. Put lime tree and basil plant in the ground. Debating the tomato.

–Took a swim. Nice.

–Had minor gastro distress last night, but woke up really dizzy and nauseous. Came downstairs, threw up, went back to bed until Noon.

–Still feeling a little peaked. Hope it’s just dehydration.

–Rode 12 miles.

–Took a swim, then finished plugging lines in bottom garden.

–Rode the bike. Power Ade gave me a second wind. Perhaps.

–Played with sprinklers off and on all day. Was pretty much done with the big garden at ground level, when several geysers arose. These are bitches to fix, as the pipes are (a) not 1/2″ drip line, (b) buried deep. Crap.

–Took a swim.

–Laconico compound blade knife came in–except it wasn’t compound. Crap.

–Went to a strawberry stand way out on Jackson. Great berries, absurd prices ($23/flat, compared to $14 at Nai’s).

–Took a swim.

–Went to Folsom to ride with Tom. Crapped out after a few hills. Tom mentioned that he blew 200% with his new spirometer. Oh well. Guess I’ll try to ride every morning and hope for improvement.

–Took a swim.

–Went to Davis Ranch at Sloughhouse for veggies. Not too impressed. Got some corn and ho-hum tomatoes, squash, blackberries.

–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 6 PM.

–Continued with sprinklers. Found a legacy PVC/riser system. Will cut off and cap any obvious ones that are sticking out. Not worth going that deep to try and trace it all.

–Took a swim; took a shower.

–Dug up more sprinkler line on station 4. Found multiple emitters doing no good–and a valve to shut them down. Found and fixed a couple of geysers. Slow work.

–Ordered a true pocketable Exilim on eBay, like the one I had years ago.

–Got water, Coke, etc. at Costco. Also a hot dog without onions (pandemic safety precaution; Costco employee poured my diet Pepsi).

–Got cheap gas at Costco ($2.68 vs. $2.85 at local Arco).

–Set up bike rack with a couple of interim bolts from Home Depot (replacements coming from 1UP). That rack is so much better than the Kuat it’s shameful.

–Casio EX-ZR1100 came in (quickly). Has a tilt screen (boo), but it is new (and does RAW, of course).

–Took a swim. Nice.

–Got strawberries from Nai. Perry’s not open yet.

–Cremina came. Not as unused as advertised (scrubby scratches on front and top). Doesn’t heat, nor does lamp come on. Could be a tricky fix–especially the heating indicator lamp, as it’s different from newer ones.

–Made some pasta sauce: tomatoes, butter, onion (discarded at the end). Good, but not mind-boggling.

–Added lotsa water and chlorine to the pool. Looks super clear, but Grace reports it still pumped some air.

–Took an 8-mile “training ride”: hard out, easy back. Hard is relative, of course.

–Re-covered main drip line on station 3 with bark. Found a control valve for the five plant clusters at one end of the pool. It was (part of) station 4. Removed a lot of excess emitter hose and gave each cluster one emitter. Slowly coming together.

–Took a swim, despite algae in the pool. Felt great at 86. Pool was still blowing air today despite adding water yesterday. Tomorrow will fill pool really full and clobber it with chlorine. Gotta get a handle on this.

–Rode with Tom Elken around his neighborhood. Still getting winded too easily.

–Pool pump was pumping air (Grace heard it; I wouldn’t have). Added water and all is okay. That pool needs a LOT of water and chlorine to be right.

–Made pizza for dinner.

–Got bagels at Big Apple Bagels, El Dorado Hills.

–Tried to do wire transfer to pay off Tunnel Hill loan at Heritage Community CU. They noticed discrepancies here and there, so I forwarded them the payoff email. We’ll see.

–Finished repairing/updating sprinkler station 3. What a buttload of work. Totally spent.

–Played with sprinklers.

–Got barbecue makings at Bel Air; made barbecue.

–Did more sprinkler work. Completely exposed station 3, end to end.

–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 6 PM.

–Got a flat of strawberries on El Centro and made a bunch of freezer jam (no-cook, instant clear jel). Seemed a little sweet to me, but Grace liked it.

–Barbecued pork chops and corn for dinner.

–Played with sprinklers. Found a coupler that works at Home Depot; used 3 of 4 I bought on one two-foot section of hose. Much to be done.

–Took a bike ride. Too hot. Saw a squirrel carrying a baby bird away, presumably to eat it.

–Went to Big Apple Bagels in El Dorado Hills (far away). Bagels look good; we’ll see tomorrow.

–Took a swim.

–Played with sprinklers some more. Tired.

–Added 18 ounces of dichlor to the pool. Stopped and started pump several times to get rid of air bubbles. Not sure why it needs so many restarts.

–Played with sprinklers. Plugged four in the side yard that were spouting, replaced a dead emitter on the crepe myrtle next to the toters.

–Went to Nugget Market in El Dorado Hills. No bagels, no Honeycrisp, no fresh corn, no good tomatoes, no Sac Bee, etc.

–Cleared brush behind pool, preparatory to working with sprinklers.

–Ordered dinner at Jack’s Urban Eats; walked over to pick it up. Like last time, my salad was missing something (egg before, chicken today). Annoying.

–Strawberries for dessert (again). These are way way way better than Watsonville strawberries.

–Konosuke Fujiyama (wide bevel Morihiro sharpened) came in. Absurd price, but it’s a killer.

–Michael Casserd called and thanked us for the business.

–Got “final bill” from Soquel Creek Water. Not clear if it SHOULD be paid or HAS BEEN paid. Will call.

–State Farm: canceled policy at 110 Playa; updated mileage for Honda Civic, for $100 refund.

–Canceled Soquel Creek Water; final bill will come to Tunnel Hill (heh heh, it rhymes).

–Took The Beemer to Perry’s farm stand, but it isn’t open yet. Strawberry lady was open: 3 baskets for $8. Yum!!

–Notary came by at 11 AM for 110 Playa signing. No mask.

–Tried to set up auto-pay for Sac county utilities via Heritage checking: 209214-8. We’ll see about the dash.

–Pool seems to be okay now. Will have to keep water level up.

–Rode with Tom Elken. Got kind of wiped out on a ride I’ve done before (Hagan Park) on a not-too-hot day (mid 80s). Much work needed.

–Took a swim.

–Finally decided pool was blowing air because it was low. Added a lot of water. Also added more bleach, and, after reading some stuff, ordered 50 pounds of dichlor.

–Went for a ride around the neighborhood.

–Went for a swim. Close to zero chlorine in pool, after adding almost a gallon yesterday. Added another gallon, showed up fine an hour later. Tomorrow will tell. Starting to wonder if this pool is bigger than 15,000 gallons.

–Went to Home Depot for bleach, Simple Green, and drip irrigation repair kit.

–Got some rain at dinner time.

–Took a bike ride to Hagan Community Dog Park. Nice place.

–Dove slowly approached bird bath, took many sips of water. Yay!

–Got the Rolex 5513 (and bracelet) all back together, ready to sell.

–Tethered the floating chlorinator so it doesn’t get stuck in one part of pool.

–Got bagels at New York Bagels, food at Food Maxx, and supplemental food at Bel Air.

–Played with watches. Learned the unpolished 5513 had oil(?) damage on dial. Tried to clean it up; sort of succeeded, at the cost of some tiny lume flecks. Will reassemble and sell, along with all the others. Learned further that the ultra-sharp red Sub case had been polished. Three lugs measured ~3.1 mm (as do all four on the untouched 5513); one measured ~2.7 mm. Guess it was too good to be true.

–Took a swim and a shower.

–Discovery Park was closed because of a missing child (later found drowned in river), so Tom and I rode from Tunnel Hill. Way too hot at 10:30 AM.

–Picked up the Rolex 5513 from Ivanov’s. They JUST managed to get it open, and (miracle of miracles) the case is minimally corroded. Gasket is still pliable, and movement is pristine. Further, it appears to adjust with a lever, not a micro-stella. Keeper!

–Saw American Dad “Lost In Space (Majestic)” episode. Didn’t really remember plot specifics, and thought the song was different. Former = failing memory, latter = failing ears. Crap.

–Fixed sliding screen door. Maybe.

–New hearing aid batteries around 9 AM.

–Took a little bike ride around the neighborhood. Noticed a couple of villages (Gold Spike, Eureka) where parking is allowed in driveways, houses are not identical, and yards are a little scruffy looking.

–Added water to pool. Took a swim. Mastered the kickboard.

–Took a ride west on JSMBT. Windy.

–Left hearing aid went out around 8 PM.

–Took the Rolex 5513 to Ivanov’s so they could open it. She couldn’t, said husband Paul would when he came in. No word since. Worrisome.

–Barbecued.

–Rolex 5513 came in, dates to 1984 (bracelet too). Case is unpolished, but scratched. Crystal is bad, but new one included. No name on warranty! Running really strong: 280+, 0.2 ms, +15 s/d. Bracelet fell apart in 3 places after ultrasound. Fixed 2, but 3rd is beyond my ability. Can’t get case open, even with “big” tool.

–Took the Sirrus to Discovery Park; rode the Two Rivers Trail. It’s turned into a homeless encampment and garbage dump.

–Went to Roseville Cyclery to pick up Kuat rack. Installed it. Turns out the locking arm touches the fork. Crap. Looking into 1Up rack–which won’t be available until late June. Crap.

–Lots of algae in pool. Scraped, and added pool shock. Also put a chlorine tab (just discovered I still have a bucket of those) in the floater.

–Mowed the lawn. Need to do it more often, so I don’t have to stop and empty the bag in the middle.

–Got trailer hitch installed at Sundowner in Auburn. Took a couple of hours.

–Took a bike ride, crossing the river at Hazel. Got lost, got exhausted. Improvement coming soon, right?

–Pool Time came, 3 hours late, and denied responsibility for anything. Pool decided to work fine just before they got here, of course. I finally convinced them to replace the pressure gauge, whereupon the pressure shot up from 2 PSI to 16. Jerks.

–Had Creamy Bacon Mac and Cheese from the Pasta Queen. Yucko.

–Rain…

–Took a brief ride.

–Specialized Sirrus came in. Sweet bike. Had a scare when acetone made a mess while trying to remove sticker adhesive. Mother’s mag saved the day. Bike isn’t as light as I thought it would be, and has a significantly higher high gear compared to the InnerLight. Hydraulic brakes don’t have much “pedal,” but they don’t act like they’re going to hit the handlebars and they don’t rub. Haven’t tried a real hard stop yet.

–Went for a brief swim. Pool a little cool at 81, new swim fins too small and stiff. New Speedo goggles okay after an initial leak.

–Returned the old iPhone at the UPS store; took a little ride around the neighborhood.

–Algae in pool again. Kind of annoying.

–New iPhone came in. Seems fine.

–Sanded a ding out of a western Shigefusa gyuto, refinished it, ready for sale.

–Hung a shower curtain liner in Grace’s bathroom.

–Put gas in the Civic, first time since March 20th.

–Douglas Electric came out and (properly) fixed the outside photocell and the inside porch light timer.

–Hung the burro tail succulent (which, like the other cacti, is thriving) from a tree, as it was hitting the ground.

–Tried to seal up watering hole in pool rocks. We’ll see.

–Added (new, deluxe) bird seed to garden feeder. Added a plain (or oak) titmouse to sightings of goldfinch, house finch and mourning dove.

–Baked a loaf of one-hour bread.

–Went to Target to pick up an order: Shark vacuum, shower caddy, printer paper, digital thermometer.

–Took a swim; took a shower.

–Filled out 110 Playa disclosures and sent to Michael.

–Took a swim. Air 91, water 88.

–Hung blinds in Grace’s bedroom.

–Talked to David Chapman. All good with him and his family.

–Pool still bubbling, very low pressure. Called Pool Time. $125 service charge, waived if it’s a warranty issue. Coming May 18.

–Tried hard to hook up Honeywell timer for front porch light. No dice. I hate electricity.

–Mowed the lawn. Added Monday to Thursday for watering.

–Docu-signed documents for accepted offer at 110 Playa.

–Rode with Tom Elken to see eagle’s nest on the bike trail near Folsom. Cool, though kind of a disaster logistically.

–Michael Casserd called with an offer on LSB: $1,150,000. We’ll counter at $1,220,000.

–Dropped Rolex 1680 off at Ivanov’s Watch Repair.

–Left hearing aid went out around 6 PM.

–Figured out how to remove sliding glass windows: open all the way first, then tilt out. Turns out lower floor windows have hidden magnetic sensors for alarm system. Upper floor windows have visible sensors attached to frame. Discovered what might be usable replacement latches, but will probably try to replace internal springs first.

–Drove to Roseville Cyclery in…Roseville. Waited in line for a bit (four at a time allowed in), listened to a Sirrus hub (not loud at all), ordered a Specialized Sirrus X 5.0. Coming in 10 days or so.

–Worked on the back screen door; got it to open and close a little easier.

–Took a long drive to Ken’s Bike & Ski in Davis to look at Specialized Sirrus bikes. Turns out they just went appointment-only. Screw ’em.

–Made some yummy brownies.

–Pool still low on chlorine, high on alkalinity. Added stuff.

–Got part 2 of a haircut from Grace.

–Paid another Fastrak “toll violation” of $6.00.

–Went to Heritage to deposit Great Infusions check. The Heritage checks arrived today, two days early. Turns out I already had Heritage checks, hiding in my drawer (in plain sight). We won’t mention that to anyone.

–Bought some pasta, sauce and meatballs from The Pasta Queen.

–Ergon bike grips came. Nice.

–Used Taylor strips to test pool water. Said 0 chlorine (reagents agreed), low calcium hardness, high pH. Added another ton of chemicals, as I did two days ago. Getting worrisome.

–Took a ride with Tom Elken; chatted a little afterwards. Nice.

–Got some corn and ground turkey patties while shopping; cooked ’em up on the Weber. Darn good.

–Got bagels at New York bagels. They said they would accept a phone order for next day bagels.

–Marie for dinner.

–Heard from Tom Elken. He’ll come over Tuesday for a bike ride.

–Took a bike ride earlier than usual (10ish). Weather was great, but JSMBT was really crowded. Kind of fatigued again going up Heartbreak Hill.

–Took a swim. Pool temp was 82 (fine with me), water had zero odor, length seems fine.

–Did a lot of pool chemistry. Temp is 83. Swim tomorrow!!

–Made cranberry-orange muffins for dessert.

–Talked to Michael Casserd about house sale. Lots of possibilities.

–Pool is getting warm. Did some chemistry–needs LOTS of additives. Got some calcium chloride at Callen (why did I buy calcium carbonate? God only knows.).

–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 6 PM.

–Put air in the cars’ tires and gas in the Beemer.

–Took a bike ride.

–Mowed the lawn.

–Installed a Planet Bike speedometer on the InnerLight, just like it used to be. Hopefully I can calibrate it.

–Walked to Bel Air to deposit checks at Heritage and check on check order. Tracking said it shipped on 3/16 and was delivered on 3/20. Wow. They stopped payment on those checks and ordered a new box, free of charge. Hope they come.

–Changed address at DMV–with some difficulty.

–Drove to Home Depot 14 miles away to recycle. They only take plastic bags, not bubble wrap and such.

–Pool was cloudy again and there was algae on the steps; controller said temp was 72 (5 degrees or so less than I measure at the surface). Shocked it.

–Took a shower. Shower is finally magnificent.

–Had a sesame bagel from New York Bagels. Better than Safeway/Bel Air, not as good as The Bagelry.

–Went on a bike ride on the InnerLight. 9.5 miles, and made it up Heartbreak Hill without a problem. A banner day! (And I think the fat bike will have to go. The weight and tires make it tough to ride, even with gears. Good for fitness, I suppose, but I think I can bring back the steel thighs in time on the single speed.)

–Took a bike ride; worked on Fat Bike brakes some more.

–Got some groceries at Bel Air (TWO sheriff’s cars outside), then ordered a large combo pizza at Il Forno. Pizza was 14″, cost $35, was good but not spectacular.

–Got some bagels at New York Bagels. Slim pickin’s, $11 for 12.

–J-knife came in, plus stone. Both kind of crappy.

–Aztec came out, fixed leak and painted pipes.

–Pool is 77.

–Right hearing aid went out around 10 AM. Replaced batteries in both at that time.

–Pool is at 77.

–There was more algae on pool steps. Added algaecide.

–Ordered 10 N95 masks from Ali Express, 4-7 day delivery.

–Rolex microstella tool came in. Adjusted Turn-O-Graph from +10 s/d to 0 s/d. Seemed to lose a little amplitude (though it’s outstanding for a watch that old) and beat error went from .1 to.3. Not bad for the first time.

–Took a bike ride. Odometer seemed off in wrong direction after (second) adjustment. Perhaps due to less-inflated tires. I don’t recall that was a huge issue way back when.

–Pool is 73. Yes!