–Got bagels at The Bagelry.
–Took a walk to the (foggy) beach.
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–Did a little packing.
–Made caramelized cream eggs again for dinner.
–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 9 AM.
–Bought a couple of rocking beach chairs with shock igsorbers for Sac (also at REI; Grace found ’em). Comfy.
–Roasted caf beans.
–Roasted some decaf beans.
–Left hearing aid went out around 7 PM. Seems early, perhaps because I didn’t “unplug” them one night.
–Nike VaporFly shoes came in. Bouncy. Also watch strap for 1947 Bulova, and pre-Lish Carver book of short stories.
–Got book for Amelia Cantelon at Kelly’s, bagels and cinnamon rolls at Top Donuts, and Cream cheese at Nob Hill.
–Super Bowl LIV, with decent guacamole and so-so queso dip. Niners lose: poor coaching decisions, weak defense and Mahomes >> Garoppolo.
–Rolex Oysterquartz seems to be running about +1s/week.
–Did some raking/blowing in front.
–Went to Carmel Cutlery, bought a Laconico EXL (out of Monterey Bay Knives); put in “order” for compound grind thumbstud.
–Went shopping at Safeway.
–Drove back to LSB.
–1947 Bulova watch came in. Amazingly good shape, running nicely.
–Guys came at 7 AM to tear off pool solar panels. Unbelievable pounding noise, not sure why.
–Turns out noise was because they were removing the entire old roof. Martin (marTEEN) came by later to look for dry rot (found a little) and explain the process. Martin saw evidence of rats in the attic. Crap. Two installers arrived (Oscar and Oscar) to put down the underlayment.
–Took a little nap on Grace’s air mattress. That bedroom (carpeted) seems huge while lying down.
–Pushed a bunch of wiring/cables back into the walls (I thought). Turns out some of it was actually going outside. Time to cut and caulk.
–Dinner at Jack’s Urban Eats: nice “specify your own” salad with spinach, eggs, broccoli, shaved Brussels sprouts, cranberries, kidney beans, grape tomatoes. Gorgonzola vinaigrette was not very tasty.
–Breakfast at Starbuck’s.
–Lunch at Five Guys: good.
–Took the Beemer to Sac, with the old Mitsubishi TV + VHS tapes + cables.
–Dinner at Jack’s Urban Eats.
–Replaced hearing aid batteries (a little early) around 1 PM.
–Took a shower.
–Deposited Great Infusions check at Bay Federal; did a little shopping at Food Maxx.
–KKF gyuto came in. Piece o’ crap, with noticeable pit on blade.
–Rolex 116520 came in. Yow!
–Took teflon tube out of Rocket steam arm. Not sure it made any difference.
–Took Grace to PAMF for mammogram and blood draw.
–Made pizza for dinner.
–Went around the mulberry bush with SMUD on auto-pay. Got them to delete 3 old accounts; added Bay Federal. We’ll see.
–Bought knife at KKF, watch from LunarOyster.
–Got bagels at The Bagelry.
–Set up autopay for Tunnel Hill mortgage, first of the month.
–1969 red Submariner came. Unbelievably great condition, case is as new.
–Really gray day.
–Football all day. Niners win!
–Took a shower.
–Returned broken hose to Home Depot.
–Put gas in the Honda.
–Took the Honda to Palo Alto to (a) get the blood pressure monitor checked (it’s good) and (b) drop by Grace’s lab.
–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 4 PM.
–Lots and lots of rain.
–Did some paperwork. Sac County Utilities (sewer) didn’t like 209214-8 account number at Heritage. Seemed to accept 2092148.
–Got up early (7 AM) to get to doctors’ appointments at PAMF. No problems.
–Drove around Stanford a bit trying to park so Grace could visit the lab. No parking. Grace took the beer in while I waited in the car. Then to Playa, where it’s cold (turned furnace off for the trip to Sac).
–Had a Cosmic Crisp apple from Bel Air. Good, but I think I prefer Honeycrisp.
–Holiday Inn express breakfast service stopped at 9 AM, despite notices that it lasts until 10. Crap.
–Gotta leave early tomorrow to insure making doctors’ appointments.
–Took the Beemer to Sac with Grace. No problems.
–Stayed at Holiday Inn Express El Dorado Hills.
–Packed some dishware for trip to Sac tomorrow.
–Took a shower.
–Not much happening today. Watched 49ers beat Vikings.
–Drove back to LSB. Stupid navigation took me through the Berkeley maze. I shouldn’t have listened.
–Still not feeling great.
–Breakfast at Starbucks.
–Got $2.99/gallon gas at Sunrise Arco.
–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 9 AM.
–Watched opener of Criminal Minds’ final season. Not impressed.
–Went to Home Depot for hose/nozzle, knee pads.
–Packed the Beemer for Sac.
–Took a drive out San Andreas.
–Went to Safeway for Cosmic Crisp apples. Learned they had a few but sold out.
–Took some stuff to Goodwill.
–Feeling better, but still not 100%.
–Really bad night–threw up twice. Dehydration, I believe Got up at 2 PM.
–Still not feeling great, even after drinking a fair amount.
–Put out toters.
–Made bacon and eggs for dinner.
–Mowed lawns.
–Made bland paninis for dinner.
–Took a walk to the bluff.
–Made steak au poivre with creamy mashed potatoes for dinner. A little bland.
–Got bagels at The Bagelry.
–Got coffee beans (caf and decaf) at Peet’s.
–Shopped at Nob Hill Capitola. Forgot creme fraiche, couldn’t find it at Deluxe Foods, found it at Safeway Aptos.
–Drove back from Sac, no problem.
–Rolex OysterQuartz came in. Incredible bevels, though it does have some dings. Set it 1 second slow at time.is.
–Drove the Civic to Sac so I could bring the InnerLight.
–Family room lights now work, after I tried (unsuccessfully) to fiddle with electric eye in corner near ceiling. No idea what’s going on.
–Mosquito got in. HOW??? Bought some bug spray at Rite-Aid.
–Got a haircut.
–Put InnerLight in the Civic; will take to Sac tomorrow.
–Went to Bagelry for bagels: low stock, not even a bin for sesame.
–Made pizza for dinner.
–Lost flying saucer in back yard after trying to chase woodpeckers.
–Boxed up size 40 shorts for return to Macy’s.
–Opened Christmas presents after orange rolls.
–Watched “Mr. Bean’s Christmas.”
–Wrapped Grace’s presents.
–Willie the mailman dropped by.
–Went to Aptos Feed for birdseed.
–Made baguettes.
–Went to FedEx Capitola to print 2019 ornament pic. No problem.
–Started some baguettes.
–Delivered presents to Nourse’s house in Half Moon Bay.
–Tried to get 2019 ornament photo printed at Staples. They couldn’t get size right, ended up copying it. Awful.
–Went shopping at Farm Fresh produce and Safeway.
–Put up the Christmas trees.
–Drove back to LSB.
–Watched last 3 episodes of “Man in the High Castle.”
–Picked up breakfast at Starbuck’s; ate at home because no seats.
–Comcast guy came out. Had a hard time finding connection, eventually hooked up cable box and router in closet in Grace’s (prospective) bedroom. Seems to work (594 mbps download speed), and we’ll allegedly be able to add a TV (in addition to wired one in family room) wirelessly.
–Dinner at Jack’s Urban Eats.
–Drove to Sac in 2 hours 45 minutes.
–Turned up temperature on water heater.
–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 1 PM (9 days only).
–Tried to sort through Tunnel Hill paperwork. Paid remainder of property taxes (hmmm…I should only owe 1 month’s worth of property taxes for 2019). Made a mortgage payment that might not be due until 2/1/20. Still need to figure out how to pay HOA dues.
–Went to Outside In (near Frank’s Pharmacy) to finish Christmas shopping. Then to Safeway/Peet’s for stuff.
–Grace wrapped; I boxed.
–Bought a Rolex 116520 from Lunar Oyster for $18,500.
–Made a pizza for dinner.
–Drove back to LSB. GPS took me via 205/5, which turned out to be fairly smooth.
–Sent off some watches to Lunar Oyster on consignment.
–Breakfast at Starbucks.
–Ross Broadley came around 4 PM and replaced the water heater. Done at 8:45. I’m beat from standing around.
–Breakfast at Starbucks.
–Opened checking and savings accounts at Heritage Community Credit Union (in Bel Air market).
–Ross Broadley came out to look at water heater. Confirmed it is original, and panel on roof is indeed solar. Will replace with 50-gallon heater with recirculation and timer (as original) tomorrow.
–Found the plug and turned off the wine cooler.
–Drove to Sac. Huge slow-down on 17.
–HOA approved new roof.
–Went to Best Buy to pick up modem/router.
–Packed guns and knives to take to Sac.
–Did a little Christmas shopping at Capitola mall. Lunch at Togo’s. Last one, I fear: their rolls are huge and they don’t offer sliced bread.
–Bought a router/modem from Best Buy; rescheduled Comcast appointment for 12/18.
–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 4 PM.
–Went to Home Depot to look at refrigerators. Grace pointed out that we have to get a “counter-depth” model, as that’s what is there now.
–Went to Santa Cruz for Christmas shopping. Disappointing. Nothing at Artisans and Agency, formerly a gold mine; got some stuff at the bookstore (while avoiding the “Fuck you, bitch!” socks); got some socks at the sock store (ditto).
–Made some French press coffee. Pretty good.
–Pool Time guy came out. Seemed pretty straightforward, though on a different planet from Deja Blue in terms of what needed doing. Signed contract for pump and filter replacement.
–Lunch at Jasper’s Giant Burger. Pretty darn good (blue cheese burger).
–Drove back to LSB. No problem except (a) GPS tried to get me to take many exits off 680 for no obvious reason; (b) the usual 3 PM slowdown on US 1.
–I’m beat.
–Got locks changed to single key.
–Watched “Angel Has Fallen.” Not a bad movie. Downloaded and watched current episode of Seal Team. Moving more and more towards soap opera.
–Took The Beemer to Sac to start moving in to Tunnel Hill. Most everything is okay. Did kill a mosquito in the kitchen. Garage stinks of former pet. Water is off (will be turned on tomorrow) because it apparently is NOT provided by Sac County Utilities, but by Golden State Water, a private company that is regulated by the CPUC. And I have internet: Xfinity wifi is available and fast.
–Heard from Kim (Bessolo) that Jeanne Davis died.
–Took the Beemer to get gas, Peet’s coffee for Grace.
–Packed the Beemer.
–Another drizzly day.
–Finally succeeded (I think) in getting google calendar (with audible alerts) on iPhone.
–Drafted letter to Curtis Finton re 2019 taxes; will email when I confirm his address.
–Put new Costco tires on the Civic. Huge difference–easy rolling, no vibration.
–Went to CVS to pick up knee brace for Grace; Kelly’s Books for nieces/nephews; Nob Hill for milk/cream/cheese.
==Helios coin came in. Small, but impressive.
–Propane tank looked low; got another at El Patio.
–Dinner kind of blah. Turkey not too smokey, gravy kind of weird, brussels sprouts also weird, dressing was big chunks of bread, yams sort of tasteless. Pumpkin pie was great, though.
–Talked to Pete at Cal Vintage Roofing: I’ll sign paperwork Wednesday; he’ll come out Friday for leak stoppage.
–Hard rain last night and tonight.
–Ellis from Pool Time returned call. Sent him pool inspection report. Will meet Thursday between 9 and 11.
–Rain came.
–Deed recorded on Tunnel Hill: it is ours.
–Set up meetings with Comcast, locksmith. Trying to set things up with roofers, pool and lawn guy.
–Blew some leaves into the toter.
–Cold/bronchitis seems to have broken, as of today.
–Took the Beemer to Lunardi’s in Los Gatos for salami, cheese, Acme bread, Thanksgiving stuff, etc. Lunch at Togo’s, with the absurdly large rolls.
–Downloaded and watched “Triple Frontier.” Good movie, but 15 minutes in I realized I’d seen it before, probably within a year. The memory is going fast…
–Grace insisted I go to the Sutter Walk-In Clinic in Aptos. A PA found my lungs clear, had no good explanation for cough. She prescribed a cough suppressant, which seems to be effective.
–Talked to Cal Vintage Roofing, the clear choice based on (a) yelp and nextdoor reviews and (b) the fact that they are in Gold River and intimately familiar with rules. Job will take 7-8 weeks from start, which won’t be for another week or two. Crap. Also really not looking forward to seeing damage under roof, as apparently it’s the original 35-year-old shake roof that was installed when built.
–Got the name of the pool inspector from Darla: Nick at Deja Blue Pools. Looked them up on yelp: really sketchy. Back to square one.
–Got bagels at The Bagelry.
–Looked again at roofing. Turns out there’s only one choice: Boral Pinecrest stone-coated steel. Concrete roofs (i.e., tile) are heavy and super-expensive.
–Notary came today for Tunnel Hill. Should close Monday, after wire transfer tomorrow.
–PAMF called to say squamous cell surgery was successful in clearing the lesion. No mention of KAs.
–Bought Rolex Daytona 116520 from Old World Jewelers in Wheaton, OH.
–Took a nap.
–Had squamous cell carcinoma on left arm removed by Dr. Holloway. He didn’t appear to have years of experience under his belt with this procedure.
–Still coughing; took a nap.
–Still feeling crappy, coughing like crazy.
–Took a shower.
–Been coughing like a fiend for 2-3 days. Don’t know if it’s a new cold or the very late remnants of the last one.
–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 3 PM.
–Played some more with Tormek. Got my two chisels pretty sharp.
–Got a jury summons. Turns out being > 70 is not an out in Santa Cruz county. Will try for three-month delay.
–Picked up 2019 Best American Mysteries from Kelly’s Books. Also got some pastries from Top Donuts.
–Tormek came in. Almost flooded it before realizing how to attach the water trough. Kind of hacked up the first knife I tried on it; may go with the 4k stone. I did finally figure out how to mount a chisel and did a reasonably good job on it.
–Still feeling sick–in the throat at the moment. Getting tired of this.
–Ordered Bridgestone Turanza Quiettrack tires for Civic from Costco.
–Darla called. Tunnel Hill closes on 11/22 (notary comes to 110 Playa); records on 11/25. Darla will do the final walkthrough. Still don’t know when I’ll get keys and be able to spend the night.
–Took the Beemer to Fairhaven Orchards in Hollister for some extra choice dried apricots. Good ride, good fruit. $40 for 5 pounds.
–Got info from Miner’s Village HOA regarding new roof requirements. Looking into it.
–Went shopping at Target (toothpaste, deodorant) and Food Maxx (got a Thanksgiving turkey).
–Took a shower.
–Raked leaves.
–Went to El Patio for bear claws.
–Scubapro knife came in; polished up great. “Vintage” Mach 3 razor handle came in; really light and flimsy feeling, so I tossed it.
–Darla called. Will ask Tunnel Hill owners to reduce price by $10,000 for roof, pool and pest remediation. I’m not optimistic, though that’s what John Lauer (representing buyer and seller) did to me with 2259 Indian Wells.
–Took Grace to dentist for broken crown.
–Got 13 sesame bagels (yay!) at The Bagelry.
–Greek Alexander coin arrived (stunning), as did CVS drugs.
–Set Seamaster quartz at 9:30 PM; running .5 seconds behind.
–Roasted caf beans.
–Post Office screwed up delivery of CVS drugs. “No access to delivery location” at 7:30 PM. Unbelievable.
–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 8 AM.
–Went to PAMF lab on Green Valley for lipids, potassium, creatinine.
–Went to Dr. Kim for cleaning. He found deteriorating filling and replaced it.
–Paid for ($320) and got fireplace report. Three things recommended: chimney cap (can do later), flashing (roofer will do) and grate (I can do).
–Apparently closing is November 25.
–Daylight Savings Time ended; reset clocks.
–Put up ladder for Grace to gather little pine cones from gutter. Not many there.
–Went to Clearview Orchards for apples. Honeycrisp gone, got Mutsu and Fuji. Good thing: their season ends tomorrow.
–Watched birds; filled out paperwork from title company.
–Continuing paperwork for Tunnel Hill.
–Roasted some Colombian beans. No chaff!
–Breakfast at Holiday Inn; drove back to LSB. Easy trip.
–Carved a pumpkin, set it on a table in the driveway, dressed warmly and handed out 288/300 pieces of candy. Fun, but if we were going to be here next year, I’d have 600 pieces of candy.