I am in the process of making some one of a kind raised beds for the backyard. So, i went up Alpine Road a few days ago and came across a 5 foot diameter about 22 inch in width Redwood log. and somehow, I was able to slice off the outside all the way until the final piece. Take a look at the end result. Once the bed is raised, I will throw a shot of that too.
timeline
The trip was a blast, just got back, only knew Michaela going into the camping trip, and now feel like I know quite a few others pretty well, was great, everyone had fun. Weather was perfect, the park ranger only had to come over to our site once late last night to have us be quite.
The deal is below, Michaela’s girlfriend Sandra invited us to go camping with her friends this Saturday, and by the look of the email below, she’s got it all planned out……. Of course I am going to bring a ton of firewood also. Pictures will come soon.(Now they are here 6/14) weather is calling for a possibility of rain, but they are all planning on bringing their swimsuits….gonna be fun…
Hi Guys,
Here is the rest of the scoop for sat:
About 15 of us are going (yahoo) and we have two camping sites that are suppose to fit 16 people. Since we only are allowed to have 2 cars/site (first car free, second car cost $8) we will NEED TO CARPOOL. So let’s meet at Sofie’s place at 11am on this Saturday morning. Klick on the following super duper long link to get directions to Sofie’s place in Mountain View: http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&q=safeway%2Bshoreline+blvd&near=Santa+Clara,+CA&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&dtab=2&ei=QwMxSubWLoTwtAOL6f3DAw&cid=10634295969772017890&li=lmd
Ricky and I will be responsible for bringing tents for everyone, so the only must have items you need to worry about is: Sleeping bags, sleeping pads, ID, warm clothes, and swimsuit.
Ladies—I have some good news for you =) there will be bathrooms and showers close by the camping sites.
As for the food, Ricky and I came up with a list of things that will cover lunch sat, dinner+desert (smores ofcourse!) sat night and breakfast on Sunday morning. Your name will be next to the items you are responsible of bringing (about 2/pers).
YOU NEED TO BRING YOUR OWN ALCHOL (and let’s do it ala Scandinavian style… so bring lots of drinks =)
Since Ricky and I are taking care of the parking costs, major food items, tents and the campingsites we would like you all to contribute with $10/person.
ALSO if you have any fun games or a friend who plays the guitar PLEASE bring them/those as well.
I think that’s all for now, call or email if you have any questions.
SEE YOU ALL SAT =)
Ricky and Sandra
408-XXX-XXXX
More information about Memorial Park:
FOODLIST
Strawberry jam – Sandra+Ricky
Lettus, onion and tomatoes for lunch and dinner- Sandra+Ricky
Charcoal – Sandra+Ricky
Firewood – Sandra+Ricky
Matches/Lighter – Sandra+Ricky
Lighter Fluid – Sandra+Ricky
Hamburgers – Sandra+Ricky
Hotdogs – Sandra+Ricky
Hamburger buns – Sandra+Ricky
Hotdogbuns – Sandra+Ricky
Ice – Sandra+Ricky
1 big jar of hot Salsa+1 small jar of mild salsa – Tom+1
3 bags of Regular chips – Tom+1
(instant) Coffee – Tom + 1
12 pack Diet Coke– Tom+1
I box Hot chocolate – Michaela+Adam
4 (large sized bags) Tortilla Chips – Michaela+Adam\
10 ears of Corn – Michaela+Adam
24 pack case of water – Michaela+Adam
2 bags large Marshmallows – Sofie+2
8 bars Hersheys’ Chocolate – Sofie +2
2 boxes Gram Crackers – Sofie+2
2 gallons Orange juice – Sofie + 2
Lunch meat for sandwiches (enough for 15 people, 24oz) – Sofie+2
Breakfast meat for sandwiches (enough for 15 people, 24oz) – Sofie+2
Bread for lunch sat (enough for 15 people, 3 loaves of presliced bread) – Malin+Ido
Bread for breakfast sun (enough for 15 people, 2 loaves of presliced bread) - Malin+Ido
Cheddar cheese for hamburgers (16oz, presliced) – Malin+Ido
Sandwich cheese for lunch (24oz, presliced) – Malin+Ido
Sandwich cheese for breakfast (16oz, presliced)- Malin+Ido
2 Guacamole – Carmen+3
1 Mustard – Carmen+3
2 Mayonnaise – Carmen+3
2 tubs Potato salad – Carmen+3
1 Dish soap – Carmen+3
1 Dish sponge – Carmen+3
1 Ketchup – Carmen+3
1 bag Apples – Carmen+3
15 Bananas – Carmen+3
2 rolls Paper towels – Carmen+3
45 Paper Plates – Carmen+3
45 Cups – Carmen+3
10 Bowls – Carmen+3
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That’s right, we are on a roll out here at the homestead. Not only did we receive a brand new water heater this morning at about 3am, but we also just made another major upgrade to the house by adding a nice nearly new Kenmore digital dishwasher, much much better than the 50 year old GE dishwasher the house came with. And don’t think for a second that Roto Rooter was involved with any of the installation. No No, that was good old Adam at it again, with a bit of help from lovely Michaela who did some excellent action photography and transport from of the old and new from and to and to and from the garage to kitchen and backwards all the same.
Clean and shinny dishes here we come!
Well, on Friday before we left to go to San Francisco for the Czech party, Michaela noticed water coming out from the boiler room. And our 1991 Kenmore Economizer 5 water heater was in the middle of its last day of service. After a call to American Home Title Mortgage people, a $200 new homeowner policy the agent sold us on during the title stage, I spoke with someone who said they would send out a plumber to come and investigate the deal.. We went ahead up to the city after Michaela mopped up the water and I turned off the water lines, and waited for the initial call from the plumber. We settled on meeting Saturday afternoon, which was to be after Mike’s birthday party.
- Once we met, it was true, the water heater needed to be replaced, so the options were this:
- wait until Tuesday for them to replace/install the water heater
- “Cash Out” with the insurance company for a negotiated rate and settle it myself (me buy the heater, pay for install etc..
So we opted for the cash out. At first they were saying they would be able to give me $400 total. I sure didn’t think that was reasonable, since the plumber came out and said there would be $430 of additional modifications to meet “new building code”.
Also, a new water heater costs $429 at sears that looked to be comparable to the one I had before. So, after speaking and getting quite pissed with the agent I was speaking to, I finally got on the phone with his supervisor after an hour and 8 minutes, quite rediculous for a “first class upgrade” policy holder. So once Tiffani Walsh made it on the phone, she was the supervisor, we talked some more, she made no mention of the modification fees in the amount of $430 being anything I was eligible for, she also said she could give me cash for a water heater at their costs, which was usually way below the Sears price, yadayadayada….
I said this, lets call the plumber who came out here on a conference call right now, I had his cell so we did. His name was Genesis Castillo, a really nice guy as well. he picked up and Tifanni immmedialtely went into asking about the “modifications” since “modifications” are not covered unless they are due to new building codes. Genesis said they were “modifications”, but did not directly mention the codes. SO, I piped in and said, “Genesis, would you be breaking the law if you did not add the
- Earthquake Strap for $125
- Electric Grounding for $95
- Dirt leg for $90
And he said, yes that would be against building code. BINGO, BINGO Mrs Tiffani, show me some more money girl.
And also, since they cover the disposal fee, I quickly remembered that Genesis said there was a $65 fee for that too. So I asked him as well, what is the disposal fee for this, he said $65 bucks, DOUBLE BINGO MRS. Tiffani.
When all said and done, we got off the line with Genesis, and she said they would pay me a grand total of $670.53. I told her to email it to me and I would let her know. I let her know a few moments later that would be just fine, send us the check. Here is her email to me below:
Dear Mr. Scheuer,
Per our conversation First American is offering you the amount of $670.53 for a cash out in lieu of First American replacing your water heater. This cost does include the price of your unit, tax, the labor to install a new unit, disposal of your old unit, and the code upgrades.
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Direct: (800) 992-3400, Ext. 2983 Fax: (800) 700-4457 Email: tdwalsh@firstam.com
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So, at about 7pm, Michaela and I went down to Sears in Mountain View, CA. and spoke to Mr. Roscoe, who actually has a whole bunch of family who went to school at M-A High School, he started rattling off names of his kids and cousins, and quite a few rang a bell. We left with a Kenmore Power Miser 9, 40 gallon skinny, which is the same size but a bit better model than we had before. Before you knew it it was just about 1:30am and I was about fifteen minutes away from a fresh hot shower, fresh new water heater installed by me, with some help from Michaela on getting it out of the truck and moving it once inside, I recommend having a hand truck which we did not.
TOTAL COST OF WATER HEATER OUT THE DOOR AT SEARS: $600.86
TOTAL PAYMENT FOR CASHING IN WITH INSURANCE PEOPLE: $670.53
$70 difference = 14 $5 hands at the blackjack table in about two months with Michaela’s folks in Las Vegas!
June 5th, up in San Francisco there was a planned Czech people gathering. It went down at a bar/restaurant called Cafe Prague, inbetween Sansome and Battery on Merchant street. The meeting is a monthly thing, and as it turned out I was pretty much the only American on site when we arrived around 7:30. Petra, who is from a tiny village near the Polish German border introduced us to this party. She lives up in the city with her husband Thad, and we ended up spending the night with them.
Back to the Czech people, at first when we arrived there seemed to be only a few,maybe five or six others Czechs, talking away and me not knowing a word, which was fine. Then as the night went on, a ton more started arriving. Michaela even said a few times she thought she was back in Prague with all of the language and beer drinking, svickova food etc… So it was a great night. There was some tasty food, nice beers, and even quite a few pretty Czech girls looking for American boys, I think my buddy Carl enjoyed that considering he is on the lookout once again.
The night ended with a cab ride home from near Market Street, a typical Punjab Northern Indian cabbie rode us all the way home,nice man indeed.
And then after one sleeping pill, the night was threw. Now being the morning and 8 O’clock am, I am the only one awake and using Petra’s computer while I take a look at my wife passed out cold on the air mattress we made as bed for the evening.
One unusual note is we currently have 3 Maine Lobster resting in ice in a styrafoam container in Petra and Thad’s apartment here, and throughout this post they sometimes let out some noises. I am excited to try one, and if the planets are aligned then maybe Michaela will too. My guess is that Thad for sure and probably Petra will be down to give them a try but verdict not in yet for the wife, she is tough like that with new strange looking food?
Hi There everyone, as you can see today we started a blog for the first time, actually second time. And, the best news is that in just about one month, Michaela’s folks are coming over to visit. It will be a first for both of them as far as visiting the United States. Michaela is so very excited as well as me. We have quite a bit of things we will probably be getting into. First off, we are headed out to Bean Town to meet them, and then up to Maine to stay for a few nights and visit with some family. Then, after a few days, we will all four head back to California for about another month. Sometime inbetween them coming to CA and heading back to CZ, we will be going on a week long road trip. The plan is to head south, then from LA to Las Vegas, and ending up as far East as the Grand Canyon. We went to the Grand Canyon two years ago with Brad Davis, and it was awesome, so it should be the same again we figure. After the Grand Canyon, our plan is to head right back to Vegas for a few more days of fun in the sun, and then a nice long drive back home.
Can’t wait for them to arrive, it’s going to be all kinds of fun, especially for Michaela!!
