Friday, December 30, 2016

Ed Levin Equestrian Adventure

A nice day to be outside.

While Dad and I flew off Ed Levin, Heidi went for a horse ride.

I've flown over the stables countless times and see folks out riding, but this is the first time I've visited.

Everyone had fun :)

Nice to see the hills so green, should last a while this year.

The Paddock and staging area are fun too. Bay area Stables does a good job of the old west feel.

A motley clan.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

The mountain view ride

One of our go-to rides is to jump on the VTA to Mountain View and ride back.

We just take the Stevens Creek trail up to the google area.

Then through the Shoreline Amphitheater, stop at the 19th hole.

Enjoy some sun and a brew. It's not very far but has lots of variety, is flat and family friendly. No driving necessary and just one short section of road, which is mellow.

Then around the outside of Moffett field back home. The ride is about 13 Miles and even pretty much downwind.

Monday, December 26, 2016

Maddy House

After the shed, (which probably will never be finished in my mind) we decided Maddy needed her own place too.

I had a few pieces left over from the shed so my Dad and I got to work on a sunny afternoon.

It didn't take too long to bring something together.

I think the roof went on the next day. Maddy didn't seem to mind though.

And the paint considerably later. 

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Christmas 2016

Big plans for Christmas 2016. Starting with Mami Ray and Dadude visiting.

A new favorite hike of mine is in the Phleger estate park from Huddart Park

The first few days were dry and windy, so we walked in the shelter of the trees and canyons.

with the previous rains there were already some fungi and good flows on the creek.

The Shed

This has been a very long project, which I'm glad is finally coming to fruition. Some things went to plan some didn't, but on the whole it looks exactly like what I envisioned.

I had a few odd requirements for this shed. It has to be removable, so I put it on pylons. I'm sure it will settle, but it can be jacked up and re leveled.

It was going to take a few weekends to put together, so each stage had to be structurally stable in weather and such.

I regret not putting a few more screws in the floor when I could have  - oh well.

In the peak of summer the roof was very welcome. Working in the heat of the day was brutal. 

I found a used door in a frame at habitat for humanity, it was a pretty perfect fit.

The roof really was where I learned the most. Doing it over, I would use the cheaper roll felt, it's just a shed after all. But I was giving these shingles so it made sense to use them, I underestimated how many I needed and their weight so I had to beef up the roof and the structure in general. 

After the roof was done everything else seemed relatively simple.

Some siding and a lick or two of paint, a window and a ramp. Done (almost)

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Festive lights


This year thanks to our neighbor Rick, we were lucky enough to get tickets to the Vasona Lake County Park, Festival of Lights But not just in the normal way, for the first time, the public were allowed to walk through, instead of be bumper to bumper in a car parade.

It was awesome, a couple hundred acres of lights.

Maddy loved it. Lots of flashing lights and even some animation.
And then ? Some random things, I had a little laugh at the tag-along tooth and brush.

Lots of fun.


Roar ! Dinosaur ! On the 13th day of Christmas ;)

Back in pre-historic Christmas.

Western Snowman.


Happy Holidays Y'all !