Brown Family

St. Joseph's Hill

 

Yesterday we went out to look for the San Andrea's fault. I'd been given a clue that I might be able to find a visible spot up at St. Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve in Los Gatos, but no luck. We did have a nice walk up the hill and intend to go back soon.

St. Joseph's Hill is at Lexington Resovoir just off of Highway 17. I've lived in the Bay Area on and off for most of my life and never once have I driven off Highway 17 to take a look at the resovoir nor walk at the open space; I am certainly glad I have found it now. Starting at the parking lot near the water, we walked up the steep hill that marks the end of Jones Trail to the first marker where we could grab a map. We didn't walk all the way up to St. Joseph's Hill on this day, but plan on making it back for a longer walk. We did do a bit of a stroll, stopping to look at the views and pondering the rocks and mountain walls looking for signs of the fault line with no luck. The signs all give hints of potential encounters with Mountain Lions, which sounds dangerous but something I would like to see personally. We didn't see an Mountain Lions, but did come across what looked like large kitty tracks in the mud.

 

Probably a large dog, I know, but it after reading all the signs it is nice to let your imagination take it away a bit.

 

We went down to Los Gatos for lunch, wandering around the main drag and seeing it for the first time in what felt like at least 6 plus years. We ate lunch at Gilley's Coffee Shop where all things grilled were available; a nice American diner. Sunday ended with us trying to clean the refrigerator of leftovers from the week and I think I've had enough Japanese curry to last me another year now.

Soda day

On Saturday we did our soda explosion. Kana jotted down all the data and she'll have to put together the table. Short answer - kind of fun. Erik has suggested a more deluxe mentos dropping device for a future event, but we did it all by hand. Lovely fun. I made a small coke bottle holder.

 

Pretzel Sunday

Today's food project: Pretzels. They were good last time we made them, seemed like we should do it again. The whole process is really simple and fun for Kana, Kyoko and I. I highly recommend making pretzels at home - they are really tasty.

 

After making the dough you cut in to individual portion, lengthen and create. Here's Kana stretching like a Singaporean noodle vendor she saw once did - by spinning like a jump rope.

 

Adding a bit more flour, because the flour is right there.

 

 

 

Here are our pretzels rising a bit before their boil.

 

 

 

After a short boil (water and baking soda at home), you brush with an egg wash and salt.

 

 

The final product - I've eaten two already this morning. They don't taste as good the second day. I like mine with mustard, even though all we have is Grey Poupon which makes for a slightly snobby pretzel.

 

 

Christmas in the park and sunny days

 

Though the days have been overcast and a bit rainy and windy, leave it to our cat to find a sunny spot when available. Windam spent a good long in a warm spot upstairs the other day where Kyoko snapped a number of photos of the old kitty.

We also went to Christmas in the Park, a San Jose Downtown yearly event that includes decorations and skating and rides. Kana's class decorated a tree which we found and also went on a few rides. The day was pretty cold, but we survived by eating funnel cake - my first time.

 

 

Fun in the sun in the Sierra

 

Kyoko booked us a couple of nights up in Angels Camp as part of our efforts to visit more of California, and specifically get ourselves to the mountains! We hit on some wonderful weather driving up easily on Sunday and having clear skies for snow play on Monday.

Sunday we arrived and after stopping briefly for lunch in Angels Camp, we went to Moaning Caverns a 260 foot hole in the earth where we were able to walk to the bottom viewing he weird looking stalagmites and stalactites that make up the decor. Kana and I also took a try at their zip line which runs 1500 feet and drops about 200 feet in elevation. Great fun. Here is a photo with Kana and Smokey the local cat, and then the two of us dressed for the zip line.

 

Monday morning we started our trek to look for snow. We were totally unprepared, having never visited the snow as a family. No snow clothes to speak of, and no snow ready shoes for Kana. We stopped first in Murphys for a nice breakfast at Grounds and a bit of stroll. Here are Kana and Kyoko making face showing how they can see their breath in the cold. For a girl who spent most of her life in Singapore this is still a novelty!

 

Our original plan was to just go to Arnolds, rent some gear, and go to the local state park. But at the gear shop we got inspired by the staff and decided to drive up to 'Spicers' where the plow the parking lot and have a sno-park area. We must have misheard the staff on the distance as it was quite far from Arnolds and very close to Bear Valley, but in the end, it was all worth while. The weather was fantastic, we didn't need chains, the snow was fresh and we had a great time. You can tell by how much snow Kana had hanging from her scarf that we didn't get all the clothes right, but we did OK. Next time we want to find a location with better sledding. Maybe we'll try ski lessons some time.

 

All and all a great couple of days and a first step to learning how to take a local vacation. Who wants to go to the snow? We're in!

Waiting on my espresso machine

On a truck on its way to my home, a new espresso maker for my office is on route. Similar to my last one in Singapore, this will be a Saeco Aroma and will hopefully run many happy years on my desk at the office. If I chose wisely, my Reg Barber tamper will work as I think the baskets are the same.

Now I need to find either a good local espresso or Illy in a can.

Blank walls

I really enjoyed removing all our art from boxes. Not only was it nice to have nothing broken or damaged, but I really like many of the pieces we have in our modest little collection. The bad part? Now we have to go around the house and hang it all. A weekend project that we haven't yet prioritized.

Bookshelves in office

A week after getting new shelves installed in the office, they are starting to fill up. I still have my cookbooks laid out across the family room floor and all the Japanese cookbooks piled against the wall, but progress nonetheless. The sorting of all the books has resulted in a large pile of books that will be moving on to a new home. I am far less attached to them now than when I stored them four years ago.

Books that have survived the cut are histories and poetry, books on design and technology, a lot of inspirational and just interesting books too. I am happy to see my Taylor Branch series now in a row as I enjoyed his books on MLK. I have kept Cadillac Desert, but let go of some Bill Bryson. Who knows? I may wish to read some of them again but that's what the library can help out with now.

Some books that have come out of storage haven't been on my shelves for many years - since I lived in Japan - and I look forward to re-reading them including all of Yukio Mishima's books and a number of other translations of Japanese authors.

Sigh. The process seems endless. I am waiting for the day the house feels locked in and I can sit down and relax without feeling like I have a list of tasks that still need to be done.

I need to get started on my garden design too...

My morning walk with pictures

I thought I’d write a bit more about my morning walking route. It takes me about 40-50 minutes and has a good bit of hills. In the morning I leave the house around 6AM and the fog is still in the hills.

 

I walk down Murillo north and take the blocked road that runs behind Groesbeck Hill Park.

 

It’s a nice walk, and as I come up the other side there is a deteriorating building that seems abandoned on someone’s property.

 

From there I catch Klein Road which starts the uphill part of the walk. This loops around and heads East uphill towards Mt. Pleasant Road. I usually see cows and horses at that intersection.

 

I turn right and start the category 4 part of the hill climb up Mt. Pleasant Road. I try to keep a steady pace through out my walk so this part is where I start breathing a bit heavy – very nice. The reward is a stellar view of the Valley, most mornings, shrouded in fog.

 

As I head down Mt. Pleasant Road back towards Murillo I usually see lots of animals. The goats are always in their yard, and the last few days I’ve seen seven or eight deer each day.

 

This is the view of Mt. Pleasant Road on the way home. There are lots of farm animals along this stretch including chickens, cows, goats and sheep and oddly a few peacocks.

 

 

And when I get home, I make myself a cafe.

Springbrook house renovations

We’ve been working to get back in our own home in San Jose and are in the final stretch. The last bit of construction finished last Thursday, with only bits and pieces remaining for the flooring guys to tidy up. The process has taken a few weeks, and we’ve been gratefully allowed to overstay our expected amount of time at my Mother’s house as the work finished up. The first part involved scraping off the popcorn ceilings and texturing them all. Then we had painters in to refresh the walls and patch holes. Finally, hardwood flooring through much of the house.

The house looks great. Totally changes the house’s feel (and the acoustics), but the look is really beautiful and we’re very happy with the changes.

Here are some before, during and after pictures. There are a few places that the flooring guys need to finish up as they ran out of step bull-nose wood in one place, and didn’t finish all sideboards perfectly, but it will get done.

Family room

 

 

 

Living room

 

 

 

Master bedroom

 

Upstairs hallway

 

Stairs

 

 

 

And a goof – a non-closing door