Monthly Archives: February 2014

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LGA Bike Club Meeting

Here’s some good news from our bike club meeting today. Captain LaTraye is holding the winner of the logo design contest. It will be the design on our club t-shirts.
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I forgot to mention that LaTraye also found the “best” road treasure on the last bike ride.
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Thank you, Ms McManus for locating a better-sized bicycle for Alex. Congratulations Alex for qualifying to go on the next club ride. Here is Alex with his dad:
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And, good news regarding our email to Sacramento City Councilman Steve Hansen regarding the hazards noted on our last bike ride. We received a response from Consuelo Hernandez, District 4 Director along with his staff’s report. A Street Maintenance team determined the hazardous bike trail was not a City Class I bikeway, but rather a privately constructed path. A work order was created to remove the electrical panel box that Devin spotted. (Removed by March 9!) So far, a rather productive civics lesson.

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From the sewing cave

The pillowcases and 20″ pillow are done and ready to send to Billie in Virginia!
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Using more of the leftover Amy Butler scraps, I made Kylie’s doll quilt #3, just 14×24 inches. Kylie is Adrienne’s granddaughter.
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When I showed Justin these finished pieces, he said now I had to start thinking about what to sew next. I told him it was far worse than that. I already have the next two projects started and six more waiting in a drawer. And that doesn’t include the the “wanna-do” projects rolling around in my head.

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Cherry Pie 101

Cherry pie is my #1 favorite pie, but I hardly ever eat it. Way too rich but mostly it’s really hard to find a good one. Last 4th of July, I had the best cherry pie ever at Merrilyn’s. today, Phyllis and learned how to make it.image

From scratch. Neither Of us feels like we can make a good pie crust.
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Because it’s not cherry season, we used frozen cherries.
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Lattice top, precisely measured, and cut with a pizza cutter.
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Latticed, edges crimped, and ready for milk wash and Demerara sugar.
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While the pies were in the oven, we had brunch, then cracked some walnuts.
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HOT! from the oven.
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Unbelievably delicious. Warm with ice cream. Ahhhhh.
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This was a hard post. I have 40 great pictures and could easily have written a tutorial. The next pie will definitely happen in fresh cherry season. Merrilyn, I know Phyl and I love the cooking lessons you’ve given us.

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LGA Bike Club Ride #1

Everyone arrived early at Leroy F Greene Academy. In fact, Devin (blue shirt) got there an hour early.image

Waiting for Ms McManus.
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At last.
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ABCQuick Check and a review of the ride plan before we head out.
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On the bike trail near Orchard Park. Adam is the student ride leader for this section.
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Maintaining a ghost space (or a bit more) between riders.
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Turtles sunning themselves on a log in the drainage canal.
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I told the riders to be on the lookout for hazards. I had something specific in mind, but not what Devin spotted. Good job Devin.
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We stopped for some hill climbing
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and some fast descents.
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At Heritage Oak Grove, we played an exercise-filled game of Jeopardy using the information from the plaques. Julian and LaTraye are running back with the question that goes with “The scientific name for Valley Oak.” (What is Quercus lobata?)
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LaTraye, Adam, and Julian looked for an old rusted pulley high up in some oak tree in the park.
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We spent some time practicing a proper left turn at a nearby low-traffic intersection. And then it was on to our ultimate destination, Baskin Robbins Ice Cream.
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L-R: Adam, Julian, Captain LaTraye, Devin.
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We practiced riding straight through a very busy intersection as a group. Everyone stepped on their power pedal as the light turned green. This is the beginning of the next section of bike trail. Everyone noticed that the access was not bicycle-friendly.
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A sign warned of an uneven surface ahead.
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It was much worse than that.
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As a civics lesson, we sent an email regarding these hazards to Steve Hansen, the Sacramento City Supervisor for this area.
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Julian pointed out a bush that needs trimming. It blocked half of the path.
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This is what we do NOT want to happen. Note the gesture by LaTraye who really didn’t want to mess up his t-shirt by laying on the grass.
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Heading back toward LGA.
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A very successful and super fun 5-mile ride.
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Valentine’s Day

I started making Valentine Confetti on Super Bowl Sunday. Popcorn coated with melted white chocolate and packaged with red, pink, and white M&Ms. The first batch went to LGA Bike Club.image

Everyone liked it so I kept making more and more bags. If you were in my path in the past two weeks, you probably got one. All of my CBET students got one.image
The best story came on Thursday at Del Paso School. It was Jose’s first day, he did quite well, he has good English language skills. At the end of class, we talked about Valentine’s as a special day. I asked each student if they would be my valentine, then gave them the treat. All the ladies smiled or giggled and said yes. Jose, the last person I asked said, “No, I can’t. This is only my first day.”

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Grandson Odin

Grandma: Odin, put down those nunchucks before you give me a hug.image

Odin: Ok.

G: Your t-shirt says “The legends about my dad are all true.” What do people say about your dad?

O: Well … the bad guys say “Your dad is nice.”

A while later I asked for another hug.

O: I can’t right now. I’m busy.
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There are times when helping Mario collect gold coins while running down a track is far more important than giving hugs.
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Check up on sewing progress.

Phyl finished the orange fleece pajama pants.  Next:  a knit top.

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Previous successful projects:
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This top you will never see again. One day as Phyl was looking at a bunch of pictures, she noticed how too often she was wearing this particular top. She vowed never to wear it again, unless we’re making jams, jellies, or pies.
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This is me trying to drive Dave crazy. I borrowed his jacket when I went outside and put it back on the back of a barstool where I’d found it. But it were ever so slightly askew. Dave noticed and perfected its drape. So, when he wasn’t looking and before I went home, I fixed his jacket up nicely.
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