Monthly Archives: May 2016
MIBM at Bella Bru
Businesses are celebrating May is Bike Month by offering incentives if you ride a bike. This morning, SABA offered free Bike Valet service at Bella Bru in North Natomas and gave each bicycle rider a free pastry or espresso drink. 
I worked with Aaron and Victor.
Friday night with Justin
My phone rang at about 7:30 – it was Justin. “Mom, come outside. To the windmill. Bring your camera.” I love it when he says that!
Woodsquawk on the radio (a virtual/fantasy 3-day music festival featuring live acts from the best bands on the planet presented by The Eagle 96.7 every Memorial Day weekend), Track 7 beer in hand – what more could a working man want at the end of the week?
Project Ride Smart – week 3
Monday. Every morning 40 bikes had to be taken out of the classroom they were stored in. I was thankful for student volunteers who came to help. The girl on the left came EVERY morning!
Monday and Tuesday were street ride days. LCIs Elle (standing) and Pollyanna go over the ride routes with Gina, an LCI-in-training. Also volunteering to ride sweep (last rider) were several parent volunteers, teachers, and local residents.
ABCQuick Check, a must before riding.
The ratio for each group is no more than 8 students:2 adults. If we were short on volunteers, I took the smaller red group and stayed on the park trails and residential streets adjacent to the park. The red group always has more fun and rides farther than the other groups!
Mr Young is a great supporter of Project Ride Smart and rode with us.
Of course, at the end of the day, all those bicycles have to be tightly packed together in one teacher’s classroom (Thanks you Becky!) and then a long cable threaded through the frames and securely locked! Usually the other LCIs did this task while I took the students back to their classroom to gather colored jerseys and put away helmets.
Tuesday. 
The girl on the left learned to ride a bike at one of the after-school coaching sessions. While she was still a bit wobbly, her bike-riding skills improved daily.
Friday. While the 4th graders celebrated Gold Rush days by panning for iron pyrite 
and got lathered up for a shave (with a popsicle stick),
the 5th graders had a small bike rodeo on the playground. Calf Roping:
Paperboy. I made 3 additional vests on Wed/Th to have 4 altogether, but really needed 8 of them and LOTS more rolled newspapers. There were shredded bits of newspaper all over the playground by the time we were done – oops!
We called this one the Triple 8.
This is the BEST bicycle education program in the Sacramento region – I’m so glad I get to be a part of it!
Carson
Here are the many faces of youngest grandson. Getting ready to cry if I don’t pick him up quickly … but wait, sometimes those not-quite-crying sounds turn into a kind of conversation Carson has with himself.
A sweet 30-minute nap.
Awake and happy.
This was my last Wednesday to watch Carson for a couple of hours. Thais goes back to work next week.
Midtown Farmer’s Market
I volunteered for SABA to do the Bike Valet with Rebecca.
Happy customers with purchases stowed and ready for the ride home!
Project Ride Smart – week 2
Monday/Tuesday: Blacktop drills. Oh my, it’s hot standing on the blacktop for hours in 90-degree heat! Mellissa Meng, School Programs Manager for NNTMA, gives instructions for the next skill drill which I was about to demonstrate on my bike:
Hurray for LCIs-in-training! Gina worked with the red and blue group doing their ABCQuick Check:
Neal worked with the yellow/green group:
Good friends who wanted me to take their picture:
Friday: the first neighbor hood ride. Today’s weather was so different from Monday/Tuesday. Cold, windy and … rain for the last riding group of the day!
While I shivered under a picnic table covering, the students ran off to the playground equipment. When the big downpour ended, we hurried back to campus. Fun at all times!
Achievement!
I reached my Weight Watchers goal this morning. I’ve been working at this for 1 year 10 months.
I used every desperate tool. Nothing to drink until after weighing in. Which clothing weighed the lightest? 
I took off my FitBit and glasses and saved 0.6 ounces. On my scale at home, I didn’t make it. But at the meeting, I was under! Hurray. Now I maintain for 6 weeks and I get to stop paying the monthly fee. Hurray again.
Executing Vogue 8938
I started sewing this pattern about two years ago (which sort of parallels my weight-loss journey). I have SEVEN of them in my closet now. Here they are from oldest to most recent. This pattern is the best way to use purchased t-shirts: cut out the center front panel piece and add coordinating fabric for the rest.
L-R:
Norwood Nobles – size 20 – I was CELDT testing 2 years ago and the friendly staff at Norwood Jr High gave each of the testers a school t-shirt. For one day’s work? The perfect shirt to test V8938 to see if I liked the fit. I did.
Green/Brown – size 18 – perfect for a pair of camo cropped pants.
Dark green Saskatchewan t-shirt with a hot orange batik knit from Stone Mountain and Daughter.
Tie-dyed t-shirt made by Calvary Lutheran Church youth group as a fundraiser at Farm & Tractor Days in May 2015.
Black and white coordinating Lotta Jansdotter woven cotton prints with a different back … which is just heavy enough to pull the front neckline up to the point of discomfort.
May is Bike Month “I am Happiest on my Bike” – a very nice drapey purple poly knit.
Bicycle Heaven – size 14 – with a great Liberty of London jersey knit called Torsten.
On the near horizon, FIVE more V8938s. Stay tuned.
Carson & Sophia
While Mom went out on an errand, I happily stayed with Carson and Sophia. At 3 1/2 months, Carson is content (for a while) laying on a play mat and batting hanging objects with his hands and feet.
I’m always glad when Sophia is present because she’s so helpful. She can make Carson smile and laugh so easily.
arletelouise 