My walnut processing “factory” in the garage was humming this week. The gathered walnuts are a mix of perfect walnuts, imperfect walnuts, and debris – all that needs to be sorted. I poured a half bag into the shallow plastic box each time. The perfect walnuts went into the white bowl which was then dumped into a bag until it was almost full. The imperfect walnuts went to the right and were dumped into a separate bag – I may just throw these away in the end. The debris left in the plastic box was dumped into a third bag.
The perfect walnuts then get weighed, 12 pounds per bag, and put on shelves. I’m at 439 pounds with lots to go. The other garage activity was cracking a bowl (after bowl after bowl) full of the perfect walnuts,
then sitting at the dining room table with the tv remote nearby and shelling them,
followed by making candied walnuts and making one-pound packages of walnut halves.
Author Archives: arletelouise
Watching SAC
On my calendar, I abbreviate Sophia Avery Carson to SAC. Tonight Thais and Lenin went out. When I arrived, Dog Bingo was already laid out on the floor.
Avery, “Carson, get on my back while I do a pushup.”
Soccer Saturday
While Carson and I went to the playground,
Avery scored a goal!
This was the last soccer game of the season.
Lunch at Gina’s
Gina and I have taught Project Ride Smart together, periodically, for the last few years. She is a really creative person who makes jewelry and other decorative items by up-cycling bicycle parts. 
Her second bedroom is her studio. I love seeing other people’s work spaces. She’s very well organized.
Volleyball championship game
I tried to go to Sophia’s game this afternoon, but there was a brush fire that closed I-5. All the traffic diverted onto the side streets. When it took me 20 minutes to go less than 2 miles, I knew I would not make it to the game. Darn. Sophia’s St Ignatius volleyball team won. Thais sent me the pictures.
Walnuts gathered
I raked and picked up the final section of walnuts today. Of course by this last day, I finally figured the best way to bag them. It started with Justin’s neighbor, Mitch, who loaned me his walnut-gathering tools. That day I went to the hardware store in Marysville and got my own. A light weight walnut rake and a lightweight fork with a bit of a backstop on it. 
Justin got the walnuts inside the pasture and loaded some of the bags into his trunk for delivery to my garage. The last 5 trees had the biggest yield I think. 27 bags today. Yes, my body aches from the exercise I got this week.
My garage is FULL of bags of walnuts.
Dinner for Six
The third of three Dinners for Six was at my house tonight. I made a hearty beef stew and green salad. Everyone else brought everything else.
Kathie and Peg
Linda, Kathie, Mike
Peg, Denise
This was a fun Four Seasons Westshore event to participate in.
Drinks at Klein’s
The original name of this bar in Rio Linda is Klein’s, as in our friend Maria’s dad and his three brothers, but it’s had many other names and owners since then. Currently it’s the Rio Pub.
Wendy, Joni, Terry, Val
Halloween
We had chili and cornbread at Leah and Jeff’s before the kids went trick-or-treating.
When you ask Carson to pose for a picture, this is the look you get:
Mama llama:
Walnut gathering
Justin had the trees shaken a few days ago. There was a dry north wind (bad for fires, good for walnuts on the ground) with no chance of rain so Mother Nature dried the walnuts this year. Hurray! Justin made a nice arrangement of tools for me on the lawn. We weren’t sure which would be the best. I ended up using just the metal rake and a dustpan.
One tree raked and bagged, 14 to go.
Almost half the trees are done. 25 bags today. Using a dustpan to scoop up the raked walnuts means there will be debris to deal with.
My vehicle is full!
Oops! Slow down on those turns, girl!
arletelouise 