Author Archives: arletelouise

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San Giovanni Day 2018

In the early afternoon, I gathered green walnuts at Justin’s.

As custom requires, about 30 green walnuts gathered by a barefoot (non-) virgin.
Then I drove a bit north of Truckee to Old Greenwood.
Maria was waiting to welcome me!
This weekend,Tim and Maria also invited Mike & Renee and Joy & Jim:
Making nocino. Thank you Mike for chopping the green walnuts into quarters:
Then we taste-tested the 2016 and 2017 vintages:The consensus was the 1-year-old was better, sweeter.
Maria and Renee:
And then a game of pool (smile/hugs: there’s Maria in the background fluffing my pillow):
Every year is different. Thank you, Tim & Maria, for inviting me to OG and making this San Giovanni Day very special.

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Underwater posing

This afternoon after zoo camp, we went to the racquet club to go swimming. “Grandma! Take my picture when I …”

You’re about to see WAY too many pictures but there were so many good ones! 

I am about to get soaked:

Then the camera went underwater.When Avery saw this one, he said, “There’s that smile.” Sophia sometimes chooses this smile for pictures:
Back at home, Carson’s first words, “Old MacDonald’s Farm on Grandma’s iPad?” He loves watching different versions of this song on YouTube.

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Guests!!

Dave and Phyl drove out from Montana a few days ago to pick up another load of their belongings. Dave is not exactly fond of my continuous picture-taking:They left early Thursday morning. By the way, they still had to drive to their old house (now owned by their son) to attach an overloaded trailer.

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Bike Doc at Heritage Westshore

North Natomas Transportation Management Association (NNTMA) brought Bike Doc to Heritage Westshore.Four mechanics made small repairs or adjustments to 26 bicycles in our community.Abbey Stumpf shared information about the services and programs provided by NNTMA.We also collected some basic bicycling data from residents.OMG, I misspelled the word “cautious.”

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Zoo camp

This week, Avery and Sophia have been at the Sacramento Zoo summer camp. Avery’s group, he’s in there somewhere:Sophia’s group. Eventually I found both of them. Or rather they found me.

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The Dinnerbell

Today we visited with Phyl’s grandson Chris and his two kids,
went back to the quilt shop to buy one of their kits,
and shortened some curtains (yay, sewing!)
For dinner, we went the The Dinnerbell, a Thursday night all-you-can-eat family-style dinner served by a local Mennonite family in Gold Creek, Montana.
We got there early and shopped a bitbefore sitting down at long tables.
Tonight: 70 pounds silky-smooth mashed potatoes, 120 pounds fried chicken, and about 30 pies, plus salad and fresh rolls.
At the end, a very nicely-sung hymn. What a wonderful Montana experience!

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Arrrow Stone Park and Grant-Kohrs Ranch

Phyl and I walked the paths of Arrow Stone Park.

It winds around all the way to the Old Montana Prison along the Clark Fork River.

We walked every path for a total of 2 miles.

There would be more walking at our afternoon stop: Grant Kohrs Ranch, a National Historic Site.The ranch tells the story of the transition from open-range cattle industry of the 1860s to a more scientific approach (and the beginning of barbed wire fencing and growing your own alfalfa) in the 1890s.
We toured the house, but couldn’t take any pictures. There are no reproductions in the house, only original artifacts (with many thousands more stored in a barn on the property).
We began our exploration just after 2 busloads of Australians and Canadians were almost ready to leave. A cowboy poses for a tourist:


In the garden at the back of the house: