RLEHS Sunday Social

The third Sunday of the month means it’s time for a Rio Linda Elverta Historical Society Sunday Social in the Social Hall at Calvary Lutheran Church. At left are Catherine and Jason Green, the new organizers of the socials:DSC00534
Joyce Buckland shared the latest RLEHS news:
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Speaker #1: Pat Day talked about Elder Craftsmen Helping Others (ECHO) – a large group of volunteers who meet at the Depot Park in Rio Linda once a week.
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#2 Speakers: Sharon King, Debbie Crowe, Anna Marie Tomlinson talked about the Rio Linda Elverta Quilt Trail Project and the wildflower garden near the Dry Creek Ranch House.
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Throwdown “key” ingredients this month were eggs (from The Natomas Farm) and cabbage (from Food Source). Three of us entered five tastings. Me, Allie Brown, and Catherine Green:
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The entries:
On the plate: Arlete’s Scotch Eggs, and Catherine’s Sweet Cabbage Strudel-WINNER. On the table L-R: Arlete’s Fruity Coleslaw-WINNER, Allie’s Cabbage Quiche, Catherine’s Crustless Carrot Mini-quiches.
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Bike ride: to Wheatland

25 miles roundtrip on farm roads.
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Highlight on the way home: Salle Orchards farm stand.DSC00511
Very small and filled with products grown on their farm.
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In the back left are the freshest lettuces, artichokes, oranges and more:
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Greens growing between rows of walnut trees.
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Bottle testing

Today was a test. Would Carson take a bottle from Grandma? He won’t take one from his mom. I had a very good helper, Sophia, who recently lost a tooth.
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And a bonus, Sophia borrowed my FitBit and ran up and down the stairs 10 times. I felt better right away.DSC00504

Field Trip: Tisdale Weir

It’s been raining a lot – a good thing for drought-impacted California. The bypasses haven’t flooded in four years. This week, however, the Sacramento River reached its capacity, water spilled over the weirs designed to take pressure off the levee system. In dry winters and during the dry months, Sacramento Ave cuts across the Sutter Bypass from Hwy 99 and is the most direct route to Woodland:DSC00482
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Further north, about 10 miles southeast of the town of Meridian, the Tisdale Weir
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Looking upriver

Looking upriver


Water crossing to the right is going over the weir. The capacity is 38,000 cfs:
Looking downriver.

Looking downriver.


Thanks, Justin, for taking me on this field trip!
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Here’s an aerial view of the weir in the summer – a parking lot for the boat ramp:timthumb

Shamrock’n 5K

I volunteered this morning for SABA at the Bike Valet for the annual Shamrock’n 5K. The half-marathon is tomorrow. The start/finish was at Raley Field.DSC00447
7:30 am start time, cold and windy, and I didn’t dress warmly enough.DSC00452
We only parked 12 bikes.DSC00455
The start:DSC00449
15 minutes later, the first runner turned the final corner for the finish line. At this point I was thinking I wouldn’t be cold that much longer, but it took the slowest in the field well over an hour to complete the 5K. DSC00456Then there was a half hour break before the kid’s race around the block began.DSC00459
After helping to dismantle the bike parking apparatus, I got in my car and turned on the heated seat! Ahhhh.

St Ignatius Talent Show

Holly, Thais and Carson, Leah, and Rita (talking with a friend).
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Leo’s (Holly’s son) Kindergarten class sang about taking a bath.DSC00410.jpgDSC00415.jpg
Sophia’s class sang about bugs – yes, God loves bugs too, no matter how annoying they might be sometimes.DSC00420.jpgDSC00429.jpg
Lauren (Leah’s daughter, at far left) and friends performed a dance.DSC00438.jpg
At the end of the 2-hour performance, awards were given for Pi Day – the student at each grade level who memorized the longest string of numbers for pi 3.14— A second grader memorized 107 digits after the decimal point. The school winner was a fourth grader with 114 digits. What! Each grade level winner got a pie, of course!
Meanwhile, at home, Carter kept watch – the pink gun made him feel fierce.DSC00444.jpgDSC00445.jpg

Neighborhood bike rides

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I was hired by 50 Corridor TMA, along with a few other LCIs, to lead small groups of students on bike rides in their Folsom neighborhood as a culmination to 10 hours of bicycle-driving instruction.
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In this program, students provided their own bicycles.
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Three days of work, but mostly fun. Great kids. You could see skills and confidence grow daily.
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