I am a fabric hoarder. I took a huge step today and purged my decades-old stash of leftover fabric and donated many bags to ECHO-Elder Craftsmen Helping Others. This volunteer group meets every Wednesday morning to sew and craft. 
Barbara Florian recently finished this baby quilt.
Sad story, happy ending
I was really looking forward to having farm fresh eggs for breakfast. But Justin threw away all the eggs in the refrigerator while I was gone because the dates on the cartons were many months (years?) old. No!!! I get fresh eggs from Phyl and Dave all the time and we reuse the cartons forever. Because of our differing schedules, I couldn’t get more eggs for many days. Finally today, I was able to bring some home. Ahhhh, life is good once again. And thank you Phyl and Dave.
Sunday Social
Maryellen Burns (far left) was the speaker. She is the author of Lost Restaurants of Sacramento. The winning Throwdown entry was Catherine Green’s Melon Ice Balls which were dipped in raspberry jam and rolled in coconut – yum. Shirley Breckinridge(far right) made melon popsicles – also very good. 
Tiger Melon Saturday
Today was a big food prep day for the RLEHS Sunday Social on Sunday. Tiger melons were the key ingredient from the Natomas Farm this month.
The fragrance of these melons in the kitchen for the past few days has been wonderful. They tasted even better. I paired them with cantaloupe and made 48 small servings of Melon Salad with Crisped Prosciutto for my entry into the Throwdown.
Sophia and Avery
Yay, Grandma got to babysit tonight! Here’s Avery playing outside, but it’s also a little tour of Thais and Lenin’s latest improvement to their backyard. Landscaping and some kind of overhead cover is next. Stay tuned.
Justin leaves
5:00 am drop-off for Justin and Johnny. For the next week, they will drive 2100 miles and go to sprint car races in Ohio and Pennsylvania and one NASCAR truck race on dirt plus do a lot of sight-seeing. Fans of the sport I’d say. 
Home!
A long day of flying with long layovers in Charlotte NC and Dallas TX. Tired, but happy to be home.
High Bridge Trail
We got up a 5 am, met Donna, loaded all the bikes onto one vehicle and drove 90 miles
to Prospect to ride the High Bridge Trail.
2400 feet in length, 60-125 feet high, and built on 21 concrete piers.
On the way back we stopped for lunch in Farmville.
Large numbered brick warehouses house businesses selling high-quality furniture and mattresses. 
Heading back to Prospect.
Miles = 31.
Riding in Roanoke
Today Donna met us at the usual starting point. We went a bit farther – 23 miles – around the airport 
ending up at Cups, of course. JoRee was there!
L-R: Billie, Donna, JoRee.
Off to finish the ride, but it was hot and humid (to me, anyway), so Billie and I took a short cut back to the car while Donna and JoRee rode on.
Later that evening, we had to most-delicious ravioli.
Riding and ravioli
Only a short drive to the starting point for today.
Our 18-mile route took us past Black Dog Salvage. This picture is for Thais who would LOVE this store. Bring money!
Bike rack near the natural food coop
and across the street from a great coffee shop, Cups.
Talking bicycling with Katie behind the counter.
In the afternoon, we made homemade ravioli with a sausage-mushroom filling.
This was the hardest-to-knead dough ever!
We had cappuccino every afternoon – I will miss this daily tradition.
Billie is a gourmet cook! Tonight swordfish and southern succotash. Yum!
I am a lucky girl.
arletelouise 