This must be the right place, Music City USA.
Thais arrived a couple of hours later.
I was so glad Thais had a plan for seeing the city. We explored a few neighborhoods
and had dinner at
So delicious, but glad I ordered the medium spicy version.
And now … fun is about to begin
Yesterday, I shipped my mountain bike to Roanoke Virginia.
Tonight, Justin dropped me off at the airport to catch a red-eye flight to Nashville Tennessee.
Project Ride Smart: last day
After three days of classroom instruction and three days of blacktop drills, the final three days are street rides in the neighborhood which are still teaching opportunities. For the street rides, extra LCIs are hired and each leads a group along with volunteer riders from the school community and local bike clubs.
Today we were one volunteer short, so Elle handled the red group on her own and stayed on the bike trail in the park which begins right outside the back gate of the school. I got to ride with Jeff’s yellow group. Yay!
I must add how freaking hot it was. The blacktop drills were the worst. On the street riding days, at least you were moving through the air – somewhat of a relief.
RLEHS Sunday Social
Maceo did a great job as today’s speaker, it was great that so many members of his family came to support him.
Catherine Green won the Throwdown with her grandmother’s recipe for Fig Bars. This was her first win and I was thrilled!
One of my favorite families from my Westside Charter School days – the Tomlinson’s: Anna Marie, Julie and son, Sarah, and Ken.
Saturday in E Nicolaus
I got ready for the RLEHS Sunday Social Throwdown. I made both of these recipes. The fig jam went into little containers for the Guilty Giveaway (a legal version of a raffle. Yes, raffles are illegal unless you have a permit.)
Labor-intensive but incredibly delicious. 66 little cookies!
A quick sewing project.
Meanwhile, outside Justin sprayed weeds
and located long drooping branches with no walnuts on them
and lopped them off.
Because Justin fertilizes regularly, his trees are lush and beautiful.
He also checked on his recent irrigation installation for one of his neighbors.
Project Ride Smart: week 2
We had two after-school coaching sessions and taught five students how to ride a bike. Others came just to hone their skills.
The popular Melon Drop demonstration of the importance of wearing a helmet.
Elle’s son Theo joined us one day.
Bikes were fit, students were divided into four groups. This is the red group getting ready to do their ABCQuick Check (Air/tires, Brakes, Chain/cassette/chain ring/cranks, Quick releases/seat height adjustment).
Collecting jerseys efficiently to be ready for the next class.
Field Trip: H&K Farm
Phyllis and I went to Gibson Ranch to meet Maceo Hart-Kapic who will be the speaker at the next RLEHS Sunday Social. 17 years old and a junior in high school, Maceo runs a successful farming operation.
Maceo attends Met Sacramento High School – where project-based learning, internships, and mentoring are central. Maceo’s interest in agriculture fits right in.
Maceo runs a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) also, providing and delivering a box of fresh vegetables once/month to those who sign up.
His free-range eggs and meat chickens are also part of his operation.
Bowling night
Too much fun! This was Sophia and Avery’s first time ever to go bowling. With the bumpers up to avoid a gutter ball, the ball rolled s-l-o-w-l-y
down the lane.
Then we found a ramp for Sophia and Avery to use which really speeded up play! Afterwards we went to Sam’s Hof Brau for dinner, a restaurant that’s been around for 56 years.
For not bowling in decades, I was pretty happy with my 153 score. And one game seemed to be enough for everyone!
Thursday at Merrilyn’s
It’s always fun and delicious when Phyllis and I go to Merrilyn’s for afternoon cocktails.
Sophia & Avery
Hurray! Lenin and Thais had an evening engagement and I got to watch Sophia and Avery. The backyard is under renovation – I will definitely have to show the “after” pictures once it’s complete. Avery really wanted me to see all the things he can do in the back yard, like hanging from a branch and dropping,
walking on a narrow board,
zooming on the roller coaster,
climbing high in a tree (nervous Grandma here),
and getting in the way of his sister.
Sophia gave Grandma excellent directions about how everything is supposed to go when getting ready for bed. If I questioned anything, her response always began with, “My mom says …”
I wrapped them up “like a package” in a towel about 20 times, then they would jump around until the towel fell off and we’d do it all over again.
