A 9-Finger Day

I accidentally stabbed my forefinger with a knife and it bled pretty good.

But, that didn't stop me from a day of sewing at Justin's house.


Hurray!! Welt pockets conquered. Not perfect, but finished.

The Bruise Brothers

Dick and his brother, Tom, pruned the large magnolia tree at their mother's house. Leta lives in the Bay Area and her house is rented.



Leone Thorne drove by and stopped to chat a while.


Downtown Sacramento: the third-Saturday Designer's Showcase at 10th and K.

The Sacramento Ballet.

Nicole Docimo, our future daughter-in-law, in her booth talking to Dick.



I couldn't resist buying the jellyfish and sea anemone prints. After they're framed, I'll hang them in our boat. These are part of an alphabet series of drawings.

You can find Nicole's blog at bluebicicletta.wordpress.com and her shop can be found at bluebicicletta.etsy.com.

Conquering welt pockets, Afternoon at Thais & Lenin's

Back to Justin's early in the morning for another run at those darn welt pockets.

Getting closer, but not quite finished yet.

Justin picked up his grandma and we all went to Thais and Lenin's for lunch.

Fear of Welt Pockets

Early Friday morning, I head to Justin's for some focused sewing on the jacket I want to wear to Mike and Nicole's wedding in September.


I am afraid of welt pockets. I've put off working on this jacket because the welt pockets are next.



My mom always made my welt pockets in the past. Since she's 90 and I'm 60, maybe it's time to break through this roadblock.



My tip for straight lines: use low-tack masking tape between end points, then baste or stitch.


NOTE (added Jan 2010): I think the only picture of the finished jacket appears at Sophia's baptism on 16 Jan 10.


Justin cooked some chicken breasts on his George Forman grill. I made a sandwich for Justin before I left then went back to Jim and Lucy's to make more for all of us before friends came over later in the evening.

L-R: Jerry Trautman, Les Thayer, Jim Reed.

L-R: Susan Trautman, Lucy Reed, Dot Thayer.






Lucy made a fire on the back patio. Dick and I made apple-cinnamon s'mores for everyone.

Solar Oven

After covering Jim's pipes with reflective tape, Dick created his first prototype for my new solar oven. And he did NOT use one of Lucy's pots and spray-paint it black. The pot is filled with water right now and Dick is checking the temperature. Tomorrow will yield better results. Today it was 100 degrees in Sacramento.

Working from Home

Thais, Sophia, Neela with her chin on architectural drawings, and Carter.

Camping NE of Folsom Lake

Friday-Sunday, 7-9 August.

On our way out of town, we stop to see Mom.



We are in Pilot Hill on Hwy 49. From here it's 19 miles to Folsom, 9 miles to Auburn, 17 miles to Placerville, and of course 9 miles on Rattlesnake Bar Rd - mostly a 1 1/2 lane-wide road with 2-way traffic and cliffs on the passenger's side that made me close my eyes.



Oops! There are always things we forget. This time, it was enough cash to pay for the campsite for 2 nights and a sharp knife. We bought a $2 sharp paring knife and it promptly broke. Dick was determined to use it all weekend. Therefore here you see Dick using the remnants like a razor blade to finely slice cabbage.






And there was no hose to connect the stove to the propane bottle, so we bought a bag of briquets in Cool. It lasted for 3 meals.


At this time of year, it's dry and dusty. This is the downward path from where the car was parked.

The upward path from the lakeside.

The water is quite low in Folsom Lake.








A morning walk.












Maybe this is an acorn woodpecker or a scrub jay. A scrub jay is capable of gathering and burying 400 acorns/hour and will harvest 5000 acorns in a season. Only half will be retrieved. The rest are dug up by other animals, disintegrate or sprout. Most oak saplings die before they mature.


The end of the 0.8 mile trail.












We need more ice on our second day of camping. A second trip to Cool and we discover Cool Beans and must of course try out their coffee.









The first grange in CA was established in Pilot Hill in 1870.


Friday night

Saturday night

What I LOVE the most about camping with Dick is he does all the cooking. This is also true for bicycle touring, sailing, and traveling. I prefer to cook in a kitchen with a recipe.