Fair weather

Okay, I guess there are a few good things about August. Like a bumper crop of ripe red tomatoes in our garden. And... umm... more tomatoes. And the State Fair, of course.

Little Hands on the Farm is always a favorite. The kids get to participate in farming tasks like planting, harvesting, and milking. Porter really got into the milking (I'm sure that says something about his personality but I'm not sure what). Matt and Betsy played mini golf in the FFA building (I can never stop myself from saying, "The defect in this one is bleach") and she really liked it, even if she didn't totally understand that the putter is not a pushing implement.

The kids really liked the goats. You can cheap out and pick up little bits of goat feed off the ground, or you can pay a dollar for a baggie of sliced carrots. This was the first year we picked the non-cheap version, but we got way more than $1 worth of enjoyment. (It was also the first time Porter has voluntarily eaten a vegetable... and of course it would be goat food.)

Naturally, it's not the fair without some sort of deep-fried delicacy. You can choose from deep-fried snickers, deep-fried strawberries, and even deep-fried Pepsi (I can't even wrap my mind around how disgusting that sounds).I had deep-fried vegetables because... well, vegetables are healthy, right??!!

My other favorite thing about the fair (besides those awesome Dairy Barn milkshakes) is the used book sale in the Home & Family Arts building. Matt teases me that I look forward to that the most but it's true that I've had some really good finds there. I got my copy of Hannah Fowler at the fair, actually. This year I came away with a huge stack of books for under five dollars - including A Tree Grows In Brooklyn and a groooovy Simplicity sewing book from the seventies - and I scored these nifty dustjacketed finds as well.
The one on the left is really funny; it's got sewing tips but also 'How to dress' tips, like: When you're buying a hat, be sure and try it on both sitting down and standing up. The one on the right I bought more for the great early sixties line drawings than because I believe I'm ever actually going to prepare and serve, say, a Danish Sandwich Luncheon for Six. (Although if I evere did, luckily I know the dress to wear. With a frilly apron.)

So anyway. We survived the heat, we saw lots of animals - did you know, donkeys are surprisingly cute - and we ate plenty of fried goodness. I think the summer can end now.